GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS; LIMITED
Twelfth]
Routledge's Railway" Library Advertiser.
[Issue.
rowlands' articles
For the Hair, Complexion, and Teeth, are the PUREST & BEST.
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Twelfth] Routledge's Railway Library Advertiser.
[Issue.
FROM DAWN TILL SUNSET.
Use is Life, and He Most Truly Lives Who Uses Best.
The Blacksmith's Arm and The Statesman's Brain.
The most truly Living Body is
the most active in Decay; the
more bodily and mental vigour
are displayed, the more quickly
do the various tissues melt
down into substances which are
without delay removed by the
excreting organs. The more the
Blacksmith Works his Arms and
the Statesman his Brain, the
heavier bulk of carbon, nitro-
gen, oxygen, and hydrogen is
thrown out by the lungs, liver,
skin, andkidneys. Do they then
wear them out by khis constant
friction and drain ? No, no—
the more the bricks are re-
moved from the old wall, the
more new bricks will a good
builder put in; and so, pro-
vided that the supply is suffi-
cient - that the builder is a good
one-the more rapid the drain
the newer and stronger and
better the body will become.
The Renewal of Life. The Want of Nutriment is the Cause of Disease.
MILK THE ONLY PERFECT HUMAN BUILDER.
As Milk is the only perfect food, the above facts prove the importance of Milk when
sipped hot, when you have drawn an overdraft on the bank of Life. Hot Milk is the only
True Food for the prevention of disease, INFLUENZA, SLEEPLESSNESS, &c., &c.;
(premature death) in any form of Physical or Mental Strain use Hot Milk and Eno's
"Fruit Salt" as occasion may require to cause a Natural flow of Healthy Bile (a New
Life). By the means of Eno's " Fruit Salt" the Hot Milk will agree, which otherwise
might produce biliousness, &c.
ENO'S "FRUIT SALT" is tbe best and simplest preparation for regulating the
action of the liver that has yet been discovered. It prevents diarrhoea. It removes effete
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From the late Rev. J IV. NEIL. Holy Trinity Church, North Shields. "November 1, 1S73. Dear Sir,—
As an illustration of the beneficial effects of your 'FRUIT SALT,' I can have no hesitation in giving you
particulars of the case of one of my friends. His whole life was clouded by the want of vigoro -s health, and
to such an extent did the sluggish action of the liver and its concomitant bilious headache affect him, that he
•was obliged to live upon only a few articles of diet, and to be most sparing in their use. This uncomfortable
and involuntary asceticism, while it probably alleviated his sufferings, did nothing in effecting a cure,
although persevered in fJr some twenty-five years, and also, to my knowledge, consulting very eminent
members of the faculty* frequently even going to town for that purpose. By the use of your simple * FRUIT
SALT,' however, he now enjoys the vigorous health he so long coveted; he has never had a headache nor
constipation since he commenced ta use it, about six months ago, and can partake of his food in such ahearty
manner as to afford, as you may imag ne, great satisfactk n to himself and frienc s. There are others known
to me to whom your remedy has been so beneficial in various kinds of complaints, that I think you may very
well extend it3 use, both for your owd interests, and pro bono publico. I find myself that it makes a very
refreshing and exhilarating drink.—I remain, dear Sir, yours faithfully* J. W. NEIC.—To J. C, ENO, Esq."
ENO'S " FRUIT SALT " contains the valuable saline constituents of ripe fruit, and
is absolutely essential to the healthy action of the animal economy. To travellers, emi-
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ir OUGHT TO BE KEPT IN EVERY BEDROOM IN READINESS FOR ANY EMERGENCY,
Only Truth can give true reputation. Only Reality can be of real profit.
THE SECRET OF SUCCESS.—Sterling Honesty of Purpose. Without it, Life is a Sharu.
CAUTION —Examine each Bottle, and see the Capsule is marked ENO'S "FRUIT SALT
Without it, you have been imposed on by a worthless imitation. Sold by all Chemists.
Prepared only at Eno's "Fruit Salt" Works, London, S.E., by J. C. Eno's Patent.
Twelfth] Routledge's Railway Library Advertiser. [Issue,
MELLINS
For
INFANTS
FOOD
Her Imperial Majesty
the
Empress of
Germany
tas testified to the
efficacy of
MELLIN'S FOOD.
For
INVALIDS
Highest Award
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" I shall always have a very high opinion of your Food, as when he was very ill, and
could retain nothing else, your Food acted like a charm. I shall always recommend ' Mellin's
Food' when I have an opportunity, as I am quite sure it saved the little fellow's life.
" Yours very truly, SAMUEL PENTELOW."
MELLIN'S EMULSION
OF COD LBVER OIL
Cures Coughs and Colds. Invaluable for Bronchitis, etc.
For Children and Adults.
Price 2s. 6d and 4s. 6d. per Bottle. Sample size Is.
Samples, Pamphlet, and Prospectus Post Pree on Application to
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EACH FOR HIMSELF.
GERSTAECKER'S NOVELS.
THE FEATHERED ARROW.
A WIFE TO ORDER.
EACH FOR HIMSELF.
THE HAUNTED HOUSE.
THE PIRATES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
A SAILOR'S ADVENTURES.
EACH FOR HIMSELF
OB
THE TWO ADVENTURERS
BY
F. GERSTAECKEE
AUTHOR OF "A WIFE TO ORDER," ETO.
LONDON
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CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
cAinroRNiA no! Page 1
CHAPTER II.
the golden gate 20
CHAPTER III.
on californian soil 28
CHAPTER IY.
the plaza of san francisco 44-
CHAPTER Y.
an evening in san francisco 54
CHAPTER YI.
the first conflagration 73
CHAPTER YII.
after the fire 86
CHAPTER VIII.
a bird's-eye vietv 109
CHAPTER IX.
4 paradise 119
Vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
THE INDIAN CHIEF foge 130
CHAPTER XI.
A NIGHT IN PARADISE 146
CHAPTER XII.
THE ALCALDE.... 168
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BED EABTH 180
CHAPTER XIY.
THE GERMAN COMPANY 192
CHAPTER XV.
THE TWO GAMBLERS 205
CHAPTER XVI.
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY 218
CHAPTER XVII.
HETSON AND SIFTLY 230
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE CHINAMEN 211
CHAPTER XIX.
DON ALONZO 256
CHAPTER XX.
THE MEETING 269
contents. Vii
CHAPTER XXI.
the Mexican flag Page 285
CHAPTER XXII.
the attack 301
CHAPTER XXIII.
mr. smith 312
CHAPTER XXIY.
old friends 325
CHAPTER XXV.
the prisoner 341
CHAPTER XXVI.
the meeting 353
CHAPTER XXVII.
the evening in the camp 365
CHAPTER XXVIII.
the jury 383
CHAPTER XXIX.
leave-taking 399
CHAPTER XXX.
conclusion 410
EACH FOR HIMSELF.
CHAPTER I.
california ho!
" Land ! land !" Over the blue sea, heaving in gentle waves,
the glad cry rang out from the mast-head—"Land!" and " Land S
land!" rolled in joyous echoes through cabins and between decks,
resounding from end to end of the ship.
_ The day had not yet fully broken; but the first faint streak that
lit up the eastern horizon had unveiled to the practised eye of the
mate in the top the distant outlines of a rocky shore. Even before
daybreak he had several times fancied he heard the hoarse sound
of breakers, borne down at intervals by the breeze; therefore he
had mounted into the foretop, and the morning dawn showed
that he had judged rightly.
The good news, as it spread, caused universal joy; and the old
seaman too was glad, though from a different cause than the
prospect which produced such glee among the passengers below.
"Thank Heaven!" he muttered, as he came slowly down the
shrouds to the deck, " we shall at last get rid of those confounded
land-lubbers of passengers. How the fellows are grunting at the
thoughts of tramping through mud again. But I know one thing
—this is the last trip I ever make in a passenger-ship. I'd rather
1' '1 11 1 1 an old whaler, than be plagued with
any one see such a set of blind moles!"
And grinning maliciously, he stopped half-way in his descent,
and looked down upon the deck at the steerage passengers, who
were tumbling in troops up the fore-hatchway.
It was enough to make a sailor laugh to see the sleepy faces,
not half roused fcpm their rest, looking around and upward with
a bewildered stare, as if they expected to behold a mountain
within a cable's length of the ship. Very few knew in what
Halloo! there they eome. Did ever
B
2 CALIFORNIA HO!
direction to look for the long-wished-for coast; and it was not
till the sun rose fully out of tnfe sea that the dark streak of land
became sharply and undeniably visible. ^
Unfortunately, the wind was not particularly fair for the shore,
and the good brig Leontine had to keep a slanting course along
the land, tacking at intervals to get nearer in. Towards noon
there was a change for the better, and the bow of the Leontine
was turned more towards the land: still the breeze was very
light and shifting, and the brig made little way, though every
available sail was turned to account.
No one could blame the passengers for being glad at the
prospect of release from their confined existence on board. The
Leontine, of and from the port of Hamburg, had made a passage
of nearly six months, with only a short stay of a week at Rio de
Janeiro and Valparaiso to break the long monotony of the voyage;
and what chances were the emigrants not losing while they were
detained in the ship!
The first emigrants to California, to whom only the newest and
most fabulous accounts of discovered wealth had penetrated, had
their heads full of golden hopes and dreams. " In the mines,"
said report, " each miner found an ounce of gold a day;" and
reckoning this ounce at only twenty Prussian dollars (about
three pounds in English money), they could make a very accurate
calculation of the sums they lost through every week of useless
delay.
At last the coast they had so long beheld in dreams was really
visible to their naked sight, and the people bustled and crowded
noisily to make their preparations for landing with what speed
they might. It would be too bad, they thought, to waste any
time through their own fault.
Cabin and steerage had till then kept pretty strictly apart from
each other. The captain at least would never, so long as the
voyage lasted, allow a " 'tween-decks " passenger to set foot on
the quarter-deck, though he could not forbid his cabin passengers
from consorting now and then with their less favoured fellow-
travellers. Rut the cabin passengers, on their part, had availed
themselves very sparingly of the tacit permission to go forward,
till the approach to land seemed at once to do away with all forms
and restrictions. The people on board seemed to have an idea
that they would soon be "all tarred with the same brush;" and
every one pressed forward to the raised forecastle and bows, to
get as clear a sight as he could of the coaslj.
As in almost every passenger-ship under similar circuppstances,
the people laboured under the delusion that they would disembark
CALIFORNIA RO! 3
almost immediately after sighting land;—and, amid the suppressed
grins of the sailors, many of them hastened to don their "long-
shore clothes," only to doff them again as the evening came on.
Thus there stood on the forecastle of the Leontine an assemblage
of persons attired in most motley fashion; some of them in their
shirt-sleeves, or the thin jackets in which they used to roam about
the decks; others in broadcloth walking-coats, or even in dress-
coats, with all th^ supplementary glories of smart walking-sticks
and black high-crowned hats.
Conspicuous among them appeared the figure of a passenger
who had till then been scarcely ever noticed on board. He wore
a long pea-green coat of uncommonly shabby appearance and with
an indefinite number of capes of various breadths. From the end
of the left sleeve of this cloak protruded a fat cotton umbrella of
a bright-green hue.
The garment itself reached nearly to the wearer's ancles; at its
lower extremity appeared a pair of thick boots heavily garnished
with nails; the whole structure being roofed with a narrow-
brimmed hat, much crushed and battered. Whether the latter
article of apparel inclosed a human head or not, remained an open
question; there were, however, no external indications of such
a presence.
Next to him stood a young, well-dressed man, with hair elabo-
rately brushed and oiled, and well-polished boots. He was gazing
with greater interest upon his queerly-clad neighbour than even
upon the land itself. It appeared strange to him that he should
have been half a year in a crowded ship, and that a personage
should suddenly start up whom he did not remember ever to have
seen before.
Mr. Hufner, the well-dressed young man, was, however, of too
retiring a disposition to address the stranger, till a Hamburgher
—a merchant, it was rumoured, who was retiring from a failure
at home to commence more prosperous transactions abroad—came
up, and unceremoniously pushing back the pea-green cloak-collar,
cried out to the wearer,—
"Why, Ballenstedt—deuce take it—why, what a figure you
look!"
" And how do I look a figure, Mr. Lamberg ?" replied the
man, with great composure, while the passengers round them
burst into a loud laugh;—" a man may put on his cloak, I
suppose?"
" Certainly, my boy, a man may," laughed the Hamburgher,
who had not yet divested himself of any of his sea-going clothes;
" but unless you happen to feel particularly cold just now, you
3 2
4 CALIFORNIA HO?
might have left that wonderful garment, with all its tremendous
capes, to take care of itself for to-day. Or do you want to land
directly ?'*
" Directly the ship is moored," answered the man, in a decided
tone.
" And where's the rest of your luggage ?"
" Here," answered Ballenstedt, and produced from under his
cloak a red cotton handkerchief, t.ied in the form of a bundle, and
a spade; which latter implement, however, he angrily returned to
its concealment, as the bystanders burst into a fresh shout.
But every man bad too much work of his own to do, to pay
much attention to the eccentric passenger; and the sailors, who
now sprang on the forecastle to cjear the anchors, broke off the
conversation. The forecastle was cleared of the passengers, who
dispersed in groups over the deck, looking over the bulwarks with
longing glances at the land, which still lay in dim distance.
One of the chief objects of attention among the passengers
was an elderly gentleman, fully equipped for going ashore, but
still retaining in his mouth a long pipe. He strode thought-
fully to and fro, humming a kind of tune, with his right baud
held behind him.
"Well, Counsellor, are you ready too ?" asked a little man in
a grey coat, who, seated near the foremast, had been watching
him Tor some time, with a smile. He was an apothecary from
Hanover; something of a wag, but withal a very good, respect-
able fellow.
" I ?—yes," answered the Counsellor, turning sharply round
to face his questioner. " Tired of the confounded life aboard—
shall make haste ashore—shan't forget it in a hurry—deuce
take it!"
The man's speech was very rapid, but his thoughts seemed to
come faster still; for he swallowed half his words, and tumbled
out the rest in such a hasty, abrupt manner, that he always
seemed to be covering his interlocutors with abuse. But Ohlers,
the apothecary, knew him well, and was, moreover, not a man to
be easily frightened.
" Mr. Counsellor does not appear particularly satisfied with the
treatment on board," he observed with a quiet smile.
"Dog's life!" was the one word of uncomplimentary expla-
nation, in which the Counsellor concentrated his whole present
existence—"captain shall pay for it—action at law."
"Well, I give you joy," said Ohlers; " poor captain!"
" Whatj Counsellor, booted and spurred, eh ?" drawled a lanky
youth, a cabin passenger, who, it was rumoured, had been sent
CALIFORNIA HO! 5
to California by his parents, who hoped to get a little peace for
themselves by getting rid of him from Hamburgh. The lanky
man came sauntering up, with his hands in his pockets, and
stood leaning his back against a hencoop, as if unwilling to in-
trust to his legs the weight of his thin body.
" Yes, Mr. Binderhof," grumbled the Counsellor, blowing
away a thick cloud of tobacco, as he looked over his shoulder at
the cabin passenger. " If you like it better—can stay."
" Much obliged, Mr. Counsellor," answered the long man,
laughing; " but I'd rather not, unless I had the honour of your
company."
"Unbearable fellow, that," grumbled the Counsellor to him-
self; and he retired to the other side of the deck, ana began to-
puff harder than ever.
" Cracked old chap," said the long man, laughing. " What
was he telling you just now, Ohlers ?"
" Oh," answered the apothecary, " only something about you,
Mr. Binderhof."
" Abont me ?"
"About you, Mr. Binderhof. He was telling me how heart-
broken your parents were when you insisted on starting off for
California."
"The blockhead," growled Binderhof; and he left the hen-
coop, and lounged angrily back to the cabin. Ohlers was looking
after him with one of his dry comical glances, when Hufner
strode by him. The opportunity was too tempting to be neg-
lected; so he at once accosted the new-comer.
"Mr. Hufner, Mr. Hufner," he began, with a gesture of
warning, " you seem to me in a bad way."
" Indeed, my dear Mr. Ohlers," answered the other, anxiously,
" I really can't see how! Has anything hanpened ? "
"Hot yet," answered Ohlers, gravely; "but you have dressed
yourself up, as if you were going out'to make conquests in San
Brancisco, and your betrothed meanwhile sits at home, fretting
and pining away bodily."
"No, really!" cried Hufner, earnestly, and he blushed fiery
red; "you do me wrong there, my good Mr. Ohlers."
" Sly rogue, sly rogue," continued the tormentor; " I should
very much like to send your young lady a few lines by the next
post, just to warn the poor innocent thing."
"Tor Heaven's sake don't play any such foolish trick," cried
Hufner, in alarm; " you've no idea how jealous she is, and she
might take your fun for earnest. Well, thanks be, our time of
separation is more than half over."
6 CALIFORNIA HO!
"What!" exclaimed Ohlers, in astonishment, "are you going
back again at once ?"
"Not exactly," answered Mr. Hufher, complacently; "but
the fact is, we have agreed that she should follow me in three
months, reckoning from the time of my departure. So, by this
time, I dare say, she is in Rio de Janeiro."
" But what, in the name of wonder, are you to do with your
intended, in California ?" asked Ohlers, with a doubtful shake of
the head. " You don't even know what is in store for yourself.
Has she money P"
" My girl P" said Hufner; " why, no; but there's no need of
that."
" Then have you any ? "
" Not yet," answered the novice, with his quiet complacent
glance; " but yonder is California."
"Pooh!" said Ohlers; " and is that all ?"
"And is it not enough ?" asked Hufner, in return. "I have
a clear three months before me, to make my fortune. I mustn't,
certainly, take a situation as a clerk; for even if I were to get
three or four thousand dollars a year salary, that would only
make one thousand, at the most, for the three months, and there
is not much to be done with that. But I shall go to the mines;
there I am sure of an ounce a day; and, reckoning only twenty-
seven working days to the month, three months will give me a
little capital of at least one thousand six hundred and twenty
dollars, without counting anything extra for the lucky days,
which are sure to turn up now and then. I know for a certainty
that there have been days when gold-washers have had five or six
hundred dollars."
" And on the strength of this prospect alone you have desired
the girl to follow you ?"
" This prospect alone repeated Hufner, in amazement. " I
fancy it is certainly enough. Just ask Mrs. Siebert, or get her
to show you the letters her husband has written her from San
Prancisco. In three days he and another man dug out of some
old ravine or other shining gold to the amount of four thousand
dollars. In three days, I tell you."
"Thenthey certainly had brilliant success," answered Ohlers;
" but how many do you suppose may not be scraping and shovelling
about in the mountains yonder without finding more than barely
what they want for their daily subsistence; and what kind of
prices do you think they ask for provisions up yonder ? Where
a sixpenny loaf costs five Spanish dollars, my good Mr. Hufner,
people can't afford to be good-natured."
CALIFORNIA HO! 7
"Then pray why did you come to California?" asked the
smiling Hufner, with a look at Ohlers which seemed to say, "I
have caught you now."
" Certainly not to puddle for gold among the old foggy moun-
tains," answered the apothecary. " There will be sick people
enough in San Francisco,—loose customers, who have been
knocking about in the mines till they can hardly drag their
limbs along. They will fall into my hands in due course; and
that I shall squeeze them till there is not another grain of gold
to be got out of them, you may be well assured."
Their conversation was here cut short, or rather interrupted, by
the arrival of two other persons, who had come up the gangway,
and stood at the larboard bulwarks looking over at the land.
One of these new-comers was the Mrs. Siebert of whom Hufner
had just spoken; the other was old Assessor Mohler, the most
obliging, modest, and eccentric man under the sun.
The husband of Mrs. Siebert, who had been, at least in former
days, rather a queer character, had gone to America to seek his
fortune, leaving his wife and children behind him in Germany.
For years they had heard nothing of him, until, almost simul-
taneously with the news of the first discovery of gold in California,
there came a letter from him, containing the most wonderful and
startling intelligence. Siebert had, it appeared, enrolled himself,
with many other Germans, among the troop of volunteers whom
the United States sent to California to take possession of the
country. These men—most of them adventurers who could earn
their living in no other way—at first held out capitally, and kept
together where rations were distributed; but no sooner had the
intelligence of the new gold-discoveries reached them, than they
deserted, almost to a man, and wandered away into the moun-
tains to dig for the precious metal. As chance would have it,
these people fell at once upon the richest spots; and some of
them certainly, in the space of a few days, extracted gold' from
the mountain ravines to the value of thousands of dollars.
Among these fortunate adventurers was Siebert; who, a good-
natured if a thoughtless man, at once wrote home to call his
family around him. The description of the wealth of California,
as set forth in his letter, flew through the neighbourhood with
lightning speed, and induced many a man to leave his home, in
the hope of gathering treasure as easily as the writer had done.
No one was more joyous than Mrs. Siebert, who strolled from
one acquaintance to another to show her husband's glorious
letter. It may be imagined how she was complimented and
envied; but she lost no time in preparing herself and her children
8 CALIFORNIA HO!
for their voyage. Her husband had sent an order on a Ham-
burgli house for the passage-money; and the first ship that
sailed thence for California took on board the wife, who, with
her children, obeyed the call of her husband to join him in the
distant land of fortune.
Poor as Mrs. Siebert's circumstances had formerly been, she
was yet the object of a peculiar kind of respect to aU on board.
They felt she was not going out on an errand of ch«nce; for was
not her husband one among those favourites of fortune whose
happy lot had made them the first explorers of that wondrous
land of treasure? They had, as it were, skimmed the cream
from the rich goblet; and the wife was going out to enjoy the
fruits of that easy toil. Her husband could not fail to know the
richest spots in the mountains, and might give valuable hints—
if he only would. Thus it came that every passenger treated the
lady most respectfully, and did everything to oblige her—in a
vague expectation that she might say a favourable word for
him.
This respectful behaviour on the part of all on board had
spoiled the good lady; moreover, her husband's letter gave her
cause to consider herself, so far as her notions of riches went,
a wealthy woman; and the novel feeling of being able to
patronize those about her, finished what her ideas of wealth had
begun.
Modest as she had been when she first went on board, she
soon became sufficiently assuming; and her imagination helped
her to paint life in California in the most glowing and lively
colours.
Exactly the opposite in character to this good lady was
Assessor Mohler, a man past the prime of life,—in fact, about
fifty years of age. He never said a word about his family affairs,
but a few of the passengers seemed to have known him before;
and from them the rest soon learned that he had lived in Ger-
many, if not in brilliant, at any rate in independent, circumstances,
and had, in fact, only been sent to California by his married
daughters, little Gonerils and Regans, like a shame-faced old
King Lear as he was. It was the old story. Whereas he had
done everything in his power, more perhaps than was prudent,
for his children, they, on the other hand, soon grew tired of his
little harmless peculiarities. He had, moreover, always shown a
disposition to travel; and they managed cleverly half to persuade,
half to compel him to go forth in his age to try his fortune in the
strange and fabulous land of gold.
They spoke, and the Assessor went. But though he never
CALIFOENIA Ho! 9
uttered a word of complaint, he felt how unworthily he had been
treated, and that his own children had considered him as a
burden to be got rid of; and this reflection gave to his whole
bearing an appearance of depression and pain. His inborn good-
nature prevented him from making any one but himself suffer
from his misfortunes. Notwithstanding a certain amount of
secret and avowed teasing to which he was subjected, he was
the personification of good temper in his intercourse with all
the passengers—wherever he could, be lent a helping hand. No
knife was sharpened on board the ship but he turned the stone,—
not a button was sewn on but he had furnished needle and
thread for the operation, from a convenient store of such articles
he had brought with him. His cooking utensils went from hand
t.o hand; and frequently as they were returned to him in a bent
and injured state, and often as he resolved to lend them out no
more, such resolution lasted only till the next application made
for them by a fellow-passenger—for to refuse a request was for
the Assessor a thing impossible.
In Germany he had been in the habit of cultivating the friend-
ship of little children. The only specimens of the infantile
world on board belonged to Mrs. Siebert; and the little things
soon found out in what estimation the old gentleman held them.
Wherever he went they followed him ; and he was never weary
of attending to them, or even of keeping them tidy, and nursing
them, as occasion required. Moreover, he manufactured for their
behoof a number of playthings, painted pictures for them,an
cut out figures and houses for them with paper; in a word,
he became the friend and factotum of the three youngsters
on board.
Their mother had at first received his friendly offices with
warm and sincere thanks, and even insisted on being allowed at
least to attend to the Assessor's washing, as some return for all
his kindness. But from the time they left Bio, she found that
her friend did little more for her than the rest of the passengers,
though he served her in another and a more useful way. All
the other people on board washed their own clothes, and why
could not the Assessor do the same thing ?—So when he at length
brought out a bucket, put his shirts in to soak, and then turned
np his sleeves to the unaccustomed work, she managed to busy
herself in another part of the deck, and did not interfere.
Prom that time the Assessor certainly became his own washer-
woman; but he continued, as before, the friend and protector
of the children, with only this difference, that Mrs. Siebert never
thought of thanking him for his exertions. She had, nevertheless,
10 CALIFORNIA HO1.
resolved, that when they arrived in California, her husband
should "tell him of a good place,"—this she voluntarily pro-
raised the Assessor, to the great satisfaction of that simple,
straightforward man. California now no longer appeared to him
a strange desert place, for he was to find a friend there, who
would assist him with his counsel and experience.
Such were the feelings with which he stood with Mrs. Siebert's
youngest child in his arms, gazing .at the land as it rose from
the waters, and pointing out to tne little boy the mountains
" behind which his father lived."
" That woman is well provided for," said Mr. Hufner, in a half-
whisper to the apothecary,—"the man has had marvellously
good luck."
" Who ?—the Assessor ?"
"Hist!—don't talk so loud—no, I mean that Siebert. He and
his companions have absolutely shovelled I don't know how
many thousand dollars out of the ground. But there are more
such places yet, and that is a capital proverb the sailors have—
' There are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it.' "
" Yes," said Ohlers, " and there are other good proverbs,—
such as " Don't meddle in what's not your trade," and " Cobbler,
stick to your last."
" How do you mean ?" asked Hufner with a bewildered
look.
" I simply mean to say," answered Ohlers drily, " that those
who imagine it a very pleasant thing to cany a spade instead of
a walking-stick, and a pick instead of an umbrella, will find that
they have chosen a confoundedly laborious sort of amusement.
Well, tastes vary, as the saying is. But, if I am not mistaken,
here comes our mad American creeping along: I should like to
know what he expects to find in California, and what he intends
doing there with his wife."
The passenger of whom he spoke, was a young, pale-faced,
slender man, an American by birth, whose shy, self-contained
bearing had earned him among his fellow-travellers the name of
"the Madman." Passengers on board ship are very fond of
giving each other nicknames of this kind.
He had come on board at Yalparaiso with a young and very
amiable woman—he had taken the berths of a couple of cabin
passengers who left the ship at that port—and he would sit for
hours on the quarter-deck without addressing a word to any one.
He would look out fixedly to sea, in the direction in which he
knew California to lie, and the steerage passengers gave it as
their opinion that he was looking for a convenient place in the
CALIFORNIA HO? 11
water, into which he would jump on the first favourable op-
portunity.
During the first days after his arrival on board, he had been
continually walking to and fro along the decks, scrutinizing the
faces of the passengers as they passed him, or went to and fro
on their various errands; he would observe them attentively, but
never addressed one of them; he seemed to be always in search
of some one. On the very day he came on board, he had called
for the passenger-list, and perused it attentively. Whether he
hoped or feared to find some acquaintance, no one could tell; and
it was not unnatural that the passengers, in the absence of all
other occupation, founded the most impossible conjectures upon
the man's remarkable behaviour; but as he kept himself quietly
and modestly retired, they at length became weary of noticing
him, and finished him off with the above-mentioned flattering
nickname.
His wife, a young amiable creature of eighteen or nineteen
years, when she appeared on deck, never stirred from his side.
Towards her he always appeared kind and attentive, and in her
society he could even be cheerful; but when she left him alone,
the dark melancholy mood came over him again. On this day
even her presence seemed to have lost its usual salutary influence
upon him. When the land came in sight, a strange wild disquiet
seemed to have taken possession of his mind,—and over and over
again he paced the deck, from the taffrail to the bowsprit, look-
ing towards the land as if he could thus quicken their progress
towards it, and then turning to resume his station on the quarter-
deck.
There was another cabin passenger, an old gentleman, a phy-
sician, who went by the name of the Doctor, and occupied the
next berth. This old traveller was the only one with whom he
would sometimes converse, complaining of pains in the head and
oppression oh the chest, and asking for such mild remedies as the
physician's experience considered suitable. These prescriptions
he would obediently follow, without, however, deriving any benefit
from them; and Dr. Rascher soon observed that the patient's
malady proceeded from some cause connected with, and affecting
the mind. Rut hints on this head awakened no confidence in
the sick man. The patient obstinately denied the existence of
any such predisposing cause, and at length shrank nervously
from the most distant allusion to the matter; he seemed deter-
mined not to open his heart to the strange Doctor, and the latter
was of course unable either to compel his confidence or to better
his condition.
12 CALIFORNIA HO!
The American, whose name was Hetson, had stood for a time
looking anxiously over the ship's side, while the Doctor observed
him, and shook his head in silence. At length the American
rose, clenched his hand angrily as he turned towards the south,
the direction whence they had sailed, murmured a few words,
which neither Hufner nor the Apothecary understood, and then
ent abruptly back to the quarter-deck, without bestowing a
single glance on the steerage passengers who surrounded
him.
" I wonder if they have madhouses in San Erancisco ?" ob-
served Olilers, looking after him, as he strode slowly aft: " it
would not be a bad speculation to establish rather a large insti-
tution of the kind there. Strictly speaking, half the men who
who are running over there now are pretty far gone,—and that the
majority will break out into open madness, I have no hesitation
in saying. I must think the matter quietly over."
Hetson, meanwhile, strode to and fro on the quarter-deck.
His wife went up to him, and took his arm. This seemed to
quiet him: at any rate, he soon quitted the deck, and disap-
peared in his cabin.
It was now near noon, and the captain and chief mate ap-
peared on deck with their quadrants to take their observation.
Unfortunately, just at twelve o'clock, the sun was hidden behind
a thick veil of clouds, and though the seamen strove hard to dis-
tinguish at least a glimmer of its disc, their efforts were in vain.
On the open sea that would have been a matter of little con-
sequence. The ship holds its course, and a bright day makes all
right again. But here, close to a strange shore, with whose land-
marks not one of them was acquainted, a mid-day observation
became absolutely necessary, in order accurately to determine the
latitude.
This the clouds prevented them from doing; and yet, as the
breeze becarrie more favourable, they approached nearer and
nearer to the coast. They kept on their course in the hope of
falling in with some ship that should show them the way into the
bay, in case they did not find the entrance for themselves; at
any rate, it was necessary to make the attempt.
The bare projecting rocks of the mainland now came out in
bolder relief, and a number of sails could be distinctly seen, in
close proximity to the shore. But, instead of obtaining from
these a hint as to the course to be followed, the uncertainty was
only increased; for some were steering south, while others bore
away to the north—others, again, even changed their course and
fell off from the shore. It was evident that the captains were,
CALIFORNIA 110! 15
one and all, unacquainted with the way into the bay, and were
reduced to the alternative of waiting for a ship to guide them in,
or laying to till noon of the next day.
The Leontine now likewise altered her course, so as not to
come too near the rugged rocks of the shore, to the great
bewilderment of the passengers, who did not know what to
make of the proceeding. In the open sea, landsmen are obliged
to submit unconditionally to the captain's guidance. They have
no resting-place for the eye, and the sailors are responsible for
carrying them to their destination; but here the aspect of affairs
was very different. They could see the land lying broad and
clear before them, with all its promontories and creeks, its moun-
tains and its valleys: it seemed to them quite unjustifiable on
the captain's part, that he did not run in at once and cast anchor.
It was cheating them out of so many hours of valuable time.
Of the danger that menaced them, if a storm should overtake
them in the neighbourhood of the strange, iron-bound coast, they
had no notion.
Mr. Hetson had come again on deck, and the appearance of
the strange ships seemed to excite him greatly. He ran to the
captain and questioned him as to the ships, and the ports from
whence they had come. As none of them, however, had showed
a flag, it was impossible to determine these points; and it was
only from observing certain peculiarities of build and rigging
about the strange ships, that the seaman could conjecture them
to be Trench, English, or German.
The sun was sinking towards the horizon, and yet the Leontine,
instead of at once seeking a berth for anchorage, had braced
round her sails, and held off as far as possible from the coast.
Those among the passengers who had prepared for immediate
landing, had nothing for it but to change their "longshore
clothes " for their worn sea-garb, and there was general grum-
bling on board.
Not until the evening had quite closed in, did the young
American betake himself to his cabin. By this time, in spite of
the beauty of the weather, most of the passengers had bestowed
themselves below, to pass away, with the aid of cards and a
punchbowl, what they devoutly hoped would be their " last
night on board."
The Doctor only continued to pace the deck awhile, in com-
pany with the mate; and when the latter was summoned forward,
to superintend some manoeuvre with the sails or rigging, the
Doctor, left alone on the after-deck, leaned thoughtfully over the
quarter-bulwark, looking down at the rudder, where a luminoua
u
CAIilTORNIA ho!
streak in the lightly-heaving sea sent forth thousands upon
thousands of sparks shining in phosphorescent brightness.
" Doctor," murmured a low anxious voice at his side.
He raised his head hastily, for he had recognized the voice as
that of Mrs. Hetson, the wife of the American.
The young matron stood before him, closely wrapped in her
shawl; and he exclaimed in some surprise,—
" Mrs. Hetson!—What can have brought you alone on deck,
at this hour, in the damp night air ? Where is Mr. Hetson ? "
"He is asleep, Doctor," replied the lady, speaking in an
excited voice; " and I have seized the moment to talk to you
alone. I must speak to you while we have an opportunity of
doing so without interruption; and I doubt if I shall have an
opportunity after we land. But I—I am doubtful if you have
patience to give me a quarter of an hour."
" My dear Mrs. Hetson," answered the old man, in a friendly
tone, " even if I were not a physician—which makes it my duty
to listen to you—you would wrong me by such a doubt. You
want to speak to me about your husband p "
"Yes," whispered the young wife, with an anxious glance
around, to see if any one could overhear them. But there was
no one near, save the sailor at the helm, leaning on the spokes
of his wheel, and he could not hear the conversation they carried
on in a low tone, and in English. The mate, who had come aft
again, stood on the steps leading to the middle deck, watching
the course of the ship.
" I thought so," said the Doctor, " and have long wished that
either he or you would be frank with me, for I might then have
given hopes of his recovery; for his disorder seems to me to be a
serious and a deeply-rooted one, and though we can judge of
most illnesses by their external symptoms, it is difficult, in fact
almost impossible, for a physician to fathom the depth of mental
disease in a patient who refuses to co-operate with his Doctor;
and it is certainly some mental evil under which your husband
is suffering—an evil, I fear, which may in time become fatal
to him."
"You are right," answered the lady in a low voice, "and
often, but vainly, have I urged him to make a friend of you. He
has even strictly forbidden me to talk with any one on the sub-
ject; but I feel that I am acting for his own benefit in over-
stepping his command, and 1 must do so on my own account, or
I shall die—I shall indeed—of mere sorrow and anxiety."
" Compose yourself, my dear madam, compose yourself," whis-
pered the Doctor earnestly to his excited companion; and he
CALIFORNIA Ho! 15
glanced at the sailor, who had turned and was eyeing them with
some curiosity. "Those people nearly all understand a little
English, and we had best be without such witnesses."
'" You are right," answered Mrs. Hetson, in a calmer voice.
" Then listen to me, and do not be angry if I tax your attention
for a time by speaking of myself. I shall not tire you by an
unnecessary word."
" Then come here to the side: words spoken out to sea die
away, and no one on deck will hear what we have to discuss."
The young wife leaned her arm on the broad bulwark of the
leontine, and began, in an earnest, quiet tone :—
"I will spare you all that exclusively concerns myself; but it
is necessary you should know that, about two years ago, I was
engaged, in my own country, to a young Englishman, whom I
loved with all my heart. He was a sailor, and was to make only
one more voyage to India: on his return, we were to be married.
A few days after he sailed, the terrible news reached us, that,
almost directly it had left the Thames, his ship had been wrecked
on the Goodwin Sands, and every soul on board had perished,
excepting one sailor, who had been saved almost by a miracle,
and landed on the English coast. Grief for the loss of my
betrothed stretched me on a sick-bed; and my father decided on
accepting an appointment that was offered him at Buenos Ayres,
because he thought a change of air and of scene would best con-
duce to my recovery. We set out, and before we got there, I
had quite regained my health. But our stay in the Argentine
.republic was short, and the political condition of that disturbed
country compelled my father to keep out of the way of the
dictator Rosas, who was at that time all-powerful, and who
disliked him. Erom thence we embarked for Chili; and at
Valparaiso, I made the acquaintance of my present husband, Mr.
Hetson. He had, in his own disinterested way, rendered mv
father some signal services. We found him such a highminded,
noble-hearted man, that it was impossible to remain indifferent to
him; and I at last consented to become his wife. He was
radiantly happy, and ready to fulfil every wish of my heart: and
he has been the same ever since. I have never for a moment had
cause to doubt his love for me.
"Our wedding-day soon came. We were to be married in
the American consul's house. Just as we stepped into the car-
riages a packet of letters from Europe was placed in my father's
hand; he put it aside, naturally enough, until the ceremony was
over."
The speaker paused for a minute, as if to gather strength to
16 CALIFORNIA HOf
revive the remembrance of -what she had endured; but, as the
doctor said not a word to interrupt her, she continued slowly,
after a short pause,—
"When we returned home, where my parents had arranged a
little feast for us, I found a letter awaiting me. The sight of the
superscription sent a thrill through my veins. But I will not.
wearv you with a description of what I felt and suffered, but
simply state the facts as they occurred. The letter was from
Charles."
"From whom ?"
" From my former lover," whispered the lady. " He had been
picked up by an American schooner after his own ship went
down. Strong gales from the north-east prevented his rescuers
from setting him ashore on that night or on the following days.
They soon left the land behind, and Charles was compelled to
make the voyage to Brazil, whither the schooner was bound. A
burning fever kept him for months on a sick-bed; lie was carried
on shore in a state of insensibility, and left in the hospital; and
when he had so far recovered as to be able to write to England,
he received no answer to his letter; for, in the mean time, we
had left the country, and had actually lived for a whole week in
the town where he lay, Rio de Janeiro, without being aware of
his presence there, or even suspecting that he was still alive. As
soon as he recovered, he travelled back to England, learned the
filace of our residence, and wrote off to Buenos Ayres. That
etter missed us, for we had departed in the interim forValparaiso;
and it was only after a long time, when chance made him acquainted
with our whereabout, that he wrote again of his rescue from death
and of his love,—adding that he should follow his letter without
delay."
"And does Mr. Hetson know of this letterP" asked the
physician.
" Yes; I was his wife. I felt^ that to have a secret—such a
secret—from him would be to risk the happiness of our whole
future life, and I determined to be true to him. Union with
Chhrles had become impossible. I belonged to my husband, and
I hoped he would have confidence enough in me to believe my
solemn vow and promise.
" I could not summon up courage that same evening to make
the avowal,—but next morning I confessed everything to my
husband, showed him the letter, and assured him that although
I had formerly loved Charles, I was quite resolved to have no
more communication with him even by letter; the next mail
should carry my farewell letter to him, in which I would explain
CALIFORNIA HO! 17
what had happened, and beg him to bear what could not now
be altered, like a man."
" And how did your husband receive this information P" asked
the Doctor.
"At first as calmly and with all the good sense that I could
hope for or expect," answered Mrs. Hetson. " He thanked me
heartily for the confidence I had shown towards him, sympathized
with the unfortunate man who had lost me through such a serie*
of accidents, and begged me to write to Charles as quickly as
possible, and to state the circumstances fully. * To tell him all,'
said my husband, * would soonest reconcile him to his lot.'
" Accordingly I sat down at once to write, and gave my letter
to my husband. He quite approved of its style, and by the next
post it was despatched to England. But from that day Mr. Hetson
became subject to a strange restlessness. He would sit and read
Charles's letter over and over again. Charles had certainly written
there that he would not wait to receive my answer, but would
set sail in the next ship to come to me. In vain I assured my
husband that I would not see the poor man even if he came to
Valparaiso, adding that I felt convinced he would quit the country
as soon as he heard what had occurred. My arguments were all
in vain. Day and night my husband continued restless. The
thought that Charles would come and claim me—wild and im-
probable as the idea was—became more and more firmly fixed in
his mind; and, in an outbreak of utter despair, he at length
conjured me to fly with him to some far land, for he could no
longer endure the continual dread which was killing him by
inches.
"I consented. My father, to whom I had confessed all,
pressed me to do as my husband wished; and as your ship, bound
for California, happened just then to be touching at Valparaiso,
Mr. Hetson determined not to let the opportunity slip. Our
preparations were quickly made; but I could never understand
why my husband did everything with such secrecy. At last he
confessed the reason,—he was afraid my former lover might
follow us to California, and had determined to put him off our
track. There was another ship in the harbour, bound foe Sydney,
in Australia; and a letter was to be left at Valparaiso for Charles,
saying that we had embarked for New South Wales.
" It was in vain that I entreated my husband to keep to the
truth, assuring him that Charles would never attempt to disturb
his peace. The bare fact of my making such a request aroused
all his suspicion and jealousy. He began to think that I wished
to leave some clue behind me by which my former lover could
C
18 CALITOBNIA HO!
trace out our whereabout; and he watched my every action, and
indeed my every look, so long as we remained ashore. He con-
jured my parents, by all that was holy, not to divulge our true
destination, and went about in such a state of nervous excitement
that I at last began to long for the moment to come when
we should leave Chili; for I hoped that his disquietude would
then be removed, and his unhappy restlessness would leave
him."
"And your hopes have not been fulfilled?" observed the
physician, in a tone of sympathy.
"No," was the sorrowful reply: "on the contrary, he has
become worse than ever since we came in sight of land. During
the first few days of our voyage he laboured under the unhappy
delusion that Charles had stolen on board with us. When he
had convinced himself, by the evidence of his own eyes, that this
was not the case, he became calmer; but now, with the land in
view and the strange ships round us, the old dread seems to have
come back upon him more strongly than ever. On board each
ship sailing for San Erancisco Bay he fears to find the man he
considers his rival. He already trembles at the idea of disem-
barking in the strange^ land where Charles may have arrived
before us, and I am quite in despair to see him in this state of
almost madness; therefore, dear Doctor, I felt compelled to open
my heart to some one on the subject; and there was no one to
whom I would so readily confide my grief as to you, our kind
friend."
" Your confidence shall not have been bestowed in vain, dear
lady," answered the old man, who was quite moved by her
earnest simplicity; " but how to assist you in the matter is what
puzzles me. Your husband has become possessed of this unhappy
idea, and external means would be quite unavailing."
" If we could make him believe," sighed Mrs. Hetson, " that
Charles has really gone to Australia "
"Eor Heaven's sake do nothing of the kind!" interrupted the
physician, anxiously; " that would be giving him a certainty that
your lover is really pursuing you, and there would be no more
peace or rest for him. Moreover, I am told that ships are
continually coming from Australia to San Erancisco; and every
new arrival would cause him fresh, and not unreasonable,
disquietude."
"But what shall I—what can I do?" asked the woman, in a
despairing tone; " and how is all this to end, if this delusion
should increase upon him ? Now already his health has almost
given way through his continual restlessness."
CAIIFOKNIA HO!
19
"Above all things," said the old man, "continue to be per-
fectly frank and open towards your husband. The slightest
appearance of concealment, if he became aware of it, would be
sure to increase the evil. Do not give him the least cause
for suspicion; and if he hears no more of his fancied rival, time
will act as his best physician, and, I hope, effect a permanent
cure."
"But if it should be otherwise!" exclaimed the poor wife,
with clasped hands, — "if in this strange place the terrible
dreams grow stronger and stronger!"
"Trust in God!" said the Doctor, calmly and seriously; "and
remember, too, above all things, that by these dreary forebodings
you will needlessly weaken your own health. Take courage;
the new active life over yonder will have a good, healing in-
fluence on your husband. Cooped up in this narrow ship, day
after day, without employment, obliged to depend on those
around him,—people, by the way, of whom a man may soon get
tired,—it is no wonder that these unlucky ideas have fastened
upon him with redoubled strength; but let him be once launched
on the tide of practical Californian life, surrounded by the rush
of men striving and pushing for gold and treasure, and he will
—in fact, he must—soon forget all these dark, melancholy
thoughts."
" Let us hope so," sighed the wife, in heartfelt assent. " I
am sure I will do my utmost to strengthen and enliven him. I
only hope his mind is not affected."
" I have no fear on that score," said the Doctor, cheerfully.
" Do not you give way to any such idea, and all will be well.
Besides, now I know his ailment,—and if you should need my
assistance in San Brancisco, you may be sure I will serve you
truly and loyally."
""God reward you!" cried warm-hearted Mrs. Hetson, grater
fully seizing the old man's hand; and the Doctor offered liis arm,
and proceeded, with an air of friendly protection, to escort her
to the cabin steps, where he left her, and returned thoughtfully
on deck.
80
the golden gat®
CHAPTER II.
the golden gate.
Sunny and clear the next morning broke over the sea; and
scarcely was the first dim twilight spread abroad on the grey
water, when a crowd of passengers came thronging to the deck
of the Leontine. " There is the land—there's Califonium ! " (foe
so the Germans persisted in calling the golden land) ran like
wildfire along the whole deck.
During the first hours of the night the captain had held off
from the land as much as possible; but after eight bells (mid-
night) some of the light sails had been taken in, to check the
vessel's speed, and her bow had been turned once more towards
the coast, so as to be " well in" by daybreak. The weather
was so quiet, that there whs no fear of being driven ashore; and
when morning dawned, the brig was about two miles off shore,
running northward, with the breakers plainly in sight.
Eight other ships were in sight; some to the north, others
further south, and one or two still far out at sea, making straight
for the land.. As to the whereabout of the bay, all the com-
manders, to judge from the manoeuvres of their vessels, seemed
as much in the dark as the captain of the Leontine himself.
"Hallo !" the hail came from the first mate, who had mounted
into the top, to get a better view of the shore—" hallo! what
is that out yonder ?" and he pointed to the steep wall of
rocks.
" Where ? what ?" asked the captain, who stood on the
quarter-deck, pulling out his telescope to look in the direction
the mate pointed out. " What do you see there ?"
" A sail, as I'm alive, coming out from between the rocks,"
cried the sailor joyfully; "that must be the entrance into the
bav. Do you see the flat table-rock, captain, with the steep
ledge just beside it ?"
" I have it," answered the captain; and the mate seized hold
of the backstay, and slid down to the deck, in a twinkling.
There was no need to look long. With the help of his good
glass, the captain had made out the narrow entrance through
which the white sail came out; a minute more, the yards were
THE GOLDEN GATE. 21
braced round, and the Leontine, with her bowsprit pointing full
on shore, was making for the long-wished-for harbour.
The other ships* had been keeping a sharp look-out, too; for
directly the Leontine changed her course, they altered theirs,
rightly judging that the brig would not steer straight towards a
rock-bound coast without good reason. Perhaps they, too, had
noticed the little sail; at any rate, they conjectured where the
entrance to the bay must be, and they were not mistaken. The
nearer they approached the coast, the more plainly did they see
a narrow, canal-like passage between the rocks. Presently an
American brig came working out; and now they knew that the
narrow inlet before them was really the "golden gate" of
California.
Great was the rejoicing on board when the passengers saw
themselves so near the end of their journey. Every one pressed
forward to get a good view of their destination, or, at any rate,
to have the pleasure of staring at the high, bare walls of rock
flauking the entrance to the right and left.
Among the passengers who pertinaciously blocked up the way,
the sailors now came forward, invoking anything but blessings
on the inconvenient land-lubbers, and clearing a passage, where
words failed, by energetic pushes and thumps, till they at last
obtained room for their most necessary employment.
Suddenly, as if by magic, the rocky wall seemed to open; the
brig, favoured by wind and tide, flew through the narrow
channel, and all around lay spread that magnificent sheet of
water, called San Prancisco Bay, with the forest of masts be-
longing to the ships already anchored there, protected by a
projecting tongue of land on the right.
Then there was " hurrying to and fro," general rejoicing on
board, and rapid questions which no one had leisure to answer,
as the stirring life of the bay unfolded itself more and more to
the eyes of the travellers. Every one was anxious to see, to
enjoy the sight to the exclusion of all else; for with each ship-
length of advance, there appeared plainer and yet more plainly
to each eager gaze the goal of the long tedious voyage—the
metropolis of golden dreams—San Francisco.
At first they saw only a few scattered houses and tents on
the neighbouring heights; but as they rounded the projecting
tongue of land, the most wonderful city on the face of the earth
lay before them, with hundreds of dismantled ships in the
foreground, and in the background a circle of naked rocks. The
sound of the cable rattling through the hawsehole—sweetest of
music after so long a voyage—brought back the gazers' thoughts
22 THE GOLDEN GATE.
to the present, announcing that the passive life to which they had
perforce given themselves up for nearly h;ilf a year, was now to
be replaced by a more active, self-reliant existence. _
The anchor is down. The stern of the brig siwngs slowly
round, till the bow points to the entrance of the bay—down
come the yards, and the loosened sails flutter—while the sailors
jump nimbly into the rigging, to secure the canvass, that flaps to
and fro in the fresh breeze.
At another time, this manoeuvre would have attracted the
attention of the passengers, but now they cared not a jot about
it. All around them there was more to be seen than their ship
and its concerns could offer; and all who were not busy collecting
their luggage and loose property, leaned over the bulwarks ab-
sorbed in watching the noisy, active life in the bay.
Close to the Leontine, that is to say, some two hundred paces
from the brig, lay a barque from Bremen, that had just arrived,
or, at any rate, had not been long in harbour; for a flat-bottomed
boat lay alongside, into which the seamen were lowering the
passengers' luggage. The lighter was roomy enough to carry a
pretty heavy load, and a goodly number of men. Cases and
chests, bales, barrels, boxes, and portmanteaus had been heaped
up within it in a confused mass; and a strange-looking company
of passengers kept guard over their goods, waiting impatiently
for the moment of departure.
Nearly all of them were armed to the teeth* with guns,
pistols, sabres, and knives. Great bundles of spades, pickaxes,
and crowbars had been stored up on board; and a couple ot\
sailor-looking fellows, with red Chinese sashes and straw-hats,
but without pistols or daggers, seemed to be the proprietors of
this Californian passage-boat.
" All on board ?" roared the mate of the Bremen bark, looking
down from the deck.
"All!—and thankful to have got clear of your leaky old tub!"
shouted a passenger in reply.
" You'll be glad if you get dry bread to gnaw out here," retorted
the captain, from his quarter-deck.
" And that will taste sweet, if we don't see your old mug
when we're eating it, Captain Meyer," was the flattering
rejoinder.
"Let go the rope there!" the mate was heard shouting across
the deck. " Why, what d'ye mean ? why are you pulling the
boat forward? Let go the rope!"
"Ay, ay, mate," answered a sailor, laughing; "it's all right—
we'll let go directly! "
THE GOLDEN GATE.
ct What are you throwing in there ?" suddenly resumed the
mate, as six or eight white canvass sacks, carefully sewn up, were
tumbled into the boat. "What d'ye mean?—What are you
about ? "
" Nothing, my hearty; it's only our wardrobe," answered a
sailor, as six or eight tars scrambled down the side after their
property.
" Stop, confound it—there are too many of you!" roared the
two proprietors of the boat, in a fright. " We shall sink !"
" Not a bit of it, boys! Push off—ahoy !" and leaning against
the side of their ship, the sailors shoved the square-built craft
out into the bay.
"Here!—stop!—you shan't put off!—stay here!—clear the
boat there!" roared the captain, stamping about his deck with
rage;—for this sudden Hegira of his people, before his very eyes,
was a little too much for his equanimity. The boatmen, how-
ever, listened to his objurgations with great equanimity. Pirstly,
they got an extra dollar for every extra man they put ashore;
11 11 11 "11 " "1 the runaway sailors,
„ „ ild only be propelled
at a snail's pace; but then the land was not far off, and that once
reached, all the captains in the bay could not bring the fugitives
back.
Captain Meyer, however, had no intention of letting his men
land; and he trusted that the authority he possessed over his
people would be sufficient to bring them back out of the
lighter.
The jolly-boat was speedily lowered, and with his two mates,
and' the carpenter and cook for a crew, he set off in pursuit of
the fugitives, whom he speedily overtook. The square, punt-
shaped craft had passed directly under the bows of the leontine—
so close, in fact, that one of the oars touched the cable of the
brig, just as the jolly-boat came hurrying up, and the captain
bawled, hoarsely to his men, ordering them hack to their duty.
His reception was somewhat discouraging.
" Come over and fetch us, my hearty!" cried the jeering
sailors, while the passengers overwhelmed their ex-commander
with abuse. Every conceivable epithet of scorn and hatred was
lavished upon him; and even this was not the worst; pieces of
biscuit began to fly like hail into his boat, and several of the
men threw sea-water at the captain from their tin cans.
That nothing was to be done by force, Captain Meyer was
soon compelled to acknowledge; so he turned.his boat's head,
themselves. They
THE GOLDEN GATE.
and made for the shore with all the speed he could use, trusting
that the authorities would interfere in his favour. If, however,
he entertained any such hope, lie was too late to realize it; for
the lighter soon reached a spot where the sailors could be con-
veniently landed. The tars shouldered their canvass bags, paid
their passage-money, and disappeared the next minute in the
crowd on shore, while the boat rowed slowly on towards the
usual landing-place.
The commander of the Leontine seemed at one time half inclined
to go to his fellow-captain's assistance; but he soon"thought
better of it, and declined to interfere in a business which did
not concern him, and whose result moreover was exceedingly
doubtful.
The passengers and sailors on board the Leontine, more par-
ticularly the latter, had been very interested spectators of this
episode; and so long as the scene lasted, all operations on board
the brig had been suspended, as if by common consent. The
captain even forgot the bad effect such an example might have
on his own crew; and it was not until the deserters had sprung
ashore and disappeared rejoicingly up the incline, that he called
his men in a gruff and authoritative voice to attend to their
business.
The incident served to remind the passengers that they were
needlessly wasting their time. Yonder lay California; and so
they all crowded to the side, shouting for a boat, that they might
leave the ship as soon as possible.
Emigrants to the North-American states or to Australia are
generally averse to leaving the ship for the first day or two after
t heir arrival. They wish to obtain information, and to become
acquainted with the land where they are to found new homes:
but here every one wished to get ashore—only to set foot on
land—land which they could work with spade and pickaxe;
and that they should find gold there, they never for a moment
doubted.
Where all were thus crowding to get free, no one had time to
busy himself about his neighbour; and thus it happened that
Mrs. Siebert, who had till then been treated with such distin-
guished kindness, now stood unheeded and alone on the deck
with her three children, looking with beating heart upon the bay,
where she expected every ^moment to see her husband's boat
appear. The ship, as it lay at anchor, had some time since
hoisted the Hamburgh flag; her husband knew that she would
arrive in a Hamburgh vessel about this time, and had doubtless
been for weeks hoping to see her and his children;—he had even
THE GOLDEN GATE.
25
firmly promised, in his letter, to come on board and fetch her—
and yet he came not.
Oid Assessor Mohler alone had kept close to her. At first he
feared that the youngest child, what with the excitement of its
mother, and the universal confusion on board, might come to
harm; and then a vague, but withal disheartening feeling within,
seemed to tell him, that he would land in that fabulous country
quite soon enough. So, while he gave his protection to the child,
he in his turn, as it were, sought protection under the wing of his
countrywoman; thinking, in his simplicity, he could not introduce
himseli' to the rich Californian under better auspices than by
bringing him the family he had doubtless so long and anxiously
expected, safe and sound.
A number of little boats were darting to and fro between the
various ships and the land, and often passed close by the
Leontine. But the rowers, if hailed by the impatient crowd on
board, either shook their heads or passed on without reply.
They had other business in hand—what 1 Jl " ^
A few little gigs, however, with one boatman in each, came
alongside to take passengers ashore. The rowers were Americans,
who earned their living in this way, and the new-comers won-
dered to find such men thus employed. Why were they not up
yonder in the mines digging for gold ?
Mr. Hetson, who had never quitted the deck for an instant
since the ship passed through the Golden Gate, hailed one of these
boats, and engaged it, at an enormous fee, to carry his wife and
himself, with their luggage. Other boats were secured by the
rest of the cabin passengers, and, after several long hours had
dragged past, the square-built, flat-bottomed lighter, which had
borne the sailors from the Bremen barque, once more appeared in
sight, steering towards them.
The captain of the Leontine had gone ashore meanwhile in his
own boat, and the mate refused to let the well-remembered craft
some alongside. But the passengers, who felt as if the deck
were burning under their feet, combined in a body against the
mate, and threatened to throw him overboard if he tried to pre-
vent them from leaving the ship. The worthy proprietors of the
lighter, moreover, took not the slightest notice of the officer's
threatening vociferation. The sailors, on their part, never offered
to interfere, when one or two of the passengers threw a rope to
the lightermen; whereupon, all who had their chests and boxes
comers F Were there not shiploads
come ?
ready handed them down
after them with the utmost
26 THE GOLDEN GATE.
despatch. Mrs. Siebert was the only uninterested spectator of
the turmoil. Her eyes were fixed by turns upon the shore and
upon the approaching boats; and again and again was she dis-
appointed. The old Assessor by her side kept preaching patience,
and begged her not to excite herself needlessly, alleging that in
the bustle on shore Mr. Siebert had probably overlooked the
arrival of the ship; and even, on the other hand, if he had seen
the ship come in, he must have noticed the little fleet by which
she was surrounded. Among these companions one bore a
Hamburg and another a Bremen flag at the masthead; and it
was very possible that Mr. Siebert, the expectant husband, had
betaken himself to either of these other ships, and, on finding his
mistake, would come on board the right vessel, where his wife
and children awaited him.
Poor Mrs. Siebert nodded assent in silence; but, confident as
she had before been, she now felt nervous and low-spirited—so
very solitary did she seem on the strange coast. She knew very
well that she would only be left alone for a few hours; but she
had painted her reception in such different colours—had hoped
her husband would hasten on board while all the passengers were
still assembled there, and carry her on shore in triumph; and
now one boat after another glided by them, and the man she so
ardently longed to see came not.
The proprietor of the square-built lighter had come on board,
and was leaning over the ship's side watching the loading of his
craft. He did not seem to care at all for what was doing on
board—he was entirely absorbed in looking at the goods they
were piling up in the lighter. Not two steps from him stood
the Assessor; but the lighterman's back was turned towards him,
and he did not hear when the Assessor addressed him more than
once in his modest, courteous tone.
"Hallo, Jack!" he cried suddenly to one of his men, "don't
stow away everything to starboard. D'ye want to capsize the
old craft for us ?"
"But the passengers ?" observed the man.
"The passengers must find room where they can," cried the
lighterman. " This way with it, my boy, or else we sha'n't be
able to work that oar at all."
"I beg your pardon," recommenced the Assessor, gaining
courage (for the sailor had spoken in German), and lightly and
bashfully tapping the man's broad shoulder.
" Do you want me ?" asked the seaman, turning round.
" Do you happen to know a certain Mr. Siebert here in Cali-
fornia P" inquired the Assessor, determined to plunge at once int®
THE GOLDEN GATE.
27
the very midst of the affair. The wife turned towards them as
she heard her name mentioned.
"Why, my good friend," replied the lighterman, turning away
again towards his boat," California's a largish kind of place, and
there may be plenty of Sieberts running about in it. By the way,
I certainly knew a Godfrey Siebert, if it should be he."
"My husband's name was Godfrey!" exclaimed the wife,
stepping quickly up to the sailor. " Do you know him, sir ? and
is he in San Francisco P"
"Ha!" said the man, while a flush mounted into his face,
"just see that. Are you his wife? Yes, I remember; he
expected her from Germany."
"Is he in San Francisco'?" asked the wife still more earnestly.
" Why," said the man, in an undertone—and he turned away
to empty his mouth of tobacco-juice—" he is not far from it,
that's certain. I am sorry, ma'am, to have to tell it—but—the
fact is, we buried him the day before yesterday."
"Buried him !" shrieked the poor woman; and, in her terror,
she seized the arm of the man who told her the dreadful tidings.
Even the Assessor set the youngest child, which he had carried
all the while in his arms, quickly down on deck, for fear of letting
it fall, the shock had turned him so faint. But the German sailor
nodded his head, and continued,—
" Yes, I am very sorry for it; but you would have had to hear
of it sooner or later; so perhaps it's best you should know the
worst at once. He died of a sort of dysentery; and the affair
must have been a confoundedly quick one, too—for one evening
we were together, and the next morning he lay dead in his bed."
The poor widow had sunk on her knees, and buried her face in
her hands. Several of the passengers gathered round to hear
what had happened.
fC Siebert is dead!"—the news passed rapidly from mouth to
mouth—" there's a fine affair; now the poor woman is left alone
in her trouble. And what has become of all his money ?"
The German shrugged his shoulders. ^
" Its a deuce of a place, this California," he said. " I should
be heartily glad if the poor lady found any of it; but, you see, it
happened two days ago. Tell you "what: make inquiries at
Ner gel's German Boarding-house. Stop there, Jack—don't take
anything more on board, we've quite enough. Whatever can't
go now, must wait till the next trip. Now then, in with you,
every mother's son that's for the shore. We're going to push off,
and whoever isn't in will stay behind!"
The man swung himself over the bulwark, and was going to
28 on califobnian soil.
drop down into his boat, when the Assessor grasped his arm
again.
"What was the name of the house," he asked, in a quick
eager voice, "which you named to us, where Mr. Siebert had
lodged ?"
" Nergel's Boarding-house, Pacific Street," was the brief reply,
—and the next moment the man had jumped into his own boat.
After him, pell-mell, crowded the passengers—those whose effects
were in the lighter fearing to be left behind; and the rest fran-
tically hailed a second square-built punt, that happened to be
passing, and actually answered their hail, for it was cruising
about in the bay to land passengers and luggage from newly-
arrived ships. No one had a care for the poor desolate widow;
for though all agreed she was " very badly off,—left alone, with-
out a husband, in California,"—they had yet far too much to
settle, on their own account, to trouble themselves about an affair
in which, as they observed, " they could do no good, after all."
Only the old Assessor remained behind. And when the second
lighter pushed off with its freight of eager gold-seekers, they still
kept their places—the woman crouching on the deck with her
face buried in her hands; the old man standing by her, with the
youngest boy in his arms, his heart bleeding for very sorrrow, as
he pointed out the beautiful bay, the pretty boats and the busy
scene on shore, in vain endeavour to hush the wailing cry of the
little desolate orphan.
CHAPTER III.
on califobnian soil.
dubing a long sea-voyage, crowded together within the nar-
row limits of a ship, the passengers naturally grow accustomed to
one another. People eat out of the same dish, and sleep under
the same deck; and at last get so used to bid one another
" Good morning," that it seems like something omitted, if a day
passes on which all the companions thus thrown together have
not seen and greeted each other. On the voyage, it is usual to
make plans of keeping together on landing, or of correspondence
after separation: but wnen the passengers really land, what
think you becomes of all such friendly schemes P
ON CALIPOENIAN SOIL. 29,
Pour a drop of quicksilver on a smooth table, and see what
becomes of it. Just the same thing happens when a shipload
of emigrants land: however closely they may have kept together
On board, the first landing—particularly in a gold-finding coun-
try—seems to sever all bonds, and cancel all the promises of
friendship, and to scatter the separate travellers like chaff before
the wind.
In the lighter, all companionship had already ceased. Every
passenger had to look to his own baggage, and to look out the
various packages, which had been thrown some in one corner
and some in another, or at least to keep a watchful eye upon
them; and as soon as the lighter touched the land, the strangers
began scrambling up the steep, dusty, hot hill, all eagerness to
enter at once upon their new and active life. "Who could think
here of even bidding the others good bye ? If they met again,
by any chance, so much the better; if not, why this was
California, where every man had to look to himself.
Mr. Hetson and his wife, in their light boat, had long since
reached the landing-place. On their arrival, they found, by
chance, an empty van, which had brought a load of goods down
to the wharf. This conveyance was at once secured, with
directions to convey the luggage to an hotel. The van drove off
through the busy streets of the wonderful town, and soon stopped
before a structure something between a tent and a booth, inas-
much as the wall on the right of the door consisted of boards
nailed one over the other, while that on the left was composed of
sailcloth. Over the entrance shone, in black letters of mighty
size, the superscription " Union Hotel," so that there was no
doubt as to the identity of the place.
Union Hotel! The ramshackle building looked more like a
booth at a fair, where giants or dwarfs are exhibited for pence, than
an hotel; but, you see, in a new country one must not expect to
find all the comforts and conveniences of the old world. Perhaps
the interior might fulfil more than the exterior promised; and
Hetson only asked, in the first instance, to know if he could have
accommodation there, and a private room for his wife.
A sort of waiter—a kind of individual, at least, who might
represent one of that class in default of a better—had appeared
at the door in answer to the driver's summons, and showed him-
self a practical man, by seizing a trunk in one hand and a hatbox
in the other, which articles he forthwith proceeded to carry off
into the interior.
" Stop! " cried Hetson after him. " Can I have a private
room here ? "
30 ON CALIFOKNIAN SOIL.
"Private room?—certainly," answered the waiter, and dived
behind the sailcloth partition. There was nothing for it, but for
Hetson to follow him, and inspect for himself the quarters he
was to occupy. But the arrangement of the hotel did not even
come up to the very modest standard Hetson had fixed upon.
The waiter certainly showed him a private room, but the apart-
ment in question consisted simply of a narrow space partitioned
off by a curtain of blue cotton, like the division of a tent. The
hotel was, in fact, composed of eight or ten such " apartments "
under one roof—the rooms reminded one of those narrow com-
partments in bathing-establishments into which the bathers
retire to undress.
For men, particularly if their stay was to be brief, these accom-
modations might suffice: at least, the place was endurable, and
might be regarded as a kind of bivouac. But to introduce a lady
into such a home was quite out of the question.
The carman had already unloaded the greater part of the
luggage, when Mr. Hetson reappeared, declaring that he would
under no circumstances, remain in such a place. Better quarters
must certainly be obtainable; at any rate, it was impossible to
meet with worse.
He accordingly went down to the van, to secure the convey-
ance, at any rate until he had found a lodging fit to be inhabited;
and he was just looking anxiously up and down the street, when
a man who was passing the hotel, suddenly stopped, looked
at him attentively for a moment, and exclaimed,—
"Hetson! as I'm alive! Why, old friend, what good wind
blew you over to California?"
Th<fWn was too remarkable in appearance to be forgotten
when he had been once seen; and yet Hetson, who looked
wonderingly at him, could not recollect where he had met him.
He was a tall stalwart personage, and wore a coloured
Mexican poncho, with one corner thrown over the left shoulder,
as usual among the Californians and Spaniards. On his head
was a broad-brimmed felt hat, and his little piercing black eyes
glittered out from among a forest of black hair and beard. His
trowsers, of coarse black velvet, were open at the sides, and
adorned with rows of silver buttons down each leg; a pair of
heavy Mexican spurs of polished bronze clattered at his heels.
On the little white hand he stretched out in greeting shone four
or five handsome rings. Who could he be ?
"My good sir," said Hetson, in some embarrassment, "you
certainly have the advantage of me; for you seem to know me,
whereas I cannot at all remember where "
ON CALIFORNIA!! SOIL. 31
" Ha! ha! ha!" interrupted the hearded man, laughing. " Am
I so much changed, that an old college friend doesn't know
me again! Have you no recollection of a certain Bill. Siftly ?"
" Siftly! is it possible ?" cried Hetson, joyfully, and he
heartily shook the proffered hand of the bearded man; "that is
a strange meeting, on my word. You shall tell me presently
how you come to be here; but first let me introduce you to my
wife."
"Your wife !" cried the friend, in some surprise, as he turned
quickly round towards the lady.
" Gentlemen,"—the carman here struck into the conversation
—" l ean very well fancy how pleasant it must be to meet an old
acquaintance m this thundering old, burnt-up country. But the
affair doesn't exactly concern me; and I cannot be kept here for
an hour or two, wasting my time. Time is money out here;
and if you don't want me any more, pay me, and let me go about
my business."
" How's this ? what's the row ? " asked Siftly hurriedly.
" Have ycu only just arrived ?"
" Yes; and I'm looking for an hotel, where I and my wife
can quarter ourselves. It is impossible to liv*e in a house like
this."
" I should think so," answered Siftly, laughing; " but I know
a better one. Turn your horse round, my lad, and drive to the
'Parker House.'"
"No room there," grumbled the driver. "Went there just
now, with another party."
" I'll find room for you," said he of the cloak confidently
enough. "Come-with me, Hetson. I'll answer for it, they
shall take you in. Just put all those traps into your van again,
friend, and we shall be there in no time."
The man obeyed with rather a bad grace.
" There are two articles wanting," he said, " which that chap
yonder carried into the house."
"Yes, yes!" cried Hetson; "a chest and a hatbox. Here,
waiter, be good enough to hand those things out again."
" With the greatest pleasure, sir," replied the person addressed,
without, however, moving from where he stood; " you shall have
them, directly you have paid me five dollars for one day's
lodging."
"Pay for a day's lodging!" cried the American, in amaze-
ment; "why, I never even said I would put up here."
"You took possession of the room with your luggage,"
answered the waiter, shrugging his shoulders; "and while you
32 ON CALIFO^NIAN SOIL.
have been standing here, I could have let it three times over.
If our hotel isn't good enough for you, you can at any rate pay
what you owe; if you don't, you can't have your goods back."
Well, now, that's too bad!" cried Hetson, growing angry;
" and I'll just try if "
" Pay tne fellow, and have done with it," counselled his com-
panion; "and don't talk of trying any question here, unless
you want to lose a hundred dollars instead of five. You may be
glad that the young gentleman in the white apron wasn't exor-
bitant; he might have charged you twenty. I shall recommend
you, Jack," he continued, turning to the waiter with a grin;
" but now make haste, and get the things out, for our driver is
losing patiench. You shall have your money."
The waiter nodded his head, disappeared in the doorway of
the " hotel," and returned directly with the luggage. The boxes
were again put into the van, Hetson paid his " bill," and a few
minutes' walk brought them to the chief square of the city, the
Plaza, as it was called. Here stood a wooden building of several
stories, the so-called " Parker House."
Siftly had not boasted in vain. The hotel-keeper found room
for the married couple, though he could only afford them one
tiny apartment; and Mrs. Hetson found herself, if not com-
fortably, at least decently lodged.
Hetson had begged the friend so opportunely encountered to
wait for him below, as he wanted some information from him;
and, accordingly, Siftly appointed to meet him in the public
room, which was used by the guests at once as a wineshop and
gambling-hall.
After he had seen his wife as comfortably settled as the cir-
cumstances allowed, he descended the Darrow staircase. At the
first landing, he ran against Doctor Pascher of the Leontine, who
was just locking his door before going down stairs.
"Mr. Hetson, I declare !" cried the Doctor, evidently pleased
at the meeting. " Have you pitched your tent here, like myself?
This house is like a beehive; and your wife will have rather a
disturbed time of it."
"Ah, Doctor," replied Hetson, shaking hands cordially; "I
am very glad to have you near us. Do you intend to remain in
San Prancisco ?"
"For the present—yes," answered the old man; "but after-
wards I shall betake myself to the mountains, to have a look at
what they are doing there."
" And to dig for gold ?"
"Not exactly," answered the old Doctor,with a good-humoured
ON CALirORNIAN SOIL. 33
smile; " my strength would hardly be equal to that. My
chief object in coming here has been to investigate the flora
of the country. The treasures I seek are in the vegetable,
not the mineral kingdom; and I hardly think I shall have come
in vain. You, too, my dear Mr. Hetson, probably intend to look
out for employment apart from the pick and spade."
" Who knows ?" answered the young man, with a melancholy
smile. " Up yonder in the mountains—if they are as I fancy
them—one might, perhaps, avoid unpleasant society, which
would be thrust u^on uS here in the town. I should very much
like to go to the mines."
" With your wife ? "
"Why not? I have read in the papers that a good many
women live in the mountains; and in summer a residence there
must be very agreeable."
"I would advise you to consider well before you take any such
step, my good Mr. Hetson," said the old man, shaking his head,
doubtfully. "Tor a siugle man it may be all very well; but a
delicate woman like your wife might sink under the hardships of
such a life, and you would reproach yourself bitterly afterwards.
Gold is a very good thing, and we ail want it, to live; but if we
purchase it at the price of something that is still dearer, we shall
always be 'losers, if we gather ever so much."
" Ho not be alarmed, my dear Doctor," answered the young
man. " It was not for gold that I came to California, and I shall
never be tempted to make a fool of myself to gain it. So, good
bye for the present. But you would do me a favour if you would
give my wife a call. Our room is No. 97. I shall have to be
out for an hour or so, and just now she was complaining of a bad
headache."
"I shall be very glad to see Mrs. Hetson on dry land," the
old gentleman said, gallantly; and, with a friendly wave of the
hand, Hetson sprang down stairs in search of his friend Siftly.
The Doctor followed slowly, intending to ask for some im-
provements in his apartment. He was not yet aocustomed to
rough it like a Californian, and had still lingering recollections of
comfortable German inns. Moreover, he longed to enjoy a good
dinner of fresh meat and vegetables, luxuries not to be obtained
on a long sea-voyage, and whose loss is often severely felt.
The dining-room, a large apartment with many tables, was
almost deserted at that time in the day. Between one or two
o'clock and the evening there was a comparatively idle time, of
which the busy waiters availed themselves to clear and arrange
the tables in readiness for supper.
T)
34 ON CALIFOEXIAN SOIL.
The fate of the poor young lady, thus thrown on the inhos.
pitable shores of California, troubled the old man's thoughts, and
made him less attentive than he would otherwise have been to
the scene around him. He sat pensively nodding, and turning
over in his mind the reasons that had driven her restless husband
to the mines. Was there no way to cure him of his delusion?
The head waiter—a meagre, dried-up specimen of humanity, in
his shirt-sleeves, like all his colleagues, but with faultlessly white
linen, a garnet breastpin, and an unmistakably Trench sunburnt
countenance—had noticed the solitary guest, and sent one of his
ministering spirits to receive the new-comer's orders.
The envoy—a slim young man, with fair hair and bine eyes, a
blonde moustache, and a deep scar, strangely at variance with his
peaceful occupation, on his right cheek—stepped up to the
stranger with the bill of fare in his hand.
" Anything yon want, sir ? "
The Doctor, absorbed in his own cogitations, looked up with
an absent air. The next moment he was staring in speechless
wonder at the waiter, who looked down at him with a laughing
eye.
" And what brings you to California, Doctor ? " he inquired at
last, stretching out his hand to the physician.
" Baron Lanzot," cried the Doctor, springing up "in amaze-
ment from his seat. "Good heavens! are you acting a play
here?"
" If you like to put it so, Doctor, I am," was the light-hearted
reply of the young man, as he seized his friend's hand, and shook
it warmly. " Tor two hundred dollars a month, I have for a
short time been taking the waiter's part instead of pursuing a
phantom in the mines—the phantom of the millionaire."
" But, for mercy's sake, Baron, if your parents were to hear of
it—your mother would fret to death."
" I think her far too sensible a woman, Doctor, to do anything
of the kind. She would rather see me honestly earning my bread
here than that I should go about idle, and perhaps run into debt.
We, who have been cast by fate upon this coast, must one and all
work for our livelihood, and while I, as " garpon," am helping
some to their dinners here, others are digging gold for me out of
the mines, as if I were playing the gentleman. Whether the
money comes directly or indirectly into my pocket does not
matter, so long as it finds its way there."
"Yon are a philosopher, Baron."
" I beg your pardon, I am a waiter," laughed the young man,
K and unless you make haste and order something I shall pro-
ON CALIFORNIAN SOIL. 35
bably receive a wigging from my superior out yonder — mon
capitalize I always call him."
" But I can't allow you to wait upon me!" exclaimed the
Doctor, in comical embarrassment.
" You will be well satisfied with me I am sure," answered the
waiter, presenting the bill of fare, with a slight bow. " Please
give your orders: beefsteak, roast beef, mutton-chops, eggs,
potatoes, and beans,—you cannot expect much variety here; but
our wines are first-rate, and all smuggled."
The guest took the bill of fare, but put it down again, and
said,—
" No, really, Baron, the whole affair seems to me like a ridicu-
lous dream. You, whom I last met at Prince Lichtenstein's soiree,
wearing a ribbon, and dancing with the Princess herself—to find
you here with a napkin under your arm, and a bill of fare in your
hand. Go, go, you are joking with me."
"As I see very well," said the young man, with a smile, "that
you are wasting your time, a very precious commodity in Cali-
fornia, with totally useless ejaculations, I shall take you in hand,
and order you something to eat on my own responsibility. I
hope you will approve of our fare. When you afterwards learn
what prices people pay here, you will feel convinced that we do
not keep house in joke, but in bitter earnest."
With that he strolled, laughing, back to the buffet, leaving the
Doctor rigid and speechless with astonishment at his table; he
had never thought California could be such a strange place!
Baron Lanzot, or Emile, as he was called in his capacity of
waiter, soon returned, spread out the dishes with much address,
and remained standing before the guest on the opposite side of
the table.
" But, my dear Baron."
" Emile, if you please."
"It won't do, Baron; indeed, it won't do," cried the old
man in perfect despair. " You must consider I am not a Cali-
fornian yet."
"That certainly is a good excuse," answered Emile. "But be
assured you have much to see of which you have at the present
moment no idea. Here, in California, all the conventionalisms
and customs of life, which we in our old country think indispen-
sable, are broken through. Every man lives for himself as well
as he can, or as badly, as the case may be, and nobody cares
about him; so if he keeps on the surface he has no one to thank
but himself. We certainly live under the laws of a civilized
nation, but scarcely more than nominally; for there is no suf-
36 ON CALIFORNIAN SOIL.
ficent force to maintain these laws, and consequently the 'right
of the strong hand' flourishes here as fairly as it bloomed in our
own dear old fatherland in the middle ages."
" But why did you go to California ? "
_" Ask the year 1848," answered the young Baron, shrugging
his shoulders. " There is nothing more terrible than civil war.
To avoid that, as I had a choice left me, I preferred taking this
step. Whether I shall like my position for any length of time,
is another question, with which I do not trouble my head just
now. Certain it is that I am in California; and ' among the
wolves one must howl,' as the saying is. Are you lodging here,
in the house ? "
The Doctor nodded in reply, and fell to valiantly upon the
dishes before him; but he could not help shaking his head in a
doubtful fashion, nor could he in the least taste what he was
eating. Emile was now called away, and the conversation
interrupted.
Hetson, meantime, had gone into the general room, where he
was to meet Siftly, and was so surprised at the scene, that for a
moment he completely forgot the object with which he came.
It was a hall, not very lofty, but fifty or sixty paces long, by
forty in breadth. The walls looked sufficiently bare, but were
here and there covered—it would be wrong to say embellished-—
by oil paintings, bad alike in design and execution. Their object,
however, was not to gratify the desire for the beautiful in the
beholder, but to excite his senses, and keep him for a time from
leaving the hall; and this intention they fully answered.
To the right a bar had been erected for the sale of spirituous
liquors; and the background was occupied by a high platform or
orchestra, roughly put together, on which sat a number of men
with musical instruments, who could hardly be called musicians.
They certainly made up a kind of band, in which every necessary
instrument was represented; but their concerted playing was
more remarkable for strenuous endeavour than for successful
execution; and after listening for a minute or two to their per-
formance, it became apparent to the listener that they had only
agreed upon a certain tune to be played, and were accompanying
one another entirely by ear. Whoever happened inadvertently to
get out of time, had only to lie in wait for a convenient oppor-
tunity when he might " strike in" again; and when they had
played some pieces in this way three or four times through, the
audience could make a fair guess, as to what tunes the band had
been endeavouring to execute.
There was not, indeed, any great necessity for accuracy oi
ON CALIFORNIAN SOIL. 37
playing—the only stipulation was for " music'* of some kind or
other; and the band soon learned to get through the few
American favourite songs and national melodies which were
known throughout the land. First in order among these came,
of course, " Yankee Doodle," then " Washington's March,"
the " Star-spangled Banner," and a very dolorous march, which,
strangely enough, they called " Napoleon's Retreat." Every
now and then the public would accompany these tunes with
a great noise of singing and stamping; and the guests were,
moreover, good-natured enough to listen to them again and
again; not caring greatly, in fact, whether the " melodies" were
played on really artistic instruments, .or executed on a Jews'
harp.
The music was provided in the same spirit as the pictures, for
which works of genius it, to a certain extent, paved the way.
The band lured the passers-by into the hall, and the pictures
kept them there; by means of both they spent their money at
the bar, and gambled it away at the play-tables. When the
fame of " hazard " had once been well tried, pictures and music
ecame alike unnecessary.
The gambling-tables formed the central object of the hall;
and Hetson stood still in amazement at the entrance. He had
heard of Californian " hells," but he had no idea of the scale on
which they were conducted.
About thirty tables were there, not ranged in order, but
grouped in an irregidar way, wherever there was space between
the pillars, room being of course left between them in the form
of passages. Each of these tables had its separate interest,
played with its own capital, and often at some peculiar game.
Among these tables the idlers, of whom there were plenty
even then at San Erancisco, elbowed their way, till they stopped
at one or other of the banks, attracted by the display of gold
pieces and silver dollars. Americans and Germans, Erenchmen
and Englishmen, Mexicans and Californians, crowded together
in motley groups. Some were handsomely dressed, others in
patched and tattered mining garb, with battered hats and shoes
trodden down at heel. But no one cared to look at the outward
appearance of a visitor. The gold displayed upon the tables
made all equal; and so long as the tatterdemalions, as was
frequently the case, wore under their greasy jackets a leather
bag heavy with gold-dust, no man in the hall took umbrage at
their presence or contact.
Cards, dice, roulette, games of chance of every kind, were here
in active work, and large sums changed hands every minute,
38 ON CALIFOKNIAN SOIL.
without calling forth any expression of excitement or passion,
save now and then a muttered curse.
Hetson would perhaps have stood for another hour, gazing at
the novel scene around, had not the voice of Siftly recalled him
to himself.
_ " So you are here—are you ? " he cried with a laugh; " that's
right; you have here at a glance the quintessence of Californian
life and practice. Here we find concentrated all the effect of
the turmoil at the mines, and these tables are the Californian
barometer, to tell us how the wealth of the country rises and
falls. If the tables are badly filled, you may be sure that the
harvest in the mines has turned out queerly, from some cause
or other. If, on the contrary, the fellows come crowding in
even by day, as is the case now, the people have 'made out'
capitally, as they call it, and the gold goes merrily from hand to
hand. Have you tried your luck yet at any of the tables ?"
"I never play," answered Hetson, quietly.
" Nonsense!" laughed out Siftly; " you mustn't talk like that,
here in California. That you intend to dig for gold yourself, I
do not suppose; and you must open the gate a little way, to let
Fortune come in, or else she'll never visit you. For my part, I
have got everything I can call my own from those tables yonder,
and, with a little care, I shall gather a little fortune together, and
go back to the States a rich man."
" But suppose you should lose all you have won ?"
"Fortune befriends the bold man, my boy!" replied the
American. " Besides, there are ways and means of compelling
her to stand your slave; and if you like, I may, perhaps, some
day teach you the secret. But now we won't waste our time
here, doing nothing; let us take a turn through the room. I
have not introduced you to California yet."
Without waiting for a reply, he drew Hetson's arm within, his
own, and strolled with him down one of the lanes which had
been left free between the tables.
A few of these latter, were for the moment, unoccupied; that
is to say, no strangers stood there—for at each table sat a couple
of professed players opposite each other, while between them
lay heaps, varying in size, composed of silver dollars, golden
coins, gold-dust in little leather bags, and lumps of the raw
metal piled negligently up. The disengaged players usually
passed the time in shuffling the cards, cutting the packs, and
trying possible chances, till a passer-by, pausing to stake his
money upon one or other of the cards, usually drew other
venturesome spirits after him.
ON CALIFORNIAN SOIL.
39
At one of these disengaged tables sat two men opposite each
other, occupied, like most of the others, in shuffling the cards.
They attracted Hetson's attention, through the marked contrast
each presented to the other. One was a little fat, red-cheeked
man, with a stand-up collar of such portentous dimensions as
half to cover his ears; in fact, he could only just see over the
edge when he turned his head to the right or left. The other
was a very different personage—a long thin man, guiltless in
appearance of any vestige of linen, though an American's shirt
generally plays a very prominent part in his attire. His tight-
fitting brown coat was closely buttoned up, his thin lips were
closed, and his little brown eyes more than half shut. He had,
moreover, pulled the huge black hat he wore in the room tightly
over his brows, and looked generally as if he would not display
an inch of his countenance that he could by any possibility
conceal.
"A pair of strange figures, those!" whispered Hetson to his
companion, pointing furtively to the pair. " What various kinds
of people fate sometimes throws together! "
"Doesn't it?" assented Siftly. "Come, let us step up to
their table;—I've won many a dollar of those two chaps, and I
don't believe they are by any means the sharpest players in the
room: they don't seem to be doing much business either."
Without waiting for his friend's assent, he stopped in front of
the table, took a handful of dollars from his pocket, and staked
them upon the card nearest him. Not a word was exchanged;
but the players at the table drew their cards, and Siftly was
the winner.
"Come, do you try now, Hetson," he said encouragingly.
" Who knows what fortune may be in store for you in California ?
—and you should not let the first day on shore pass without
putting it to some use."
Hetson hesitated. Till that moment he had really never
played; but the heaps of gold around him on the tables, the
golden tinkling of the coin, and perhaps the rapid way in which
his friend had won, all combined to urge him to act upon Siftly's
suggestion. He took a half-eagle (a gold piece worth five dollars)
from his pocket, staked it on a card,—and won.
"Let it stand," whispered his companion, "the thing will do."
They cut again, and this time Hetson's card lost.
" I should stake upon the ace," observed his companion.
" I have more confidence in the seven," answered Hetson; and
accordingly he risked ten dollars on the card of his choice. But
he lost again and again, and in a few seconds fifty dollars had
40 ON CALIJFOHNIAN SOIL.
been transferred from bis pocket to the possession of the two
players.
" The deuce is in it!" whispered Siftly, and he blurted out a
round oath. " I thiDk the two rascals are cheating you; but
wait, I'll keep a sharp eye on them. Put a fifty upon the knave,
—it lias lost three times running, and is sure to win now."
"Thank you, no," answered Hetson, quietly. "I have done
as yon bade me, and paid a very good premium for my appren-
ticeship. Those two gentlemen are quite welcome to my fifty
dollars; but I have no more money for them, and shall not play
again."
"Nonsense!" cried Siftly; "you surely won't leave them
your fifty dollars, without at least making an attempt to get
them back ?"
" But I shall, indeed," replied Hetson, as he turned from the
table; " for the attempt might cost me a good deal more. But
what wonderful tones are those that fill the room all at once ?
Just now we had that horrible confusion of all possible wind and
stringed instruments, and now on a sudden this divine melody.
How comes such music into a hell like this ?"
" How!" muttered Siftly, who had, meanwhile, unobserved by
his companion, exchanged a rapid and secret glance of intelli-
gence with the attenuated player, and now stood sulkily jingling
the silver dollars in his pocket; " it's the Spanish girl wno plays
here for two hours every day,—an hour in the afternoon and
another in the evening. I think her name is Manuela. Por my
part, her fiddling doesn't interest me much; and our chaps, gene-
rally, care very little for it; but the sefiores are all mad about
it; and as soon as ever she begins, you see them come trooping
into the room in their coloured cloaks. D'ye see how they're
pouring in over yonder ? To please them, the rest of us stand
the scraping for a little while; for most of the lads have gold,
and they are keen players one and all."
Hetson stood rooted to the spot, so deeply was he touched by
the playing of the Spanish girl, whom he now saw standing on
the platform with a violin in her hand. The other " musicians "
seemed to feel that their instruments were not worthy to accom-
pany such thrilling melody; and they listened in profound
silence to the sounds which came trembling through the air like
the soft breathings of an JEolian harp.
But it was only on the orchestra, in close proximity to the
performer, that her playing could really be heard to advantage;
for in the hall below the human mass went heaving as noisily to
and fro as before. What cared they for the player or her
ON CALIFORNIAN SOIL. 41
melddy P If the tones had come quivering from an angel's harp,
the jingling of the gold on the tables had been for them a more
inviting sound.
"Hetson!" the American at last impatiently broke out, "I
thought you wanted to say something to me. I have neither
time nor inclination to stand here listening to that fiddling; so,
if you will not play any more, let us hear what you have to tell
me, or I shall be off."
"You are right," answered Hetson, quickly—and he seized
his companion's arm, and drew him towards the door; " I was
a fool to give myself up for so long to these new impressions.
Come out into the open air, and you shall know all."
"Oh!" said Siftly, with a grin, "you've hardly set foot on
Californian soil, and have got your secrets already?"
" Not exactly a secret; though I must beg you to speak to no
one else on the subject," answered Hetson, as they pushed their
way, with some difficulty, to the door, and at last emerged into
the open street. " But I want your advice, and I am sure you
will not refuse it me."
By this time the two men had gained the Plaza, and were
walking slowly, arm-in-arm, across the open square, leaving the
thickest of the crowd behind them, near the houses and tents.
When they were about in the centre of the Plaza, Hetson stood
still and asked—
" Is there any place here, where one can see lists of the names
of newly-arrived strangers ?"
"Lists of strangers!" repeated Siftly, in surprise,—"what
do you want with those ? And who ever troubles his head here
about arrivals or departures?"
" But aw such lists kept here at all ? "
"I think so. The people themselves are not troubled with
questions, but the captains are made to hand in their lists of
passengers—at least, so I am told. But over the thousands
who come from the States across the mountains there is no
control, simply because it would be impossible to establish any."
" The ships' lists would answer my purpose," replied Hetson,
quickly. " Where are they to be seen ?"
"At the Court-house, I believe, where an inquiry-office for
strangers has been or is to be established. But you are surely
not afraid of a creditor? _ Ha—ha—ha! he'd have to bring a
good lot of money with him, to enforce a claim of that kind
here, against an American. If you were a foreigner, it would
alter the case. Besides, if I remember rightly, you're a lawyer
yourself, and——"
42 ON CALIFORNIA!? SOIL.
"It is not a creditor," interrupted Hetson sternly,—"and
the matter in which I want your advice has nothing to da with
money, or money's worth. It involves the peace and happiness
of my whole life "
"What is the matter with you?" asked Siftlv, in astonish-
ment,—"you seem qu\te beside yourself. Whose arrival do you
expect, or fear?"
"Fear—yes, fear; you have hit on the right word," hissed
Hetson, seizing the man by the arm, and looking nervously
round, as if he half expected to see the hated Presence which
poisoned his whole existence, standing beside him.
" Pear—bah!" muttered the American, contemptuously. " If
it is any one who can be hurt with powder and shot, or cold steel,
what have you to fear ? I don't fear the Evil One himself."
Hetson looked wildly at him. In his own soul a new thought,
and with it a ray of hope, seemed to arise.
" Who is it ? " asked Siftly, while the scornful smile still
played about his mouth.
"The man who was engaged to my wife," whispered his
companion.
" Ha! ha! ha! " roared the American, shouting with rude
laughter. "That is certainly a strange kind of relationship.
Were you not engaged to her yourself ? "
" Listen to me," gasped Hetson, his voice almost choked by
rage and pain,—"my wi<« was engaged to be married before ever
she knew me. She thought her lover was dead, and so married
me; and afterwards she received the news that he was still alive,
and was coming to seek her out."
" And how came you to hear of this ?"
" She told me herself—showed me the letter she had received
from him."
"She did? Well, then, I don't consider the matter so very
dangerous. Then she doesn't want to have anything more to do
with him."
"I fear she loves him more than ever," whispered Hetson,
" and only acts from a sense of duty."
"Does he know where she is?,"
" I hope not. At any rate, I have put him upon a false track,
if he should try to seek her out. But~if he were to "
"You're making yourself wretched from mere suspicion,"
said the American. " Where is the use of all these 'its' and
' buts ?' First, let him come, then it will be time enough to
remove him if he becomes at all dangerous. Is he one of our
people?"
ON CALIFORNIA!* SOIL.
43
" No; an Englishman."
"ABritisher?—and all this fuss about him?" cried Siftly,
with a laugh, as he extricated himself from the grasp with which
his companion had seized his arm in his excitement. " I took
you for a fellow of more sense. If he is wise, he will not come
after you, and if he really comes, we'll sicken him of hunting on
another man's ground. But tell me now—what ever put it into
your head to come to California with your wife ? What in the
name of creation do you think of doing with her in a place like
this, and where are you going to stop ? In the town here ? "
"I do not know yet, myself," was Hetson's reply. "I only
wanted to go away—to fly from the place where I feared, each
moment, to encounter a rival; and there was California."
" The most unlucky place on the face of the earth for you to
choose," interrupted Siftly. " After some time it may certainly
come to pass that women and families will locate themselves
here; but now the whole country is only a rough State for men.
You might keep your wife like a princess, in any other country,
with the gold you will have to spend here in buying the bare
necessaries of life. But that is an affair that concerns you alone.
By the way, what is the name of that English gentleman of
whom you're in such tremendous terror,—perhaps I may meet
with him by chance, some day!"
" His name is Golway—Charles Golway."
" All right, I'll remember the name," said Siftly, with a nod.
" And what, am I to do now ? "
"Do?—why, nothing. Wait till he really comes, and then
tell him, straight out, that you will send a bullet through his
brain, without further warning, if you catch him speaking a
single word to your wife; and, if necessary, be as good as your
word. You need not be afraid of the laws. In the first place,
they will protect you, where the right is so palpably on your side;
and if they did not, we are strong enough here to settle all
opposition. But now I must be off;—I have already wasted too
much time gossiping with you this evening: you'll see me again
in the hall of Parker House."
" But the court-house ?"
"There it is—that long building, yonder," "said Siftly, point-
ing with his arm across the Plaza; and nodding to Hetson, he
strode rapidly down the street leading to the bay.
44 the plaza op san francisco.
CHAPTER IV.
the plaza op san francisco.
The " Plaza" or great square of San Prancisco, now surrounded
with splendid and massive buildings, exhibited, in the summer
of the year 1849, a motley mixture of wooden_ shealings and
canvass tents, hastily raised for their accommodation by the first
emigrants.
The upper face of the square was certainly occupied^by the old
court-house, built, under Mexican rule, of unburnt bricks called
adobies. "With this exception, however, the few months that
had elapsed since the first discovery of gold had effaced all traces
of Spanish character; and a collection of buildings had sprung up
which, for curious multiformity of structure, could be compared
with no other collection of dwellings in any part of the world.
Only at the lower end of the square, opposite the court-house,
stood the building of several stories, already mentioned under
the title of "Parker House," erected by an American named
Parker, and yielding an enormous rent, partly by means of the
play-tables, and partly from being used as an hotel and eating-
house.
Close to it stood the El Dorado, now one of the most splendidly-
appointed gambling "hells" in the world, then only a large
widely-spread tent; and to the right and left extended other
smaller tents and wooden sheds, almost all devoted to gambling
and drinking purposes, and aiming at nothing more ambitious
than to afford a shelter of some kind to their inmates.
The Plaza formed, as it were, the central point of the town,
concentrating in itself the chief traffic of San Prancisco, and
crossed by the principal streets. Strangers who came into San
Prancisco were certain at once to make for the square, or to be
hurried thither by the tide of population. The hucksters in par-
ticular considered it the most advantageous spot for displaying
their goods, which they offered here for sale, sometimes in baskets
they could carry about, at others on tables which could be readily
fixed or moved about from place to place. Of course, no control
had yet been established over these people, and whoever bad any
THE PLAZA OP SAN FRANCISCO. 45
article to offer to the public could choose his standing-room
according to his own fancy. If he happened to get in the way of
the traffic, the masses of passers-by were sure to push him aside
quickly enough.
The chief tide of the human flood surged past close beside the
houses. Most of the people lounged out of one gambling-tent
into another, or went about their business by the road that led
past these domiciles. On the Plaza itself only isolated groups
collected here and there, or single passengers struck across, as a
short cut to the streets leading to the bay.
It was there that Siftly left his newly-found friend; and, long
after the American's Mexican cloak had disappeared among the
crowd of pedestrians, Hetson remained standing, as if in a dream,
on the same spot, staring straight before him. The words of
comfort spoken by Siftly had rather increased Hetson's anxiety
than diminished it; for had he not taken it for granted that the
rival would really follow them ? The very thought sent the
blood galloping through his veins, and made his heart beat
thickly,—it was the thought that he might perhaps lose his wife,
—an idea on which he dared not dwell, for it would have driven
him mad. In vain he strove to bring before his mind every
argument of common sense,—in vain he repeated to himself, over
and over again, that Jenny loved him, and would never forsake
him: the dark thought was still there. A malicious sprite
seemed to whisper in his ear, over and over again, that first love
was indelible in a human heart; and his morbid imagination
painted his rival as a man endowed with every charm of appear-
ance and manner, who had only to show himself to revive the old
love in the heart of Hetson's wife.
As he stood thus, there came across the Plaza the strangely-
attired figure introduced to the reader's notice in a former
chapter. Even the Americans, accustomed as they were to mar-
vellous sights, could not let it go by unnoticed; here and there
men stood still to gaze after it as it passed along.
This object of general attention was no other than our old
friend Ballenstedt, who came striding across the Plaza with his
pea-green cloak, his trousers tucked up for a march, his hat
pressed firmly on the back of his head, under his left arm a bundle
and his faithful green cotton umbrella, and in his right hand a for-
midable spade. He did not seem to have decided into what street
he should turn, for every now and then he stopped, and looked
round in every direction, without seeming to bring his observations
to a satisfactory result.
At last, he had reached the place where Hetson stood, still
46
THE PLAZA OE SAN PKANCISCO.
wrapped in his own cogitations. The German went up to him,
touched the musing man's elbow with the handle of his spade,
and accosted him with—
"I say, sir, could you tell me the shortest way to the
mines ?"
Hetson turned, startled by the suddenness of the question;
but the other, who at once recognized him, continued, without
waiting for his answer, and, without seeming to care whether his
question, asked in German, had been understood or not,—
" Oh, dear! I see you are one of our own people, so you
won't know any more than I do. Well—you'll excuse my asking.
Are you going to the mines too ?"
Hetson shook his head impatiently, as a sign that he did not
understand the applicant's question; he did not even know him
in his hideous cloak. He turned quickly away in the direction
of the court-house, determined, at least, to satisfy himself by an
inspection of the list of arrivals.
"Well, that fellow's proud enough," grumbled Ballenstedt to
himself. "Never mind, my man; you may carry your head as
high as you will; I wouldn't change with you four weeks hence,
I know," and, grasping his spade tighter in his hand, he was
pursuing his way, when a couple of laughing voices hailed
him:—
" Ballenstedt, here ! Hollo, Ballenstedt!"
The hero of the pea-green cloak turned in the direction of the
voices. Seriously speaking, he did not care to be hailed and
detained by any of his late fellow-passengers. He had no time
to waste, and the sooner he got to the mines, he thought, the
better for lym; besides, he did not want any one to know whither
he was bound.
But, with another shout of "Hollo, Ballenstedt. my boy!"
two men came up to where he stood, and stopped, laughing at
his appearance. " Whither are you bound now ?" exclaimed
one of the laughers. "You're not going to begin gold-digging
so soon, surely ?"
It was Lamberg, who seemed to have been solacing himself
with a friendly bottle, and Hufner was with him.
" Do you suppose I'm going to take lodgings here, and spend
my money ? " answered Ballenstedt, without stopping to return
their greeting. " I've no time to waste, for I have to be back in
Germany in ten months."
"In ten months !" laughed Lamberg. "Then you won't be
able to dig up much ground out yonder; for you must reckon
five months for your journey home."
THE PLAZA OE SAN EUAN CISCO.
47
" Never mind that," answered the imperturbable Ballenstedt;
** I only want twenty thousand dollars."
"Twenty thousand dollars—really, not more!" exclaimed
Lamb erg, opening his eyes with wonaer; " and the fellow talks
of it as coolly as if he had the notes in his pocket, and had only
to go to the bank to get them changed into gold. And what are
you going to do with that insignificant sum, old boy ? "
"To buy the new inn at Hesselbach," answered the kniglit of
the cloak; "it's to be sold for just that price."
"And do you really think, Mr. Ballenstedt," said Hufner,
impressed, in spite of himself, by the man's air of quiet confi-
dence, "that you will be able to dig such a sum out of the mines
within that time ?"
" Do I think so ?" answered Ballenstedt, with a ludicrous
look of wonder. " If I hadn't been sure of it, do you think I'd
have come all these thousands of miles to California, eh ? "
" Ha! ha! ha!" roared Lamberg, stamping with laughter.
" What a character you are, Ballenstedt." But Hufner, some-
what dazzled on his own account by the mention of the sum, and
the short time necessary to earn it; and seeing, moreover, in Bal-
lenstedt's great brown fists a sort of warrant of fitness for toil to
which he himself felt hardly equal, said,—
" If I thought so, Mr. Ballenstedt, I should very much like to
go with you at once. Two men working in partnership always
get on better than they would separately, and I already intended
to start to-morrow morning. Have you a few minutes to
spare ?"
"I!" said Ballenstedt; "no, indeed."
" Ten minutes, at the most, would be enough for me," urged
Hufner. " Come, you can give me those for old acquaintance
sake. My things are tied together already, and I've only to go
to the street yonder to fetch them. You'll wait an instant or two
for me, won't you ?"
"Are you mad?" cried Lamberg, who thought a resolution
based upon such grounds something beyond a joke. "Ballenste
doesn't even know the places yet where he's likely to find a
gold."
But Hufner only repeated, "You'll wait here a minute or two
for me, won't you?" for a vague feeling possessed him that this
was a lucky moment, on which he must seize, unless he would
have his chance vanish from before his very eyes. So, without even
waiting to hear Ballenstedt's answer, he started off across the
Plaza towards Kearney-street, followed by Lamberg, who hoped
to dissuade him from his foolish scheme.
48 THE PLAZA OP SAN FRANCISCO.
"Indeed!" grumbled Ballenstedt, with a look of stolid cun-
ning. "You want to go with me, do you? On board, the
gentleman didn't care a rush about me; but now that his sharp
nose scents the gold, I'm all at once good enough for his co"m-
pany. "Well, I only wish he may find me out, that's all,"—and
as soon as he saw the two friends turn down one street, the pea-j
green mantle vanished away in another, and was seen no more.
At least a quarter of an hour had elapsed, when a car laden
with luggage drove up the street leading from the bay. Follow-
ing the vehicle, on foot, with bowed head, came a woman, leading
a child in each hand, and beside her walked an elderly gentleman,
neatly attired, with a third child on his arm. He did not seem
at ease in his occupation of nurse, however; for, in spite of the
novelty that surrounded him on all sides, he looked neither to the
right nor to the left, and seemed only anxious to avoid attracting
the notice of the passers-by. In this intention he did not sue-
ceed, for just as the little procession reached the middle of the
Plaza, a well-known voice called out—
" Assessor! confound it, where are you going ? "
Assessor Mohler turned his head in the direction of the voice,
and beheld his old fellow-passenger the Counsellor, who, pipe in
mouth, just as he had always appeared on board, came striding
after him.
"Ah, Mr. Counsellor," said the friendly Assessor, "I am very
glad to welcome you on dry land. I am going, as you see, up
into the town with poor Mrs. Siebert, to the boarding-house where
her late husband died."
" Hem, yes—heard of it—very sorry—confounded affair
altogether," muttered the man of law, with a slight access of
compassion. "Well, can't be helped," he added, by way of con-
solation—" must secure property at once, and go home in next
ship. Rascally country, California; ask you seven dollars a pound
for bad canister; never heard of such a thing. How can a
woman live there ? "
To this speech the poor woman made no reply. Grief and
despair had quite broken her down. She had anticipated with
such certainty of confidence during the whole voyage the pleasure
she should have in landing in California; and now she seemed to
have lost even the strength to notice what was going on around
her. The Counsellor left her to herself, and questioned the
Assessor about his boarding-house, towards which he wended his
way, for the Counsellor had only left the ship with the intention
of securing lodgings before taking his luggage ashore. As he
tumbled out his words and sentences in his own remarkable
. THE PLAZA OP SAN FEANCISCO. 49
fashion, the child on the Assessor's arm became frightened, and
began to cry, refusing to be comforted. This did not prevent
the Counsellor from continuing to relate his impressions of the
country, of which, by the way, he had not yet seen anything;
but the little immigrant seemed determined to engross the con-
versation. The louder the Counsellor spoke, the more loudly did
the child scream, until the people in the streets stopped to look
after them. A little child was no common object in California.
The poor Assessor keenly felt the discomforts of his position,
and once or twice cast despairing glances at the van beside which
they walked, in search of a snug corner wherein to deposit his little
crying charge. But it was a thing not to be done; the mother,
too, took not the slightest notice of the child, knowing it to be
in very good hands; so the Assessor was obliged, perforce, to
have patience.
It would perhaps have been an object of still greater curiosity
to the passer-by, that strange little caravan, if San Francisco had
not, at that time, been a place where novelties crowded too thickly
upon each other for any to attract more than temporary notice.
The attention of the pedestrians was, moreover, in this instance
diverted to another, and certainly a more singular group.
The rumours that had gone abroad respecting California repre-
sented the country as little better than an extensive den ol rob-
bers, in which a man was continually obliged to carry pistols on
full cock for the protection of his life, and of his bag of gold.
That in the wild country lawless acts were at times perpetrated,
there is no denying; the whole circumstances under which men
lived there were lawless; but the accounts had been greatly
exaggerated.
In consequence of these alarming reports, the majority of
emigrants, who could not fancy a country might be safe without
police, had provided themselves with every kind of weapon; and
rifles, daggers, and pistols, formed very important items in a
miner's outfit.
The ne plus ultra of this morbid mania for self-defence was
exhibited in the appearance of a little company of men, who came
marching across the Plaza, and certainly deserved the notice they
attracted.
There were five persons in all. The leader, a gigantic per-
sonage with a curling black beard and broad shoulders, marched
gravely at their head. This man, who must have stood nearly
seven feet in his slippers, wore a broad-brimmed felt hat, a green
blouse, and white trowsers. Bound his waist was a girdle of
white leather, about five inches broad,.whereunto was appended a
E
50 . THE ELA2A. OE SAN EEANCISCO.
formidable broadsword, that clanked over tbe stones at eacb step
the wearer took; beside the broadsword, there shone a moderate-
sized hunting-knife, probably for use in close fight; and, in
addition to this, a " snickasnee," about eighteen inches long,
snut up in its sheath. The belt had, moreover, to support a
dagger; and two double-barrelled pistols occupied the fore-
ground. Besides all this, a fowling-piece of enormous dimen-
sions hung over his shoulder.
The man's face, however, could not be pronounced in keeping
with this tremendous demonstration, of warlike ferocity. He had
jolly red.cheeks, and his good-humoured blue eyes glanced round
with a look, of jovial surprise. Perhaps he had made up his
mind to fight his way ashore, inch by inch, at the sword's point,
and was wondering that no one made the least hostile demon-
stration against him.
His appearance became positively ludicrous by contrast with
his followers, whom he had selected, perhaps qn purpose, from
the smallest race of men. The four mannikins, who marched after
him, and who certainly did not come up to the lowest military
standard, had clothed themselves, and cultivated beards, in imita-
tion of their leader, but of course on a reduced scale; nor did
they wear broadswords, for their armament began with the
hunting-knife, which certainly was better in accordance with
their stature. They were, however, amply provided with pistols
and daggers; and they dragged behind them a handcart, the
depository of their baggage. At least, it contained one large
chest and four little ones, flanked by a goodly collection of
spades, crowbars, pickaxes, tin pans, cooking utensils, and um-
brellas ; and the four little giants, two of them dragging the
hand-cart, and two marching beside it with shouldered muskets
as a guard, marched respectfully behind the big giant, prepared
to follow whithersoever he should lead.
There was no mistaking that they were Germans—the cotton
umbrellas were alone conclusive evidence on that point, even if
every feature of their faces and every thread of their garments
had not borne out the asssertion—as, gravely and silently,
with6ut heeding any one, they marched across the Plaza, and
disappeared down a by-street that led towards the west.
Just as they vanished from view, Mr. Hufner came pelting
back, covered with perspiration, and looking anxiously round for
the elegant figure of Ballenstedt. But that worthy was nowhere
to be found; and in reply to Hufner's inquiries, made of passers-
by in very indifferent English, the anxious goldseeker was sent
after the little armed troop.
THE JLAZA OF SAN FRANCISCO. 51
Hufner soon found out that he had been misinformed. There
was no chance of finding out Ballenstedt in the turmoil of men
in the streets, and the Germans whom he questioned could not
direct him.
The loss, however, was not irreparable; and Hufner thought
he should greatly improve his chances if he could obtain admit-
tance into the warlike band. One advantage was certain: he
would be enabled to deposit his heavy bundle, which had already
made him perspire profusely, on the handcart with the general
luggage. So he turned at once to the leader of the troop,
and said:—
" Listen, countrymen! I have just missed my comrade, with
whom I was to have gone to the mines; but if you have no
objection, I will join you, and we can work 4 up yonder' in
company."
" And where are your arms ?" asked the giant, who, to
Hufner's great astonishment, proved to have quite a thin, high-
pitched voice.
" My arms!" cried Hufner, somewhat taken aback. " I haven't
any arms at all, except my bread-knife, and this little pistol here.
and that is not loaded, for I'm afraid it might go off of itself, one
day, in my pocket. In Bremen, a misfortune of that kind hap-
pened not long ago."
" No arms!" exclaimed the giant, turning full upon him, in
his astonishment; " and how do yon intend to defend yourself ? "
"Why"—stammered Mr. Hufner—"is it—is it so very dan-
gerous up yonder in the mines ? I thought "
"Dangerous!" repeated the giant, with a compassionate shrug
of the shoulders at his questioner's ignorance. " Just look at
tcs. Do you think we should turn out armed to the teeth if it
were not dangerous ? "
" But Ballenstedt had nothing with him but his spade, except
his umbrella," urged the startled Hufner.
"Poor man!" exclaimed the giant compassionately; "who
knows under what tree his bones may be lying before many days
are over P We intend to intrench ourselves every evening. In a
few hours, we five will be able to throw up a very good rampart
of earth, and we shall increase our garrison by a reinforcement«
but we must have well-armed men. You can't defend yourself
with that umbrella; and your pistol is insufficient. Under these
circumstances, therefore, I regret to say, I cannot enrol you
among my little band: it is against our statutes."
" But all alone, I cannot "
" Very sorry," interrupted the giant, "but here, in California,
e 2
52 THE PLAZA OF SO -FRANCISCO.
every man must take care of himself. Attention, gentlemen—
keep your ranks—quick march—-forward ! " and waving his left
hand to Hufner in a friendly and gracious manner, he turned on
his heel, placed himself at the head of his troop, and in the next
minute leader and followers were pursuing their way.
Mr. Hufner remained for a time standing, in doubtful mood,
where they had left him, and for a moment had the idea of
following the troop at a little distance, so as at least to have the
advantage of their neighbourhood. But his natural modesty
recoiled from the idea, of appearing troublesome; and at last,
after a great many people had run against him, he turned and
went back to his quarters. If affairs stood thus, it was mani-
festly foolhardy to venture alone to the mines; and nothing
remained for it but to purchase arms, and to wait for some new
party to which he could attach himself with safety.
The sun was declining more and more towards the west; its
red orb had already sunk behind the ridge of mountains on the
coast; but the bustle in the streets never ceased for a moment.
The stream of human life surged to and fro; and heavily-laden
carts came in an unbroken line from the bay to deliver passengers'
goods in the different boarding-houses, or rather boarding-tents.
The arrivals were at this time particularly numerous; for the
first glowing accounts of the discovery and wealth of the gold-
fields had produced their effect upon the outer world; and ad-
venturers came thronging from all parts of the globe, to seize
•their share of a treasure, great in itself, and magnified a hun-
dredfold in imagination. For ten or twelve ships to arrive in
■one day was quite a common occurrence; and when a contrary
wind had prevented the ships from running in, their number had
frequently risen to above twenty by the time the favourable breeze
came.
The great majority of passengers on board these ships looked
on San Francisco simply as their first landing-place, in which
-they would not remain long. The mountains were the goal of
their journey, which was to be reached as fast as possible; and
many would not even have slept in a boarding-house, of whose
high prices they were justly afraid, the first night of their land-
.ing, if their luggage had not compelled them to seek some place
of safety. "What were they to do with it F—they could not drag
-their chests and boxes up into the mines; and thus it became
iabsolutely necessary to look out for a shelter of some kind. .
_ Thus most of. the passengers from the Leontine had been run-
ning about all the afternoon, trying, but unsuccessfully, to
.find secure warehouse-room for their luggage. Boarding-housq
THE PLAZA OP SAN FRANCISCO. 5H
keepers were ready to take charge of the boxes and bales; but
they would not be answerable for them, or even afford them
more shelter against the rain than the doubtful canvass covering
of a tent could offer. Warehouse-room was, nevertheless, paid
for at the rate of a dollar a month for a box, and two dollars for
a chest.
It could not be helped, however; and people who had torn
themselves from friends and relations thousands of miles away,
were not to be detained here for the sake of a box or a chest.
Therefore, the different articles of luggage were deposited in any
wooden or canvass outhouse that could be spared to receive
them; the host made out a bill stating that he had received so
and so many articles—" for which he did not consider himself
responsible,"—and away went the gold-seekers, without even a
farewell to their property; and yet how few were the cases in
which they saw it again!
" Away to the mines! " was the universal cry; and the few
papers established at that time in San Francisco increased the
excitement by new accounts, each more marvellous than the last,
of newly-discovered treasure. Every hour the gold-washers had
to spend in the town they considered as an hour lost; and in
restless impatience they wandered through the streets, as though
they could cheat time itself by keeping continually on the
move.
Just these thousands, who thus strolled in idleness through
San Francisco, and were replaced next day by other new arrivals,
were the customers who filled the gambling-rooms, of which the
town contained an enormous number. Firstly, the visitors could
best pass away their time in these establishments, which were
the only places where acquaintances could meet; and, secondly,
the gambling-room was a sort of beginning of the gold-land—a
touchstone, by which each man might augur of his future fortune
in the mines. " One must open the door to fortune," was the cry
of the hour, "and give her an opportunity to come in;" and thus
it happened that nearly every man sacrificed ten, fifteen, or more
dollars on the green tables.
That the men who kept those tables played falsely they never
suspected. The people looked so honest, the play itself went on
so regularly, that cheating seemed almost impossible; and yet
their money vanished. "Luck .was against us," the losers
would say, to console themselves; and well it was for them if,
satisfied with their first experiences, they gave up the green
tables.
54
an evening in san francisco.
CHAPTER V.
an evening in san francisco.
Night came on; and as in those, latitudes darkness comes
upon the earth almost suddenly, so in San Erancisco it put an end
at once to the busy turmoil of the crowd. The carts and waggons
vanished. The bearers of burdens, who had been panting through
the streets, often groaning under the weight of their own lug-
gage, disposed of their goods in the best way they could; and
the gambling-rooms of the Plaza sent forth gleams of bright
light through the open doors, across the square. These esta-
blishments lured many more customers now than in the daytime,
when most people had some occupation or other. Now every
one was free, and streams of men poured into the entrances of
open tents and houses.
Again the violins were scraped on the orchestra, the trumpets
brayed, and the drums thundered; and through the wide hall,
thronged with men, arose the deep murmur of the crowd, rang
the jingle of coins rapidly changing hands, and now and then
rose the joyful shout of a lucky gamester, or the blasphemous
oath of a poor wretch who lost. At times was heard the popping
of champagne bottles; for gold lightly won was as lightly spent;
and then the clink of glasses ringing together: but that did not
interrupt the main business of the evening; and to the old pro-
fessed players it was a joyful sound. The people who squandered
their money at the bar thought they had won it; and yet, at
best, they had but borrowed it; and an hour later, when the
fiery wine got into their heads, they were sure to bring it back
to the bank, and generally with heavy interest.
Through the midst of these tables, neither casting a glance on
the players or on the room itself, a man elbowed his way, and
the haste with which he walked made him conspicuous in a place
where no one was in a hurry. The company had come in to pass
the evening, and slowly, step by step, stopping every moment at
one place or another, the crowd waved to and fro in the hall.
Any one who wished to advance quicker than the rest, of course
disturbed the economy of the whole machine.
AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO. 55
# "Hallo!" grumbled a man, in a blue blouse, whom the hurried
visitor had pushed aside somewhat roughly—and he looked round
more surprised than angry,—"you'll get rid of your money fast
enough in this confounded hole; you needn't be in such a hurry
about it. How the fool runs!"
"I fancy he's been to get a fresh supply," laughed another—
a fellow who looked much more like a pickpocket than an honest
man. "When he comes back he won't walk so fast. He's
green yet."
"Then the sooner they pluck him the better," said the man
in the blouse; and he turned again to one of the tables, to watch
the game.
The stranger seemed not to hear these observations, or, if he
did, he took no notice of them; for he continued to press forward,
and his eyes, wandering uneasily through the room, seemed to be
searching for some one.
"Here, sir—here's the place to win a pocketful of gold," two
or three voices cried out to him, as he passed the tables of dis-
engaged players; but he never paused till he saw the man he
sought, leaning against a pillar. He made rapidly towards him}
and touched him on the shoulder.
" Siftly," he cried, " I have found him."
"Hallo, Hetson," answered the American, turning slowly
towards him. " Why, man, what is the matter with you P You
look as pale as death." j
" He is here," was the only reply he received; and the,young
man turned hastily and nervously round, as if he feared that some
apparition stood beside him.
" He! Who ? " quietly inquired his friend, who had other
matters in his head, and had quite forgotten Hetson's commuf.
nication.
"Charles Golway," whispered Hetson in his ear, and looked
at him with a glance as if he expected the other to doom him to
instant death.
"Charles Golway?" repeated the American, in surprise.
" Aha! I understand—the former lover ? "
" Hush, for Heaven's sake!" implored Hetson, pressing his
arm anxiously.
" Nonsense—don't be foolish," laughed Siftly. "Whoknows
the lad, here, or your freaks of fancy either? or if any one
knew them, who would care about them ? Come, let him be,
wherever he likes to go, and try your luck again. The table
here has woful ill luck to-night, and I think you could not have
chosen a better time to take your revenge for this afternoon."
56 AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
" For pity's sake, spare me with your gambling," cried Hetson,
grasping his arm all the firmer. " What am I to do ? Give ine
your advice."
" If I give it to you, you will be sure not to follow it."
" Try me."
"Well, and it's the last word I have to say in the whole tire-
some affair: let him alone, and trouble yourself no more about
Charley Golway at San Francisco or in California, than if Charley
Golway were in the moon."
" You don't know "
"I know enough to make me beg you, very seriously, to get
rid of all your foolish fancies. If he comes in your way, and
you notice that he wants to renew his acquaintance with your
wife, take out your pistol and shoot him. Why does the fool
come running after another man's wife? But if he has only
come here by accident "
"By accident!" repeated Hetson, bitterly. "He followed
us direct from Valparaiso."
" From Valparaiso ? I thought you had put him off, on an
Australian scent."
" He must certainly have found out the truth," groaned poor.
Hetson, " and this haste confirms my worst suspicions. The
ship in which he arrived left Valparaiso three days later than
ours, but arrived here two days before us—the day before
yesterday."
"His ship must have been a better sailer than yours," ob-
served Siftly; "but we are wasting valuable time here with
arrant nonsense. Will you play ? "
"Let me alone, with your play," said Hetson again. "I
never liked it, and am certainly not now in the humour to begin,
You'd better help me to find out Golway in this crowded city."
" What a fool I should be," laughed Siftly. " If you have
nothing better to do with your time, no one has anything to say
about it; but I can employ mine more profitably."
So saying, he turned his back upon his friend, and went
to another of the tables, while Hetson, left to himself,
remained standing alone. But he could not be easy for an
instant, and, with a nervous glance at the groups around him, he
pushed his way towards the door at the back of the room, to
visit his wife in the upper part of the house.
He found her sitting on the bed in the room, in the dark, with
folded hands. Did she, perhaps, know that her former lover had
arrived ? Had he, perhaps, already seen her—spoken to her ?
Hetson dared not pursue the reflection, and, with a short " Good
AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
57
evening,55 lie walked to the window, and stood looking down upon
the dark square.
" Hetson," said his wife, in a low voice, " is anything the
matter ?55
" With me ?—no. Why do you ask ?55
" You are so silent. Has anything unpleasant happened to
. " Nothing that I know of,'5 answered Hetson, whose heart
was full, almost to bursting: " but you are still in the dark.
Have you been sitting alone all this time ?55
" Our doctor from on board, dear old Dr. Rascher, sat with me
for a short time this afternoon," 'Said the lady, as she stepped to
the table, and lit a candle that stood there. "I am glad he is
staying in the house. Here, in this strange wild country, a friend
is doubly valuable."
"You don't feel comfortable here?55
" Comfortable!" repeated the wife, with a melancholy smile, as
she looked round the small room, in which the luggage still lay
about in disorder. There was not a single piece of furniture
beyond what was absolutely indispensable. A great bed, a table,
and a couple of chairs formed all the contents of the apartment;
and the furniture, such as it was, consisted of planks roughly
put together, and scarcely planed smooth. The walls were
innocent of paper; not even the window-frames had been painted,
and floor, walls, and ceiling presented one uniform surface of
naked firwood, to which the mahogany of the table, and the
cherry-wood of the two chairs formed a very unpleasing con-
frast. "How can one feel at home here, Prank?" said the poor
wife. "And then the unceasing disturbance, the wild uproar,
the continual slamming of doors, with which the whole house
trembles, and the window-panes clatter, the running to and fro
of people in the passages, as if a misfortune had happened or
were about to happen, and kept them in a continual state of
excitement. Oh! Prank, I wish we had not come to California."
, Her husband answered not a word. He had come forward to
the table, and covered his forehead with his hand. When his
wife stepped up to him, she at once remarked the pallor that had
overspread his features, and seizing his arm in sudden alarm
she hastil 1 """ TT 171 —Vat has hap-
" Nothing, my love," answered her husband, in a faint voice.
" I am unwell from running about all these hours. But you are
right. A residence in this confined, uncomfortable room cannot
he agreeable; in fact, it must be insupportable to you; it is
you?
pened ?
58 AN EVENING IN SAN FEANCISCO.
worse than the life we led on board; and yet this is the largest
and most habitable building in the whole place. The sooner,
therefore, we quit San Francisco the better, and I will make
arrangements for our departure to-morrow."
The poor wife had scarcely listened to what he said, for she
kept her eyes fixed on the disordered features of Hetson, who
could not keep his excitement from his wife's observation.
" Tell me what has annoyed you, Frank," she said, coaxingly,
coming close up to him. " Something has gone wrong with you,
deny it as you will; I can see it in your whole manner, and in
the way you tremble. Confide in me, I conjure you, by the love
I bear you,—and do not leave 'me, in this cheerless place, with
the fear that I have lost your confidence."
Hetson took his hand slowly from before his face, and looked
for a moment sharply and inquiringly into his wife's eyes. But
those eyes looked at him in return with such trusting innocence
that he felt she could not deceive him; nor yet, at least, know
of her lover's proximity. Would it be better for him to tell her
at once of Golway's arrival ? Might they not yet escape him,
if they betook themselves to the mountains before he came upon
their track ?
" Frank," cried his wife again, " what ails you ?—what moves
you P Are they those old dreams and cares that disturb your
peace ? Have I not done everything in my power to prove to
you that the past is dead to me, and that I belong to you alone
—can only belong to you ? Have I not followed you into this
distant land, and can you ask a stronger proof of my love ?"
"Distant!" muttered Hetson gloomily,—"not distant enough
to prevent that wretch from finding his way here!"
"Do not believe it, Frank," urged his wife in a consoling
voice. "From the knowledge I have of Charles, I feel convinced
that he will abandon every attempt to see me, as soon as he
hears that I am the wife of another."
" Charles!" muttered Hetson, between his clenched teeth.
"Does the name disturb you, Frank?" said the young wife,
leaning her head coaxingly on her husband's shoulder. " Con-
sider, I knew him by that name so long, that his other name has
become almost strange to me. But I will avoid it, and God
grant that Mr. Golway need never more be mentioned between
us."
" I believe you—I believe you," whispered the husband, with
emotion; " but he will take care to prevent that; you give him
credit for too much greatness of soul—too much self-denial."
" No, Frank, certainly not," replied she, in a decided tone.
AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO. 59
" If you will only divest yourself of these melancholy, unhappy
ideas, you would become merry and cheerful again. No man
has ever more needlessly embittered his own existence than you
have done, and "
"Needlessly!" interrupted Hetson, springing up with a
quick, angry start. " N eedlessly, you say. Do you think the
phantom that has haunted me through our whole long journey
exists only in my imagination—my morbid, overstrained fancy,
as you would always make me believe ? He is here !"
" Who, Frank ?—for God's sake, who ?" asked the wife, turning
pale as death.
" Who!—Your Charles, if you really know nothing of his
arrival. He has followed you—and for what reason I should
like to know, if not to win you from me!"
" It is not possible," gasped she, stepping back in terror.
" Not possible F " repeated Hetson, with clenched teeth; " and
yet I can tell you the name of the ship in which he started from
"Valparaiso, in pursuit of us, three days after we had left. He
did not even allow himself time to rest, in Chili, from his long
voyage, but seized the first opportunity that offered for carrying
out his plans."
For a moment, Mrs. Hetson could make no reply, but sat still,
with her face hidden in her hands. It was only for a moment,
however; then she rose quickly, and cried,—
" And if he were here, Frank, have you so little confidence in
your wife, that you are alarmed and disquieted ?"
" He was your first love," whispered Hetson, hoarsely. " But
a few hours sooner, and he would have found you free—free to
give your hand to the man towards whom your heart drew
you. I was only in a manner forced upon you—married to you
through a chance. I know that I possess you as something
that does not belong to me, and that I have not the resolution
to give up."
He was quite beside himself; and, in the agony of grief that
tore his heart, he threw himself on the bed and buried his face in
the pillow.
His wife had remained rigid and motionless where she stood,
looking steadfastly at him. Perhaps the images passed before her
mind's eye of days she had violently striven to forget, and which
her husband, with foolish vehemence, unburied from the dead
past.
Yes, she had loved that friend of her early girlhood—had loved
him with all the strength of her warm young heart; and that
first moment in which she had heard that he was still alive—that
60 AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
he had not been lost to her, but that the words she had spoken
at the altar had severed her from him for ever, stood with terri-
ble distinctness before her soul. But Hetson was her husband—
of her own free will she had given him her hand—she knew with
what true honest depth he loved her; and pressing her hand upon
her heart, she crushed down the last rebellious feeling which had
stood, like a spectre, between him and herself.
Softly, as though she feared the sound of her own footsteps,
she glided to the bed on which he sat despairing; softly she put
her arms round his neck, and murmured,—
" Frank!"
He made no answer, but his whole frame shook with convulsive
violence.
" Frank!" she repeated; and the word fell like a zephyr on his
ear, but re-echoed through the depths of his inmost soul. " Frank,
be a man! If even my heart was given to my first love—if, in
my youthful dreams, I pictured my life's happiness awaiting me
at his side, all that is past and gone. I am your wife, and by all
that you and I hold sacred, I swear to you that no other feeling
now fills my breast but the hope of seeing you restored to life
and your love restored to me. What has been, is no more.
Since the hour when I became yours, a new existence began
for me; and, as I have taken your name upon me, so will I
preserve your love for ever and ever. Do you believe me
now ?"
" Jenny, my own sweet, dear Jenny!" murmured Hetson,
folding bis arms round her.
" See how good it is that you have at last spoken openly with
me," she continued. " That hidden grief would have torn your
heart with a terrible secret power, and I should not have been
able to remove it. Now you have relieved your mind of the
weight that pressed upon it, I can speak openly to you; we
understand each other, and all—all will be well now."
" And that—Charles ? " whispered Hetson in a hesitating
voice, as if afraad to utter the word.
" If he should really meet us, he will respect the position in
which he finds me—he must respect it, or he would be unworthy
of a shadow of the feeling with which I once regarded him. Are
you satisfied now ?"
His arm was thrown lovingly round her; and as she bent over
him, and her lips touched his forehead, the dull pain in his heart
dissolved into hot tears. He wept—wept as a child weeps; and
his wife leant over him, supporting his aching head in her
hands.
AN EVENING IN SAN PJRANCISCO. :61
In the hall below, the drams were beating and the trumpets
braying, while the gamblers clustered round the tables.
It was a wild restless movement, quite in keeping with the
life that the people were compelled to lead in El Dorado.
Who, among all the crowd, had a home in California ? Who had
a wife or children awaiting him, at his own hearthstone, in all
the city ?—Not one, of all the thousands who wandered up and
down in the gaming-houses, trying their "luck " at one or other
of the tables.
A scanty mattress in the corner of some tent was their couch
for the night; that uninviting place of rest would be reached
soon enough, even if they did not seek it till dawn of day, while
here there was light, and life, and, above all, the sound of gold,
to make them forget, at least for a time, every discomfort and
privation. Every open door showed where pastime and excite-
ment might be had, and glittering bottles of spirituous drink
lured them to additional enjoyment. In the great rooms, the
music played the tunes they had heard at home; the golden
coins clinked and jingled invitingly, and the voluptuous paintings
shone in a glare of blazing light; why should they abandon
themselves to careful thought, or lie brooding in melancholy
foreboding on the damp ground? So in they crowded at the
open doors, and the next morning, perhaps, found them with
empty pockets and aching heads, waking from the dream of
drunken folly. But then, nobody thought of the next morning.
Here rolled the dice, rattled the rouge-et-noir, and fluttered the
cards through the practised aud only too nimble fingers of the
professed gamesters; and glazed eyes stared in greedy expecta-
tion on the variegated leaves of the fateful packs.
In the midst of the hall, bending over a table, might be
noticed a picturesque and remarkable figure—an old man with
such expressive features that no one who had once looked upon
them could fail to recognize him at a second meeting. That
Spanish, perhaps noble, blood ran in his veins, was evident—for
the stamp of nobility was on the high broad forehead, and in the
aquiline nose; and the eye of raven blackness flashed with all the
fire of twenty summers, though the man was, from his appear-
ance, about fifty years old. A thick black moustache, with a
gray hair appearing here and there, shaded his upper lip; and he
wore over his other clothes a Mexican cloak, of beautiful colour,
interwoven with gold threads. He was pressing his soft hat of
olack felt nervously together in his right hand, as he leant over
the table, watching the game on which he. had staked his gold.
"Lost, senor," said one of the players, laughing, as he laid
62 AN EVENING IN SAN EEANClSCO.
his hand on a little heap of gold-pieces, and added them to the
heaps of coin and gold-dust in the middle of the table; "the
luck is decidedly against you again to-day, and you ought to give
it up."
" Caramba !*" muttered the Spaniard, between his set teeth, "I
think I know the best when I am to leave off. Three more half-
eagles on the five!"
His English sounded imperfect, and he hissed out the words
rather than spoke them.
"Lost!" was repeated, in the same tone as before. "Any
more ?"
"Two more half-eagles again upon the five ?"
"Lost! Anymore?"
The Spaniard made no reply, but stared wildly at the faithless
cards.
" That was the last money I have to-night," he whispered, at
length; " but to-morrow my daughter will be paid her salary."
"Very sorry, sefior," said the gambler, with a shrug; "but
ours is a ready-money business, and we never ask any one to lend
to us. Stake your ring there, and name your price. It's a pretty
bauble."
" That ring ?—no!" cried the man, half frightened; and he
drew back a step from the table.
The gambler shrugged his shoulders again; and others, who
had long been waiting for a chance of coming to the table,
crowded up, and pushed the old Spaniard aside unceremoniously
enough. He had no more money; then what right had he to be
stopping the way ?"
On the orchestra, where the musicians were, as usual, tortur-
iiig their instruments most execrably in the execution of marches
and dance-tunes—being, in fact, kept together only by the heavy
blows of the big drum, a slender female form, closely wrapped in
a mantilla, leaned over the balustrade, and seemed to be watching,
with fixed attention, the wicked, feverish activity below.
The violinist, who sat next her, a young Erenchman, turned to
her from time to time, and seemed anxious to talk; but she either
did not hear or did not heed what he Said. On the contrary, she
turned her face from' him to hide the solitary tear that fell silently
and unnoticed from her long, dark eyelashes.
■The music ceased, and the leader of the orchestra, a little fat
man, evidently of Teutonic birth, who was all in, a glow, from the
sharp exercise of keeping such a collection of performers together,
came to the girl, and said, in fa low and almost a respectful
tone —
AN EVENING IN SAN PEANClSCO. 63
Senorita!"
She did not answer—she did not stir—she continued gazing
fixedly and mournfully on the form of her father below.
"Senorita!" repeated the little man, louder than before, "the
music has left off, and your turn for playing has come. Might I
beg you " ^
" Yes, yes, sir," answered the girl, rising with an effort, and
throwing back her mantilla with such art that she contrived, in
turning round, to wipe away, unobserved, a treacherous tear that
trembled in her eye. Her features had regained their accustomed
serenity; and, stepping lightly to her music-desk, she took her
instrument, tuned it, and began to play a soul-stirring melody.
But what cared the people in the room below! In the after-
noon, some of them had listened—for the majority of visitors
were Mexicans and Californians, who have always some appre-
ciation of music. But now the hall was at least two-thirds full
of drinking, card-playing Americans from the states, not one of
whom cared to listen to the soft, thrilling notes.
"Why has the music left off?" asked one man, a short, pale-
faced fellow, with the ruins of a straw-hat crushed down on a
shaggy head that had probably not felt the comb for months.
" Some one up there is fiddling still," answered the player
next him, without looking away for a moment from the cards.
"Only one!" repeated the little man, contemptuously; "and
all the other loafers are sitting doing nothing. What are the
fellows hired for, I should like to know ?"
His friend did not think it worth while to answer—he was
better employed watching the cards.
There was a rushing and murmuring in the hall, like ebb
and flood, and the people crowded in and out at the wide door
like bees in a beehive. And in another sense the parallel held
good. Out in the mountains the people dug, and picked, and
washed their honey laboriously together; and then they brought
it in here, and few, very few, carried it away again. The keepers
of the play-tables locked it up in their cells, from whence it was
extracted to be lost as lightly as it had been won.
Hour after hour went by; and though hundreds left the room
—some to try their luck elsewhere, others to throw themselves
on their couches in some corner—the number was always made
up by new arrivals of idlers in the Plaza,—and the Parker House
Saloon continued crowded till almost an hour after midnight.
Then a decrease in the number of guests became observable,
though the hall was still well filled; and it was not till towards
two o'clock that empty spaces appeared here and there. But
64 AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
round certain tables, where the play was particularly high, the
people still thronged thickly; while, scattered about the room,
lounging on chairs, or stretched helplessly on the floor, drunken
guests were sleeping off the excitement of brandy "and of
play.
Alone, beside a pillar, his head sunk on his breast, and his
arms tightly folded beneath his cloak, stood the old Spaniard
whom we have already noticed at the play-table. He almost
seemed to sleep, he stood so motionless; but the flashing of his
eye, as it beamed forth from under his broad-brimmed hat, told a
very different tale.
A slender female form, draped in black, came gliding from the
orchestra along the side of the room, seeking, with covered face,
to avoid the men who lounged about; but no one heeded her, for
a quarrel at one of the tables had attracted the attention of all in
the room. Unobserved by the guests, she went up to the man
who leaned against the pillar, touched his shoulder, and
whispered,—
"Father!"
"Ha, Manuela!" cried the Spaniard, waking as if from a
dream, " are you here, my child F You are not going to play any
more to-day, are you?"
"No, dear father," murmured the maiden, casting a timid
glance around; " but come—let us go away; I long to escape
from this horrible room; and I am hungry."
The Spaniard started as he heard the last words, and almost
mechanically put his hand to his pocket. But an hour since he
had searched it in vain to find a single gold piece there, and that
not for his child: it would have been lost, like the rest, at the
nearest play-table.
The girl saw his agitation, and she turned deadly pale; but,
with astonishing presence of mind, she mastered her feelings, and
whispered,—
"You have not received my wages for this evening yet; but
never mind—the proprietor of the saloon is sitting yonder:
you know he pays punctually."
Her father did not speak, but passed his hand slowly over his
clammy forehead.
Come, father, come! Time passes, and the ground here seems
burning beneath my feet. Oh that we had never come to this
unhappy country! Let us fetch the money."
Still the man stirred not; but his wild glance, as he gazed
round the room, seemed to be searching for some one to help
them. Help from thence—the very thought was folly! He
AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO. 65
seemed to feel it, too; for lie made an effort to rouse himself,
grasped his daughter's hand, and whispered,—
"Come!"
" But the money, father ?"
"The hotel-keeper knows me," answered the Spaniard, in a
husky voice; " he will give us something to eat."
"He refused yesterday," answered the girl, in trembling,
anxious haste. " You know he will give no one credit—not even
for an hour."
" The waiter will give us credit," said the Spaniard; and he
tried to shake off his daughter's restraining hand.
" 0 father!" she cried—and there was a world of sorrow in
the few syllables—"you know he only does it on my account.
Bring the money."
"I have had it already," whispered the man, turning his
head away with conscious shame. " I took it, and wanted to
compel fortune to give us the means of releasing you from a
position so unworthy of you; but I failed. The treacherous
cards were more unfavourable to me than ever, and I lost all."
The girl answered not a word. She stood beside him with
bended head and trembling limbs; and her breath came short
and thick.
"Do not disturb yourself, my child," urged the father,
alarmed at her appearance; " to-morrow must make every-
thing right."
" You are going to play again ?" asked the girl, with trembling
eagerness.
" Am I to leave those cheating Yankees in quiet possession of
our money?" asked the old man, testily.
"But you know they play false," urged Manuela, Oh, let
them have what they have won,—let them have all, even the
triumph of having cheated you; but do not trust in treacherous
fortune any more. Look, father—in a few weeks I shall earn as
much as we want to take us away from this horrible country;
and then "
"In a few weeks!" cried the Spaniard angrily; "and for
weeks longer I am to expose you to what you have to en-
counter here, when it is possible to set you free in one short
hourP"
"Bather!"
" Hush, hush, my darling; you don't understand these things.
Have I not provided for you till now ? So, only trust me, and
I will do everything to restore you to the kind of life which you
have been for a time compelled to forego. But now come with
F
60
AN EVENING IN SAN FRANCISCO.
me into the supper-room. Don Emilio knows that I am a man
come—the people yonder are watching us."
" Yes, I will go with you, my father," answered the girl, in a
resolute tone; " but I will not again become the debtor of that
strange man, friendly and respectful as he has always been to us.
I—I am not hungry this evening. It was only a pretext to
draw you away from here. I am tired—my head burns—let me
go to bed."
"Butyou»m£ be hungry," her father insisted. "Y011 have
taken nothing since this morning, except, perhaps, a glass of
water."
"Believe me, father," she answered, vehemently, "I could not
swallow a morsel to-night; I only want rest—sleep. Will you
go with me ?"
" Come, then," said the old man; and, throwing the end of
his cloak over his shoulder, he went towards the back door,
closely followed by his daughter.
On their way they were obliged to pass various groups of
players, several of whom accosted Manuel a; but she never once
looked up. With her head bowed, and her face covered up to
the eyes with her mantilla, she glided past them, and soon dis-
appeared, with her father, in the narrow passage leading to the
upper part of the house.
In the mean time the gambling guests of "Parker House"
continued to disperse. Eour-fifths of the tables were without
customers, and some of the card-players had already packed up
their money and the implements of their trade to seek their
resting-places for the night. Even the orchestra was deserted;
the servants of the house were going to and fro putting out the
superfluous lamps, and only here and there stood a little group,
with sleepy eyes, staking their money on the cards as they were
carelessly turned up.
The players themselves had lost their interest in their occupa-
tion; for, whereas the game had been all the evening for hun-
dreds of dollars each time, the few coins now staked did not
excite them sufficiently to keep sleep from their eyes.
Wrapping themselves in their serapes, or Californian
ponchos, and firmly grasping their heavy bags of money, the
holders of the various tables left the hall, with a short " good
night, senores," to the company. A few, on the other hand,
packed up their bank in a chest under the table, wrapped them-
money. But
AN EVENING- IN SAN PEANCISCO. 67
selves in their blankets, and stretched themselves each on a
couple of chairs, to finish the night. They were as comfortable
here as in a tent—and safer.
The last guests had now left the room; nearly all the lights
were extinguished, and only two lamps, always left burning
through the whole night, glimmered faintly in the deserted,
dreary hall.
From the various corners the movements of the sleepers were
heard. Three men only remained awake in the room; they sat
together at a table near the centre. Even they were not play-
ing any longer. Two of them were packing up the bank, while
the_ third, our old acquaintance Siftly, sat astride across a
chair, with his elbows leaning on the back, watching his two
companions.
"A precious bad business you've made of it to-night," he
observed, shaking his head gloomily, after a cursory glance at
the sum-total on the table. "You've hardly made more than
the hire of the table. Why did you let that confounded fellow
in the tattered poncho, and with the bag of gold, go away un-
plucked? You must have known, Brown, that the eight lay at
the top. I saw it from here."
" And so did I," grumbled Brown—the small man with the
formidable shirt-collar. " I knew it well enough; but the dirty
vagabond knew it as well as I did, and he kept his cat's eyes on
my fingers in such a fashion that I didn't dare to risk anything.
You wouldn't like it yourself, that our table should get a bad
name."
"Was nothing more to be done with the stranger you brought
us in the afternoon?" asked Smith, the long man.
" Nothing," answered Siftly, moodily. " He won't play any
more; and, besides, he's an old friend of mine, with whom I
didn't want to be too hard."
"A friend!" repeated Smith, with sovereign contempt—and
he took up a pack of cards, and began mechanically to shuffle
them—"what are friends to us here in California? If my
brother were to come over, and were green, he'd have to keep
his eyes open, and look out for himself."
" I'm going to bed," said Brown, rising with some, difficulty
from his chair, and throwing over his shoulders an old cloth
cloak that lay behind him. "Willyou come too, Siftly? It's
Smith's turn to watch to-night."
"I've nothing more to keep me here either," said Siftly;
"but you live down by the water, and I am going to sleep
up in the town to-night. They gave me notice to quit
p 2
68
AN EVENING IN SAN TRANCISCO.
this morning, and I must look out for fresh quarters to-
morrow."
" Indeed! Then that's another thing," replied the little fat
man. " Good night to you. I suppose I needn't be here again
before ten o'clock to-morrow morning ?"
" Hardly," answered Siftly; " the early bird doesn't pick up
many worms here. Good night."
Smith said nothing at all, but only nodded as his little cor-
pulent partner left the hall. He continued to shuffle the cards;
and for a time he and Siftly sat silently looking at each other.
At last the latter broke out.—" That fellow grows more clumsy
every day," he exclaimed, pettishly, but in a suppressed voice,
and with a glance over his shoulder to see that they were
alone.
" That's true enough," acquiesced Mr. Smith, thoughtfully
cutting the cards, and pausing for a moment, as if he expectea
some one to stake. " I wish we could get rid of him genteelly—
if we could only do without his share of the money."
Siftly did not reply; and again the two sat silent for a time,
each occupied with his own thoughts.
" Suppose a fire were to break out in this cursed canvass-built
place," said Siftly suddenly, but in a much lower tone than he
had spoken in before; " I think the whole Plaza would be in
flames in ten minutes."
Smith shot a quick, inquiring glance at the speaker; but the
look was not met by Siftly, who seemed absorbed in the con-
templation of the cards on the table.
"A fire!" repeated the long man, apprehensively.
" Hush !—not so loud!" whispered he of the beard. " The word
as a strange kind of sound, and seems to echo through the fur-
hest corners of a room. It is, somehow, as if one felt the sound;
ud that chap opposite has left off snoring, I declare."
"Bah!—he sleeps as soundly as ever," said Smith, after
n inquiring look at the background. " He has only turned over
on the other side. Hum !—a fire would cfertainly be a novelty
for which no one is exactly prepared. What should we do, for
instance, if a fire were to break out here in the night—in this
very night?"
"Why, I don't quite know," was Siftly's whispered reply.
"In the first place, we should try to save the gold; a con-
foundedly difficult thing, by the way. If a fire broke out here,
every one would but just have time to save the bare life; and
before Brown could get from the seaside, here "
"Poor Brown!" said the long man, with a snuffle of sympathy,
AN EVENING IN SAN ERANCISCO. 69
but without moving a muscle of his face, " he'd lose everything
he's got."
" And our neighbour, here, whose box of gold has been left in
our charge," grinned Siftly;—" it's a foolish thing, by the way,
for a man to do, to leave his money in that manner."
" You mean Otten, the German ?" said Smith. " Yes; and
he is a good, honest fellow, who has earned his money hardly
enough. Of course, I should do all I could to seeure it for him.
But one's own life comes first, naturally."
Again, Siftly sat silent, looking straight before him j at last
he whispered,—
" Where should we two find each other, again ?"
"We two ?" asked Smith, with a look of astonishment.
"Why here—where else should we go? We dou't want to
excite unjust suspicions against ourselves, I hope. I should save
everything I could—to the very last moment."
The two worthy friends exchanged one glance—only one—but
they understood each other thoroughly.
" And< would you, a few days after the fire, prefer remaining
in San Francisco, or try your luck up in the mines, yonder ?"
asked Siftly. " It is not at all an uncommon thing, that a lucky
digger should get a fortune there in a few days."
" So I have heard; and in such a case, I'd try my fortune with
pick and spade, if I got ever so little for my pains."
" And in what mines ?"
" The papers are full of the Yuba diggings, which, they say,
are particularly good," answered the long worthy.
"They call them the rich ones, all about here."
"Hum!—perhaps I might goto the same place," said Siftly,
" and I should be exceedingly glad to meet with an old acquaint-
ance, like yourself, in Yuba city. Besides, one digger alone can
do no good for himself. It wants two to manage the cradle
properly."
" And—do you really feel afraid that there may be a fire in
San Francisco ?" asked Smith, after a short pause.
" One must be prepared for everything," answered he of the
beard, cautiously. " Do you know that Potter's wooden house,
just by the corner here, is still empty, and no one is to go to
live there till the day after to-morrow ? The whole house is
full of wooden shavings and laths. When I went by, this
evening after dark, a light was burning inside."
" A light! then some one does live there ?"
" No; it was only the proprietor, giving a look over his place,
I was in there a minute, and looked to the windows."
70 AN EVENING IN SAN EKANCISCO.
" I hope you locked them well."
" Of course I did. You see, a draught would be very dan-
gerous, if a fire were to break out there. Besides, the wind is
blowing this evening from there right over here, and the tarry
tent-roofs between it and us would set the Parker House in a
blaze in five minutes. It would be a terrible business."
The long man looked at his watch. It was half-past two.
" The morning will dawn before very long," he said. " Sup-
pose we go and lie down a little."
" Yes, I'll go to bed too," said Siftly.
"Up yonder, in the town?"
"No; I've altered my mind. I shall quarter myself here,
with you, for the night; but I'll take a turn first, to iook at the
weather. I shall be back directly."
"Be careful," whispered Smith, with a seated face. "There
are—all sorts of queer characters prowling about the streets."
" Don't fear for me," answered Siftly; " I'm known here."
And throwing his poncho over one of the chairs, he slowly left
the hall, and strode out into the darkness, in the direction of the
Plaza.
Up in Pacific street stood a few houses, inhabited by Germans,
if the wooden barns with canvass roofs can be dignified by such
a title. To prevent all misconception on the subject, the pro-
prietors of these elaborate establishments had affixed to each
huge boards setting forth in the German and English languages,
that one was the " Californian," and another the " El Dorado "
hotel.
One of these airily-built domiciles absolutely boasted a first-
floor, which was reached by a perilous-looking staircase;—and
inch-thick deal boards formed at once the ceiling of the lower,
and the floor of the upper apartment. Its creaking, moreover,
was a continual " caution," warning the fortunate inhabitants
not to trust themselves upon it more than they could possibly
help.
The second " hotel" consisted of a single room—a compro-
mise between tent and barn, with wooden bunks at the sides
nailed one over the other, like in a ship's steerage. Other tents
and wooden huts had been erected, some beside these larger
buildings, and others behind them; for as yet nothing like order
was preserved in the laying out of the town. So long as the
spaces marked out for streets were left open, the emigrants were
at liberty to locate themselves wherever they liked, and wherever
they could find room. How they afterwards managed to settle
matters with the proprietors of the ground, was their own affair.
AN EVENING IN SAN FHANCISCO. 71
Attracted by the German signs, several passengers from the
Zeontine had taken up their quarters in these two inviting hotels,
among others, Lamberg, the Hamburgh merchant (?), Binderhof,
and Ohlers the Apothecary. Mr. Hufner, too, had found his
•way back here, and Mrs. Siebert, with her three children, lodged
in a little outhouse of the " California Hotel," with Assessor
Mohler in the next bunk, for protection and safety.
All these old companions had been quartered in different parts
of the two houses, as well as it could be managed; and after
spending the evening roaming through the town and looking in
at the different gambling-saloons, most of them had returned to
their lodgings at about eleven o'clock, and laid themselves down
in their respective cribs,—for on board they had been accustomed
to go to bed early.
At last all was quiet., Out in the street a step, was sometimes
heard, and in distant parts of the town shots were fired now and
then; but no one heeded these noises — no one cared about
other people. The guests were far more interested in the con-
duct of one of their number, who began snoring most dolefully.
Here and there a muttered curse told of the sentiments this con-
duct inspired in the neighbours; but the offender, instead of
holding his peace, lifted up his voice more tunefully than ever,
until at last some one was heard to cry,—
"Do give that horrible old drone a dig in the ribs. Confusion
to the fellow, he has a voice like a blacksmith's bellows. He
doesn't even let his breath out quietly,—his saw is sharpened at
both edges."
This pathetic appeal came from the upper-story of the " El
Dorado Hotel,"
" He doesn't lodge here at all," answered another, from the
ground-floor of the same establishment; "he lives next door, in
the ' California Hotel.'"
" It is the Counsellor," shouted a voice from the last-men-
tioned house of entertainment. *' Hallo! Mr. Ohlers, are you
sleeping up there ? "
"Yes, if you call this sleeping, Mr. Hufner," answered the
person addressed. " But how come you there P I thought you
had packed up your traps and stepped it, and were now eighteen
or twenty feet under ground, in some comfortable shaft or other,
digging up gold by the light of a dark lantern. But might I beg
you to give the Counsellor a poke in the ribs ?—-just for his own
sake, you know, for he really mighty do himself an injury!"
" And have him bringing a criminal action against us, eh P "
shouted Mr. Binderhof, from another berth.
72 AN EVENING IN SAN EEANCISCO.
"Ah! Mr. Binderhof from Hamburgh," cried Ohlers, in
reply. "Yery happy to meet you here, I'm sure ! Deuce take
it, there's that child beginning to scream now,—it's all through
the Counsellor."
" If you please, gentlemen, keep silence," Assessor Mohler's
soft voice was now heard entreating, in its most winning tones.
" Poor Mrs. Siebert cannot sleep at all, and the little boy is lying
wide awake."
"Please, Mr. Assessor, would you carry the child up and down
a bit ?—it will be quiet directly," cried another voice that seemed
to come from the house on the right of the " California Hotel."
"Isn't that Mr. Lamberg?" asked Ohlers.
"At your service, Mr. Ohlers," answered the voice. "No.
17, Pacific Street, on the ground-floor. You live at No. 19, if I
am not mistaken."
" Haven't looked at the number of the house yet," answered
Ohlers. " Are you lodging in the 'California Hotel ?'"
" I beg your pardon, I am boarding with a private family, at a
hatmaker's,—a widower. By the way, I shall certainly support
the motion to make the Counsellor hold his noise; it's against
all the rights of nations."
"If Mr. Assessor would only keep tfcat child quiet," whined
Binderhof, from the ground-floor of the " El Dorado Hotel."
" What else has he come here for ? "
"Mr. Binderhof, I object to your impertinence," the Assessor
cried warmly; but Ohlers interrupted him, by calling out from
his lodging in the "private family,"—
"As you seem to know all about it so well, my worthy Mr.
Binderhof, perhaps you would inform us what you have come
here for; I've been trying to make it out these six months —
all through the voyage."
The shout of laughter that pealed from all three houses, at this
sally, drowned Binderhof's reply; but other sleepers, disturbed
by the noise, protested against such a disturbance in the middle
of the night, and called for silence. Eoremost among the grum-
biers was the Counsellor himself, who had at length awaked, and
was crying indignantly,—
" Confound it—making a row—rascals—let others sleep!"
But it being pretty generally known that he had caused the
disturbance, there was a common attack upon him, till even some
of the dwellers on the opposite side of the way interfered, and
peremptorily demanded silence.
At length the noise ceased—the people grew tired themselves,
\hough no one cared about his neighbours. But the child kept
the first conflagration. 73
on crying, till at last the Assessor was obliged to walk up and
down the room with it.
The child, too, slept at last. The Counsellor had probably
turned upon his side, for his bassoon was silent; and the whole
town became so quiet that the howling of the cayotas and the
great brown bears could be plainly heard from the mountains on
the coast.
It was midnight. One of the old brown wolves uttered a
long-drawn, plaintive yell; and the little gray prairie wolves or
cayotas howled in concert,—first from one side, then from
another, their cries were borne on the wind, mingling strangely
with the hoarse rustle of the distant breakers.
Even the wolves' howl, growing tainter and fainter in the
direction of the Mission Mountains, ceased. The moon had
long since set, and deep dark night lay heavy on the sleeping
city.
CHAPTER YI.
the first conflagration.
"Eire! Eire!" The alarm rang out like a trumpet-call through
the deserted streets, till the sleepers started in wild terror from
their beds; and onward still was borne the shriek—" Eire !"
No one could realize the whole fearful import of the word,
in a town like San Erancisco; they had as yet seen no specimen
of the rapidity with which the devouring element could eat its
way into the marrow and life of the populace. But, like uude-
fined pictures of dangert, here arose before the minds of the half-
awakened inhabitants visions of the sun-dried wooden booths,
the tarry tent-cloths, and the inflammable canvass walls; and
with the thought of these came a glimmering sense of the de-
struction that was about to burst over them.
"Eire!" With what peculiar horror was the frenzied shout
carried through the streets of San Erancisco. " Eire !" The cry
found an echo in every wooden barn, in every canvass tent
throughout the city; and in a few seconds nearly all the inhabi-
tants, who, as a rule, slept in their clothes on their hard couches,
rushed into the streets, and were looking about them in bewil-
dered wonder.
74 THE MUST CONFLAGRATION.
No red glow in the sky was yet seen to indicate the- direction
of the danger;—no engine rattling through the streets, no bell
tolling the alarm, gave certainty to their fears; and the thou-
sands stood in silence, looking anxiously to the right and to the
left, for a confirmation of their fears.
"Where is it?" men at length began to ask of their neigh-
hours; but the question needed no reply—for, another moment,
and as if a volcano had suddenly burst forth into action, a pillar
of flame rose suddenly towards the heavens, crackling and roar-
ing as it raged upwards.
" Tire!" The cry rose in a frantic yell from every mouth; for
the whole place seemed wrapped in flame. "Tire!" and away
they rushed, with a vague feeling of saving something, or some
one, towards the place of danger.
"To the Plaza! to the Plaza!" now passed from mouth to
mouth; and towards the great square rolled the human crowd:
but already they were too late, for the fire, whose growth might
be counted by seconds, already rolled towards the streets leading
out of the Piaza, feeding daintily on the hissing tar that covered
the wooden and canvass walls.
"Help!" Who could help, where the whole world seemed
burning together ? So soon as the fire touched a tent, the can-
vass tenement shrivelled like a sheet of paper in the flaming
grasp of the destroyer, and a storm of burning sparks hailed
down on the inmates, as they fled wildly forth.
And the wind, too, blew briskly on the tongues of flame, and
whirled burning shreds and splinters high over the houses into
distant streets, lighting up fresh conflagrations in their ruinous
flight. Amid the fiery glare there was a vision of frightened
ghastly horror-stricken faces. Here men hurried along, carrying
whatever of their property they had been able to snatch up in
haste—there others had saved nothing but their own lives from
the fiery death; and a crowd of applicants for information came
flocking round them, asking questions about the calamity. Had
they understood it in its whole force, they would never have
remained standing to inquire about it.
" Help! help!" a voice was heard shrieking at intervals
through the flames, which, driven by the wind, rushed on with
a sound like the flapping of a heavy sail unloosed in a calm.
" Help ! " who could help them, poor wretches ? Where was
the sailor who could embark on a sea of flame—the salamander
who could live in fire ?
The cry for help died away; but presently another shout arose
—a shriek of dismay and terror.
THE FIRST CONFLAGRATION. 75
te There's a fire blazing in Pacific Street—the houses down by
the wharf have caught—the whole town's doomed!"
In an instant the crowd was scattering in all directions.
Every one who lived in the endangered neighbourhood ran to
secure his property, or as much of it as he could get to-
gether.
But though thousands had rushed away, fresh thousands came
running to take their places; and already the quick practical
sense of the Americans had hit on the right plan, not to quench
the fire, for that would have been impossible, but to confine
it to certain limits, and prevent it from spreading indefinitely.
Very fortunately, the wind fell a little; but for this, the whole
town would have been burnt down, without remedy. Parties
now went about, armed with axes and ropes, to stop the progress
of the fire, by pulling down the wooden buildings and tents in its
way. While some attacked with their axes the posts of wooden
houses not yet touched by the flames, others fastened ropes round
the dwellings, quite careless as to what they might contain; and
a few vigorous pulls from a hundred strong arms soon levelled
them with the ground.
But even that desperate remedy sometimes failed. The flaming
fragments of the tents flew like evil spirits over the houses; the
few engines the town could boast could not be got near the chief
fire, but had sufficient occupation in keeping it from spreading to
streets it had not yet touched. '
The excitement and terror among the inhabitants now reached
the highest pitch. Every fresh house that caught fire increased
the common danger; and darkly-whispered reports of incendiaries,
passing from mouth to mouth as the men worked with axe and
rope, tended to increase the general confusion.
The whole side of the Plaza, on which stood the chief gambling-
rooms, with the Parker House in their midst, was not only
wrapped in flames, but burned to the ground within a quarter of
an hour, and only the smoking ruins remained, still sending forth
fitful jets of flame and showers of sparks. The Parker House
itself, built of thin wooden beams and planks, dried and shrivelled
by the sun, and roofed with tarred boards, burned like a huge
torch; and its inhabitants, though alarmed at the very commence-
ment by the cry of " Eire!" had scarcely been able to escape with
their lives.
" Eire!" The summons had rung through the building from
basement to roof, and brought the lodgers in the upper stories
trembling to the windows. They cast but one glance at the
threatening danger below; and, seizing whatever came to hand,
76 THE FIRST CONFLAGRATION.
they hurried to the narrow wooden staircase, to make their way
into the open air before their only means of retreat should be
cut off.
Hetson, who was lodging, with his young wife, in the upper
part of the house, though morbidly sensitive where his domestic
happiness was concerned, did not belong to that weak class of
men who are paralyzed in the presence of a real and threatening
danger. On the contrary, its near approach roused all his dormant
energies; and, seeing at a glance the state of the case, he said,
quickly,—
"Jenny! this house is doomed—all the people in San Fran-
cisco could not save it; but I must secure our money, and a
few necessary clothes for you, if we are not to perish in this
place."
" I will go with you!" cried his wife, dreadfully alarmed—for
the bright glare in front of the window, the sparks flying over
the roof, the crying and shouting of the assembled crowd, and
the trembling of the crazy building, as the inhabitants rushed
down its narrow staircases, had made her almost faint with
terror.
" Stop !—not yet," said Hetson, who, with perfect presence of
mind, had unlocked his cashbox, and hidden the money about his
own person, and now glanced through the open door; " the stair-
case is crowded with people trampling blindly on one another.
"First let us have a clear course, for we have a few minutes to
spare yet; and, in the mean time, I'll try to get your box out
into the street."
"I shall faint with fear in the mean time!" exclaimed the
terrified wife.
" Then follow me," said Hetson, after a moment's considera-
tion, " and try to carry that travelling-bag with you. Then you
shall stay below to take care of the things, and I will return to
save whatever I can."
"Oh, then, come!" cried his wife, earnestly. "Look, see
how the fire has increased in these few seconds. The flame
is leaping up against the house up yonder. If the staircase
catches fire, we are lost."
"Not yet, my darling," laughed Hetson, who recovered all his
energy in the presence of danger. " Only keep close behind me;
and if the travelling-bag becomes too heavy for you, throw it
away; its contents can be replaced, after all. So now to work.
Once safely down stairs, we shall do well enough."
So saying, he lifted on his shoulder a box that contained some
clothes belonging to his wife* opened the door, and walked out
THE FIRST CONFLAGRATION. 77•
into the passage, into which people were crowding from every
room. Jenny followed, as he directed, close behind him. Her
left hand was tightly grasped in his, while with her right she
endeavoured to keep firm hold of the travelling-bag he had
intrusted to her care. This was, however, impossible. In a few
seconds the bag was wrenched from her and thrust aside; and
Jenny had but just time enough to make a clutch at it, and fling
it from the top of the staircase to the bottom.
" The staircase is going!" shouted a horrified voice from below;
and, in the sudden terror the notion inspired, every one who had
a chance of getting to the top again pushed backwards.
That was a fortunate circumstance for the rest; and Hetson—
who knew only too well that they were lost if the man who gave
the alarm had spoken truth—rushed with his wife towards the
creaking, groaning stairs, and hastened down at headlong speed.
The glare of the fire helped him to pass a spot in safety which
might have been fatal to him but for its light. Part of the
banisters, just at one of the turnings in the stairs, had given way
from the pressure of the crowd against it; but the flames lit up
the whole place so completely as to show the danger, and enable
the fugitives to avoid it.
Put still they were far from safe; for as the stream of inmates
pressed out into the open air, they were encountered by another
crowd, rushing into the house; some, who belonged to it, to
make an effort to save some of their property, some rushing up
from mere curiosity; and others again, probably for the sake of
what they could steal during the confusion.
One door was still locked, the door that led into the hall.
Put the persons thus imprisoned did not take time to discover
whether the door had been fastened from within or from without.
They threw themselves against the thin partition, and sent the
door crashing into the hall, through which their way led into the
open air. What cared they for the fact that they trampled on
chairs and tables, and probably on boxes of gold which the pro-
prietors had not found time to carry off ? There lay the entrance
■—that was the way into the open street—and away went the
crowd, throwing down whatever opposed it, pushing aside the
heavy tables, and smashing the light chairs to pieces.
" Hetson ! " cried a loud, rough voice suddenly; " hallo 1—
Hetson!—confound it, you've had a pretty introduction to
California!"
" Siftly! my good genius led you here!" exclaimed the other,
joyfully; "pray look after my wife for a minute; and then I can
run back and save our effects."
78 THE TIEST CONFLAGRATION.
" Very sorry, my good friend," answered the gamester, shrug-
ging his shoulders, " but all I can call mine on the face of the
earth is exposed to the same danger, and I must see what little
I can save of it."
" But my wife "
" Go with her to the Court-house; that's the only place where
you will be safe for the present; for how long I can't say, for
really it seems as if all the devils were loose, to burn down this
unhappy old crib."
Hetson stayed to hear no more, but fled with his wife as fast
as he could towards the street, to get out of the way of danger,
by making his way across the Plaza. But such a number of
idlers had collected there, and such heaps of baggage had been
piled up, that Hetson thought it best to keep towards the left
side of the square, as the wind blew in the contrary direction.
He thought that for the first hour or two he might find a shelter
in one of the houses, at least for his wife.
The left side of the Plaza seemed really to be quite out of
danger, for the wind was hurrying the flames in an entirely
opposite direction. An English medical man had opened a
" doctor's shopthe board over the door shone brightly in the
light of the fire, and Hetson immediately begged his assistance.
The doctor was ready to serve him as far as circumstances would
allow. He certainly counselled the applicant, rather to seek some
more distant place of refuge, as the Plaza seemed by no means a
fit retreat for a delicate woman. But Hetson was determined
to try and force his way once more into the Parker House, to
save at least a portion of his wardrobe. He therefore besought
Jenny, in a few hurried words, to stay where she was till he
returned,—and ran as fast as his feet would carry him, back to
the Parker House, which by this time was in a blaze.
Pressing forward with frantic haste, he reached the threshold
of the burning pile; but to enter it was impossible. A couple
of smoke-begrimed figures escaping from the house rushed past
him. In one of them he thought he recognized Siftly. But he
had not even time to look round to ascertain if his surmise was
correct; for at that moment the beams of the Parker House
gave way with a crash, broke through the light ceiling of the
hall, already damaged by the fire, and in the next minute the
outer walls were wrapped in one huge sheet of flame.
A deluge of sparks went roaring along with the wind as the
roof fell in; and the direction of the breeze had changed a
moment before. No longer through the length of the street went
the roaring flames, but straight across the Plaza towards the row
THE FIRST CONFLAGRATION. 79
of houses yet uninjured, the terrible shower of sparks and burn-
ing fragments came bounding.
A terrible confusion was thus occasioned on the Plaza itself,
where all the rescued property had been heaped up. Into the
midst of that promiscuous mass of goods, hailed the burning
shower, and some light clothes, thrown carelessly on the heap,
were the first to catch fire. The spectators, instead of pressing
them together, and thus stifling the flame, tore the mass apart
in their terror; thus increasing the rapidity with which it burned.
In a few seconds the fire had spread to the rest of the baggage,
and before many minutes had gone the whole store that had been
considered safe was burning like a huge bonfire, and endangering
even the distant houses on the opposite side of the Plaza.
This new misfortune had raised the excitement of the inhabi-
tants of San Prancisco to the highest pitch; and with the
excitement, rose anger, and a desire for vengeance against the
incendiaries—for, by this time, the belief that the fire was not
accidental had become certain.
Curses and threats, blasphemies against the earth and the
Creator, rolled in an impure flood from a hundred throats; and
the universal rage was increased tenfold by the reflection that it
was objectless and aimless—that the crowd had no victim upon
whom to glut its appetite for blood and revenge.
The change in the wind had threatened the whole town with
destruction. Houses hitherto spared by the flames, but whose
roofs the heat had dried and shrivelled, caught fire as soon as a
spark fell upon them. Two engines certainly came to give
assistance, and the carmen were constantly at work, bringing up
water from the bay; but they had little hope of being able to
conquer the hungry, raging element.
Hetson saw in a moment that any further attempt to penetrate
into the doomed house would be sheer madness; he therefore
turned to rejoin his wife without loss of time. But that was not
an easy thing to achieve; and to his horror he noticed, that
flames were rising in the direction of the doctor's house, while
the crowding and crush of people on the Plaza was worse than
ever. It was almost impossible for one man alone to thread his
way through the surging masses of the populace, so as to avoid
the burning pile of goods in the centre of the Plaza.
Among those who had worked with the greatest zeal, endea-
vouring "first to save property, and when that became imprac-
ticable, to stay the progress of the fire,—a man of colour, a
great broad-shouldered " free nigger" from the United States,
had made himself conspicuous,—and he now came running up,
80 THE FIRST CONFLAGRATION.
to offer his help in the new danger that threatened the Plaza.
He saw at once, that the people were doing more harm than
good by their zeal in separating the burning mass,—while by
turning their efforts to pulling down houses which threatened
to take fire, they might confine the devastation within certain
limits.
Peeking with perspiration, his clothes hanging about him in
rags, but full of zeal in his work of helpfulness, the negro came
pushing through the crowd, who had either lost their ability to
help, or were spending their strength in useless efforts, and cried
with all his might,—
" Let de trash burn!—what's de use of a few old boxes and
tables ?—over dere "
" Trash ?—who says trash ? " roared one or two fellows, whose
whole property, perhaps, had been included in the burning heap.
" The black varmint seems mighty glad of the fire! "
" But I tell ye "—exclaimed the negro, trying to make him-
self heard above the din—" ye're more use over dere. If de
fire "
" Expect he's one of the d—d incendiaries, who've set all our
goods burning here !" cried an angry voice.
"What is it? Whom have they got there? One of the
thieves who lit up the fire ?—Down with the dog! Knock him
down! Tear his heart out of his body!" yelled some of the
crowd, who stood farther off, and had not heard distinctly what
was going on.
"Back there—are ye mad?" cried the negro; and he tried
to force his way out, by jumping over some of the boxes that
stood in his way.
" That's him—hold bim—don't let him go "—and there arose
another fierce yell. " Throw him into the fire, and give him a
roasting!"
"Where's the rascal?" now cried those who stood nearest
the negro, and who thought an incendiary had been captured
somewhere else, and had afterwards escaped. "Where's the
dog ? "
" There he springs—don't let him get off!—to the fire with
him !" yelled the crowd—delighted at having caught some one
on whom to vent its rage.
The black man, who knew from experience gained in the
United States, that a " nigger," who offended a party of white
men, was not treated with much tenderness, though he were
innocent as the babe unborn, tried to get out of the way of the
most exasperated j once free from their clutches, he had little to
THE EtRST CONFLAGRATION. 81
fear from the rest. But a chest, upon which he sprang, stood on
the very edge of a pile of goods. It overbalanced with him,
and, as he tried to recover his equilibrium, he stumbled, and fell
on his hands and knees.
" There he is!—hold him !—down with him !—fling him into
the fire, the murdering black brute!" roared the fiercest among
the raging crowd.
"But, gentlemen!" shrieked the poor object of their fury,
now really in terror for his life, " I have been helping wherever
I could, and never set fire to no place at all!"
But words were thrown away on the maddened wretches, who,
pressing closer and more closely upon the poor negro, threw him
on the ground. The black victim of their senseless rage now felt
that his life was at stake, and strove with all his gigantic strength
to get free; and wherever his stalwart blows fell, there were yells
of pain: but it was of no avail.
" Down with the rascal—kill him!" shouted the savages; and,
pushed on by the crowd behind, the foremost of his enemies
trampled him under foot.
Without weapons to defend himself, at the mercy of his tor-
mentors, the negro could still use his arms and his teeth—and in
his despair he clutched and bit at his foes like a hunted wolf;
but it was in vain. Over his body went the yelling frantic
throng; and those who could not seize him, to throw him into the
fire, as their intention had been, kicked him with their iron boot-
heels, until his mangled form no longer stirred.
Like a troop of demons let loose, the yelling wretches ran to
and fro by the firelight. They had just sacrificed an innocent
man, but yet thought they had done no wrong. Who in that
hour of danger and dismay could talk of proof or of the trial of
a suspected man ? The baneful word that had marked him as an
incendiary had been spoken—whether by accident or design, no
one could tell,—the mad, unreasoning throng had taken up the
cry, and the victim lay a mangled corpse beneath their feet.
The dead body was afterwards cast into the flames, perhaps
from an undefined feeling that it would be as well to destroy all
evidence of their revenge; and from mouth to mouth, to the
farthest corner of the town, the tidings were borne, that the fire
had been purposely lighted up, but that one of the miscreants
had been caught and thrown into the flames.
Shuddering with horror, as he was hurried, an unwilling wit-
ness of this sudden and terrible popular outbreak, over the very
body of the dying man, Hetson exerted all his strength to extn-
cate himself from the mass of furious madmen around him. As
G
32 THE FffiST CONELAGfeATlOfl.
soon as he had succeeded in his endeavour, he ran with all p6§*
sible speed to the row of houses where he had left his wife. It
was burning fiercely.
Cool and collected asHetson had been till now, in the presence
of danger, this new blow almost drove him frantic. He ran like
a maniac, heedless of falling planks and beams, along the row of
burning houses, calling Jenny by her name, and cursing his own
folly in leaving her alone at such a moment. In vain he sought
high and low. At last, after he had more than once risked his
life in the search, he found the doctor's shop where he had left
her. He knew the place by the shelves, now lying half charred
upon the ground, and by the phials and glasses that lay strewn
around ; but of the late inhabitants not a trace was left. They
had, in fact, fled to avoid the fire, through the back buildings,
and over some planks;—and the engines had just driven up to the
corner house—a clay-built dwelling, from the time of the Spanish
occupation, — to endeavour to preserve it, and thus check the
progress of the fire in that direction.
Tired to death, but scarcely conscious of his fatigue, in hi3
anxiety for his lost wife, H etson stopped for a moment, to col-
lect his faculties, and to reflect where he should seek her next.
To reflect!—the idea seemed a mockery, when his head was throb-
bing madly, and he was obliged to support himself by the wheel
of a water-cart, to avoid falling outright.
" Mr. Hetson! " suddenly called a well-known Voice; and, turn-
ing his head, he beheld ola Dr. Rascher, who, panting under the
weight of a great brass-bound box, had stopped beside him.
"This is a sorrowful day for us, and a bad beginning in
California."
"Doctor," gasped the young man, on recognizing the speaker,
"have you—have you seen my wife among this mass of people?"
" Mrs. Hetson ?—Certainly ! " answered the Dofetor. " When
I ran back to bring away this chest, I saw her, in company with
a gentleman, hurrying up the next street. A woman's light dress
is such a rare sight in this wild place, that it is sure to attract
one's notice; but I thought you were with her, and I was too
much taken up with my own losses, to pay much attention to
others."
"With a gentleman!—a stranger ?" groaned Hetson, before
whose imagination all the phantoms, so lately dispelled, gathered
with renewed force;—" with him ?"
" But, Mr. Hetson," remonstrated the old man.
Hetson, however, heard nothing more. " Charles Golway,"
he muttered feebly, and fell fainting to the ground.
SHE FIRST CONFLAGRATION. 83
It was certainly not a time for men to occupy themselves about
a stranger; and the Americans passed by the prostrate man with
the greatest unconcern, scarcely pausing to glance at him where
he lay. Yet the good old Doctor, neglecting even his brass-bound
medicine-chest, which he left lying in the middle of the street,
immediately took measures to help his fallen friend. But whither
should he carry him ? The anxious glance he cast around re-
vealed to him nothing but ruin and confusion, though it seemed
that the fire was being gradually got under.
The wind, which had shifted for a short time, now returned to
its former quarter;, and this circumstance saved the part of
the town towards California Street, which would otherwise have
been destroyed.
The flames were borne back from the buildings they had only
just touched towards the open Plaza; and by tearing down the
nearest wooden sheds, and throwing volumes of water on the
corner house, the. people were at last enabled, after great exer-
tions, to stop the further progress of the fire.
As the old man stood, undecided which way to turn, he saw
the fire flicker and extinguish in the last building, leaving the
walls and part of the roof standing. Men were already hurry-
ing to and fro with lamps, and he determined to carry his patient
there, as the nearest place of anything like safety.
Though past the prime of life, the old Doctor was still a sturdy,
powerful man; and with some difficulty he took up the senseless
form, and carried it to the corner house. Some idlers soon
came to his assistance, who had been watching the fire, and
fancied Hetson had been stunned or killed by some falling beam.
They soon reached the corner house. The inhabitants had
either scorned to fly, or had already come back to take possession
of their half-burnt domicile; for the proprietor of the wine-shop
on the ground-floor, was employed among the half-burnt frag-
ments of the ceiling, which had given way at one end, hanging
up and lighting fresh lamps, and arranging bottles and glasses
for the sale of alcoholic liquors. Now was the time to get rid
of his wares at good stiff prices; and the man was too true a
Yankee to miss an opportunity.
The Doctor had not much leisure to observe the doings of
this persevering tradesman; for, as soon as he had deposited his
patient, as comfortably as he could, in a corner of the smoking-
room, he ran back to bring in his medicine-chest, wHch had been
left to take care of itself. But what a change had come over
the appearance of the grog-shop when the Doctor returned with
his prize, after an absence of about ten minutes!
84 THE .FIRST CONFLAGRATION.
To the right and left lamps and lanterns had been stuck up,
lighting the room brilliantly. Behind the bar-table, only half
cleared of sparks and bits of charcoal, and with one corner burnt
off, stood two boys, to fill the glasses of the guests who came
pouring in; and, nailed up against the half-ruined wall at the
back, under the starry sky that looked calmly through the
shattered roof, lit up by the glimmer of the yet smouldering
buildings around, mocking the calamity that had left thousands
without a shelter, was a large paper placard, with the inscrip-
tion
" Go ahead, young California!
Who the [unprintable] cares for a fire!"
The whole spirit of the inhabitants of California spoke out in
those words; now, for the first time, they were to show if their
elastic natures were proof against misfortune.
"Who cares?" might be taken as a motto for California
generally.
Doctor Kascher had not time for reflection on the strange
recklessness, and still stranger industry: his patient must be
seen after; and so he dragged his heavy chest, regardless of the
drinking, noisy tribe around him, to the corner where he had
laid Hetson down. The young man, however, had by this time
recovered his senses, and at first looked round in some astonish-
ment at the novel situation in which he found himself; but recol-
lection of the late events, and of his own terrible loss, came
crowding on him; and with a frightened start, he half rose
from his hard couch, just as the good Doctor came hurrying
towards him.
"Hallo !" cried a couple of Yankees—backwoodsmen who
had tramped to California over the prairies and across the Rocky
Mountains,—rather startled to see what they had taken for a
dead body become suddenly reanimated—"there's life enough
left in that chap for him to swallow a glass of brandy. Here,
old fellow, drink that; it'll soon help ye on your legs again!"—
and with rough good-nature they offered him a brimming bumper
of raw spirit.
Hetson was no dram-drinker, but he felt at that moment the
want of some stimulant that would excite, if it did not refresh
him. So, with a nod of thanks, he took the glass, and half
emptied it.
" Down with it, my boy!" said one of the men, laughing.
" It's capital stuff, and runs through your veins like fixe. What's
THE FIRST CONFLAGRATION.
85
the matter with you P Got a knock from a beam or post ? Ah!
they sometimes come down on a fellow plaguy hard."
"Thank you, friend!" answered Hetson, putting back the
proffered glass; " it has done me good already. I feel much
stronger now. Ah, Doctor! you come like a true friend—in
time of need. Have you found her?"
"My dear Mr. Hetson," said the old man, anxiously, as he
glanced round the crowded room, " let us be glad, in the first
place, that you are on your legs again; the rest we will settle
to-morrow, when we are calmer and less excited."
" To-morrow ?" whispered Hetson; and he sprang to his feet,
and grasped the Doctor's hand, till the old man winced and drew
back; " do you think that I could wait until to-morrow, and not
go mad outright. I must go!"
" But what, in the name of Heaven, do you intend to do out
of doors, in your exhausted state?" remonstrated the Doctor,
trying to hold him back. " At any rate wait for daylight, and I
will, with all my heart "
"Let me go, Doctor!" cried Hetson, forcibly releasing his
arm. " I know you mean it for my good; but, to-morrow—
to-morrow! No, I must go now—this instant!" and before his
adviser could prevent it, he had pushed his way through the
people who stood round, and was gone.
The visitors had long ceased to take any notice of his doings;
and even if they remarked his excitement, there was abundant
explanation for it, in the calamity that had just befallen the town.
That a man who had perhaps lost everything he possessed in the
world should behave rather strangely, they could well under-
stand. But such things did not interfere with the custom of the
grog-shop; for, as the separate parties ot visitors went out, they
were continually replaced by fresh arrivals.
The placard improvised by the proprietor had turned out a
capital "spec." The people liked the sentiment set forth in
that remarkable production; and the grog-shop took more money
in a few hours than it would have received, under ordinary
circumstances, in a week.
86
after the fire.
CHAPTER VII.
after the fire.
It was ten o'clock in the morning before the fire was so
completely mastered as to leave no further room for fear. A
number of the houses and tents which had been pulled down
were still smouldering; but engines had been posted to extin-
guish these last embers, and where no engines were to be had
the citizens went to work, tearing the smoking masses asunder,
strewing sand over the glimmering fragments, and doing their
best to avert all further danger.
While these precautions were being taken on the confines
of the scene of devastation, many people were employed in the
midst of the blackened space, which had been a town twelve
hours before, searching for the site where their dwellings had
stood.
While the fire was still raging fiercely the proprietor of the
Parker House had entered into a contract with a builder, by
which the latter bound himself to erect a similar structure,
equally roomy and commodious, to be fit for occupation within
sixteen days; and at one o'clock in the day a fresh alarm was
caused by people who had been driving timber into the Plaza,
which timber had taken fire from being thrust into the scorched
ground.
And now was shown the strange vitality of this people, whom
the thirst of gold—the desire for riches—had blown together from
the ends of the earth. There was no murmuring heard among
them, no lamentation over their losses; no father stood despond-
ing by the smouldering relics of what had been his home. As
the hunter in the forest, whose hut, roughly built of branches
and brushwood, has been blown down by a storm, sets to work
to build himself auother shelter, without wasting a thought on
the hovel he has lost,—so in the hearts of these men there was
scarcely a regret for what the last night had cost them. They
were thrown, for the second time, naked on the coast,—but it was
the coast of California, and four weeks' time was deemed sufficient
to make good all the loss they had suffered.
AFTER THE FIRE. 87
Tliey could afford to lose everything, except time. Every hour
they let pass unused, after the fire, was irreparably lost to them;
and there was a general rush among the inhabitants, who should
be first ready to make a fresh start.
Every cart that could be seized upon was employed before the
afternoon in carrying away the fragments of the burnt houses.
Posts and beams, still red with glimmering fire, were fastened
together with chains, and dragged away by horses, mules, asses,
and even by manual strength, to make room for the fresh wood,
and prevent a renewal of the morning's danger. Before the night
set in, temporary dwellings, roofed with thin boards covered with
sailcloth, had arisen on the site of last night's flames; and from
amid the reeking ruins, which all the day's exertions had been
insufficient to remove, sounded the harsh fiddle and the blaring
trumpet, to lure the idlers into the gamester's abode.
As mushrooms spring up to their full size in a single night,
the tents and houses sprang up on the hot earth; in some cases
it was even necessary to throw water, from time to time, on the
lower boards, to prevent them from taking fire.
The projectors of these fragile dwellings had, of course, to pay
enormous wages to the labourers for their work, and every lath
was purchased at an enormous price; but what did that matter ?
The rent given on one single evening for the play-tables almost
paid for the building; and each man strove to make the most of
the time; for the gambling-houses would soon be rebuilt in a
long row, each one striving to outvie the other.
The rebuilding of the Parker House had, of course, been
begun that day. More than fifty people were hard at work
digging holes for the posts and pillars that were to support the
outer walls; and the proprietor, unwilling to leave the valuable
space unoccupied, had erected a long low tent on the site of his
former mansion.
The floor of this tent was certainly nothing but the bare
ground, cooled with water, and afterwards stamped hard; but in ■
one corner stood a little orchestra, while a bar occupied the
other. Poles had been stuck in the ground to support the lamps;
the never-failing play-tables stood in the midst, surrounded with
a sufficiency of chairs; and in the background, occupying every
spare inch of space, was a long dining table, the provisions being
supplied from a kind of outhouse kitchen in the rear.
There was no placard, such as the enterprising Yankee of the
grog-shop had put up; but every sound of the orchestral trumpet,
every mallet-stroke that drove in a fresh beam for the new build-
jug, seemed to echo the burden—" Who cares ?" And thus, in
88 AFTER THE FIRE.
the midst of rain and desolation, the gambling-houses -were th<s
first to rear their walls—showing by their speedy birth and rapid
growth, to what a size they would attain, fattening, as they did,
on treachery and fraud, in the congenial soil of California.
The gambling element, whose chief food was here, in the
metropolis of the land, could not by any possibility be eradicated.
A fire might burn the poisonous plant even to the ground; but
its root remained untouched, and like a rank weed it began to
grow and flourish anew. But the skirmishers—the light infantry
of the place—the gold-washers, who only looked on San Fran-
cisco as a place for a holiday—a merry resort, from which they
could return to the real California—California proper—the land
of the mountain and gorge,—all these felt insecure after the
conflagration, and consequently uncomfortable: thus they left
the town in crowds, the day after the fire, anxious to be quit of
a place where the same scene might be re-enacted at any
moment.
Among the Germans the exodus was very general; for while
the Americans were naturally accustomed to a stormy life of
danger and adventure, the quiet Teuton stood aghast at finding
the two things he had considered most indispensable in life—
namely, peace and safety,—entirely wanting in the golden city.
And yet the calamitous fire had done comparatively little harm
among the German community, as the cheaper lodging-houses—
miscalled hotels—in which they had taken up their quarters, were
situated in the outskirts of the town, and had escaped uninjured
But the warning, of what might happen to them in San Francisco,
had not been thrown away on the majority; and all who were
not detained by particular business, strapped up their bundles,
and betook themselves to the mountains without loss of time.
The fire had been quenched before it reached " Pacific Street,"
so that the two German hotels escaped with the fright. But
most of the lodgers found the locality too warm for them, and
even the Counsellor made up his mind to be off at once.
For the Counsellor to resolve on any step so suddenly, was a
remarkable thing; for he usually deliberated for some time on
any move, before carrying it out. But in one night he had ob-
tained more experience than was exactly agreeable to him, of
American life and Yankee proceedings—for no policeman had
interfered when a great tall fellow knocked the Counsellor's long
pipe out of the Counsellor's own mouth, as he stood looking ot
at the fire; and beyond this, hurried along by the crowd, he hal
been an involuntary and horrified spectator at the isurder of tin
AFTER TUB FIRE. 89
negro, which, to his still greater indignation, was afterwards
spoken of as quite an everyday incident.
After this last occurrence he had made the best of his way
home, the moment he could extricate himself from the crowd; but
he spoke to no one of what he had seen, nor did he utter any
opinion on the subject; the horrible people might take it into
their heads to treat him just in the same way: and hence the
Counsellor's sudden resolution to leave the place as soon as he
could.
The man who left San Francisco, however, had no resource
but to go to the mines; and so the Counsellor waited upon the
astonished Assessor Mohler, with a proposition that they should
go to the mountains together.
Though goodnatured, thoughtful Assessor Mohler had a great
respect for the Counsellor, whose whole manner impressed him,
he still firmly, though politely, declined "the very handsome
proposal"—alleging that he could not leave poor Mrs. Sie-
bert alone in her affliction—that he had, in fact, promised to
stand by her, and must therefore keep his word, glad as he
would, under other circumstances, have been to have joined a
party of his own countrymen.
The Counsellor only shrugged his shoulders in reply, and the
affair was considered settled. The day was to be devoted to a
general packing up; for, besides the Counsellor, Messrs. Lam-
berg, Binderhof, and Hufner, had determined to set out together.
The three last-named gentlemen had soon completed their
arrangements. One of the little steamers which plied in the bay
was to take them to Stockton, and from thence they were going
on to try their luck in the southern mines. But the afternoon
had come, and still the Counsellor would do nothing but smoke
his pipe, and go shuffling about, to make observations on the
El Dorado. At last, as the others kept urging him on, and
declared that they would not wait for him one moment, next
morning, he set to work, but in such an awkward manner that
Assessor Mohler, scrupulously neat in all such matters, could
stand it no longer, but offered to do all the packing for the Coun-
sellor, on condition of having everything collected in one place,
and then being left to his own devices. The Counsellor, happy at
being relieved from so much trouble, at once acceded to these
requests.
The indefatigable Assessor accordingly began his task at two
in the afternoon, interrupted only at intervals by his duties as
nurse to Mrs. Siebert's children. He made up a bale compact
enough for a journey round the world; looked out a piece of
90 AFTER THE EIRE.
packing-canvass, with needle and thread from his own stock; and
long after dark he was still standing in the street at his work,
attracting the wondering gaze of the passers-bj, as he threaded
his great needle by the light of the moon.
The Counsellor, in the meantime, walked to and fro, smoking
without manifesting the least impatience; and when his obliging
friend had at length concluded his task, he said laconically,—
" Much obliged—please roll the bale into the tent; " and
strolled down the street with his pipe, to have another look at
the Plaza.
At a dark corner stood three men, talking vehemently to-
gether—and angry words seemed passing between them. When
the stranger approached them, they were silent, looked hastily
at him, and waited to let him pass before resuming their con-
versation.
" — Evening," said the Counsellor, in his short way, though he
intended to speak civilly—for he did not like the looks of the
three men, and bestowed the mutilated salute as a propitiatory
offering. But none of the men answered him, though they all
turned sharply round • and when he was quite out of earshot, the
man who had spoken last—a little stout fellow—went on with
what he had to say.
" Where have you two been hiding, that I haven't caught
sight of you all day long ? " he cried—" and I've been running
all over the town, in a fine fright. And where were you off to,
together, ehP—Oh, to look for me!—and you fancy I am to
believe that!"
" Certainly, we were looking for you," answered one of the
others, a tall, lanky man; " and if you'd be sensible, Brown, and
listen to me a minute, you'd hear all about it."
" All that you two have arranged so nicely, eh! " cried the
little man, with a scornful glance at the speaker.
" I hope, Brown, you don't think I'd cheat a friendinter-
posed the third man. " Deuce take it, don't I suffer just as
much from the loss as you do ? and I have just as much right to
call Smith to account as you have."
" Call me to account!—for what ? " exclaimed Smith. " Could
I quench the fire, when it burst all at once into the hall, and filled
the whole place with flame and smoke ? See how poor Jacobs
was burnt, through trying to drag his money-box out into the
open air; and yet I didn't desert my post, and should have
brought away the stuff if that cursed beam that fell from the
ceiling hadn't stopped me as I ran. I tell you it was a matter
of life and death-Kind if I hadn't left everything behind, why,
AETEB. THE JIBE.
91
I should have been found among the ruins after the fire was
over—and that's the truth of it."
"But what became of the gold?" asked the pertinacious
Brown. "You know very well, Siftly, that gold and silver don't
burn like paper, and, melted or unmelted, there it must have
remained."
" And where is all the rest gone, then ?" interrupted Smith.
" "Who was to look after all the crowds of people who came rush-
ing up to help at the fire ? I had taken care to remember the
exact spot where I was obliged to leave the box, and spent two
whole hours looking after it this morning. But all to no purpose:
there wasn't a trace of the money to be seen, and we have just
got to begin again, as we did four months ago."
" If you weren't such a cowardly skulk, Smith," said Siftly,
with a gloomy look, "you might have saved the gold easily
enough. How did Polkers and his chum manage to save their
whole stock ?"
" Because their berth was close to the door," answered Smith.
"That's right—begin to blame me because I haven't got the
strength of ten men, and can't live in the fire like a salamander."
-" And is there nothing left—nothing at all—of the whole stock
we owned in common?" asked Brown, who had been looking at
his partners in anything but a friendly way.
" Not a cent, as true as I stand here," exclaimed Smith, vehe-
mently; " I was even obliged to leave my cloak behind me; and
I'll take my Bible oath "
"Don't give yourself the trouble to do anything of the kind,"
said the little man; "Iknow pretty well how much you care for
an oath; for we know each other too well—worse luck."
"But, Brown "
"Let me finish. I see, too, that I can't prove anything against
you now, though I may have my own thoughts on the matter;
and to bring the matter before a court would be foolery—just
putting money into the lawyers' pockets. The fire of San Pran-
cisco covers the whole affair; and that's a kind of cloak under
which many a clever fellow may hide himself: and so far you've
managed the thing sharp enough. But "
"Do you mean to say you believe I've stolen your money ?"
roared Smith, in an angry, bullying tone.
" Most decided-/^ I do," replied Brown, with the utmost cool-
ness of speech; " and more than that—more than I care to tell
you of just now. But look out for yourselves! if I once get the
proof that you've cheated me, the Lord have mercy on ye !"
"Infernal rascal!" yelled Smith, hoarse with rage—and he
93 AFTER THE FIRS.
felt in his breast for the revolver he carried there. But Sift* -
hand lay like iron upon his arm. They could not afford to have
a disturbance with the police, and he stepped between the two to
part them.
" Brown," he said, in a quiet, conciliating voice, " I believe
you're wronging Smith; and, at any rate, the way "
"Believe whatever you like," interrupted the little man, at
last fairly in a rage; " but, if you want to make me stand to
my words, you know where I live," and, turning on his heel, he
marched quickly down the street, without deigning to look back
once at his quondam partners.
Smith made a movement as if to follow him; but Siftly kept
tight hold of his arm, and, as he drew him off in the opposite
direction, he whispered,—
" Let him go. Unless he had been quite an idiot, he couldn't
help suspecting something; and, now that he's had his say, the
affair will be over all the sooner. That he can't do anything he
knows as well as we do; and as for the few words he's said, I
think we can put up with those—he's paid for them dearly
enough."
" But he'll come spying round after us," objected Smith. " If
you hadn't held me back, I'd have made him quiet."
" And we should have been by this time in the hands of a few
constables, who would have asked more questions about our
private affairs than we should exactly care to answer," said
Siftly, laughing. " No, no, friend, not here in the town, which
we must leave behind us to-morrow. If he should be blockhead
enough to follow us, leave the affair to me, and you'll be satis-
fied with my way of ending it. But that's enougli of folly—now
to talk of business. I couldn't find you myself after the fire, and
should almost have thought our meeting now was an accident, if
I didn't know of certain ties that unite us together. Is the gold
safe?"
" Yes," answered Smith.
" Outside the town ?"
" Of course. I knew of no safe place here j and it wouldn't
do to risk being found out."
" Of course not. And when shall we go P"
"To-morrow morning, I think; but, after what happened with
that fellow just now, we shouldn't be seen together. We'd
better meet at some other place—in the mines would be best."
Siftly darted a quick, suspicious glance at his companion's
face; but, as they walked in the shadow of the houses, he could
not catch its expression.
AJIER IHE ElEE. 03
"And how shall you take away the gold?" he asked, after a
short pause.
" On a steamer to Sacramento, of course," answered Smith.
" There I shall buy a mule, and pack it in the saddlebags."
"And where is it now ?"
"The gold?—In Sausalita: I went over there this morning.
The best way is,—you go by land down the bay to Sacramento,
though it's rather a difficult and roundabout road; and we won't
meet in Sacramento city, where Brown could come and annoy
us, but in Yuba city: there no fellow will disturb us, that's
certain."
"No," said Siftly, after a short consideration, "that's true
enough; but I have thought the matter over differently, and
think we'd better make the journey together. And if Brown
should come after us, and if he were to meet us, what then ?
I'll take very good care he does us no harm."
"Very well, if you don't trust me," said Smith, gloomily.
" That isn't the question just now," answered Siftly, quietly.
"I know that you know me, and am therefore not afraid on my
own account. At what o'clock does the Sausalita boat go off
to-morrow morning ?"
"At six."
"And the Sacramento boat ?"
" At seven. But that stops at Sausalita too."
/"Very well. Then do you go by the first boat to-morrow
morning, and I'll follow you by the second. At the landing-
place do you wait for me with the gold, and we'll finish the
journey together. Are you satisfied with that ?"
" With all my heart," answered his partner. " I only hope
Brown won't play the fool."
" That will do. So that's settled; and where will you go now ? "
"To the Parker House, or Parker Tent" answered Smith,
with a laugh; " for the establishment there is rather under a
cloud just now. Will you go too ?"
" Certainly," replied Siftly. " Though we can't have a hand
in the play-tables now, I'm so used to the life, that I can't do
without it; so I'll try this evening if I have any luck in cutting."
Up in Pacific Street, in a little house that stood alone, and
was built only of thin posts, with walls and roof of blue cotton,
already wofully discoloured by the sun, lay, stretched on a
mattress in the corner, and wrapped in a blanket, a sick man, in
a deep but unquiet sleep.
Near the sick-bed stood a pale, beautiful woman; and an old
94 AEIER THE EIRE.
grey-headed man was bending over the patient, and thoughtfully
feeling his burning wrist. The lady, with clasped hands and
anxious eyes, looked in his face; and when at last the old
Doctor shook his head thoughtfully, she grasped his arm, and
led him gently to the door.
You are not satisfied with his state, I see, Doctor," she
observed, with trembling voice. "Oh, pray conceal nothing
from me! You may be sure that the terrible certainty will be a
thousand times preferable to this horrid suspense—this doubt,
which seems to kill one by inches."
" Do not fear, my dear Mrs. Hetson," answered the Doctor,
heartily. " I certainly don't like his pulse; but he is terribly
feverish just now; and I hope, in fact, that the whole thing will
end in a fever that we shall soon be able to subdue. It would
certainly be desirable that we had a better lodging, particularly
on your account, than this cotton booth, which the first storm of
rain would utterly ruin."
"Oh, don't think of me, Doctor!" replied the lady; "only
promise me that you will cure my poor Frank, and I shall have
cause to bless your skill." ;
"Yes; but, my dear Mrs. Hetson, I fear his illness is rather
out of the way of the physician's art,—not a bodily, but a
mental ailment, proceeding from the imagination. Do you
know what brought him into this condition ?"
" Not in the least."
" And where did you find him ?"
"The Doctor found him,—a gentleman from England, in
whose house we took refuge before that, too, fell a prey to the
flames, and we were compelled to flee again. My husband had
hurried back to the Parker House, to try and save a few more of
our effects. The Doctor found him lying senseless in the road,
with a crowd staring at him. Luckily he knew my husband
again, had him carried to this little house, which belongs to him,
and brought me, whom he had left at his brother's house, here to
him. He has gone out to fetch some medicine; and I thank
God for guiding your steps hither. But how did you come to
hear of our whereabout ?"
"Through the merest chance—one of those chances which
seem to govern everything in California,—if, indeed, we admit
the existence of such a thing as chance in life. I heard from
some of our late fellow-passengers that they had met Mr. Hetson,
who had lost his wife, and was half mad about it. One of our
friends had luckily helped to carry him in here, and was kind
enough to show me the way."
AFTER THE FIRE.
95
H But how, iu Heaven's name, can such an illness as this have
arisen purely from imagination P"
" Perhaps I myself am in fault," said Dr. Rascher. " I saw
you, while the fire was raging, in the company of the English
Doctor, who, of course, I did not know, but thought your
husband was with you. Meeting Mr. Iietson afterwards, I told
him, in answer to his eager questionings, that I had seen you
under the protection of a strange gentleman; and I almost
fear he fancied this man was his rival. That is the only way I
can account for the situation in which I found him, after what
you have told me."
Mrs. Hetson was silent; but she grew paler than before, and
sat musing sorrowfully.
" Poor, poor Erank !" she whispered at last. " And can you
think of nothing, dear Doctor, that would really cure him—really
free him from this unhappy delusion?"
" A permanent cure," said the Doctor, " might be achieved by
rather a strong remedy—nothing less than a meeting and thorough
explanation between the two men. Now he is fretting about a
shadow — a mere phantom that threatens him everywhere, but
is palpable nowhere. When he has once met him face to
face "
" But don't you fear, Doctor, that such a meeting would only
make him worse ?"
" To speak frankly, I do not; though it is impossible to speak
with certainty as to the result of such a thing. Do you know at
all where that other gentleman is staying ?"
"I do not know in the least. I only heard from Erank
himself, yesterday, that he was in California; and, after all, it
may be only a confusion of names. But I fear the worst—the
very worst—for my husband's health, and even for his life, if
they should meet while he is in this excited, morbid state.
"Then you have nothing for it," said the Doctor, "but either
to leave California by the first ship—and that would be the very
best course, particularly for you, Mrs. Hetson,—or, if Mr. Hetson
will not consent to that plan, you should make a journey into
the mountains so soon as your husbaud is well enough to under-
take it without danger. The fresh mountain air, and more than
that, the feeling of security up there in the wilderness, will con-
tribute greatly to give him back his old health and strength; and
when he has once regained those, the ugly dreams will vanish of
themselves."
"Doctor!" whispered the sick man, raising himself wearily
from his couch; " Doctor, they have fled up the street yonder—
96
AViSR TEE EIRE.
if you — if you take a horse, you may still overtake him —oh!
Jenny, Jenny! "
"Frank! my own. Frank!" cried his wife, running to his
couch and throwing her arms round him; " I am here — I am
with you, and will never — never leave you. Don't you know
your poor Jenny ? "
" Up the street, over yonder, Doctor!" cried the delirious
man, on whose ear the winning tones of his wife's voice for the
first time fell unheeded; " over there!—help ! help ! Now they
are round the corner, and you'll lose all trace of them in that
crowd of people I "
" Frank—my dearest Frank—look—see—I am here, am with
you! oh, pray do look at me !"
" Siftly! " groaned the poor patient, who had seemed to listen
to the soft voice for a moment, but had relapsed into his delirious
fancies. " Siftly! where is Siftly ? Call him for me, Doctor. 1
must speak to him—and quickly. He knows all the holes and
corners of this mad place — he — he has also told me of a plan
for regaining my peace and quiet. Siftly—Siftly—Siftly can—
help—me!" and exhausted by the paroxysm, the unhappy man
fell back, with closed eyes, into the arms of his wife, who let
him sink back gently on his pillow, where he lay quiet and
motionless.
" Who is it for whom he is asking ? " enquired the Doctor, in
a low voice, again taking the sick man's wrist in his practised
fingers.
" An old friend of my husband's, whom he met by chance here
in California," answered Mrs. Hetson.
"Hem!—then as he cries for him, it would, perhaps, be best to
bring him here. Perhaps a friend's presence might dispel these
troubled dreams. Do you know where he is to be found ? "
" He lived, as far as I know, in the same house with us—the
' Parker House'—and seemed to be very well known there, for
though the house was overcrowded, he got us a room,—but
his exterior was not exactly prepossessing. I—I may be wrong,
but I hardly think I should feel at my ease in his company."
" My dear Mrs. Hetson," said the Doctor, with a shrug, as he
let the sick man's hand fall back upon the coverlet, " from what
I have seen, as yet, of this country and its inhabitants, it seems
to me that we must not always judge of people by their appear-
ance. Under a strange unprepossessing exterior we may often
meet with a good and feeling heart. I have myself discovered a
remarkable instance of this.—I'll tell you all about it some day.
"We must therefore not be entirely guided by first impressions.
AFTER THE EIRE. 97
At any rate, I'll inquire for this man in the 'Parker House/
—which these go-ahead Yankees have already built up again,
by the way, of cotton and canvass;—and if I think his presence
will bring any alleviation for our poor patient here, I shall cer-
tainly bring him with me. Do you agree to this ? "
" I agree to all you think right, my best friend," answered the
young wife, warmly; and she seized his hand gratefully. " You
have shown yourself, both here and on board, such a faithful,
kind adviser to us, that I "
" My dear, good lady," said the old man, with a deprecating
smile; " I only wish I could really do something material for
you; but so long as I have not doue so, I have not earned your
thanks."
"And what ami to do with poor Frank ? " asked the poor wife.
" To be all night alone, without help or comfort,—I shall never
be able to do it!"
"Nor must you remain alone;" said the Doctor; "for one can
never know what may happen; I have therefore already thought
of a woman whom I can send here to you, — I mean Mrs. Sie-
bert, who made the voyage with us. She is certainly a German;
but then you know something of the language,—quite enough
to make yourself understood; and as Mrs. Siebert lives only a
few doors off from here, and can leave her children under the
care of a fellow-passenger, besides going every now and then to
give a look at them herself, she will not refuse my request:
besides, I have done her several kindnesses on the journey, and
cured her youngest child of rather a serious illness. The English
doctor will most likely bring you some quieting medicine for
your husband; for we cannot adopt any active measures till the
nature of the illness has shown itself more plainly. At any rate,
I shall look in again, in about an hour, and I hope to bring the
woman I mention, and some medicine with me."
Poor MrS. Hetson began pouring out her thanks; but he shook
his head kindly at her, and hastened out of the house, first to
speak to Mrs. Siebert, and afterwards to betake himself to the
"Parker Tent."
The evening closed in, and in the brilliantly-lighted " Parker
Tent" there was the hum and bustle of wild, active life. The
sensuous pictures no longer covered the canvass walls, to arrest
the idler's attention, nor could the rough posts to which the
lamps were hung boast the elegance of the burnt "Parker House."
But the tent was as profusely lit up as ever the hall had been •
from the orchestra, hastily knocked together with rough boards,
the music was again deafening the ear; and round the green
H
98 atteh the fike.
clothed tables thronged the players, wherever they could find
standing room. A great many visitors had come, from curiosity
to see the place in full activity from whose midst a pillar of
flame had been rising towards the sky so few hours since; and a
number of gambling-houses were moreover closed, their pro-
prietors not being able to find the gold which could alone resus-
citate them, in a day. Play was a necessity for many of the people,
who knew no other way of passing their evenings; and thus, as
many as could obtain standing room, came thronging round the
tables.
It has already been mentioned that a space at the back of the
tent was kept separate for the purpose of a dining room. It was
divided from the gamblers' locale by day by a wooden barrier,
and in the evening by a long canvass curtain. The returns of
this part of the establishment barely covered the extra cost of
preparation; but it was important to keep the people who were
going to risk their money at the play-tables from going else-
where for their supper; for there was a chance of their being
fascinated by other tables, in which case they would return no
more. The champagne corks were flying merrily, and, as the
proprietor charged at the rate of five dollars a bottle for his
wine, he indemnified himself pretty effectually for the small
profits realized at the table d'hote.
The places at the dining tables were nearly all occupied; and
as soon as the scattered guests rose, others took their places; so
that the waiters had their hands full of business. It was not
till the darkness set in that the stream of guests began to slacken,
as they adjourned, one by one, to the adjoining compartment to
try their luck; and then came the interregnum between dinner
and supper, in which only single customers appeared, whose
wants were speedily supplied.
Our old acquaintance Emile the waiter had been, like the
rest of his fraternity, exceedingly busy all day; and it was only
now, as the tide of hungry customers ceased to set in towards
the table, that he at last found time and opportunity to think of
his own dinner.
He fetched his dinner from the kitchen, established himself in
a vacant chair at the table, poured himself out a glass of wine,
and began to discuss his meal, keeping an eye upon the entrance,
ready to make room for any sudden influx of guests who might
arrive and claim his seat at table, and his attendance.
A friendly face peered in at one end of the canvass curtain:
it was Dr. Eascher's; and Emile sprang hastily from his sear,
with a—
aeter the eire. 99
"Kallo, Doctor! how are you? Did you lose many of your
things in the fire P"
" Before we begin to talk, please resume your seat, and go on
with your supper, my dear Baron," said the old physician,
heartily shaking the waiter's proffered hand, and then thrusting
him back into his chair.
"If you would only leave off calling me f Baron,'" observed
the young man, with a smile, as he took up his knife and fork to
comply with the Doctor's request. " You must allow that the
title does not accord very well with my present occupation; at
least, it does not, according to our old-world, European ideas.
Call me Emile, if only out of consideration for the other people
here; and if ever we meet again at home, as I devoutly hope we
shall, you may call me what you will."
"Well, if you needs must have it so, so be it."
"And did you lose much by the fire last night ?"
"No, I am thankful to say. The apparatus for my collections
had luckily not been landed yet. I had only my little medicine-
chest, and some necessary clothes with me; and these I have
been fortunate enough to save."
"I am very glad to hear it," said Emile; "but now," he
continued, rising from his chair, " I have done, and you will allow
me to wait on you. You are going to dine, of course—nay,
pray make no ceremony—I hope we understand each other."
The old man smiled.
"You must not be angry with an old-fashioned German," he
said, " if he cannot at once divest himself of his prejudices;
but as you wish it, my dear Emile, I shall certainly ask you to
bring me something to eat, for I have not dined to-day. First,
however, I wanted to ask you for information about a man—he
is an American, I think—who lived in the ' Parker House,' or at
least frequented it pretty constantly before the fire."
" With the greatest pleasure, if I know him. Do you per-
haps know his name, or could you describe him in any way?"
"I only know bis name. It is Siftly."
"Siftly!" repeated the astonished waiter. "What can you
want with him ?"
" Do you know him ?"
"Thoroughly. He is one of that worthless set of American
gamblers, who have already become the bane of this country.
Possessing on the whole, a certain amount of education, and
with the manners of a man of the world, but utterly reckless as
to the means he uses for obtaining the one thing he wants,
namely, gold, and with a face in which every vice seems to have
h 2
100 -AETEE THE EIRE.
left its mark, he has come to this coast; and he -will leave the
country a rich man, if he has to rob and murder for it."
" You draw his portrait in too dark colours."
" I am not describing one man only," said the young man;
"but, unfortunately, the whole class of men of whom Siftly is
a worthy representative. It you put any faith in my Californian
experience, and will take my advice, do not employ that Siftly
in any business for which you want an honest man."^
" Californian experience !" said the old Doctor, with a smile;
"how long have you been here, after all ?"
"Three months," was the reply; "but you must know that
there's only one month in a year out here; or, rather, that in
California the events of a year are all compressed within a
month's time. We live excessively fast here; and even the
interest of money is not reckoned, as in other lands, by the year,
but by the month. Merchants not unfreqnently pay ten and
twelve per cent, per month for capital, and six per cent, per
month is the lowest tariff; but then, fortunes are made in a
few months, or even weeks, and often lost in as many days or
hours; and the first man who has lived five years here will be
able to call himself a veteran in age and experience.
"Well, well! you may be right," said the old Doctor, with a
nod; " and what I have seen during a twenty-four hours' resi-
dence here, certainly confirms your report. But I may tell you
for your comfort that I have personally nothing to do with that
Mr. Siftly—only that one of my fellow-passengers, who is ill,
has called for him. However, if the man's character be as you
describe it, I don't think I shall feel inclined to trouble him.
Yet I should like to see him. Is he here in the tent?"
" Certainly; for the atmosphere of the gambling-table suits
him best. He could no more live without the green cloth and
the cards than a fish without water. He will be sure to look
in here to dinner, for he is a subscriber, and has paid in advance.
So, if you will wait a little longer, you can afterwards contem-
plate him at your leisure; or, if you like, I'll go with you into
the card-tent, and point him out—only the crowd is rather thick
there."
"I've time to spare," said the Doctor; "and, as I want to
dine, I can do two things at once. So, please my dear Ba—I
mean Emile—get me something to eat."
Emile smiled and bowed, placed a knife, fork, and plate before
the guest, with a most professional air, and left the tent to pro-
cure him what he wanted.
The orchestra, separated only by the thin canvass partition from
AFTER THE FIRE. 101
the table, had continued its peculiar musical strains all this time;
but the guest who had been some time exposed to its effects at
last became perfectly indifferent—-just as a man in whose ears a
watermill has been clattering and gurgling for a time, at last
becomes hardened to the sound, until at length he only heeds it
in so far as it makes him raise his voice to be heard above it
when he speaks.
So it was with Dr. Rascher: he sat waiting for his supper, and
thinking of his patient, Hetson, while the chaos of banging and
braying sounds filled his ear, until, all at once, the " music "
stopped. Then he rose from his chair with a start, and became
suddenly conscious how disagreeably loud the sound of min-
strelsy had been.
" Thank Heaven it is over!" was his fervent ejaculation. " At
least I shall be able to eat my supper in peace now."
The low, quivering tones of a violin were now heard, after the
other instruments had been silent for a minute or two, and the
Doctor fidgeted impatiently on his chair. But the look of im-
patience was soon smoothed away from his face, and gave way to
one of pleased astonishment, as he listened to the notes, which
swelled more and more gradually on the ear, till at last he lost
sight of everything around him, and did not even notice that
Emile had brought his supper, and was standing behind his chair.
Certainly, the operation had been very silently conducted,
and Emile himself seemed to have forgotten everything around
him in listening to the plaintive tones of the wonderful in-
strument.
Other guests had meanwhile come into the tent, and taken their
places at the table; but they remained unnoticed, and the two
men almost held their breath as they listened to the melodious
strains.
" Emile! What the deuce are you at ? Emile!"—shouted a
rough voice—" hallo there! has the fiddling out there made you
so drowsy that you're taking a nap as you stand? What's
in the larder ? I'm as hungry as a wolf, and have scarcely had
a bit to eat all day long."
Emile started as if he had been stung, and threw an angry
glance at the speaker. But his indignation was wasted on the
hungry man, who was deep in the study of the bill of fare, till,
having arrived at a satisfactory result, he threw it down, and
ordered—
" A plate of roast beef and potatoes—and after that I'll try a
slice of the grizzly bear j—but look sharp about it, please, for I've
no time to spare."
102 AFTER THE FIRE.
The Doctor, too, had been roused from his dream by the rough
interruption, and looked at the new comer, who had thrown his
poncho over the back of the chair, thrust his hat off his forehead,
without entirely removing it, and sat with both his elbows on the
table, waiting for the supper he had ordered.
" That's Siftly," whispered Emile, bending down to him for a
moment, and then moving away to fulfil his duties as waiter.
" Oh, that's he ? " muttered the Doctor, forgetting even the
melodious playing in this new object of interest. " Why, then,
I think the Baron and Mrs. Hetson are right. I don't like the
look of his face at all; for though he looks manly enough, with
his great black beard, his little dark eyes have an evil look
gleaming out under his bushy eyebrows. He looks resolute
enough, by the by, to make his way in this mad place; but I
should very much doubt if he's the kind of man to do my patient
any good."
Siftly, who either did not see, or, if he saw, did not care to notice
the strange old gentleman under the lamp, nodded to Emile, who
came in with the supper, and then fell to with his knife and fork,
apparently intent only on satisfying his hunger.
The violin playing had in the mean time ceased, and Emile,
leaning over the back of Dr. Rascher's chair, whispered,—
"Well, how do you like him ? "
"Not at all!" answered the Doctor, readily. "You are quite
right; that man has a dangerous look, and does not seem in the
habit of looking any one straight in the face. But, tell me, who
is that remarkable violinist who handles his instrument in such a
wonderful manner ? and what unhappy star can have brought
him into such a confounded Californian gambling-hell as this ? "
" Yes, indeed, it was an unhappy star," said Emile, with a more
serious look than the Doctor had yet seen on his face; " you
will say so, indeed, when you hear that a young girl plays that
violin."
" A girl!" cried the Doctor, turning round in sudden wonder.
" A Spanish girl," said Emile, " whose father seems to belong
to the higher ranks among his countrymen, by his appearance
and manners; but the miserable green tables have made him
what he is—an unhappy, inveterate gambler, who is dragging his
child with himself headlong to destruction."
" You make me curious to see them," said the Doctor.
" Here they come," whispered Emile; and if Dr. Rascher
had not been at once absorbed in watching the new comer, he
coukl not have failed to notice the change in Emile's face. But
he had eyes only for the corner where the sailcloth curtain was
AETEB THE PIEE.
103
hung up as a door, and where Manuela now appeared, dressed as
usual in black, with her beautiful countenance half concealed, as
she pressed close to her father's side.
" Hallo, Don Bonez!" shouted Siftly, familiarly, in his few
words of broken Spanish, as he caught sight of father and
daughter—" sta buena—aqui—aqui esta—hang it, I don't know
aow to say it in Spanish; but here's room here. Come and sit
down with the senorita."
Don Bonez, however, seemed either to have overheard the
invitation, or to be unwilling to accept it, for he only bowed
slightly to the American, on whom Manuela did not even bestow
a look, and went to sit down with his daughter at the opposite
side of the board.
But Siftly would not so easily give up the chance of a conver-
sation. He again struck in with his broken Spanish, and tried
to draw the girl into a chat, by praising her violin playing.
Still, Manuela would not answer, and did not even look up from
her plate; in fact, she so decidedly repelled every advance, that
the American at last threw an evil glance at her, set his teeth
firmly together, and fell to stabbing the roll of bread before him
with his knife.
Emile had by this time stepped up to them, and there was a
faint flush on the maiden's cheek, as she felt rather than saw his
presence. But she mastered her emotion, and turning to the
young man, she said in a low but kindly voice, in her native
Spanish:
" Senor, you have been kind to us several times within these
last days, by letting my father have refreshments here without
immediate payment."
" Senorita," answered the waiter, whose face had become scar-
let in a moment, "that is—that is a thing which concerns my
principal alone."
The girl looked at him with an inquiring glance; it was the
first time she had raised her eyes since she came into the
room. Then she shook her head, and resumed in a not unfriendly
tone,—
" I know that Monsieur Bigault gives credit to no one, and
that if any of his assistants provide anything without immediate
payment, it is done at their own risk. "We have, therefore, to
acknowledge your kindness. This little sum will just cover our
debt. Take it, and thank you."
" Senorita," began Emile, still redder than before, and without
putting out his hand for the proffered money; but the girl looked
at him with eyes of such grave astonishment, that he could
104 AETER THE EIRE.
object no longer. He took the money, and said, "I hope*
senorita, you have not let this trifling debt disquiet you. You
may believe me, that it was a great pleaure to me to be useful to
you for a few days."
The girl did not reply, but only bowed slightly to him, and
resumed her seat.
In the mean time another waiter bad brought the supper
ordered by Emile for Don Ronez and his daughter, and they sat
in silence at their comfortless meal. Doctor Rascher had an
opportunity of looking at the young girl, and was obliged to
acknowledge that he had never in his life seen a more beautiful
countenance. Moreover, she was at the most only about seven-
teen years old ; and if she was at all conscious of her position,
1 hought the Doctor, how terrible it must seem to her to be
placed here among the gamblers—the refuse of the country—as
a decoy to lure customers to their tables. But perhaps she did
not feel that in all its bitterness, thought the good-natured Doc-
tor—and then she could bear her fate with a lighter heart. He
did not know with what scalding tears the poor girl's pillow was
wet every night.
Almost involuntarily his eyes wandered to the American, who
sat opposite. No two faces could show a wider difference in
expression than the countenance of the girl and of the man.
Margaret and Mephistopheles—the comparison occurred involun-
tarily on seeing them together,—personified innocence on the one
hand, and wild lawless passion on the other.
At last Siftly seemed to tire of gazing at the beautiful form
opposite him—i'or suddenly he bent over the table, and whis-
pered :t
" Manuela!"
Still the girl answered not a syllable, but continued looking at
the table straight before her. Don Alonzo, as her father was
generally called, had risen from his chair and gone towards the
sideboard to pay for their supper with the money he had just
received from his daughter. With a muttered curse the Yankee
rose; and Doctor Rascher could hardly believe his eyes, when he
saw him go round the table, towards the place where the maiden
sat alone.
Manuela had observed the movement and its intention, and
looked slily from under her long eyelashes as his hated figure
approached her, but without stirring from her chair. Now the
American stood close behind her, bent down his face towards
hers, and putting his arm round her waist, said, laughingly, in
English, of which he knew she understood at least a few words.
AFTER THE FIRE. 105
" Come, my timid little birdie, it's all of no use; we are two
of the same trade,—you play in the gallery, and I in the room;
and "
"Senor!" cried the girl, starting up from her chair, and free-
iug herself from his grasp with a look of deadly hate. But the
libertine, heated with wine and passion, was not to be got rid of
so easily. Seizing her again in his iron grasp, and drawing her
to him in spite of all her struggles, he cried, with a roar of
jeering laughter,—
" Now, 1 just want to see if this little black nightingale won't
at least give me a kiss; and "
He got no further in his speech, for his eloquence met with a
sudden and unexpected check. Emile, the waiter, had, either
by accident or design, taken a pile of plates from the table just
at the moment the Yankee made his impudent attack on the
girl. Quick as lightning, he swung round and hit Siftly such a
blow on the head with one of the heavy plates, that the platter
was shivered in a thousand pieces; and the Yankee let the girl
go, and staggered back. If the felt hat had not deadened the
force of the blow, it might have been dangerous as well as painful.
"D—d rascal!" hissed Siftly between his clenched teeth; and
he pulled out his revolver from his breast. All who stood near
started aside, for random shots from such weapons had often
wounded spectators of quarrels during the last few weeks; and
no one cared to receive a bullet merely by accident.
Emile alone remained where he was, pulled a similar weapon
from within his waistcoat, and only stepped aside a pace or two
from Manuela, to protect her from any possible danger from a
chance shot. Under any other circumstances, he would not have
waited long for Siftly's fire, for the latter was not the man to
receive an insult without a deadly answer. But, in a moment,
the thought of his partner of the gaming-table flashed through
his brain; if he wounded his adversary, and got thus detained
here only a single day, he knew very well the other would make
use of the time to be off with the money. He vehemently sus-
pected him of harbouring some design of the kind. It was there-
fore necessary he should defer his vengeance to some more con-
venient season. Besides, his adversary would not run away.
So, pushing back the revolver into his belt, he went up to Emile,
and said, in a threatening voice,—
" Sir, you have had the assurance to give me a blow—and you
struck me from behind. No man would do that who was not
a coward. I hope you will .aLve me satisfaction, whenever I
demand it."
106 AETER THE EIRE.
" With pleasure," answered the young man, with a laugh of
defiance. " I should look on the blow I gave you with the plate
merely as a punishment for your rascally attack upon the young
lady; but the word c coward' you have applied to me deserves a
separate punishment; and I therefore request you to name me
a time to-morrow morning, when I can chastise you as you
deserve."
Siftly ground his teeth, and again mechanically grasped his
revolver; but he felt his hands were tied, for he could not risk
the loss of the gold, to acquire which he had ventured so far.
" Don't be afraid," he whispered, hoarsely, to his adversary;
"I shall appoint you a time,you may be very sure; earlier, perhaps,
than is agreeable to you. And you, senorita," he continued
roughly, turning to the young girl, who had been a trembling
witness of the scene—" if you are so terribly cold, and so high
and mighty, and are, moreover, under the efficient protection of
an eating-house waiter, could you not ask your father to pay me
the six ounces he has owed me since this morning ?"
"What does he say ?" asked Don Alonzo, who had come up
at the noise of the quarrel, and stood with one arm supporting
his daughter. Manuela had become pale as death, and, nestling
close to him, she asked, in a voice that trembled with anxiety,—
" Father, for Heaven's sake! does he speak the truth ? Do
you owe him money ?—such a sum as that ?"
The Spaniard did not answer her question; but he flushed
red up to the forehead, stepped forward to the American, and
said,—
"You shall be paid, seflor; I give you my word for it; only
have patience till to-morrow evening."
"Very sorry, senor," grumbled Siftly, who had only under-
stood in the whole speech the one word manana, "to-morrow"—■
" but play-debts should never remain standing over night; and,
as I find that my liberality is not acknowledged, I don't see why
I should make an exception now."
" If you please, sir, will you take the trouble to step to the
pay-table yonder," interrupted Emile, turning again to his adver-
sary; " you will receive your money there. I owe Don Alonzo
about the same sum, and fancy he will be glad to discharge his
debt to you through me."
Siftly looked at him like a demon; but then he answered,
laughing,—
"It's all the same, so long as I get the money; I don't care
from whom it comes, or out of whose pocket."
"Eather, don't allow it," whispered Manuela, in earnest
AETER THE EIRE. 107
entreaty; "the stranger is paying the money for you. He did
not speak the truth when he said he was in your debt."
The old Spaniard stood motionless and irresolute. Proud and
noble as he had once been, the poison of the gambling-room and
the greed of gold had deadened or numbed all his feeling of
honour and independence; and he only whispered to his
daughter,—
"Pear nothing, my own darling; I shall pay the man his money
to-morrow; and I would rather pay him than that rascal of an.
American—a curse upon him !"
Emile had, in the mean time, gone to the pay-table with the
man whom he now considered his deadly enemy. The proprietor
made no objection to paying the sum required, for his waiter had
a much larger amount standing to his credit. Siftly took the
gold, gave a hasty glance at it, put it in his pocket, went back
to his chair, took his poncho, and left the dining tent without a
look at any of the others.
" Monsieur Emile," said the proprietor to the young man,
with whom he always spoke in Prench, " you are beginning to
play foolish tricks. Instead of cultivating the goodwill of my
guests and my plates, you beat the latter about the heads of the
former; and I am almost afraid that you're throwing away your
money in a very thoughtless manner."
" Mon Capitaine," answered the young man gaily, " neither
the guest nor the plate was a great loss, for the polish was pretty
well worn off both of them; and, so far as my money is con-
cerned, I don't think I ever laid out a hundred dollars to better
purpose."
" Yery good—it's your affair, of course," said the little Prench-
man, writing off the amount against Emile's account; " but if—
though I hardly believe it—you will take a piece of advice, I
would counsel you to keep clear of this gambler. People of
that kind never forgive or forget; and instead of being thankful
to you for his money, which he would otherwise never have seen
again, I am afraid he will do you some bad turn, for which I
should be very sorry."
" I am not afraid of him," said IJmile, laughing.
" So much the worse for you," replied the Frenchman. " Those
scamps are always dangerous—and it's all the worse here, because
the Americans are masters, and look on us foreigners as inter-
lopers. But I have warned you, and suppose my warning will
have the usual fate of unasked advice."
Emile bowed to him with a smile, and went back to the Doctor,
who had been a silent but by no means an uninterested spectator
108 AFTER THE FIRE.
of the whole scene. But before he could cross over to him, the
Spaniard came up, seized his hand, and said,—
" Sefior, I thank you for your kindness. I shall never forget
the service you have done me, and you may be assured that your
Snoney is safe. I only wish I could show you, in any way, how
deeply I feel indebted to you."
" You can do that, dear sir," answered Emile, with far more
earnestness than he had yet shown,—" and without making any
great sacrifice."
" But how ? " asked Don Alonzo, in some surprise.
" By leaving off playing," answered the young German.
" Sir, you do not know "
"I know that you play at a disadvantage against those ras-
cals," answered Emile. "Against false cards and false play,
against their gambler's skill and gambler's tricks, you can do
nothing, and the money you lay on their table is lost without
remedy."
" I thank you," said the Spaniard, smiling. " I shall remem-
ber your advice, and play more guardedly in future."
" But still you will play ? "
Don Alonzo made no answer, but bowed with a courteous
gesture, and left the tent with his daughter, to take her back to
the orchestra.
" Tell me, my dear Baron," cried the old Doctor, with a droll
look,—"for you must really allow me to give you your old title,
as you have so completely forgotten your part as waiter,—is it
your general custom to serve your guests in this way ?—for if so,
I really must look about for another dining-house."
Emile looked rather embarrassed.
"You are right," he replied. "I should not have laid hands
on the vulgar fellow, for a quarrel with him can bring one no
good; but I lost my temper, and for a moment I forgot myself;
moreover, the lesson can't hurt him, and he had richly deserved
it."
"Excellent, excellent!" said the Doctor, nodding his kind
old head. " So these are the fruits of your three months'—or,
according to your mode of reckoning, your three years'—experi-
ence in California. You lay your life in the hands of a bully,
and your money in those of a gambler; then you've only
one thing left—your heart, namely; and may one ask where
you have deposited that ? In some safe and proper quarter, I
hope."
Emile blushed scarlet, and was going to make sojne warm
reply, when Monsieur Rigault called him by name.
. a bird's-eye view. 109
The waiter had, of course, to answer the summons, which
appeared to come very opportunely. The Doctor rose, paid
another of the waiters for his dinner, and left the tent with
rather an anxious face, to take another look at his patient.
CHAPTER VIE.
a bird's-eye view.
Next morning, at daybreak, a little steamer, called the Gold-
fish, with a number of passengers on board, pushed off from the
long pier at San Erancisco.
She was rather a slow-going boat, and the early hour for her
departure had been chosen with a view of snapping up the pas-
sengers who were in haste to be gone, and who were generally
unconscious that they had been cheated, till the boat which started
later overtook them on the way.
Scarcely had the Goldfish taken her departure, when the Golden
Gate, a steamer bound for Stockton-on-the-San-Joaquin, came
puffing up with a smoking chimney, and began ringing her bell.
A long thin man, who seemed to cariy something very weighty
under his threadbare cloak, came striding with rapid steps down
the pier. Eor a minute he stood by the plank placed as a bridge
between the steamer and the shore, and looked sharply to see if
any one was following him; then he hurried on board, and was
seen no more. A few minutes afterwards the last bell rang, and
the boat was just going to put off, when a little troop of Germans
came running down to the pier, gesticulating from afar off, and
waving handkerchiefs frantically, as signals that they were coming
on board.
They were men of different ages and aspects; but all were
alike in baste except one. This worthy, who held a long pipe
between his lips, followed his companions at a much more deli-
berate pace, looking about him coolly as he came on, as if satisfied
that the boat would never start without him.
Of course the captain of the steamer stopped, in order not to
Vose these passengers. The price paid, exclusive of provisions,
for the passage to Stockton—which usually lasted about sixteen
or twenty hours—was no less than thirty dollars a head; so
110 A hinm's-EVE VIEW.
that these six extra passengers paid the whole expense of the
trip.
The party had all got safely on hoard, and even the " nigger,"
whom they had hired to drag their baggage on a hand-cart, had
come trundling over the planks behind them, but still the deli-
berate passenger did not hurry himself; and though he quickened
his pace, he did so with some hesitation, fearing evidently to lose
his dignity by any appearance of undue haste.
" Counsellor, you will certainly be left behind," cried one of
the passengers, Mr. Hufner, looking anxiously at him from the
steamer. But the Counsellor never gave himself the trouble to
answer, but continued to advance, looking to the right and left,
and sending forth blue clouds of his German kanaster into the
clear morning air.
"Go ahead!" shouted the captain to his sailors; "if that
fellow has so much time on his hands, we won't spoil his sport.
But stay—hold on—there's some one behind him who seems in a
mighty hurry; it's a pity—I should have liked to leave the lazy
loafer with his long pipe on the wharf."
Behind the Counsellor there came a man in a Californian
poncho, who was beckoning eagerly to the captain to wait for
him. But when he had come close enough to read the placard
hung out at the side, purporting that the steamer was going " to
Stockton," he slackened his pace.
"Well, sir; coming with us to the mines?" asked the
captain.
" Do you put in at Sausalita ?"
The captain shook his head, and gave his people the signal to
" go ahead," just as the Counsellor stepped deliberately on
board.
"The Sausalita boat has just started. There it goes, over
yonder," said the captain, pointing to the Goldfish.
" The devil!" roared the man in the poncho; " I thought the
first boat started at six in the morning."
"At half-past five the first boat to Sacramento. Go ahead!"
said the captain.
The man stood for a minute undecided, stamping angrily on
the ground.
"D'ye want to go to Sausalita, sir?" cried a sharp-looking
boy, turning towards him. " The Jenny Lind, yonder, will start
in ten minutes, and will overtake the old Goldfish before ever she
rubs her sides against the shore."
" Thank ye, my lad," answered the stranger, and he tossed a
dollar to his informant. The boy caught it, kicked out his leg
▲ bird's-eye view. Ill
by Way of thanks, and pocketed the coin. The Golden Gate,
which was not going to touch at Sausalita, shoved off; and out
of the cabin window, with his face hidden behind his outstretched
arm, with only his little close-set eyes peering through an aper-
ture, Mr. Smith looked with a glance of cunning, mischievous
satisfaction at the pier, where stood his worthy companion and
fellow-conspirator, Mr. William Siftly.
No sooner was the landing-place free, than the little Jenny
Lind came steaming up; and, after the bell had rung three times
the little craft followed the Goldfish towards Sausalita.
Over the Eastern Mountains — the goal where centred the
hopes of thousands—the sun had in the mean time risen, and
threw its light upon the flashing bay, already alive with boats of
every kind.
What a difference had one single year made! What gigantic
strides would progress not make in the next twelve months! A
year before, there was a little town of huts built of unburnt
brick, little more than a straggling village, with only an insig-
nificant trade in hides and tallow, and a depot for fresh provisions
and water to supply chance whale-ships: and now what a different
scene!
Clustering side by side, as in a great fair, tent on tent and
booth on booth, interspersed at intervals by a wooden house or
two, as if newly risen out of the ground, stood the strangers'
town, San Erancisco. Along the whole shore of the bay, the
wonderful city extended in the form of a half-moon; and wherever
the spectator looked, canvass for new tents fluttered in the wind,
and men were hammering and ramming posts into the ground,
adding fresh cells to the wonderful teeming hive.
Already the want of space began to be felt. Up the steep
heights it climbed—the restless, busy, human swarm, and took
piece after piece from the old rock with pickaxe and crowbar, to
win room for another hut, for one more tent; and over the bay
there was building of long, wharf-like piers; and even the ships
that lay at anchor were changed into dwelling-places and ware-
houses; and a year afterwards these ships lay in the middle of a
town that had been built out all around them.
What a bustle and hurry of work everywhere—on the water,
on the land,with axes, spades, and oars. Like very ants, the
tiny figures over on the shore tugged and dragged heavy carts
and waggons of goods — food for the next fire—into their
dwellings. . .
Where is the site of the fire that laid part of the city m ashes
only four-and-twenty hours ago ? Do you see that large space
112 a bird's-eye view.
where the tents look white, and the wooden houses are new?
That is where the fire raged. The people have had four-and-
twenty hours' time, and the place is built over, as you see.
And mast on mast rose along the wharf of our new city—mast
on mast, as close as the ships might be without coming into col-
lision as they swung round, when the tide rose or ebbed. Here
a three-master, which, with crowded deck and flapping sails just
loosed, has rounded Clark's Point, and, half frightened at the
crowd around, lets down its anchor with a rattle and a splash,
and then swings round to the flowing tide as if anxious to De off
to sea again without a moment's loss of time;—there a brig, with
labourers, hired at high wages by the day, unloading her cargo—
for the crew have all deserted long ago;—and yonder, again, a
schooner bringing a cargo of fresh vegetables and plenty of gold-
seeking adventurers from the Sandwich Islands.
On all these ships there is life and motion; and so they are in
keeping with the rest of the picture. But the whole centre of
the grove of masts looks as if the plague-wind had blown over it,
and swept the crews into a watery grave.
No sail on the yards, no watch on deck, and even between the
bulwarks nothing left but what is fastened by clamps and nails.
Deserted and useless the ships lie there on the still, waveless
water of the bay, and their naked masts wait in vain for the
crews, who have long since betaken themselves with pickaxe and
spade to the mountains.
Sailors are in general a light, easy-going race of men, who live
only for the present moment, for the next day may bring death
with it for them. It was hardly to be expected that they would
remain on board their ships, to receive scanty pay for hard work,
when a short march would bring them into the region of fabulous
wealth. They all deserted, when the anchor touched the ground,
as soon as an opportunity came. The captains would sometimes
keep their wages from them that they had earned on their pas-
sage out—perhaps fifty or a hundred dollars. But what cared
the sailors for that! a single shovelful of earth might yield them
as much; and in many ships the captain and mates had followed
the example of the crew, and left the unfortunate ship to its
fate.
What was to be dome here with great three-masted ships ?
While all was yet hope and excitement, where were people to be
found to navigate the vessels home ? Who, having once got
there, wanted to quit California ?
The little schooners, with a light draught of water, which had
ventured round Cape Horn, met with a good reward for their
a bird's-eye view. 113
daring; for they were required to carry provisions, wood for
building, tools, and, in fact, all kinds of mining requisites, up the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers to the rising towns of Sacra-
mento and Stockton. These schooners could pay their crews at
the rate of eight dollars a day; freight and passage were reckoned
on a corresponding scale, and the owners grew rich.
Everywhere in the bay little steamers were being built to
supply the pressing demand for such vessels. Steam-engines had
been brought as merchandise on board large ships by the specu-
lative Yankees, and little cutters and even whaleboats had been
arranged as steamers, the whaleboats being sawn asunder, length-
ened, and provided with a broad deck to carry the light engine.
Nobody stopped to calculate how long these vessels would hold
together: three or four passages they would certainly make; and
if they afterwards smashed, who cared ?—they would have an-
swered the owner's purpose, and paid him two or three hundred
per cent, on his investment. The risk of human life was not
taken into consideration at all; for human life was about the
cheapest thing that could be got in California.
And what a rushing and seething of this same human life there
was! In the bay formed by the crescent-shaped shore around
San Erancisco, between Clark's and Kincon's points, were crowds
of these little steamers, some lying alongside of the anchored
ships, whose cargoes they received; others communicating with
the shore by means of rowboats and lighters, taking in, at
express speed, cargoes for the mines. Quick work was, indeed,
the order of the day; for though the workmen got enormous
wages, they had to show a tremendous day's labour. The old
lounger from the continent of Europe, who likes to work with
a pipe in his mouth, which he stops every now and then to light
with tinder that won't burn, or to take a pinch of snuff out of a
box that takes five minutes to open and as many to shut, would
be at a terrible discount here; for in California the work passes
merrily from hand to hand. The man who rowed a boat had to
pull till the oars bent double, and the bow cut a white streak of
foam as it bounded along.
Towards the northern arm of the bay the water was white
with sails; schooners and small brigs, whose light draught en-
abled them to clear the Sacramento bar, and numberless open
boats, keeled or flat-bottomed, with a goodly number of miners
on board. The am towards the left stretches out to the Golden
Gate, and five or six ships are coming in laden with new arrivals
— gold-seekers every one ; the more reason, therefore, that
those who have a day or two's start should use their ti ne before
x
114- a bird's-eye view.
these new-comers find their way to the mines. So many thousands
have already travelled that road, that there's a doubt whether
they will find room to work even now.
Aided by the wind, and by dint of hard pulling, they have
passed the southern point, and have now the advantage of the
tide, which rolls the water southward towards San Francisco and
San Jose, and eastward into Carquines Bay, into which flow the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
Wonderfully lies the new world spread around them : to the
right the naked rocks, with thin grass growing here and there,
with numerous herds grazing upon them; to the left the more
wooded shore, with several charming creeks and inlets not yet
overrun by the swarm of population. What should they do
there ?—there was no gold in the creeks. And yet many an eye
lingered with pleasure on the leafy shade, which at least gave
evidence that all California had not the rocky, desolate aspect
of the coast.
But the passengers are not long absorbed in contemplation of
natural beauties. What is that yonder, on the high ridge of
rock looking like a little statue carved out of ivory ?—It is a
horseman riding along the ridge, with his flying poncho, his
horse's head thrown back as it gallops on, and even its slender
legs sharply defined against the blue sky beyond.
He is a Californian; perhaps he has come for the first time in
many months from the interior towards the coast to look after
his cattle roaming here in wild freedom. When he came last, he
saw an uninhabited wilderness; now he sees a busy town in the
distance, and a bay covered with ships and boats. Well may he
rein in his horse, and gaze with wonder at the unexpected
scene.
Over on the left bank, that, almost hidden beneath the over-
shadowing trees, leaves only a narrow ledge of wet rock, almost
covered by the rising tide, a number of seals were gambolling;
tumbling over and over in the warm sunshine, and every now
and then rolling, with a splash, into the clear soft flood.
Here and there a boat sought to approach them, and a bullet
occasionally whistled over the water in their direction; but tbe
distance was too great. The seals perked up their heads, and
looked with their bright eyes at the balls, as they went dancing
over the water; and continued their gambols till some enemy
approached them more closely. Then they would scutter away
into the water, give a last mocking look at the bearded foes, and
dive down far out of the reach of danger.
Now the bay grows narrower in the direction of the Strait cf
A bird's-eye view. 115
Carquines; but that is good for the craft that have got thus
far. The tide is at the highest, and while the water stands, they
can still make use of the wind which will carry them through
the strait into the wider bay; but when the ebb sets in, such a
volume of water pours back through the narrow inlet, that sail-
ing-ships cannot make head against it.
Three schooners are pressing, side by side, through the narrow
passage. Their decks are covered with piles of goods, sacks of
corn, barrels of salt beef, tiers of planks and posts, piled up
higher than the bulwarks; and on the top of the freight the
passengers crouch as best they may.
At the agent's house in San Erancisco, all kinds of conveni-
ences had been promised them when they paid their high pas-
sage-money; and now there was not even a level place on which
they could lie down, no protection against the dew at night, no
corner in which they could sit to eat their cold provisions.
M "who cares?" was their motto. It was California! To-
morrow or next day they would be in the mountains, and there
lay the gold!
Here the bay grows broader, but that does not take away
from the crowded appearance of the surface. Two little towns
lie here opposite to one another, named from famous cities on
the Adriatic and the Atlantic,—Yenetia and New York.
There, to the left, lies Yenetia—a caricature of the ancient city
of the Doges, on naked yellow sand, with bright-green patches
of grass between; in the background a little willow thicket, and
scattered all around a motley collection of white wooden houses,
lo'oking like a box of Nuremberg toys, scattered about at random,
and set up by a child on a square-pattern table-cloth. Nothing
was wanting to complete the resemblance—not even the church
with its little stunted tower.
That to the right is New York. It is like the reflection of
Venetia seen in a looking-glass.
But all this is only a beginning. The huts have been scattered,
like reeds, broad-cast over the sandy ground; and as they have
taken root, so will the real town grow up swiftly and certainly
before a year is over.
Stern and quiet, with their yards braced round, three American
men-of-war lay at anchor. By their sharp clean build, the scru-
pulous neatness in every rope and spar, they may be identified
at a glance,—and the crews on board are watched sharply enough
to make desertion a thing impossible.
There they lie, in their dark iron strength, showing their rows
of shining teeth; and the sailors look wistfully over the ham-
J 2
116 a bird's-eye view.
mock-nettings at the boats shooting past them towards the
golden land.
The shores here are everywhere low and flat, and only in the
background do the green mountains rise. Now we are nearing
the mouths of the two chief rivers of California, of which the
Sacramento from the north runs into the bay through wooded
valleys, the San Joaquin from the south through a rushy marsh.
The Sacramento is hidden by a background of pine and cedar
forests, and in the foreground by oak woods; but the San Joa-
quin, so soon as it emerges from the mountains, goes twisting
and winding, like a serpent, through the wide-spread marsh. At
a long distance may be descried the little tent-town of Stockton;
but the river goes meandering on its course, sometimes bending
to the right, at others to the left, and then again often shooting
straight on, seeming suddenly to have changed its mind, and to
be about to run right back into the mountains whence it came.
It seems somehow to have got among the rushes, and entirely to
have lost its way.
And what crowding and pushing on the watery highway!
Steamers are continually meeting in places where they can
scarcely pass each other in the narrow channel; and brisk-
looking schooners and cutters are trying to force their way
between, with outspread sails, where they can get into a favour-
able curve—in other places with poles and ropes—while some
have anchored to wait for the turning of the tide. The row-
boats have the best of it; they can thread their way gaily through
the struggling mass; and the rowers bend more and more lustily
to their oars as they leave craft after craft behind them. Here
is the newly-built town of Stockton at last. There is no mis-
taking its family likeness to San Francisco, though it is but a
younger sister, or rather a daughter, of the last-named city,—a
collection of tents and wooden booths, if possible more airily
built than the San Francisco houses, roofed with canvas, but
choke-full of property from the mines. All the population seems
rushing and crowding to leave the place;—you see, it is only a
day's march to the mountains.
Here the land-transport begins; for while San Francisco
depends almost entirely on its bay and creeks, and a heavy
waggon is almost deemed a curiosity, here, on the contrary, the
chief exertion seems to be to carry what the boats have brought
thus far further into the mountains, by cart, packhorse, or by
main force.
The heavy waggons of the western farmers, who have come
across the Rocky Mountains, have found their way hither, and are
A BIRD'S-EVE VIEW. 117
going back to the mines heavily laden, and drawn by two or three
yoke of oxen. Long droves of mules are tethered everywhere;
and Mexicans gallop through the streets, or toil in the sweat of
their brow among sacks and barrels, fastening the burdens on
their patient beasts.
Thus train after train leaves the town. Here a company of
gold-washers, who have clubbed together to hire a waggon for
their baggage and tools, and lounge alongside in their shirt-
sleeves, singing and joking; there a conclave of muleteers with
coloured poncho on shoulders, the " madrina " with the tinkling
bell round their neck in front.
Here a gold-washer, who has not money to pay for having his
little property carried for him, comes, with his " swag" on one
shoulder, and his pickaxe, spade, and gun on the other, panting
along on his solitary way; there a couple of horsemen—pedlars
or gamblers — go trotting along the dusty road on reeking
ponies.
But, look where you will, there are only vnen to be seen,—
wild, bearded fellows, with the rough impress of the wood and
the wilderness upon them; or if, indeed, a long, flaunting petti-
coat is seen at rare intervals, the wearer does not belong to a
class from which you would choose your associates.
It was no country for women and children at that time; there
were no hearths ana homes prepared for them. The inhabitants
had to force their daily bread from the reluctant soil, and to
defend their lives from hourly peril as they did so. The mountains
were not the place for women then.
And yet these mountains were the goal towards which every
living being pressed on. Waggon after waggon, troop on troop,
all hurried onwards; and many of the ardent new-comers
looked with wonder to see men spending their time in felling
trees, or dragging planks along in handcarts; but yet these
men knew what they were about.
The Yankees are a practical race, and there is very little sen-
timent about their speculations. An American never chooses a
beautiful spot for his place of abode without some ulterior view.
He loves the rustling wood, if he wants to saw its trunks into
planks and posts; he rejoices at the sound of the murmuring
brook, if it runs quickly enough to turn a mill for him—if not, he
is utterly indifferent about it.
Perhaps the few who have established themselves by the
roadside have already tried their luck in the mines, and have
not succeeded. At any rate, they knew how important it would
afterwards be that they should take early possession of these
118 a bird's-eye view.
wayside spots; and they were right enough in their calcu-
lations.
It must not be supposed, however, that the man who built
himself a house here had any rash idea of living in it. Nothing
of the kind. So soon as ever a proper price was offered, he left
it with the greatest readiness, and went and built another; for
California was large enough. What they wanted was to secure
the squatter's, or pre-emption, right; and the sequel proved
that the astute Yankees had calculated well.
Now it grew dark. Behind the girdle of mountains on the
coast the sun sank into the sea, and darkness followed close
on its departing track. How quiet everything became almost
instantaneously!
The waggons and carts were drawn up by the roadside, to be
out of the way of chance passers-by. The cattle were unhar-
nessed, and furnished with bells, or hobbled; and thus they were
driven to graze by the nearest brook; where the people had
already lighted a fire, and piled up wood for consumption during
the night.
Here and there the lurid gleam of a fire flashed through the
trees. Dark figures moved around each of them, and at length
lay down to rest or bask by the embers. The wanderers wanted
no inn, for they were well aware that they would find none;
and every one had brought what he required,—something to
eat, and a blanket—the more luxurious even a tent, — and
that was enough; for they could expect nothing more in the
mountains.
_ Presently the fires burned low, and the stars gleamed down
silently and coldly on the sleeping land, with all its feverish
dreams and longings.
A paradise.
119
CHAPTER IX.
a paradise.
The two chief rivers of California, on whose tributaries the
gold was first discovered, are, as has been already said, the Sacra-
mento and the San Joaquin.
The first of these rivers comes down from the north, while the
second flows from the south. Both run on by the foot of the
mountain-range, which forms, in the west, the third and lowest
ridge of the great system which may be called the spine of
America, under the name of the Rocky Mountains in the North,
of the Andes in the Centre, and the Cordilleras in the South.
Erom this great range a number of little streams flow east and
west into the valley, and into the principal rivers, with which
they unite; and the banks of these little streams had proved so
rich in gold, that already a thousand hands were at work, turning
up the ground to extract the treasure it had concealed so long.
In the north, the principal of these streams were the Eeather
River, Yuba, and Bearcreek, with the American Eork, and a few
others of smaller volume; in the south, the Calaveres, Macalome,
and Stanislaus, with smaller tributary streams, had the best gold-
•yielding repute.
Between the Stanislaus and Calaveres, pouring its waters
into the first of these two rivers, flowed a little clear mountain-
streamlet, to which the Indians, in their picturesque language,
had given the name of the "Heaven's Eye." A party of
Americans who had arrived subsequently, either because they
did not at once find what they sought on its banks, or, perhaps,
only from mere savagery, dubbed the pretty little stream the
"Devil's Water."
Both names contained some truth. If the mountain-stream,
with its crystal waters flowing amid flowers, had sparkled like a
heavenly eye, so now, with its bed cut and hacked in all directions,
its waters turbid from the constant cradling, and the trees on its
banks hewn down and lying in fragments, with greed and envy
and every bad passion aroused by the prospect of golden gain, it
had in truth become a devil's river. Bursting forth some way
120 A PARADISE.
up the valley from a gap in the rocks, magnificently surrounded
by mountain walls, the Devil's Water, as it was universally called,
flowed through a valley with a perfectly flat surface, and ran off
through just such another gap on the opposite side of the vale.
It was plain enough, that the waters of the stream had, at
some former period, formed a lake here, until the swollen waters
had forced an opening, and thus left the bottom of the lake
dry.
The valley itself became what the Americans call a "flat,"
places which occur very frequently in the mountains; and after
a few abortive attempts to extract gold from it, this flat began
suddenly to yield such a quantity of the precious metal, that it
obtained the name of the " rich diggings," and that not only
from the towns, but from the neighbouring mines, a number of
gold-washers came flocking down to try their oft-tried fortune
once more.
Dealers soon began to bring up their wares, and to provide
everything that was necessary or unnecessary to a miner's life,—
for iustance, provisions, clothes, implements, and brandy; and
in a few weeks' time there had arisen in the flat, where the rain
had not yet washed away from the ground the traces of the
grizzly bear, a little town of tents—not unlike some corner torn
off San Francisco—built in the midst of the mountains.
As the place grew larger from day to day, it became necessary
that a name should be given to the collection of tents, booths,
and rural huts; and a number of appellations were accordingly
proposed. At last an accident decided the point.
About in the centre of the flat stood a single gnarled oak-
tree, which, with the space immediately around it, was considered
the richest spot in the neighbourhood, but had already been
taken possession of by an American company before the arrival
of the great body of diggers. Though they were themselves
still working at another place, and did not therefore begin
digging up the ground round the tree, these Americans refused
to let any one else seek for gold there; and as they were strong
enough to maintain their real or pretended right, in case of
necessity, by force, no one had dared to set them at defiance.
There was, moreover, ground enough in the neighbourhood,
which proved quite as productive as the region around the tree,
which from that time was dubbed the "Forbidden." Hence the
town itself was soon jestingly dubbed the "Paradise;" and
though a certain Mr. Drown, who had set up the first tent,
exerted himself strenuously to get the place named after himself
"Browntown," all his persuasions, backed though they were
A PARADISE. 121
with bottles of brandy, proved ineffectual, and the " Paradise,"
with its forbidden tree, stood for all time—or at least so long as
the valley yielded gold—beside the Devil's Brook.
With the exception of its name, however, the "Paradise"
had remarkably little to recommend it. The whole little town
consisted of a single street, about four hundred paces in length,
where all the hucksters' tents had congregated together, while
the suburbs were represented by a few separate tents and booths,
scattered irregularly through the neighbourhood.
Nevertheless the little town was already organized in the
wilderness, and a judge and sheriff had been chosen. Before the
tent of the former of these functionaries there waved, in token of
his dignity, the United States flag with its stars and stripes. But
beyond this, every citizen did exactly as he liked; there were no
taxes or duties to pay, and the judge, or alcalde, as the Cali-
fornians called him, had to get together his salary in the shape
of tithes, and all kinds of little chance perquisites.
The "Paradise," moreover, was only the centre of the diggings
which had here been opened on all sides; a place in which only
a part of the real gold-washers had domiciliated themselves for a
time, and a depot whence the neighbouring miners could procure
their provisions, so long as they should choose to remain in the
neighbourhood. No one was much bound to the soil in such a
town; and even the few dealers who had set up their wooden
booths there as warehouses could be induced, by a report of
some richer place in the neighbourhood, to pack up their pro-
perty at a moment's notice, and start for a new domicile—and
this sort of flitting occurred every week at one or other of the
diggings.
Notwithstanding that the valley was broad and open, the
region around was exceedingly picturesque; for, shut in by
mountains, beautifully wooded with pines, cedars, and oaks, this
flat formed a charming resting-place for the eye; and the tents,
as they stood scattered about under the several groups of trees,
tended only to enliven the picture.
Wherever the eye rested, it encountered these light canvas
dwellings on the declivities round about, where every evening
the camp-fires threw their lurid light upon the dark walls flash-
ing up as "wildly and fitfully as the life the inhabitants of those
dwellings led.
But now the sun shone high and bright upon the beautiful
green woodland, and on the busy murmuring vale; and, if any
wanderer could have entered the valley, and, unconscious of the
vocation of those rough men, had seen it only as a part of the
122 A PAEADISE.
world, cut off and isolated as it were from all the rest, he
would have paused, iu delighted wonder, to gaze upon it, while
the name " Paradise " rose involuntarily to his lips.
Yes! God's world is beauteous everywhere,—grand as a
mighty temple; but a temple continually desecrated by the hand
of man. And such a fallen temple was this valley, in which
nature had gathered everything that could make it a paradise,
and where men were grubbing, and toiling, and moiling for gold.
What a hum of seething, busy, labouring life! Prom every
creek and gully arose the peculiar clappering, rattling noise of
the cradles; and wherever the eye glanced, it fell upon groups of
brawny-armed, hard-fisted men, with pickaxe and spade, digging
and shovelling up the stubborn earth.
And crowds of people were going, as the fresh arrivals poured
in. Numbers, lured by the enticing accounts spread abroad about
the rich mines, had found themselves deceived—or, at least, their
expectations so far from realized, that they strapped their bun-
dies together and marched off, like nomades as they were, to
other diggings of which similar tales had been told. At that
time marvellous stories were in circulation—they have not en-
tirely evaporated even to the present day—of a golden lake up
somewhere in the mountains, whose shores, discovered through
an accident by a fortunate few, had yielded, and still concealed,
treasures of fabulous value.
Among the rest, a caravan came marching up the valley, along
the road, which, rough and stony, was still practicable for the
sturdy American waggons. One of these vehicles came creaking
and lumbering along, with a queer-looking assemblage trudging
on either side of it.
They looked, indeed, oddly jumbled together, nor had any
similarity of taste or feeling united them. A more prosaic
consideration—the weight of their luggage—had made them
companions of the road, and compelled them to perform the
journey to the mines in each other's society.
In Stockton, a number of sharp Yankees, proprietors of wag-
gons, had found very remunerative employment for their vehicles
in transporting to the mines the baggage or swag of such emi-
grants as found it too heavy for their own shoulders on so long
a march. If a party could be made up large enough to satisfy
the Yankee, they started at once; if not, they had to wait till
new arrivals, bound for the same, or at least for neigbouring
mines, had reinforced their number. As the newly-arrived gold-
diggers seldom had any fixed destination, and were generally as
Teady "to try their luck "in one spot as in another, the mere
A PARADISE. 123
fact of a waggon being ready to start for any place was often
enough to make them decide on accompanying it; sq that a load
was soon made up, the Yankee cracked his raw-hide whip, and
away they would go.
A party of this kind it was who how came winding up the
valley. There were men of all nations. Most of them marched
along in their shirt-sleeves, having thrown their coats and jackets
into the waggon; and they came trooping on, laughing and
joking, and every now and then stopping to look at the groups
working in the " claims " by the roadside—groups every whit as
motley and heterogeneous as the new-comers themselves. In a
gully by the roadside, where the mountain-stream rushed on about
twenty feet below the level of the path, three negroes and a
mulatto were working in company. They had dug a deep hole
in the bank, and were washing out pailfuls of the auriferous
earth. A hundred paces higher up, three united Irishmen were
pounding away at the solid rock with pickaxes. Above them a
party of Mexicans had established themselves, with flat wooden
dishes and short crowbars; and still further up the valley a large
company of Americans had turned the stream aside for a short
distance into a new channel, and were grubbing for nuggets in
the dry bed.
Even the Celestial Empire had sent representatives to the
great congress of Californian diggers. Further up, where the
valley became narrower, and the shallow mountain-stream covered
a portion of the road, a little group of Chinese were working in
their loose blue cotton jackets and short wide trowsers.
One of the Chinamen, who looked rather superior to the rest,
seemed to be the leader of the little company. He was unusually
tall and well-built, for a man of his generally undersized race, and
was particularly distinguished by the thick luxuriance of his
glossy black pigtail. This appendage, it seemed, rather inter-
fered with the wearer's gold-washing operations, and he had con-
sequently rolled the lower end carefully together, and coiled it
up in the left pocket of his jacket.
Just as the waggon went by, this " Chinaman's delight" came
tumbling out of its place of concealment; whereupon the pro-
prietor laid down his pick, and, first washing his hands, restored
it to his pocket with much respectful care.
" My conscience, Counsellor!" exclaimed one of the new-
comers, who had stopped to stare at the Celestials—while their
waggon went creaking on—" there's a pigtail for you!"
"Hm—yes—long enough," answered the Counsellor, who
stood puffing his everlasting pipe, with the air of a man who has
124 A PAEADISB.
made up his mind never to be astonished at anything, let it be
ever so startling or novel—" but nothing in that—we let hair
grow—soon be as long."
"Well, you do surprise me," said the first speaker, in wonder
at his stolid indifference.
"Why should he surprise you?" struck in a third traveller,
who had just come up, and stood with the other two looking at
the Chinese. "Our honourable friend here had an office it
Germany; and an official man there will find plenty of pigtail
among his colleagues, even if he doesn't follow the old system
himself, and hasn't brought it to California."
" Detestable fellow, this Binderhof," muttered the Counsellor,
and he turned to march after the waggon, without deigning a
reply to his enemy's thrust.
" But, my good Binderhof, what do you mean by going on in
that way at the poor Counsellor?" asked Hufner, grinning in
spite of himself.
" Nothing," answered the long man, laughing; " I'm only
having some fun."
"You'll make him seriously angry before you've done."
" I should be sorry for that, for he is the only entertainment
I have in this precious old rocky dusty crib. I say, Hufner, I
fancy it will be slow work here; for if I'm to dig such holes as
these people seem to do, I shall get precious little gold."
"Why, yes," answered Hufner, in rather a desponding tone,
" you're not altogether wrong there, my good Mr. Binderhof.
According to the accounts I heard of the mines, the work was
not anything like so heavy. They told me one could pick out
the nuggets from the rock with a knife."
" So they told me, too: but never mind—we'll find our gold
somehow, even if we don't dig for it ourselves. Hollo ! what's
the matter there in front ? Look, that must be a German."
A man had been travelling along the road, in front of the
waggon, bound, like the rest of them, for the diggings. He was
driving an ass, heavily laden, and accompanied by a little foal
only a few weeks old. The little animal kept rubbing itself
against its mother in such a way as materially to interfere with
her progress. The poor old creature was, moreover, so heavily
laden, that she could scarcely move; and her master belaboured
her soundly with his stick.
The road was just wide enough for the waggon to pass ; and
the poor ass staggered along a few paces, but the foal got in the
Way, and she stopped again.
Her master, a coarse-looking German, in thigh-boots and cloth
A PARADISE. 125
cap, with a single-barrelled rifle over his shoulder, seemed terribly
enraged at the poor ass. He fired off a volley of oaths; and
gave the poor foal such a kick in the side with his heavy boot,
that it fell.
" That's too bad," grumbled the Counsellor, who had come up
to where his savage countryman stood; "thundering shame—
cruelty to dumb beasts!"
" Mind your own business, old pipe-smoker!" roared the
donkey-man, still more enraged by the interference. " The brute
is mine, and I can do what I like with my own property. The
beast has kept me dawdling long enough, and I'm sick of it."
So saying, he threw off his coat and brought his gun to his
shoulder; and before any of the bystanders suspected his inten-
tion, he fired; and the poor little foal, that had got up and run
to its mother for protection, gave a leap and fell dead. Then he
seized his cudgel, and began to beat the poor ass unmercifully as
she stood licking her dead foal, and pushing it with her head to
make it rise.
The action was brutal enough to bring down a storm of in-
dignant execrations from all who witnessed it. The Couiisellor,
in particular, became so excited that he actually let his pipe
go out.
But the German was determined to brazen it out. "Mind
your own business! "—he roared—" and leave me to mind mine.
The beast belonged to me, and I can do as I choose with my own
property. If I get too late to the mines, you wouldn't give me
anything for losing my time."
"What does the fellow say?" asked the waggon-driver—a
long wiry Tennessean, who had been looking at the German
with anything but a friendly expression.
Hufner, among whose accomplishments a little broken English
might be numbered, translated what the German had said;
whereupon the long man grasped his whip, and replied,—
" He says the critter was his, and he may do what he likes
with his own, does he? Well, this whip's mine, and I'm just
of his opinion;" and he cracked the raw hide lustily about the
German's head and shoulders.
Eoaming with rage, the other first grasped his empty gun, and
then felt for his knife. But the spectators—Americans and Ger-
mans—applauded the Tennessean, and dared the donkey-man to
touch him. Against such a number he could, of course, do
nothing; and the Counsellor stood counting the blows as they
fell, with evident pleasure.
"Ah!"—he muttered, when the American left off, and went
126 A PAKADISE.
quietly back to bis team,—" nine! he ought to have had twenty
five—rascally brute! "
The German raved, and swore he would shoot the waggoner
like a mad dog, as soon as he could load his gun; but nobody
cared for him; and he was left to reflect upon his conduct, or to
vent his wrath upon his poor ass, just as his feelings should prompt.
This little incident had diverted the attention of the travellers
for a time from the gold-washers; and after expressing their
opinions, in no measured terms, on the donkey-driver's brutality,
they brought out their brandy-bottles, and drank success to the
waggoner, whose whip had So completely expressed the senti-
ments of the community in general.
But they soon had—to use the donkey-driver's words—to
" mind their own business." The road lay across the Course of
the mountain-stream, with deep and unexpected holes in every
part; and in some places the way was so narrow that the wheels
had but just room to turn. This was the place where the waters
of a mountain lake had, at some former period, forced their way
down into the narrow valley; and when once they had passed
this spot, the difficulties of the journey were over.
The waggoner proved equal to the occasion. He knew how to
manage his four oxen, if ever waggoner did. With word and
with whip he ruled them, and kept them accurately in the track
they were to take; and though the proprietors of the freight
looked sometimes in silent dismay at the ugly spots they had to
pass, where the deviation of an inch or two might have sealed the
fate of the whole load, they always found that the waggon
creaked safely on, within half a foot of the crumbling edge.
But then the Tennessean was a veteran driver, who had come
with the same waggon, if not with the same oxen, past those very
spots, and over worse too, in the Bocky Mountains; and he
was not to be daunted by a bad road. And, moreover, he saw no
further danger than could be comprised in a turn-over of the
waggon and a turn-out of the contents, for which, if the truth be
told, he did not particularly care; while in the Bocky Mountains
his own life had frequently been imperilled by a false step, or
the rolling of a stone.
Now they reached the upper pass, and all at once encountered
such a scene, that even the Counsellor could not refrain from an
exclamation of surprise, in which lie was joined by the Ameri-
cans of the party, who, accustomed as they were to the wild
confusion of Californian life, could not tell the reason of the
uproar that suddenly burst upon the ear.
Not only did the whole flat appear to be in a state of revo-
vKADISE. 127
lution, with the miners all rushing from their work, whooping,
shouting, yelling, and laughing—but the little town itselLfeemed
to have Become possessed by the demon of uproar. Here stood
a man hammering upon a gong, till the harsh booming sounds
echoed far out into the mountains; there another was blowing into
a tin trumpet, until he produced the most excruciating tones, and
swelled the veins in his forehead almost to bursting. At one door a
man stood banging a drum; at another the proprietor was clash-
ing a pair of cymbals together; while a third seemed bent on
drowning the noise of both in the din he made with an old
cracked bell.
To make as much noise as possible seemed the one endeavour
of the whole town; and as the gold-washers came hastening up
at the top of their speed, it really looked as if the whole com-
munity were threatened by some great and unexpected danger.
"What the 'tarnal's the matter here?" shouted one of the
Americans to a countryman, who came trotting past him. " Is
there a fire anywhere ?"
"Afire?" answered the digger, stopping for a moment, to
laugh at the questioner's anxious face. " No—no fire anywhere
but in the kitchen. But the fact is, we're hungry, and that's
their way of announcing dinner. You've just come in time,
stranger!" and he nodded and ran off'.
The explanation was right enough. Many keepers of pro-
vision-tents found it pay to provide their customers with dinners
at two dollars a head. The hideous summons was merely a call
to dinner; and as there were not bells enough in the town, and
their use would, moreover, have caused some confusion as to the
different signals, each tent had appropriated some particular
instrument, which served as a summons for its frequenters when
dinner-time came.
The new-comers could not take advantage of the invitation;
for their baggage had to be unloaded, and to be kept in sight,
till it could be consigned to the protecting care of some booth
or tent.
The Counsellor, however, did not allow himself to be swayed
by any such considerations; for he started with the supposition
that his fellow-travellers, who would be obliged to look after
their own effects, would undertake the moral responsibility of
watching over the safety of his. As soon, therefore, as he heard
that these signals meant "dinner," he started off at once towards
the nearest tent, and, entering, deposited his hat and his long
pipe in a corner, and took his seat at the table.
The establishment itself did not promise any great things,
128 A PARADISE.
inasmuch as the whole furniture consisted of a long table of
rough pine-wood, with forms of the same material for the guests
to sit on. A few small tablecloths, of decidedly dingy appear-
ance, were spread upon this primitive • board, with long blank
spaces of wood between.
Knives, forks, and spoons were certainly there, and also a great
saltcellar, apparently of tin, though the thick coating of dust
with which it was covered rendered the question of the original
material a doubtful one; but the great attraction of the enter-
tainment seemed to be two great jars of pickles, chiefly gherkins
and capsicums,—a great boon to men who had eaten to satiety of
fresh meat and wheaten bread, and which made them willing to
pay a tolerably high price for a meal which, with the exception
of the pickles, they might very well have cooked themselves at
home—that is, in their own tents.
Many guests had already taken their places, and numerous
others kept streaming in; and, with the remembrance of San
.Francisco strong upon him, our friend the Counsellor made up
his mind for a regular table d'hote; but he was grievously
mistaken.
The whole dinner consisted of a piece of rather tough beef,
with potatoes boiled in their skins, and wheaten bread. He
made trial of the pickles; but the first taste induced such a fit
of coughing, that he gasped for breath, and desisted from the
attack. Two dollars were demanded of him for this plain fare;
and when he turned to leave the tent, in high dudgeon at the
extortionate charge, he found that some one among the guests
had appropriated his broad-brimmed felt hat, leaving in exchange
a horrible tattered fragment of straw, suspended in most insulting
wise over the Counsellor's pipe. All his indignant inquiries
were in vain; his English was not of the most intelligible kind,
and the people to whom he compkaaed of his loss seemed
violently inclined to laugh at him for his pains. So there was
nothing left but to return to his companions, leaving the broad-
brimmed felt to its fate.
Binderhof was there when he returned, and received him
with a smile of pleasure. "Well," he exclaimed, "I never
thought the Counsellor could be such a vain man. Look, gen-
tlemen—here, he's run away from us, and hurried into the town
—just to buy a new hat /"
" A plague on the old bit of wicker-work," growled the Coun-
sellor, angrily throwing down the poor old fragment he had stuck
on his head in mere absence of mind. "Rascally fellows here—■
where's my cap ?"
A PARADISE.
129
Lamberg was the only practical man in all the little company
—and he had as great a horror of work as the Counsellor
himself; but he had this advantage over the latter, that he
could at least give directions how a thing ought to be done.
' ' 1' 11 1 to avail himself of the services
request. Herr Hufner, moreover, always thought great things
of the Counsellor — probably on the strength of his official
title.
The first thing to be done now was to put up the tent they had
brought with them, in some suitable spot. Lamberg found out a
place, and indicated where the holes for the tent-poles should be
dug; then he let Binderhof hold the poles, while Mr. Hufner, in
the sweat of his brow, made the first holes they had yet sunk in
the soil of California.
At last, the tent was erected, and the baggage carried in bj
the whole strength of the company; and then, as they wished to
look about them in the strange city, Mr. Hufner was left behind
as a guard. Hufner would gladly have made a similar excursion
on his own account; but, directly the arrangements had begun
to approach completion, the Counsellor had lit his pipe, and
taken his departure. Binderhof had strolled after him with
his hands in his pockets; whereupon Mr. Lamberg declared
it to be absolutely necessary that he, Mr. Lamberg, should per-
sonally survey the ground, to decide on future operations. Thus
it happened that no one was left but goodnatured Mr. Hufner
to keep an eye upon the common property.
goodnatured to refuse any
m
the indian chief.
CHAPTER X.
the indian chief.
It was about five o'clock in the afternoon when the newly-
arrived Germans finished their first and most necessary arrange-
ments. The diggers had long gone back to their various occupa-
tions,—some to work in the flat itself, others beside the little
streams; and the "Paradise" lay almost deserted, with its white
tents bleaching in the hot sunshine.
The main street of the town was quite clear of passengers, with
the exception of a single Indian in a tattered woollen shirt, who
came out of the forest with a load of wood on his back, to tie
deposited in one of the stores or eating-house tents. The white
people would reward him with a bit of bread and a drink of
brandy; and thus this Indian purchased a draught to benumb
his mind with perhaps the first real labour to which he had ever
subjected his body.
Suddenly horses' hoofs were heard clattering along the road
that led from the mountains, and the unusual sound made even
some of the listless storekeepers emerge from their tents to see who
the visitor might be. Nor was their curiosity disappointed; for
the sight they saw was well worth the little trouble they had taken.
Eour or five brown horses, slenderly built, but quick and
active, came galloping at full speed down the street. Each of
them was ridden by an Indian.
The leader of the party was a young man of twenty-five or
twenty-six years; and, strange to say, he was dressed entirely
in European fashion—in light trowsers, a jacket with a profusion
of buttons, and a straw hat, beneath which his raven hair fluttered
merrily in the breeze. His feet were certainly bare, but across
his shoulders was sluug a long single-barrelled gun, and a long
Spanish knife gleamed in the Chinese girdle of red silk he wore
round his waist.
The Indians of the Californian mountains are generally unused
to riding, nor do they possess any horses; but this man sat like
a Centaur on his horse, which he seemed to guide more with his
knees than by the light bridle he held. Nor had he anything of
that close, self-contained look which his race usually put on when
THE INDIAN CHIEF. 131
they come in contact with the formidable and encroaching white
men. As he flew past boldly and proudly on his nimble steed,
he even nodded from time to time as a face which he knew
appeared at one or other of the tents; but with these salutes his
face never once relaxed into a smile, or altered the serious expres-
sion of features, at once stern and handsome.
The young and powerful Indian chief, Kesos, who possessed
great authority over all the neighbouring mountain tribes, was
well known to the storekeepers here; for, wherever a quarrel
was to be adjusted, or stolen property to be restored, they had
only to turn to him, and might be sure that justice would be
done. There were, however, objects of greater interest for the
spectators that day, in the shape of two Indian women who fol-
lowed the chief; and there could hardly be a more perfect pic-
ture of savage beauty than was presented by the two girls, as
they flew past on their snorting steeds.
They also had abandoned the native costume of their tribe.
Instead of the petticoat of tanned leather, with plaited straw
border and ornaments of shells and beads, they had adopted
the gay-coloured stuffs of the white men, of which they wore
long garments reaching to their ankles.
They were both handsome girls. Their great dark eyes flashed
and sparkled with the excitement of the rapid ride; and their
luxuriant black hair, confined only by an ornament of rough
mother-of-pearl, floated behind them, rising and falling with the
gallop of the horses. They were tall and well grown, and were
clad, one in a crimson and the other in a yellow dress, confined
round the waist by a sash of red silk, leaving the arms and neck
free. They were barefooted, and rode astride with consummate
ease on their saddleless horses.
Behind them, mounted on rather shaggy-looking ponies, and
showing evident traces of their lower rank, galloped two Indian
boys of fourteen or fifteen years.
These retainers had made an attempt to assume the European
garb; they wore jacket and trowsers—that is to say, one suit of
the kind had been shared equally among them. The fortunate
possessor of the trowsers rode- with his brown body bare above
the waist, while he of the jacket had supplied all deficiencies
with a short leathern petticoat: and thus these two esquires, or
grooms, followed their master and his two companions, to hold
their horses if they chose to dismount.
Dashing through the street at a full gallop, the young chief soon
overtook the timber-laden Indian, whose unsteady pace, as he
staggered under his load, betrayed only too plainly in what manner
132 THE INDIAN CHIEF,
of coin he had been paid for former services. In a moment the
chief turned his horse aside, checking it so suddenly as almost to
throw it upon its haunches; and, while the young girls made
way for him right and left, he looked sternly upon the startled
Indian, who cowered beneath his glance like a frightened
schoolboy.
" Kesos!—eapitano ! " stammered the wood-bearer, who looked
half inclined to take to his heels, to get out of the way of the
dreaded chief; but the latter leaned down towards him, and said
in a low voice of mingled scorn and anger,—
"Art thou not ashamed? Is not this a shame, Tibuka?
Thou hast opened thy lips to drink the white man's poison,-—
and, a warrior of the tribe of the Kayotas, thou bearest wood to
the strangers' fires. Shall I send thee a woman's dress ? "
The Indian stammered a few words of excuse; but the young
chief, without listening to them, kept his eye fixed sternly and
reproachfully upon his follower. The red man did not try to
meet the glance, but he felt it upon him, and his head sank
deeper and deeper.
" Shall I send thee a woman's dress ? " repeated the chief; and
the Indian, no longer able to bear the scorn which lay in the
words, suddenly threw the load of wood he carried into the
middle of the road, and ran, as fast as his feet would carry him,
back towards tiie mountains whence he had come.
A slight smile of mingled scorn and bitterness curled the young
chief's lip for a moment, but he never turned his head to look at
the fugitive. Turning his horse again, while his companions'
brisk little steeds leaped over the bundle of faggots in the road,
he pursued his course at the same headlong pace.
The little cavalcade here came upon a second obstacle, in the
person of the German Counsellor, who, with his eternal pipe in
his mouth, and a little grey cap on his head, had just turned out
to have a look at the town.
The Counsellor had certainly heard the galloping horses, but
was so deeply engaged, staring at the tents to the right and left,
that he paid no attention to it, till Kesos flew by him, so close
that his foot touched the Counsellor's sleeve. Then the latter
started aside, running exactly into the path of the two girls;
and had they not turned their horses aside with consummate skill,
the poor man would certainly have been ridden over, in the very
commencement of his Californian career. As it was, he escaped
with the fright. The two bravely-attired grooms had plenty of
time to get out of his way; and in a few seconds the whole party
had vanished from view.
fHE iNPlAtf CHlEE. 133
" Confound it! " exclaimed the Counsellor, as he stooped to
pick up the gray cap, which had fallen from his head. "Fine
way to ride !—black heathens—rascals !" and, without deigning
to look at his disturbers, he continued his way down the street.
The chief, meanwhile, stopped before the tent of the alcalde,
over which the American flag was fluttering in the breeze, threw
the bridle to the boy who came running up to hold it, and called
out a few words to the girls; they nodded slightly in reply, and
rode slowly on, till they had left the town behind them, and
gained a little acclivity among a few scattered tents. Here they
stopped, to await the further directions of their master.
" Buenos dias!" said the young chief, as he unceremoniously
put aside the canvass curtain, and entered the alcalde's dwelling.
That functionary happened to be lying in rather a prolonged
siesta on his bed in the corner of the tent, and started up in
surprise from his resting-place. On recognizing his visitor, he
seated himself on the edge of the bed, stretched himself once or
twice, and answered with a friendly nod,—
" Buenos dias, Kesos !"
Herewith he had exhausted his available stock of Spanish
words, and so continued, without further ceremony, in English,—
"What do you want ? "
"To speak you, judge," answered the Indian, in somewhat
broken but perfectly intelligible English; "but not your language,
it sticks on my tongue. Send for interpreter,—I have many things
to speak."
" Hum!" grumbled the so-called alcalde, — a little corpulent
American, whom his countrymen, for some unknown reason,
dignified with the title of "Major," — "You've much to say,
have you ? Sorry to hear it, for I've something better to do
than to bother atout your Indian humbug. What's the matter
now?"
" Where is sheriff ? " asked the young chief, without noticing
the question.
"Where is sheriff?" repeated the alcalde, testily. "Ah,
where is sheriff ? What's sheriff to me ? Sheriff's most likely
asleep—or gold-washing—or gone out walking—or looking after
his own business. Am I to look after the sheriff, or ought he to
come to me ? "
"Fetch him!" said the Indian, laconically.
" Fetch him !" cried the judge, astonished at the proposal;
" that's not bad,—fetch him!—as if I was his shoeblack. Fetch
him yourself, if you want anything of him. I don't want him."
"Good!" said Kesos, and, without any leave-taking, he
134 THE INDIAN CHIEF.
turned, and quitted the tent, to seek out the sheriff, with whom
he was well acquainted.
Major Ryot remained behind, in a particularly bad humour;
for if there was anything he hated on earth, it was business, with
which the sheriff used to plague him often enough; he was,
moreover, aware of the influence he exerted over the different
tribes, and knew that something extraordinary must have occurred
to make Kesos ask to conduct his affair through an interpreter.
"And did the Indians ever pay, when they came to make their
complaints? Not a single dollar. If, indeed, it had been one of
his own countrymen, or still better, a stranger, who came to in-
voke the protection of the American laws, he could have demanded
two or three ounces, and would have got them too! Not a pen
would he put to paper till he had the gold safe in his possession;
but with the Indians it was a very different affair, and a very
troublesome and unremunerative one; moreover, business in
which they were concerned seldom or never turned out profitable.
And yet this tiresome business must be attended to, or he
rendered himself liable to be called to account by the alcalde of
the district court. It was a shame !"
In the mean time some few inhabitants of the town had turned
out of their tents, to gaze in wonder at the unlooked-for visitors.
The chief was universally known as a man of far more cultivation
than could have been expected from his surroundings,—in fact, as
more than half-civilized; and it was no secret, moreover, that all
the neighbouring tribes looked up to him with a respect border-
ing on veneration, while his every command was fulfilled with
unquestioning obedience. Thus, though his head-quarters were
among the Calaveres Indians, he journeyed from tribe to tribe, to
settle their disputes and listen to their grievances, — and of
grievances, alas! they had in those days more than enough.
For had not the pale-faces poured into their country in every
direction, like a stream that bursts its banks, to look for the
yellow earth! Had not the strangers felled their oak-woods,
spoiled their fisheries, killed or driven away their game; and
had not they themselves been driven, like wild beasts of the
forest, from their own hunting-grounds ? "Wherever they met the
white man, the latter began to infringe upon their rights, and
the slightest resistance the natives made drew down the vengeance
of thousands of the pale-faces upon them. And further and
further they were driven back, and higher and higher, not only
into the deep snow of the mountains, but into the territories of
hostile tribes. And still the strangers kept advancing, and
claiming more and more of the land;—what was to be the end of
THE INDIAN CHIEF. 185
it P "Where was the boundary to be drawn between the white
and the red man ?
The majority of the Indians did not see the whole importance
of this irruption, which they thought would pass away in time.
They knew that the white men had come to seek for gold, and
thought they would go when they had dug up all they could
find. Kesos saw further. He had himself been in San Erancisco,
had seen the ships arrive there, freighted with tools and with
wooden houses, and soon discovered, with dismay, that this
incursion of the hated enemy was more than a mere temporary
visitation. Everywhere they were already fencing in large pieces
of ground, and ploughing them up; and in his visits to the
missions he had learnt what that meant. They had sown seed
in the earth, from which in time they hoped to reap harvests,
and the houses they built 'did not seem to him to be erected only
for a single season. When the missionaries came and built their
settlements, they had never thought of quitting the country, but
had always striven to obtain more and more land. These white
men, he thought, would do just the same.
He had also noted the terrible numbers of the strangers; he
knew the power of their firearms, and knew what an advantage
such weapons would give them over his poor naked followers,
who fought only with bows and arrows. He felt the hopeless-
ness of resistance against such colossal power, and his heart bled
for his people. But he was determined to dispute the country
with them, step by step; he was determined not to be daunted,
and one circumstance still gave him hope,—the strangers did not
seem united among themselves.
His frequent visits to the missions had taught him to distin-
guish between Americans from the States, Mexicans, and Erench-
men; and he had not failed to observe that the shoals of de-
scendants of the Spanish race held together with the Erenchmen
and other foreigners, but looked on the Americans with bitter
enmity; for the latter had taken from them, by force of arms,
the strip of coast which, in former times, was theirs. With the
help of one body of strangers he thus hoped to conquer the
rest.
Poor Indian!—thy hope was built upon a weak foundation;
thou trustedst to a cowardly degenerate nation, and knewest
not the mighty power of gold. And if even the Mexicans had
taken heart of grace, and defied the Americans—a thing they
had not dared to do when called upon to defend their own
hearths, and repel the invading foe?—the mountains wherein
the red man had made his dwelling contained gold, and, whether
136 IHE INDIAN chide.
American or Mexican came off conqueror, to the Indian the land
was irremediably lost.
But Kesos, raised so early in life to the highest dignity to
which one of his tribe could attain, did not see the future in its
darkest colours. He would not believe what sometimes, in
hours of depression, stole upon him as a presentiment of evil—
and hope, the child of Heaven, given to us poor mortals for our
consolation, still burned in the heart of the poor Indian.
With their hands in their pockets, two or three Yankee store-
keepers came strolling up the street, towards the spot where the
girls were waiting with the horses. They had learned so much
of the language of the Indians, as to understand that " Wallee,
wallee " (friend, friend) was the national greeting among the
natives. This " wallee," however, in their hands, or rather in
their mouths, was like the broken handle of some vessel; for
though they could begin a conversation with it, the dialogue
immediately failed, through the deficient vocabulary. Never-
theless, conscious of their importance as white men, Americans,
and possessors of the soil, the long, rough fellows went con-
fidently up to the two fair ones, greeted them, and stood before
them in expectation of a welcome.
The girls had seen them at some distance off; and though
they observed them attentively, had not altered their position in
the least. They had dismounted, and stood, while the boys held
the horses, close to each other on a little eminence, from which
they could see the whole of the little tent town to its uttermost
limits. It was the same hill on which our German friends had
set up their tent.
"Wallee, wallee!" said the Yankees, looking with very
amiable countenances on the Indian maidens.
" Wallee, wallee ! " answered the girls, but without looking
at the Yankees; for their eyes were fixed on the alcalde's tent,
whence Kesos at this instant emerged on his errand to seek the
sheriff.
" Hm!—deuced nice girls," observed one American to another;
" particularly the red one; and their brown skins don't look at
all bad. What capital good taste he has, that rogue of an
Indian."
The girls here exchanged a few words together without look-
ing at each other; and about the mouth of the taller of the two
—the one in the red dress—there played a scornful smile.
"If one could only understand their confounded lingo," resnmed
the first Yankee; " but the words all sound as if they had
been broken off short, and afterwards pounded in a mortar.
THE INElAiJ CEIEE.
137
1 don't think I could learn it if I stayed a dozen years in
California."
" Wallee, wallee!" said the second Yankee, by way of recom-
mencing the conversation with the Indian girls. Again the
scornful smile played round the full lips of the taller beauty, but
she did not reply to the renewed greeting. She had done enough
for civility, and wished to have nothing more to do with the
strangers.
" Oh, by Jupiter! perhaps they understand English," cried the
Yankee who had spoken first. " At any rate, it must be plainer
than their gibberish, and I should think one could tell by the
sound of the words what they mean. "Well, girls, how are
you ?—all lively ? Had a nice ride, eh ?"—and he put out his
hand to chuck the girl in the red dress under the chin; but the
attempt was unsuccessful. Without even looking at him, the
girl thrust back the outstretched arm with a quick motion of her
head, while the features of her handsome face expressed more
scorn and disgust than anger at the familiarity.
"Well, well!" cried the Yankee, rather abashed at the rebuff,
"I don't bite, gal;" and he turned to the maiden in the yellow
skirt, as if with the intention of renewing his attempt; but the
glance he encountered was not calculated to raise his courage;
and, thrusting his hand back into his pocket, he turned to his
companion:—"Come, Bill," he said; "deuce take the gals,
they're as savage as wild cats, and as sharp as red pepper; they
can't stand up against our green mountain gals, after all;" and
he lounged away into the town, followed by his companion.
Erom the tent in which he had been left as a sentinel,
Mr. Hufner had not been an unobservant spectator of the busy
life in the little town. Thus the Indian girls, who had stopped,
as it were, almost before his door, and seemed to be waiting for
some one, could scarcely pass unnoticed by him. He also
began to feel the time hang heavy on his hands, and thought he
could not do less than wish the brown ladies good evening. As
soon, therefore, as the Americans had retired, he came slowly
out of his tent; but his native modesty would not allow him to
go straight towards the girls; so he made a feint of passing
them—for they could not know that he was not to leave the
tent—and, when just opposite to them, he pulled off his hat
glish, for he was ignorant of the
He had chosen an inauspicious moment. The two girls
turned towards him, and eyed him'with the same disfavour with
138 THE INDIAN CHIEF.
which they had regarded the intrusive Americans they had so
successfully rebuffed. At his greeting, which must have appeared
strange to them, they looked at each other, and a slight smile
curled the lips of each of them; but they did not reply, and
turned away the next moment with an air of supreme in-
difference.
"Ah," thought the abashed Hufner, "they cannot have under-
stood me;" and he blushed fiery-red at the awkwardness of his
position. Not feeling bold enough to make a further advance,
he took out his pocket-handkerchief and wiped his forehead, with
a dreary attempt at looking as if he had only taken off his
hat for that purpose; then, tnaking a long circuit to save
appearances, he glided back to his own tent, and was seen no
more.
In the mean time a crowd, chiefly of Americans, had assembled
before the alcalde's tent. The sheriff, whom Kesos had sue-
ceeded in -hunting up, had told a few of them that the young
chief had a statement to make; and many of the storekeepers
came to hear what he had to say, while from the flat the first
gold-washers who came straggling home joined the group, to
hear the news. An interpreter was soon found in the person of
a German, who, during a long residence in Chili, had acquired
considerable proficiency in the Spanish and English tongues.
He was, moreover, well known to the chief; and Kesos, directly
he perceived him, held out his hand, and gave the German's a
hearty shake, saying in Spanish,—
"It is good that I find you, companero. Come with me; you
shall get justice for me from the Americans."
"Have you gold?" asked the German, with a smile.
" Gold!" exclaimed the chief, angrily—" what do I want with
gold ? I come for justice. Does Kesos take gold from those to
whom he gives it ? "
The German shrugged his shoulders, and thrust the tips of his
fingers into his belt.
" The old Major in there," he said, " generally likes to see
the cash counted out before he opens his mouth; and"when he
begins, one would like to pay him again if he'd only hold his
tongue."
"But the sheriff?"
"Is an honest man—that I'll acknowledge," said the inter-
preter; "and our old Major's confoundedly afraid of him. If the
sheriff didn't call him over the coals every now and then, there
would be the devil to pay. Well, come along—we'll see what's
to be done; and if that hard-working alcalde of ours has
THE INDIAN CHIEF. 139
finished his sleep this afternoon, perhaps he may be in a good
humour, and do something, for once in a way."
The sheriff, an American of the name of Hale, who was also
a butcher by trade, had in the mean time betaken himself to the
alcalde's tent, but did not find the Major in nearly such a good
humour as the interpreter had hoped for.
" There has that red-skinned vagabond been here again !" he
called out to the sheriff, " as busy as a bee; most likely he has
got some new complaint against a white man,—as if the rasca,ls
had any right to complain at all. It's only out of merciful com-
passion we let them live,—the thieving scamps, who can't see a
man's mule without setting about stealing it."
It happened that the judge himself had lost a mule about a
fortnight before.
"I think we steal more from them than they do from us,
Major," replied the sheriff, drily. "Besides, there's no help for
it; you must hear their complaint, for our law says plainly enough
that complaints may be urged either by whites or Indians."
"But in no case," retorted the judge, " can a white man be
found guilty of an offence on the testimony of an Indian. Now,
what do you say to that P I'm not going to have all the gold-
washers of the district upon me for the sake of a rascally red-
skin. Can the State protect me if one of them sends a bullet
through my head one of these fine days ?"
"Nonsense!" answered the sheriff with some scorn. "We
shall certainly keep so much authority as will hold the fellows
in check when they grow rebellious. But you must hear the
man at any rate. Who knows what he may have to tell that has
happened?"
"Well, well!" grumbled the Major, in a dissatisfied tone;
" if I must hear him, I must; but I shan't bother about the
fellow. As it is, he's discontented about everything, and stirs
up his rabble more and more against us every day. Who knows
how soon the thieves may break into the very tents, and begin
to plunder them; they're impudent enough for anything, I'm
sure. Call him in.—Oh, there he is already. These chaps never
need to be called twice !"
Before the judge had finished his grumble, the young chief
liad entered the tent. Seven or eight of the neighbours came
trooping in after him, unceremoniously enough, to hear what was
going on.
The judge sat down, very sulkily, at his table, and the
sheriff stood beside him. The interpreter took the customary
oath, and the Major cried out:—
140 THE TNDlAtf CHtEf.
"Well, now, begin, in the name of mischief! What's the
matter now, and where's your grievance ? Some bit of foolery,
I'll wager, that one of your own fellows has done, and that the
white people are to pay for. What business have you in the
neighbourhood at all P Get back into the mountains, where you
belong; there nobody will interfere with you, and there's game
enough, at all events. Here you are only in everybody's way!"
The Indian chief had certainly understood this speech, though
it was spoken in English; for his eye flashed; and when Eischer,
the interpreter, turned towards him with a grin to translate the
Eolite address from the bench, he waved his hand to restrain
im.
" I could give reply, you judge!" he cried, in his broken
English; " but no shame is in you that you ask me—chief of the
land—what my people do. _ Who called you here ? But stop,"
he continued, holding up his hand, as the Major, with a scarlet
flush all over hi3 face, was about to make some angry reply—
"I come not to make speak of that—hear what I have to
speak!"
"By the 'taraal, sheriff," said the pursy Major; "if the chap
goes on like that, I'll have him turned out of the court."
The sheriff shook his head impatiently, and nodded to the
chief to state his case.
"Yesterday," began Kesos, in the Spanish language, which
he spoke fluently and accurately; " yesterday a white man came
to our camp, while the young men were away hunting, and, in
spite of the remonstrances of an old man, who ordered him to
go away, he angered and insulted our women. He even dared
to come to my hut, which my own people look upon as sacred;
he molested the women there, and they were obliged to drive him
away by force."
"What does he say?" asked the judge, whose curiosity began
to be aroused; but when Eischer had translated the words, he
shook his head angrily, and cried oift,—
" What nonsense ! A pretty thing to listen to such rubbish
as that! What is it to me ? I suppose I'm to keep guard over
the Indian women !"
"Hold!" cried the Indian, lifting up his hand. " We keep
our women, and if you touch, our arms strike! But unfortu-
nately," he continued, in Spanish, "I came too late,—the white
robber, when he saw that the women sent him away with scorn,
knocked down an old man who sprang forward to defend them,
wounded another with his knife, and did not depart till the
screams of the women made him fear that some of our young
THE INDIAN CHIEF. 141
taen would come up. His horse was ready, not far off; an arrow
that was shot after him, missed him, and he got away."
"Well!" observed the judge," when the statement had been
translated to him; " I call that pretty considerably cool. You.
shoot arrows at a white man, and then come to ask me to punish
him for it!"
"My good sir!" interposed the sheriff, without any great
show of respect for his superior in office; " that's all very well,
but I fancy they had a right to drive away those who came
to attack them."
" But not to shoot arrows at them," interrupted the alcalde,
angrily.
"And why not ?" asked the sheriff, in a tone of perfect un-
concern. " If the fellow pulled out his knife and wounded one
of these people, he might expect they would use their weapons
against him; and it's the worse for them that they have only
their weak bows and arrows to defend themselves with. But
putting all that aside—do you know the man's name, Kesos P "
" What's the name to us P " again interrupted the judge, who
was growing very angry with the sheriff. "I don't want to
know the name at all, lor he has made a fool of himself—he was
a blockhead to begin a quarrel with the red-skins j—but they had
a shot at him, and the affair's done with."
" No, no,—not done with!" persisted the Indian vehemently,
and he continued in Spanish: " He has spilled the blood of one
of my tribe,—an old man, who lies with a heavy wound,—and I
have come to you, the alcalde of this place, to require justice on
the white man—just as you may be sure that one of my people
would be punished who injured one of yours."
"Indeed!" sneered the judge, with a malicious look at the
savage, when the last speech had been translated; "pray did
you punish the thieving rascals who stole my mule a fortnight
ago, eh ? Did I ever get my property back again ? "
"None of my people stole it," answered the Indian calmly.
Who knows whither it strayed, or who among your own
friends took it away ? I am not here to guard your mules for
you."
" What does he say, Fischer ? He's not here to guard my
mules?—Nor am I to guard his wives," said the alcalde, now
thoroughly angry, and rather glad of a pretext for venting his
wrath. The sheriff did not seem inclined to take the matter so
lightly; and although he saw that the Major would hardly
be induced to begin a judicial proceeding against a white man,
against whom there were only Indian witnesses, he wished, on
142 THE INDIAN CHIEF.
his own account, to hear a little more about it: so he again
addressed the young chief,—
"But it seems you were not in the camp at all," he said,
" when the white man burst in upon you. You do not even know
whether he was an American, a Frenchman, a Mexican, or a
German. What is the use, then, of making a complaint ? "
" He was an American," said the chief decidedly.
"An American, was he?" grumbled the sheriff, yet uncon-
vinced.
"We know the Americans among all the rest of the white
men," resumed the Indian, spealang in a rapid and excited
tone, and in Spanish. " Besides, he spoke English, and was a
tall thin man, with a coat buttoned up, and a blue poncho—but
not made like the Mexicans and Californians wear them."
" And whither has he fled ? " was the next question.
"Here to this place—I traced him along your road to the
place where the ground is stamped hard by your waggons. His
horse, a large heavy beast, had lost two nails from the shoe on
its left hind-leg, ana seems to walk lame on that foot; most likely
because the shoe was loose."
"All that is nothing to us," the judge angrily interposed.
" The man has committed no offence, and so "
"Excuse me, Major," interrupted Hale gravely. "If he
broke into the tents of the natives, molested the women, and
wounded a man with a knife, he certainly committed an offence;
and you, as judge, are at least bound to summon a jury to listen
to such a complaint."
"I'll be hanged if I do it," cried the judge.
" Then the Indian can go to the county court, and you will
be compelled at least to hear him."
" But in the name of mischief," cried the judge, who found
himself driven into a corner, " let him bring forward the man
who wounded the old fellow, that we may hear what he's got to
say for himself. When these red-skins attack a man with their
confounded flint-headed arrows, I suppose he's a right to draw
his knife to defend himself."
"Yes, sheriff; there the Major's right," said one of the store-
keepers who had lounged in the court. " I should like to see
the judge or the sheriff who would prevent me from defending
myself, if I was attacked."
" Don't talk such nonsense," exclaimed Hale angrily,—" no
one says so. But this much is certain, that if Kesos, who
has always behaved himself like an honest and peaceable Indian,
oan point out the man who broke the peace of his camp, we have
THE INDIAN CHIEF. 14$
laws which will uphold him in his rights. The blood of a native
must not be spilt without good reason."
" An honest and peaceable Indian!" grumbled one of the
storekeepers: " instead of keeping his fellows at work so that
they may earn their bread by their labour, rather than run
about vagabondizing and begging, he drives them back from their
work into the mountains, as I saw him do myself not half an
hour ago. I had sent one of the red-skins into the forest to
fetch wood. He came back with a load, and was made to throw
it down in the middle of the road directly he met that fine gentle-
man yonder."
" Yes, yes—truth, truth," answered the Indian, replying in
broken English, in his excitement. " I sent him away—why did
I this? Hid you give him gold or bread? You gived fire-
water—poison. Your laws say—give no brandy to an Indian.
Do you keep your laws ? No, no. Alfd ask your alcalde if the
word of an Indian—if my speaking—is taken against a white
man. And white man witnesses not against white man—no,
no,—they hold like branch to branch. Is it not for their own
use?"
"He's an impudent varmint," blustered the judge; "turn
him out of court, sheriff; we've done with him, and won't listen
to his trash any longer."
The sheriff made no reply to this peremptory order, but began
coolly to light a cigar from the matchbox on the table, when a
wild cry of triumph suddenly arose outside.
" Hallo, what's that ?" asked the judge, in surprise.
"I can tell what it is," exclaimed Kesos, springing with flash-
ing eyes towards the entrance of the tent. " Melangayuhas found
the man; he is of your people; you may speak his name;" and
he thrust the curtain aside, and ran out of the tent.
"Deuce is in the feller!" was the judicial remark from the
bench; but the sheriff and the spectators ran precipitately out
after the Indian.
In the mean time, the two girls had stood motionless beside
their horses, looking sharply at every one who passed them. The
Indian boys talked and laughed together, pointing out to each
other any figure which attracted their attention. But if any of
the objects of their mirth approached, they cast down their eyes,
and stood, the pictures of gravity and decorum, until he had
passed, when they at once resumed their raillery and laughter.
Eor all that, they never ceased to glance restlessly around with
their eagle eyes, and nothing escaped their vigilance. The diggers
returning from the flat were objects of their especial attention,
144 THE INDIAN CHIEF.
till one person passing alone along the street concentrated their
■watchfulness upon himself. They could certainly not recognize
his features, for he kept his face turned from them; but, alter a
whispered consultation, one of the boys took the bridles of all
the horses in his hand, while the other began gliding like a snake
down the incline in pursuit of the stranger. But before he could
overtake him, his suspicion had changed to certainty; for the
long man, hearing tbe stealthy footsteps close behind him, casually
turned his head. Scarcely had the young red-skin obtained one
fair look at his face before he started and staggered as if a bullet
had struck him.
The tall man gave an ugly frown, and continued his way with-
out paying any further attention to the boy. But the youngster's
arm was pointed at him with unmistakable meaning, and the
si^n thus given was quickly acted upon by the party on the
Melangayu—the wasp, as the young chief called her—started
up; and, gathering her crimson skirt about her, she was standing
the next moment beside her horse. The little groom had but
just time to slip his arm out of tbe bridle before she seized the
mane, swung herself on the horse's back, and began galloping
down the incline. In a couple of minutes she had made her way
through the groups of diggers on the road, who jumped aside,
laughing and swearing, to let her pass, and had overtaken the
stranger, of whom she had not lost sight for a moment.
The man turned, on hearing the clatter of hoofs close behind
him, and would have sprung aside to let her pass. But Melan-
gayu checked her steed suddenly, and, darting full across the
path of the startled wayfarer, uttered the shrill cry of triumph
which, as she well knew, would bring the chief to her side in a
few seconds.
"Have you caught him, girl?" cried Kesos, as, springing from
the tent, he ran hastily towards her.
" This is he—this is he !" screamed the girl triumphantly.
" See, he is all pale, and the mark of my nails is on his face
still."
" Was he so near as that P" hissed Eesos between his clenched
teeth; and cast a look of deadly hatred at the American. "Look,
Hale," he continued, turning to the sheriff, who with the rest
came hurrying up; " is he an American or not ?"
" He looks a credit to his country, on my word," muttered the
sheriff, who, however, had not much time for reflection; for the
stranger had recovered from his surprise, and called out angrily
enough to know what they meant by stopping him. He enforced
THE INDIAN CHIEF* 145
his question by producing a revolver from an outer poeket in his
coat, and looking defiantly at the sheriff and the Indian.
The sheriff was not a man to be daunted at the sight ot a
Weapon; on the contrary, it confirmed him in his favourable
opinion of the Indian chief, of the correctness of whose complaint
he now felt thoroughly convinced. So he said, with perfect
composure,—
"Please to put that thing in your pocket. You need not be
affraid of being attacked, for I am the sheriff of this township."
"And what have I to do with the sheriff?" asked the long
man, as he restored his weapon to its concealment.
" That you shall hear directly. What is your name ?"
« Smith."
" Yery well, Mr. Smith. Are you at present staying in this
town ?"
" As you see, I am."
"Where do you lodge?"
" In Dolkin's tent."
" Yery good. This Indian here has made a complaint that
you broke into his camp, and wounded an old man of his tribe
with your knife."
"The fellow must be dreaming," answered the long man, with
a frown. " I've never meddled with the brown dogs since I've
been in California."
"You lie, white man!" cried the chief, angrily; and again the
American grasped his weapon. But the sheriff stepped between
them, and said, quietly,—
" This affair can't be settled here in the street. You will please
to appear to-morrow morning in Major Ryot's tent."
" Por an Indian to bear witness against me! " exclaimed the
long man, with a scornful laugh. "Pray how long has this been
law in the States ? "
" You will not object to appear before a jury ? " observed the
sheriff, gravely.
" Certainly not—but a jury of white men; you look as if you
had some other idea about it."
" That will do," replied the sheriff, without further noticing
the ironical remark. "I shall take care that you don't leave
the neighbourhood before the appointed time to-morrow."
"I shall not run away from your high authority," retorted
Smith, with a laugh; and he strode slowly through the crowd
which had already gathered, and now opened to let him pass.^
" They're letting him go!" exclaimed Melangayu to the chief,
her eyes distended with indignant wonder.
L
A NlGHT IN PARADISE.
The Indian bit his lips, and turned away, without a Word,
towards the hill where his horses were waiting.
" Come into the town to-morrow at the proper time, Kesos,"
the sheriff called out to him; " and, if it is at all to be managed,
bring the wounded man along with you."
"Do you think.your fool-judge will hear me?" asked the
Indian, gloomily.
" He can't well refuse," answered the sheriff. " I certainly
can't promise that you'll get much good out of it, though you
seem m the right, and that fellow looks like a rascal. I wish you'd
only one white man to bring as a witness. But come; at any
rate, I shall be glad to show a certain set of bullies among our
people that there is such a thing as law for the Indians. Then
you will have less to fear in future from their impertinence."
" I shall come!" said the Indian, curtly; and he seized the
bridle of Melangayu's horse, and strode slowly towards the
hill.
In a few minutes the little party were seen riding at full
speed; they made a circuit to avoid the town, and soon disap-
peared among the mountains.
CHAPTER XI.
A. NIGHT IN PARADISE.
Our little company of Germans had meanwhile been strolling
about among the tents, without troubling themselves much about
the foregoing scene. Understanding little of the English, and
nothing of the Spanish tongue, they could not form an idea of
what was going on, but contented themselves with gazing at the
Indian girls, admiring their excellent horsemanship, and watching
them as they flew over the fallen trees and wide ditches in their
path.
The first thing on which they had set their minds was to find
out some of their own countrymen who knew something about
the place and its ways, the mode of digging, and above all of the
profit that could be realized. In a word, they wanted some one
to confirm their own wild notions and golden dreams, and could
not rest satisfied till they had found him.
A NIGHT IN PARADISE. 147
At last the "sun went down. The last of the miners came
inuring in from the flat; some prepared their suppers at the
fires in front of their own tents, while _ others scattered them-
selves through the various eating and drinking houses with can-
vass walls and deal tables.
One of our three friends, Lamberg, Binderhof, and the Conn-
sellor, ought certainly to have gone home to relieve the unfortu-
nate Hufner, who could reasonably be supposed to be anxious
for a sight of the canvass town. But none of them gave it a
second thought. Hufner had no doubt made himself comfortable
at home, and he would have plenty of time to-morrow for as long
a walk through the town as he chose to take.
Lamberg and Binderhof, of course, kept together, as the
Counsellor could not bear the latter; and they had just stopped
in front of one of the gambling-tents, which had already begun
their ill-omened career, when a stranger suddenly accosted them.
" How d'ye do, both of you ? " Such was the free and easy
greeting uttered by a young man who, attired in an old red
shirt, with a rusty cap, worn very much over one ear, and his
hands thrust deeply into his curiously greasy trowsers-pockets,
stood lounging outside a tent at a little distance.
" Hallo!" said Lamberg, " whom have we here ?—a fellow-
countryman! Where do you hail from, comrade ? "
"Lei—eip—zig," answered the German, in the true Saxon
drawl, while his red round face relaxed into something like a
smile.
Binderhof, who had been brought up among the better class
of society, stared at the dirty-looking customer from top to toe,
and did not feel very much inclined to fraternize with him; but
Lamberg, less squeamish in his ideas, looked at things from a
more Californian point of view. Information they must get,
somehow or other, and what one man did not care to tell,
another might let out in the course of friendly conversation, and
the great object was to ascertain where were the most likely
places, for gold-washing.
"Aha!" he said; "you're from Leipzig. Been here long ? "
" Yaas !" answered the Saxon, as broadly as before.
- " And have you found much gold ?"
The German shrugged up his shoulders till they nearly
touched his ears, and answered concisely, " No go."
"No go!" repeated Binderhof. "Then why are the mines
called the 1 rich diggings,' and the place the Paradise ? "
" The .storekeepers grow rich—that's true enough," said the
Leipziger; " but the miners who work with cradles and pickaxes
l 2
148' A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
are crying famine. You can't go by names; they're given on
purpose to get plenty of people to come."
" May I ask your name ? " inquired Lamberg, politely.
" Erbe—Louis Erbe."
"Ah!—very good. Then could Mr. Erbe perhaps give us
information if there are any other Germans here, and tell us
where we could find them F "
" Oh, lots! " said Erbe.
"I beg your pardon! "
" Lots, I say,—heaps—plenty! you can find Germans every-
where up here."
" That's famous," said Lamberg. "And where could we meet
with them ? Have you not a kind of casino here—a sort of club,
where you meet of an evening ? There must be something of
the kind."
"Stop, Doctor!" said Erbe, drily. "We haven't anything
of the kind you mention; but up in the Erenchman's tent, yonder,
I fancy you'll catch them all together."
"And do you think, my good sir," said Lamberg, rather
amused at the coolness of the greasy man—" do you think you
could so far oblige us as to show us the way, — that is, if your
time will allow. If our countrymen are not assembled yet, we
might wait there for them, and, perhaps in the mean time, drink a
glass together. We only arrived here this afternoon, and would
like to make acquaintance with some of our own people."
"Not the slightest objection," answered he of the scarlet
shirt; and without another word he turned on his heel, and
began marching slowly up the street.
"That fellow's an original," observed Lamberg to his com-
panion, as they walked up the street in the wake of their new
acquaintance.
" I wish he were not quite such a dirty one," said Binderhof,
in reply.
< "Well, well," said Lamberg, "you can't expect people to wear
kid gloves at the mines."
" That fellow may, for any thing I knowto the contrary; for I
haven't seen his hands yet, and fancy they must be sewn into his
pockets. He'll take us into some fine pothouse, I warrant."
They had no time for further observations, for Erbe had
already stopped before a wooden building which had been en-
larged by the addition of a tent. After slightly turning his head,
to ascertain that bis two new friends were following, the con-
ductor disappeared into the interior.
Outside, in the open air, the twilight still glimmered; but the
A NIGHT IN PARADISE. 149
booth, or tent, was already lighted up for the evening. Smoky
stearine candles were burning in tin candlesticks, and sufficed to
light up the place after a fashion. At any rate the illumination
was considered sufficient under the circumstances.
The room was furnished on true Californian principles: deal
tables, the legs driven into the ground; forms of rough wood
instead of chairs; and all things on a corresponding scale.
At some of the tables guests were already seated, though
most of the frequenters of the house were still at their suppers,
and did not arrive till later in the evening. It was; however,
with no small surprise that Lamberg discovered, seated most
comfortably at one of the tables, with a bottle of red wine before
him, his fellow-traveller and fellow-lodger, the Counsellor, who
appeared to be in a state of enjoyment he had never attained
during all his journey. Only, when he caught sight of Binder-
hof, his face darkened for a moment, and then disappeared en-
tirely, in a tremendous cloud of smoke he emitted from his pipe.
But there was no escaping from his enemy, who came jauntily up
to him, exclaiming,—
" Ah, Counsellor! at anchor here already ? I thought you
had gone to relieve poor Hufner, who must be still standing
sentry over our tent."
He might have spared his breath, for all the answer he got
from the Counsellor. But turning to Lamberg, the smoker
ejaculated from the midst of a thick cloud,—
" Capital medoc,—two dollars and a half the bottle; sit here,
Lamberg"—he was afraid thatBinderhof would offer his company,
•—" countrymen of ours here — very glad—confound it—capital
place, California!"
Lamberg glanced at the bottle; only one glass had been
poured out; but it was the second bottle. Lamberg was
not a man to shirk a merry evening, and the first arrival at the
diggings was certainly an occasion worthy of being solemnized.
The Counsellor too, more communicative than usual, introduced
two other Germans, who had been sitting with him at the table.
"Here, Lamberg—two countrymen of ours: Mr. Fischer, from
Hamburg, and Mr. Kolber, of Meissen. A fellow-labourer
of mine, Kolber," — and here he coughed significantly, — " an
actuary, — gave up a good salary to go to California;— reckless
man, very."
Lamberg shook hands with the two new friends; and Fischer,
who had noticed Erbe standing behind him, cried out,—
"Hallo, Doctor! you there too? Well, how are you, and
-where have you been these last few days ?"
150 A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
" Prospecting," replied Erbe; and without in the least altering
the position of his hands, he swung his right leg over the form,
drew the left after it, and sat down comfortably beside the
Counsellor.
"Doctor !" repeated Lamberg, in astonishment, as he sat down
next to Pischer, and opposite to the greasy man. " Is the gentle-
man a doctor ? "
" Barber!" answered Erbe, laconically; and he cast a furtive
glance at the wine-bottle opposite his neighbour; " only they call
me Doctor here in the mines."
The host, a native of Alsace, half Erenchman, half. German,
had meanwhile come to the table, to take orders from his guests.
The Counsellor scanned his neighbour with rather a distrustful
glance.
"A fine country this, is it not ?" said the actuary, by way of
renewing the conversation: " a truly Italian climate; and we've
a capital wine-house here too. The Counsellor will feel quite at
home when he has accustomed himself a little to our way of
life."
" Well, do you know, Mr. Korbel," said the barber, " every
one manages as well as he can for himself,"—and he took a glass
and put it down beside the Counsellor's bottle;—" and, on the
whole, we may be very well satisfied; for I've a notion there
are much worse countries than this."
The Counsellor looked with increased astonishment, alternately
at the speaker and at the glass so meaningly thrust forward.
Eischer partly relieved him from his embarrassment by filling
Erbe's glass from his own bottle; whereupon that worthy indi-
vidual took his right hand from his pocket, emptied the glass at
a draught, set it down, and returned his hand to its concealment
again.
"And how goes it here in the mines?" asked Lamberg, who
had also ordered a bottle, and filled glasses for himself and
Binderhof; " is anything to be done ?"
" Just as it happens," answered the actuary. " If you find a
good spot, you can do very well; for there's rough gold to be got
in the neighbourhood; but one may dig and wash away for a
long time without finding anything worth while."
" Talking of washing," observed the Counsellor, who had not
troubled himself much as yet about the gold, conceiving himself
certain of success, "can you recommend a washerwoman? I
must send her my linen."
"A washerwoman, Counsellor!" said Eischer, laughing.
" Why not P We have everything here—only it looks a little
A NIGHT IN PARADISE. ;151
different to the old country. If you want anything washed, ask
for old Tomlins to-morrow; any one will direct you. There you
will find what you require."
"Thanks," said the Counsellor; and he refilled his glass,
without thinking it necessary to notice his neighbour's.
"But there must be many here who find a good deal of gold,"
said Lamberg, who did not half like the indifferent tone in which
the miners' prospects were discussed.
"Certainly," answered Fischer; "the Chinese, for instance,
who work just below the flat, have made out capitally; and, a
little further up, some Mexicans have found some splendid
prizes. In the flat itself there are also some good spots; but,
after all, it's a matter of chance."
" I can tell you something," struck in the greasy man; and he
gave, such an expressive glance at the bottle, that Lamberg could
not help taking the hint, and filled his glass for him. Perhaps—
he thought—this dirty chough, who has been knocking about in
the mines long enough, can tell us something worth knowing.
Erbe pretended not to notice the action; but he took his hand
out of his pocket, emptied the glass at a draught, and continued:
"Down in the gulch there's more of the gold, and it's finer; up
here, on the contrary, there's just as much, but of a coarser
kind; and now you may begin wherever you like."
"Indeed!" said Binderhof, laughing. "Now we know all
about it. Lamberg, the Doctor's glass is empty again."
Lamberg did not appear to have heard the remark, though
Erbe paused a moment to see if any result followed; as nothing
was done, however, he continued:—
"Yes; and I'll put you up to.gold-digging in half a dozen
words. You see, first you must look out a claim, and dig a hole
till you come to clay, or to the ledge; well, and when you're so
far, you begin to cradle. If you find clay and gravel together,
so much the better; there's generally something to be got. If
there's only the bare ledge, the chances are, it's no go. Where
you begin don't matter a bit; the whole thing's a lottery. To-
morrow you shoulder your pick and crowbar, your shovel, and a
tin pan—you can carry the cradle down after dinner—and dig
away wherever you get a notion."
"A what?" asked the Counsellor, looking at his neighbour in
astonishment.
" Wherever you think there's a likely place," said Eischer, not
a little amused at the bewildered faces of the auditors. " The
Doctor has rather a technical way of speaking. You'll know all
about it in time. But he's right in the main: no one can tell
152 A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
you where to try; and if any one really knew of a place where he
was likely to get a prize, of course he'd go and work it for him-
self. Some gold is to be got everywhere; but whether you'll
get enough to reward your pains is another question. But now
do me the favour to let us talk of something else than this one
confounded topic. Gold, gold, and gold again,—you hear of
nothing else all day long in these rascally diggings! and I
assure you I'm sick of the very word."
"Hallo! — here comes Johnny!" exclaimed the actuary,
pointing to the entrance; and, turning quickly in the direction
indicated, they beheld a figure strange enough to be in keeping
with that most wonderful of all countries—California.
He was a little spare-built fellow, apparently about twenty-six
or thirty years old; but his age was not easy to determine, as he
drew his features into all sorts of queer shapes, and had, moreover,
eschewed the use of soap and water for at least a week. He
wore a short jacket of grey cotton stuff, with terribly threadbare
trowsers of the same material, and a pair of old shoes on his un-
stockinged feet. The most remarkable article in his wardrobe
was his hat—a broad-brimmed* felt, that had at some distant
period been black. Three sides of the hat were now turned up,
and sewn tightly in that position, while one corner was bril-
liantly ornamented bv a pinchbeck brooch, wherein shone a large
bit of blue glass, set like a jewel.
This comical figure was not above five feet in height; but its
countenance wore a look of most portentous gravity. The little
man came forward when he saw the Germans sitting round the
table, stepped to within three paces of the board, and folding his
arms across his chest, began«with an air of tragic solemnity,—
" Such are these people! They live only for the day, uncon-
cerned about what the coming hour may bring; and yet the
black cloud is gathering above their heads, big with the light-
ning-flash that may burst upon them to destroy them—poor un-
suspecting wretches as they are!"
" My stars!" exclaimed Binderhof, astonished, and somewhat
startled at this solemn address; " he has broken out to some
purpose. I say, Lamberg," he continued, in a whisper to his
friend, " when I go home I'll have him and the Doctor cleaned
and stuffed,—they'll do for my cabinet of curiosities."
" Come, now, Napoleon," said Fischer goodnaturedly, " leave
off croaking, and come and sit down by us. Here are some
countrymen of ours just arrived, so give a paw, and wish them
Good evening.'"
,f I have but a bad welcome to give them," answered the tragic
A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
laa
man "with the cocked hat and folded arms; and he frowned
heavily, as hi3 little twinkling eyes wandered from one face to
another. " It would have been better for them if the} had never
set foot on this soil!"
"Confound it—what's wrong now?" asked the Counsellor,
half rising from his seat.
"Pray stay where you are," said Fischer, quietly. " This is
only Napoleon—Johnny Napoleon,—who has sometimes rather
odd notions. Who knows what he may have got into his head
to-day ?"
" I'll tell you what, Fischer," broke out Johnny, uncrossing
his arms, and subsiding suddenly into the prose of common life,
" first make room for me to sit down, and then pour me out a
glass of wine,—for I'm as thirsty as a brick-kiln; and then I beg
and beseech of you not to talk about what you don't understand.
Good evening, gentlemen," he continued, turning with a very
ceremonious bow to the other guests, as he stepped over the
bench to take his seat by Fischer, who made room for him.
"Johnny, Johnny, take care what you're about," he said,
good-humouredly, as he poured out a glass of wine for the little
man; "you've put on your coat the wrong side out again
to-day."
"Fischer," answered Johnny, gravely, "please to leave me
alone, with your nonsense. Good evening, Doctor!"
"Come, come, Johnny, you're out of temper," said Fischer.
" What's the matter again now ? "
" Matter!" repeated Johnny, tragically, as he turned round to
those about him. " A whole heap, as the Doctor would say." .
" Well, then, fire away," said Fischer; " but first let me intro-
duce you to our friends. Gentlemen, you will please to remark
that this is the great gold-washer, Jean Stulbeng. or John
Stuhlbein, called in familiar parlance Johnny, or also Napoleon,
on account of the marvellous personal resemblance he bears to
the exile of St. Helena. He calls himself marchand tailleur, is
J1' ' " 1 grown; he was caught alive in
observe, he appears to be perfectly tame, eats out of a plate, and
drinks out of a glass, and though he has lived for two years in
France, he can still partly make himself understood in his own
language."
" Have you nearly done ? " asked Johnny, who had listened to
this description of himself without moving a muscle of his stolid
countenance.
<f Quite finished, Johnny,"
months ago. Now, you will
154
A NIGHT IN PARADISE •
" Very good; then allow me to say a word or two in my own
defence. Here, host! bring us three bottles of champagne. I
have—"
"Bravo, Johnny," inten ' 1""" 1 1
made in your life. You won't beat that m a hurry."
"Please not to interrupt me. I have one disadvantage to
contend against with our countrymen, and that is, that they find
me in such bad company; but I hope a nearer acquaintance will
do away with that, and we shall all appear in our proper
light. But now, Fischer, be kind enough to open one of the
bottles."
" With the greatest pleasure, Johnny."
"At the same time," continued Johnny, "I've some very
serious news for you all—news that I hope will rouse you from
your false security. The legislature of California has passed a
law requiring all the foreigners in the mines—that is to say, all
the gold-washers, for the storekeepers are excused from it—to
pay a tax of twenty dollars a month! "
"Nonsense! " exclaimed the Germans; and Fischer and Korbel
jumped from their seats. " Why, it's impossible ! "
"What may'be the matter, gentlemen?" asked a party of
Frenchmen at another table, who noticed that there was ill
news abroad. The proprietor of the tent, who had heard what
was said, translated Johnny's communication to them, and a
general shout of indignation echoed through the tent. The
newly-arrived party alone remained tolerably quiet, for they
could not yet understand the whole bearing of this unexpected
and startling decree.
Johnny was now the hero of the evening. Turning half-round
on his bench, and speaking by turns to the Germans and the
Frenchmen, he expatiated, in a wonderful mixture of the two
languages, on the intelligence he had just received from an
American who had come direct from San Francisco; and he
wound up an energetic speech by declaring, with much vehe-
mence of gesture, that he, Johnny Napoleon, would rather die
than submit to any such extortion.
The whole tent was soon in a state of excitement, for other
Frenchmen arrived, and confirmed the report. There was no
doubt that it was contemplated to lay a burden on the foreigners,
which they declared they would not bear. The hot-blooded
Frenchmen were already full of plans and schemes for rallying
all strangers generally round their flags, and bidding defiance to
the Americans. But the immediate result was advantageous
a word more; that's one
A NIGHT IN PAEADISE. 155
only to the wine-seller; for the people, in their excitement, called
for bottle after bottle from his stores.
More guests were by this time assembling, principally French-
men, who sat together at their tables talking, in excited tones,
about hardly anything but the new law and its hardships. Two
more Germans had also arrived; and these, with a polite " Good
evening," took their seats at the table round which their coun-
trymen sat.
One of these new arrivals was a man still young, with dark
curly hair; he was dressed in the usual red woollen miner's
shirt, under which he wore another, a white one, of particularly
fine linen. His trowsers, too, though scratched and torn by many
a bramble, were fashionably made, and of the newest cut. A
large brilliant that glittered on his finger looked rather out of
keeping with the rest of his costume; altogether he seemed to
belong to a different class to those about him.
The appearance of his companion was still more remarkable;
for, just as we in Europe should be surprised to see a man come
into any respectable society in his shirt-sleeves, so it was here a
curiosity to see among all the rough gold-washers a guest who
appeared not in a woollen or coloured cotton shirt, but in a black
dress-coat, a round beaver hat, and kid gloves.
Even the Counsellor, who had made up his mind to be sur-
prised at nothing, looked in wonder at this apparition, and
turned to his neighbour on the right to request an explanation.
But he encountered Erbe's fat red face, radiant and rubicund in
the enjoyment of the champagne, and gave up his intention of
questioning the thirsty vulgarian. The stranger had seated him-
self next his other neighbour, just opposite the actuary, so that
the Counsellor was obliged to defer his questionings to a more
convenient season.
" So you're drinking champagne, gentlemen," observed he of
the red shirt, with a laugh, as he hung his hat on one of the
posts of the tent, gave his moustache a twirl, and took his place
at the table. "Johnny must have had a splendid day again.
Mine host, bring me a bottle too."
"Hold !" cried Johnny, stretching out his arm; "you must
drink with us, Count Beckdorf."
" Thanks, thanks!" laughed the man in the red shirt; "but,
you see, I've given my order: another time."
" Count Beckdorf!" whispered the astonished Counsellor to
His neighbour the barber. But Erbe paid no attention to the
remark; for he was contemplating, with a grin on his broad
face, the man in the black dress-coat, who was carefully unwind-
156 A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
ing a handsome scarf from his neck. Then bending over the
table, he said,—
"I suppose you.'ve catched a cold, Mr. Bu—Bubble—what's
your name?"
"Bublioni," answered the man in the tail-coat, who knew
Erbe well; and he coughed slightly behind his hand. "No,
Doctor; I wear the shawl because if I had once catched a cold,
as you please to express it, I should be of very little use."
Binderhof and Lamberg had in the meanwhile been engaged in
conversation about the working of the mines; and as they warmed
with wine the talk grew loud and animated. The later it grew
the more guests came trooping in, till nearly every place was
taken. At last came two more Germans—a little fellow with a
red beard of portentous dimensions, and behind him the very man
who had shot the ass's foal in the flat that morning.
"Good evening, Kulitz; how are you?" cried Fischer to the
red-bearded one. " This way, man; you're just in time to drink
a glass of champagne with us. Whom have you there—another
countryman of ours ?"
" Yes; a fellow-passenger," answered Kulitz, with rather an
embarrassed air, as if he did not half like his company. " He
has been stopping at San Francisco for some time, and is going
to try his luck in the mines."
" Then he'd better keep out of our way!" exclaimed Binder-
hof, starting from his seat, while the rest looked in amazement
at him and the new-comers by turns.
"Confound it, yes!" burst in the Counsellor. "He's the
fellow who killed the foal to-day—rascal!"
"Bah! leave the old story alone," interposed Lamberg;
" let each man sweep before his own door. What's that to
us ?"
"What's that to us!" repeated Binderhof. "It's so much to
me, at any rate, that I won't sit at the same table with such a
fellow."
"Hallo, what's the matter there ?" asked all the Germans in
a breath; but the man who had caused the commotion resolved,
like Shylock, to "stay no further question." With a curse,
addressed to the company in general, and a malicious look at
Binderhof in particular, he turned on his heel and stalked out
of the tent, leaving his enemy to explain the circumstances to
the expectant guests.
"The rascal!" shouted Fischer—"a nice fellow to come
and sit down with us. The fellow ought to be outlawed, and
whoever associates with him!"
A NIGHT IN PARADISE* 157
"Well, well," observed Erbe, who did not look on the
affair in such a serious light, "after all, he *only killed a
donkey."
" If you choose to associate with him, Mr. Erbe," retorted
Eischer, still naturally indignant at the brutal deed, " this will
have been the last glass you will ever empty with us—and that
you may depend upon."
' Erbe looked rather bewildered, but did not say another word;
for the threat had been uttered in particularly plain language,
and he did not care to risk its fulfilment for the sake of an entire
stranger.
The only man who had remained profoundly quiet, and main-
tained an appearance of perfect unconcern during the scene which
ended with the exit of the obnoxious German, was Kulitz, the
little man in the red beard, who had introduced him as a friend
of his own. With an air of the most perfect indifference he had
taken a seat at the table, ordered a glass of liqueur, and producing
from one of his pockets a block of chocolate, and from another a
fragment of Dutch cheese, he began to devour these rather incon-
gruous viands in alternate bites, without taking any share in the
debate.
Meantime a lanky American had gone up to the proprietor
at the bar table, and ordered a glass of brandy-and-water,
whispering a few words to the host, as he stood drinking it.
The proprietor, who understood something of English, seemed
to receive the stranger's proposition with disfavour. At last,
however, he shrugged his shoulders and said,—
" Well, I don't care, — if you want to play, I can't see any
particular objection. There's a corner to spare at the table
yonder."
" Thank ye," said the American; and turning from him, he
strode towards the spot indicated, and sat down, with a polite
bow to the Germans assembled there.
" Look there," whispered Eischer to Count Beckdorf, who sat
next him; " if that isn't the rascal who wounded, or perhaps
killed, the Indian the other day, and whom the chief wanted to
haul over the coals; one of those cheating gamblers; what does
he want at our table ? "
" Gentlemen," began the American, who did not purpose to
leave them in doubt as to his intentions; " if you've no objection,
why shouldn't we try a little game ?—the evenings are long, and
time hangs heavy — for you can't wash gold by starlight, worse
luck."
So saying, he pulled a pack of cards from his pocket, laid them
ISS A. NIGHT IN PARADISE.
on the table, and produced a tolerably heavy bag, he had till then
kept concealed under his cloak.
" Aha! capital!" cried Johnny, who roused himself at the
sight of cards like a warhorse at the sound of the trumpet. "Now
-,ve shall have some sport, at last."
"I doubt that, Napoleon," said Fischer quietly. " If you want
.0 lose your money to a parcel of sharpers, I'm afraid you'll havq
to do it somewhere else."
" Somewhere else! —and why ? " cried the little man. " Here
we have everything ready and prepared, and you shall see how
I'll draw the ounces out of that gentleman's bag."
"That sounds all very fine and good, Johnny," answered!
Fischer; "but if these other gentlemen think with me, we'll
have no gambling in this tent. I think the Frenchmen over
yonder will side with us."
" Turn the gamblers out!" said Count Beckdorf; " let those
plagues of the land keep among the Americans, where they
Delong."
Fischer had meantime spoken to the Frenchmen, who at once
agreed with him, that no play should be allowed to go on in the
tent. But as a number of them stood up, Mr. Smith was under
the delusion that they were coming across to try their luck
against him; so, with a complacent smile he shuffled his cards,
passed them once or twice through his fingers, and then laying
down the pack before Erbe, who sat nearest to him, he said, with
a polite bow,—■
" Have the kindness to ' cut,' sir."
" You'd better cut yourself," answered Erbe, with a knowing
look at the rest.
" Fischer, meanwhile, without entering into altercation with
the American, had gone straight to the proprietor, and had repre-
sented, strongly supported by the Frenchmen, that they would
all leave the tent at once, if it was to be turned into a gambling-
hell. The host would not, perhaps, have been averse to a little'
gambling now and then, for it would have kept the people later'
m the tent, and they would have drunk more. But he could not
afford to drive away his guests, so he went to the American, to-
impart the general decision to him.
"Mister," said he to the long stranger, "the gentlemen won't
play; so please pack up your cards again."
"Won't play!" remonstrated the fiery Johnny Napoleon,,
who had made up his mind to win, and would not be baulked.
"Of course I will play ! What are you talking about ? "
"Well, whoever don't like to play can leave it alone," said the'
A ttlGfiT In paradise.
159
American, with, a smile and a nod at Johnny; " meanwhile we
two will begin. Here, sir, are ace and three, and there five and
nine; on which will you go ?"
" There's to be no playing in this tent, sir," interposed Fischer.
"I fancy you will understand what we mean. Did you hear ?"
" Is this your tent, sir ?" retorted the American, angrily; and
Johnny chimed in, with—
" The business is none of yours, Fischer."
"Hold your tongue, Johnny," answered Fischer, quietly;
" you're outvoted, and can't do anything. This is not my tent;
but it belongs to the man who has just told you there's to be no
playing here. So just be kind enough to pack up your call-birds
there; we're old birds, and not to be caught so easily."
"Weren't you the interpreter to-day?" asked the American,
looking at him with a malicious glare.
" Yes, I was," answered Fischer; " and if there were anything
like justice to be had here, or if we had a better man for a judge
than that blockhead of a Major, you'd be laid by the heels, my
friend, instead of prowling about here with your bag of gold."
" So that's your opinion of the affair, is it ?" said the American,
with a malignant grin. "What a pity you're not alcalde here!"
" It's a lucky thing I'm not, for people of your stamp," grum-
bled the German. " And now be land enough to take away your
tools from the table; we want the room for bottles and glasses."
" Away with the cards! Away with the gold !" was shouted by
a chorus of Germans and Frenchmen; while Johnny, resolved to
make a last attempt, jumped on the bench, crying, " Messieurs!
—messieurs !—si " But, amid laughter and shouting, he
was pulled down from his high position; and the people began
to crowd in such an ominous way round the table on which stood
the bag of gold, that the American found it advisable to beat a
retreat. He thrust the cards back into his pocket, seized his
bag, and said,—
" Gentlemen, if I'm so plaguily in the way here, I won't stay.
You'd best make the most of the time you've got to stay in Cali-
fornia; you won't be allowed here much longer."
"Who's to turn us out?" asked one of the Frenchmen, who
knew something of English, and tried to thrust himself forward.
But the others held him back.
"Let the blackguard go," said they; "he's angry at being
turned off."
The proprietor, whose interest it was to keep the peace in his
tent, here interfered, and advised Mr. Smith not to get himself
into trouble. That worthy, who was not remarkable for persona
1G0- A NIGHT IN PARADISE*
courage, no sooner saw the entrance free than he clutched his
money-bag with a tighter grasp, and fled. But the redoubtable
Johnny was not to be pacified.
"Messieurs!" he screamed, as he jumped once more on to
the bench, and fixed his hat upon his head with such an indig-
nant twirl that the brooch with the blue stone shone over the
nape of his neck, "I presume we're in a free country,
where every man can do as he likes, without asking anybody
about it!"
" Bravo, Johnny—quite right!" laughed some of the audience.
"Messieurs," continued Johnny, with considerable anger,
" you have turned out that gentleman with whom I was going
to play. You had no right to do it. This tent is a house of
public entertainment, and I am a part-proprietor so long as I
pay my score; and whoever interferes with my rights, interferes
with the very conditions of my being—and I'm not going to
stand that!"
" Bravo, Johnny—bravo," shouted the laughing audience again.
"Messieurs!" shrieked the little man, more enraged than
ever, " I shall shake the dust of this place off my feet, and never
come back to the tent where I have been insulted!"
With that the three-cornered hat flew round with an angry
jerk, and Johnny jumped from the bench, and turned in high
dudgeon to leave the tent. The host and Fischer tried to
hold him back, but Napoleon, beside himself with choler, tore
from them, and rushed out of the tent.
This episode had thrown the whole company into confusion,
and even the Counsellor had risen from his seat. Erbe alone
remained seated, quite unconcerned about what was passing; so
deep, indeed, was his abstraction, that he filled his glass from
his neighbour's bottle, and emptied it thoughtfully, at a draught,
during his reverie.
"My dear Mr. Counsellor," whispered Korbel, taking the
worthy man by the arm in a confidential way, " I have a favour
to ask of you."
" Certainly—very happy," answered the Counsellor, who was
in a particularly good humour, having rejoiced exceedingly at the
expulsion of the American; " but first, please, answer me
one question."
" With the greatest pleasure."
" Gentleman there—tail-coat — odd idea that—why tail-coat
here in the mines?"
" Oh, that is a singer—a tenor from Germany," answered the
actuary, laughing. " He seems to have got leave of absence,
A NIGHl IN PAftADlSfi. 161
just to pay a flying visit to the mines, and dig up a couple of
thousand dollars' worth! "
"A tenor! — stupid fellow!" observed the Counsellor.
" Should stay at home. In Germany tenors make a load of
money—get as much as cabinet ministers."
"Well—well!" said the actuary, "I don't suppose he's a
very first-rate one; most likely one of those, you know, who
sing the Alphonsos in the operas. But I was going to ask you
something: fact is, I've got an awful toothache coming on, and
must be off home;— but I happen to have left my purse in my
tent. Would you be kind enough to lend me half an ounce till
to-morrow morning, to settle my score here ? "
" Half an ounce !" repeated the Counsellor, who thought the
score rather a high one; "why that's eight dollars."
"Yes, only eight dollars," said the actuary, carelessly; "but I
shouldn't like to go without settling my account, — only till
to-morrow, if I might be so troublesome."
" Ah — well—why yes — very well—with pleasure," replied
the Counsellor, too goodnatured to refuse a service he could
render,—and besides, the money was only wanted till next morn-
ing. So he felt in his waistcoat-pocket, and gave the actuary a
gold half-eagle he had carefully wrapped in paper, and three
silver dollars, which the latter put into his pocket very briskly.
"Thank you, thank you, Counsellor," he said, "Ishallcer-
tainly have the pleasure of seeing you to-morrow, and shall repay
your kind advance."
"No hurry—no hurry," muttered the Counsellor; and the
actuary pushed his way towards the host, whispered a few words
to him, and left the tent.
Almost involuntarily the Counsellor followed him with his
eyes; not suspiciously, but from curiosity to see the young man
pay his score with another man's cash. Did he press the gold
?iece secretly into the proprietor's hand? At any rate, the
lounsellor did not see any money pass between them; but other
comers and goers pushed between him and the host, and only the
Germans, for the most part, returned to their seats.
"Come, Counsellor," cried the cheery voice of Fischer, "come
and sit down for half an hour more."
"Thanks—not to-night—must excuse me—cursed headache—
going to bed early."
" To bed !" exclaimed Fischer. " Happy man, he has a bed
to go to;—but come, you'll stay a little longer; we're going to
have a song or two. You'll join in, Mr. Binderhof ? "
" If you want a second tenor."
162 A NIGHT IN PAftABISfi.
"Ah, capital! that's just what we always want. We have a
first already; and for a second bass—hallo! where has the Comet
gone to ?—sunk beneath the horizon already P "
" The Comet ?" asked Lamberg, laughing; " whom do yon
call by that name ? "
" Only our learned friend the actuary. From all our mining
towns he disappears after a little while, leaving a whole train of
debts behind him,—and so he has got the name of the Comet. I
wonder what has spirited him away to-night; perhaps his time is
up here already."
" It's not unlikely he's gone to play, like Johnny," suggested
Count Beckdorf.
"Not he," laughed Fischer; "he hasn't any money. If any
one would lend him some, it would be another thing;—but even
Johnny is up to him now."
" Does he live far from here," asked the Counsellor, to whom
these particulars were far from agreeable.
" Oh no, not far,—the tent is only about fifty paces off, under
which he sleeps with the apothecary Kulitz, yonder. Deuce take
it, Kulitz, how many blocks of chocolate have you devoured to-
night ? You must have brought a whole chest of it over with
you. So you really won't stop any longer, Counsellor ?"
"Thank you—going home," said the Counsellor; and he paid
his bill, nodded to his countrymen, took off his cap politely to
the Frenchmen at the opposite table, and left the tent, to find
his own habitation.
Now it happened that the organ called the bump of locality
was entirely wanting in the Counsellor's phrenological develop-
ment, and thus he had no very definite idea as to the direction in
which his tent lay. He remembered, indeed, that they had
erected it on a little hill, about a hundred paces distant from the
town, and began walking contentedly down instead of up the
street, between the tents, which were still almost all illuminated.
"The Comet!" He did not like the sound of the name, and
he had some apprehensions respecting the "half-ounce" he had
certainly parted with somewhat lightly. Still, he kept repeat-
ing that the poor man had promised to pay the next morning,
and was probably lying in his own tent in all the agonies of
toothache.
On his way, he passed an American drinking and gambling
tent, distinguishable from the other habitations only by its
superior size, and by one other very significant sign. Fastened
To one of the posts that supported the roof, and brilliantly
liglrcd up by the rays of a lamp, was a picture so coarsely
A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
163
Vulgar as to scare away the more respectable portion of the
community from entering the place. This was just what the
proprietors wanted. They cared only for the gamblers and
topers, whom the disgusting picture would rather gratify than
otherwise.
The Counsellor had only given one glance at the place in
passing, when he thought he heard Johnny's voice screaming in
the interior. He must have followed the gambler who had been
turned out of the foreigners' tent, and was losing his money here
—or was he perhaps winning ? The Counsellor's curiosity be-
came aroused, and he resolved to convince himself, by personal
observation, of the state of the case.
" Dirty vagabonds!" he muttered, as he passed the delectable
picture, and began forcing his way with some difficulty through
the crowd of idlers, to get a look at the interior.
Tour tables were spread out, at which people were playing.
At one of them there actually sat a woman, one of those
abandoned Mexican girls who are sometimes kept as call-birds
or decoys, by the professional gamblers. But the Counsellor's
attention was soon riveted to a table on the left,—for there was
Johnny, playing eagerly, and behind Johnny stood—the Comet!
" Confound it!" muttered the Counsellor, "he said he had
the toothache!"
'3d face, gazing at the
playing at that moment, looked round at the company two or
three times, and suddenly disappeared, as if the earth had
swallowed him up. Had he caught a glimpse of his k£t
creditor ? The Counsellor could not tell; but though he waited
a quarter of an hour, and afterwards made his way quite through
the tent, the Comet was no more to be seen.
This episode was not calculated to improve the Counsellor's
temper. He had an undefined feeling that he belonged to the
tail of the comet, in which he, perhaps, shone as a star of the
third or fourth magnitude. Tor the moment, however, there
was nothing more to be done, and he therefore resolved to go
home as fast as ever he could, and to press for the return of his
advance the next day, with the terrors of the law, if need were,
to back him.
So he pursued his way along the tent street which became
much quieter, and more lonely here at its extremity. Almost all
the drinking and playing tents were in the centre; and the gold-
•washers who had remained at home, had already put out their
lights and gone to bed. Here, then, to the right must be the
appear to be himself
m 2
164 A NIGHT IN PAEADISA
hill; and the counsellor accordingly turned in that direction.
But the ground did not become higher, but ran on at a dead
level; and here and there he stumbled over heaps of earth, and,
but for the faint starlight, would have fallen into some tolerably
deep holes. Here all was silent and deserted; and the Coun-
sellor, somewhat timid by nature, felt quite uncomfortable. Still
persuaded that his tent lay somewhere in the neighbourhood, he
would not go back into the town; and at last discovered a camp-
fire, about a hundred paces in advance, at which he determined
to make inquiries.
To get there was still a matter of some difficulty, for the
fold-washers, who had been trying everywhere for gold, had dug
eep holes, and then abandoned them. Picking his way carefully,
step by step, he approached nearer and nearer to the fire, till he
could descry some one walking to and fro before it. It almost
seemed as if some one were standing sentry there; nevertheless,
the counsellor came upon him quite unexpectedly, and accosted
him, when he was only two paces distant, with—
" Good evening!—Can you "
" Stand! Who goes there ?" cried the startled sentry, almost
in a shriek, and he sprang back a pace or two; and then the
counsellor heard a clicking sound, as if two triggers had been
suddenly cocked.
"Well, well," he exclaimed, "don't disturb yourself—uncock
your confounded gun—a good friend."
" That's what I call cool!" exclaimed the sentry, a German,
speaking in a strong Prussian dialect. "Here comes a man,
creeping up through the fog in the night, like any snake, and
calls himself a good friend!"
" What is it, sentry ?" asked a thin piping voice, that might
have belonged to a lad of fourteen.
" Here's a German," answered the sentry, with his musket
still presented; "he has crept up to me unawares, and calls him-
self a friend."
" Arrest him, and bring him to head-quarters!" was the
reply.
" Stand, or I shoot!" was the somewhat threatening remark
of the sentry. " Prisoner to advance !—Attention!—March !"
"But, confound it," remonstrated the Counsellor, who, from
fear of the loaded musket, had obeyed these orders with great
alacrity, " I was only going to "
" Silence!" thundered the sentry, a little stunted fellow, in a
dark coat, with a white belt or sash round his waist. " Here's a
ditch; jump across; one—two—three!"
A NIGHT IN PAEADISE. 165
"But I only want "
"One!" counted the sentry gruffly, and raised his gun to his
cheek. "Two!"
The Counsellor made a desperate leap, and landed safely on
the opposite bank, to which he clung with both hands. Dry
wood had in the mean time been heaped upon the fire, so that
it flamed up brightly, and the Counsellor saw that he was stand-
ing beside a rampart, apparently newly erected, and surrounded
by a ditch about three feet wide. The earth thrown out from the
ditch had been used in building the mound, and in the centre of
the space enclosed stood a single white tent. Before the tent
burned the fire, around which the Counsellor could distinguish
four other armed figures.
" Climb up!" was the order given by the merciless sentry,
who still stood with his musket presented behind the prisoner.
"One!"
" Confound it—stop!" cried the Counsellor, now really angry.
" I'm coming. There—lost my pipe-bowl!"
"Two!"
"Rascal!" muttered the poor prisoner; but the musket
infused fresh vigour into his limbs. With a desperate effort, he
swung himself up to the top of the mound, and suddenly saw
himself confronted by a gigantic figure that stood waiting for
him, musket in hand.
" Good evening!" was the giant's pacific salutation; and the
Counsellor remarked, with surprise, that he was the possessor of
the thin, high voice. "What's your business out here in the
middle of the night ?"
"My business?" repeated the Counsellor testily; foranunde-
fined feeling told him he had nothing to fear, so far as his personal
safety was concerned. " That's an odd question; ask your
sentry. ' One, two, three!'—pretty thing, taking aim at people!"
"The sentry has only done his duty," answered the giant,
drily. " Where were you going ?"
"Home to my tent," replied the Counsellor; "lost my way
in the dark; deuce knows where I am."
" Where is your tent ?"
"If I knew, shouldn't be here," grumbled the prisoner; "only
arrived to-day."
" Only to-day ?" repeated the giant. " Here, Schultze!"
"Here!" answered one of the little soldiers.
*' Step forward."
Schultze made two strides in advance, shouldered his musket
and waited.
166 A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
" Sehultze, you went out to-day to reconnoitre; did you notice
whether any countrymen of ours arrived ?"
"Yes," answered Sehultze—"party of three, party of four,
and one alone "
"There are four of us !" cried the Counsellor, eagerly.
" At the opposite end of the town, about two hundred paces
from it, on a little hill."
" On the other side of the town!" cried the Counsellor, in
amazement; " why, that's impossible!"
" Sehultze, fall back," said the giant, laconically; and the man
rejoined his comrades in true military style. Then his leader
continued,—
"Be so kind as to go back exactly the way you came, and you
will probably find your tent."
"Hum—indeed!" muttered the Counsellor, who could not
quite believe that he had gone so entirely wrong; "and I've lost
the bowl of my pipe."
" "Where ?" asked the leader.
" Here in the ditch."
" Sehultze, step forward! Take a burning brand, and look for
the gentleman's pipe-bowl."
" Much obliged. Good evening!"
" Good evening! Ground arms!—dismissed!"
The garrison dispersed, and the Counsellor scrambled back
into the ditch. He soon found his white pipe-bowl, and put it
in his pocket.
" Have you found it ?"
" Yes, thank you. Good night!"
" Good night!—All's well!"
" Good night, sentry!"
" Good night! Stay—halt—give the word!"
"Go to the devil!" roared the Counsellor, with a savage
glance at the encampment, as he began groping his way back
through the darkness towards the town, where some lights still
shone. This time he met with no misadventure, ana at last
reached his own tent, utterly exhausted with the unwonted ex-
citement and fatigue. It was late by this time, and the rest of
the little community were already in bed : even Hufner was
fast asleep. But when the weary wanderer came groping his
way into the tent, with the internal arrangement of which he was
Btifl unacquainted, Binderhof accosted him.
" Hallo, Counsellor !—is that you ?"
" Yes. Where's my bed ?"
"Oh, oh, my worthy Counsellor!" said lanky Binderhof,
A NIGHT IN PARADISE.
1G7
turning round in his own bed, without heeding the Counsellor's
question. "You nocturnal prowler, you; going away from
our company under pretence of getting to bed, and wandering
about the town in the darkness of the night. Counsellor, Coun-
sellor! giving yourself up to such temptations at your tender
age!"
" Nonsense !" grumbled the weary Counsellor. ""Where's my
bed ?"
"Nonsense, indeed !" continued the imperturbable Binderhof;
"who knows what amorous adventures you may have encoun-
tered."
" Go to the deuce! Where's my bed ?"
"Wait a moment, Counsellor," said good-naturedHufner,who
had been awoke by the sound of Binderhof's laughter; " I'll get
a light for you directlyand he began tapping about in the dark
for matches, until, at last, he found one, and lighted it.
" To-morrow morning we shall expect you to tell us the story,
Counsellor," said Binderhof.
His weary opponent muttered something that sounded like
the reverse of a blessing, pulled off his boots and his coat,
and crept into the bed that Hufner had kindly prepared for
him.
" Shall I blow the light out, Counsellor ?"
" Unless you want to read in bed, Mr. Hufner," suggested
Binderhof.
"Detestable fellow that Binderhof," muttered the Counsellor.
The light was put out, and in ten minutes all the inhabitants of
the tent were in the land of blissful oblivion.
168
the alcalde.
CHAPTER XII.
the alcalde.
The morning broke, and the light creeping up the face of the
sky shone on the ordinary scene of bustle and preparation which
all the little mining towns of California present in the first hours
of each new day.
The gold-seekers get up at daybreak, and sometimes even
earlier, so as to have their breakfast over by the time it is quite
light, and to begin their work early. Thus for a time columns
of smoke from camp fires rose everywhere into the clear morning
air, and sinewy figures moved to and fro for a while in front of
them. Anon they were seen with their implements on their
shoulders, and great tin wash-pans under their arms, hurrying
in all directions towards their different " claims." Some sought
for gold in the bed of the stream, others on the banks, and others
again in the flat, where they hoped, by good luck, to hit upon
the right vein, and to grow rich. No one told his neighbour
what he had found, or whether he had found anything. No old
miner questioned another; for all knew it would be in vain: the
truth was never told.
Our newly-arrived party were still undecided as to their future
proceedings. With the exception of the Counsellor, they had
determined, in the first instance, to try their fortune together;
to pitch upon a likely spot, and work a claim in company.
The Counsellor did not care to work with them, if only on
account of Binderhof, whom he could not endure. Moreover, he
did not seem to care so much as the others for immediate profit;
for not only had he a very comfortable sura of money in hand,
which enabled him to contemplate life in the mines for a time
with great equanimity without working for his livelihood, but he
moreover possessed some property in his own country. The rest
of the party often wondered what could possibly have brought
him to California at all; but to all hints and questions on the
subject he either remained silent, or gave very evasive answers;
so that, in the end, they had to let him go his own way.
Thus, without any very definite object before them, the four
Germans rose at sunrise, and set about preparing their break-
THE ALCALDE. 169
fast; so that it was nearly nine o'clock before they thought
seriously of beginning their day's work.
The so-called auriferous " flat" lay to the right of the little
town, on each side of the mountain stream that rolled through
the valley. To the left of the "Paradise" the ground was also
flat, consisting of stiff red clay; but here it began to rise with a
gradual sweep towards the hills, about five hundred paces off.
This last-mentioned portion of the valley seemed to contain
no gold, for no diggers were at work there. Only at intervals
appeared shallow holes—signs that some had tried their fortune,
but had given up their efforts in despair.
But for the last day or two a couple of Americans had been
hard at work sinking a new hole—and very severe labour it was.
The ground was so hard and dry that they could only chip out
little pieces by using their heaviest pickaxes, so that their progress
was exceedingly slow; but they persevered bravely in their efforts,
and had at last succeeded in sinking a hole of very respectable
dimensions, and about seven feet deep. Other workmen, whose
way lay in that direction, often stopped for a minute or two to
watch them; but they always went away shaking their heads,
and did not feel any desire to try their own luck there. They
were, however, not sorry that the place was being tried; for if
the two Americans succeeded, it would be easy to try there too,
and to profit by the experience their predecessors would have
gained.
Lamberg had inspected the place on his own account the day
before; but, seeing only the single party working away in the
stiff earth, he did not feel inclined to begin operations there; so
now he stood, in an undecided state of mind, before his own tent,
considering where the easiest and safest commencement might be
made. Suddenly he saw, with surprise, how at first a few and
then a whole crowd of spectators congregated about the hole in
which the Americans were at work; then they scattered them-
selves over the flat, and began digging on their own account all
about the neighbourhood.
"Hallo, my boys!" he cried out to his own party, "there's
something up over yonder. I'll wager, those two fellows in the
hole have hit the right nail on the head, and now all the rest
want to be first to follow their lead. That's a good sign! Shall
we have a try there too ?"
"If you like," answeredBinderhof, with an air of indifference.
" I don't much care where we begin to scratch; and the place is
convenient for us, for we can keep our tent in sight while we're
working there,"
170 THE ALCALDE.
"Come along, then!" exclaimed Lamberg; "for we mayn't
lose time if we want to get a good place. Now then, Counsellor,
are you coming too ?"
" Time enough for me," grumbled the Counsellor. " Do you
begin—shall try somewhere else."
" Yery well," said Lamberg ; and he seized the two tin cans,
the lightest articles in their digging apparatus. " Binderhof, be
so good as to take the two shovels; and do you, Hufner, shoul-
der the pickaxes: and then quick march—forward!" And, without
waiting to hear the comments his friends might make on his
ingenious division of labour, Lamberg the lazy turned away, and
walked down to the place, which was not far distant.
The people there were indeed busily employed in the prelimi-
nary labour of marking out "claims"—square spaces about five
paces long by four in breadth. Then they laid down their pick-
axe or any other implement in the middle of the claim thus
marked out; and this, according to diggers' law, was a sign
that the place was engaged, and could be worked by nobody
else.
Lamberg, who, by a sort of tacit understanding, had assumed
the command of the little party, soon found a spot of sufficiently
promising appearance, threw down his tin pans, stepped out the
required space, and set Hufner to work to pick out the margin
of their claim just as their neighbours around them were doing.
He himself went with Binderhof towards the hole in which the
Americans were working, and found about thirty others standing
round it. At any rate, some further intelligence was to be gained
there, and perhaps there was something remarkable to be seen;
and before they began work they wanted to ascertain this.
Neither Lamberg nor Binderhof could speak English; but,
luckily, they fell in with an old acquaintance in the person of
Korbel the actuary, who no sooner caught sight of them than he
seized Lamberg by the arm, exclaiming,—
" Quick! bring your tools this very instant, and begin digging
here. You've arrived in our Paradise at a lucky moment. I've
already marked out a claim for myself."
" So have we," answered Lamberg. "But what has occurred
here ? Why are the people so set upon the hard clay that none
of them would have anything to do with yesterday?"
" I fancy they've some cause," said Korbel with a laugh. " Do
you know that the Americans in the hole yonder have found a
lump of gold weighing more than two pounds ?—a solid, massive
bit of gold, I tell you, and not a vestige of quartz in it. I've
seen it myself."
THE ALCALDE.
171
" Two pounds of gold in one piece!" cried the astonished
Lamberg. " Why, that's worth four hundred dollars! "
"And where that came from, there must be more," cried
Korbel, who seemed all enthusiasm about the new discovery.
" Come with me and you shall behold it too. Seeing is believ-
ing, as the proverb says. I know the people; they're poor devils,
who have been working here a long time, and till now have found
little or nothing. By this time to-night they may be rich men."
He pressed through to the group around, and soon they were
standing on the edge of the hole. It was seven or eight feet
deep, and looked as if it had been dug out of the solid rock.
They had not to look long to see the lump of gold, for one of the
by-standers had it in his hand, while others pressed round to
feast their " ' isure. Korbel, who spoke English
moments; and our two German friends were introduced to the
first specimen of gold they had seen fresh from the earth; and,
as may be supposed, they looked upon it with considerable
respect.
It was an oval piece, with irregular excrescences, something
like a small potato; very heavy, and exceedingly pure and
shining. Here and there, in the crevices, were little bits of the
red earth from which it had that morning been taken,—and how
many thousands of years might it have lain in its concealment,
before it was thus unexpectedly dragged forth!
Three young men were by the hole, — one of them was still
hard at work with his pickaxe, the second was picking about the
sides with his knife, in search of a second prize, and the third
stood on the margin, keeping a sharp eye on his property, as it
travelled from hand to hand.
" Come, pass it down!" he exclaimed at last. " You've
looked at it long enough. I shall have half of it sweated off; I'll
wager it's half a dollar's worth lighter already."
" Don't be so greedy, Bill," answered one of the Americans,
laughing. " In a lump like that, half a dollar, more or less, don't
matter much."
" You'd better fetch your pickaxes, and work," retorted the
man in the pit; " who knows if ours is the greatest bit that's to
be had here for digging!"
The hint was taken. Korbel handed the gold back into the
pit, and the majority of the by-standers dispersed;—some to go to
work at once, others, who still wished to " work up " their old
noles, to have their claims registered by the alcalde, to secure
them against foreign invasion.
tolerably
obtained the loan of it for a few
172 THE ALCALDE.
The alcaldes in all the mining towns derived the chief part of
their income by registering these claims in a book kept for the
purpose, each entry being paid for at the rate of two dollars.
The place had then only to be marked with a pole and a number,
and it might be left unworked for months, in perfect safety.
For the last few weeks the emolument from this sonrce had
been very small; for the flat was already occupied, and in the
various mountain-streams it was not customary to register claims.
People would try their luck in one place to-day, and in another
to-morrow, and no one thought of encroaching on his neighbour's
ground, where there was room and to spare for all. But now
the case was very different; where there was a general rush
towards one point, all hoping to reap a rich harvest,—to register
and secure places became a very necessary thing. Thus the new
discovery was particularly welcome to the alcalde, who, by
writing down a couple of hundred names and numbers had
earned double as many dollars in the course of an hour or two.
In the mean time the news spread like wild-fire through the
whole flat, that in the " red ground," as the place was called, a
great lump of gold had been found. The storekeepers, to whom
it was a matter of vital interest to keep as many diggers as-
sembled as they could, fired off a few little cannon, to show that
something remarkable had happened;—and fame, as is usual in
such cases, soon added something considerable to the weight of
the lump the lucky diggers had found. Such rumours were always
very beneficial, for they brought new emigrants to the town, and
there was an increased demand for provisions. Care was also
taken that sundry flaming articles descriptive of the discovery
should appear in the San Francisco newspapers.
Scarcely an hour after the excitement had first begun, the
whole "red ground " looked like a great draught-board, parcelled
out into squares of equal size. Some of the most eager were
already working away Dravely with their pickaxes, labouring in
the sweat of their brows to get down, as fast as possible, to the
golden stratum, where they hoped such treasures were to be
got.
In remarkable contrast to all around him, so practical in their
industry, and so anxious to seize the present moment, stood our
friend the Counsellor. He cared as little about the lump of
gold, or the prospect of finding its fellow, as if he had been at
home in his study, in Europe, and had just read an account of
the discovery in some newspaper.
Altogether unaccustomed to come to any rapid decision, he
considered he had here plenty of time before him. "There must
SHE ALdAtD^. i73
be plenty of gold left," he thought; "why should I be in a
hurry and put myself out of the way about it." The first thing
he wished to do was to find the washerwoman of whom Fischer
had told him; therefore, as Hufner was not in the tent to help
him, he managed with his own hands to pack his soiled linen into
a bundle, lighted a fresh pipe, and strolled slowly down into the
town, covering his burden, as far as he could, with his coat-
skirt.
"Tomlins," was the name,—so much he had remembered,—and
he asked a couple of Americans where Mrs. Tomlins lodged. At
first they did not understand him, but on his exhibiting the
bundle he carried, they understood what he meant, and directed
him to a little tent, standing among the others in the street.
He entered at once,—knocking would have been difficult, in-
asmuch as there was no door to the tent, —but stopped short,
not seeing the woman he had expected to find there. An old
negro man sat at a fire in the middle of the canvas dwelling,
watching an iron pot suspended on a couple of stakes, that hung
over the flames, and roasting potatoes in the hot ashes. He took
very little notice of the Counsellor, not even troubling himself to
return his visitor's nod, but only muttered a few unintelligible
words, drew a potato from the embers, wiped it on his knee, and
began very coolly to discuss it.
" Mrs. Tomlins at home ? " asked the Counsellor.
" Eh ? " said the negro, without looking up.
"Mrs. Tomlins at home?" asked the Counsellor, in a louder
tone. He began to think the man was deaf, and was besides
impatient at the coolness of his reception, so unlike the cere-
monious politeness of Europe.
" Me Tomlins! " cried the old man, knocking his hand, with
half a potato in it, on his breast—" Me Tomlins—what you
want ? "
" But where's the woman ? " insisted the Counsellor, who had
no idea that the old fellow who was sitting before him could be
the functionary in question. " Woman—woman ! " he repeated
in English.
"Woman!" cried the old negro, staring—and a twinkle of
droll humour lighted up his furrowed face—" me no woman—
me Tomlins—want washing?" and further to illustrate his
meaning he rubbed his hands together, as if in the exercise of his
vocation.
" Hum!" grumbled the Counsellor—" queer sort of a place
California—want a white washerwoman—find a black nigger—
no matter, if he can wash well;" and he unpacked the shirts he
\u the alcalde.
had brought with him. There were seven, and all of very fine
linen.
" Put -'em dare!" said the black, without deigning a glance
at the garments; and he pointed with his right hand to the corner
of the tent, where a whole heap of linen lay piled up. " Throw
'em dare—all be done dis here week."
" But careful done — careful," said the Counsellor, _ who
did not quite like such a summary method of doing business.
But the old negro- only repeated " Put 'em dare," and seemed
to think he had already given too much of his time to his-cus-
tomer. After a few abortive attempts to explain what he wanted,
the Counsellor was obliged to give it up. At any rate, he was
glad at having found some one who would wash for him ; so
with a grunt of resignation, he tjed up his bundle again, put it
into the corner with the rest, and went very well satisfied with his
morning's work, into the foreigners' tent, to strengthen himself
by a glass or two of wine for further exertions.
Just as the excitement was at its height—when the tent of
the alcalde swarmed like a beehive with goldwashers, and that
worthy functionary could scarcely weigh the gold fast enough in
his little scales, as it was handed in to pay for the registering of
new claims—a new scene attracted the attention of the dwellers
in the Paradise, and made them even forget for a moment their
golden hopes of gain.
Down from the mountain, accompanied only by a single Indian
boy, the chief Kesos rode slowly along the main street; but
before him there lay across his horse's neck the dead body of
one of his tribe. The pallid ghastly head, with its long gray
hair streaming down, rested on his right arm, while with his left
he guided his horse, panting and snorting beneath its double
burden.
This time he rode not to the alcalde's tent, but to the sheriff's,
and his little groom sprang lightly from his pony to call him out.
Hale, who haa just left the alcalde, saw him coming, and went
across to welcome him.
" Is the man dead, Kesos ?" asked the sheriff, looking
with an uncomfortable feeling at the rigid features of the
corpse.
" He is dead," said the chief gloomily — " poor old man—■
couldn't fight for himself."
" And why have you brorught him down here into the valley ? "
" He shall speak to the white-man's heart," replied the
Indian in a low voice, "though he is cold—if white man has
a heart."
THE AlCAEDE.
The sheriff stood musing for a minute—then he said briskly,—.
" You've done right, Kesos—come with me; we'll take him to
the alcalde directly, and shake him out of his golden sleep. The
deuce take him," he muttered to himself,—"I wonder if he'll
turn us away now."
Without waiting for any further answer from the Indian, he
beckoned him to follow, walked rapidly towards the alcalde's
tent, and disappeared in the interior. The Indian followed him
closely, stopped at the alcalde's door, and alighting from his
horse, took the corpse of his dead friend in his arms, and marched
straight into the judge's tent.
Major Ryot was sitting, with his fat round face radiant with
joy, and a bottle of brandy ready to his hand, at his great square
table, which was covered with papers, while ten or twelve rough,
sunburnt figures were grouped in picturesque fashion round
him—some sitting unceremoniously enough on the Major's bed,
others lounging on a spare table, and others again standing close
beside his chair, to get their claims registered as quickly as they
could.
" Softly, softly, gentlemen," he was saying; " slow and sure—
slow and sure : you shall all be served in your turns, according
to the order in which you came. Bless my soul, one would
think the very mischief had broken loose here this morning—the
people are all mad for places they would not have had yesterday
at a gift. What wonders one lump of gold can work! "
" One lump won't do it," laughed a long Kentuckian, as he
shook his two dollars' worth of gold-dust into the scale, out of a
little leather bag. " If we didn't hope to find some more, we
shouldn't trouble ye. The foreigners are after the claims like
mad—the whole place seems like to swarm with them. You
didn't ought to give away the best pieces to strangers, in that
way."
" My good sir," answered the Major, as he adjusted his little
leaden weight in the opposite scale, " we haven't any law against
it as yet, and whoever brings me two dollars and asks for a
claim, I can't—your two dollars' worth is a little short—I can't
refuse to let him have one."
"My weight short?" exclaimed the Kentuckian, incredu-
lously. " I weighed it off at home myself, and richly too."
"Perhaps your weights weren't quite the thing," suggested the
Major with a laugh.
" Brian's weights—I brought them from San Francisco my-
self," answered the man.
"Well, I can't help that. Mine are the correct thing; I cut
176 Tfiil ALCALDE.
them myself according to the proper scale. Bring yours
over when you're coming this way, and we'll compare them. I
pay everything I have to pay by mine."
"Well, a few grains more or less don't matter," said the
Kentuckian; and he took a pinch from a well-filled leather purse,
and laid it on the scale. " If I find a lump like the one those
fellows, had this morning, I don't mind paying the two dollars
twice over."
" I'll consider that a bargain," said the Major, in high good-
humour. " If you'd only give me time, I'd look out a claim for
myself. But you don't leave me a minute's peace—and I'm the
man who comes off shortest."
" Major," said another, coming up to the table, " I want four
claims."
" Can't let you have 'em, sir; it's against our laws; I'm only
allowed to give one claim to each man, and that you know very
well."
" Yes, but there are four of us, in our party; here, I've brought
you the names, and I want one for each."
" Ah, that's another thing,—that makes just half an ounce.
Where are your claims ?"
" Just behind the tent here; near the little cedar."
"Just look at that; you've been and dug up the earth up to
my very tent; and the next thing will be that one of you will
come in and want to register the very ground it stands upon.
But if that's to be grubbed up, I'll do it myself ; for the gold
over which I've slept so many nights ought certainly to belong
to me."
" Here are the names, Major; what numbers am I to
have ? "
"102 to 105. Hollo, Sheriff,—come to register a claim for
yourself, too ?"
" Not I, thankee," answered the sheriff drily, as he strode
into the tent, "if other people are mad enough to come trooping
round a bit of red stone, because some fellow shows them a
lump of gold, why it's nothing to me; but there's no reason
why I should take part in the foolery, Major. The Indian has
come again."
"The Indian?" cried the alcalde, starting up in indignant
astonishment from his pleasant work. " Let him go to blazes!
Don't you see, I'm as busy as I can be, and haven't time to
bother about his complaint ?"
"I don't see you've anything of more consequence to do,"
said the sheriff, quietly; "but here he comes himself, and he's
THE ALCALDE. 177
brought his witness, too. You'll have to give up a piece of a
elaim for him, poor fellow!"
" Mercy on us !" screamed the alcalde, springing from his seat
in very horror. The other Americans came crowding round, to
see what was going on, and only the chief remained unmoved.
He stalked slowly up to the alcaide, who retreated involuntarily
before him, laid down the dead body in the middle of the tent,
and said, in his broken English,—
" Here, Alcalde,—Red-skin shall not witness against white-
skin—so you speak—I bring here a witness that you can see
through his skin. See—brown Indian has red flesh and blood
like white man—and he wants revenge for murder—murder!"
And throwing open the leather jerkin the dead man wore
over his attenuated frame, he pointed with outstretched finger
to a ghastly wound between the breast and shoulder of the
corpse.
"Poor fellow!" muttered the gold-washers—"who's done
that ? "
" A gambler, who has come prowling round among us here,—
a Mr. Smith," answered the sheriff.
" Devil take all the gamblers," cried the Kentuckian; and he
blurted out a round oath. "The dogs cheat, every one of them;
they're like so many condors let loose about the mines. Wher-
ever they smell gold, they come prying round with their black-
guard old greasy cards, and conjure the few hard-earned ounces
out of our bags again."
"Play ought to be forbidden in the mines," said another;
" those who want to lose their money may go to San Francisco or
to Stockton."
" Forbid it ?—who's to forbid it ?" interposed the sheriff.
"Do you think people are to be found, who would stand up
singly against such a band P They would'nt think of it. But
every town has the right to make any by-laws that may be
thought necessary for the good of all—and if the citizens would
unite to decide upon such a measure, they could carry it out
easily enough. They did it only last month at Rich Gulch, near
the Macalome, where they turned out the whole set of gamblers,
neck and crop, from the diggings; and so you ought to do
here."
" Hallo, Alcalde, what have they been bringing in here P"
asked one of a new party of gold-washers, who had just strolled
in to register fresh claims. " What are you about with the dead
Indian—going to have him stuffed ?"
" There—you see, Sheriff, that I realty haven't time to go into
N
178 THE ALCAIDE.
this miserable affair now," said the judge, who had by this tfma
recovered from his first surprise; "so do me the favour, and tell
the Indian to come to-morrow, or the next day, and I will see
what can be done for him. If we give him a lew dollars, or a
few pounds of biscuit for the poor fellow's relations, he'll be
contented enough."
This proposal, uttered in a low voice, was intended for the
sheriff's private ear, had been overheard by the chief, who cried
angrily—
"Gold?—You buy the blood of our people with gold? yoa
give everything for yellow lead. I will not gold !—I will the
blood of the bad white man, who killed my friend with his
knife !"
" Blood!—Nonsense!" blustered the alcalde. " Dy'e think
we're going to hang a citizen of the United States, all for a red-
skin ? And then, it's never been proved that he really was the
man. Bring me witnesses—but white men, none of your brown
vagabonds—witnesses who have seen the affair, and we'll go
into it; but till you can do that, I'm not going to bother
about it."
" White men," retorted the chief angrily; "I told you no
white man in our huts yesterday, but that one bad man. You
know who it was. Measure knife he carries; measure wound in
dead man's breast; twenty of our people saw him kill—call
them, and let them speak."
"Your whole tribe don't matter to me," replied the testy
alcalde. " Just take away the corpse out of my tent. I can't
imagine, Sheriff, how you can uphold him in such goings on."
" The law says, in c Section Twelve,'" answered Hale, " that in
all cases between white men and Indians, either party may
require to have a jury summoned."
" Do you want to teach me what the law says ?" retorted the
Major, scarlet in the face with rage. " The law says that the
Indians' complaints are left to the discretion of the judge."
" Or of the jury," said Hale quietly; " after they have listened
to the Indian's case."
"And I have listened to his case!" shouted the Major, whose
eyes seemed ready to start from his bloated face, with choler.
" So it's left to my discretion; and my discretion tells me that I
don't want a jury, and am not such a fool as to arrest a reckless
fellow to-day, who may send a bullet through my head to-mor-
row. So now then, Sheriff, when you're alcalde here, you can
act according to your discretion; but now I order you, in the
name of the law, to turn the Indians, both live and dead, out of
THE ALCALDE.
179
the tent in which I am officially engaged. Do you understand
me?"
" Perfectly, Major," answered the stolid sheriff; " and so far
as your present official employment is concerned, I've my doubt
as to its value; and I think the rest of the fellows will have their
doubts too, by the time they've sunk their holes fifteeu feet into
the hard earth."
" What do you mean by that ?" cried the judge, who had
already settled down to his book again, turning sharply round to
him.
"That your official engagements are no business of mine,"
answered the sheriff. " Come, Kesos, I'll put you in the way of
bringing your complaint before the county court. There they'll
decide whether our alcalde's discretion haS led him right orwrong."
The alcalde looked bowie-knives and revolvers at his mutinous
sheriff, and cried out to him to stop; but Hale left the tent,
with a look of stolid indifference, not even turning his head at
his superior's call.
" Good," muttered the Indian between his set teeth, as he
stooped to lift the dead body in his arms. " They will not believe
red-man's witness, they shall have white-man's witness. I will
give one to them."
" I do believe the fellow's threatening us," sneered the alcalde,
looking malignantly at the Indian from behind his book. Kesos
paid no further attention to him, but turned and carried his
sorrowful burden from the tent.
"You ought to have granted the Indian a jury, Major," said
one of the spectators, when the curtain had fallen behind Kesos,
—" if it had only been for the sake of example."
" I know what's best to be done," snarled the ruffled digni-
tary,—" so now please to let the whole business drop. Now, in
what name do you want your claim registered ? "
This question brought back the minds of all present to the
business on which they had come. The Indian had disappeared
with the body, and soon there was nothing heard in the alcalde's
tent but discussion about gold that had been found, and gold
that was still to be found, and claims where that gold might lie
concealed.
The sheriff had been waiting for the Indian outside the tent,
and counselled him, strongly supported by Fischer, who hap-
pened to be passing, to appeal to the county court without dela>,
inasmuch as the judge had undoubtedly acted contrary to the
spirit of the law, and could be called to account for it and
punished.
180 the red eaeth,
" Yes, with gold! " answered the chief, disdainfully. " One
white-man will pay fine to another white-man—will that help
Indian? No," he continued, as Hale and Eischer were about to
interpose—"I know Americans now; I see they will not give
justice to the red-man—I will try another way."
" But the sheriff is an American too," said Eischer, " and he
wants to get justice done to you."
The Indian went up to Hale, seized his hand, and said, not
without emotion—
" Sheriff has been good to me—Kesos thanks him—Kesos will
not forget it when the time comes."
"I say, Eischer," whispered honest Hale, uneasily—"I'm
afraid the poor fellow has some plan of revenge in his head; and
no wonder. But do mfe, or rather him, the favour to talk him
out of it. They can gain nothing by force, poor devils, for we
should ruin them directly the first "bow was bent against us.
They'd be driven back into the snowy mountains, and would die
there like flies in autumn."
The Indian was not to be persuaded. He lifted the dead body
on his horse, and rode back in the direction whence he had come,
without pausing once to look round him.
CHAPTER XIII.
the hed eaeth.
The Indian was soon forgotten; indeed, few had ever cared
about him or his grievances. But the sheriff, an honest and,
upon occasion, a determined man, who saw through the alcalde
more thoroughly than was at all agreeable to that righteous
judge, would not let the matter rest, and had even discussed the
matter at some length with a few of the most respectable
Americans in the place. Eor the present it appeared manifest
that nothing could be done; for if the Indian did not appeal in
person, of course no one cared to undertake such a ticklish
affair for him. The culprit was, moreover, a citizen of the United
States, though a worthless one; and the wild " Western men "
all held together, and seemed to have an instinctive contempt
and hatred for the Indians. The cunning alcalde knew that well
THE RED EARTH. 181
enough, and hence his reluctance to hear a complaint against
one of them.
Meanwhile, the " red ground," which had so suddenly become
popular, was industriously picked and shovelled, and dug over.
Soon people ceased to trouble themselves about the lucky finders
of the great lump of gold, for each one had his own interests to
look after. The possessors of that treasure seemed also to have
grown tired of exhibiting it to all comers; and a few who re-
quested to see it, were put off with the answer that " it had
already been packed up."
The alcalde, who sat in his tent registering, had a fine time of
it. Money poured in upon him in streams, and he soon forgot,
amid his pleasant occupation, the disagreeable episode of the
Indian. But the sheriff sallied out into the flat, stopped for a
minute or two on the edge of the hole where the party were at
work who had given the first impulse to this new industry, and
finally descended into the pit itself, where he had a long and, as it
seemed, a very interesting conversation with its occupants. At
any rate, the three Americans let their spades and pickaxes rest,
so long as he remained there, and on his departure began singing
the regular Californian ditty—" Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for
me!"—with such an appearance of hearty enjoyment, that some
neighbouring diggers came running up, to ask if they had found
a second lump, that they were so merry.
The sheriff walked back to his tent, rubbing his hands as he
went, with a look of great satisfaction and glee.
Our three German friends—Lamberg, Hufner, and Binderhof,
had commenced active operations in their claims. It was
terribly heavy work for them; and their hands—never very hard,
and further softened by the inactivity of a long voyage—were soon
so lamentably blistered, that they could scarcely manage to grasp
the heavy pickaxes and spades. Lamberg, of course, tried to
spare himself as much as possible. He might have succeeded
well enough with Hufner; but Binderhof would stand no non-
sense; for, like most people constitutionally averse to hard work,
he was anxious, when at last obliged to exert himself, that none
of his comrades should be idle.
Even the Counsellor had caught the contagion of the general
industry, so that he resolved to begin work on his own account—
in furtherance of which resolve he very quietly, instead of pur-
chasing a claim for himself, began to dig a hole in one of the
many squares already marked out and numbered. About an
hour after he had begun, the proprietor came up and sent him
off. The Counsellor, who found the ground particularly hard,
182
THE RED EARTH.
and did not care to over-exert himself, had almost made up hi3
mind to go, and therefore gave in contentedly enough. He
shouldered the very light pickaxe with which he worked, together
with his shovel ana tin pan, and went strolling up the next hill,
more with the intention of having a good look round him than
with any fixed purpose of resuming his gold-digging labours,
when his old acquaintance the Comet ran right against him.
At first the actuary seemed to hope that his creditor of the
last evening had not recognized him, for the Counsellor had a
peculiarity of staring straight up at the sky as he walked. So
ICorbel stepped aside on the desperate chance of gaining the
shelter of some friendly bush, and so letting his compatriot go
on his way unconscious and undisturbed. But the Counsellor's
sharp " Good day, Mr. Actuary!" quickly showed him the fallacy
of this hope; so, with an admirable air of pleased surprise, he
exclaimed,—
" Ah!—the Counsellor, I declare. I hardly knew you at first,
with your pickaxe and spade. Come out to try your luck ?"
" Hum !—yes;—confounded hard ground. Got home safely
last night ?"
"Who?—I? Why yes, thank you. But, my dear Coun-
sellor, I had a great misfortune last night."
" You ? Ah ! yes—at play. Why do you play ?"
" I play ? No, indeed," answered the unblushing Comet; "I
don't even know the cards. But you remember I told you I had
left my purse in my tent."
"Yes. Well?"
"Well—only think!—when I got home, and looked for it, I
found it was gone."
" Who ?—what ?—the purse ?"
"Cleanvanished, sir; stolen by some worthless scoundrel or
other. And I had two hundred dollars' worth of gold in it, my
whole earnings from last month, which I had scraped together
with hard work and labour."
"Thought as much," grumbled the Counsellor.
"Though so? No one could think so; for I never knew an
instance of anything being stolen from a Californian tent
before."
"And my eight dollars?" asked the Counsellor, who might
have substituted the word "knew" for "thought," without
altering his meaning.
"Why, they were to have been paid out of the puise," said
the actuary, violently keeping down a grin. " But never mind,
you may make yourself quite easy; California's a place, luckily,
THE HEP EAETH. 183
where a man may win two hundred dollars almost as quickly as
he can lose them; and your debt shall be paid honestly and
honourably from the very next money I get. I've secured a
capital place, one of the best claims here in the new flat, where I
may make good my whole loss at any moment."
" Yery good—hope you may—good morning!" said the Coun-
sellor, turning away to resume his walk.
t{ Good morning to you, Counsellor!" replied the actuary,
taking off his hat politely, and then making off at a good pace
towards the town. He seemed rather relieved at thus getting
rid of his creditor.
In the Paradise nothing was now talked of but the treasures
concealed in the "red earth." Three or four accounts, all
greatly embellished, went forth as "notices" to the San Francisco
papers, and could not fail to attract the attention of the gold-
washers to the new spot, and to induce some of them to try their
fortune there. Whether these new comers found their expecta-
tions realized was a matter of indifference; at any rate, they
would be obliged to buy provisions so long as they stayed and
worked.
The hardness of the soil prevented the diggers from getting
at the stratum where they could really expect to find gold, so soon
as usual; for, whereas two or three days had usually sufficed to
bring the workmen to the depth where something at least was
found to reward them, they were here compelled to labour most
strenuously for a whole week, without meeting with the slightest
encouragement. The "red earth" consisted, as we have already
stated, of exceedingly stiff clay, full of little bits of pebble ana
quartz; and the heaviest pickaxe, wielded by the brawniest arm,
could, scarcely be driven more than an inch at a time into its
stony surface.
But no one cared for that. The people had seen the heavy
lump of gold—or, what was worse, they had heard it described—
and were determined to find similar pieces for themselves, though
they toiled for it day after day in the sweat of their brows. They
consoled themselves with the thought that diggers' work was
nowhere very light, but that here, at any rate, they had the
advantage of being sure of a result, whereas elsewhere they toiled
only on a chance.
Fischer, who had been for a long time a wanderer among the
different mines, had not been induced to try his luck in this
hopeful spot. He and Count Beckdorf continued steadily work-
ing together at the upper part of the " devil's water;" where they
. were not making a fortune, but, as they said, earning very good
184 THE BED EABTH.
wages—five or six dollars a day each. Johnny, also, was absent
somewhere among the hills; but he kept his whereabout a secret.
It was, however, conjectured that he had not found much, as he
did not appear in the drinking-tents for two or three evenings.
His friends did not know that on the evening when he followed
the player, his whole capital—some seven hundred dollars—had
found their way into Mr. Smith's leather money-bag.
A full week had passed away with no more remarkable occur-
rence than the arrival of large parties of diggers from the neigh-
bouring mines; and even from San Erancisco came many who
had read in the papers of the great lump—or nugget, as the
Australians called it,—and wished to begin their operations on
the favoured spot which had given it birth.
Startling reports began to fly about of murders said to have
been perpetrated in the neighbourhood by Mexicans, who had
assembled in considerable force, and by English convicts. The
Americans asserted that a whole cargo of malefactors, whom the
Australian colonists would not allow to be landed, had been shot
out on the Californian coast from the port of San Erancisco.
This was of course a fable. But several ships had actually
come with ticket-of-leave men among their other passengers.
Still the story—such as it was—gained considerable belief; and
meetings were held, at which the expediency of turning all
strangers from the mines, or, at least, of disarming them, was
openly canvassed.
In all these assemblies a particular hatred was manifested
against the English, Irish, and Mexicans, to whose charge every
crime committed was laid; and it was nothing less than the
perfect security that existed in the " Paradise," combined with
the new interest awakened by the recent discovery, that could have
prevented the inhabitants from following the example set in
Sonora and other mining towns, where all foreigners had been
deprived of their weapons, and the Mexicans actually driven
away.
The alcalde took no part in these debates. Whatever he, as
an American, might think of the matter, he had too great a
pecuniary interest in the strangers, as judge of the peace, lightly
to take part against them. But it seemed strange that this
pacific man should have quarrelled with the three Americans who
had found the lump of gold, and with whom he had hitherto
been on very intimate terms. He went to see them several
times; and each time he descended into their deep hole, sounds
of violent debate were heard issuing from thence—sounds which
ceased on the approach of a stranger. After each visit of the
The bed earth.
185
kind the judge would return to his tent with a very red, wrathful
countenance, while the three Americans saug tauntingly after
him,—
" Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me;
I'm going to California, with a washbowl on my knee."
They had sunk their hole to a depth of twelve feet without
obtaining any further result, as far as their neighbours knew.
This excited little remark, as most old diggers are very close
with respect to their gains or losses. But what did excite
remark was, that one morning the men were missing from their
hole; and a report spread that they had begun to dig beside one
of the mountain streams in the neighbourhood, leaving untouched
two claims they had marked off, to the right and left of their own
hole.
Then, for the first time, suspicion began to spread among the
diggers that they had been hoaxed, and that the lump of gold had
not been found in the hole at all.
The most industrious among them had dug fourteen or fifteen
feet into the earth, and not anything of real value had turned up.
Of course there were traces of gold there as everywhere else;
but the greatest amount actually obtained did not half suffice to
pay the expenses of the seekers during the time they were
aroused, the people began working out
the idea. They were wondering what could have induced the
three Americans to deceive them, supposing the history of the
lump to be a falsehood, when the sheriff gave a very simple solu-
tion of the whole mystery.
Twelve days had elapsed since the morning when the first rush
was made towards the red flat. No labourer had been half repaid
for his toil, and many had already left the place in despair, when one
day the sheriff came into one of the dining-tents at mid-day, when
about thirty of his countrymen were sitting at the table, eating.
" Hallo, Hale! " cried an acquaintance; fC have you deserted
your old boarding-house ? Come and sit here, old man, there's
room enough for you, and as tough a bit of meat as you'd wish
to stick your blessed teeth into."
" Mac Carthy has put that on the table for us, to remind us of
the rascally red earth, where one's pickaxe can no more dig into
the confounded cement than one's teeth can here into the meat.
I've been chewing at a bit for a quarter of an hour, and it seems
to get larger and larger in my mouth."
" Be hanged to the red earth," growled another • " don't spoil
186
THE HEE EAHTH.
our appetites. I'm glad enough when I can forget the place for
a minute or two. To-morrow's the last day I shall try; if I don't
find a lump, deuce take me if I turn up a single stone more."
"Well, come here, Hale, and sit down, or your dinner will be
cold."
" Thank you, no, Briars—I've had my dinner—but what did I
tell you and Bowling, and you, Green, when you went running
into the flat at that mad rate, eh! "
"Well, but what was one to do, when they'd dug such a lump
out of the ground there?" answered Briars, looking rather
foolish.
" Did you see it dug out of the ground ? " asked the sheriff.
" Who — I ? Why, not exactly," answered the man, with an
astonished look at his questioner.
"Did any one see it dug out ? " asked the sheriff again.
"Well, not that I know of," said Green; "but — you don't
mean to say—I can't believe—confound it—if I knew for certain
that the rascally Hoosiers have hoaxed us, I'd go and break every
bone in the body of every one of them."
" Don't be afraid; they won't escape punishment," said the
sheriff, with a laugh. " The alcalde's going to proceed against
them himself."
"What!" cried the gold-washers, jumping up from their
seats; " then the whole thing was a cheat."
" Yes, it was, and you can't even complain; for it was your
own fault that you went digging in the red earth. You did it of
your own free-will, and no one persuaded you to go there;—but
the poor alcalde has come rather badly out of the affair."
" The alcalde! — why, he hasn't been digging at all. But
what's the matter with you, Hale, all on a sudden ? You keep
chuckling to yourself, and you're keeping something back. Out
with it, Hale;—what is it ? "
The table was by this time almost deserted; for the diggers
felt far too deep an interest in the question under discussion, not
to gather round, in hopes of hearing more. Hale really seemed
to have something on his mind; and it could not be sympathy
for the alcalde, for every one knew the state of affairs between
them; but whatever it was, he seemed in high glee; and at last
said, scarcely restraining his laughter,—
" The poor worthy Major ! — he thought so much about your
welfare, and was so much afraid lest you should lose heart here
in the mines; and now for him to be treated in that way!—it's
really too bad."
"But who has treated him in that way?—and in what way do
THE BED EABTS.
187
you mean ? " asked Briars, angrily. " Who the deuce is to make
sense out of your nonsense, Sheriff ? "
"Well, I mean the three Hoosiers," said Hale. "He lent
them the lump of gold that was found six or eight months ago
near the Macalome."
" Lent it them ? " roared nine or ten fellows together, as they
pressed more eagerly round him.
" That's quite impossible," cried Briars. " I saw with my own
eyes the red earth sticking to the bit of gold."
" That's a convincing proof that the gold had lain among the
red earth," laughed the sheriff; "and would settle the whole
question at once, if you could prove it impossible for the Hoosiers
to have rubbed a little red sand in the crevices by hand. But,
be that as it may, our worthy Major 'loaned' them the lump in
the most disinterested way;—of course the few hundred dollars
he made by registering the fresh claims hadn't anything to do
with it,—and now it appears the ungrateful Hoosiers won't hand
over the gold."
"Won't hand it over?" repeated one of the audience.
"No, that they wont," continued the sheriff. "They declare
it's the Major's place to prove that they did not find it themselves,
as he himself asserted to every one who asked him about it.
Besides, they say it was only to please him they dug the deep
hole in the cursed tough clay,—and they hadn't found anything
for their pains, except, of course, that one lump."
"Ha!—ha!—ha!" shouted Briars, "just serves him right;
that's the best punishment for the rascal,—and be shall handout
our money that he got for registering new claims, into the
bargain."
"Ah!" observed the sheriff; "then I can't have you for
jurymen,—for it ^eems to me you've agreed upon your verdict
already."
" Jury!" cried Green. " What do you want with a jury ? "
"The alcalde really means to proceed against the Hoosiers,"
said the sheriff. " I certainly gave him a bit of good advice;—
told him he'd much better hold his tongue, and make up his
mind to lose the few hundred dollars; but he's so mad upon the
fellows, that he's determined to go on."
" And did he really give them the lump, just to cheat us P "
cried a man from among the crowd.
" He's ready to declare it upon oath," said the sheriff, with
mock solemnity; "and he expects, from the sense of justice
80 remarkable among the community here, that they'll "
"Break his bones for him," interrupted Green, in a fury.
188 THE BED EABTS.
"A cheating scoundrel like that wants to he alcalde and judge
here, and isn't ashamed to use us, who chose him, for bis own
rascally purposes."
"Gentlemen," said the sheriff, gravely, "you see the affair
quite in a wrong light. The good of the whole state must not
be sacrificed to individual interest; and the measure was adopted
for the benefit of the community at large. Besides, no one can
deny that you might have found gold in the red flat."
"We'll give it him, for the good of the community," cried
Briars. "I'll go to him now, and if he don't give me back
my two dollars, I'll have up the whole flat, to speak to him."
"Briars—Briars," the sheriff called after him, " whatever you
do, don't go making a disturbance "
But Briars had already rushed, in hot haste, out of the tent,
and was followed in a few moments by the whole company, who
ran out to act upon his suggestion. Hale looked after them for
a minute, till they disappeared at a turn in the road; and then
walked off in another direction, rubbing his hands in a very con-
tented way.
He had done just what he intended. The knavery of the
alcalde, whom he had long suspected, had been discovered, and
the Major would have to hold his own as best he could, against
his enraged clients. That he himself should keep out of the way
for the rest of the day, was all he had to do; and he accordingly
set out on a long walk among the mountains.
As soon as he had the town behind him, he turned off to the
right, towards the hills; and passing the Prussian fortification,
where the sentry was rather incongruously employed stirring a
huge pot of broth with one hand, while he grasped his musket in a
warlike manner in the other, he went on, by the side of the
"Devil's Water," and soon reached the wooded hills which
enclosed the narrow valley.
Eew countries are richer in natural beauties than California;
and its lofty trees, in particular, form a very remarkable feature.
Oaks of huge dimensions, covered with large and tolerably sweet
acorns, skirted the foot of the hill; while further up, cedars,
firs, and pines lifted up their slender arms towards heaven.
The cedars, with their reddish stems of gigantic height and their
fragrant evergreen leaves, were in themselves enough to impart
beauty and interest to the scene. They grew amid thick under-
wood—a peculiar kind of bush growing in many branches from a
single root, and looking, with its fresh green leaves and deli-
cate blossoms, almost like a bouquet put together by a tasty
florist.
THE BED EABTH. 189
The sheriff had often looked upon the scene; but still he
paused every now and then to enjoy the view, or to contemplate
some particular group of trees which opened at intervals through
breaks in the thick foliage.
At length he had gained the summit of a hill and threw him-
self on the grass, beneath a pine tree, to look round him at his
leisure.
For like a view seen through a camera obscura, reduced to
infinitesimal proportions, but every outline sharply defined, and
clearly visible through the thin pure mountain air, lay the little
busy town in the far distance, with its busy streets swarming
with human life, its white tents; and little waggons with tilts of
white sailcloth, creeping to and fro through the streets, and up
the road where the mountain stream had burst through into the
valley; and among the overhanging rocks might be distinctly
seen the tiny figures of travellers toiling slowly along, with the
sunlight shining full upon them.
Suddenly the sheriff drew a little telescope from his pocket,
and remained for a couple of minutes looking steadfastly through
it at the town. At last he seemed to have discovered what he
sought, for the telescope ceased to move to and fro along the
whole range of the town, and a gratified smile overspread the
gazer's features.
" The bombshell has burst, sure enough," he muttered. " I
shouldn't wonder if they pulled down his tent about his ears for
him—how they're streaming into the town out of the red flat!
Briars must have made a rare noise about it. Capital fellow,
that Briars. If the blockhead had only had the sense to hold his
tongue about the matter, no one could have proved anything
against him. The Hoosiers would have kept counsel for their
own sakes,—and after all, his money was gone. That no jury of
miners would give him a verdict, he might have known very well.
But his own cursed avarice got him into the scrape, and now
he'll have to bear the brunt of it. Much good may it do you,
my worthy friend. Ha, ha,—how he'll sing out for the sheriff to
come and make them keep the peace; and while he's shouting
out for Hale to come and help him, Hale is a mile or so away on
the mountains, looking at the row through a spy-glass—and
when he comes back, it will be to convene a meeting for electing
a new alcalde. If we don't get rid of the Major now, he'll stick
to us for ever."
Suiting the action to the word, he again had recourse to his
telescope, and turned it upon the town; but though he could
distinctly see the groups of men passing to and fro, the glass
190 THE BED EAETH.
was not sufficiently powerful nor was he near enough to the
scene of action, to make out what they were about.
Nevertheless, he shut up his telescope with a very satisfied
smile, and returned it to his pocket; then he again stretched
himself on the soft grass; and lay there so long, looking up at
the sky through the branches, that he at last fell into a light
slumber.
The sun was fast sinking towards the west, when he at last
awoke, with a dim consciousness of voices in the neighbourhood.
Perhaps a party of gold-washers were looking out a fresh place
for their operations,—perhaps they were Indians, a whole tribe of
whom were encamped in the neighbourhood, for the traces of a
fire they had lighted were still visible. He had, however, no
fears for his personal safety—for the Indians were in general
harmless enough. They knew only too well that they could do
nothing with their weak bows and arrows against the crowds of
white men armed with rifles and revolvers. Even towards single
travellers they were generally pacific;—avoiding them if they
could, greeting them submissively when they met, and never
attempting to molest them.
In the town—whither he now thought of turning his foot-
steps—peace seemed to be re-established. Here and there, groups
still lingered, apparently in converse. The " red earth" was
quite deserted—not a single miner remained there at work.
Meantime the voices came nearer ; and from the sharp nasal
tones of some of the speakers, the sheriff judged they were
Mexicans, or at any rate Americans from the South. The
Mexicans were not, at that time, in very good repute ; and several
murders, in various parts of the country had been attributed to
them. But the sheriff had his revolver, without which he seldom
stirred out; and was, moreover, a fearless, determined man.
So he remained quietly under his tree, to await the approach of
the strangers.
His conjecture was correct enough: he soon descried the gay
ponchos," which they wore over their shoulders, glimmering
through the bushes. They were Mexicans, three tall stalwart
fellows with curly beards and sunburnt faces, and among them,
in rather rapid eager converse,—the sheriff almost started to see
him in such company,—went his old acquaintance the Indian
chief Kesos, who seemed so engrossed in the talk that was.
going on, that he never saw the white man on the ground.
Presently they stopped quite near him, without stopping their
conversation; but unfortunately they spoke in Spanish, and the
sheriff could not understand a word of what they said. Before
THE BED EJlRTH.
191
he could make up his mind whether he should stay where he
was, or advance boldly towards them, the little Indian boy who
stood near, holding a horse for the chief and another for himself,
uttered a low warning cry, and the next moment the chief's eyes
were fixed sharply upon the American as he lay on the ground.
"Hallo, Kesos!" he began, rising slowly, "are you still here
in the neighbourhood?—I thought you'd gone back to your
tribe long enough ago."
The Indian aid not answer; he seemed to be trying to dis-
cover, from the expression of the sheriff's face, whether he had
understood their discourse. But he soon seemed to remember
that the sheriff conld scarcely have overheard them, or that he
did not understand Spanish, for his face cleared, and with a
friendly nod to Hale, he said,—
"Not yet—Kesos is a great Capitano—many tribes look up
to him. He returns to the Witongs to-morrow."
The sheriff had now risen; and laying his hand kindly on the
Indian's shoulder, he continued, gently,—
" That's right, Kesos—and I'd give something to be sure that
you won't alter your mind. If you'll take my advice, you'll be
very cautious how you meddle with those Spaniards, with whom
you seemed to be uncommonly thick just now."
" What do you mean ? " asked the Indian warily.
" You'll understand what I mean, well enough," answered the
sheriff quietly. " They're a cowardly, rascally lot, with no fixed
homes here. They're ready at any time to make a row, and
don't much care if they get the best of it or not. At the worst,
they can take their wooden bowls and crowbars, and be off in
the night to some other place ; but you who have your homes
here, would be the worst off."
" I do not understand you," said the chief gloomily.
" So much the worse for you," retorted Hale—and with a nod
to the chief he turned, without casting a single glance at the
Mexicans, and walked away down the incline, in the direction
of the town.
192
THE german COMPANY*
CHAPTER X1Y.
the german company.
Sheriff Hale no longer looked with complacency at the
glorious trees, or the golden tints the setting sun was pouring
over the landscape. He had no eyes for the beauties of the
scene around; for the encounter with the Mexicans, the warning
cry of the little Indian boy, and the sudden silence of the men
themselves, had set him on a train of thought which occupied
him disagreeably.
Hale was far too much of a patriot to doubt for one moment
that his countrymen would be able to keep possession of the
country, even if all the strangers in the land rose up with one
accord against them ; but he knew the character of the Indians
too well to look without apprehension on the probability of an
alliance between them and the Mexicans. Left to their own
resources, there was no fear of their attempting anything hostile;
but urged on by a set of worthless Mexicans, who would not
hesitate to promise them every possible assistance, even though
they deserted them in the hour of danger, the affair wore a very
different aspect.
All about the mountains little parties of Americans or foreigners
had located themselves, chiefly for the purpose of exploring the
beds of the different streams in search of gold. Most of them
certainly were armed,—but no one was prepared for an attack by
the Indians; and much innocent blood might be spilt before the
Americans would be able to assemble, to drive away the enemy.
The young Indian Kesos, so far as lie knew him, was an honest,
well-meaning fellow, — but still he was an Indian, whose con-
fidence it is always difficult to gain. He was just the man to
carry out any mad scheme on which he might set his heart.
He certainly possessed great influence. The tribes obeyed him
implicitly, as the sheriff very well knew, and he could lead them
alike for good or for evil.
"He would not be wrong, either," soliloquized the sheriff, as
he strode rapidly down the steep incline, to reach the town before
nightfall; " and if I were in his place, and saw a set of strangers
THE GERMAN COMPANY.
193
taking away mile after mile of my land from me, killing or driv-
ing away my game, spoiling my fisheries, and playing the
mischief generally, I don't think I should take it all quite quietly;
I fancy I should cut as many of their throats as I could;—but
poor devils, what good would it do them ? They can't do any-
thing against us, aud their doom was sealed the day the first bit
of gold was found amongst these hills. "Wonderful thing that
gold! — how people risk their lives and everything else on the
chance of getting a handful of yellow dust."
His contemplations were here interrupted by a loud shout.
He looked up and saw an American of his acquaintance beckon^
ing violently to him.
" Oh, Hale—Hale!" he cried; " deuce take it, man, where
have you been hiding all the afternoon ? You've been sought
for like a needle in a bundle of hay."
"Hallo, Nolten!" answered the sheriff, going up to him; "who
has been wanting me ? Ain't it a queer thing that I can't ever
go out on my own business without there being a shindy some-
where or other. What was it P"
"So you've been out prospecting with your revolver!" observed
Nolten, with a grin. "Hale, Hale—I should think you a
pretty sheriff, if I were alcalde—from which Heaven preserve
me!"
" How so P " asked Hale; but not quite so innocently as he
could have wished. " They certainly didn't want me up in the
mountains, where you come from."
"No, not exactly," said Nolten, with another grin; "I only
went over there half au hour ago, to bring back the crowbar I
left there yesterday. I've been in the town all the afternoon;
and they've been making such a disturbance there, you might
have heard it five miles off."
" And what's been the matter ?"
"Come, come, don't look quite so green," retorted Nolten;
"Briars told me himself that it wao you who put them up to it."
" I! D'ye mean the affair about the lump of gold ? There
was nothing to put them up to; fcr the alcalde was bent on
making a hullabaloo about it; and I'm to summon a jury for
him to meet to-morrow morning to prosecute the Hoosiers.
You must be a juryman, Nolten."
" The jury won't be wanted," said Nolten. " The alcalde has
made himself scarce; and I hardly think he'll be back by to-
morrow morning."
" What!—has the Major gone ?" roared the sheriff, purple in
the face with suppressed laughter.
o
194f THE GERMAN COMPANY.
" Gone, sir!" was the reply. " The lump of gold stove in his
cask for him, and a lot of still dirtier things came rolling out.
The scamp may thank his lucky stars that he's got off so cheaply.
He deserved much worse than merely to be sent away."
"Well,I think the Hoosiers have riled him considerably."
"Pooh—nonsense, man ! the gold that he lost through them
has been pretty well made up to him in registering-fees, so that
he don't lose much; but they found out that he had false weights,
and that did his business for him."
" Palse weights ! Well, that's rather strong," muttered the
sheriff. " That's why my gold was half an ounce short the other
day!"
" Jim, the longKentuckian," continued Nolten, "took his leaden
weights away, and went to Burton's tent to have them tested.
The whole lot of miners followed him; and the Major seemed to
have a notion of what was brewing, for when they came back he
was gone. He had had his horse all ready saddled somewhere
in the neighbourhood, and went off without saying good-bye to
anybody. Some of the fellows were for following him up, and
making him give up his booty: but we didn't let them; we
were glad to have got rid of him for good and all. Now you're
to be alcalde."
" I ? " said Hale. " That would be a stupid business. If I
could flourish the pen like my butcher's knife I shouldn't have
any objection; but, as it is, they'll have to choose some one else.
What a rage the Major will be in about our poor Paradise!"
"Never mind; we've turned him out of it," said Nolten,
laughing. " I'm heartily glad of it; for what must the strangers
think of us Americans while such a thief is our judge. I only
wish we'd some thoroughly practical fellow in his place; for I
fear there will be some bother soon,—not with the foreigners only,
but with our own people. Those rascally gambling chaps are
growing worse every day with their impudence; and some time
or other they'll be too strong for us."
"Pooh!—we'll manage them well enough," answered Hale,
confidently; "and, as we've got rid of the Major, I don't care
about the rest. The people seem to have got over their grief at
parting with him pretty soon."
The two men had by this time reached the little town. In the
tents there was quite a merry stir and excitement; and, strangely
enough, there was quite a gathering of laughing, dancing men
around the three Hoosiers.
The three fellows had certainly taken in the whole community,
and caused hundreds of them to toil in vain for more than a week.
THE GERMAN COMPANY, 195
But as they themselves had worked, too, in the hope of finding
something, and had, moreover, beaten the alcalde so capitally
with his own weapons, and mulcted him of his big lump of gold,
their deceit was heartily forgiven; and, wherever they showed
themselves, they were the heroes of the hour.
For that evening nothing was done except that there were regular
drinking-bouts in many of the tents, while the great events of the
day were talked over. But next morning it was considered neces-
sary that a new alcalde should be chosen; and, as Nolten had
predicted, the first offer was made to the sheriff.
Hale was well known as an honest, straightforward, and, when
occasion required, a determined man; and his election was warmly
supported by all, even including the strangers, who would unani-
mously have returned him ; but-he refused to accept a post to the
duties of which he was unequal. His acquaintance with the sta-
tutes was a very partial one, nor was he particularly strong in the
arts of reading and writing. On the other hand, he was too con-
scientious to undertake a responsibility he could not fulfil.
Nolten, a quiet, sedate man, of well-know integrity, was next
nominated; but he likewise declined, on the ground that he did
not wish to tie himself to one locality. If he became alcalde, he
would have to stay in the town; and that was not his object in
ooming to California.
No definite result was attained; and at last the people decided
upon waiting and doing as best they might without an alcalde
till a proper candidate came into the field, rather than elect a
second Major Kyot. Hale, meanwhile, was obliged to undertake
any pressing duties that might arise during the interregnum.
There was one part of the community who had looked down
with sublime indifference upon the whole bustle and turmoil.
The Germans, who had come to California for the one sole object
of digging gold, took no part in what the Americans chose to do;
and their only interest in the whole affair arose from the indigna-
tion they felt at the alcalde, through whose means they had been
mulcted of two dollars apiece, and set to dig day after day in a
claim not worth a cent.
Lamberg, Binderhof, and Hufner, who had penetrated, by a
week's strenuous exertion, about five feet into the stony earth,
now at once began in a fresh spot, where, at any rate, the work
would be easier; and the Counsellor, who had never laboured in
the "red earth " more than a couple of hours at a stretch, con-
tinued his solitary task in some of the most unlikely spots in the
whole neighbourhood.
As the gold-washers had found little or no gold in the deep
o 2
196 THE GERMAN COMPANY.
earth of the red flat, he persuaded himself that the precious metal
had not been washed down into the valley at all, but still lay
concealed among the mountains; and thus, two or three weeks
afterwards, no little astonishment was excited in the minds of
wandering Americans by the sight of a number of little holes
sunk to the depth of two or three feet by the Counsellor, who
invariably abandoned them without finding the slightest trace of
gold. Old diggers, when they came upon one of the scenes of his
spasmodic industry, would wonder why in the world any one had
sunk a hole up there; and one or two, who caught the miner at
his work, asked him what he expected to find. But the Coun-
sellor always looked askance at them, and began picking away
with redoubled vigour, so that they had to go their way unin-
structed.
Another circumstance rendered the Counsellor very dissatisfied
with life as he found it in the mines. Almost every comfort and
luxury to which he had been accustomed was here wanting. At
home he had never troubled his head about anything beyond the
limits of his profession. Here he was not only required to earn
his livelihood by the use of very heavy, cumbersome tools, but
was obliged to cook for himself, and to make his own bed—two
very great hardships for a man like the Counsellor.
"With his linen too, he had very bad fortune. He had carried
his things to the old negro, and thought no more about the
matter. At home, his linen was always brought to his house by
a laundress, curtseying humbly; and here, where he paid four
times as much for it, of course he expected the same thing. But
old Tomlins never made his appearance; and at length the
Counsellor had used all the shirts he had brought to the mines
with him, and was obliged to go and see after his things himself,
as no one could take the trouble off his shoulders.
Though he had once beeninTomlins's tent, the Counsellor had
entirely forgotten its whereabout. He therefore applied to the
first Americans he met, and asked them for the " wash-nigger."
Either they did not, or would not, understand the few English
words he blurted out in his usual abrupt style; for they only
stared at him—perhaps thought him intoxicated,—and went on
without answering his question. This did not improve our
friend's humour; and he was about to turn back, resolving to
get Hufner to go down for him in the evening, when a man came
towards him, a German evidently, whose lace and figure the
Counsellor seemed to recollect. The black tail-coat the stranger
wore soon settled the question of his identity, though his face
was half concealed in a thick shawl. It was the tenor, whom he
THE GERMAN COMPANY. 197
had not seen again since that first evening •when they had met in
the wine-seller's tent. The artist did not seem to have im«
proved in his circumstances. His clothes were lamentably torn,
and the poor tail-coat, in particular, was scarcely recognizable.
The black silk hat, too, converted by sun, rain, and the dews of
night into an ill-formed reddish mass, hung limp upon his head;
and in his left hand—his right was concealed in his pocket—he
dangled the remains of what had once been a kid glove.
The Counsellor, however, was not a very observant man. He
only remembered that the wearer of the black tail-coat had spoken
German; and, going straight up to him, with the dark frown
which had in old times struck terror into many a quaking wit-
ness, he pronounced the single word—"Wash-nigger!"
"I—I beg your pardon," stammered the poor singer, looking
very much embarrassed; "I think you are mistaken in the
person."
"No," replied the Counsellor; "fetching shirts; don't know
where confounded nigger lives."
"Ah! you want old Tomlins ?" cried the young man, good-
naturedly; " if you will allow me, I will take you to him."
The Counsellor nodded—his usual way of accepting a service,
—and the tenorist walked down the street by his side.
"Well," he asked, "and how have you got on in the mines,
since the first evening we saw each other ? Have you found
much gold ?"
" Who, I ?" replied the Counsellor, to whom it occurred, for
the first time, that he had never found a single grain in his tin
pan; " why, no,—not much. Confounded country—all lies—all
a sham; should have found just as much gold in Darmstadt as
here."
"Do you really think so ?" inquired Mr. Bublioni, looking at
him in amazement. " Gold in the mountains there !"
"Shouldn't be such a fool as to look for it there" growled
the Counsellor. " Have you found anything ?"
"Not much—but, at any rate, something," was the young
man's modest reply; and he coughed slightly, and wrapped his
shawl closer round his throat, as he continued. "But the
climate doesn't suit me at all, and I am afraid I shall lose my
voice. So I have devoted myself more to speculation than to
real work."
" Speculation ?" asked the Counsellor, who had a very in-
different opinion of everything of the kind—"hem!—bad place
for it, California."
"Well, I should think not," remarked Bublioni, gather
198 THE GEEMAN COMPANY.
anxiously. " I certainly could only begin in a very small way;
but my partner, who has been for some time in California, and
with whom I have worked for some weeks, has taken our joint
earnings, and is going to invest them in provisions at Stockton,
which he hopes to sell at a good profit here in the mines. I expect
him back every day; and I really am anxious that he should return
soon, for my rheumatism so incapacitates me for all kinds of
work, that for the last week I have earned nothing."
" Indeed !" observed his companion, not particularly pleased
at the last communication. It looked too much like the in-
troduction to a request for a loan, and he had gained bitter
experience as a lender. "A German—your partner !"
" Yes," answered the singer; "you know him, perhaps: the
actuary, Kolber !"
" Comet ?" cried the Counsellor, with open eyes.
"I beg your pardon—Kolber. But here is the tent you
wanted to find; old Tomlins lives here."
"Oh!—thank you," said the Counsellor; "well, hope you'll
do a good trade."
"I hope so," answered the tenor, smiling; "you see it's a
first attempt—a first appearance on the theatre* of speculation,
where the public is the only arbiter of failure or success. I wish
you a very good day, Counsellor."
The Counsellor had, however, already disappeared in the
interior of the tent, and had not even heard the last words.
The tent was the right one; for, just at the entrance, the
Counsellor found the old negro, sitting with a pair of trowsers
across his knees, adding another patch to the collection which
already adorned them. He neither rose at the entrance of his
visitor, nor even paused in his occupation, but only nodded at
the Counsellor, and inquired—
" Come for your washing ?"
"Yes," replied the Counsellor, seeking to make up for his
defective knowledge of "English by vehement lavatory gestures
with his hands. Old Tomlins, without even looking up from his
work, pointed with the thumb of his right hand across his
shoulder, to a corner of the tent where lay a whole heap of shirts,
which had been washed, indeed, but neither ironed nor even
folded, as the Counsellor had always been accustomed to see
done at home. He tried to make the negro understand this;
but Tomlins only looked wonderingly at him for a moment, and
then went on quietly with his botching, without taking any
further notice of him. At last, when the Counsellor took up a
shirt, and made the motion of passing an iron to and fro over it,
THE GERMAN COMPANY.
199
the old fellow's face wrinkled up into a grin of contempt, as he
said,—
" Never you mind; just you put them on so."
Though the Counsellor did not understand what old Tomlins
said, the negro's contemptuous air put him in high dudgeon;
but as Tomlins troubled himself no further on the subject, he
turned to the mound of garments to look out his own fine linen
shirts from among them. But that was a thing impossible ; not
one single shirt of his own could he find. Tomlins declined
every attempt at conversation in German, and the Counsellor at
last ran out in utter despair into the street, in the hope of find-
ing an interpreter.
Count Beckdorf happened to be coming down the street, and
to him he turned for assistance.
" Certainly, Counsellor," answered the young nobleman, who
rather liked the gruff old lawyer; "with the greatest pleasure.
So the black fellow won't give you your things?"
"Stupid fellow don't understand me," grumbled the Coun-
sellor—" idiot—don't I speak German ? "
"Perhaps that's why you don't get on," answered Count
Beckdorf laughing. "But come in with me—we'll soon put
the affair right."
Tomlins never stirred on the second appearance of the Coun-
sellor, accompanied by Count Beckdorf; and on the inquiry of
the latter for his friend's washing, the negro only pointed to
the heap which contained about thirty or forty cotton shirts
.of various hues, most of them grievously tattered and torn.
" But they're not among those! " cried the Counsellor, pee-
vishly.
" Tomlins, have you no other things but those ? " asked the
interpreter.
Tomlins shook his head as he pointed to a still larger heap of
soiled linen, in another corner.
"That there," he said, "came in this last week, and will be
washed to-morrow—this is all I have left of what came before."
" How long is it, Counsellor, since you brought your things
here ? "
"Oh, three weeks!"
"Tomlins, this gentleman says he brought his shirts here
three weeks ago."
Again Tomlins pointed like inexorable fate to the ragged
rough-dried heap; but he condescended to say,—
"Bless me—three weeks; that's a long time: but there are
the shirts I washed since. Every gentlemen comes and looks
200
THE GERMAN COMPANY.
out his own number—Tomlins don't bother no more about them.
How many had ye ? "
"He asks how many you had, Counsellor ? "
" Seven."
" The gentleman has seven, Tomlins."
" Well, let him choose seven of those dar, and pay me a
dollar and three quarters. Whoever comes first, always gets the
best."
" That's the worst of it," said Count Beckdorf, laughing.
"Now, my dear Counsellor, I can explain the whole matter to
you. The old woolly-head here looks upon the shirts he gets
to wash as so many c quarters,' and one is as good to him as
another. When he's done washing, he throws them all on a
heap together; and so long as he gives each customer his num-
her, he thinks he has done all that can be required."
" But my shirts are not there."
" At any rate, they were there, and some sharp fellow has
taken them away instead of his own."
"Don't believe it!" cried the Counsellor, angrily, "they were
fine linen—fellow must pay for them."
" My good sir, before what tribunal would you summon him,
when we haven't even an alcalde among us ? If you'll take my
advice you'll look out the seven best among the sfiirts."
" What!—those old rags ? "
" They're good enough to work in; and afterwards do as I do."
" And where do you get your shirts washed ? "
" I wash them for myself," answered the young man, laughing.
" You—Count Beckdorf—wash shirts!"
" Why, you see, one has to learn a good many things here of
which one has no idea in the old country. But it is growing
late, my dear Counsellor, and I have still much to do—so, good
morning. Good day, Tomlins."
The Counsellor bowed politely—the negro nodded carelessly-—
and the Count went out, leaving the man of the law to settle his
washing account as best he could.
The firm of Lamberg, Binderhof, and Hufner had certainly
found some gold in the second hole they dug—enough to cover
their expenses for meat and drink; but where was the wealth
they had hoped, nay confidently expected, to gain ? Hole after
hole was sun*., cradle after cradle was rocked, and still the
result was only a few dollars in each case—bare journeymen's
wages to the men employed.
Hufner, in particular, became very downhearted, especially when
he saw that theirs was only the common lot j the Prussians, in
THE GERMAN COMPANY. 201
their fortified camp had long since abolished their sentry, woo
subsided into a private digger, and even changed their location
•without throwing up a fresh rampart. Finally, as they did not
make enough to pay their expenses, they parted company. The
giant, with two of his men, betook himself to some other mines,
to try his luck in a more propitious spot; and the other two
sold their armoury of weapons to some Frenchmen, for the
means of prosecuting their dreary employment.
After borrowing from every tent in the town—and when it
became impossible for him to obtain so much as another glass of
brandy on credit—the Comet had one morning disappeared from
the neighbourhood, and was seen no more. He told his partner,
indeed, that he was going to buy provisions on speculation—
which was true enough, for all got was on credit—but in the
Paradise he never reappeared. A town where he was asked for
ready money was no place for him.
In spite of the rather discouraging result of the labours in the
"rich mines" by the Devil's Water, new arrivals from San
Francisco came pouring in. The very name was alluring, and
the glowing accounts in the newspapers—though grossly ex-
aggerated—still produced their effect, in the shape of a harvest
for the provision dealers.
Even so long as three weeks after the events just described,
waggons came rolling into the town laden, with baggage and
tents, the proprietors walking beside them. Miners who had
grown tired of their stay, not unfrequently took advantage of
these opportunities for returning to San Francisco or betaking
themselves to " fresh fields and pastures new." If they returned
towards the coast, they usually sold their tents and mining tools,
which could then be purchased at a very trifling cost.
It happened one evening, late in August, that our four Ger-
man friends were sitting at supper, in unusually good spirits.
The Counsellor especially was in a most gracious humour ; he
had that day, for the first time, given up his scheme of " moun-
tain holes," and had actually obtained a few dollars' worth of
gold-dust by washing in the stream.
The three partners, too, were "making out" pretty well,
though Lamberg and Binderhof shirked work whenever they
could; and the Counsellor, excited by his good fortune, had
invested the first proceeds of his industry in a couple of bottles
of wine, which they were drinking in company.
A little while before, they had noticed a caravan coming up
the narrow road, but had paid no attention to the circumstance.
Now they saw a man in a cap of remarkable shape and appear-
202 THE GERMAN COMPANY.
ance, who seemed to be making inquiries for some one; and at
last an American, to whom he spoke, pointed to the tent where
the Germans were assembled.
"Hallo!" said Lamberg, suddenly jumping up; "that man
down there looks exactly like the Assessor."
"No, no; he won't come to the mines," remarked Binderhof,
laughing. " Mrs. Siebert won't give him leave."
" You're right, Lamberg," interposed the Counsellor; " the
Assessor himself — hem ! very glad — good fellow — glad he's
come."
"Hurrab! here's a fresh specimen for the mines," cried
Binderhof. " You and he, Counsellor, ought to join company."
" So we will," said the Counsellor decidedly. He had long
wished to separate from his three companions—at least from Bin-
derhof, and had only been withheld by his fear of having to cook
for himself. Now the Assessor would manage all that for him,
in return for the benefit of the Counsellor's experience as a gold-
washer,—and the lawyer's mind was made up.
The Assessor—for it was he in person—came slowly up the hill,
and seemed to look round once or twice in doubt, till Binderhof's
shout of " This way, Assessor—this way ! " hastened his steps
and brought him to the tent. The four Germans, who welcomed
him loudly, came flocking round him; but his spectacles had
become dimmed during his hurried march up the hill, and he was
obliged to take them off and wipe them, before he could recog-
nize his old companions. When at last he did so, he was so
pleased with his hearty welcome that the bright drops stood in
his eyes.
Of course he was overwhelmed with questions about himself
and his friend Mrs. Siebert. As to his own fortunes, he was
communicative- enough, but he rather evaded those questions
which bore reference to the woman he had so befriended; con-
tenting himself with telling them that she was well, and earned a
good living by washing and mending clothes.
" And how did you come here, Assessor ? " asked Hufner;
" and how did you find us out P"
" Oh," replied the Assessor, " I had heard a great deal about
the ' rich diggings,' and the great lumps of gold you found here."
"Yes," said Binderhof, laughing, "tremendous ones."
"Why, isn't that the case? " asked the Assessor, quickly.
" Goon with your story," said Lamberg; "you'll find out, in
a day or two, how things really stand here. With whom did
you come ?—for I don't think you'd ever have found your way
•alone,"
THE GERMAN COMPANY
203
"I came with some old friends and fellow-travellers of ours,"
resumed the Assessor, " whom I—but mercy on me, I had almost
forgotten something. Mr. Hufner, I have a letter for you."
"Forme?" asked the astonished miner. " From San Fran-
cisco ?"
" Yes," said the Assessor, tugging at his great pocket-book, to
get it out of his breast-pocket, and searching among its various
compartments, and the papers they contained; " some one has
arrived there—a young lady."
"A young lady! " exclaimed Hufner, turning pale as death,
and springing from his seat in terror.
" How glad he looks !" shouted Binderhof, with a great laugh;
"now we shall have the deuce to pay; — his betrothed has
arrived here. Yes, by all means we must have her up in the
mines."
" But that's quite impossible," remonstrated Hufner.
" Here it is — thank goodness," said the Assessor, producing
the letter. " I thought I had lost it."
"But she was not to start till three months after me, and "
"Pray read your letter," interposed Binderhof, who himself
wanted to hear about it, " and then you'll have it all in black and
white. Upon my word, the affair is growing interesting."
Hufner broke the seal with a trembling hand, and went out of
the tent, to read the letter in quiet, while the Assessor proceeded
with the story of his adventures.
" As I was telling you, I met with old travelling companions,
Counsellor,—kind, worthy people, — the American, Mr. Hetson,
and "
" What! that cracked fellow ? " asked Binderhof.
"I beg your pardon; he was certainly very unwell for a little
time, but Doctor Bascher quite set him up again, and was even
going to come up here with us; but as our preparations took
longer to complete than he expected, he started a day or two
before us, promising that we should meet again in this little
place."
" What! is the old Doctor going gold-washing ?" asked
Lamberg, laughing.
" I beg your pardon," replied the Assessor; " he only intends
to botanize, and has brought a mule to carry his collection. From
what I have seen of these mountains and valleys, I fancy he will
find many new and strange plants."
"And was any one else from our ship coming? "
" From our snip — no — yes, though — there were the second
Ornate and the cook, who had run away together, and a few
204 THE GERMAM COMPART
strangers besides,—particularly a Spainard, with a very beautiful
and amiable young lady, his daughter, whom Doctor itascher, I
believe, had recommended as a companion for Mrs. Hetson. We
were a very agreeable caravan, I must say, and I enjoyed myself
amazingly all the way."
" Well, Hufner, lad, how stands it ? " cried Lamberg, as the
young lover came back to them; " has she arrived safely ? "
"For Heaven's sake, Lamberg," answered Hufner, "don't joke
about it, but give me your advice what I should do. She has
actually come to San Francisco."
" Your betrothed ? "
" Yes,—and her mother too."
"By all that's blue," cried Binderbof, shouting with laughter—
"his mother-in-law has come too. Well, my dear fellow, I do
congratulate you with all my heart."
" Yes, but what am I to do ? " continued the poor wretch, in
an imploring tone. " You know, all of you, how I've worked and
slaved, and how industrious I've been; but the few poor dollars
I have been able to save are certainly not enough to marry upon
—to marry here in Califonia! "
" But 1 thought she was not to start till three months after
you had sailed! " observed Lamberg.
"That was the arrangement; but four weeks before the time
had elapsed a family with whom she is intimate sailed for Val-
paraiso or Chili, and she thought it a good opportunity. Besides,
the ship has had an unfortunately — I mean a remarkably quick
passage, and has made the voyage to San Francisco in only
ninety-five days."
" Remarkably unfortunately quick," said Binderhof.
"But tell me, for Heaven's sake, what I ought to do."
"There is not much counsel recfuired," cried Lamberg, bluntly.
" The question is not what you ought to do, but what you can
do; and the answer is very plain. Write to your young lady,
plainly and honestly, and tell her how things are here : that you
have not found any gold yet, but are looking sharp after it; so
that you must ask her to have patience and to wait a little
while."
" But what is she to do in San Francisco, in the mean time ? "
"That is her affair, and her mother's. Why did they leave
Germany a month before their time ? "
" What are they to live on ?"
" Can't she work in any way ?"
" She understands dress-making."
" Very well, then; why need you be so over-anxiousP" cried
the two gamblers. 205
Lamberg; "she'll make her way in San Francisco, and perhaps
earn a good deal more money than you can get here in the
mines."
" But there are no women in San Francisco."
" Oh, indeed, but there are!" said the Assessor; " I've seen
some myself, and a whole lot came over in the last ship."
" There, you see ! so don't be bothered on that score. Wherever
there are women there's work for dress-makers. So write to
your betrothed—or, shall I write for you ?"
" No—by no means; that would never do. At any rate, I must
write myself."
" Then do so, and say just what I have told you; and if she
is at all sensible, she will see that you are right. To-morrow
morning the usual monthly post starts for San Francisco, and you
will have a capital opportunity of sending your letter."
" And give the young lady my respects," suggested Binderhof.
" Yes—it's very well for you to laugh," said poor Hufner, with
a long face; "but I feel at this moment just as if I was going to
have a tooth drawn."
Lamberg and Binderhof laughed, and Hufner turned away, to
get his writing materials. The Counsellor, who had been filling
the Assessor's glass, took his friend aside, and held him by the
button-hole, while the two held a long and important consultation
together.
CHAPTER XY.
the two gamblers.
About the time that friend Hufner was, with trembling hand,
inditing the unsatisfactory letter to San Francisco, and already
experiencing, in imagination, the anguish of his Leonora, and the
wild anger of his irritable mother-in-law elect, a lonely rider was
guiding his tired horse down one of the steep paths that led to
the Paradise, and stopped when he reached a spot from which he
had a view over the whole valley.
But it was not the beauty of the scene, bathed in the soft
glow of the evening sunset,—not the picturesque mountain
ridges, or the gorgeous alternation of light ana shade, that
206 THE TWO GAMBLERS.
induced the traveller to pause and gaze downward. He never
marked one beauty in the scene before him; his hand had only
drawn the bridle that he might count the number of the tents at
his feet.
A strange, wild look he had, the gloomy rider, on his weary,
reeking horse, with a brown felt hat stuck carelessly on his
shaggy, unkempt hair, and a thick bushy beard that almost hid
his face, and little black cunning eyes gleaming out from under
his matted locks.
Of the figure of the man little could be seen, save that he
wore boots with clanging Mexican spurs on the heels—for he
was wrapped from head to foot in a Californian poncho. At
first sight he might have been taken for one of the Spanish
inhabitants of the land; but the words he muttered were of
a different language, and, in spite of his long beard, a second
glance would have betrayed him to be an American.
" On my word," hi muttered, as he gazed fixedly down upon
the little busy place before him, " quite a respectable town,—and
the ground seems pretty -well turned up, too,—and nicely hidden
here among the mountains; it might be worth while to stay a
week or two here. It's time, too, that I got to something
like a decent place, where one can at least have a glass of
proper brandy; and my throat seems like a parched field or a
furnace."
He shook the bridle of his hungry beast as he spoke. The
horse, which had made use of the few moments of rest to crop
a few blades of grass the August sun had spared, did not at once
obey the signal. With a brutal curse the rider struck it with
his sharp spurs, till it leaped high into the air, and then began
galloping at full speed down the incline.
The man did not attempt to rein it in. With a sardonic smile
on his face, he pursued his headlong and often dangerous course
through the wood, only guiding the horse with a firm and sure
hand as it went crashing onward.
At last they reached the flat, covered with heaps of upturned
earth, and full of deep holes. Here it was absolutely necessary
to go at a foot-pace, to pick a way through these obstacles.
Thus the rider could only advance slowly—at least till he reached
the road that ran through the plain; and, grinding his teeth with
impatience, he looked to the right and left alternately, almost
angry at finding nothing on which to vent his spleen at the
delay.
Here and there gold-washers were working; but he rode past
them without greeting; and they, on their side, paid no attention
THE TWO GAMBLERS.
207
to the rider, till, suddenly reining in his horse, he turned and
rode back to a hole he had just passed.
A man was sitting beside it, on a heap of loose earth, in his
shirt-sleeves and a straw hat, smoking a cigar; but the tools
which lay beside him showed that he had lately been busy. When
he saw the horseman—who had at first noticed him only with a
careless glance—rein in his horse, and come riding back, he
looked up at him in return, supposing the stranger wanted
information respecting some dweller in the town.
"Well, Boyles, how are you ?" said the rider, looking down at
him, with his right hand on his knee. "How long have you
begun scratching up the ground ? Can't you make the cards do
any longer ? You'll spoil your fingers here, I can tell you."
The man made no answer, but stared up, in not very gratified
surprise, at the stranger, who was talking of things- that didn't
concern him.
"You've the advantage of me," he said, at length* still peering
up into the rider's hairy face. " How do you know my name ?"
" Come, that's not bad," replied the horseman, with a chuckle.
" How do I know your name, my boy ! Shall I remind you of
the night in the swamp on the Mississippi ?"
"Siftly, as I live!" cried the gold-washer, jumping briskly
up, and shaking the rider's proffered hand. "Where do you
come from ?—glad to see you well."
" Thank you, Boyles," said the gambler, nodding. " I've
been about a little through the country, and I wanted to see
bow things look here with you. But, seriously, have you given
up the cards, that you're here spoiling your fingers with the
pickaxe? Digging and picking is hard work, and scarcely
the kind of thing for one of us."
" I'm hanged if I do it willingly," grumbled the miner;
" but that d—d rascal Smith cleaned me out so thoroughly a
week ago, that I haven't a cent, in my pocket. But wait a bit,
Siftly, my boy ; this isn't a bad place, and I'm up to your
tricks now. The next time——"
"What Smith are you speaking of?" interrupted Siftly, in a
careless tone, "Do I know him ?"
" Know him !" repeated Boyles; "just fancy you do. Why,
you and he used to work together in San Francisco."
" And so he's here ?" cried Siftly, with gleaming eyes; and he
jumped from his horse, and went up to the man. " Deuce take
me, Boyles, that's a first-rate piece of news, and worth a reward.
If I can help you out with an ounce or two, tell me honestly.
When you have it to spare, you can pay me back."
208 THE TWO GAMBLERS.
" Is it a bargain P" asked the other, holding out his hand.
" A bargain!" repeated Siftly, shaking it heartily.
" That's a help in time of need," cried Boyles, " and it shall
bear you good interest. If I can do anything in return for you,
Siftly, I'm your man. But—why the deuce—your hand's
bloody."
" Those cursed brambles!" said Siftly. " I've nearly scratched
myself to pieces with them : I missed my road from Antonio's
here, and had to come all the way through the wood."
" That's a bad way; I know it well," answered Boyles. "Well,
I should have asked you to help me against Smith, but as he's an
old friend "
" Where can I find him ?" asked Siftly, without noticing the
indirect proposal.
" Ask for Kenton's tent; he's to be found there every even-
in g."
"Thank you; and now about the gold. How much do you
want ?"
" Want ?—Why, my good Siftly, that's a curious question,—
and you know that in playing, the more one has to begin with
the better. But can you help me out with four ounces without
feeling the want of them yourself ?"
" I dare say I can. You won't want very long to pay them
back ?"
" I hope not."
" Then good-bye. Come this evening to—what's his name—
Kenton's tent; there I'll weigh it off for you, and shall, perhaps,
have some news to tell into the bargain."
He sprung to his saddle, nodded to Boyles, and rode off
towards the road leading to the " Devil's Water." Here he
alighted once more, and let his horse feed on the patches of
herbage, while he took a bag from his saddle, washed himself,
and made a kind of toilet as well as the place would allow, even
combing his hair and beard. Then he rode on slowly through
the town, neither stopping at any of the tents, nor inquiring of
any one, till he came to the place where the flag of the United
States was waving from the top of a bare pine-trunk. Here he
knew by experience that he should find the chief person in
authority.
Evening had closed in. The North-American twilight is very
short, and when once the sun disappears below the horizon, night
comes on with great rapidity. All out-door work had also long
ago been given up; the people had eaten their supper, and the
majority were still strolling about among the tents, either to
THE TWO GAMBLERS. 209
enioy the fresh evening, or on their way to pass away the hours
till midnight, drinking and playing in some canvass hostelry. A
few were already going to rest, that they might rise at daylight
next morning to resume their work.
There was a great difference in the internal arrangements of
the various tents. Gambling was only carried on in those kept
by Americans, the foreigners generally having united to scout
the practice. The Mexicans usually kept themselves apart from
the rest of the whites, remaining in their own quarters, which
they had established at a little distance from the town. They
were not partial to alcoholic liquors, and only an exceptional few
haunted the playing-hells, where they played at Monte, their
favourite game, against the Americans.
The other dusky strangers in the flat — namely, Indians,
Chinese, Negroes, and a few Sandwich Islanders—never showed
their face among the tents after dark.
One of the chief resorts for gambling, the s&me into which we
followed the Counsellor a few evenings ago, was Kenton's tent,
where Mr. Smith had established himself with a partner named
Ruly. Three or four other tables were also kept going, one by
a couple of Mexicans, the rest by Americans, who, while they
lured on the gold-washers by offering them a chance of doubling
their fortunes, really managed to ease them of the sums they
had scraped together, grain by grain, with many hours' hard
and uninterrupted labour. But, as the keepers of the tables
pithily observed, " it was all voluntary, no one asked them to
play."*
Mr. Smith had, however, not played with any great success,
at least not with that distinguished result to which he con-
sidered himself entitled by his brilliant talents in his voca-
tion. Still, he knew how to secure himself against losses,
and devoted many a spare hour to the process of initiating his
partner into the freemasonry of their profession; for one of their
best chances of success lay in the achievement of a perfect
understanding between the two practitioners.
* It is hardly an exaggeration to assert that, in all these games, besides the
great advantages secured by the rules to the bank, deceptive arts are prac-
tised. All these professional players are provided with false packs of cards;
and there are large factories in the United States whose chief profits are
derived from their production. By the uninitiated they cannot be distin-
guishedfrom ordinary playing-cards; but on the backs, among the blue or
red dots, apparently scattered over them at random, are certain signs and
arabesques, arranged in such a manner that a practised eye can tell the suit
to which the card belongs, as surely as u the face had been displayed. Even
the value of each particular card can be thus discerned, so that the quick and
practised hand of the player can at any moment remove a dangerous card from
one part of the pack to another.
S
210 THE TWO GAMBLERS.
On this evening he was sitting alone at his table. It was still
early, and the chief business of the evening did not commence
until after ten o'clock. The earlier arrivals usually staked small
sums, and were consequently less profitable. Still Mr. Smith
cast several impatient glances towards the entrance of the tent,
and his face—never very friendly in expression—looked more
sour and discontented than ever. A good many strangers^ had
arrived that day from San Francisco; and the chief topic of
conversation in the tent was a fire that had occurred a short
time before. This new calamity had fallen upon exactly the
quarter of the town so frequently visited by similar misfortunes,
and the prevailing opinion was that, like the first fire, it was
the work of an incendiary.
At last Ruly came into the tent; and instead of taking his
seat as usual, opposite his worthy confederate, he dropped into a
vacant chair besidq him.
" Well, and where have you been skulking the whole of this
blessed evening ?" was the polite question with which Mr. Smith
welcomed his partner. " Hanged if I haven't been sitting here
for "
" Hush! " whispered Ruly, without noticing the rebuke;
" I want to speak to yon about something that concerns your-
self."
"And what's that, pray?" asked the long gamester, with a
our look.
" Did you ever have any difficulty with a man of the name of
Siftiy ? "
" Siftly!" exclaimed Smith hastily, and with much more
interest than he wished to betray. " What do you know about
him?"
" He's here!"
"Here ?—In this place? " cried Smith with a nervous glance,
and half starting from his chair in his trepidation.
"You can't get away unobserved," whispered Ruly quickly
and anxiously,—" I saw him and the sheriff in front of the tent."
"The sheriff?" muttered Smith between his set teeth, while
his face turned from pale to yellow.
" He—I mean Siftly," continued Ruly, " must have arrived
this evening. He stopped his horse before the sheriff's tent,
and went in, and the name of Smith passed between them
several times."
" And how came you to know of that ? "
" My tent is close to Hale's, and through the thin canvass
one can hear almost every word; so I remained in the dark,
THE TWO GAMBLERS. 211
and kept quite quiet on my mattress; but still I couldn't well
make out what it was all about."
"Thank ye," said Smith, who had by this time quite regained
his composure, and began to shuffle the cards with an air of
indifference. " It's nothing—they must have meant some other
Smith. If it is that Siftly, by the way, whom I knew in San
Francisco, I shall be glad enough to meet him again here. He's
a determined sort of fellow, and we want people of that kind in
our profession to stand up against the rascally strangers. It's
high time we gave them a bit of our minds."
" So, you're all right ?"
"Yes, yes. Just sit down in your place."
Ruly, who had noticed Smith's disturbed air, and his look of
discomfiture on the mention of Siftly's name, could not now
reconcile his partner's apparent calmness with his former appre-
hensions. Nevertheless he did as he was desired, and took up
his usual position in waiting, or rather in wait, for casual cus-
tomers.
Smith, on the contrary, though he was mechanically passing
the cards through his fingers, was thinking of something far
more important than even the business of his life. His eye still
wandered restlessly towards the entrance of the tent, where he
momentarily expected his antagonist to appear.
The curtain was suddenly pushed aside, and Siftly's bearded
face appeared looking in. Though Smith felt himself turning
ghastly white, he maintained an appearance of perfect com-
posure. His plan was already laid; and striking suddenly into
the conversation, he said in a loud voice,—
"A fire like that in that canvass place is an uncomfortable kind
of thing; but it's an ill wind that blows nobody good."
" What!" shouted another American, with a savage look;
"to whom can a fire like that bring profit, but to the vagabonds
who want to plunder and steal ? "
"Oho !" cried a third. " Isn't there profitable work for hun-
dreds afterwards ? "
" All that I have, for instance," continued Smith, without
particularly noticing the observation, " has become mine through
the fire before last, which I know positively was lighted up on
purpose. I even know who did it."
"You know who did it?" exclaimed a dozen voices, while all
turned towards him. "You knew him, and you didn't give him
up to the constables, or to the people, who would have thrown
him into the middle of the fire!"
" How are you to give a man up," answered Smith, with his
■£ 2
212 THE TWO GAMBLERS.
hoarse chuckle, " when he has an hour's start in the mountains ?"
(He knew that Siftly himself was standing* behind his chair, while
the sheriff had taken up a position beside him.) " Unless he
happens to come across me again, he's safe enough; for no one
has any proofs against him but myself; and the proof is that I
have his gold, which he left behind him in his flight."
" You should have given that up," said a bystander, " to those
who came to grief through the fire."
"I should have been a fool for my pains!" retorted Smith.
" Ho, no; I'd a long account against my gentleman, and until
that's settled I shall consider the gold as my own property, and
I've a right to it."
The sheriff threw an inquiring glance over his shoulder at the
bearded man behind him; but the latter replied by an almost
imperceptible shake of the head, and beckoned Hale to follow
him out of the tent.
" But what was the name of the rascally incendiary ? " asked
a long Kentuckian; " at any rate, his name ought to be made
publicly known, so that any one who met the fellow might shoot
him down, or hang him up on the nearest tree."
"Name!" answered Smith, who had observed the sheriff's
implied question and Siftly's answer, and now looked at both with
a meaning grin—"what's the use of a name ? If you tell me that
your name's Brandon, of course I believe it."
" Well, and so it is," cried the young fellow, reddening to the
tips of his ears at the gamester's doubtful speech.
" Well, and I don't question it," replied Smith drily, while
several of the others laughed. "But you might say your name
was Jones, Brown, or Phillips, without our being any the
wiser."
"You're quite sure your name's Smith?" retorted the Ken-
tucky man, who began to grow angry under his opponent's
sarcasm.
"That's what I call myself," answered the imperturbable
Smith, shuffling the cards with his long dexterous fingers. "But
now, gentlemen, I hope some of you will do me the pleasure to
begin fetching away the gold you're going to win of me this
evening. It must be past eight o'clock, and the nights are short
enough."
Two or three persons accepted the invitation, and in a few
minutes everything else was forgotten in the absorbing interest
of the fatal cards.
Siftly, who had so suddenly changed his plan of action, was
meantime going slowly up the street, followed by the sheriff,
THE TWO GAMBLEKS.
213
who presently stepped up to him, and strolled on by his
side.
" Well ?" he asked—and tried to distinguish in the moonlight
the expression of his companion's face, which was, however,
completely hidden by his hat and his great beard — "the de-
scription I gave you tallied to a hair, and now all at once
you've pulled in your horns. Wasn't that the Smith you
spoke of?"
"No," answered Siftly. "I'm sorry to have troubled you
for nothing, and wish I had looked at the man first. But you
must accept something for your pains; and if you "
" Thank ye," interrupted Hale, putting aside the stranger's
outstretched hand; "it's my duty to help honest men, and to
find out rascals wherever I can. I've my fixed pay for what I
do. D'ye know this Smith ?"
Siftly hesitated for a moment, and then replied,—
"Why, yes; I knew him in the States: and in San Francisco
I met him; but only once."
"Do you consider him an honest man ?"
" One can't look into a man's heart to see what it's made of,"
said Siftly; " and here in California I wouldn't answer for my own
brother."
" Your name is "
"Siftly."
" Then good night, Mr. Siftly," said the sheriff, as he turned
to walk back to his own tent. " If after looking more closely at
this man, you should see cause tb alter your opinion of him, why,
I shall be very much at your service."
" Good night, sir," answered he of the beard, somewhat taken
aback by the sheriff's manner.
For a moment he stood looking after Hale; then with a con-
temptuous shrug he turned towards the nearest drinking-tent to
refresh his inner man with supper and wine.
It was past eleven when he re-entered Kenton's tent. This
time he came alone. Without stopping to exchange a word with
any one, or even answering the anxious look his former partner
cast upon him, he went with Boyles, who had long been waiting
for him, to the bar, and then returning, took a seat at Smith's
table. There he began staking small sums, sometimes on one
card, sometimes on another, without appearing to devote much
attention to the progress of the game.
It grew late. Most of the gold-washers had retired to their
tents, and only a few remained scattered about at the different
tables, attempting in vain to win back the gold they had spent
214 THE TWO GAMBLERS.
the whole evening in losing. At last even the most persevering
gave up in despair, and while Siftly still continued staking small
sums, the last of them left the tent. Then at length the gamester
himself rose from his seat.
Smith, in the mean time, with a leer and a grin at his old
acquaintance, began to pack up his gold,—he had sent Ruly away
to bed au hour before,-—and also left the tent, though he could
plainly see the dark figure of Siftly, who stood waiting for him
with folded arms, near the entrance. He looked round appre-
hensively: the host was in the tent, searching the floor with a
candle, on the chance of a gold coin having fallen from any of the
tables, which would of course be his perquisite. The street
itself was deserted; but here and there a light still glimmered in
a tent, and, re-assured by the sight, Smith went quietly up to his
expectant comrade, held out his hand, and accosted him with—
" Good evening, Siftly."
His partner turned round slowly, and stared him full in the
face, without returning his greeting or taking his proffered hand.
After a pause, he answered in a thick, suppressed voice,—
" Come up street with me, to where the tents end. I don't
want any listeners to what we've to say to each other."
" I—I've gold with me!" said Smith, hesitating.
"We two are strong enough to defend it, if any one should try
to take it from us," replied Siftly, with a sneer; " and besides,
half of it belongs to me."
Tor a minute the long gambler's eyebrows were contracted into
a threatening frown, but it was only for a moment; then he
observed, with a quiet laugh,—
" You seem to settle our affairs in a twinkling — short and
sharp. Well, I don't care; better that way than getting the
sheriff to poke his nose into the business. If you'd had your
wits about you,you'd have done it in that way from the beginning."
" Come on," answered the bearded one, and turned slowly
away, without, however, losing sight of his partner for a moment;
but the precaution was unnecessary, for Smith had given up the
notion of escaping. The two men strode silently on for some dis-
tance; then, at a break in the line of tents, they turned off into
the red flat, and for about a hundred paces followed a foot-
path which led through it. At last, when they came to where
the ground was all broken up into holes, Siftly stopped, threw
back his poncho, and sat down upon one of the heaps of earth,
while Smith put down his heavy bag of gold and dollars on
the ground, and remained standing by it.
They had not exchanged a word on the road; and as Siftly still
THE TWO GAMBLERS. 215
kept silence, his companion was obliged to take the initiative in
the conversation.
" "You'll hardly believe me," he began, " when I say that I'm
very glad to see you."
"No, I shall not," answered the other, drily.
" I thought so," continued the long gamester, with a bene-
volent smile; "and yet it's a fact."
" Then it's a pity you took such pains to get out of my way,
when you went off in such a hurry."
"That was a stupid business from beginning to end," answered
the worthy Mr. Smith; " for either 1 should have had to cut
California entirely, or I might have known that I should meet
you somewhere or other. The opportunity, though, was too
tempting—and, hang it, somehow or other I could never miss an
opportunity."
" And yet you wanted to betray me to the sheriff to-day, and
to give me up as an incendiary."
" Most decidedly—rather than be taken up myself and hauled
before one of them blessed juries. What have we two to do
with their judges and sheriffs, that we must go stirring them up
against us ? "
"And may I ask the reason of your—your joy at seeing me
here ? "
"Because my present partner's a blockhead a man can't
do anything with; whereas two fellows like you and I might
make a really good thing of it here together."
" And do you really suppose, after what has passed between
us, that I should be fool enough to be your partner again ? "
" Decidedly: at least I don't know that you could do any-
thing better. You know very well that you'd have done just the
same, if you'd been me. Just remember how we two did old
Brown—and so I don't think you've much to complain of. I
can make up the loss you might have had, and so we can settle
the affair without much trouble."
Siftly stood for a short time in a brown study, looking straight
before him; and Smith was wary enough not to interrupt his
cogitations.
" Why did you not cut California? " he at last inquired.
" Because 1 lar.ey I <2an make a good deal more out of it,"
answered Mr. Smith with a chuckle. "It's a capital country, is
California, and a fellow must be a fool if he can't make 'it
pay-"
" D'ye know that Brown has been shot ? "
" What, our good, fat old Brown ? Not a word of it."
216 THE TWO GAMBLEES.
"It's true, though. A Frenchman caught him cheating at
cards, and sent a bullet through his body."
" You don't say so!" answered Mr. Smith, quite undisturbed
at this little piece of intelligence. "Well, at any rate, the
Frenchman couldn't well miss him; besides, he was always a
clumsy fellow, and likely to be found out. So far as we're con-
cernea, the Mounseer has rather done us a favour. By the way,
Siftly, I've a bit of news for you, if you haven't heard it already.
Your friend the lawyer from San Francisco is here."
" Who ?—Hetson ? "
" I think that's his name—he arrived to-day with his wife;
and who do you think is with them ? "
" How do I know, and what do I care ?—the man doesn't
concern me."
" Manuela, with her father."
"The Spanish girl—why, what the deuce—whatever can they
want up here in the mines ? "
"Not to play the fiddle, at any rate," observed Smith; "for
I sent up to ask the old man on the sly. It seems she's come
as a sort of companion to Hetson's wife. Can anything be done
with Hetson ? "
" He's a weak fellow, so far as I know him. But what do
you want to make of him ? "
"We must have an American for our alcalde here," sail Mr.
Smith thoughtfully; " one who'll take our part against the con-
founded foreigners, who're getting very impudent, and talk of
turning us out of the place—and some of the Americans hold
with them. If such a thing's once done, we shall have hard
work to keep our heads up; and as it is, people are getting
plaguy cautious."
" I don't know at all if Hetson even intends to stay here."
" His goods have been unloaded, and the waggon's gone back.
Perhaps, if he sees a chance of being made alcalde, that'll be
enough to keep him from bolting."
"Perhaps so," said Siftly. "At any rate, he'd be our man;
for I know a way to work him so that he'll do anything."
" That's all right—well then, just think it over. There are a
good many of your old friends here, and as they're all anxious
for an alcalde of some kind or other, you'll be able to work it,
so that he gets a majority of votes—that's to say, if he'll take
the place."
" I'll see that he does that," said Siftly.
" So much the better. And now good night, Siftly—you won't
refuse me your hand, old boy P "
THE TWO GAMBLERS. 217
" Not when we have settled our accounts."
" What!—Here in the dark ? "
" That would be uncomfortable. But I suppose you have a
tent, and a light in it. By the way, 1 haven't any lodging yet
for myself."
" You don't trust me ? "
"Not an inch, beyond my sight, and I fancy you've given me
reason."
Smith gave his peculiar chuckle, and, after a moment's silence,
resumed:
"Well, be it so—I don't care. Perhaps, after all, it's best
that we should clear off all old scores, and have it all up and down
between us. Then our own interests w'll bind us closer together
than anything else."
" You're right; that's the tightest knot we can tie. Show
me that my interest jumps with yours, and you won't have a
more faithful friend than I can be."
"But," observed Smith ruefully, "I've earned a good deal
more by myself, since I left San Francisco. There was less in
the box than we thought."
" That's no matter; whatever you've earned, you've made with
my money; which I got with danger and trouble enough, in all
conscience. You'll have to give me half, or to take the con-
sequences."
"And suppose I won't?" asked Smith, with a momentary
flash of rebellion.
"Yes, you will, Smith, my boy; for you know you can't help
yourself," retorted Siftly, with a grin.
" Come along, then," grumbled Smith, with a sort of crusty
resignation; "you can sleep in my tent to-night, and to-morrow
we'll settle all that."
" But we'll divide the money to-night."
"Well, I don't care, if you're so particular set on it; but it
would be more convenient to-morrow by daylight."
" One don't mind putting up with a little inconvenience now
and then; so lead the way—you know the ins and outs of the
place better than I do." So saying, Siftly rose; and the worthy
partners returned towards the town in company, Smith grasping
the heavy bag which formed the bond of union between their
congenial souls.
218
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY.
CHAPTER XYI.
the counsellor's discovery.
On the evening of his sudden departure from his official
residence, Major Ryot had left the tolerably capacious tent
wherein he was accustomed to dispense his even-handed justice
to the mercy of any one who chose to take possession thereof.
The American Kenton, who had for several months supplied the
alcalde with wines and spirits without having been paid for his
wares, seized upon the tent, after its owner's departure, as a
security for the debt. No one else seemed to have a claim upon
the canvass habitation; so Kenton kept it, and let it out to a
party of Erenchmen who had just arrived.
News of certain productive mines at a little distance had
caused the lodgers to take their departure; and for a week the
tent had been empty, till a new tenant, or rather purchaser,
unexpectedly appeared.
Smith had been quite correct when he reported to his dear
friend Siftly the arrival of Hetson and his company in the mines;
and as soon as the young American heard that a tent was " to
let," he went to Kenton, and soon concluded a bargain. He
had come provided with sailcloth, in the belief that he should
not find a habitation ready for him. Partition walls were soon
raised in the interior of the tent, to fit it, at least temporarily,
for their accommodation. Chairs and tables had been left there
by the Major, who had no time to remove his furniture; so an
hour after sunset Hetson was established in his new home,—a
more comfortable home, moreover, than many of those dwellers
among the mountains could boast.
Hetson himself, who had engaged two seamen to do the
necessary work, helped vigorously to complete the arrangements,
and was seen labouring here, there, and everywhere. But there
was a feeling of disquiet about everything he did. He looked
like a man who endeavours, by forcing himself to severe and pro-
tracted exertion, to lose the remembrance of something that
presses upon his mind; and only while he was thus vigorously at
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY. 219
work did the eyes of the poor phantom-ridden man lose theii list-
less expression, or his face its ashy paleness.
He had been ill—very ill. Death had knocked loudly and
repeatedly at the door of the weak habitation wherein his soul
still lingered—but he had knocked in vain. Jenny's tender care,
and the disinterested friendship of the worthy old doctor, drove
out the fever from the burning pulse, and raised the emaciated
body from its couch of pain. With returning strength, the rest-
less fancies that distracted poor Hetson's brain began to grow
weaker; but the expression of anxious distrust, so different from
his former frank bearing, had never entirely left him, and his
poor wife lived in agonized fear of a relapse.
Therefore, it was with unfeigned gladness that she received
Doctor Eascher's promise not to leave them entirely to them-
selves, but to visit them among the mountains in a little time,
and to see how they got on " up there in the mines." Devoted
as he was to botanical studies, all places in the strange land were
alike to him, so long as he had the prospect of finding new and
curious specimens. He had also done Mrs. Hetson a good turn,
by procuring her the company of the Spanish girl, Manuelita.
In a country where there was not one woman to be found to
every hundred men, the position of the poor young wife up in
the mountains would have been very desolate; but through the
good offices of his friend Emile, the old doctor had become
acquainted with Manuelita, whose language Mrs. Hetson could
speak fluently. The unfortunate condition to which the father
had reduced his unhappy child, through his ill-starred passion
for gambling, and the loathing she felt on entering the gaming-
hells, to which the Spaniard's weakness had kept him bound by debt
after debt, had made Manuelita accept with tears of thankful-
ness the first offer made to her on the subject. Hetson, whose
Erivate means were considerable, released them from their
abilities, and even allowed the father to accompany his child.
Poor Don Alonzo had fallen off terribly; and even his costume
showed plainly how badly the capricious goddess Fortune had
treated her votary. The valuable ring we once heard him refuse
to stake, no longer sparkled on his finger. Instead of the costly
gold-embroidered Mexican cloak, in which of yore he used to
wrap himself, he now wore an old Californian poncho, which hid
a multitude of shortcomings in the rest of his costume. His hat
was sadly bent, and his shoes were in a most distressed condition,
—and, worse than all, the sunken cheeks and restless, hungry
eyes of the man, evidenced too clearly how the fierce passion was
gnawing and tearing his heart like a vulture. He had become
220 the counsellor's discovert.
more silent and self-contained than he used to be; the thought
that he could plav, no longer was gnawing away his life.
For all except this poor inveterate gambler, the journey into
the mountains seemed to have been productive of great and real
good. Even Hetson had become more lively and open-hearted,
and the mountain air, the beauteous aspect of nature around
him, and even the increased activity forced upon him by his new
circumstances of life, seemed to fill him with fresh vigour, and to
cause him almost entirely to forget those dark suspicions which
had nearly been fatal to him in San Francisco.
Not that those phantoms had entirely left him;—but here he
felt more secure; shutting out the world and its communication,
the wooded mountains encircling this valley seemed to him a wall
raised by a kind fate to shut out his troubles from pursuing him.
His first intention had been to quit California at once,, and to
take an opportunity of proceeding to the Sandwich Islands.
But he thought to elude his rival still more surely by quitting
San Francisco and living for a time among the mountaius, where
no control was exercised over arrivals or departures; where each
one came and went as he chose, and where no man cared what
his neighbour did or left undone, so long as he interfered with
no claim, and hindered none in the search for gold.
So he resolved to set out and dig. Doctor Rascher had
particularly recommended him to do so; for in the new and
unaccustomed industry which could hardly fail to excite the
workman's interest, and in the hard bodily labour which would
make him relish his meals, the old physician placed his chief
reliance for the ultimate cure of the brain-sick invalid.
With the first dawn of morning the usual industry began in
and around the little town. The gold-washers had generally
withdrawn from the flat, and begun to work beside the little
streams that poured into it from the hills; for here the work was
less severe and proportionately more remunerative. Coarse
grains of gold were to be found in the bed of every stream.
Large lumps were seldom or never found; but the smaller gold,
at any rate, paid the workmen's expenses, and they had not to
dig so deeply to get at it.
The Counsellor had taken possession of one of these spots;
and as he had really found gold there, he began to take quite an
interest in the pursuit. According to solemn covenant made the
evening before with the Assessor, he had determined not only to
work in company with his new-found friend, but to take up his
residence in one tent with him. The Assessor had brought
cooking utensils with him from Germany; the Counsellor
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY. 221
bought a little tent from a party of Frenchmen who were return-
ing to San Francisco; and by noon the arrangements were so far
advanced that the two chums could go to work together directly
after dinner.
The Counsellor had at first intended to pitch his tent next to
the abode of his three former comrades; but a proposition, made
of course by Binderhof, that they should hold a solemn festival
to ratify the treaty between the two great powers, nettled him so
much, that he sought safety in flight from all further attacks.
He put up his tent about five hundred paces from his old abode,
at the foot of a hill of moderate height, with bushes growing here
and there. A clear brook bubbling from a rock at a little dis-
tance secured them a supply of water, — wood was more easily
procured here than nearer to the town; and the two partners
complacently promised each other not only much pleasure, but
also good substantial gain, from their own establishment.
The Assessor in particular was in high glee at the thought of
commencing his new occupation, and thanked the Counsellor for
his kindness in admitting him into partnership with a warmth
which induced that astute reasoner to allow him relief for his
feelings by undertaking all the work, while he himself stood with
his long pipe looking quietly on, and giving occasional directions.
When they at last went out in the afternoon to begin their wash-
ing operations, the Assessor, still moved by gratitude, confided
to his friend and patron, under the seal of profound secrecy, the
reason why he had at length been compelled to leave Mrs. Sie-
bert and her children, and to betake himself to the mines. He
told the story in a sort of apologetic strain, as if he had done
wrong in leaving the poor woman and her children to their own
devices,—
"But it wouldn't do, Counsellor; it really would not do any
longer, I assure you," he concluded. " I did everything that
was in my power, but that I really could not do."
" What! — how d'ye mean ? " asked the abrupt Counsellor.
" What couldn't ye do ? "
" Why, marry her," the Assessor blurted out, with a frightened
look all round him, as if he feared that Mrs. Siebert would hear
him all the way from San Francisco.
Till that moment nobody had seen the Counsellor laugh. The
quiet gravity enthroned on his expressive features seldom gave
way to the influence of merriment; at most, when anything
struck him as particularly comic, he would contract his face as if
he had inadvertently stuck his teeth into a lemon, and cough in
a dry, humorous manner. But now he stood still and laughed,
222 the counsellor's discovert.
— laughed a real human hearty chest-laugh,—laughed till the
smoke of his pipe caught him in the throat, and his burst of ca-
chinnation finished with an undeniable choking-fit. At last he
resumed his gravity, and said,_—
"So you were to have married Mrs. Siebert, Assessor."
" I beg your pardon, my dear sir," answered the nervous man,
with a blush; " she wanted to—to marry me. She told me point-
blank one morning that the children had grown so used to me,
and so had she herself,—that the people had already begun to talk
about it—which was true enough, by the way, for Mr. Ohlers
would never let me have a minute's peace with his jokes andnon-
sense,—and she said she thought it would be better to silence all
malicious reports by a wedding."
" Whereupon you ran away ? "
" I tried at first to represent to her my age and the insufficiency
of my means; but it was of no use. She was earning a very good
income, and declared that she would soon work me into some-
thing,—in a word, she was determined to marry me."
The Counsellor was listening with the greatest interest.
" And what happened then ? " he eagerly inquired.
" When I found that all my protestations were in vain,—for
I could not, at my age, make up my mind to marry,—and Mrs.
Siebert—she is a very good woman, but still "
"Well, when your protestations were in vain?"
" Why, I packed up my things one evening "
" Oh, Mrs. Siebert had gone out ? "
"Why yes, she had gone over to Mrs. Hetson's."
"And you ran away ?" cried the Counsellor, his face radiant
with mischievous glee.
" I—I really beg you will not make any use of what I have
told you," remonstrated the Assessor, anxiously.
" What!—and go and marry the widow myself!" answered the
Counsellor, in a strange access of humour; "not I, Assessor;
but confound it—pipe gone out—lost my tinder-box—strike a
light, Assessor!"
His goodnatured friend, though himself no smoker, always
carried fuzees with him, for the benefit of those who might
require them. The pipe was soon rekindled, and the two men
went on their way without further alluding to the Assessor's
startling communication.
The place where the Counsellor had pursued his solitary
labours was distant about a mile from the town, beside a little
mountain stream. On reaching their destination, the Counsellor
pointed out to his companion, with considerable pride, the spot
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY.
223
where he had made his first and only discovery of Califorman
gold, and further marked out a space within which to pursue
their task.
He left his friend the junior partner to commence operations,
the Counsellor himself being bent on climbing the mountain on
which he had dug his last " high" hole. He fancied he had
there forgotten his indispensable tinder-box; and, as the place lay
at some distance from the road, he hoped it might still have
escaped the appropriation of passers-by; at any rate, the attempt
was an excuse for shirking work for a couple of hours; so, while
1,1 11 'he zeal of a novice at gold-
jessful operations, blowing
the smoke from him in clouds as he walked on.
The Counsellor was not a man to hurry himself; and thus it
came to pass that three quarters of an hour had elapsed before
he reached the little pine-copse which he had remembered as a
landmark of his abortive efforts. Traces of his former industry
soon showed themselves; but suddenly the Counsellor stood
gazing in wonder at a remarkable change which had been effected
since he left the spot.
The hole, four feet in depth, and about the same in length,
which he had dug in the confident expectation of finding a hat-
ful of gold, and left in the disagreeable certainty of not having
discovered any, had been filled up by some one or other. Had
some later arrival worked out the hole after he abandoned it, and
then thrown in the earth, to make sure of the place for some
later day ? "Was there perhaps gold in the hole, after all ?
"Hra—a vexatious affair!" muttered the Counsellor, as he
stood ruminating beside what had been his hole—" ought never
to leave a place till it's well dug out;" and he blew a thick
cloud from his pipe, wrathfully—" if I'd only brought my
spado."
But in spite of all his ruminations, he could come to no
definite conclusion on the matter, till the reason of his expedi-
tion suddenly recurred to his mind. He had come for his
fire-box.
Looking round, he soon recognized the place where he had sat
the last time he worked there, to eat the breakfast he had brought
with him. A little round bank of moss had been there, admira-
bly calculated for a short siesta, in the shade of a wild coffee-
tree; and he had made good use of this natural couch, to the
great refreshment of his weary limbs. The place was there
still—at least the coffee-tree ; but the mossy bank was ' all
loitering up the incline
2H THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY,
trodden and stamped to pieces; he did not like to sit down on
it again.
"Whoever the visitors had been, they had not found his match-
box, for there it lay, close by the root of the bush, where he had
laid it down, to have it ready to his hand.
"That's right!" observed the Counsellor with a complacent
nod, as he thrust the little treasure of plated silver back into
his pocket—" would have been uncomfortable in the woods
without fire—can't do without smoking."
The bowl of his pipe had become loose, and lie pressed it back
against the stem. In doing so he felt something moist in his
fingers, and looking at the white pipe-bowl was surprised to see
on it a red stain of blood.
"Very agreeable!" he grumbled, contemplating his fingers,
which were red, and scraping off the blood against the rough
bark of a tree—" must have torn my fingers—confounded thorns
—stupid place, California—much better have stayed at home."
The Counsellor had achieved his object, and turned to descend
the hill; but he had to pass the hole he had dug with so much
trouble, and which was now so completely filled up; and he felt
particularly angry at not being able to conjecture whether his
successor had found anything to reward his exertions or not.
"Confounded Americans!" he muttered, as he kicked aside
a few clods of earth with his foot; "go picking about every-
where, where they've no business—rascals—good mind to fetch
my spade—cursed high hill to climb, though, twice in one day—
nonsense!"
As he continued to kick about the clods with his feet, in a
sort of vague expectation of finding something, he all at once
imagined he saw something flash amid the clayey soil. He
stooped to look more closely, and the next moment grasped the
lower end of an iron shovel which had been lightly covered with
earth.
" There it is !" he exclaimed in great surprise at the discovery;
" gold there sure enough—American left his tools here—coming
again—I was a fool to give it up—hm—deuce take it!"
The conjecture was probable enough, if, indeed, any man
could bring himself to believe he could find gold at the top of
a hill. The fact of leaving a spade or pickaxe in a hole partly
dug, or even only marked out, was supposed, according to miner's
law, to reserve the place to the proprietor of the tool; and the
spade had, perhaps, been lightly covered with earth, lest a
passer-by should be tempted to take it away with him. Any
one who began to dig here could not fail to find it.
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERY. 225
The Counsellor, now fully persuaded that some workman more
fortunate than himself had discovered gold here, found himself
on the horns of a dilemma; for he did not know whether he
still possessed the right of working the place, particularly with
another man's spade; he feared such a proceeding might be an
infraction of miners' law. Nevertheless it was a kind of triumph
for him to see his " mountain labours," as Binderhof had con-
temptuously called them, brought to a successful issue. At one
time he had almost made up his mind to give himself the benefit
of the doubt, and begin working the hole again, regardless of the
spade left there; but his habitual reverence for established law
and custom gained the victory. He had given up the place.
Some OBe else had worked it, and left a tool there in token of
possession; so he could not touch it again; and therefore he
turned away, not in the best possible humour, and made his way
back into the valley, to assist the Assessor at his work. Before
he went, he covered up the spade, as it had been when he
found it.
The Assessor, who had never handled a pick or a spade in his
life before, had blistered his hands in the most undeniable
manner; and it was with a feeling of great satisfaction that he
saw the hands of his watch pointing to the dinner hour. The
two friends walked back to their tent as quickly as they miglit,
the Counsellor revolving many schemes as he went, for recom-
inencing his " mountain labours " without delay.
On the way he told his companion the whole story, in a way
that led the Assessor to believe his friend had lost at least q.
couple of thousand dollars by not carrying out the work he had
begun.
Their dinner was soon prepared and despatched ; hut both of
them holding the opinion that working directly after dinner was
a dangerous and hurtful practice, they remained sitting for
half an hour after their meal, for the better carrying on of the
digestive process. The Counsellor sat enjoying his pipe, while
the Assessor inspected the palms of his hands, with whose
appearance he was by no means satisfied.
As they thus sat at their fire, each absorbed in his own reflec-
tions, Count Beckdorf came striding up the hill with his spade
and pickaxe on his shoulder, and his great tin pan in his hand.
He was just going to pass the two Germans, when he suddenly
recognized tho Counsellor.
" Ah, see there!" he exclaimed, with a courteous gesture to
the-man of law; "I see you have changed your residence.
Well, how did you settle with old Tomlins the other day i'"
Q
226 the counsellor's discovert.
_" Ah, your servant, Count!" answered the Counsellor, lifting
his cap; "thank you, I got on badly—black rascal—seven cotton
shirts, and every one torn."
" Why, what's this ?" asked the young man, laughing;
" you've knocked your pipe-bowl, and made it bleed."
" Pipe-bowl!—ah—yes; by the way, Count, I wanted to ask
you something."
" I am at your service."
"If I've dug a hole and go away, may another come and
take it?"
" Certainly not, until you have done with it. When you no
longer want it, and take your tools out, every one has a right to
try his luck. I've sometimes found very handsome prizes in
abandoned claims."
" Hem—deuce take it."
" Has anything of the kind happened to you ?"
"Why, yes—dug a capital hole—up there on the mountain—
found nothing—began somewhere else—had forgotten my tinder-
box up there—went to look for it—this one," and he took the
box from his pocket, and held it up, in illustration of what he
said.
" Why, that's bloody too !" exclaimed Beckdorf.
"Ugh—so it is !" observed the Counsellor, wiping it hastily
on a piece of paper. "I don't know—thought I'd torn my
finger—but I haven't."
"And about your claim?" interrupted the Count, who began
to be impatient at the length of the story.
"Ah, yes—came back to the place where I'd dug hole—
another man had been there."
"And had made the hole on the mountain deeper?" asked
Count Beckdorf, rather incredulously; for he knew the Coun-
sellor's weakness, and could not understand how any one else
could be mad enough to dig for gold in such impossible
places.
" No, no, not at all!" cried the Counsellor, pettishly; " they'd
filled it up to the top, and covered the spade over with earth."
" Covered the spade ?" repeated the Count, suddenly becoming
interested.
" Yes, they had—some confounded American."
"And did you dig down again ?"
"No—spade was there—didn't like."
"And your tinder-box?"
" Lying not far off under a bush—had been sitting there."
"But tin blond
THE COUNSELLOR'S DISCOVERT. 227
*' Deuce knows—somebody's nose bled, I suppose."
" I tell you what, Counsellor," said Beckdorf eagerly; "some-
thing more serious than you think for has happened up there,
and we must let the sheriff know about it without loss of time;
we must go to him at once."
" Sheriff!—how so ?—Why, you don't mean to say "
"That there has been murder committed up there? Yes,
indeed I do; and you'll find the proofs in your own hole. Is it
far from here ? "
" About a mile and a half."
" Well, then we will delay no longer, and I'll go with you
myself to investigate the affair."
"Nonsense," grumbled the Counsellor in an incredulous but
rather a faint tone. He could not believe that such an affair
should have occurred, and that he, the lawyer, should never have
suspected it; his very instinct ought to have secured him against
such ignorance. Still, the spots of blood had rather disquieted
him; and he now recollected having noticed one or two dark
spots on the trampled moss. So he made no objection to going
to the sheriff and making his report.
Fortunately, Hale happened to be at home. He at once
pronounced the affair a suspicious one; and a few minutes after-
wards the four men were proceeding along the road towards the
mountains—the Counsellor wishing the Assessor to be present as
a witness.
On their way they met Siftly striding along with his poncho
thrown Mexican fashion over his left shoulder. He nodded, in
passing, to the sheriff, who hardly returned his greeting; and the
gamester remained after they had gone, looking back at the
ttle party with an evil smile on his face.
Count Beckdorf noticed it, and felt annoyed; but a glance at
his two worthy companions, the Counsellor and Assessor, seemed
almost to justify the American's laughter; and the young man
was obliged to confess to himself that these two characters
looked quite strange enough to provoke the smile of a Yankee,
though in Germany they belonged to too numerous a class to
excite any particular notice.
Our two friends had, however, something else to do than to
trouble themselves about the looks or remarks of passers-by;
for the sheriff strode on at such a pace that they could hardly
keep up with him. On level ground they managed by dint of
great exertion to do so; but on their arrival at the foot of the
hill, the Counsellor, unused to so much hurry, _ declared roundly
.that he would not run himself into a consumption to please any-
228 the counsellor's discovery.
body; and as he was the only one of the party who knew the
spot of which they were in search, the rest had no choice but to
do as he wished, and slacken their pace.
The first place the sheriff desired to see on their arrival was
the spot where the box had been found; and a single glance
convinced him that a deed of violence had really been per-
petrated here. Then he went quickly to the filled-up hole,
uncovered the spade that lay hidden there, and began to throw
out the earth.
He had not to work long. Scarcely a foot below the surface
lay the unhappy victim of the murderer; and half an hour after-
wards, in conjunction with Count Beckdorf, who shuddered as
he lent his assistance in the ghastly work, the corpse of an
American was drawn forth from its narrow grave, into which
some miscreant had thrown it, and covered it hastily with earth.
The poor wretch's pickaxe and tin pan lay beside him; and it
was easy to guess how the whole affair had occurred.
There was a shot-wound in the dead man's head, and three
stabs in his body, apparently inflicted by a broad-bladed
knife, though they might have been dealt with one of the sabres
the Mexicans are accustomed to carry; the traces of a horse's
feet were visible in the vicinity. The man had doubtless laid
himself down upon the mossy bank to sleep, when his murderer
came upon him, and shot him through the head. The wound,
however, did not appear to have been fatal at once, though it
was, no doubt, mortal; for there were evidences of a struggle
on the soft moss. The stabs had given him his quietus, and the
murderer had dragged his victim to the hole, thrown in the
body with the pickaxe and pan, and filled up the hole with the
dead man's own spade, which he had laid on the top and covered
lightly with earth, to conceal the last trace of his crime. He
could be tolerably sure that the body would lie there for some
time, before any one cared to turn up the earth at such an un-
likely spot.
Certainly nobody but the Counsellor would have undertaken
such a task: so the murderer had made his calculations astutely
enough. Indeed, the sheriff could not believe that any one
could have dag here in the expectation of finding gold; the
idea seemed too insane. But Count Beekdorf confirmed the
fact of the Counsellor's "mountain labours," and offered to
show the sheriff at least a dozen similar spots on which the
man of law had wasted his energies, with always the same
result.
" Then he must be downright cracked," was Hale's flattering
the cotoseiloe's discoveey. 229
verdict; unheard, luckily, by the person on whose sanity the
opinion was pronounced.
The first thing the sheriff wished to have done was to trans-
port the body into the town, to see if any one would recognize it.
So he proposed, as there were four of them, that two at a time
should carry the man by turns; but the Assessor and Counsellor
negatived the proposal with indignation.
" Tell him," suggested the latter, "to fetch two policemen or
gendarmes. Shan't do it;—carrying dead bodies!—nonsense."
"And we mayn't remove him at all," protested the old-
fashioned Assessor, " till some American official has been here,
to make a report of the affair. This gentleman here doesn't
take any notes; what is he to do about sending in a formal
report ? And where is he to get the form from ? "
The sheriff laughed, when Count Beckdorf translated this
speech, and at last observed—
" Well, we two can't lug him down into the town; and per-
haps it isn't even necessary. The young fellows may run up
here and look at the man to see if any one knows him. If he
has any friends, they'll fetch him down fast enough; and if he
has not, we have nothing to do but to dig him a decent grave,
poor fellow—not a hole like -this into which the murderer has
bundled him. At any rate, I must send up two boys with axes
this evening, to lay him on a sort of platform, or the wolves
won't leave much of him. I wonder if he has any gold in his
pockets? "
" That's scarcely likely," answered Beckdorf, shaking his
head. " See, his right-hand pocket is turned inside out: the
murderer has robbed him."
" And most likely committed the murder for the sake of a few
grains of gold. There's a rascally set of fellows hanging about
the mines, and it's really high time to adopt strong measures with
them."
" But how are we to get hold of them ?'
" It's a difficult thing, but not impossible. Of course we want
a different sort of man to do it than that old fool of a
Major."
" Nearly all these murders are put down to the Mexicans,"
observed Count Beckdorf. " Do you think, Sheriff, that a
Mexican has made away with this poor fellow ?"
"No," answered Hale; and for a moment he glanced at the
Counsellor. But suspicion in such a peaceable quarter was
impossible, and he turned away, smiling at himself, and con-
tinued: "A white man has his death to answer for; whether an
230 HETSON AND SIFTLY,
American or an Englishman, time, I hope, will show. The
wound is too broad for a sabre, and the Mexicans seldom carry
firearms, and don't know how to use them properly when
they do."
" That bungling bullet-shot in the head would then look as if
a Mexican had fired it ?"
" Perhaps; but still I think it will turn out otherwise. Some
of our scamps find it very handy to lay every bit of rascality to
the Mexicans, and thus to kill two birds with one stone. But
we'll make haste down, for this murder has been committed very
lately—perhaps no longer ago than yesterday,—and the sooner
it's looked into the better."
CHAPTER XVH.
HETSON AND SIETLY.
The sheriff was at first inclined to take our two worthy friends,
the Counsellor and the Assessor, into the town with him as wit-
nesses; but he changed his mind, on considering that they spoke
no English, and that they would, moreover, be sure to make their
appearance in the evening. Count Beckdorf, however, whose
appetite for work had been entirely taken away by the events of
the afternoon, accompanied him, and they carried the tragic news
into the town together.
Though the strangers in the little community received the
news very quietly, the Americans were very indignant that any
one should have dared to waylay a citizen of the Great Republic.
The news ran like wildfire from claim to claim, and within an
hour a troop of young fellows had started off to bring home the
corpse, and lay it out in the town for inspection.
Among these was a person named Cook, who at once recog-
nized the murdered man. Cook had namely betaken himself to
" Carlton's Elat," another mining place, about a fortnight before;
and, after working for a few days in company with the murdered
man, he had returned to Paradise, Johns—as the poor fellow
called himself—promising to follow him. Cook described the
deceased as a quiet, straightforward man, from the State of Yir-
EETSON AND SIPTLY. 231
ginia, who had come across the Rocky Mountains with a caravan
the previous year, and had since, by industry and frugality,
amassed a small capital. A man of a peaceable and retiring
character, it seemed very improbable that he had become involved
in a quarrel. The most feasible conjecture was that he had been
basely attacked, robbed, and murdered. Rut who was the
murderer ?
In spite of the doubts expressed by the sheriif, the popular
voice persisted in accusing the Mexicans; and, on the very even-
ing of the discovery, a meeting of Americans was called, to deli-
berate on the steps to be taken for preserving the lives and the
property of the citizens of the United States from similar attacks,
as well as to vindicate the cause of justice in the case of the late
murder.
The meeting was held in Kenton's tent; and though admittance
was not denied to strangers, they did not seem to be welcome
when they presented themselves. Nevertheless, a few German
and French miners who understood English appeared among the
crowd, and a shout was raised for "Old Nolten" to come for-
ward and preside. _ But Nolten had been away for the last week
among the mountains, looking out for a fresh claim, and Briars,
one of the noisiest fellows present, and one always ready for
anything like a row, was chosen in his 'stead. The proceedings
assumed from the very beginning a rather tumultuous and lawless
aspect; for Briars at once brought forward a motion for the
immediate disarming and expulsion of all foreigners; and the hot-
headed gold-washers—chiefly backwoodsmen from the Western
States—-yelled and shouted in approbation of the sweeping
measure.
"What do we get by the strangers ?" roared Briars, jumping
on a table in his excitement, and working his arms round and
round like millsails. "They come prying round—Britishers,
Frenchmen, Dutchmen, and Mexicans—plundering our mines,
and bolting off to their own old cribs of countries with what they
can get out of ours. Do they even so much as obey our laws
while they stay here ? No—I say no!—they attack the very
citizens of the states where they're making their fortunes, with
their cursed pistols and knives; and the murder that is found
out to-day is what comes of our not having risen up and cleared
them off out of California long ago. Our fathers spilt their
blood—their precious blood, boys, to gain freedom for us; and
we, boys, as we stand here now, ought to be ready to spill our
blood at any moment for our free country, for our glorious
flag "
232 HETSON AND SIFTLY.
"Hurrah! Hip, hip—hurrah! Three cheers for the glorious
flag !" shouted the whole company; and for a minute or two the
orator's voice was drowned in the tumult. At last partial silence
was restored, and he continued:—
"Yes, boys, and we are ready to spill our blood at our country's
call; but we won't take the chance of being waylaid and mur-
dered by a set of European robbers!"
" Hurrah!—European robbers ! that's the ticket!—go it, old
boy!" shouted a lanky Kentuckian, with unqualified approbation.
"The Britishers have been sending their thieves to Australia;
but the fellows there wcn't let 'em land, and so now California's
to be the place for pouring out all the filthy scum from their
jails. Boys, we won't stand it! Drat me, if there didn't come
a whole shipload of them to San Francisco last week—reg'lar
Botany Bay varmints; and our government were fools enough to
let 'em come ashore. But if they've such sleepy old coons for
judges there, we needn't stand it up here in the mines. I guess
we're free men; our fathers spilt their blood for their—"
"Hip, hip—hurrah!" roared the crowd, who never fail to
respond to a bit of patriotic fustian.
" They spilt their blood for their freedom, and what we've got
to do is to keep our'n," continued the Kentucky man; " and let's
try if we can't keep off this pack of English, Irish, and Mexican
scoundrels!"
"Bravo, Jim! Go it, old boy!—give it to 'em!" shouted the
audience, who had been warming their enthusiasm with " drops "
of brandy. "We'll have a committee, and turn the whole lot of
them out of the mines to-morrow morning."
" Gentlemen!" cried Hale, who had been a silent but attentive
witness of the whole proceedings, " will ye allow me to say a
word in this business ?"
" Certainly, Hale—stump it, old fellow; get up on the table;
you're a capital chap—one of the good old American stock! "
was shouted in reply.
"Thank ye," said Hale, as he responded to the invitation,and
sprang upon the table from which the last speaker had just
descended to go and moisten his parched throat with a drink of
brandy at the bar. " Then, if I'm to say what I think straight
out, I can only tell you, citizens of the United States, that you're
kicking up a devil pf a row; but you're barking under the wrong
tree, as they say in my state."
"Hallo, Hale, what's in the wind?" asked one or two, in con-
siderable astonishment.
"It's nonsense, boys!" continued the sheriff, who was not in
HETSON AND SIFTLY. 233
the least daunted ; " you're wanting to hang the sheep to spite
the wolf, and you haven't got the right, no nor the power, to do
it. We don't know who was the murderer — he might be a
Britisher, a Mexican, or an American."
"Oh, d—n it, Hale," cried Briars; "Americans don't cut
one another's throats, — and you ought to be the last man to
stand up for a parcel of foreigners. Our ancestors spilt their
blood "
" There, there, don't hash up that old story," interrupted the
irreverent Hale. " I stick to my country as much as any fellow
can, but I don't think it's any use to be always warming up old
bygones; besides, we know very well what we've got to do.
Just give me proofs that strangers have done this, and I'll risk
my life to get the rope put round the murderer's neck. But
until we're quite certain that we haven't to look for him at home,
we'd best not be too sharp in fitting the collar on any one, —
that's not the way free Americans ought to act."
" And how about the scamps from Botany Bay, who landed
last week ? " asked the Kentuckian, wrathfully.
" They'd best look out that we don't catch them at any of their
tricks," answered Hale; but till we do catch them we can't
punish them,—and I'm sure there isn't any one here who'd wish
to have one man punished for what another has done."
" Gentlemen,"cried a deep voice from among the crowd," will
you let me make a sensible proposition ? "
"By all means, if it is a sensible one," grumbled Hale; " for
we've listened to nonsense enough, in all conscience."
" Very good," continued Siftly, for he it was who had spoken;
and he threw his hat and poncho on a chair on which he had been
sitting, and he stood upright on the seat; " at any rate I won't
detain you long. I'm sure you'll agree, gentlemen, that till we
have some further evidence, it's a waste of time for us to stand
here in this tent disputing who committed this murder, — an
American or a foreigner. The universal voice, which is seldom
wrong, has certainly fixed the blame upon some stranger; and
with the experience I have had in different parts of the country,
I don't hesitate for a moment to say that I am of the same
opinion."
" Hurrah!" — "Bravo!" — " Go on!" — was shouted from
different parts of the tent.
" But unfortunately," continued Siftly, without heeding the
interruption, "we're in this position: we couldn't do anything,
even if we had further evidence—I mean not legally,—because
we have not a legal head. My advice is that we proceed at once
234 HETSON AND SITTLY.
to choose a judge or alcalde among ourselves, before we take any
further steps in this matter."
Hale looked up in astonishment; for the bearded stranger, of
whom he had not formed a very favourable opinion, was the last
man from whom he would have expected such a proposal as
Siftly had just made; nevertheless, he acquiesced most gladly,
for though they had got on well enough for a week or two in
their little mining town without any legal authority, the aspect
of affairs was very much changed now that they had to proceed
in so serious a matter as highway robbery and murder.
The former difficulty—that of finding a competent man for the
office—still existed, and though such places were generally given
away without much deliberation, the flight of Major Ryot had
infused something like caution among the community, who were
naturally anxious not to make a second mistake of the kind.
The young Americans were of course ready enough to propose
several of their friends, each of whom they declared "would make
a prime alcalde;" but as these prime candidates were chiefly
famous for skill in rifle-shooting and a general disposition to
quarrel, Hale, who would be the chief sufferer from their incom-
petency or want of temper, declared that the new alcalde must
be a man well acquainted with the laws, otherwise he would be
worse than useless.
Up jumped the fiery Briars, who had expected a different
result from the meeting.
" Laws!" he shouted. " What the mischief do we want with
laws here ? Do they prevent the rascally strangers from murder-
ing and robbing us, eb ? Do they protect our property ? Is
there any one here who cares a rap about them, or who can carry
them out ? Who cares a button for your long rigmarole writings
out here in the woods, where they're only good to make gun-
wads of P If we're to have an alcalde at all, give us a man; that's
all we ask you for,—the rest we'll attend to ourselves."
" Gentlemen," interposed Siftly, mounting again into the
chair from which he had stepped down at the conclusion of his
former concise speech, " I am certainly a new comer among you
here, but I know the mines well, and have been knocking about
among them for the last six months; and when I tell you that I
was on the Committee at Sonora, where they disarmed all but
the Americans, I fancy you'll allow that I'm not a man for half-
measures. But if we can manage to keep the law on our side,
and yet to retain the right of government, which belongs to us
Americans, of course it's so much the better; and therefore I
fully agree with our worthy sheriff, Mr. Hale. There happens,
HETSON AND SIFTLY. $3$
by good luck, to be a man among us, though I don't see him here
at this present moment, who unites the qualities we want; he's
a determined, resolute man, — an American of the old dominion,
and a first-rate lawyer. Besides, he's a married man, and has
brought his wife with him,—a proof that he's not one of those
swindling loafers who're here to-day and gone to-morrow. Now,
if we could persuade him to take the office of alcalde, I believe, I
may say I'm certain that all the Americans would be satisfied,
and all American interests properly looked after; and I for one
would give him my vote and support, once and for all."
"You mean Mr. Hetson ? " said the sheriff.
"That's the man; and though he's only been here a little
while, I don't think that ought to tell against him."
"Well," said Hale, "Mr. Hetson, so far as I know, seems to
me a very sensible, upright man; and if he's really a lawyer, as
this gentleman says, he shall have my support, with all my
heart."
" But why isn't he here ? " cried Briars. " Hang it! I should
think every American ought to be present at a meeting like this,
and no one has a right to keep away."
"Gentlemen," interposed Mr. Smith, the long card-player,
" we ought to remember — we hadn't ought to forget that he's
got to fix up that tent of his, for his wife and the gal that's with
her. We men can get along well enough here in the mines, so
long as we've something over our heads to keep off the sun and
rain; but when a man brings his family along here, I guess he's
got to look about him."
The advocacy was not very fortunate. Hale looked askance
at the speaker, and felt half sorry to have given his support to a
man who was proposed and seconded by two such fellows as
Siftly and Smith, who had doubtless their own ends in view,
and would not have taken such a step without knowing the
reason why. He resolved to watch them narrowly. The other
Americans now assembled in groups, to discuss the question, and
seemed quite to have forgotten the original intention of their
meeting.
Curiously enough, the fact that Hetson was a married man,
and had brought his wife with him, seemed to carry great weight
with these wild, reckless young fellows. It gave him a kind of
patriarchal interest in their eyes ; and a well-timed assurance
fr.om Siftly, that his friend hated all intruders " like poison,"
was enough to turn the scale at once in Hetson's favour. Even
Briars had no further objection to make, and the motion being
put immediately to the vote, was carried by acclamation.
236 HETSON AND SIFTLY.
It was now evening; and some one suggested that the
announcement to the new alcalde of the dignity conferred upon
him should be deferred till the next day, as it seemed too late
to disturb the ladies that night. Siftly undertook to make
Hetson aware of the fact next morning early; and all further
steps in the matter were postponed till the gold-washers should
come home at noon to their dinners.
Nothing more was settled that evening. Briars made an
abortive attempt to get a resolution passed for turning away all
foreigners from the diggings at once, and proposed that placards
should be prepared in French, German, and Spanish, requiring
them to quit immediately; but the majority—some of them
already tired of deliberating—others because they expected
more sensible measures from the new alcalde—decided that
everything should stand over until they consulted the new head
of the community; so the tables were cleared, and the usual
amusements of the evening began.
Next morning no American went to his work; for their poor
murdered countryman was to be buried. Nearly every one
joined the procession; and the corpse was carried by relays of
men out into the red flat, to rest in the earth lately the scene of
Such feverish activity.
Siftly had excused himself fyom attendance at the funeral.
He wished to call upon Hetson, to announce the startling news,
and obtain his acceptance of the office. He promised to com-
municate the result to the men, in Kenton's tent, on their return
from burying the American.
The two friends had not met since their arrival in the little
town. Siftly had avoided Hetson—he hardly liked to acknow-
ledge to himself why,—so this opportunity was doubly welcome;
and never doubting but that his friend would at once accept the
office, he strode off towards his tent.
Hetson had made good use of the preceding day in the
improvement of his household affairs. Not only was his tent
as well arranged as the circumstances would allow, but a smaller
one had been erected behind it, as a place for storing up
provisions and keeping cooking utensils; while the open
space between the two tents, over which an awning could be
spread in case of sudden rain, answered the purpose of a
kitchen.
The chief tent, divided off into three portions, formed a sitting-
room and two bedrooms. One of the former was given up to
Manuela, whose father slept at night in the second tent; and in
the daytime the young Spanish girl, who had insisted on taking
HETSON A2TC) SIFTLY. 237
charge of the culinary arrangements, worked merrily among the
pots and pans, and "impedimenta" of all kinds.
She was cheerful and gay as a lark—the light-hearted daughter
of the South, whom a hard destiny had thrown on this inhospi-
table coast. The day when she met pretty Mrs. Hetson had
been for her the beginning of a new era. The terrible time
when she had been compelled to sacrifice her talent to the hateful
task of luring gamblers into a gaming-hell was past, she hoped,
for ever; now she no longer gazed, while her heart stood still
with grief and anxiety, upon the pale face of her father, to read
there the certainty that he had again sacrificed his own and his
daughter's peace of mind to the demon of play, who haunted him
day and night. In work, which she gratefully and gladly under-
took, the days passed merrily away; and every night she blessed
the kind hand that had led her forth from the horrible, glaring
gambling-booth, with its oaths, and blasphemy, and vice.
On this morning she had risen, as usual, at dawn, and was
working like a little bee at the stove, to get breakfast ready in
time. Cut off by the larger tent from communication with the
street, she had been entirely undisturbed in her operations; for
since the disturbance about Major Ryot, no one worked in the
" red flat," which bounded the little tent at the back.
In the very act of humming a tune, as she endeavoured to
make the great coffee-pot boil by piling little pieces of dry wood
about its blackened surface, she suddenly raised her head, and,
with a suppressed scream, stood as if fascinated, like a bird
before a snake; for opposite her, as unexpected as if he had sud-
denly risen out of the ground, with a grin on his hairy coun-
tenance, and malicious glee in his piercing black eyes, stood the
man she hated and feared most on earth—William Siftly. She
would have fled, but she could not move a limb; she would have
stretched out her arms to keep him off, but they hung at her
sides like lead; so she stood with her eyes fixed in horrified
apprehension on the intruder, waiting till he should break
silence.
" Ah, see there!—my little Spanish dove!" began Siftly, with
a grin, seemingly unconscious of the detestation with which she
regarded him. "Flown away from San Francisco, I perceive, to
carry the olive-branch into our Paradise here, eh ? Why, that's
capital. I'm truly glad to meet you again; and how goes it
with you?" He stretched out his hand to the girl, who, half-
stunned with the sudden surprise, mechanically put forth hers,
which Siftly grasped, aud seemed inclined to retain.
Rut it was not part of his plan to force his company upon
238' HETSON AND SIFTLY.
Manuela; so he let go her hand, and asked, in broken Spanish,
whether Sefior Hetson was at home.
Manuela nodded: she could not find voice to speak.
"Bueno, my child!" continued Siftly, laughing at her evident
terror of him; "then will you kindly tell him that an old
friend "
" Why, Siftly," exclaimed Hetson, who had heard and recog-
nized the voice, and who now appeared at the back entrance of
the tent, " are you here too ?"
" Yes, my boy, as you see; and I've brought you good news
too."
"News for meF" asked Hetson, eagerly—and a red flush
mounted to his forehead;—" but not here," he added, quickly;
"come round to the front entrance; I'll undo the curtain; and
as soon as I'm ready we'll walk out into the flat together."
"It's no secret," said Siftly, laughing; "but I'll go round, and
we can talk it over together."
He nodded to Manuela, and disappeared as quickly as he had
come, behind the tent; while Hetson went out, in some excite-
ment, to welcome his old acquaintance. Though he had no sus-
picion of Siftly's real character, it was—he knew not why—
disagreeable to him to meet any one here who knew him. He
had hoped to live for a while unknown and unremarked in this
little out-of-the-way place; and then, strengthened by rest and
the fresh mountain air, to embark for the Sandwich Islands—
perhaps to get rid of the thoughts that had weighed upon him
month after month. Now, with the appearance of the man to
whom he had opened his heart at San Francisco, there came
upon him the thought of another who might in like manner dis-
cover his retreat, and throw down the whole fabric of rest and
security he had been laboriously building up for himself.
" Good morning, Hetson!" said Siftly, when the canvas door
was opened, as carelessly as if they had parted the evening
before, instead of being separated by many eventful weeks.
" How do you find yourself up here ? You look rather peaky
still. Well, our mountain air will set you up in no time. Capital
air and a famous climate, here in California—that one can't
deny,—and we didn't make such a bad deal with Mexico, con-
sidering all the gold we got into the bargain. Ha, ha! the
sefiores will swear finely when they see us picking out the
gold from under their very noses, and they not having found
a trace of it during all the years they've been squatting
here."
" And what is it you had to tell me, Siftly ?"
HETSON AND SIFTLY.
239
" Ah, yes ! deuce take it, I'd nearly forgotten the most im-
portant thing."
" Does it concern him ?" whispered Hetson, seizing his
friend's arm, and griping it violently.
" Hallo—him /" cried Siftly, in amazement. " Oh, I remem-
ber! you mean your "
" Hush—not so loud,—one can hear every word here."
" No, no, man; don't alarm yourself!" expostulated the
gamester; " and by the way, I wish you'd give up your foolish
nervousness about the fellow. Supposing he were to come
here?"
" Then you know where he is!" interrupted Hetson, in a
voice of suppressed anxiety.
"He's where, for the present at least, he can't do you any
harm," said Siftly; who knew as little about Charles Golway's
whereabout as Hetson himself, but found it profitable to his
purpose to keep the image of his dreaded rival continually before
the sufferer's mind; " but I come to offer you something, which
if you accept it, would give you the power to render him
harmless if he made his way even into your tent; and' I
could not have come more opportunely to these mines than just
now."
" What do you mean ? "
" You've heard that one of our people was murdered here a
few days ago?"
" Yes. The boasted security of the mines doesn't seem to be
borne out by facts."
" Bah!" laughed the other; " you'll hear of more such things
here soon enough. People will be deceived; and of course
there are plenty who'll undertake to deceive them. Besides,
such things occur in the most civilized towns in the world; so
it's hardly to be wondered at that they sometimes come to pass
in our mountains, which swarm with Indians, Mexicans, and
English convicts. The only wonder is that crimes happen so
seldom, and that we seem to live in our thin canvas tents
as safely as our friends at home within their walls of brick and
stone. Nevertheless, the good citizens of this town have deter-
mined to put a stop to such doings for the future. Yesterday
evening we had a general meeting, at which, by the way, you
ought to have been present; and there an alcalde, a good reso-
lute man was chosen—an American, of course."
" But what's all this to me ?_"
" More, perhaps, than you imagine; for I must tell you that
the pei pie liave nee ^ 1 sibli p mu„Ii nnl n choose one of the
m
HETSON AND SIFTLY.
hot-headed care-for-nought's who swarm here in the mines, for
their alcalde, but you /"
"Me!" exclaimed Hetson, jumping up from the chair in
which he had seated himself next his guest. " You must have
been dreaming. Who knows me here ?"
" I know you, my old friend, and that was enough. Whoever
knows how to manage people like that can turn them any way
he likes, either for good or for evil. So I proposed you, and
they chose you unanimously. Now they've gone out to bury the
body they brought in out of the mountains yesterday, and when
they come back, you will be formally installed.
Hetson walked up and down the tent once or twice, thought-
fully, with folded arms. Suddenly he stopped in front of Siftly,
and held out his hand :—
" I thank you, Bill," he said, " for your friendship, for I know
you intended to do me a service; but I cannot and shall not
ac< ' ' ' 1 ie."
long I shall stay here; indeed,
it's most probable that I shall be going away in a fortnight or
so. Whether I'm the proper kind of person for the alcalde of a
mining town is a question upon which we need not enter now.
But you only know me by what I was at home. I am now more
unsettled, more restless, more impatient than I us«d to be; and1
so far as I understand the matter, the alcalde here ought to have
the same ideas as the people generally; he should make common
cause with them, and take a real interest in what concerns them.
Therefore I don't think the people here would be satisfied with
a man like me for their judge."
" So you want to be off!—Where to ? "
" I hardly know myself," replied Hetson, with a weary sigh.
I thought life among the mountains was different to what I find
it—quieter, and with less excitement. There is the bustle and
commotion of a great town in this little nest of tents, only that
it is more concentrated; and if I allowed myself to be made the
centre around which these erratic stars were to turn, how should
I find the rest and relief I seek ? "
" Take your hat, and come out with me !" said Siftly, who
had listened patiently to his friend's objections; " I'd rather say
what I have still to tell you in the open air. I see, moreover,
your cloth is laid, and I should not like to disturb Mrs. Hetson
at breakfast. Besides," he added, sinking his voice, " the walls
here are thin, and I don't want any one else to hear what's
intended only for you.
HETSON AND SIETLY. 241
Hetson looked at him in his anxious way, hut did as he was
requested; he took his hat, and followed the gamester from the
tent.
Outside, Siftly took his arm, and as he led him down the street,
in which they only met one or two loiterers, he continued—
" So you wanted to go still further into the mountains ? "
" Yes!" answered Hetson, with some hesitation; " although
I don't quite know in what direction."
"And don't you think you may just happen to meet the man
whom you're so anxious to avoid ? "
" Then yon do know where he is !" exclaimed Hetson vehe-
mently.
" Bah!" answered Siftly, carelessly; " who can say of a man,
here in the mines, that he's in such and such a place, when the
whole population is always on the move, looking out for some
richer claim—even when they've nothing else in view. To-day
you find a man living in one place, and to-morrow you'll meet
him in the wood, with his blanket on his shoulder, tramping off
to some other town, where, perhaps, he won't remain many
hours."
" But if he should find me and Jenny here P "
"Then you would be under the disagreeable necessity of
sending a bullet through his brain 1" said Siftly, in a matter-of-
fact way; " which, even if it did not lead to serious results,
might cause a good deal of trouble and annoyance—that is, if
you continue to live here only as a private man."
"And what difference would it make, if I were alcalde?"
asked Hetson, shaking his head.
"What difference? Why, all the difference in the world.
You'd keep that fellow at a distance, like the rest of the vaga-
bonds from beyond sea; and you'll hardly doubt that we'll lend
you a hand. I need scarcely assure you of that."
" You speak in riddles."
«$[y g00(j sir, you were not at our meeting yesterday, and
did not hear the resolutions we passed. We've thoroughly made
up our minds to make a stand against the vagabonds from
abroad, who make the mountains unsafe — particularly the
Britishers and Irishers, who are most of them escaped convicts
who find their way here from Australia. That Charles—what's
his name ? "
" Golway."
"Well, that Golway is an Englishman; and if he were an
honest fellow, he wouldn't be prying round after another man's
wife. So as soon as he shows his face here—and we shall find
B
242 HETSON AND SIFTLY.
Dim out soon enough,—he'll have notice given him to make
nimself scarce, and Lord have mercy ou him if he neglects the
warning; but if another man is chosen alcalde, through your
obstinately refusing your chance, why I won't be answerable for
anything. Gold will do anything here in the mountains; and if
we get another judge like that fellow who ran away the other
day, Golway will only have to pay an ounce or two for leave to
stay as long as ever he likes. The people only care to keep
off the great mass of interlopers, and will never trouble them-
selves about a single man, particularly if the alcalde stands bail
for him."
" Siftly, if I knew "
" Nonsense—don't be ridiculous, my good fellow; you'll never
in your life have such another opportunity of getting rid of your
troubles; and then, hang it, man, you're not bound to the soil
here. If you take it into your head in a fortnight's or a month's
time to leave the place, who's to say you nay ? We're free peo-
pie here, and every one may come and go as he likes—at least
every American, to whom the soil properly belongs."
" And if I were really to accept the post you offer me ? " said
Hetson, hesitating.
" Then throw dull care overboard," struck in Siftly, with a
laugh. " You've nothing in the world to do but to stick faith-
fully to your own countrymen in all things, which of course
you'll do; and you may be sure if you want our arms in any
business of yours, we shall not leave you in the lurch."
" Come back into my tent," said Hetson, stopping suddenly;
" you must breakfast with us; and I'll ask my wife if she likes
these mountains well enough to live for a short time among them."
" Thank you—I've had my breakfast," answered Siftly; " and
so far as Mrs. Hetson is concerned, I'll undertake to say she
could not find a prettier spot than this valley among the moun-
tains in all California. I've passed through the northern and
southern mines, both, during my travels, and have scarcely ever
found such a valley as this—not even on the Feather River.
Our countrymen, who generally name their towns by what they
are not, seem really to have hit the right nail on the head for
once, when they called this ' Paradise.'"
" Well, at least come with me."
" With all my heart; but first we must speak to those people
yonder, who are coming towards us. They have already seen
us, and know what I have been speaking to you about. If we
were to go into the tent now, it would look like avoiding them;
and the more boldly one meets such fellows, at the outset, the
HETSON AND SIPTIY. 243
better. You must know that much from your experience in the
States."
Hetson stood still in perplexity; for he really did not know,
at the moment, how to act; whether to accept the office of
alcalde, or unconditionally to decline it. But Siftly relieved
him of the trouble of thinking for himself. Waving his hat
towards the approaching group, he shouted as loudly as he
could:
" Hallo, boys! this way—here stands your new alcalde."
" Siftly, you're hurrying me into a thing that I shall perhaps
bitterly "
" Repent ? Not a bit of it," interrupted the gambler, with
his boisterous laugh. " You'll be quite grateful to me—I know
you will; and the town will be all the better for it into the
bargain."
They had no time for further parley; for the foremost among
the crowd, returning from the funeral of the unhappy Johns,
were within a few paces, and came straight towards them. Among
them was Hale, who walked up to Hetson and shook him
heartily by the hand, saying in his bluff way,—
" Mr. Hetson, I'm glad you've accepted our choice. I cer-
tainly can't promise you a very quiet life, for they're a restless
lot up here in the mountains, and sometimes give a good deal of
trouble. But if we hold well together, I've no doubt we shall
be able to keep our heads above water. I'm the sheriff, and my
name's Hale."
" Mr. Hale," answered Hetson, in some embarrassment, " I'm
a perfect stranger in your little town; and the honour you have
done me is so unexpected that "
" I beg your pardon," interrupted Hale, with a smile, " but I
think you mistake the kind of office you've got—there's deuced
little honour to be gained; for you'd hardly find a more complete
set of scamps than you'll have to deal with among us. But that
don't matter, we've a few real good fellows as well, and with
their help we'll manage to get through somehow."
" Well, be it so," exclaimed Hetson, heartily returning the
honest sheriff's squeeze; " and be assured, Mr. Hale, that I
shall do my best to deserve the confidence you have placed
in me."
" Yery good," said Hale, " then that affair's settled. After-
wards, if you've no objection, I'll come into your tent, and
we'll look through the one or two papers the old Major left
behind him in his hurry. You won't have much writing to do,
unless you choose to make up work for yourself, for nearly
B 2
244 the chinamen.
everything is done by word of mouth here, which very much,
lessens the work. But we must give notice to the county
court, so as to get the appointment confirmed. Then we shall
have our hands free."
"Very Well, Mr. Hale," said the new alcalde; "do whatever
you think necessary, and remember that for some time I shall
be dependent upon your practical information and experience."
" We'll arrange all that, Mr. Hetson," answered the Sheriff,
heartily : " all that is a secondary affair. The chief thing is
that you should know a little about law, and have your heart in
the right place."
" I hope I shall fulfil both conditions, Mr. Hale," said Hetson,
i ughing.
"So much the better for us all," answered bluff old Hale;
and nodding to the new alcalde, he turned away, and without a
look at the rest of the crowd, strode off towards his tent.
CHAPTEB "XVIII.
the chinamen.
After his interview with Hale, and his acceptance of the
alcaldeship, which had come to him, he scarcely knew how,
Hetson wished to take Siftly into his tent, to talk with him on
several subjects ; but that astute diplomatist had several affairs
to arrange with Mr. Smith, his worthy confederate, and now
that he had succeeded in getting the man elected whom he hoped
to mould like melted wax to his purposes, he wished to lose no
valuable time. He saw well enough that fortune could not have
brought him to these mines at a more happy moment; and
Siftly was just the man to make good use of any advantage chance
threw in his way.
Hetson himself, after exchanging a few friendly words with the
crowd of Americans who welcomed liim with hearty good feeling,
was suddenly taken into a kind of moral custody by Briars, who
at once began to insist on his carrying into effect the resolutions
brought forward at their yesterday's meeting; but Hetson was
not to be taken a second time by surprise, and evaded the hot-
headed young fellow's importunity by promising to call a meeting
CHINAMEN. 245
of the citizens of the United States the moment he received the
confirmation of his dignity as alcalde from the county court.
Until then, he reminded Briars he could not undertake anything
decisive; but he pledged himself to consult in the mean time with
the sheriff on the best measures to be pursued.
Only half satisfied with himself, and with what he had done
that morning, he retired into his tent, where he found Jenny and
Manuela. The latter was in tears.
" What is the matter ? " he inquired with nervous anxiety.
" Has any one "
" Don't alarm yourself, Frank," interrupted his wife, with a
smile. " It is nothing but a foolish fear of this poor child's; she
is afraid that her father will give himself up again to his passion
for play, and again expose himself to the temptations from which
we withdrew him almost by force."
"But I can't imagine "•
" She met, this morning, and, moreover, quite unexpectedly, in
front of our tent, the man who was foremost in luring her
father to the gaming-table, and in plundering him afterwards."
" What, here in my tent ? "
"It seems he inquired for you, and spoke with you here in the
tent. I even think you went out together."
" Siftly! " exclaimed Hetson, amazed and startled; " why,
it cannot be."
"Yes, yes," asserted Manuela; " Siftly is his name, and of all
the bad men who have been brought to this country by their
greediness for gold,—of all the cunning, treacherous people who
gain their living by false trickery at cards, that Siftly is the most
daring and the worst."
" That is impossible, child!" cried Hetson, now really alarmed.
"Jenny, she means that countryman of mine, my early friend,
whom we met at San Francisco on our landing, and who helped
us to find a lodging."
" Your friend! " sighed Manuela. "That man has no friend
but gold; and he it is who has made me wretched, by his bad con-
duct towards my father. I have implored him on my bended
knees to leave off pursuing him, and then he " She stopped
abruptly, and turned away with a shudder, hiding her face in her
hands at the recollection of the villain's insulting words.
Hetson had thrown himself on a chair, and sat looking at the
ground, in deep thought. Several appearances he had noticed in
Siftly's conduct, but which had half escaped his observation,
absorbed as he had been in his own affairs, now suddenly recurred
to his mind. Could Manuela be right? Could Siftly have
246 THE CHINAMEN.
employed his influence only to make a tool of the friend who
trusted him P He started from his chair and walked rapidly to
and fro through the tent; then suddenly going up to the weeping
girl, he said kindly,—
" Don't grieve so, Manuela; I cannot believe that Siftly is so
black as you paint him, and as you evidently believe him to be."
" Oh, sefior," sobbed Manuela, " I trust you may never have
experience of his wickedness!"
"Well, well, my dear," saidHetson,-"grantedthat he gambles,
or, what is worse, that he is a professed gamester, and has led
your father astray i I do not see why you need fear that he would
try to practise upon him again. At the first attempt of the
kind, I would speak seriously to him,—would beg him to leave
the weak old man alone, if not for your sake, at least for mine;
and I think I have influence enough with him to make him grant
such a simple request. Are you satisfied ? "
"I must be," answered Manuela, dolefully; "but when my heart
rejoiced at the first sight of these beautiful mountains,—when I
thought myself so safe and free, I little fancied that I should so
soon see that man's horrid face and evil eyes again. His pre-
sence weighs upon me like the foreboding of some terrible mis-
fortune to happen to myself or to some one I love; I feel as if
I should like to run to the ends of the earth, only to get out of
his way—to be safe from him."
" Did he say anything to you this morning ? "
"Nothing—not a word; he only bade me good day; but his
look,— he looked at me with those evil eyes,— and in his glance
I read something that makes my heart stand still—that turns the
blood in my veins to ice."
"And what do you think of him, Erank? " asked his wife in
a timid voice.
" I hardly know myself, my dear," answered Hetson, cheer-
fully; " but this I can tell you both, and particularly Manuela,
that you need not be afraid of him."
" Oh, then avoid him, dear Erank," pleaded Mrs. Hetson.
" Manuela would not bring forward such a horrible accusation
against him, if she were not sure of its truth; and if you do not
want particularly to stay here, let us go away, if only for the
sake of the poor child and her father."
Hetson was silent; a strange feeling of doubt and disquietude
came upon him, >and he would gladly have acted upon his wife's
suggestion, but for the promise he had given. His office as
alcalde did not certainly bind him for any definite time to this
spot; but what would all bis countrymen think of him, if now,
THE CHINAMEN. 247
after the occurrences of the morning, he were suddenly to leave
the town ? He could not go—at least, not directly. Hut he
could allege the cause that kept him here, to quiet the fears of
the women; so, suppressing his own fears, he replied cheerfully
enough,—
"Don't be afraid of shadows, dear children; the affair is not so
serious as it looks,—and though I can't fulfil your wish, Jenny,
by at once quitting this place, I can tell you that the citizens
have this morning given me a power by which I can secure you
against any intrusion or persecution; — in fact, I have been
chosen alcalde here, and have accepted the office."
"But will not that interfere with your design?" asked his
wife, anxiously—"your scheme of finding rest and quiet here
among the mountains ?"
"That it will, certainly, my dear girl; but, on the other hand,
it will give me occupation, and, in the long run, I should have
become heartily tired of being idle: besides, the duties of an
alcalde here in the mines are limited to the settling of small and
unimportant disputes among the diggers, a business a quiet, tern-
perate man can generally manage without much difficulty. In
any difficulty a jury is chosen; and all the most serious cases,
involving questions of life and death, are brought before the
county court, as beyond my jurisdiction."
" And that Siftly ?"
" I shall keep a watchful eye upon him," replied Hetson, after
a little hesitation. "If he turns out to be the kind of man
Manuela fancies him—but I still hope that anxiety for her father
may have caused her to attach more importance to some points
than they deserve,—if he really means mischief, I shall try and
persuade him, as a friend, to give up his schemes; and he will
do so, for I'll let him see that he must," he added, with an
appearance of greater decision than he had as yet displayed.
" I feel quite afraid of him myself," observed Mrs. Hetson.
" You've no reason to be afraid, Jenny," answered her husband,
with a smile. " It appears that Siftly has for a long time been
wandering about in the western states among wild, lawless men,
and has perhaps adopted some of their manners and habits.
Still, I don't think him completely depraved, and I trust the
future will show that I have not been deceived."
The conversation was here interrupted by the arrival of the
sheriff, who had come over to make some necessary arrangements
with the new alcalde; and the women withdrew into their com-
partment of the tent.
The excitement of the former day had by this time almost
248 THE CHINAMEN.
entirely .sabsided; and any one who had heard the speeches made
against the foreigners the evening before, and now saw the
orators working so qnietly in their various claims with pickaxe
and spade, would hardly have thought it possible that they were
the same people. But gold is a powerful lever; and, quieted by
the choice of an alcalde who would, they imagined, prevent any
further deeds of violence, they did not wish to waste the precious
hours of daylight in debate and agitation.
Even Briars, the most hot-beaded of all, had gone back to his
claim, not far from where the Devil's Water entered the flat; for
he had dug down to the auriferous earth on the preceding day,
and was eager to see what his hole contained, and whether it
would pay for the labour he had bestowed upon it.
About twenty paces below him a company of Chinamen were
at work, respecting whom a report had got abroad that they had
found much gold. The people themselves were taciturn, enter-
ing into conversation with no one; indeed, they did not under-
stand the English language, nor could those who spoke it under-
stand them. Only their leader, the broad-shouldered Chinaman
already mentioned as the proprietor of the long black pigtail,
appeared to comprehend a few English words, which he had per-
haps acquired in his own country from sailors in some harbour.
It was he who made all necessary purchases in the tents, and he
alone came into communication with the Americans. Whatever
he bought he paid for at once; and if any questions were asked
of him, he replied by certain unintelligible guttural sounds,
apparently very willing to give every information the Americans
could require of him. That they could not understand him was
of course not his fault.
After a long and secret conference with Smith, Siftly had made
an excursion through the flat, to make observations on the state
of affairs. He had stood for some time looking into the tolerably
deep pit in which the sons of the Celestial Empire were at work;
but, as soon as he approached the margin of the hole, he was
observed, and it did not escape his practised eye, that one of the
workmen, a stunted, dirty-looking fellow, hid a flat vessel of
coarse gold under his loose jacket. The ground looked as if the
Chinamen had hit on the right vein into which the precious metal
had been washed—Heaven knows how many thousand years ago
—from the mountains into the valley; and the hurried manner
in which the vessel of gold was concealed confirmed the suspicions
of the American.
"Making out well down there, eh ?" cried Siftly, looking down
into the pit.
TBTE CHINAMEN. 249
The Chinamen looked np at him, hut not one of them answered
his question. They only began picking at the sides of the hole
with their small knives, and seemed to have suspended their more
serious labour until the white man should have gone away.
"Well—can't you open your mouths down there, you pig-
tailed rascals ?" was Siftly's amiable adjuration. It was of no
use; the Chinamen seemed quite unconscious of his existence as
they picked about the walls with their knives.
"Squinting scoundrels!" muttered Siftly, with a curse. "I
hope to see the day when they'll make you speak, whether you
like it or no;" and, throwing his poncho round him, he left the
place, to return to the town.
A yell of rage from a neighbouring pit attracted his attention,
and looking down he saw Briars throw down the pickaxe with
which he had been working, and begin cursing and dancing like
a demoniac.
"Hallo, friend!—are you saying your prayers down there?"
asked Siftly, with a laugh, as he bent over the pit.
" D—n the claim, and the place, and the flat, and all Cali-
fornia j and strike the confounded country ten thousand fathoms
into the earth !" yelled the man, still more enraged by Siftly's
malicious smile.
"Ha, ha, ha!—that's a pious wish, upon my word," said
Siftly, sententiously; "it ain't the fault of the country if you go
and dig in the wrong place."
"Wrong place!" screamed the man. "Tell me what's the
right place, if you're so d—d clever. Plague on California, I
say. Here have I been digging hole after hole in the cursed
hard ground, each deeper than the last, and can't screw out more
than a miserable few dollars, with all the trouble I take."
"But you don't set to work the right way."
" Go to the devil!" grumbled the angry man, who was in no
mood to be sociable. " I didn't ask for your advice: when I
want it, I'll send for you."
"Thank you!" said Siftly, coolly, while a malicious smile
played round the corners of his mouth; " but perhaps you do
want me just at present."
" Tell ye what, now, stranger," cried the man, growing very
angry, "I'm not exactly in the humour for fun, and if you know
what's good for yourself you'll be off at once; or, if you want to
stay up there, you'll at any rate leave off bothering me with
your talk: you've woke up the wrong passenger, I tell ye."
"Now don't be angry, my boy," said Siftly, laughing. This
was just the temper in winch he wanted Briars for his own
250 TEE CHINAMEN.
purposes. " Wasn't it you that gave us such a capital speech
last night, about the blood our forefathers spilt in defence of
liberty ? "
"D n you!" roared the digger, now really enraged; and
grasping the edge of the pit with his two hands, he clambered
out upon the flat, and the next moment he was standing oppo-
site Siftly, his face swollen with anger, and thirsting for
battle.
" Confound you!" he roared; throw off that poncho of
yours, if you're a man, and I'll teach you to interfere with
people who don't want your company, or your d d insulting
speeches!"
"You're very kind," answered Siftly, with his boisterous
laugh, but without making any preparation for defence; " only
I can't avail myself of it just now. I didn't come here to knock
you about, or to be beaten by you, but to offer you my help;
and I think its worth something better than a black eye."
"And pray who asked for your help ?" asked Briars, sulkily.
"There—there—quite enough of that nonsense !" said Siftly,
impatiently; "we're wasting valuable time; and I should think
we Americans ought to be the last to quarrel and give each
other hard words just now."
Briars looked at his interlocutor with something the expres-
sion of a bull-dog, who is not quite sure whether to wag his tail
or to rush at the hand that strokes and pats him. Siftly saw his
indecision, and at once followed up the advantage it gave him
over his surly opponent.
" What the mischief do you keep grubbing and digging here
for!" he cried, " where there's nothing to pay you for your
labour, while those Chinese scoundrels are picking away the
gold from under your very nose P"
"Isn't that just what I kept saying?" retorted the digger;
" and wasn't it you who persuaded them to go and choose an
alcalde ? I suppose you wanted to break up what strength we
had."
" You're wrong, friend," answered the gambler; " I did it to
keep our strength together. Hetson is exactly the kind of man
we want; he won't put anything in the way, where American
interests are concerned. What my ideas are on the subject, I'll
soon show you. How far have the strangers a right to dig out
their claims ?"
" No right at all, according to my opinion," said Briars; and
he enforced his opinion with a curse. " They wouldn't dig out
one hand-breadth of earth if I had my way."
THE CHINAMEN. 251
" Yes, yes; but as the law now stands here in the mines
there are some regulations or other about the length of
claim."
"They generally allow twelve feet for each man."
"Very good. Now the Chinese yonder are working in two
parties. If they really form two divisions, they have a sort of
right to spread themselves out as they do. But the chaps look
as much alike as so many peas in a trencher; and how are they
to prove it?"
"They'll get precious little out of their claims, I reckon,"
growled Briars.
" D'ye think so ? Then you're wrong; for I've seen them
with my own eyes, picking the gold out in good-sized lumps;
and easily enough too, for they're only working with their
knives."
" It's a rascally shame!" yelled Briars, stamping with rage;
" and we're to stand that."
"Who says we're to stand it?" said Siftly. "If you're
agreeable, we'll go over to the Chinamen; and if we like the
look of their claim, who's to prevent our working it for our-
selves ? Not those bald-pated cowardly devils, I fancy."
" Eh! What! How many are there of them ? " asked
Briars, looking up With a gleam of intelligence in his surly
face.
"No matter if there are a dozen of them," was the con-
temptuous answer. " I tell you they're a cowardly lot; and two
fellows like us can fight them, six to one any day—if we'd rather
have the gold in our bags than in theirs."
"And how about the new alcalde ?"
" He's not confirmed yet by the county court; but even if
he were, I'll take upon myself to answer for what we do, so far
as laws go here in the mines."
" Then I'm your man!" shouted Briars, holding out his huge
paw; " and as to the fighting, I'll undertake to settle six of
them, if you'll take the rest for your share."
" And have you found nothing at all in your claim ? "
" Not a trace of a grain of gold—hang it, not so much as
would buy a glass of brandy; and Iv'e been working like a
norse for the last three days, sinking this infernal hole."
" Well, you've sown here, and shall reap yonder," answered
Siftly, with a laugh; " for they've saved us the trouble of dig-
ging, at any rate. And now let us be moving, or some one else
may take away our chance."
Briars was ready enough to go; and with a malicious chuckle,
252 THE CHINAMEN.
Siftly led off his new ally towards the Chinamen's claim. He
was glad to have gained this boisterous young fellow; for in
general the Americans were not very well inclined towards the
professional gamblers. But with Briars, the most violent and
hot-headed of the whole party on his side, he had no fear of
opposition from the rest; and he knew, moreover, that to make
the first attack on the foreign interlopers, would gain him a
certain respect among all the unquiet spirits in the place. If
the movement should result, as he hoped it would, in the expul-
sion of the Mexicans and the foreigners generally (bad customers
at the play-table) from the mines, their claims would be seized
upon by the American victors, who would be certain to bring a
good proportion of their gains to the gambling-tables, at Ken-
ton's and elsewhere.
Briars had not any definite plan to follow; but in his anger
ana excitement at his own failure as a digger, he thought him-
self perfectly in the right in what he was going to do. The
Americans, he considered, were the undoubted lords of the
Californian soil. They had conquered it from the Mexicans by
force of arms. All foreigners were intruders; and to hinder
them in their nefarious doings, he considered the duty of every
citizen who had his own interest, and that of the glorious
Republic, of course, at heart.
The unconscious Chinamen had meanwhile been working away
in their hole, without apparently wasting another thought on the
American who had disturbed them. They were used to visits
of the kind, particularly since the report of their success had
gained ground; and they had found it the best policy to main-
tain an aspect of stolid indifference.
The chief and head man of the little party, who seldom took
part in the more laborious employment of digging, but contented
himself with the lighter duty of rocking the cradle, had left his
work when Siftly turned away, and gone into the second pit,
about thirty paces off, where the other division of his country-
men were at work. With the caution of a true Chinaman, he
had taken with him the produce of that morning's industry. His
companions meanwhile continued to dig and pick away diligently;
for Siftly was right, the hole had turned out a success, and
they wanted to reap the result of their labours as quickly as
possible.
Thus they were in full work, when the two Americans came
back. At the first glance he gave into the pit, Briars cried
out,—
" Cursed if it ain't true. The pigtailed devils are furraging
THE CHINAMEN. 253
about among the gold; while we, to whom the country belongs,
are wearing our hearts out for a dollar a day. Get out of that
hole, or I'll be hanged if I don't start ye in quick time."
The five sons of the Celestial Empire looked up in frightened
surprise, on hearing the rough voice; but they made no reply, by
word or sign, but, hiding the gold they had found, proceeded
doggedly with their work.
" That's not the way to do it," observed Siftly; "I tried that
with them before. We might talk to 'em for an hour before we
got a syllable out of them. I'll show you a better planand
seizing a lump of clay from a heap by the margin of the claim,
he threw it with a thump on a Chinaman's back, and cried,—
" Get out of there-—out! D'ye understand, or shall I make it
plainer for you?"
The Chinaman thus unexpectedly assaulted, sprang up with a
loud veil, and gave expression to his feelings in a torrent of
Chinese, in which his companions joined. They really did not
understand what was required of them, and of course made no
preparation to comply.
"Hang the fellows!" exclaimed the energetic Mr. Briars;
" I'll stir 'em up a bit, and then they'll understand fast enough
what we want;" and, without caring for the number of the
enemy, or even waiting for Siftly's reply, he put his hand on the
margin of the pit, which was at ieast twelve feet deep, and about
as broad, and leaped down into the midst of the astonished
occupants, scattering them right and left.
With much threatening gesticulation he seized two of the
Celestials by the collar of their'jackets, and began pushing
them towards a corner of the pit against which a pine-stem had
been placed as a ladder for ingress and egress, when suddenly the
chief of the party appeared on the margin. He saw at once
what was intended by the invaders, and, turning angrily to Siftly,
cried out, in broken English, to know what they wanted.
"What we want, my lad?" repeated Siftly, with a jeering
laugh; "I'll let you know in a minute. This place is ours,
you've no right to work here; so make tracks;—be off, and at
once, too, or it will be the worse for you."
" This place mine," persisted the Chinaman, in guttural tones.
" I pay one, two dollar—alcalde. I number "
" Nonsense — shut up—be off — allons — vamos /" blustered
Siftly. "D'ye understand ?" And he took him by the collar,
turned him completely round, and was going to push him away,
when the Chinese, who was a powerful fellow, and, as it appeared,
a braver man than his companions, suddenly seized the American
254 THE CHINAMEN.
by the arm, and thrust him away with such violence, that he
staggered two or three steps backwards. The ground happened
to be uneven, from the heaps of earth the diggers had thrown
out; so that Siftly failed to recover his balance, and tumbled
head over heels into a neighbouring hole about eight feet deep.
Without stopping to take any further notice of his fallen
enemy, the plucky Chinaman ran at once to the edge of his own
hole, and called down to Briars,—
" You there—you 'Merican, out of there—out—you no business
—mine!"
" Why, you infernal bald-pated rascal," roared Briars, "it's
lucky for you I'm not ' out.' If I come up, I'll smash your
skull till it's as soft as your brains. Here, Siftly—hollo, Siftly,
where the devil have you got to ?—just give that fellow with the
long tail a "
He had not time to finish his speech; for, foaming with rage
at receiving such an unexpected check from a despised Chiua-
man, covered with dust and dirt from his fall into the pit, with
his hat off and his hair flying loose, and his face so contorted
with passion as to be scarcely human, Siftly leaped out of the
pit, and threw himself at once upon his foe.
Directly the man saw his maddened foe, he felt that he was no
match for Siftly in strength or courage; nevertheless he stood
up firmly enough to receive him, and only uttered a peculiar
shrill cry.
Though Briars had as yet been unable, with all his pushing
and cuffing, to clear the pit of the Chinamen, the cry uttered by
their leader had that effect, and instantaneously. Leaving the
American master of the field, or rather the hole, they began
clambering like cats up their pine-tree, but the first who emerged
from the hole was just in time to see Siftly, by a well-directed
blow, stretch their countryman at his feet. His follower, who
ran to his assistance, shared the same fate; and as Briars also
came climbing up to help his friend, and other Americans, alarmed
by the noise, came running to the scene of conflict, the poor
Chinamen gave up the battle as lost, and scattered off in different
directions, like so many partridges.
Siftly, still foaming with rage at his downfall, threw himself
upon his stunned and prostrate foe, and winding the Chinaman's
long pigtail round his left hand, roared out to Briars, whose
head now emerged from the pit, for a stick.
" A stick!" answered Briars, who could not help laughing at
his companion's rage and the Chinaman's discomfiture. " You
may look long enough, here fimong the hills, before you see a
THE CHINAMEN". 255
good hickory like we use in the States. Give him half a dozen
with his own pigtail; that won't do him much harm."
" You're right, —and he shall have it, d—n him," replied the
American, drawing his knife from its sheath."
" Siftly—no knives—you wouldn't murder him," cried Briars,
startled by the expression of the gambler's face.
" Don't be alarmed," answered Siftly; " I'm only going to cut
a stick for himand with his sharp knife he severed the pigtail,
the pride and glory of the Chinaman, from the poor fellow's head,
and taking it in his right hand, began belabouring him most un-
mercifully with the thick plaited end.
A crowd of Americans, and a few Frenchmen, had gathered
round them; but it was sometime before Siftly could be pre-
vailed upon to let his victim go. Throwing the pigtail upon him,
at last, he told the bystanders that the bald-pated rascal had
seized him unawares, and thrown him into the mud-hole yonder,
and swore with many frightful oaths that he would send a bullet
through the brain of the next Chinaman who meddled with him;
in conclusion, he stepped down with Briars into the conquered
pit, to make the most of their prize while they could.
The other diggers did not interfere; they considered it as a
personal quarrel between Siftly and the Chinaman, and as soon as
they had convinced themselves that the latter was not dead, but
only stunned—the second had already gathered himself up, and
made the best of his way off,—they turned and went away, some
of them even laughing, and all perfectly indifferent.
A few Frenchmen, however, remained by the poor ill-used
fellow, and by pouring water on his face, restored him to his
senses. They soon saw that he had not received any very serious
injury. They could not help laughing at the severed pigtail;
and when its owner sat up and began to stare wildly round him,
they left him and returned to their work. Certainly they could
not have understood him if they remained, and time was money
in California.
For some time the poor Chinaman sat half-stunned, but directly
he came to himself, his first care was for his cherished pigtail.
He put his hand mechanically behind him, and for the first time
became conscious of the loss he had sustained.
His rage was painful, and yet ludicrous, to behold. With d
yell of anger he ran to the hole in which the two Americans were
by that time hard at work; and with staring eyes and waving
arms, he hurled a torrent of Chinese upon the heads of his
oppressors.
They could not understand what he said, but the gestures and
256 don alonzo.
excitement of the poor wretch, as he stood literally foaming at
the mouth, showed that he was calling down anything but
blessings upon them. At last Siftly brought out his revolver,
and pointing it at the plundered and ill-used man, declared that he
would " let day-light into him " if he did not go that instant.
Though the threat was evidently made in earnest, the China-
man remained a full minute, with the deadly weapon pointed at
him, before he showed any intention of going. At length he
turned slowly away, took up the pigtail from the ground, and
tied it round his waist; then he looked round for his companions,
and seeing them all clustered round the spot where they had
begun to work their second claim, he moved off towards them.
After a short consultation, they all went together to the entrance
of the valley, where they had set up their tents.
CHAPTER XIX.
don alonzo.
The Chinese had certainly withdrawn without hazarding an
attack, thus by their retreat abandoning their rightful property
to the spoilers. But near them some Mexicans were at work,
and among these the report soon spread that the Americans had
begun to make war upon all strangers, and that they had sworn
to drive every one of them out of the flat.
It happened just at this moment that the long-threatened
American collector, who was to raise the tax among the
strangers, arrived in the town. One of the Mexicans, who had
been back to the town that morning to get a new crowbar,
brought back the news to his friends.
About half an hour later, the whole body of Mexicans left their
work, and assembled in their encampment in the eastern flat near
the mountains. Presently, mounted messengers were seen riding
off in various directions into the mountains; but, beyond this, no
demonstration was made.
The Erenchmen, too, disquieted by the arrival of the collector,
had been assembling. Till now they had considered the threat-
ened tax merely as a false alarm, as week after week went by
DON ALONZO. 257
and no collector appeared; and in the interim many resolutions
had been made not to submit, under any circumstances, to this
enormous impost. But, now that the collector really came
most of the grumblers thought it advisable to consider once more
before they acted in opposition to the American authorities,
though the most hot-headed protested loudly against anything
like submission.
Meantime Hetson, the new alcalde, had heard nothing of all
this; he had business enough in his tent to keep him a close
prisoner the whole afternoon.
For, before the collector could begin operations in the mines,
he had to settle many preliminaries, for which he required the
alcalde's advice and assistance. The new law and the new lists
were to be gone through; certificates were to be filled up ; and
beyond this there were several local difficulties in the collection
of the tax which the lawgivers in San Francisco had never thought
of, but which were here severely felt.
The collector declared himself ready to look after the payment
of the tax; but as, in the wide district through which his duties
extended, he would have to visit the separate mountain streams
to catalogue and tax the strangers in each place, the task of
keeping the foreigners in the little town in order was to fall
principally on the alcalde and sheriff.
It seemed, moreover, to Hetson as if the collector—a sharp-
looking Yankee from Connecticut—were trying to shift as much
trouble as he could from his own shoulders ; and, with a happy
coolness which he called " confidence in Mr. Hetson," he had
already arranged a plan of action for the Paradise, by which the
sheriff became the real collector, while he himself only Super.
intended and controlled his actions.
He had, however, mistaken the people with whom he had to
deal; and Hetson, when he saw that the collector was acting
only on what he called his verbal instructions from San Francisco,
cut the matter short by summoning Hale himself to speakwith him.
The sheriff had just come in from a tour through the flat, and
looked heated and excited when he entered the tent.
" Mr. Hale," said Hetson, addressing him," h,ere is Mr.Slocum,
the new collector, who seems inclined that you shall have the
honour of raising the monthly tax of twenty dollars, which
all "
"Hanged if I do it," interrupted the sheriff, bluntly. "If
they'd made me collector, and I'd accepted the place, of course I
should have had no objection; but, as the affair stands at present.
I'd rather not."
s
258 DON ALONZO.
"Why, you see, sheriff," said the collector, shrugging his
shoulders, "it will be of no use to object. The law has been
passed, you see, and we must "
" The law has been passed that the collectors are to get in the
money wherever they can make the people pay. I guess yeu've
made your bed, and you'll have to lie on it. Just look out at
the door, and see how things look in the flat. It's all very well
for the gentlemen at San Erancisco to sit down at a table
and write down all sorts of things on paper-—paper is patient
stuff,—but then, let them come up and see how it works up
here."
" Has anything happened, Mr. Hale P" cried Hetson, who had
noticed the excitement of the usually stolid sheriff.
" Happened!" repeated Hale; " the whole place is in an
uproar, and, worse than that, we shall probably have reinforce-
ments coming in from the mountains."
" But what has happened?" asked the alcalde and collector in
one breath.
" A foolish affair, of course," answered Hale, sulkily. " That
friend of yours, Mr. Hetson—that Mr. Siftly, with his black
beard and his fine Californian poncho, has been driving a party
of those poor Chinese devils, who never do any one harm, out of
their claim, and has ill-used one of them into the bargain; and a
few of our rough, rattle-pated fellows, who were only waiting for
some such beginning, are taking possession of places where Mex-
icans have been at work. They're throwing out the tools left
there as marks by the owners, work the claims for themselves,
and declare that they will send a bullet through the head of any
foreigner who dares to hinder them."
Hetson bit his lips with vexation.
"Did you say that Siftly began all this?" he asked.
" He and that hot-headed Briars. The strangers are alarmed
—as well they may be—at these sweeping measures, and are
caballing together in their turn. The Erenchmen have called a
" great meeting in one of their tents, and are gathering together
all the muskets they can lay their hands on, and the Mexicans
have gone back to their own quarters. But that's not the worst.
They've sent messengers off into the mountains, and the Indians,
who haven't shown their faces among us since that Mr. Smith
killed the poor devil, and the chief could get no redress, are
- gathering on the hill yonder, about three hundred of them ; and
there's not a single woman with them,—a sure sign that they've
not assembled for any peaceable purpose. Besides, they've
'made common cause with the Mexicans; and if they all attack
DON ALONZO. 259
us in a body, we sball have a fine piece of work—all through a
few rascally gamblers."
" How many Americans are there in the town here ? " asked
the alcalde, after a short silence.
" Certainly not more than twenty upon whom we can rely,"
answered the sheriff; " and there are perhaps a hundred Trench-
men and two hundred Mexicans, besides the Germans."
" And do you think the Germans would take part with the
rest against us F"
" No," said Hale; " a few of them would join our side. I'm
sure of some, at any rate."
Mr. Slocum, who had listened to this startling news with
fixed attention, became very pale in the face, and said,
hurriedly,—
" Under these circumstances, and if the place is in a state of
revolt, I shall certainly not be able to discharge my office here;
so I'd better go back at once to Golden Bottom, to make my
report and ask for assistance."
The sheriff looked at him with a smile of contempt, but made
no reply, while Hetson answered, " I hope you will do nothing
of the kind. As a government officer of the United States, sent
here from San Francisco, it is your duty to hold out till you
see what turn affairs take—and until you see if we cannot keep
order here without assistance."
" But if two hundred Mexicans and three hundred Indians "
"Nobody has refused to pay the tax as yet," interrupted
Hetson, in a decided tone, " for you have not yet ashed any one
to pay it. If you were to make a complaint on the subject, it
would be a most foolish proceeding, and might have the most
disastrous effects. I do not think this heavy tax a good measure,
and so far as my short experience has taught me, I believe the
gentlemen at San Francisco have framed it more according to
the exaggerated accounts given by the dealers than in pro-
portion to the earnings of the diggers. Still, the law has been
passed, and must be enforced by all Americans until it can be
modified. But we will not, at the very beginning do more than
enforce it, as we should do if we excited and enraged the
strangers unnecessarily."
"Well spoken," cried the sheriff, with an approving nod;
" that's my own opinion to a hair. I think with you, that there's
no such great danger, so long as we can keep our own restless
scamps in check. But if they go on as they're doing now—
quarrelling with all the rest, and injuring them, one can't be sur-
prised if the strangers do make a stand at last."
266 DON ALONZO.
"But under these circumstances I certainly can't collect any
taxes," persisted Mr. Slocum, still alarmed; " I should expose
myself to very great inconvenience."
" Of course you will not begin collecting to-day," answered
Hetson. "Moreover, you have not yet completed your pre-
liminaries. Go on quietly with your work for to-day and to-
morrow; by that time the excitement will have abated of itself.
Then, if we speak quietly and sensibly to the people, I don't
think you'll have any difficulty in doing your duty."
" Except that they'll run away from him," observed the sheriff,
laughing. " All who find the tax too high, need only to betake
themselves to the mountains, and then see if you'll find them
out; or if you do find them, you can't keep them. At any rate,
I know that our quiet life in the mines is all over now; and I
wish the tax at Jericho. Pity you've brought your wife up
here, Mr. Hetson. The women must have heard all we've been
saying."
"No," answered Hetson, "the two ladies have gone out for
a stroll through the town, and for the present they shall not
know anything'—in fact, until we can't keep it secret any longer.
What need to make them anxious before their time ? I hope the
whole thing is only a demonstration, from which no bad effects
will follow. But now, Mr. Hale, I must beg you to make
further inquiries—especially respecting this affair with the
Chinese. You are a quiet, sensible man, and I know I can
depend on you."
" I think, Mr. Hetson, your friend has done us rather a bad
turn."
"And perhaps he has done himself no good," said Hetson,
gravely. "If the Chinese are in the right, let them apply to
me, and I will see that they have justice."
Hale looked wonderingly at the alcalde, to see if he really
spoke in earnest; but Hetson had turned away, and was bending
over the papers. Just as the sheriff was leaving the tent, he
looked up again.
" By the way, Mr. Hale," he asked, " have you seen anything
of my tent-fellow—the Spaniard, Bonez, or Don Alonzo, as they
call him ? I trust he has not gone to join the Mexicans."
" Not he," answered Hale, laughing; " he's a strange, quiet
bird—as they most of them are if you let them alone,—and was
at work all day yesterday in the gulch up there, all by himself.
Whether he'll find anything, I can't tell, but the place looks
likely enough."
" If you should happen to go by there again, please tell him
DON AIiONZO. 261
not to stay out too long this evening. I want to speak to
him."
The sheriff nodded, and left the collector and the alcalde to
finish their business together.
Hale had not made at all an exaggerated report to the alcalde.
As regarded the Indians, too, their appearance did not seem to
be casual; for they had left all the women and children behind,
so as not to be encumbered in a rapid retreat; and not only were
they armed, but most of them were painted, and adorned with
eagles' feathers—a sure proof that their intentions were warlike.
Nevertheless, Hale, who knew some of them personally, went
among them quite alone, and armed only with his revolver, with-
out being in any way molested. Still every man held his bow
and arrows ready for instant use; and not one of them would
answer his questions.
Kesos, the chief, was nowhere to be seen. The Indians were
encamped on the long ridge of hill skirting the valley on the
north, in troops of forty or fifty, by the several little mountain
streams. They sent out many messengers to the Mexicans, with
whom they kept up a continual communication. When Hale
wanted to go to the camp of the Mexicans, to see what they
were about, he was warned off by some of their people posted as
scouts. They were not exactly unfriendly, but told him he had
no business in their quarters, and advised him to " go back the
way he came." They had nearly all left off working, and the
few who still plied the pickaxe and spade seemed only to wish
to exhaust their " claims" as quickly as they could, assisted
by comrades who had not before dug in company with them.
Experienced as he was in the ways of the natives, Hale saw at
once that something unusual was going on. The attitude of the
strangers towards the Americans was decidedly hostile; and a
very small spark would be sufficient to set these combustible
elements in a blaze.
The more Hale heard, after he left the the alcalde's tent, about
the attack made by Siftly and Briars on the Chinese, the more
he felt convinced that these two lawless men were the prime
movers of the whole disturbance. Happening just at the time
of the collector's arrival, the outrage had excited great indigna-
tion among the strangers who did not understand English. They
could not tell how far these lawless proceedings were to be carried
on against them, if they were to be taxed on the one hand, and
on the other to be driven from the claims which were their
rightful property, before the tax had even been demanded from
them.
262 DON AIONZO.
Still the mischief was not irreparable; for Hale knew very well
that the majority of the Americans were on the side of law and
order, and the minority would have to submit, whether they liked
it or not. Above all things he wished to find out the Chinese;
for he was determined to put them in possession of their property.
But their camp was broken up: some Americans at work in the
neighbourhood had seen them moving downwards along the
bank of the stream, and he could obtain no further information.
No doubt they had gone away into the mountains; and to follow
them would be a hopeless task.
So the evening came on without any change in the attitude
of the various parties. The Americans who had driven away
strangers from their claims during the day were in high feather,
for they had made rich booty with little trouble.
An hour before dark Siftly and Briars had finished their work
in the Chinaman's claim: Siftly packed up his portion of the gold,
and revolved plans for increasing it; while Briars, with all the
coarse sensuality of the class to which he belonged, went straight
to the next drinking-tent, to get rid of his money as quickly as
he had earned it, in the company of congenial spirits. Such an
opportunity for enticing the half-drunken revellers to gamble did
not occur every day, and Smith and Siftly, well acquainted with
all the details of their profession, hastened to strike while the
iron of dissipation was hot.
Thus the sun had scarcely disappeared behind the branches of the
cedar-woods before the tables were brought out, and piles of gold
displayed to excite the cupidity of the gamblers; and ready enough
were the turbulent frequenters to try their luck, let it go which
way it would, now they had, through their American citizenship,
a short road open to fortune. It was only to let the strangers
dig down to the gold, and then to drive them out of their pits
and reap the harvest. It was a glorious idea of liberty, and bade
fair to elaborate itself into an organized system of robbery and
murder.
Hale, who looked in for a time at the different tents, heard
many lawless propositions openly discussed; and, angry at this,
as well as alarmed at the attitude of the Mexicans, he hastened
back to the alcalde, to request him to convene a meeting of the
American citizens.
" And why convene a meeting, Mr. Hale ? " asked Hetson,
quietly.
"Why?" exclaimed Hale, in astonishment. " Confound it,
I think there's reason enough. It is quite necessary that we
should show these rascally gamblers we're not going to support
DON AlONZO. 263
them in their plunderings; and it will do the senors good to
learn that we're not afraid of them."
" I think just the contrary, Mr. Hale," answered the alcalde.
"The Mexicans would begin to think that we are alarmed at
their assembling. The only way to astonish them is by taking
no notice at all of their doings; and though I disapprove of
gambling, I am not quite sorry that our people are amusing
themselves in that way this evening. You don't think it likely
that the Indians will hazard a night attack ? "
"Not the least fear of it," grumbled Hale. " So long as the
Mexicans don't begin, the Indians won't lift a hand; for they
know very well they can't depend upon their American friends.
We needn't fear an attack, unless the Mexicans make the first
move; but if they should break out, I fancy the Indians would
be down upon us like locusts, though they're quiet enough now.
At any rate, it's as well to be prepared. Besides, ought we to
let the gamblers do whatever they like? Do you intend to
allow that man Siftly to go marching about the flat in that
poncho of his, turning out the proprietor from this claim and
that claim wherever the fancy takes him ?"
" No," replied Hetson, decidedly; " do you bring me only
one man who will make an accusation against him, and leave
the rest to me; but I can't act upon bare report. If the
aggrieved persons choose to take it quietly without making any
kind of complaint—if' they choose to abandon the field to their
persecutors, I can't even undertake to say that they are not
consenting parties. By the way, have you not found Don Alonzo
yet?"
" No," answered Hale, curtly.
" I hope he's not in any of the gambling-tents!"
" Yery likely he is," answered Hale, in a tone of indifference.
" So you'll allow the Mexicans to go 011 till it's too late to do
anything?"
"Not till it's too late, but till it's time to do something,
Mr. Hale. I do not consider it advisable to make the strangers
angry for nothing."
" Dor nothing ? Deuce take it all, do you call that nothing,
sir, when four times our own number are encamped around us,
with arms in their hands ? That they can't drive the Americans
away from the mines, I know well enough; for if they were to
kill us, our countrymen would come rushing from all parts to
avenge our deaths, and not one of them would leave the flat
alive. But what use would that be to us ? I'm certainly not a
timid man, as any one who knows me will tell you; but I'm not
264 DON ALONZO.
blind to danger either. If it is left till too late, the responsi«
bility rests with no one but you."
"I'll take the responsibility," answered Hetson with a quiet
smile. "But you would really do me a favour, if you could
bring Don Ronez to me. His daughter's very anxious about
him."
"Very sorry for his daughter," grumbled Hale, who was
thinking of other things than the well-being of an old Spaniard.
" If I meet him, I'll send him to youand without waiting for
an answer, he left the tent abruptly.
"So he doesn't think it advisable to make the foreigners
angry for nothing," he muttered, as he went discontentedly
along the street. " He's a coward, that's my opinion. Devil
take the quill-drivers—their hearts all seem in their shoes.
They're all alike. I suppose their courage all slips out, from
their sitting so long at those desks of theirs. We might
just as well have kept our old Major, for anything I can
see."
He was so angry that he at first intended to go into his own
tent, and let things take their course; but he found no rest
anywhere; and for a full hour he wandered about through the
little tent-town, and at last went out towards the mountains,
towards the Indian camp. He could plainly see the light of
their fires; and soon afterwards he passed the gathering-place
of the Mexicans. Here all was quiet; but two horsemen
arrived just as he came in sight, and a minute or two afterwards
a third rode off into the hills. This was unusual, for the
Mexicans very seldom quitted their tents after nightfall. Hale
felt anxious and dispirited, he scarcely knew why. It was past
midnight when he returned to the town, and threw himself on
his mattress, fairly tired out.
Wild and riotous festivity was meanwhile going on in Kenton's
tent, where Briars, his brain heated by brandy, swore that he
would kill a couple of Mexicans before he went to bed. Siftly,
on the contrary, quiet and sardonic as ever, soon drew him to
his table, from which Briars did not depart till his last dollar
had gone to increase the shining heap which constituted the
experienced gambler's bank. Then he staggered away, cursing
and swearing, to sleep off the fumes of his drunkenness on the
floor in a corner of the tent.
Smith and Siftly had kept their bank by turns with equal
success; and the partner who was off duty for the time being
would join one group of noisy revellers after another to obtain
custom.
DON ALONZO. 265
Siftly had just risen from the table to go and procure a glass
of brandy-and-water, when he descried his old acquaintance,
Don Alonzo, standing by another table. The Spaniard was not
actually playing. He was looking at the cards as they fell; but
his eyes gleamed with the gambler's wild, terrible excitement,
and his hand fumbled mechanically in the bag containing only a
little gold, which he carried in his pocket.
How hardly he had earned those few bright lumps of earth!
how he had toiled and dug, and picked and scraped till he wrung
from the stubborn soil that one ounce which was all he could
call his own in the world! How many resolutions he had made
to lay by dollar by dollar, until he could restore his poor child
to the position she was entitled to occupy; but no sooner did
he see the heaps of shining metal on the table—no sooner did
he find himself in possession of ever so small a sum to stake,
than the old unhappy mania came upon him again, and the
demon whispered him, as of old, to "try his fortune." It should
be the last time, said the deluded man, as he had often declared
before—as he had sworn in moments of remorse, and broken his
oath again and again; if he failed this time, he would never
touch another card. But he could not fail; even in his dreams
he had seen the cards on which he ought to stake to compel
fortune to be favourable; and already his trembling hands had
grasped the gold which he intended should be his divining-rod,
and find a treasure for him.
"Hallo, companero! we've not met for a long time; glad
to see you again!" cried Siftly, laying his hand lightly on the
Spaniard's shoulder.
Don Alonzo started at the address and the touch, as if a
serpent had crawled over him. If there was a man on the earth
whom he utterly detested and abhorred, it was Siftly, who had
goaded him on to play again and again, and had each time plun-
dered him of his last cent. And still he had never had the strength
to avoid this man; an unseen power seemed ever drawing him
into the grasp of the American; and a feeling that he must
take revenge for the losses he had suffered only strengthened
the charm. Each new defeat increased the hatred he felt towards
his adversary, while it bound the two closer together; the victim
came again to be plundered, and the robber was ever ready to
plunder him anew. Manuela had knelt at her father's feet, and
begged him with tears to avoid only this man—this one above
all others; and be had promised to avoid him; but as he de«
ceived himself, so he deceived his daughter also; and no moth
fluttering round a candle seemed less able to resist the impulse
266 DON ALONZO.
that drew it into the flame than was Don Ronez to fly from
the play-table.
Thus it happened on this evening; also. He had seen the
American at his table; but, mindful of his promise to his
daughter, he had turned away. But now, when the man came
to his side and accosted him, the old mixed feeling of desire and
hate shot through his heart, and drove him forward. It seemed
to him the very turning-point of his fortune, when that hateful
American again stood before him with his false smile; he felt as
if a revenging Nemesis had placed a weapon in his hand, and
this time he must be victor.
" It may be, senor," he replied to Siftly's repeated assurance
that he was glad to see him. " But only one of us has cause to
be glad." _
"Then it's you," cried Siftly with a laugh; "for I've had a
stupid dream last light, and had, in fact, resolved not to tempt
fortune at all to-day. But I owe you a revenge, senor, and am
ready at any moment to give it you, provided always that your
funds are not quite at low-water mark."
These last words were said in a sarcastic tone, which sent the
old Spaniard's blood rushing to his heart; and no further
fiersuasion was required to make him go where Siftly wanted to
ead him.
Don Alonzo at first staked very small sums on a card, and won
each time; he doubled his stake, and won again. He pocketed
his winnings carefully, set a small stake, and won. Tired by his
good fortune, he set all his money, winnings and capital, at once,
and lost. At once the few dollars he called his own went into
the hands of the banquier, who looked up at him in expectation
of his next stake.
"Well, senor? You should not have deserted the ten which
had been so faithful to you; and look!—since you left off it has
won twice again. Try it once more. Come, how much on the
ten?"
" I have no more gold," muttered the Spaniard, almost
inaudibly; " at least, none with me."
"No more gold!" cried Siftly, laughing. "Why, bless me,
senor, you can scarcely have lost half an ounce; and surely that
was not the whole capital with which you intended to break my
bank? Come—it's quite against my rule; but I'll make an
exception in your case, and give you credit for six ounces. Does
that suit you?"
" I shall play no more," said Don Alonzo, gloomily; and he
turned to leave the table.
DON ALONZO.
267
" Stop !" cried Siftly, who had another plan in his head, and
did not wish to let the old man off so easily. " If you won't let
me lend you any money, senor, I'll stake a pound of gold against
a treasure you possess."
"A treasure!—IF" said the old man, with a mournful shake
of the head. " I have nothing to put against such a stake—a
pound of gold!"
"Two hundred Spanish dollars, if you like that better—or
three hundred—against your daughter's violin-playing."
The old man bit his lip, and was silent for a moment. Then
he said, in a decided tone, " My daughter shall play no more."
"Nonsense, man! Why hide a talent in a napkin, when1 it
would be a source of happiness to the audience, and of gain to
yourselves. Now, only listen to me. Up here in the mountains
we waut one thing, namely, music. The gold rolls, and the
glasses clink, and the cards fall gloomily. There would be quite
a new life in this nest of tents, if a certain youug lady would but
let her violin be heard. Now, I'll set three hundred dollars
against a contract that she's to play, for four weeks, two hours
every evening here in this tent; and I'll pay a salary of four
dollars a night into the bargain."
Three hundred dollars!—the sum would be enough to carry
them both away from California; and how long and wearily
would he have to toil before he could gain such a sum by his
pickaxe, crowbar, and spade ? It was a tempting offer.
" Two hours every evening," repeated the Spaniard, in a state
of painful indecision.
" Only two hours, and not even that short time all at once.
She might divide it according to her own inclination; and all
staked on one card, senor. Why, it may turn up against me, and
you will have the three hundred in your-pocket at a sweep; and
I should have to stake the same sum for a second chance."
Ronez stood, pale as death, with his hand twitching uneasily
at his cloak; while many of the guests came crowding round to
see the end of this curious wager.
" Be it so," he whispered at last; " I'll take your offer: three
hundred dollars against the time stipulated."
"That's capital. What card will you have ? There's the ten
—a very fortunate number."
" I'll keep it."
The cards began to turn. No one else staked this time, for
all were looking with great interest on the cards as they fell.
" The ten!" was shouted at last, by six or eight voices at
once.
268 DON AXONZO.
"For me!" said Siftly, with, mock commiseration in his
voice.
The Spaniard made no reply. He had pressed his hand upon his
heart, and only kept it there with a look of stony despair. A
light hand touched his shoulder; and, turning, he saw the pale
quiet face of Hetson looking fixedly at him.
"Don Alonzo," he whispered in Spanish, "your daughter
is waiting for you. She has been very anxious on your
account."
The Spaniard lingered, though he turned almost involuntarily
from the table to follow his summoner.
"Hallo, Hetson!" cried Siftly, recognizing the intruder,
"you're a rare guest. Come here, won't you, and try your
luck."
Hetson looked at him in grave reproach, but made no answer
to the invitation. He only beckoned with his hand to Don
Alonzo to come away.
" See here—the alcalde ! " was repeated on various sides, as
he was recognized by several of his friends. " A glass of brandy,
old fellow? Come here—we must have a glass together.
Hang it, man, you make yourself as scarce as a swallow in the
winter. Here, bar-keeper, a bottle of champagne here."
" Thank you, friends, but I never drink," answered Hetson,
coldly.
"Temperance man, eh!" laughed five or six voices round
him. " Hang it all, that won't do for California.
" Come, senor, it's time we were going."
" Si, si, senor."
" But that won't do, Hetson," called out Siftly after them;
"you musn't carry off my best client in that way. Senor, one
single card more—double or quits—eight weeks or nothing?
Well, well, if you won't, it's all the same to me; only I'd have
given you the opportunity. So, to-morrow evening;—don't
forget it, or I shall have to come and remind you."
Hetson had taken the Spaniard's arm, and began to draw him
away through the crowd.
" What did he mean by eight zceeks he asked, when they
were out in the open street.
"He played false!" hissed the Spaniard through his closed
teeth, speaking more to himself than to his friend. " I saw him
slip a card under the pack."
" And have I not warned you against these gamblers ? Have
you not promised me, and your daughter too, that you would
avoid them?" asked Detsou, in not unfriendly remonstrance.
SHE MEETING. 269
"I know—I know," groaned the old man j "but I could not
help it; it was to be—it was my fate."
" And for what have you been playing ? "
"Eor my soul," whispered the Spaniard; and, wrapping bis
poncho closer round him, he strode gloomily along, with bent
head, beside his leader.
CHAPTER XX.
the meeting.
A light mist lay next morning over the valley, falling, when
the sun rose, in the form of dew, and imparting a peculiar and
grateful freshness to the air. A thin veil, tinged red with the
morning beams, still hung over the rocky hollows, where the dark
cedars looked almost blue in the cool air, while the red thick
stems of these glorious trees loomed out like pillars of porphyry
from the shadow of the wood.
The scene was calm and beautiful indeed; but man, who
boasts himself the last crowning work of creation, too often
appears but a blot on the fair face of nature. And so it was
here. Envy, hatred, and malice, born of the greed of gold,
—such were the passions that filled the hearts of the little busy
community; and, in the consciousness that gold lay buried here,
they had really converted their beautiful Paradise on earth into
something very like a Pandemonium.
Hetson, the alcalde of this wild, "many-headed monster,"
had been up and stirring since daybreak; and naturally anxious
about the aspect of affairs, he wished to see the sheriff without
loss of time. He would gladly have first spoken a word with
Manuela's father, as the old Spaniard had not answered his
questions the night before. But Don Ronez was still asleep;
and Hetson, with his head full of more weighty business,
deferred their interview to another time; so he told his wife not
to wait breakfast for him, and went out of the tent.
Mrs. Hetson had noticed that something unusual was going
on, but she was ignorant of the cause of the agitation, and had
no notion of any danger; on the contrary, she rejoiced to see that
270 THE MEETING.
her husband had entirely shaken off his morbid apathy, and seemed
to recover all his health and activity in the cares and duties of
his new vocation.
But Manuela was in a very mournful and desponding mood,
for the previous day had revived all her misgivings and anxieties
on her father's account. That the man whom she dreaded most
on earth should have discovered them in their quiet retreat, was
enough to awaken all her fears; and she dreaded, not without
good cause, that he would lead her weak father once more to
follow his pernicious counsel. The prolonged absence of Don
lionez last evening convinced her that her fears were but too
well grounded,—and she had been only half consoled by Hetson's
assurance that he would prevail on Siftly to cease playing with
Don Alonzo.
With the grateful affection towards Mrs. Hetson which made
her insist on taking the little household cares upon herself, the
warm-hearted girl had prepared breakfast for the family; but for
her father's appearance she waited in vain. At last she and
Mrs. Hetson were obliged to breakfast alone, for the alcalde still
remained absent, and the poor weak gambler had not mustered
courage to encounter the clear gaze of the child whom he loved
even while he wronged her.
" Come Manuela," said cheery Mrs. Hetson, at last, "the men
seem quite to have deserted us — both your father and my hus-
band,—and I think we've waited for them long enough; so we'll
just put by their breakfast, and go out for a walk, for we have
not had a finer morning since we came out into the mountains.
It is really a shame to waste all our time waiting in this canvass
castle."
" But Mr. Hetson "
" Oh, he has his own business to see after, and doesn't trouble
his head about us," answered the young wife, with a smile; "so
he can't take it amiss if we stray away for a little while into the
open air;—dear me, after all, nature is the only pleasant thing we
have about us here in the mountains!"
" But there was such a disturbance in the town yesterday,"
said Manuela, timidly.
" Don't be alarmed about that; you are not accustomed to
these things in your country, little Manuela;—but among the
Americans women are everywhere safe, and would even find pro-
tection with the roughest backwoodsman, if they stood in need
of it. So run in and get your mantilla. I question much if Mr.
Hetson will be in before dinner-time, for he told me that he had
a great deal of business to settle with the sheriff; so that if we're
THE MEETING. 271
back in time to get them something to eat, that's all they will
require, and they won't even miss us. Besides, I've often felt a
wish to climb one of the hills, and have a good view of the place
which our new countrymen, with their own modesty, choose to
call a Paradise."
In that lonely spot among the mountains, where Hale had met
the Indian chief Kesos and his Mexican friends, a solitary horse-
man was standing. He had dismounted from his beast, and
leaning one arm upon the saddle, was contemplating the beauteous
scene before him.
He was a young man witb an open, friendly countenance,
much sunburnt, but beardless; with brown curling hair and
merry blue eyes. He was evidently not an American—his water-
proof coat and grey trowsers had an unmistakably English cut
about them—though a broad Panama hat completed his costume.
All his clothes were tolerably new, and did not, like those of the
majority of travellers, show signs of hard usage.
He had been standing thus for about a quarter of an hour,
when his horse, suddenly desisting from cropping the herbage,
threw up its head and uttered a loud neigh. The call was
answered by a similar sound close by; and the traveller, turning
his head, became conscious of an old man, who, in the blue jean
frock generally affected by backwoodsmen, with red cloth gaiters
on his legs, and a chocalate-coloured felt hat on his head, came
riding at a footpace down the narrow path that led through the
forest. On his left shoulder rested a long American rifle, and
an old well-worn shot-pouch and powder-horn dangled at his
side. On seeing the stranger he gave a friendly nod, and
alighted from his horse, which he allowed to roam about at its
pleasure with the bridle hanging loose upon its mane. •
" Looking at the prospect, stranger ? " he asked; and coming
up to the traveller, he stood leaning on his long gun. "Yes,
its a fine view—a sight that's good for sore eyes—to see a pretty
little place like this, so snugly hidden among the hills. I've
come quite a long bit out of my way, just to stop a minute or
two and have a good look at it."
" The country is a noble one, indeed," answered the traveller;
" but its a pity that such a place should be honeycombed into
holes, only for the sake of so much gold."
" Don't be in a hurry," resumed the old man with a good-
natured smile. " That's only the beginning. The gold was a
capital bait to draw people here, and bring emigrants into the
country; but they've got the right stuff in them for farmers,
have those noisy hairy-faced chaps who are now tearing and
272 THE MEETING.
driving away to dig their own livelihood out of the earth—guess
they'll know how to spend their time better presently."
" You don't think that any one in California will care to sow
a field, and then to wait for the harvest to grow ? " observed the
young man, with an incredulous look.
" I don't think anything about it, stranger," was the stolid
answer, " for I know that they'll have to do it, as sure as that's
the sun shining on the cedars yonder. This is a wild country
now, and there are a wild set of fellows in it, blown together
from all parts of creation—but it'll be a great country some day,
whether we live to see it or not."
" "Who would like to live here—I mean to stay for good,—to
bring his wife and children among such a set ? "
" Why, its rather early days as yet, to be sure, and not exactly
the place for women to feel comfortable and homely in; though
our backwoods gals aren't noways particular. But let a year or
two go by, and then see how it will all change. Why, even
now you may see how some of our sharp fellows are knocking
up shanties and log-huts by the side of the rivers, in good
places for building mills, and in the places where roads are likely
to cross. What do they do that lor but to secure the pre-
emption right; and where they now sell mouldy pork and cursed
bad brandy to travellers, they'll soon be farming fields of their
own, or working mills and sawing wood; ana let them once
make a beginning, and you've no notion, stranger, how the
houses will just grow out of the ground like pumpkins."
" Well, I hardly think I shall see all that," observed the young
man, with a smile. " I've only come here to travel through this
strange country, and, at any rate, to have a try for some gold
here and there. It's hardly the place I should choose to live in
for any time."
" You're a Britisher ? "
"Yes, I am."
" You've something of a seaman's look about you: I don't
know if its the tie of your handkerchief, or the cut of your
clothes, but you look to me as if you were more at home on
board a ship than on a horse—and, by the way, yours seems to
have lamed itself."
"You're right," answered the stranger, "lama sailor, and
certainly know more about ships than about horses, though I can
ride pretty well, too. But this poor brute has knocked his fore-
leg against a stump this morning, and has got a pretty deep
cut, if not worse—so I'm leading him along, poor fellow, to
give him as good a chance as I can. It's awkward enough, as
THE MEETING.
273
it happens, for I've a good -way still before me, and this horse
can't carry me—that's very sure."
" Then I reckon you'd better make a deal with some one for
another," said the old backwoodsman, who had stooped down to
look at the injured leg. "It's only a flesh wound, as you say;
and the beast looks sound and spry enough but for that. If it
could rest here for a week or two—and pasture don't cost any-
thing out here in the woods—it would be as good as ever. You
come from the Mocalome, I fancy ? "
" You're right."
" And what did you think of it P "
" Why, upon my word, one place of the kind is just about as
good as another," said the Englishman; "but to say the truth,
I'm sick of the mines, aud am going back to San Erancisco to
get a ship."
" So you don't like the country, that's about the truth ?
Well, I should think it a first-rate place for a man who's alone.
It's a little savage, to be sure, but a seaman, who goes knocking
about the world without a home of his own to go to, ought to
be able to stand it for a year or so. There ain't a better country
in the world for a bachelor than California."
" And how is it with you ? " asked the Englishman. " Have
you no family ? "
A dark shade passed over the old man's open face, and for a
moment he was silent; then he said in a lower tone—
" I had a family of my own, stranger—two as good lads as
ever carried a rifle. They died side by side in the last Mexican
war; and my old woman couldn't stand it as I did. She seemed
to pine away like, and we soon had to carry her out. She said
she was going to see her boys again, poor thing. So now," he
added, with an effort to regain his cheerfulness, " I'm a bachelor
again;—and though I'm too old to begin life anew, I feel glad for
the youngsters, when I see what a famous place they'll have to
work in. We've bought it dear enough, God knows—it has cost
a good deal of blood and many tears—but we have got it, and
we know its value."
The young man looked at the speaker with considerable
interest—and. as he looked, he seemed to recognize something
familiar in the old man's features.
" I fancy we must have seen each other before, somewhere or
other," he said. " I'm sure I don't meet you for the first time
to-day."
The backwoodsman smiled good-humouredly.
" Here in the mines," he answered, " men seldom take much
x
274 THE MEETING.
notice of each other, and two people can meet day after day for
months without either troubling himself to know anything
about the other. Certainly we have met before; and in fact it
was very lately, yonder by the Macalome, where we were digging
by the same river-bank, not two hundred paces apart. You
were in partnership with an American, who afterwards fell ill,
while I and five others were throwing up a dam in the stream, a
little lower down."
" I remember perfectly now," said the Englishman; " and are
you going to try your luck here now ?"
"No," replied the American, "I was here before, and am
going to stop by the Macalome now; I only came across to fetch
away some things I had left here. If possible, I shall return this
afternoon. Are you going down into the town now F "
" I don't know yet, whether I shall. My first intention was not
to stop here at all; but the accident to my horse has put me out,
for I am a bad walker."
" Like all sailors," observed the old man, with a laugh; " but
don't let him rest here too long, for if his leg grows stiff you
won't get him along at all. I don't much doubt but you'll find a
a purchaser for him below there."
" So much the better. If I don't, I must work in the neigh-
bourhood till his leg is well; but I shall have to look out for a
partner, for I sold all my tools down at the Macalome."
The backwoodsman had listened with evident interest to the
stranger's plans; and he now said, with genuine good feeling—
" Come—you won't take it amiss, stranger, if I give ye a bit
of advice, now?"
" Certainly not; on the contrary, I shall feel much obL'ged to
you."
"Well, then, don't have too much to do with them down
yonder. You will find very few, or none at all, from the old
country there; and you'll find the Americans have rather an
ugly prejudice against you."
" Against me, as an Englishman ? "
" Why, yes. There's a report abroad that the British Govern-
ment have sent a whole lot of convicts over here. I don't know
whether it's true, and, in fact, I can hardly believe it ; still,
there are plenty of unruly fellows among us who are always
glad of any excuse for showing their spite against any but their
own people. They're particular set against the Britishers, and
it's better to keep out of their way, for they generally hang to-
gether like currants on a bush. One man alone hasn't any
chance against them."
THE MEETING.
" Has anything queer happened here then ? "
" Not against the Britishers, as yet; but if its true what a
German told me this morning, there have been some squabbles
between the Americans and the foreigners generally, in the last
few days, that won't make either party love the other better."
" There seems, indeed, to be some cause of excitement," said
the Englishman, who had been looking down towards the town.
" Who may that troop of people be, on the declivity yonder ?
They look almost like military."
"Those men are Mexicans. You can see their pack-saddles
scattered all about where they stand. I don't know what they
mean by trooping all together; they can't be a caravan, there
are too many of them for that. The Indians, too, have assembled
in force in the hills. Didn't you meet with any of them ? "
"Yes, I saw two troops—forty or fifty men in each. But
they seemed peaceable enough; and there were several Mexicans
with them."
" Were there ? Well, then I don't think all is as it should
be down here."
" How do you mean ? "
"We shall see, when we get down there.' Well, good-bye,
if you're going to let your horse rest here a little longer. I
wish you luck." _
He held out his hand to his companion, who shook it heartily.
" I thank you sincerely for your good counsel," he said. " If
all Americans were like you, there wouldn't be many quarrels
between two countries so closely related."
"Why, you see, relations are apt to quarrel among them-
selves," said the old man, with a smile. "Such quarrels are
seldom of much account, and I hope it will be the same thing
here—but I must make haste off;" and he climbed slowly into
his saddle, gave a last look at the beautiful valley before him,
and the next moment was riding down the incline, towards
the flat.
The Englishman now relieved his horse of saddle and bridle,
and led it slowly along to where a clear streamlet came purling
out of the rock; here he allowed it to drink and roam at liberty,
while, stretched beneath one of the berry-bushes which grew
luxuriantly around, he gave himself up to his own thoughts.
He had reclined thus for perhaps half an hour, when he sud-
denly saw light female garments fluttering through the bushes j
and immediately after, two women emerged into the open space,
where they stopped, and stood gazing back at the town. At
first he thought they would soon pass on, and only looked at
t 2
276 THE MEETING.
them in wonder, marvelling how women could have come to that
wilderness. He had, however, seen some Mexican and Chilian
girls at the Macalome; and as the two women were speaking
Spanish together, though he could not distinguish what they
said, he remained quietly where he was, without giving much
attention to the circumstance.
The women, in the mean time, were lost in admiration of the
scene around.
"Look, Manuela," said one of them, "how beautiful — how
lovely it is here; and to think we should have been here so many
days, and that naughty Hetson never once took us to this spot."
"Yes,—it looks peaceful and quiet enough, the little tent-
town," observed Manuela, in reply, " but how many people in
that pretty place live a life of greed and covetousness and wrong."
" Come, come!—there are many good people down there too,
Manuela. You must not picture everything in such gloomy
colours,—and least of all now, when God's bright sun is lighting
up the whole region, and pouring life and strength wherever it
shines. A sight like this ought to raise our hearts, and make
us grateful, and not inclined to murmur that life has its dark
shadows also; for where the shadows are deepest you'll find the
sun shining all the brighter by contrast. Look at that troop
of men yonder in coloured cloaks, with all those horses and
mules; they must be Mexicans;—and yonder the miners digging
in the flat, — look how their pickaxes glitter in the sun as thev
lift them at their work. And look at the neat little tents wi'h
the flag waving above them, and the groups of shady trees, and
the glorious mountains yonder. Oh! I could stand hei-e for
hours and never tire of looking at the beautiful picture. If we
could only stay here, and find peace! "
She had laid her hand on Manuela's shoulder, and stood for a
long time gazing thoughtfully into the valley; while her com-
panion herself stood motionless by her side. But the cheerful
mood the beautiful morning had called forth was gone; and when
Manuela at last turned slowly towards her friend, there were
bright tears standing in her eyes.
"Jenny," whispered the warm-hearted girl, stealing her arm
gently round Mrs. Hetson's waist, " Jenny,—what ails you,—
what is it, darling ? Have you your secret griefs, as I have ?
And while I was pouring out my heart to you and telling you of
my sorrows, it never entered my thoughts that you yourself were
unhappy."
" 1 am not unhappy, Manuela," answered Mrs. Hetson gently,
as she drew her friend closer to her side. " I should be wicked
THE MEETING. 277
U I said so. In San Fratisisco I had indeed a great trouble, and
much anxiety, but since Mr. Hetson is so much improved in
health here in the fresh mountain air, the fear of losing him has
been taken from me."
" But your tears ? "
"Did any come into my eyes ? " asked the young wife, smiling
sadly as she wiped away the traitorous drops. "I did not know
it;—but they were not because I was unhappy; they were in
remembrance of one who is dead. Recollections of past trouble
made me for a moment melancholy — no, not melancholy, only
thoughtful. It is past now, and we will go on, and rejoice in the
bright beautiful morning."
"What was that?" whispered Manuela, anxiously. Her
quick eye had descried a dark form gliding through the bushes.
" Where ? " asked Jenny, hastily. " Did you see anything ?"
" Yes—over yonder — not twenty paces from us — there it is
again. Good Heavens! they are Indians, — and we have been
foolish enough to come all this way from home."
" Let us go back," whispered Mrs. Hetson, really alarmed;
"my husband does not even know in what direction we went.
Perhaps they have not seen us yet."
"It is too late," answered Manuela, who, to say the truth,
preserved her composure much better than her friend did.
" They have noticed us already, and are coming this way."
Jenny had turned deadly pale, but she answered not a word.
She only grasped Manuela's arm convulsively, and thus awaited
the approach of the dusky figures, which seemed to rise out of
the earth on every side. But the Indians took little notice of
the women; the first who came near them had stopped and
exchanged a few words in their own language, while their glances
rested on the two trembling forms; but they evidently had no
hostile intention.
"Walle! walle!" they cried, in friendly greeting, as they
went quickly past.
"Walle! walle!" repeated those who followed; and in a few
minutes the whole troop had disappeared among the bushes.
Still the women did not dare to move, for fear the Indians
should unexpectedly return. At last Mrs. Hetson said,—
" Come, we must leave this place directly; for though these
wild men of the woods look friendly enough, a second troop of
them might not let us off so easily. We have certainly strayed
too far from the town, and Mr. Hetson may be displeased when
he comes to hear of it."
" There are some more coming!" whispered Manuela; "I only
278 THE MEETING.
wish we were away from here. It was very foolish of us to run
off into the woods by ourselves."
"That's only a horse," observed Jenny, with a smile. "It
seems to be grazing, — so white men must be in the neighbour-
hood;—and see, there is the owner. Heaven be praised ! we've
nothing more to fear now. The Indians avoid people with
firearms."
It was in fact the young Englishman, who began to be uneasy
about his horse when he saw the Indians, of whom it was said,
in the mines, that they sometimes made away with horses and
mules, to make a dainty meal of their flesh ; a contingency to
which he did not wish to expose his property. Moreover, his
horse had rested long enough to go the short distance to the
town, and he had been about to saddle it again when the red-
skins appeared.
The rough nature of the path, which was bounded here and there
by low but steep walls of rock, compelled him to pass close by the
women to get to his horse. Manuela turned her head towards
him, and he saw at a glance that the girl was of Spanish race.
Erom the experience he had of the " senoritas " in the Macalome
mines, he felt disposed to take no further notice of her; but he
was impressed, in spite of himself, by the radiant beauty and the
almost child-like bearing of the Spanish maiden, and almost in-
voluntarily he turned and bowed respectfully. As he did so, his
eves rested for a moment on Manuela's companion. He stopped
abruptly,—saw her turn pale and cling to her friend for support,
—and stretching out both his arms, he exclaimed in a tone of
almost terrified surprise,—
"Jenny! Jenny!"
"Eor Heaven's sake! my dear, dear Jenny, what ails you? "
cried Manuela; supporting her sinking friend with one hand,
while she caressed her, as one would a frightened child, with the
other.
" It is nothing—it is past," gasped Mrs. Hetson, with a violent
effort to recover her composure, and stand upright.
" Jenny!" said the stranger, in a voice that trembled with the
depth of its emotion,—and he hastened towards her and seized
her passive hand; " is it thus we meet again ? "
Eor a moment she stood silent and motionless before him,—she
had pushed back Manuela's supporting arm, and drew her hand-
from the young man's eager grasp,—and she looked wildly round,
as if for a chance of flight, to escape the terrible meeting. But
involuntarily her eyes fell again on the stranger's face;—there
was a world of pain in the manly furrowed brow, — and all the
The meeting.
279
feelings she had so long crushed back into her heart burst fortli
in a wild flood, with the remembrance of her vanished hopes, and
of the grief she had endured.
" Charles!" she cried, pressing her hands upon her heart,
and speaking wildly, scarce conscious of where she was—■
" Charles ! " and with a loud burst of weeping she ran to the
stranger as a startled child would run, and hid her face on his
breast.
Tor more than a minute he held her strained to him. His
face had grown quite white, but he moved neither hand nor foot;
only his head drooped over the dear face whose features were
hidden from him.
At last she raised her head slowly, and the arms that had
held her so closely fell powerless. She turned away, and
sank on her knees, where she had stood, with her glowing face
buried in her hands. And Manuela knelt by her caressing and
consoling her, with a woman's quick instinct.
" Jenny ! my poor, poor Jenny," she whispered, " for Heaven's
sake, be calm."
" It is past," murmured the poor woman, as she rose slowly
from her knees. " Do not fear for me, Manuela; I know my
duty:" and her face glowing with matronly dignity, she
turned again towards the man whom she had loved—ah, how
fondly!
" Mr. Golway," she said, and though her voice trembled with
feeling, it never faltered for a moment, " it would have been
better for both of us, if you had spared me this meeting. Why,
oh why did you pursue me thus ? "
" Pursue you ! " repeated Golway, in a tone of bitter anguish.
" How can you accuse me so unkindly ? When they told me, in
Chili, the fatal news that crushed all my hopes, your parents
added that you had gone to Australia with—with your husband.
I could get no rest where I was, and right welcome to me was
the wild excitement with which so many were rushing to this
El Dorado, as they called it. Here I could certainly not expect
to meet you; nor had I any idea that Mr. Hetson would bring
you to such a strange place."
"I thought so," murmured Mrs. Hetson to herself. "Oh, if
he had only listened to my advice!"
" Do not fear, Mrs. Hetson," continued Golway, " that I shall
ever cross your path again. I am bound for the coast, and the
next ship that leaves San Erancisco will bear me away from this
land. I would be the last man to disturb your peace by my
presence9—but do not blame me for blessing the fate that has
280 THE MEETING.
once more brought us together. God knows I was resolved to
bear with patience what was unavoidable; but still the thought
is very sweet to me that you have not quite forgotten me,—that
you will think of me with feelings of esteem and friendship,
though you must no longer love me. The sea had always been
my home; I had dreamed of giving it up and being happy; God
lias willed it otherwise, and I have but to follow my old vocation
to the end."
It was long ere she could reply. Twice she essayed to speak,
and the words died away in murmurs on her lips; at last, fixing
her eyes on the pale anguished features of him who was indeed
to her as one risen from the dead, but separated from her by a
great gulf, she answered slowly, stretching out her hands to-
wards him,—
" I thank you, Mr. Golway; you have acted nobly, according
to your nature. A dark fate has separated our paths in this
world;—my parents have no doubt told you how it came about,
—how circumstances combined to sever a bond which seemed
knit for life. But we both of us know that the past is irrevocable,
let our stubborn hearts rebel as they will. The man to whom I
am married has won first my esteem and then my love; I belong
to him alone, and no feeling of what has been shall ever interfere
with what is now my duty. But be assured that I shall never—
no, never—forget him to whom first I gave my heart. Heaven
reward you, Charles, for all the faithful love you bore me, and
grant my prayer that your grief may be taken from you, that you
may be happy too—and now, Charles, farewell! "
fie held her hand—her dear hand—while she spoke, and gazed
into her face like one entranced—but never by a single word
interrupted her. But when that one word "farewell" con-
centrated his whole destiny before him, he had to summon all
his resolution, lest a woman's strength should shame his
weakness.
"Farewell, Jenny!" he replied, and lifted the hand he con-
tinued to hold, gently and respectfully, to his lips. " God bless
you for the friendly words you have spoken; they will shine like
a beacon through many a night of my dark future. I am going
to yonder town, to change my lame horse here for another, and
this very day I will quit this place never to return. Farewell!
and may "
"Hallo, stranger," cried a rough voice so close to them that all
there started as they turned round, "haven't you Ah, Mrs.
Hetson, I didn't know you at first, nor our little senorita either,
—glad to meet you here together. Haven't you seen a black
THE MEETING. 281
horse, stranger, with a white forefoot, and a white star on his
forehead, straying hereabouts. The brand is H.W."
" No, sir, I have not," answered Golway, glancing, if the truth
must be told, not very pleasantly at the interrupter of their
colloquy; while Manuela looked quite scared at the appearance
of the dreaded Siftly.
"Ah, I'm sorry for it," resumed that worthy, to all appearance
indifferent whether he was welcome or not. " I wish I knew
where the plaguy beast has wandered to,—with those confounded
red-skins Swarming everywhere it would be as safe in flie snowy
mountains yonder;—but I fancy we two must have met before:
aren't you an Englishman ? "
" Yes, I am," answered the stranger drily, as he turned away
from his questioner.
" And your name," continued the imperturbable Siftly, " was
—let me see, what was it ? — John, no, Charles Galway, or Gol-
way;—isn't it so ? "
" How do you know me ? " asked the Englishman, looking at
him in wonder; for he had no recollection of any such man as
this hairy-faced troublesome fellow.
" How I know you ? Bless me, one knocks up against all
sorts of people at all sorts of places, here in California. "We
worked together in Carson's flat."
" I was never there in my life."
" No F Then it must have been somewhere else. People who
live long up in the mines are apt to forget the names of places;
—but I hope I haven't interrupted you," he added, suddenly
wheeling round, and staring at Mrs. Hetson.
No one answered his question. The Englishman had already
moved away towards the edge of the hill. Once more he turned
and waved his hand,—once more he met those kind honest eyes,
and the next moment he had disappeared among the thick bushes
with which the incline was covered.
Siftly had been a quiet but attentive observer of the whole
scene; and a malicious smile played about his lips.
" Come, Manuela," said Mrs. Hetson, taking her young com-
panion by the arm, " we must go, or Mr. Hetson will be anxious
for our safety;" and with a slight bow to the intruder, the two
women turned away. But Siftly had no notion of letting them
off so easily, so he answered Mrs. Hetson's observation as if it
had been addressed to himself.
" Mr. Hetson might well be anxious," he said; " for how
was he to know that you had a male protector up here ? An
old acquaintance, I presume;—but unless the gentleman is wait-
282 THE MEETING.
ing to accompany you tome, I must offer my services, Mrs.
Hetson,—for the woods here swarm with Indians, and those
fellows are not to be trusted on any account."
" The gentleman will certainly not wait for us, sir," answered
Mrs. Hetson, justly offended at the remark; "but I do not
apprehend anything; we came here alone, and will manage to
find our way back. A whole troop of Indians came by here, but
instead of showing anything like hostility they bade us good-day
in their language, and molested us neither by word or deed."
" So much the better," said Siftly, with a smile. " I only
thought myself bound to offer you my protection out of friendship
for Hetson."
Mrs. Hetson bowed, and made another attempt to pass him.
"By the way, senorita," he resumed, turning to Manuela, "I
presume your papa told you about the contract we made together
yesterday."
" My father told me nothing," answered the girl, coldly; " he
is not bound to give me an account of his doings."
" Spoken like a good dutiful daughter," laughed Siftly.
"Well, the couple of hours won't be any great inconvenience to
you."
" The couple of hours !" repeated Manuela, while a cold thrill
of apprehension ran through her from head to foot.
" So you really know nothing at all about it ? Well, that's
not handsome of Sefior Ronez, I must say; for your fingers must
have got out of practice lately, and you'll want a little prepara-
tion to regain your old skill."
" My father ?" gasped Manuela; and a nameless fear of some
new misfortune deprived her of the power to utter another
word.
" Oh, it's nothing to be alarmed about, senorita," said Siftly;
while a look of malicious triumph contrasted oddly with the
seeming indifference of his tone. " The question is only about
an inconsiderable trifle; in fact, rather an amusement for you
than a labour. The whole thing is this : I have settled with him
that for the next four weeks—it ought, properly speaking, to be
a month, but I'm a liberal man—you're to play in my tent—
the new one I've just established—for only two hours every
evening. Now, as it "
" It is not true—my father cannot have made any such con-
tract; he may not, he cannot do it," interrupted Manuela,
half wild with terror. " He knows that I have vowed never to
set foot in a tent of that kind again."
"People break a good many oaths, my pretty senorita,"
THE MEETING.
283
retorted Siftly, with an ugly grin, "particularly when they're not
able to keep them. How often have I vowed to myself to give
up the glorious cards and dice; and yet somehow they have such
a charm over me that I can never do it. You see, we can't
always take these things quite literally."
" No one, sir," said Mrs. Hetson, " can force this girl to
fulfil such a contract, if it really has been made. Her consent
should at least have been gained in the first instance."
" It is easy to see that you're a lawyer's wife, madam," said
Siftly, with a smile and a bow; " but in this instance the consent
you speak of can be dispensed with, inasmuch as the young lady
is still a minor, and, as such, entirely dependent on her father,
who is responsible for her. The thing in itself, however, is too
unimportant to require much discussion. Two hours every
evening—why, it's hardly worth speaking of!"
" I shall not play!" cried Manuela, roused at last to resistance
by the very terror this man inspired; " and if my father should
really have bartered his child again, the law will protect me; and
may my hand wither if it touches an instrument in your horrible
tent of gamblers."
Siftly stood listening to these angry words with his eyes cast
down, and a sardonic smile on his face; then he said, jauntily,—
" Come, senorita, don't be angry about it. It's often hard to
endure what can't be cured—isn't it, Mrs. Hetson ? But we
learn to bear our little disappointments when we see we can't
help ourselves—don't we, Mrs. Hetson?"
" Mr. Hetson will never allow it!" cried the young wife, now
fairly angry.
" He won't be able to prevent it, my dear lady," answered
Siftly, with a shrug. " According to the laws, as they are under-
stood and practised here in the mines, debts of honour must be
held sacred, and punctually discharged."
" Then he has been gambling—staking my peace upon a card
—his own child!" groaned Manuela, hiding her face in her
hands.
" No, that must not, shall not be!" exclaimed Mrs. Hetson,
indignantly. " Whatever your laws may say on the subject, sir,
the laws of humanity would forbid any such desecration;
Manuela is under our protection ; and she shall not be compelled
to sacrifice herself against her will. Hetson will not refuse me,
if I asked it as a favour,"
" Supposing, now, /were to ask you, as a favour, Mrs. Hetson,"
continued Siftly, in his provoking tone of impertinent self-com-
placency, " to use your influence on my behalf with Mr. Hetson,
284 THE MEETING.
in return for which I should be happy to forget all about this
your—of course accidental—agreeable meeting with Mr. Charles
Golway ? I am sure Manuela would be glad to make a sacrifice
for her friend's sake,—if, indeed, the trifle I ask can be called a
sacrifice at all."
Mrs. Hetson felt the traitorous colour mount to her cheek and
brow; but with the certainty that this hateful man knew more
of her history than she had suspected, came a righteous indig-
nation at his unworthy suspicions; and she replied, haughtily
enough,—
" I do not understand, sir, what the meaning of your threat
may be; but, at any rate, it falls harmless. I have no secret
from my husband, and no secret at all that I should wish to
impart to you. And now come, Manuela, my poor child; we run
less chance of insult from the red savages in the mountains than
from this white man, who calls himself an American, and my
husband's friend." And, seizing the girl's hand, she began to
descend the hill leading towards the town, as fast as she could
walk.
Mr. Siftly remained standing with folded arms and a wicked
grin on his face, watching the two retreating figures; still, he
was manifestly surprised that his threat had not produced a
greater effect.
"Bah!—plague on it!" he muttered; "you'll work in my
favour, my hot-headed lady, for all your airs and graces. Your
old lover couldn't have come here to the mines at a more con-
Venient time; and let me alone for profiting by his presence.
But as for that Spanish pink of prudery, curse me if I let her
slip out of my fingers again. I haven't made Hetson alcalde for
nothing. In the mean time, I'll But what's that!" he sud-
denly exclaimed. "The Mexicans have hoisted a flag over
yonder! Should the cowardly sefiores have made up their
minds to fight, after all!—and with all those Indians prowling
about, too ! If I only had my horse! I'm afraid those rascally
red-skins will make a supper of it!"
Tor a time he stood in doubt which road to take; but the
anxiety for his own safety at last overcame his solicitude about
his horse; for he knew that if hostilities had really commenced,
he ran a great risk of having his retreat cut off by the Indians.
At any rate, the flag in the Mexican camp showed that the com-
munity there had decided on a plan of action; and, wrapping
his poncho round him, with a bitter curse, he left his horse to its
fate, and strode down towards the town by the same path the
two women had taken a few minutes before.
THE MEXICAN PLAG.
285
CHAPTER XXI.
THE MEXICAN PLAG.
WiTn his heart full almost to bursting, Charles Golway, on
quitting the two women, hastened to his horse; but the poor
animal limped more painfully than ever, and he could not think
of mounting it again. So long as the horse had kept moving,
the injured limb had not been entirely useless ; but now, as the
American had prophesied, the wound had stiffened and swollen
through the short rest, and the horse could hardly lift the foot
from the ground.
" My poor lad," said the sailor, compassionately, as he patted
its neck, " I fear you have carried me for the last time,—for I
cannot wait here till you are cured; but at least we'll take you
down into the valley, old fellow, where you may rest yourself,
and feed at your ease."
So saying, he slipped the bridle over the horse's ears, and led
it carefully down the incline by the easiest path he could find,
purposely avoiding the track the two women had taken, lest he
should meet them again. At length, a little farther west, he
entered the upper part of the flat, where a small mountain stream
gushed forth, whose banks, shaded by lofty pines and cedars, and
by wild hazel-bushes and cherry-trees, offered a rich pasture to
the weary, footsore steed.
Below him, at the entrance of the flat, but separated by some
low bushes from its open part, a few diggers were at work.
They were negroes, who had turned up the ground here on the
chance of finding a prize; and not far from them a single American
was employed cutting down a number of the bushes, to clears
fresh space for his operations.
"When the latter saw the traveller leading the lame horse along,
he paused in his work, and looked at them, particularly at the
horse, with some appearance of interest. It was an old friend of
ours, Boyles, who had, after all, preferred the small but com-
paratively sure profits of digging to the alluring but faithless
chances of the gaming-table; ana who accordingly, with jacket
thrown off and shirt-sleeves rolled up beyond the elbows, was
286 THE MEXICAN FLAG.
"pegging away" gallantly to win treasure from the stubborn
earth.
Like his English cousin, the American is fond of horses, and
takes an interest in all that relates to them; and the regular
backwoodsmen, in particular, have a prodigious memory in iden-
tifying horses they have once seen, recollecting them by little
peculiarities of colour, or even of pace. They certainly have plenty
of opportunities for exercising this faculty in their own country,
where horses and oxen belonging to various owners are allowed
to roam in company through the woods, with no other means by
which each proprietor can identify his own among the general herd.
Not far from Boyles, at a spot where his wounded horse could
find food and water, sheltered by thick bushes from the heat of
the noonday sun, the stranger had stopped, and again relieved
the poor beast of saddle and bridle.
"Hallo, stranger!" said Boyles, sauntering negligently up to
him, with his axe on his shoulder, " what have ye done with your
horse? Why, I'll be hanged if it isn't Jim Rollick's beast.
Have you owned it long ?"
" About four weeks."
" Well, that's just about the time he sold it. They say he got
a good price too."
" I gave him ten ounces."
"You don't mean it!—that's a good deal of money. And
what have you been doing to it ?"
"Nothing of consequence. He's grazed his leg against a
dead branch in the wood yonder; and the heat and dust seem to
have got to the cut and inflamed it."
The American had laid down his axe, and came up to the
horse. He examined its hurt carefully, and then looked at the
animal with the air of a connoisseur.
"And what are you going to do with him now ? " he asked.
" I hardly know, myself. I want to get to San Francisco as
fast as I can, but it may be a week or a fortnight before this
horse can carry me again."
"That it will, certainly," observed Boyles, "if it ever gets
well at all."
" Why it's only a cut, and will soon heal."
" Yes—but what with the heat and the insects, it may get to
look ugly enough, unless it's kept very clean. Guess you'd better
sell it."
"I fancy it will come to that. Perhaps I may find some one
here who will exchange it for another horse or mule—of course
I shall have to pay something into the bargain."
THE MEXICAN ELAGr.
287
"If you're only going to San Francisco," said Boyles, "I
don't see why you need buy a horse of your own at all. There
are plenty of chances going—you can get a place in an empty
waggon, or on a mule, nearly every day."
" That wouldn't do for me; I must get on faster."
"Well, you'll find plenty of fellows who've got horses to sell,
I reckon; but you won't so easily find any one who'll buy a lame
horse of you. But, if you're any way reasonable. I shouldn't
mind dealing with you for that brown chap, because I happen to
know him of old."
" Give me three ounces, and he's yours," said the Englishman.
" Three ounces! Why, that's a good bit of money, ye see,
for a lame horse that'll perhaps cost me a charge of powder and
a ball next week, after all," observed the American, doubtfully;
but he had made up his mind not to let the good bargain escape
him. " If you'd said two ounces, now."
" Then I'd sooner send him off to pick up his own living here
in the woods."
" And how long do you suppose he'd keep his liberty ? It
wouldn't be long, I can tell you, before one of those yellow-
skinned Mexicans had him in his lasso; and he'd make a pack-
horse of him, till be killed him; or else the red rascals would be
cutting him up into beefsteaks. Come, say two ounces and a
half, and throw the saddle into the bargain."
" No, friend, I want the saddle myself for my fresh horse,
when I get one; and I can't deal with you that way. I lose
enough by the horse, in all conscience; but if you choose to
give three ounces for it, it's yours. You know as well as I do
what the horse is worth."
"Well, well, stranger, bargaining makes traders, as they say.
Who ever gives a man what he asks ? You should see our
Yankee dealers."
" But you see, I'm not a Yankee dealer, my good fellow," said
the Englishman, with a smile; "but if you want to get some-
thing off the price, you may fancy I'd asked five ounces, and
you'd beaten me down to three. Come to the next tent, and
pay me the three ounces, and the horse is yours; or say you
don't want him, and I'll sell him to some one else."
Boyles could not well understand it—a man who made a
demand, and would abate nothing. But as he knew the horse,
and felt sure that the flesh-wound would be well in a few days,
he said after a pause—
" Well, stranger, you must have your own way; if you stick
so tight to your price, I don't care for a few dollars more or less.
288 THE MEXICAN FLAG.
"We needn't go into a tent, by the way, for I suppose we've each
of us our scales, and so we may as well settle our business here
at once."
As he said this, he brought out his bag of gold and a pair of
brass scales from his pocket, and weighed off three ounces of
gold flakes, which the Englishman put into his own bag, without
weighing them after him. With a little practice a man soon
learns to tell almost at a glance how much gold goes to an
ounce; and the only difference is a slight one caused here and
there by a greater degree of fineness or coarseness in the gold
itself.
The horse had meanwhile limped to the nearest water, to
quench its thirst; and while Golway took off the saddle and
strapped the girths together, Boyles washed the wound out care-
fully, and bound his handkerchief round it.
".Farewell, my brave old boy," said the young Englishman,
patting the horse's neck; "go on and prosper. I hope your
new master will keep you as carefully as I have done."
"Never you fear for that," said Boyles; "I know how to
manage horses. You're going to Paradise now ? "
" Yes; but I shall not stay there longer than just until I have
got a new horse. There seems to be some disturbance there,
just now."
"Nonsense," laughed the American, "the sefiores over yon-
der on the hill have been gathering together a bit; but the end
of the affair will be, that they'll saddle their horses and go
seek another place to stay in."
" They have hoisted their flag," said Golway.
" What ? " cried the American, starting up in astonishment—
" the Mexican flag—in our very teeth ?"
" I saw it, as I came down the hill."
" The devil you did! Then that explains why my partner,
with whom I was to have sunk a hole, hasn't turned out to work
to-day. Thunder ! but we'll soon have the rascals' flag down,—■
and I'm wasting my time out here, cutting down bushes."
Muttering curses as he went, the man ran back to where he
had been at work. He put on his jacket, flung his implements
on his shoulder, and began running as fast as he could go, through
the bushes, towards the town.
Golway, meantime, took the saddle and bridle on his shoulders
and followed him at a slower pace, down the narrow footpath
leading to the Paradise.
In the town itself, as Boyles had rightly conjectured, there
was a great excitement going on.
TnB MEXICAN FLAG. 289
Already, in the early morning, the Mexicans showed that they
had given up their pacific intentions towards the United States
men. What the reports were that had circulated among them
nobody knew; but when Hale, who still hoped to settle the
affair amicably, went to them, and begged them to disperse
quietly to their work, even assuring them that they should not
be again disturbed so long as they paid the tax established by
law, they warned him off curtly and even threateningly. It is
possible that his well-intentioned and friendly address only con-
firmed them in their opposition, inasmuch as they ascribed it to
the fear inspired by their numbers. But if so, they had greatly
miscalculated.
Repulsed with words of contempt and insult, Hale came back
into camp in a towering rage, and, without consulting the alcalde,
at once called a meeting of all the Americans. But most of
them were at work in the flat, and when he sent to them, only
a few obeyed the summons. Many sent back word that they had
something better to do than to trouble themselves about a set
of rascally Mexicans; but at dinner-time they would come.
Hale was furious; and just as he was going, in the most un-
amiable mood possible, to seek out the alcalde, to consult with
him on the most necessary steps to be taken, he met Hetson
himself, coming out of his tent pale and agitated.
^ " Have you not seen my wife anywhere ? " was his first ques-
tion, when he caught sight of the sheriff. " She is not anywhere
about the camp."
"Yourwife?" grumbled the sheriff, impatiently; "a great
deal of time I have just now to be looking after women. Where
should she be ? "
" Heaven knows! most likely out for a walk; perhaps she
has gone up into the mountains."
"Then she has chosen a very capital time for her excursion,"
said Hale; "the hills are swarming with Indians. The wonder
is to me where the red rascals have come from all at once. Mr.
Hetson, this affair is growing serious, and though we've taken
matters easily enough hitherto, we must do something now, to
show these fellows that we're not to be played with. If we wait
till they attack us, we are lost men; for they can easily over-
match us, twenty to one."
" You're right, Mr. Hale,—perfectly right," answered Hetson,
whose face was perfectly white with violent excitement; " only,
for God's sake, find my wife for me, and then we'll begin a fight,
and scatter them all over the plain."
" Well, that's not bad, I declare," cried Hale, angrily; " I
u
290 THE MEXICAN PLA.G.
suppose it's part of my business! What the mischief can have
possessed the woman, that she goes gadding out, when there's
the devil to pay everywhere. Did she go quite alone ?
"Manuela must be with her."
"And she's not anywhere in the town? "
" I've searched through all the dealers' tents."
"Well, well,—women haven't any business in the mines at all,
and that's the truth of it. Hang it all, we men have enough to
do to hold our own. We must get our own people together, by
some means or other, for if we wait till dinner-time, there'll be
more mischief done than we can repair in a week. Plague on
the greedy fellows who won't lose half a day's work, while all the
other nations are holding together as thick as thieves. There's
not a single one of the Frenchmen at work in the flat; they're
all assembled, to a man, in the tent yonder; and if we get them
upon us too, I don't see what else we have for it but to show so
many pair of heels."
" We will not run for it, sheriff," said Hetson; but he spoke the
words in a strange absent way, and his eyes wandered restlessly
up and down the street. "Do you collect our countrymen?
I—I shall be with you directly; " and without regarding the
look of utter astonishment with which Hale stared after him, he
hurried up the street, and soon disappeared among the tents.
Hale stood for a long time gazing after him, apparently un-
decided what to do next. At last he burst into an angry impre-
cation, and called after his retreating chief,—
" We will not run for it!—I shall be back directly!—Indeed!
—I'll be cursed if I believe a word of it, and that's the long and
short of the story. Back again directly! — I dare say !— He's
glad enough of an excuse to go dangling after his wife, and Hale
may get the chestnuts out of the fire in the mean time, like a
cat's-paw as he is. I don't care; — if they knock you both on
the head, it won't be a great loss, and no one in the States will
shed many tears about it;—but isn't it the very mischief that we
can't find a proper alcalde ? Who says I'm wrong when I say
that the fellows who are always writing seem to have their hearts
in thek heels ? I, at least, have never found a true man among
them."
Grumbling thus, he took his little telescope out of his pocket,
and looked sharply across towards the mountains, where the
dusky forms of the Indians could now be distinguished with the
naked eye. Wherever one of the little open spaces between the
bushes allowed a view over the plain, appeared a troop of the
red men, and some had encamped even in the flat itself, without,
THE MEXICAN FLAG. 291
however, manifesting any kind of hostility. But Hale knew very
well that this peaceable appearance might change at any moment;
and if once these men broke loose, they would have no scruple in
firing the whole camp."
Slowly he swept the flat with his glass, until it pointed to the
place where the Mexicans stood. Then suddenly he sprang up
with a cry of astonishment. He could hardly believe his senses; —
but a second and a third survey convinced him that he was not
mistaken,—for there, among the group of swarthy horsemen,
floated the Mexican flag.
" There we have it! " he shouted, closing his telescope with an
angry snap; " open revolt in the camp, and the Americans out
there digging the confounded gold out of the ground, as if they
hadn't the slightest interest in life in the whole business ;—and
no alcalde to keep order, — the devil to pay, and no pitch hot.
But I'll be cursed if I stand it any longer, even if I have to go
out myself and fetch the flag in;" and, in a towering rage at the
Mexicans' impudence, he ran into his tent to fetch his rifle.
"What he was going to do with it he did not exactly know.
Hetson had been hurrying up the street, half mad with anxiety,
in quest of the missing women, — and bitterly did he repent not
having given them a word of warning. But he did not wish to
alarm them, perhaps unnecessarily, and had never suspected that
they would leave the camp, and trust themselves in the very
stronghold of the enemy.
On reaching the last tents he inquired in vain of the passers-
by concerning their whereabout. A German, however, had seen
them about an hour before walking towards the mountains. It was
there the Indians had mustered in greatest force, and Hetson
was just about to start in pursuit of them, when, to his inex-
pressible joy, he descried the missing ones, running at full speed
towards him.
" God be praised! " was all he could utter; but a load seemed
taken from his soul, and all the dark clouds that fear and sus-
picion had cast upon his spirits vanished at once, as his wife
looked appealingly at him.
" Oh, don't be angry, dear Frank," she cried, running up to
Hetson and seizing his hand; " we had no idea of any danger
here, so near the tents."
" You have made me very, very anxious, Jenny," replied her
husband, who immediately began to retrace his steps, talking as
they walked back in company. " I did not even know what
direction you had taken; and the look of things about the camp
becomes more threatening every moment."
IJ 2
292 THE MEXICAN ELAG.
"The Mexicans have hoisted a flag,3' said his "wife, timidly;
"what can they mean by that ?"
"Their flag!33 exclaimed Hetson, with a start; "then come,
my love, walk quicker if you can,—I haven't a moment to spare.
But are you quite sure of what you say ? "
" One can see it quite plainly from the hill yonder,33 said
Manuela; " and even from here, if you step this way, senor, you
may see it fluttering in the wind.3'
Hetson looked in the direction indicated, and a single glance
sufficed to show him that she had spoken truth.
" Ladies," he said, turning with a quiet smile to his two com-
panions, " you have found your way down here alone, from the
mountains, so I shall have no compunction in leaving you to
yourselves for the few steps between this and home. We are
close by the tents, and there's nothing to fear now."
" Frank, there is something I should like to tell you, before
you leave us again."
" Does it concern the camp yonder, or the Indians ? "
" No—ourselves—me."
" Then let it stand over, my dear, till by-and-by. But now
both of you must make the best of your way home to our tent;
we shall see each other again there ; " and without waiting for an
answer, he ran off to find the sheriff, and consult on their plan of
action.
Hale, who had been cleaning and loading his rifle in all haste,
was marching up the street with a few Americans whom he had
picked up in the tents. On seeing Hetson he cried out, with far
more irony than respect in his tone,—
"Well, alcalde, have you found your wife ? I hardly thought
we should see you back so soon."
"Yes, sheriff, I have certainly found her," answered Het-
son, quietly; and he stepped towards his tent, before which the
American flag fluttered from a tall pine-stem. "The women are
in safety, ana now we men will take measures for our safety,
too."
He loosened the " fall," and was about to pull down the flag
irom its position, when Hale, with a shout of indignation, rushed
towards him, and levelled his rifle.
"Are you mad?" he cried, in a lury. "Do you mean to
strike the stars and stripes before those Mexican rascals ? —
Hang it, though you are the alcalde, if you lower that flag
one inch from the staff, I'll send a bullet through your treacherous
head for you."
" Sheriff," answered Hetson, sternly,—and with his right hand
THE MEXICAN FLAG.
293
lie drew a revolver from his pocket, while his left still grasped
the fall, " for that speech of yours I might shoot you dead where
you stand, as I would a mad dog; and I would do it, if I didn't
know you for an honest and a true man. But we've quarrels
enough on our hands, without beginning to fight among ourselves.
Can you tell me a better way to summon our people together
than by lowering the fla"* ?"
Hetson put the revolver back into his pocket, and without taking
any further notice of Hale, who still stood threateningly behind
him, he drew the banner down to the ground.
" And what are you going to do now ?" asked Hale, com-
pletely astonished by this determined proceeding on the part of
a man he had condemned as a trifler and a coward.
" Alone we can do nothing," answered Hetson, untying the
flag from the fall; " but if the raising of the Mexican and the loss
of their own flag doesn't drive the fellows into camp, they don't
deserve to be called American citizens, or to have the stars and
stripes flying above their heads."
"And then,—when they come ? " asked Hale, with a searching
glance at his chief.
" Why, then," laughed Hetson, " we'll go and fetch in the
Mexican flag, and hoist it reversed under our own; I fancy that
will bring the fellows to their senses."
" And you really mean to do that ?" asked Hale, still in-
credulous.
" If you will stand by me, Hale, we will!—But there comes
my wife,—she needn't exactly know what we're about, for she'd
only be anxious;— and yonder I see some of our lads coming
jumping across the flat. You see my scheme has succeeded,
sheriff. Is there no flagstaff here ? "
Mrs. Hetson had come up with Manuela, and stopped, as if
she wanted to speak to her husband. But he motioned her into
the tent, with a smile, and turned again to the little group of
Americans, while Hale ran off in search of a pole for the flag.
In a few minutes he came back with one which had helped to
support his tent; and new reinforcements of diggers, summoned
by Hetson's ingenious device, now came pouring in.
" Hallo! what's up now F" cried the hardy diggers, as,
heated from their run, they came bounding along the street.
Cf Who's struck the American flag ? "
"Idid," answered Hetson, quietly. "The Mexican flag didn't
remind you of your duty, so I thought the loss of your own
banner might make you stir."
The sheriff looked
294 THE MEXICAN FLAG.
" What the 'tarnal!" grumbled a long Kentuckian;"we didn't
think of looking after the blackguard Spaniards; and it's only
jnst now we noticed the coloured rag over there. I've run here
so fast that I've hardly any breath left in my body. Hallo!
there come Boyles and Briars. This way, lads! this way! "
Others now came panting in, till nearly the whole American
community had assembled before the alcalde's tent. In threats
and curses, both loud and deep, they unburdened their minds
against the Mexicans.
A triumphant cheer that sounded faintly over the flat from
the Mexican camp interrupted the clamour, and Hale exclaimed:
" I'll be hanged if they're not mocking us for pulling down our
flag!"
" Well, men, and what do you intend to do ? " asked Hetson,
who was white with excitement, though no muscle in his quiet
face showed what was going on within him. " There are about
two hundred Mexicans yonder, and in the mountains double the
number of Indians are lurking about, ready to join them at any
moment. What do you propose ? "
" Send messengers to the different mining-places about here,"
suggested Briars; " if we can get together twenty or thirty more
good fellows, we needn't care for the whole lot of them."
"And in the meantime we've lowered the American flag before
them," muttered the sheriff.
" I'll ride over to Golden Bottom," volunteered Mr. Smith,
who looked desperately frightened and uncomfortable. "I've
got a very good horse, and can be back with help by to-morrow
morning."
"Very fine, indeed!" cried Boyles; " and have the Spaniards
insulting us, and our own people laughing, because we can't keep
order jn our own camp."
"Hut what are you to do?" retorted the frightened Mr.
Smith; "if the whole of the Mexicans and Indians come upon
us at once, they'll murder us out and out, and burn the whole
place. W hat's the use of waiting till they do that ? "
" Then we oughtn't to have struck the flag at all," cried ano-
ther, angrily. " Devil take it, alcalde, don't be tying the thing
fast down here, but send it up the flagstaff, that at any rate we
may show the rascals we're not afraid of them."
Hetson, meantime, without offering a word either for or against
any of the proposals made, had been quietly fastening the flag
to the pole supplied by Hale. Grasping the pole, he now struck
the lower end into the earth, so that the flag fluttered out
merrily.
THE MEXka^ El Aw.
295
" Boys," he cried out, in a voice that ran cheerily out over the
tumultuous group, " listen to me. I have sworn that so long
as I'm alcalde here, the rights of our country shall be respected;
and no other flag but ours must v 1
threatens us here, well, I've nothing in the world to say against it;
but I now call upon every man who can shoulder a rifle or wield
a knife, to follow me—now and at once,—and with God's help
we'll haul down that flag which our countrymen trod beneath
their feet in this land only a few months ago. Who'll follow
me?"
" Why, confound it, every one of us, I fancy," cried Boyles,
enthusiastically; " you'd better ask ' Who won't follow me?'"
" And if the Indians come down from the mountains to help
the Mexicans ? " observed Hale. " At any rate, you know, we
ought to be prepared for the chance."
" I don't think they'll dare," answered Hetson. " Our only
chance, with the odds we have against us, is in attacking the
chief party boldly and without flinching. If we're overcome,
our own people will avenge us; but I rely on our rifles—and
still more on the suddenness of our attack, to intimidate these
fellows, who are cowards, after all. So, go boys, and fetch your
guns, for in five minutes we must start! "
" Hurrah! " shouted the hardy backwoodsmen, whose spirits
rose at the prospect of danger. "Hurrah for our alcalde.—Now
for the rifles !—Whoop-ee, against the Mexicans! " and away
they scampered in all directions to fetch their arms from the
tents.
The hazardous nature of the enterprise was the very thing to
recommend it to most of them; and the minority, who, looking at
it in a quieter way, would gladly have held back, did not dare to
utter their sentiments before their hardier comrades. Mr. Smith
only, who had no idea of risking his hoarded pelf and his
valuable life in an affair which he looked upon with great
indifference, had packed up his gold and saddled his horse the
instant he saw the Mexican flag fluttering in the air; and he
now determined, under pretext of fetching speedy help, above
all things to provide for his own personal safety. When the
affair should be over—and he knew very well the disturbance
could not last many days,—he would always be at liberty to come
back; and the mines, cleared of the foreigners, would offer him
a richer harvest than ever.
He had, therefore, taken counsel that morning with Siftly;
and that was the reason the latter had gone out so early to look
and let our neighbours round
696 THE MEXICAN ELAG.
for his horse. What cared he—the gambler—for a strife_ in
■which not gold but lead was to be won! let those fight who naa
no gold to guard—he, cunning man, would keep away from such
unprofitable work. .. +, fl
Hetson remained for a minute or two standing beside the nag,
with only Hale near him. No sooner were the others out of ear-
shot, than the sheriff went up, with rather a shamefaced air,
t,o his superior, whom he shook heartily and apologetically by
the hand. _ t, L
" Mr. Hetson—I'm sure—that is—I'll be hanged if I m not
real sorry that I've wronged you."
" My dear Hale "
" No, really sir—I—I took you for a coward, and I feel fit to
beat myself for it."
Hetson laughed, but his smile had something of melancholy in
it, as he answered,—
" Many things, my dear Hale, have made me more anxious and
perhaps more nervous than would appear, to a man like yourself,
consistent with manly fortitude. But that I am not a coward I
hope to prove to you to-day."
" I don't doubt it, sir;—but your wife—supposing after all—
anything were to happen to us ? "
"We stand in the hand of God, Hale," answered the alcalde,
with his peculiar earnest smile; " and in this respect I am a
fatalist."
"A what?" asked the sheriff, who thought this must be
some new kind of life assurance.
"A fatalist," repeated Hetson; "that is—I believe if I am
to die to-day, death could find me just as easily in my tent as
out in the flat."
" But with the women it is always a bad business."
"Not with mv wife, Hale; she is firm and independent
enough—and if the worst came to the worst, she could make her
way back to San Francisco. She knows who are my agents
there, and they would provide for her return to her own
country."
A bitter feeling came over him for a moment, for he thought,
"Would my wife think my death a calamity—would she not
perhaps " he could not follow up the reflection, and passed
his hand hastily across his brow, as if to wipe the black spot
away.
" Come, Mr. Hetson, we'll hope it won't be so bad as that,"
said Hale, who ascribed this sudden emotion to another cause.
"If all bullets hit, there'clbc no more soldiers. But hadn't yon
THE MEXICAN FLAG. 29?
better go in and tell her that—that—well, deuce take it, that
we're going out to dust the Mexicans' jackets ? "
" No, Hale," answered Hetson, " I teel just in the right mood
now, and don't want to upset myself unnecessarily. And here
come our friends back again; time passes, and that insulting flag
yonder has been flying much too long already. But what are the
people bringing there ? Can you see what it is they're carrying
in front, Hale P"
The sheriff burst out laughing.
" They're a mad-brained set, and will always be so," he said.
" These backwoodsmen go out to fight as if they were going to
a frolic."
" But what are they bringing there ? "
"Two children's drums and a tom-tom, or gong, that they
use in the cooking-tents to summon their guests with at dinner-
time. It seems they were determined to have music of some
kind or other to march to."
" Capital!" exclaimed Hetson; " they could not have done a
better thing."
"Hurrah, squire!" cried Boyles, who came jumping along
with a little child's drum in his hands, and his long gun slung
across his back. " Here we've got the right stuff to drive out
the rats.—Hurrah for old America!—but we can't go out without
' Yankee Doodle.5"
" Whoop-ee! " yelled a long Arkansas man, as only a back-
woodsman can yell; and setting a tin trumpet to his lips he blew
a discordant blast. "Pity we can't ride on horseback because
of the cursed holes; but at least we'll march soger fashion,
while we're about it."
Bang, bang! went the tom-tom, and the drums rolled, and
the trumpets squeaked an accompaniment; one fellow had even
brought a tin coffee-pot, which he belaboured with an ironspoon.
The people were as boisterously merry as children who had
turned out with plaything weapons to play at soldiers; and yet
each one among them had loaded his rifle; and they all
knew that they were going out on a desperate enterprise, in
which the very first attack might bring down ruin upon
them.
Hetson mustered his light-hearted followers with a smile of
confidence; every trace of doubt or uncertainty had vanished
from his countenance, which fairly shone with manly determina-
tion. Lifting the banner high above his head, he began to
arrange his motley band in something like order, when Boyles,
the noisiest of them all, roared out,—
298 THE MEXICAN FLAG.
"Hallo, boys — the music ought to go first!—this way,
hearties!—where's the fifer ?—where's our baby ? "
" Here, sir," answered a shrill voice; and a little fellow of
thirteen years, at most, jumped forward. He was dressed only
in a shirt and trowsers, and a broad-brimmed canvas hat; but
the cut of his costume told plainly that he had run away from
some man-of-war — preferring the green hills to the blue waves.
The broad lay-down collar with the blue stripe was enough
in itself to stamp him a child of the sea; but he had removed
from his hat the broad black riband on which the name of his
ship had formerly been displayed, for he did not wish to carry
such an evidence of his identity about with him.
"We mustn't take this boy with us," remonstrated Hetson.
" Don't fancy, my good fellows, that this is child's play. We're
going to attack an enemy ten times superior to ourselves in
number; and thirty times, if the Indians join against us."
" Please, sir," said the youngster, looking brightly up into the
alcalde's serious face, " I'm thirteen years old; and I helped to
lick the Mexicans last year, that's the long and short of it.
And please, sir, if you've the right to carry our old stars and
stripes in their teeth, I'm sure I've the right to play 'Yankee
Doodle' in their ears—and I'll be hanged if I stay behind!"
" Hurrah for Jim !" shouted the laughing men ; and Hetson
shrugged his shoulders, and let them have their way.
Just as they began to move, two men, evidently Trench men,
came towards them, while forty or fifty more came crowding to
the entrance of one of the Trench tents, and stood there looking
at the strange motley group of Americans.
" Aha !—-the Trenchmen are sending us a couple of deputies,"
whispered Hale to the alcalde. " If they were to attack us in
the rear, it would be a deucedly awkward thing for us."
Hetson made no reply, but stepped forward, flag in hand, to
meet the two envoys, who saluted him politely, and stood waiting
for them to speak. Hale had not been mistaken; for one of
them, who spoke English with perfect correctness, though with a
foreign accent, began,—
"Sir, will you answer us a question, frankly and loyally?—
it will perhaps serve to prevent further disturbance and discontent."
" Certainly, if I can do so," answered Hetson.
" There is a report here in the mines," continued the Trench-
man, " that the Americans intend to drive all strangers out of
their claims and working-places; and, indeed, some Mexicans
and Chinese have been already driven out; although the govern-
ment of the United States has, at any rate, granted the privilege
THE MEXICAN FLAG.
299
of working, by requiring us to pay an enormous tax for these
same claims. Is that true ?"
" Monsieur," replied Hetson,— and the Americans came
crowding round to hear his answer,—"the report is false. I
have heard that some of my countrymen have proceeded to
certain acts of violence; but you may be assured that we shall
not disturb quiet foreigners resident among us: and whenever
one of them has reason to complain of an American, let him
come to me; and I give you my honour I will see him righted."
"Who wants the foreigners here at all?" interposed quar-
relsome Mr. Briars; " they're only in the way, and we can "
" Silence, sir!" thundered Hetson. " What I have said I will
maintain, so long as I am alcalde here; and if any among my
countrymen are rascally enough to want to enrich themselves by
robbery, by Heaven they shall suffer for it, just as much as if
they were the offscouring of any other place."
His slight form seemed to expand with angry energy as he said
it, and he looked at Briars with a glance which made the turbulent
fellow quail and draw back discomfited, while several of the rest
. shouted,—
"Bravo! bravo! It's a shame that such doings should be allowed."
"I'm glad to hear it, gentlemen," said the Frenchman,
lifting his hat to them. "And now, respecting this tax, sir? "
" The tax is simple enough," answered Hetson, as quietly as
he had spoken before. " Whatever we may think about it here in
the mines—that it is unjust, or that it weighs too heavily on you
—has nothing to do with the question. The law has been passed
by the government, and must be upheld under all circumstances.
Whoever refuses to pay it must quit the mines; and, as I have
given you my word to protect you against all injustice, so I
declare, on the other hand, that I will maintain the law, even to
the shedding of my heart's blood."
The Frenchman looked at him fixedly for a moment; then
suddenly grasped his hand and said, heartily,—
"You're a man of honour, sir; and I will gladly do all I can
to uphold your authority among my countrymen. You need not
fear that any of us will undertake anything against you. But I
would beg you to take care how you venture out with your small
number of followers into the flat. The Mexicans are determined
to proceed to extremities."
"We will not harm them, and are only going to take away
their flag," answered Hetson, with a smile; "moreover," he
added, in a graver tone, " we are all in God's hand. And now.
Forward, my lads!"
300 THE MEXICAN FLAG.
"Hurrah!" shouted the men. "Yankee Doodle there in
front—play up Yankee Doodle, Jim!"
A horse's hoofs were heard clattering up the street; and as the
people turned at the sound, an old man, with a long rifle on his
shoulder, came riding in among them.
" Hullo, boys!" he shouted, " where are you off to ?"
"Oh, Nolten! Hurrah, old boy, you're just in time!"
answered two or three jovial voices. " Get down from the old
hoss. We're going to bring in that flag yonder."
" No !—are ye though ? Then I must go too." And the
brisk old fellow was out of his saddle in an instant. " I've cer-
tainly only an hour or so to spare, for my folks yonder are
waiting for me; but I don't see how I can employ that hour
better."
"Put up your horse somewhere or other," suggested Boyles,
" and lay the saddle in my tent."
" No need of that, my lad," replied the old man, with a laugh;
and he laid down the saddle and bridle in the road, and let the
horse go free. " My beast won't stray far; and the saddle's as
safe here as in a tent, I guess. But let's be off, so as to be back
by dinner-time;—fact is, I've had no breakfast."
As he spoke, the little army fell into marching order, four
abreast. Hetson glanced his eye over their number, and counted
twenty-five.
" And now, my lads, Poewaee !" he cried, with gleaming
eyes; "but, on your lives, let no man fire a shot till our
enemies attack us. Let the first blow or the first shot, on their
side, be the signal, and each man do his best. I need hardly tell
you to mind your aim, and not to waste a bullet. Are you
ready?"
"Hurrah!—all ready!" answered a dozen voices; and there
was a general waving of hats.
"Mr. Hetson!" whispered a gentle voice; and, turning
hastily, he saw Jenny standing at his side; but there was no
trace of fear or misgiving in her countenance as she looked with
womanly triumph on her husband, as he stood, strong in manly
determination, at the head of the brave little band.
"My dear child," said the alcalde, a little embarrassed, "this
is no place for you."
"And you were going without saying good-bye to me, you bad
man!"
"We shall soon be back;—we are only "
"Good-bye, then; I'll take you at your word; come back
soon; and God be with you!"
THE ATTACK. 301
She gave him her hand, and stepped rapidly aside. There
was another general hurrah. Jim struck up the tune of " Yankee
Doodle" on his little fife, and the drums, and tom-tom, and tin
can accompanied him, with a remarkable disregard of time and
measure.
Boyles had not been able to work his instrument, because of
the heavy gun, which impeded his exertions; but he soon found
a remedy.
"Here, Tom," he cried, "just carry my rifle a bit," and
thrust the long gun into his rear man's hand. "It's only till
I've beaten in the head of this old drum; but mind you keep
close to me, for I shall want it in a hurry when the fun begins."
And plying the drumsticks with all his might, he joined the
noisy orchestra, which beat and hammered an accompaniment to
the sharp shrill tones of "Yankee Doodle."
CHAPTER XXII.
the attack.
Never had a more whimsicaf party started on a grave errand.
The people were all wild with glee, though they well knew the
danger of the enterprise they had undertaken.
They were not even particularly well armed. Only two-thirds
of their number carried long rifles; the rest had revolvers ; but
nearly every man wore in his belt a long, sharp bowie-knife—a
terrible weapon in a hand-to-hand fight. And thus, with their
honoured flag waving before them, the little troop started in
double-quick time up the street, and turned off to the right
across the flat, making directly towards the camp of the
Mexicans.
The strangers working in the flat looked up in astonishment
as the strange procession swept past; and the Mexicans gazed
with still greater surprise, as the troop came nearer and nearer.
At first they thought the Erenchmen were coming across to
make common cause with them; but the star-spangled banner,
and the sounds of the most inharmonious of all national songs,
302 THE ATTACK.
which they knew only too well, soon convinced them of theii
mistake.
Several mounted their horses, and rode off at full gallop
towards the hills on which the Indians were posted, while the
main body occupied the first open space above the ploughed-up
surface of the flat. The leaders themselves, undetermined what
to do, went hurrying to and fro through the ranks, encouraging
their men to stand firm, and trying to excite their scorn for the
handful of Americans who were coming against them.
Nearer and nearer came the defiant tones of "Yankee
Doodle." And now they could distinguish the wild, sunburnt
faces of the men, who redoubled their speed as they approached;
and on swept the tumultuous little band right towards the
Mexican flag. The little fifer had almost blown himself out of
breath; but still he manfully kept up the measure, and stuck
close to the side of Hetson, who, with the flag in his left hand,
and his revolver ready cocked in his right, sprang across the last
impediment that separated him from the enemy.
"Guarda!" shouted a hundred menacing voices in one
breath.
" Take care of yourselves!" shouted Hetson, in their own
language, in a voice of thunder. " Whoever lifts a weapon is a
dead man, and his flesh shall feed the cayotas in the woods.
Down with your flag, you dogs, — who dare to disgrace the
ground with its lying colours !"
A number of Mexicans sprang forward with drawn swords, to
defend the flag; but Hetson stood with his lifted revolver beside
the staff; and, giving his own flag into the hands of the little
sailor Jim, who waved it with a shout of triumph, he seized the
pole of the enemy's banner with his left hand, and shook it till
it tottered.
"Down with him!—strike him down!" yelled the Mexicans
as they clustered round him; but the revolver, with its sixfold
death, intimidated those who stood nearest, while the rest
crowded forward in vain. The next moment the pole was torn
from the ground. For a moment the Mexican flag waved aloft,
high over the American banner itself; in the next it was flung
down and trodden under foot, amid shouts of triumph, by the
Americans, who came rushing to support their leader.
As yet not a shot had been fired; but every one felt that the
next moment would be decisive.
Small as their company was, the Americans, most of them
armed with revolvers and rifles, made a very formidable show, and
stood their ground with great steadiness. The Mexicans knew
THE ATTACK. 303
that death lurked in those polished barrels; and the close
proximity of the enemy made the danger so much the more for-
midable. Just at that moment, when Hetson had seized Ms own
flag again, and even the hardy backwoodsmen's hearts beat thick,
the little reckless sailor Jim struck up his " Yankee Doodle " in
the very teeth of the Mexicans; and the song had a magical
effect on both parties.
The Americans broke out into a wild cheer, and the Mexicans
lowered their weapons, and stood glaring at their foes in dark but
purposeless hatred.-
" Now's the time," whispered Hale to Hetson; " we couldn't
have a better opportunity for our retreat, and we've got the flag
safe enough."
" Not yet, sheriff!" answered Hetson, with a wild fire blazing
in his eyes. " These fellows have their weapons still, and, by the
God above us, I won't leave this place till they're in our
possession."
" Take care, I say,—take care," whispered Hale. " The Indians
yonder have advanced to within fifty paces of us, and if we're
driven back into the holes in the flat, it will be all over with
us."
" Then we must advance, instead of retreating," replied the
leader, with a scornful laugh; and turning again to the Mexicans,
he shouted at the top of his voice,—
" You have raised your flag and appeared in arms against the
authority of our Government! You've thereby broken the peace,
and we might shoot you dead, like so many dogs. But our
Government will allow peaceable foreigners to live here still,—
and only those who appear in arms will be considered as enemies,
and punished. So, down with your weapons, with which you've
broken the peace. I'll shoot the first man dead who resists !"
"Hang it," muttered Briars to his next neighbour, "that's
going the whole hog with a vengeance!"
The Mexicans stood aghast at the audacity of the man; but
Hetson, thrusting the pole of his own flag in the hole which had
received the Mexican staff, strode, with his lifted revolver, to the
man nearest him, a gigantic fellow, with a face as brown as a
berry; and holding the six-barrelled weapon to his head, grasped
the sabre which the owner clutched defiantly.
"You've no right to take our weapons from us!" he hissed out,
with a look of deadly hatred at the alcalde.
" God's death man 1" replied Hetson, " my finger is on the
trigger. I'll countthree, and if you don't let go, you're a corpse.
One, two " He felt the man's grasp loosen, and tearing the
$04 THE ATTACK,
sword from liim, threw it down beside the flag. In an instant
he had seized a second sabre; and Hale, always ready for a
daring action, stood ready at his side to support him.
The Mexicans stepped back a few paces to consult; but the
Americans left them no time for deliberation. Those who had
rifles presented them at their enemies, while the rest rushed
forward with their revolvers to disarm them, seizing all the
weapons they could lay their hands on; but not a shot was fired.
It soon appeared that the cowardly Spaniards really had not
courage to resist the small body of determined men. Many of
those in the rear even began to shirk off, and making for their
horses, swung themselves into their saddles, and galloped
towards the mountains.
Meanwhile the Americans were gathering a rich harvest of
guns, pistols, and sabres, as fast as they could lay hold of. them;
while their banner floated above them; and the shrill notes of
the national tune told the approaching Indians, distinctly enough,
who had been the victors on this straDgely-won field.
The beginning of the enterprise of disarming their adversaries
had been the most dangerous part for the hardy little band of
Americans. If an outbreak had occurred then, they would pro-
bably have been overcome by superior numbers, however many
of their foes their rifles might have laid low. But now that the
first step had been successfully taken, and the ringleaders van-
quished more by moral than by physical force, the rest no longer
dared to think of resistance. All who could retire with anything
like a decent appearance, got out of their foes' way; and Hetson
was too prudent to risk the advantage he had gained, by dividing
his forces.
Those who retired, therefore, remained undisturbed, and he did
not even notice that, a little troop reassembled a short distance
up the hill. The fact that they had been obliged to give up
their arms, though a few had escaped with them, had so quelled
the courage of the whole body, that nothing more was to be
apprehended from them; and Hetson knew very well that people
who could suffer themselves to be deprived of their flag while
all the advantages were on their own side, would never venture
to act on the aggressive. There was, however, a worse humiliation
in store for them.
" So far so good," said stout old Hale, as he looked with
satisfaction on the heap of swords, guns, and pistols, the result of
their successful foray; " I only wish we had the whole lot safely
in camp. If we throw the whole heap into a hole and cover it
up with .earth, the fellows will most likely dig it all up to-night;
THE ATTACK. 305
and it's a troublesome load to carry, especially over this broken
ground."
" If we only had a mule, Hale," observed Hetson.
" Tell ye what, boys," suggested old Nolten, "I'll run over into
the camp, and bring my horse—though I shall have to take a long
round. But the Indians will let me alone, I reckon; or if they
don't, it will be the worse for them."
"We'll pay them a visit presently, Mr. Nolten," said Hetson,
With a smile; " that is, if you'll all go with me."
" Go with yon!" cried Nolten; and he seized the young man's
hand, and gave it a huge wrench. " Squire, I'd go through the
World with you; and this I can tell you—you've made my old
heart jump within me to-day. We Americans ought to be
proud of you, and I shan't forget it as long as I live."
" I have done no more than all the rest," answered Hetson;
" and that none of ns forgot himself—that no one fired a shot,
though our guns were all loaded and cocked—did more to secure
ns the victory than if we had rushed headlong into a desperate
fight. And after all, it required more courage to keep back
here than to lay about one."
" Well, I don't know," laughed Nolten. "Truth is, we were
in a very ticklish state; and if we'd once fired our rifles, I doubt
if the sennores would have given us time to load again. So with
that prospect, it wasn't so very difficult to reserve our fire. A
bullet is precious soon out of the barrel, but it's deuced slow
work ramming a fresh one down. Hallo, where's that boy
off to?"
The last exclamation was called forth by the conduct of Jim,
the little fifer, who had thrust his fife into his pocket, and was
running at full speed away from his friends straight towards the
Mexicans.
" Hi, Jim ! " shouted several of the men after him. " Stay
here, and don't be a fool! " but the little lad paid no attention,
but ran boldly towards a couple of mules tethered near the
spot. One of these he proceeded coolly to unbind.
The owner of the animal, who was not far off, made a faint
attempt at opposition; but Jim made him understand by a few
words of broken Spanish he had picked up, and still more by
lively gesticulation, that he only wanted to borrow the mule, and
would bring it back, and so brought it away in triumph; and as
Boyles, and a couple of other Americans came forward to
support their brave little favourite, the Mexican gave way.
A few moments afterwards, Jim arrived safely with his prize
at the flagstaff, and began, without waiting for orders, to
x
306
THE ATTACK.
pack the various weapons in a thick bundle and to tie them up
securely.
Hetson, Hale, and Nolten looked on, laughing. The rest gave
active assistance, and soon the whole stock was pro ar-
, „ if their going off, and partly because
they were wanted for those Americans who had no rifles of
their own.
" And which way shall we go now ? " asked Hale. "We can't
get across the flat with the loaded mule, and to go round would
be a good deal out of the way, besides looking like a retreat."
" And to retreat is no part of our plan," said Hetson. " Gen-
tlemen, we've not finished our day's work yet; for we've still to
see what effect it has produced. We must show the Indians
yonder, how much they have to expect from their distinguished
allies—the Mexicans ;—give me their flag."
" What are you going to do, Hetson ? "
" To fasten it under our own, reversed, and thus march straight
against the Indians. Who's for going ? "
" Hurrah for Hetson !" was shouted by every man in the
band, and in an instant the dishonoured flag was torn from its
staff and fastened under the American banner.
" Now, then, musicians to the front," said the alcalde, with a
merry smile, " and keep close rank. But mind, not a shot is to
be fired at the red-skins; I don't fancy they'll give us much
trouble. If they should be mad enough to attempt resistance,
it will be time enough to beat them back. I'll have no Indian
blood spilt."
Again the jovial troop set forth with their merry little " baby"
in front. The instruments of music were picked up from the
ground, and as the flag was carried forward, the discordant
sounds rose in worse confusion than ever—only held in something
like time by the shrill notes of the ear-piercing fife.
The Indians had drawn off in separate troops, each probably
consisting of a tribe, towards the flat, when the Americans
advanced against the Mexicans—and if a fight had commenced,
they would doubtless have taken an active part therein. But as
the Mexicans remained so entirely passive when their flag dis-
appeared, and still not a shot was fired in its defence, but, on the
contrary, some of the Mexicans rode off into the mountains,
they became doubtful whether they should assist those whom
they had looked on as their allies. They became still more
undecided when the hated strangers actually began to march
against themselves.
The few loaded guns only jeen
THE ATTACK. 307
There was evidently a doubt whether they should stand their
ground, or turn and run. The little troop with its discordant music
came nearer and nearer; and at last they began slowly to retire
before it. This was probably in obedience to a command from
their chief; but be that as it may, they drew off more and more
towards the wooded heights, their usual haunt; and only when
they had reached the shelter of the bushes they were seen to
stop, watching to discover whether they were to be molested or
not.
Open enmity to them was not in Hetson's plan. He knew
very well how those brown sons of the wilderness had been
wronged and oppressed by his countrymen, and could easily
understand the hatred with which the Indians regarded them.
He wanted only to show them that his people were prepared for
any attack, ana determined to resist every invasion of the rights
which had, after all, become theirs by conquest; and this object
he achieved completely. The Mexicans did not dare to follow,
the Indians retired into the bushes, and the Americans marched
round the flat, within a bow-shot of the forest in which the red
men lurked—and thus reaching the road leading to the little
tent-town, marched home in jovial triumph.
Nearly all the foreign gold-washers who had been working in
the flat, and had witnessed the attack upon the Mexican camp,
had gone into the town to see the Americans come in. The
Frenchmen, in particular, were numerously represented; and
though they felt annoyed at the cowardice of the Mexicans, they
could not help admiring the bravery with which the little troop
of Americans had behaved. Themselves a brave people, they
knew how to appreciate the value of a bold attack.
The Yankee dealers, who had stayed at home to take care of
their goods, came out with loud cheers to meet their brave
defenders; and even the foreigners could not help joining in the
general shout, as the American flag, unfastened from the tent-
pole, fluttered up to the top of the flagstaff, with the Mexican
ensign reversed beneath it—blowing out bravely in the sun-
shine.
At the same moment, Jenny came out of her tent; and a
proud smile overspread her pretty face, when she saw her
husband coming back well and unharmed from his dangerous
expedition.
" God be praised that you are back again!" she murmured,
and held out her hand to welcome him, with a tear in her
eye-
" You haven't been worrying yourself about me, my dear ? "
x 2
308 THE ATTACK.
cried her husband; "there was no danger—not a shot has been
fired, nor a blow struck."
"Don'tyou believe him, ma'am," struck in old Nolten, "for
he's not telling the truth: there was not a shot fired, nor has
any one been wounded; but no man could have undertaken a
bolder thing, or carried it out with more courage and coolness,
than did Hetson this morning, in the flat."
" My dear Mr. Nolten "
"My dear Mr. Hetson, it's all nonsense;" persisted the
old man. " I'm not a young man, and have seen a good many
affairs of the kind, from which, perhaps, I'd much best have
stayed away. So I fancy I know about what a single man can do;
and I will say, Hetson, you've done bravely and well, and like a
true American, and I don't see why your wife shouldn't know it."
Hetson blushed like a girl at the praise he had so well
deserved; then, taking his wife's hand, he said to her good-
humouredly,—■
" He wants to make me vain, Jenny—you mustn't believe half
he says. _ We only went out against the Mexicans, and took
away their flag from them. That was the whole matter."
Mrs. Hetson's eyes sparkled with joy, as she gazed into her
husband's handsome face, glowing with the healthy flush of
exercise and action. And she answered in a voice of hearty
affection,—
" I know, Drank, that for my sake you would not run into any
danger that your duty did not compel you to encounter: and I
rejoice from the bottom of my heart that you have succeeded
so completely in what you undertook. But can you not give me
half an hour now ? I have many things to tell you, and do not
want to defer it."
"Not yet, my dear girl," answered Hetson; "you see how
busy I am just now. As soon as I can, I will come back to you.
Don't leave the tent, for the Indians are still hovering about the
neighbourhood; and after the way we visited them this morning,
they may, perhaps, be rather unfriendly towards us. Ha,
Siftly," he suddenly exclaimed, as the gambler appeared riding
down the street towards them—at whose appearance Mrs.
Hetson withdrew into the tent,—" you were employed elsewhere
this morning, it seems, and could not join our expedition? "
" As I see, you've brought in the Mexican flag," replied
Siftly, in an indifferent tone. " That was right—what did the
fellows want with such trumpery ? "
"Do you look upon a flag as trumpery, sir?" asked old
Nolten, scanning him with anything but a friendly glance.
T1TE ATTACK. 309
" Certainly I do," replied Siftly, with a careless laugh;
" what else do you call it ? "
" My opinion is, that you. ought to have been among your own
people this morning," answered the old man, sternly; "that is,
if you call yourself an American."
" I'm an American by birth, certainly," retorted Siftly, " but
I call myself a citizen of the world;" and as he spoke, he dis-
mounted, and took his horse by the bridle. " Whoever brings
his gold to my table of an evening is my friend: I mean, of
course, so long as his gold lasts."
Old Nolten turned his back contemptuously upon him, and
said, loud enough for Siftly to hear,—
" If all honest Americans were of my way of thinking, all
fellows of that sort would soon be turned out of this place."
Siftly certainly heard this plain speech. But he only darted a
scornful glance at the old man, and said, turning to Hetson,—
"By the way, I've something to tell you, that will interest
you—you shall hear it as soon as that rabble yonder leave off
their confounded 'Yankee Doodle,' and stop drumming on their
gong. It's enough to split one's ears."
" As you take so little interest in our affairs," answered Het-
son, coldly, "perhaps you'd better get out of the way of the
drumming and noise."
" Thank ye," retorted Siftly, with his usual sardonic grin;
" but I haven't done with your Paradise yet; besides," he added
in a lower tone, "you should be the last man to accuse me of want
of sympathy; for my absence in the camp this mo ruing was only
owing to my looking after your interests."
" My interests F " said Hetson incredulously. " How do you
mean ? "
"He has arrived,—he is here," whispered Siftly; and Hetson's
face became pale as death, and in spite of himself he felt his
knees shake under him.
" How do you know ?" he stammered, seizing Siftly's arm.
"I've seen him, and spoken to him," answered his friend care-
lessly,—following the alcalde, who led him away a few paces from
the tent.
" Here ?—In this place ? "
" No; about a mile from here, in a shady spot in the forest,"
replied the gambler, with a grin, " where an appointment had
been made with an old friend of his, and her companion."
"Youlie, Siftly," groaned Hetson, whose white lips could
hardly utter the sound.
"Book here, Hetson," replied the gambler. "I'm ready to
310 THE ATTACK.
make a good deal of allowance for your very natural excitement,
but be a little careful when you use such language. I've said
nothing that I can't prove."
"Prove—how?"
"Through the testimony of your own wife. Just accuse her
of it, and if—what I don't expect — she keeps her countenance,
and doesn't change colour, then let me repeat my words in her
presence."
Hetson stood silent, with his hands clenched, and the per-
spiration breaking out in cold drops on his forehead.
" Yes,—she was there," he muttered at last.
" With the Spanish girl, Don Alonzo's daughter, who was
most likely aiding and abetting. Spanish blood, you know;—
'what's bred in the bone.'—By the way, Hetson, I've made a
contract with her father, that she's to play a couple of hours
every evening in my tent. The saucy thing refuses to do it;
but I know the law is on my side, and shall make her, whether
she likes it or not. Besides, a word from you can very soon
settle the matter."
Hetson did not even hear what he said. He walked down
the street by Siftly's side, lost in unhappy reflections, and gazipg
in an abstracted manner at the hills, without seeing even their
outlines.
" Don't take this too much to heart,"—Siftly at last resumed.
" After all, the matter, so far as we know, is of no consequence;
in fact, it's a fortunate thing that we've at last got the young
gentleman face to face and foot to foot. You may depend upon
my support and assistance. It's really a fortunate thing that
I came to this little town; I could not have arrived more
opportunely."
" And is he still here ? "
"Most certainly. Do you think he'd leave the place of his
own accord, and alone? But I fancy I can find means to make
him find his feet, unless we find it convenient to set his feet fast
for him."
Hetson continued to walk, half unconsciously, by Siftly's side,
and they had already left the last tents of the little street behind
them. But while Siftly was secretly rubbing his hands with
glee, at the thought that he had now quite got the alcalde in
his power, and could turn and twist him as he chose for his own
purposes, a singular change was being wrought in Hetson's
mind.
Until then Charles Golway had been to him a phantom, — a
mame of terror, —always threatening him darkly from afar,—
THE ATTACK.
311
eluding his grasp, and slowly, but surely, driving him almost to
the verge of madness. While he tortured himself day and night
with anticipating when and where the man would cross his path,
and destroy his happiness, he felt that he was wearing himself
out,—that the continual restlessness devoured, as it were, the
marrow in his bones. Now the ugly dream had come true,—the
man was there, and had stretched forth his hand, as soon as he
had arrived, to destroy the fabric of his rival's happiness, — but
still he was there. The phantom had changed to a thing of flesh
and blood ; the danger that had hovered impalpably above him in
the air, had descended to the earth to meet him face to face,—
and with this conviction came a feeling of rest, — of self-depend-
ence of which he had imagined himself incapable.
" He has come !" he muttered, as if to force the fact upon his
own consciousness; " he is here ! "
"And what matter if he is, my boy?" laughed Siftly, who
gave quite a wrong interpretation to the words, clapping Hetson
on the shoulder. " That I am your friend, I have proved to you;
so fling away all care, and depend entirely on me. The fellow
shall soon wish that the ship in which he came had been stranded
on a sunken rock, before ever his foot touched Californian ground.
Well, what's the matter ?"
"Leave me alone a moment," implored Hetson. "The news
has taken me by surprise, and before I go back into my tent, I—
I should like to think it over once more."
"Well," said Siftly, shaking hands with him, "only don't bo
too hard upon your wife; you may take my word for it, the
Spanish girl is more in fault than she. So, you'll do as I sug-
gested just now ? "
"Pray leave me alone now; my head is whirling, and at this
moment I hardly know what I'm about."
Hetson turned away from him. Siftly could not suppress a
grin of triumph, as he called after him,—
"Good-bye, we shall meet in the town presently," and strode
back towards the street of tents.
313
MB. SMITH.
CHAPTER XXIII.
mb. smith.
The little mining town " Golden Bottom/' where the county
court of the district was held, and in the neighbourhood of which
a great many Americans had settled, was not very far distant
from the Paradise, being separated from the latter place by a
broad mountain-ridge, which likewise divided the waters of the
Calaveres and the Stanislaus; still there was no settled road
between the two towns, and the lumbering ox-waggons which
sometimes traversed the distance from one place to another were
compelled to thread their way through the forest, and sometimes
even their drivers had to clear a way with their axes. But there
was a bridle-path leading almost in a direct line from Paradise to
Golden Bottom, beside one of the tributaries of the Devil's
Water; crossing the ridge at a " low gap," from whence a grassy
slope, scantily covered with trees, led down into the valley.
By this little tributary, as yet unvisited by the gold-seeking
fraternity, two acquaintances of ours had been for some days at
work, trying to discover if the banks of the pretty little stream
might not conceal treasures like those which had been taken from
similar situations. These two men were the young Count Beck-
dorf and his partner, Eischer.
The place was at some distance from the camp, and to save the
time they would have occupied in going to and fro, the workmen
had brought their breakfast with them, to eat it in the wood;
and certainly they could not have chosen a more charming spot
than this retired valley, shut in by gigantic cedars and pine-trees,
and spangled with flowers of every hue, — crimson, blue, violet,
and yellow, mingling with the bright green of the tender grass.
But gold-washers in pursuit of their vocation pay little respect
to the beauties nature seems to have sown broad-cast over certain
spots. The bush which stands in his way, though it be covered
with the sweetest fruit or the brightest blossoms, must fall.
The stateliest cedar under whose roots he suspects that golden
grains may lurk, falls a victim to his axe, and the ruthless pick
scatters blossoms and flowers in ruin over the ground, and the
ME. SMITH. 313
spade showers down clods of red earth to bury them. What has
the digger to do with blossoms and flowers ? Colour they have
certainly, and balmy fragrance, but no weight; and so he allows
them to bloom and scent the air so long as they are not in his
way.
Our two friends had made sad havock among the floral "wealth
of the valley, and had torn an ugly stripe of brownish-red earth
in the blossoming carpet spread out on either bank. The pretty
murmuring brook, which had before glided so silvery bright along
its pebbly bed, now ran in a turbid current of clay; but the two
gold-washers sat joyously among the ruins they had created,
eating the provisions they had brought with them; for this
morning their preliminary work was done, and they were going
to try the cradle, to see what their labours would yield.
Of the occurrences in the flat they knew nothing; and, indeed
they would hardly in their secluded position have heard a shot,
if one had been fired. They had indeed noticed that the Mexicans
had banded themselves together the previous evening, but they
thought the intention of these former lords of the soil had been
to quit the place altogether, in quest of some spot where they
would be undisturbed, and evade the impending tax. They had,
however, wondered at noticing an unusual movement among the
Indians that morning. Several troops of the red-skins had passed
them, without, however, molesting them in any way.
As they sat comfortably in the soft grass, with their breakfast
spread out between them, there was a sudden crackling in the
bushes, which made them both start to their feet. The next
moment an Indian burst forth, with his fox-skin quiver and his
bow ready in his hand, and rushed by, not three paces from where
they sat. He himself seemed not a little astonished at the
sudden encounter, for he sprang aside with a yell of surprise;
but he appeared to see, at the first glance, that he had nothing
to fear from the two strangers. Shouting "Walle, walle," he
ran at full speed up the steep hill, and, less than three minutes
afterwards, disappeared in the forest at the summit.
" What lungs those fellows must have!" said Count Beckdorf,
throwing down, with a laugh, the crowbar he had snatched up in
the first moment of his surprise. " I wondered who on earth
could be coming."
"Confound him!" answered Bischer, likewise laughing, "I
took him for a grizzly bear. It sent a chill all down my back.
It's no joke being attacked by one of those beasts."
" Whatever could make the red-skin run so ? By the way, he
was just as much startled as we were. If he'd jumped aside
314 ME. SMITH.
half a yard more, he'd have tumbled into the hole we've dug
yonder."
"I can't make out," resumed Fischer, "what's the excitement
among the brown fellows to-day; but there's something up, 1
know; and I wish we had brought our guns, or, at any rate, your
pistols, to keep them off in case of necessity."
"Bah!" laughed Beckdorf. "We need not be afraid of them.
I've been in their camps, often and often, quite unarmed."
" Well, they won't have much to do with the Americans."
" No; but they know very well how to distinguish between
Americans and friends; and they like to deal with the 'Ale-
manes,' because they are seldomest cheated by our people. I
don't think there's a more goodnatured race of men on earth than
these poor brown devils."
"And yet, it is said, they're always quarrelling with the
Americans."
" And if they do, who in the world can wonder at it ? No
Indian nation has ever been driven from its possessions, insulted,
and abused, more suddenly and recklessly—at least, not since the
times of Cortez and Pizarro. Everywhere else at least a form of
justice was gone through, and the land was purchased of them,
if they only got a trifle for it; but here they are driven away as
unceremoniously from their own ground as we in Germany should
scare sparrows from a wheat-field."
" Yes, and we help too," said Fischer, laughing; " for if we
hadn't been digging and rummaging here for the last two days,
that Indian might have shot a deer, and had a Sunday's dinner
for his whole family."
" If he keeps running as fast as we saw him go, perhaps he'll
overtake one still," observed Beckdorf. " But what could we do P
If we had not taken this place, others would have found it out
to-morrow; and the result, in either case, would have been the
same. These gold-pits are eating deeper and deeper into the
land; and the Indians are being driven, day by day, higher up
into the Sierra Nevada. Whether they can keep themselves alive
there or not, is a matter of indifference to the Americans.
' They'll have to die,' say they, ' if they can't do any better.'"
"If they'd cultivate the land," observed Fischer, "they
might live in peace, and nobody would molest them; indeed,
I'm sure the United States would give them every facility for
doing so."
" The old nonsense," said Beckdorf, " which the professors in
the towns keep on droning about. You might just as well
quarrel with a fox because his nature is foxy, and expect him to
MR. SMITH.
315
hire himself out as dog to a shepherd. These men have been
created as they are, and God has given them this land; and we
haven't even the lame excuse, in taking it from them, that we
have come to civilize them; for no man has either time or
inclination to undertake any such thing; but it's an old question,
discussed a thousand times, and never with any benefit to the
poor Indians. The only consolation they have in California is,
that their blood is not drawn from them drop by drop, as has
been done in other countries. It will hardly take one year here
to every ten elsewhere, for them to bury one another."
Fischer sat for a while without speaking; but he soon
banished both the Indians and the contemplation of their fate
from his mind, and cried out, briskly,—
_ " I'm really curious to see whether we shall find anything this
time. The ground looks well; and that a few grains were found
in the upper crust of clay, is a very good sign."
Beckdorf listened to him with a thoughtful smile. " It's a
strange life we lead here," he said; " and I would give something
if the good people at home could see us as we sit here, or when
we grub up the earth in the sweat of our brows, to wash out a
few grains of the golden metal. Sometimes, upon my word, I
feel as-if I were working in a dream."
" So do not I"—replied Fischer. "If I couldn't sleep without
digging up hard clay and rocking rickety old cradles in my
dreams, I shouldn't think my life worth having. That the mode
of living should seem rather strange to us, is not to be wondered
at; for it's not exactly the style of thing we've both been used
to."
"But it's a jolly life for all that," said Beckdorf; "and I
wouldn't for all the world have missed my experience, even of
the time when I hacked and grubbed about in the hard ground
without getting anything, like an insane mole. There's the
beautiful wood, and the pure fresh air, and the work itself, with
its healthy exercise "
" Enough to dislocate your arms," interposed Fischer.
" What matters ?—when the body gets so strong, the mind,
too, remains fresh and active; and, for my part, I wouldn't wish
to serve a better apprenticeship."
"Well, if you look upon this as an apprenticeship," said
Fischer, laughing, " I wish we may find enough in yonder hole
to buy your articles, in the shape of a good-sized lump of gold.
I'm sure it wouldn't be superfluous; for if our financial con-
dition does not very soon improve, our strong-box will not be
difficult to carry."
316 MR. SMITH.
"Bah!—what matter?" laughed Beckdorf. "At any rate
we're earning our livelihood."
" Thank you—that does not satisfy me," answered his partner;
" for my intention is to get a little capital together, and to begin
to do something."
"Then I certainly advise you to begin doing something at
once, without capital, and not to waste your precious time in
digging holes here, like any sexton. Do you really think we shall
ever find gold enough to repay our labour?"
" Do you not think so ?" •
" No," answered the young count, laughing.
" Then why, in the name of common sense, are you digging
here?" asked Fischer; "and why did you come to California
at all ?"
" Certainly I came in the hope—I may say with the firm con-
viction—that I should realize a large fortune here in a short
time; and thousands have come over with the same ideas. I
wanted to become independent of my family in Germany; but
these fair delusions vanished into thin air before I had beeii here
a month, and I am so far convalescent that I expect nothing at
all. It's no great thing to get what we want from day to day;
and if we really find something worth having, why, I shall look
upon it as an unexpected prize, and rejoice heartily at my luck."
" With such principles, you must lead a very happy life here
in California," said Fischer, laughing; " but, when I come to
think of it, I haven't much to complain of, either. We've cer-
tainly nothing but the bare ground to eat our bread and cheese
and biscuit from—our clothes would be despised by any Jew;
and at night we have to sleep upon very indifferent mattresses,
with a dense and hungry population of fleas. But does any man
among the mountains know what the word care means ? Who-
ever takes thought for the morrow out here, except in so far as
he hopes to find a treasure on that day ? No; so long as a gold-
digger has his health—and I don't see how any one can get ill in
this air, except by his own fault—he is happy; and though I
think I shall tire of this life some day, I shall always remember
it with pleasure. But now let us to work again. Deuce take it,
we're lying here like two great personages who have only to
settle how they may best kill time."
"And are we not great men here?" asked Beckdorf. "No
one has a right to command us here, or to tell uS what we shall
do or leave undone; and that's more than half our great men at
home can boast. But, as you say, it's time to go to work; and,
indeed, I am curious to see what we shall find in the hole."
MR. SMITH.
317
• They returned to the scene of their labours, and Fischer sat
down by the cradle, while Beckdorf filled a couple of pails with
the earth heaped up on the margin of the pit, and carried them
down to the stream.
"What are you laughing at, Fischer?" he asked, finding his
companion chuckling to himself as he sat at his work.
" The fact is, I was thinking of those two wonderful characters
in the town yonder—the Counsellor and the Assessor—-two
excrescences of our German jurisprudence, whom fortune, in a
frolic, has thrown together on this coast."
"You're right," said Beckdorf; "they are two strange speci-
mens; and the tenor singer would be the very man to make a
third."
" It's a pity that the comet has vanished; but the comet had
more knowledge of life than either of them; for, at any rate, he
understood how to borrow. But how these three worthy citizens
intend to exist in the mines, unless they can manage to do
without eating, is a mystery to me."
"They say the Counsellor has some means of his own,"
observed Beckdorf; "and so he'll be able to keep his partner
above water for a " He stopped abruptly, and looked
sharply down the incline.
"Do you see anything there?"
"I thought I heard a noise; and when I looked up I fancied
I saw a shadow flit across the path, just by that fallen tree."
"Perhaps the shadow of a bird of prey flying across the
wood."
"Perhaps," repeated Beckdorf, with his eyes still fixed on
the same point; "and yet it did not look quite like one.
Suppose the Indians should intend to pay us a visit after all ? "
" Nonsense!—a fig for the Indians. Shovel in the earth—so;
that pailful will do: This is what I call a division of labour:
while you're fetching a fresh load, I'll despatch this, and so the
cradle won't stand still."
" There's a horseman coming up the path," cried Beckdorf,
after another look round.
" Ah, that's an American—perhaps the new collector himself,
beating up our quarters to demand twenty dollars from every
poor devil he meets. _ He won't get much from me, though. I
shall declare I'm a citizen of the United States, and send him to
San Francisco, to verify my papers."
" That is no stranger," resumed Beckdorf, after a pause. " I'm
sure I've seen that figure somewhere."
" Mercy on us!—why, that's the gambler, Mr. Smith, I think
318 MB. SMITH.
he calls himself, who had the affair with the Indians a little while
ago. It will not be a great loss for onr town if he's going to
take up his residence somewhere else. The fellow's a scamp,
out and out."
" He's coming this way."
"Don't have anything to say to him," said Fischer; "let
him associate with his own set, and be hanged to him."
So saying, Fischer began rocking his cradle again, and Beck-
dorf went with the empty pail to their pit for a fresh load of
earth. Just as he came back with his burden, the horseman rode
up, and stopped near them.
Mr. Smith had considered it far more desirable to ride off as a
messenger to Golden Bottom than to trust his valuable life and
his golden gains to the chances of an undertaking of which he
well knew the risk. He had certainly noticed that many Indians
were prowling about in the mountains. But they had all drawn
off in the morning, in an easterly direction, towards the Mexican
camp; and, moreover, he had little to fear from them, as he
was well mounted, and armed with a first-rate revolver. Besides,
as soon as he had surmounted the ridge, he was in the territory
of Golden Bottom, in the neighbourhood of which place many
Americans were at work.
So Mr. Smith sat very much at his ease on his horse, his
right leg thrown over the pommel, side-saddle fashion, and
whistled a ditty, seemingly compounded in equal quantities of
"Yankee Doodle" and " Washington's March."
Swerving from the path to avoid a fallen tree that lay across
it, he came close to the two Germans, and reined in his horse
opposite them. Considering that he was a messenger sent to
fetch his countrymen to the rescue, he appeared to take matters
very coolly indeed.
"Well, gentlemen," he began, in a very friendly and con-
fidential tone, " d'ye fiud your work pay well ? "
Beckdorf looked him full in the face, and then took up his
empty bucket and walked off towards their hole. Fischer began
to rock the cradle to and fro, without taking any notice of the
question.
Mr. Smith bit his lips till they looked thinner than ever, and
cried out with an injured air,—
" Well, sir, my^ opinion is that, among gentlemen, a civil ques-
tion is worth a civil answer."
"Amonggentlemen, certainly,"answered Fischer, drily; "but,
so far as I know, neither my partner nor I made any remark."
" And d'ye mean to say I'm no gentleman, sir ? " screamed the
ME. SMITH. 3X0
American, with a frown that made his cunning little eyes almost
disappear in his head.
" Now, I'll tell you what, Mr. Smith," replied Fischer; "we're
working here, and have no need to answer anybody's questions,
except those of an officer of the United States government; so
I certainly shall not have anything to do with the gambling
scamps, who go sneaking about the mines; and if any one of them
comes here with his impudence, I give you my word, Mr. Smith,
that I'll break every bone in his body for him."
Mr. Smith thrust his hand into his breast-pocket, where his
revolver lay concealed; but the other German was coming back,
and as Mr. Smith did not think it possible that any one could
exist in California without concealed fire-arms of some kind, and,
moreover, felt uncertain how far he could intimidate the two
men, he thought better of it, twitched his horse's bridle, and
muttering something that sounded very like " d—d Dutchmen,"
rode off slowly into the beaten path.
The two diggers laughed at him so heartily that he seemed
half inclined to come back; but he altered his mind again, and
rode off swearing audibly.
"Those fellows are like ulcers on the face of the land," said
Fischer to his companion, as they looked after the gambler's
retreating figure; "and any one who judges the Americans by
them, would have a poor opinion of the nation; but fortunately,
the more respectable part of the community think of them as we
do; and it's only here in California, and in the Western States,
that they're allowed to carry on their tricks at all."
" What did the fellow want ? "
"He was kind enough to begin a conversation with me,—
perhaps he wanted to do a little business by the roadside. It
wouldn't be the first time one of those scamps has cheated a
miner out of his gold, almost before it was out of the cradle,—
but it wouldn't do with me. But never mind stopping to talk
about him, I dare say he won't come across us again."
Mr. Smith meantime had retraced his way, probably not in the
best possible humour, to the fallen trunk near which Count Beck-
dorf had before fancied he saw the shadow. As the latter went back
with his empty pail towards the pit, he almost involuntarily looked
up the path on which the worthy traveller was wending. Sud-
denly he saw the horse start on one side, and the rider, whose
seat though comfortable, was the reverse of secure, lost his
balance and rolled out of the saddle, as a dusky figure sprang up
just before him.
He had not let go the bridle; but before Tie could jump up, or
320 ME. SMITH.
even properly realize his unpleasant situation, Indians came
starting from every bush, as if from the earth itself, — and the
white man lay pinioned and powerless before he could raise an arm
in his own defence.
Fischer, startled by the sudden noise, had also sprung up, as
a terrified yell for help came ringing down the hill-side.
" Confound it," cried Beckdorf, snatching up a crowbar from
the ground; " we can't stay here quietly and let the red-skins
murder that fellow, though he is a gambler."
" Don't think he would be a great loss," muttered Fischer;
" but—you're right. If we can do anything for him, we mustn't
stay here. But if the Indians really want to take his life, they
can cut his throat half a dozen times over before we can get up
to them."
As he spoke, he seized the sharp spade with which he had
been working; and the two men began scrambling as best
they could up the steep incline, till they reached the path, where
their progress became easier.
While the American's screams of terror still resounded across
the bills, some fifty Indiaus had gathered round him, and bis
arms were bound so tightly behind him with strips of bark,
that he could not move them an inch. But he had caught' sight
of the Germans, as they came bounding along to help him, and
he implored them, in tones of the most abject entreaty, not to
leave him in the hands of these murderous savages.
Beckdorf, lighter of foot than Fischer, had distanced his com-
panion by about twenty paces; and listening only to the dictates
of humanity, he was rushing into the midst of the troop of
Indians, when the whole body turned against him, and bending
their bows, threatened him with a shower of arrows.
" Come along, Fischer," he nevertheless shouted, undismayed
by the demonstration; " never mind their puny arrows—when
we've given half a dozen of them a taste of our crow they'll
listen to reason."
Fischer had a very different opinion of these puny arrows.
He knew that, discharged at such a short distance, they would be
fatal, as the ponts are barbed and almost always break off short
in the wounds they inflict. So he shouted to his comrade to
stop.
" Stay, Beckdorf! " he cried; " don't expose yourself more
than is necessary—first, let us try what persuasion will do——"
"Help! Save me ! For God's sake, don't leave me!"
screamed the unhappy captive, struggling frantically to free
himself from his bonds, as he saw the Germans hesitate and stop.
MB, SMITH.
321
" Shoot the rascals down like wolves—oh, that I could but get
my arms free! Help ! help !"
" "rT " 1 uted Eischer, in Spanish, as he came
lormer dealings witn tne missionaries—would be sure to under-
stand the language. " Hallo, there—you mustn't kill that man,
you know!"
A wild tumult of voices, among which not a word was
intelligible, answered him; and above all the din rose the frantic
scream of the captive, now almost beside himself with terror; for
a number of Indians had laid hold of him, and began dragging
him up the incline.
" This is a very awkward business," said Eischer to Beckdorf;
" we are quite jjowerless against such a tribe of them, unarmed
as we are; and if one of us ran off to fetch help, we could not be
back in time."
" Whatever can they be in such a rage with the American for ?
They never attempted to molest us. At any rate, we can't let
them murder him."
" Why, he's the scoundrel who stabbed one of their tribe,"
answered Eischer, " and most likely they want to take revenge
on him. They're in the right, sure enough; but still we must
see if we can't save him. Most of them know me; I'll go
among them, and see what I can do; but do you keep in the way
with your bit of iron; for, angry as they are, I don't care to
trust them too far."
Shouldering his spade, Eischer now ran up the hill, and tried
to push his way through to where the captive stood. Some of
the Indians wanted to prevent his approach, but these were in
turn held back by others, so that he soon overtook the group
who were dragging the unhappy wretch along. The armed
Indians, however, kept close to him; and though they showed
no intention to hurt him, they surrounded their prisoner, and
kept Eischer from approaching him. Beckdorf, fearing his
friend might come to harm, sprang up the height after him, and
stood still between Eischer and the pursuing Indians, in such a
way as to cut the latter off. When he saw that, Eischer followed
the count's example; and the two young men held their ground,
determined on no account to let the Indians retire unopposed.
"I'll tell you something," shouted Eischer, as they came
close up to him, " and I know you understand me. If you
don't let that man go, I'll split the skull of the first man who
comes near me."
There was a rustling and crashing in the bushes above them ;
some of the Indians—from their
y
322 MR. SMITH.
and when the Germans looted round, they saw another troop of
Indians running down the heights.
" Confound it," whispered Beekdorf to his friend, " the game
is up now. I think we'd better rush in at once, and cut the
fellow's bonds—then there'll be three of us."
"Kesos!" exclaimed Fischer joyfully. "Thank God, there
comes the chief, just at the right time. That's the most sensible
Indian in the whole district, and he'll never allow them to
murder the man: he knows well enough that the Americans
would make him pay for it in the end."
It was really the chief, who came bounding down the steep
hills, followed by some twenty of his people. He stopped
abruptly on seeing the white men. Fischer at once made
towards him, and begged him, for God's sake, to speak to his
tribe and prevent them from committing murder.
Mr. Smith had also, to his unspeakable horror, recognized the
chief; for he knew what he deserved, and therefore had to
expect, at the hands of Kesos. From that moment, he ceased
to shriek for help; but the desperate way in which he tugged at
his bonds showed the violence of the fears that agitated him.
He knew that if justice were done, he was a lost man.
The Indians had drawn back at the appearance of their chief,
who stepped up to the captive, and measured him with gloomy
threatening looks, without at first paying any attention to
Fischer's protestations and entreaties on his behalf.
To-day he appeared a complete Indian, wearing only the short
leathern skirt ornamented with shells—the dress of his tribe ;
his head was bound round with a coloured handkerchief decked
with eagles' feathers, the tokens of his rank. On his shoulder
he carried a long single-barrelled gun.
At last, slowly, and as if lost in thought, he raised his right
foot, and placed it lightly on the breast of the prostrate prisoner,
who glared up at him in an agony of fear, with eyes almost
starting from their sockets.
"Who should prevent me," said the chief, in Spanish, "if
I crushed this bad man to death like a worm."
" You will not spill his blood, Kesos!" urged Fischer, in a
tone of mingled warning and entreaty.
"How do you know that?" retorted the Indian fiercely;
" do you say he has not deserved it ? "
"But you cannot, and may not, murder the man in cold
blood," protested Fischer.
" Cannot and may not," repeated Kesos, with a bitter smile;
f* will you hinder me ? "
MR. SMITH. 323
" Kesos," said Eischer, in a calm, steady voice, " you know I
have always been friendly towards you—you know that in the
affair about this very man, I took your part; but, for your own
sake, you had better not spill the blood of this prisoner who
now lies at your mercy. Think, Kesos, how many innocent
people of your tribe would have to suffer for it."
" I know," cried the chief gloomily, " that the hated Ameri-
canos make no difference between guilty and innocent; and if
the Mexicans, this morning, instead of running to hide like
cowards, had fought their foes like men, much wrong might have
been made right to-day. But alone, we can do nothing against
the fire-weapons of the whites—at least, not until I have taught
our tribes how to use such arms."
" And this American ?"
"He shall not leave these hills unpunished," said Kesos
sternly; " he shall at least have us in remembrance as long as
he lives ? "
"What are you going to do with him ?"
The chief did not reply; but he drew back his foot, opened the
coat of the prisoner, as he lay on the ground, and soon found the
revolver concealed in the breast-pocket. He possessed himself
of this weapon, took out the knife, and unscrewed the lock,
which he flung away as far as he could into the thicket, down the
hill. Then he thrust back the useless weapon into its place of
concealment, and called forward an old Indian, to whom he whis-
pered a few words in their own language.
The old fellow looked savage and angry enough, and his eyes
gleamed with cruel delight as he looked down upon the prisoner.
He was the brother of the man whom Smith had killed. But
though he was chosen as the avenger of blood, he did not seem
satisfied with the instructions given him, and uttered a few
words of angry expostulation; the cfiief, however, persisted in
the command he had given, and at last the old man jerked for-
ward the string to which his sharp knife was tied, unfastened the
weapon, and rushed upon the captive. The wretched prisoner
beheld these preparations with the utmost horror; and though
he understood enough Spanish to glean some hope from the
conversation between Eischer and the chief, all his hardihood
seemed to vanish away from him.
" Let us seize the chief, and hold him," suggested Beckdorf,
in German, to his companion. " He will be a hostage in our
hands, and then they must let the poor devil go."
Before Eischer could make any reply to this proposal, Kesos,
who suspected some intention of the sort, stepped back a pace or
y 2
324) ME. SMITH.
two, and stood with his loaded gun pointed at them. A surprise
was thus rendered impossible; and, indeed, it was now too late
to prevent the punishment which had already descended upon
the trembling culprit.
For while the wretched gambler yelled for mercy in a voice
that sounded scarcely human, and while the Indians stood with
their bows bent against the white men to prevent a rescue, the
old man had thrown himself upon his enemy, and with two
rapid cuts with his knife had sliced off both the miserable fellow's
ears, close to his head. Then he spat contemptuously in the
writhing wretch's face, and turning away, threw the severed ears
to a number of hungry bony dogs, which always prowled about
among the Indians, and now fell greedily upon the sickening
morsels.
In obedience to a further command from their chief, several
of the bystanders now loosened the bonds of the prisoner,
down whose shoulders the blood was pouring; and Kesos,
turning to the two Germans, bade them tell the man that he was
free, and might go home. But he desired them to warn him
against falling into the hands of their tribe a second time; for
the natives had " seen his blood," and their chief might not be
near enough to save his life.
Mr. Smith had jumped up, directly he felt himself free. He
looked as pale as death, and the blood pouring down on each side
of his white face gave him a most ghastly appearance. In the
first moment of his deliverance, he seemed unable to realize that
he was indeed to escape alive out of the Indians' hands, and he
cast wild, terrified glances at the bent bows and threatening
arrows around him. But on Fischer's assuring him that for the
present he had nothing to fear, and further advising him to make
what haste he could to get to the settlement, he seemed suddenly
inspired with new hope. *
His horse was grazing almost at the same spot where it had
thrown him off; and with tottering steps he ran towards it, now
falling over a root, now stumbling against a tree. He heeded
not the shouts of derisive laughter with which the Indians
watched his progress—he thought not of his own blood pouring
down from him in streams. In the saddle-bags, his horse bore
the hoard of gold; and to secure that and his own life, he fled
as fast as his failing limbs would carry him down the slope,
seized the bridle, swung himself into the saddle, holding fast in
front for fear of falling; and thus he rode back, as fast as his
snorting beast would carry him, into the camp he had just quitted,
to seek protection, and, if possible, revenge.
OLD FRIENDS.
325
CHAPTER XXIV.
old friends.
We have for a long time lost sight of one of our old friends,
namely, of Doctor Rascher, who had gone before the Hetsons
into the mountains to pursue his botanical researches. After-
wards, when he should have " reaped where he had not sown"
among the multifarious flora of the land, he intended to meet
his friends again in the little mining town to which they were
going.
Accustomed from his youth to a regular and frugal mode of
living, the old man had not many wants ; and filled with zeal for
his scientific pursuit, he thought it no hardship to take his
chance of a night's lodging in the tent of a gold-washer—or,
where no such habitation was to be found, he would even pass
the night under a tree in the midst of the forest. The mule he
used for carrying his cooking utensils, his coverlets, and his
botanical specimens, would be tethered somewhere near, to
browse on the fresh herbage; and next morning, before the dew
was off the grass, the old doctor would proceed merrily on his
way.
The gold-washers whom he met occasionally, or into whose
houses he went, often wondered to see a man travelling about
without a spade, pickaxe, or wash-pan, and whose only object
seemed to be to fill a tin box with plants, which he tore up care-
fully, roots and all. But the old doctor had such a friendly
hearty way with him, that no one dared to say a contemptuous
word about it; on the contrary, even the go-ahead Americans
often deigned to point out places to him where they had noticed
flowers and plants growing in unusual abundance.
Thus he had been vagabondizing about for five or six days
among the hills; and so well was he satisfied with his harvest,
that he resolved to bend his steps towards the " Paradise." There
he purposed to stay with the Hetsons for a short time, to
examine the plants in the neighbourhood, and then to continue
his wanderings. Whither he went was to him a matter of in-
difference, so long as he found new prizes in his search.
326 OLD FRIENDS.
So little care had he taken as to the direction in which he went,
that he did not even know if the town lay to the north, south,
east, or west; and he was in fact looking out for some one whom
he could ask for information on this rather important point.
As he walked on, leading his mule by the bridle, beside a high
wall of rock, he discovered a single gold-washer working in the
valley below. He did not much wonder at this, for even he had
experience enough of a Californian miner's life to know that
separate diggers, dissatisfied with the places at which they had
hitherto worked, would often take their tools and a small stock
of provisions on their shoulders, and go off into the mountains to
dig in other spots, on the chance of finding a good place. If
they succeeded, they would go back for their tents and cooking
utensils, and take up their quarters at the new spot. These
wanderings in search of new mining-ground the people called
"prospecting."
These men generally had a very good topographical knowledge
of the neighbourhood in which they worked, and through which
they had sometimes been wandering for weeks together; so
Dr. Rascher determined to descend into the valley, and make
inquiries as to the whereabout of what he facetiously termed his
"lost Paradise."
On his way downward, beside the shady hill, he found many
plants to engage his attention for a time; so that it was almost
noon before he reached the valley where the gold-washer was
puddling about by the clear stream in quest of its treasures. He
was working with his back towards the Doctor; and the rattling
and shaking of his cradle prevented him from hearing his visitor's
approach. Dr. Rascher had come up to him quite silently, and
was enjoying the prospect of the stranger's startled look when
he should discover him in that lonely place; so he led his mule
very gently along to within four or five paces of the miner, and,
suddenly stopping, called out " Good morning," in a louder voice
than the occasion demanded.
Instead of jumping up in a fright, as the Doctor had supposed
he would do, the man sat quietly, without even turning his head,
and answered, in German, as indifferently as if he had met an
every-day acquaintance in the street,—
" Good morning to you."
"Well, that's what I call cool," muttered Dr. Rascher; and
he stepped close up to the miner, to have a good look at such a
remarkable philosopher. The man hardly looked up from his
work—only when the mule passed close behind him he half
turned his head, and asked " if the beggar kicked."
OLD FRIENDS.
827
"No," answered the Doctor, with a smile; "he's a very good,
quiet fellow."
_ " Glad to hear it. Many of the beasts are very fast with their
hind legs; and the other day one of them gave me such a crack,
that I couldn't sit down with comfort for a week."
The doctor could not help laughing at the whimsical look with
which this piece of information was accompanied.
" Oh, it's all very well for you to laugh," said the gold-digger,
going on quietly with his work.
As Dr. Kascher looked more closely at him, he fancied he
knew the man's face, though it was not an easy matter to distin-
guish the features. The fellow had certainly not used a razor
for at least six weeks, and he seemed to have forsworn the use of
soap and water for the same period. The shirt, too, which he
wore was innocent of the wash-tub; and through the old battered
straw hat, which had probably done duty as a pillow by night,
wisps of light hair peeped out, as if looking in vain for the advent
of a long-desired comb.
It was a true but melancholy picture of a careless, indolent
man, deprived of the stimulus from without to keep himself in a
civilized condition, and wanting the firmness and self-respect
which would have supplied the place of that stimulus, — a
European, sunk to all the bad and disgusting habits of the Indian,
without adopting one of the redeeming characteristics of the red.
man,—a self-neglected, degraded being, not peculiar to California,
but to be met with also in many other wild countries, such as
the back states of the Union and the Australian bush. Here
he was vegetating, rather than living, in a dirty, savage style,
and grubbing in the earth for gold.
"Tell me, friend," resumed Dr. Rascher, suddenly, "have we
not met somewhere or other, before to-day?"
" Not to my recollection, Doctor."
" Still, it seems, you know me ?"
"Why, yes," said the man; "how should I not know you?—
we made the long sea-voyage together."
" Ah, I remember—you were a 'tween-decks passenger."
"I was one of the fools," the man burst out with quite avehe-
ment familiarity, " who were shipped over in that den of horrors
to this confounded Califonium—paid my passage and all—and got
nothing to eat but pork and peasoup."
"But I hope you have been rewarded here for all the privation
and discomfort of the passage."
" Rewarded!—I ? I should like to know how," grumbled the
man sulkily. "I only wanted to get enough to buy the new inn
528 OLD FRIENDS.
at Hesselbacli; and here I've been grabbing about for seven
weeks, working like a horse and living like a dog, and haven't
got enough to pay for the corner-stones. If I only had the
newspaper writers here who spread their confounded lies all over
Germany, hang me if I wouldn't " And he gave his cradle a
vicious shake, as if in illustration of what he would do to one of
those unfortunate literati, if he could only catch him by the
collar.
Though the Doctor smiled at his vehemence, he could not help
feeling sorry for the man, who sat alone in the wilderness, at
variance with God's providence, with all the world, and with him-
self. But the miner's company was not sufficiently agreeable to
make him wish to stay long; so he began to think of getting on
towards his destination.
" Do you know the country round about here, friend ?" he
asked, after a short pause.
" I should think 1 did," answered the man. " I seem to know
every spot in it where there's nothing to be found. Just look,
sir—there—and there—aud here—and again over yonder. All
those holes I've dug quite alone by myself; and there's room
enough in them for a million's worth of gold, one would think."
" I was talking of the neighbouring mines."
"What are the neigbouring mines to me?" growled the
. German. " I've seen more of Califonium than I want to see."
"So you can't tell me where the place they call 'Paradise'
lies?"
"Paradise 1" repeated the man; and he looked sharply at his
questioner, to see if he was playing with him. " Well, if you're
looking for a Paradise in this confounded Califonium, it strikes
me you may look long enough before you find it. But if you
should really come upon it, I do wish, Doctor, you'd contrive
to send me word. Paradise!—yes, a fine Paradise—Eldoradio—
and all sorts of grand names they called it, too, in the papers.
The devil take the whole country, as soon as I'm safe out
of it."
The Doctor soon saw that no information was to be obtained
from this man, who had, like a mole, obstinately mined the
whole of the valley. Still he felt curious to see how this crusty
customer lived in that solitude. He had seen no signs of a tent;
and yet there was a fire close to where he worked, with an iron
pot and two tin cans beside it.
"Where do you live!" he asked. "Don't you ever leave the
brook?—do you stay here night and day ?"
"My bedroom is just behind the tree yonder," answered the
OLD FRIENDS.
329
German, ■without rising from his seat. " If you'd like to see it,
it's really worth looking at; only I've not arranged it properly
yet."
Dr. Baseher crossed the brook on a rude bridge made by a
couple of trunks of trees covered with brushwood, and, after
looking round in vain for a tent, glanced back in doubt at the
miner.
" Behind the tree, I tell you," repeated the latter; and a few
steps further on the Doctor came suddenly upon the cave of this
wild German citizen.
The entrance to this primitive apartment was simply a hole
hewn in the rock, about three feet square, overshadowed by some
bushes, which had been left growing there on purpose. To the
right and left two little boards had been hung up, with inscrip-
tions, very badly spelt, written in charcoal—the one setting
forth that " spring-guns were set there," and the other informing
strangers that there was " no admittance."
The wardrobe was on the left as yon entered; that is to say,
a peg had been driven into the pine-tree that overshadowed the
entrance, and from it depended a cloak, which had once been
pea-green, with innumerable collars; while an old umbrella of
green cotton, faded and feeble with age, leaned languidly with its
broken handle against the hard bark.
"And do you really live here?" asked the Doctor, rather
astonished at these primitive arrangements.
" Certainly I do," answered the German, stopping for a moment
to fill his cradle with fresh earth. " If you'd like to walk in,
don't stand on ceremony. That about the spring-guns is only
gammon. I wrote it up in case one of the rascally Indians
should look in while I was away, and come pryiug about."
" Thank you—thank you," said the Doctor, who did not feel
much inclined, from the outward appearance of the hole, to
venture into the interior. "But if you were to fall sick here, all
alone?"
"Oh, nonsense!" cried the digger—"never been sick in all
my life—not even sea-sick."
"Well, can you tell me the nearest way to some place where
men are at work, or, better still, to the next dealer's tent ? "
"Down by the stream," answered the man, curtly.
" Well, then, farewell, my lad. I wish you better luck than
you have met with as yet."
"I couldn't meet with worse, at any rate," grumbled the
man; and he turned again to his cradle, and resumed his
work.
330 OLD FRIENDS.
Following the course of the stream, the Doctor, after a march
of two hours, reached a tent erected by an enterprising Yankee
dealer. There he learned that the town of Paradise was five
miles further on, and that a path led to it across the next
mountain ridge.
It was too late to get there that night, particularly as he felt
tired with his march; so he put up for the night at the Yankee's,
where he got a tolerable supper and a clean bed, and the next
morning set forward with renewed strength and spirits.
He met very few passengers except gold-diggers, who wander
about everywhere; a few waggons were lumbering along, carrying
provisions from the town into the neighbouring mountains. When
he thought he had almost reached the end of his journey, he
met several Mexicans, first singly, then in little groups, all riding
armed, and in great haste. He accosted one or two of them, but
could get no answer. The Mexicans kept silently on their way,
some riding along the road, others turning off into the thicket.
At last the lofty ridge was surmounted, and the Doctor looked
down upon the beautiful valley, from a point whence he could
see at a glance all the bustling life of the flat. Astonished at the
view which opened suddenly before him, he stopped, and did not
observe that a man was sitting on a stone not twenty paces from
him, with a double-barrelled gun across his knees, lost in con-
templation of the beauteous panorama. He took no notice of
the Doctor, and Bascher, when he presently became aware
of his presence, made up his mind to ignore the stranger in
return.
"It's a queer custom," thought the Doctor," but one to which
I shall have to accustom myself, I suppose, in California, for it
seems to me a very sensible plan to take no notice of anybody
whom I meet. If I speak to any one, except he expects to get
some advantage from me, it's ten to one that I get a rude answer,
or none at all. Every one goes through the world on his own
account,—and, after all, it's the most sensible and natural way.
I'll begin at once to acquire this habit; we're never too old to
learn."
In pursuance of this resolution, Dr. Bascher sat himself down
on a stone at a short distance from the stranger; and though it
was a hard matter for him to refrain from giving him a friendly
" Good morning," he put great restraint upon himself and stared
down into the valley with a look of perfect unconcern; indeed,
he found so much to look at, that he soon quite forgot the ex-
istence of the stranger, and could never tire of gazing at the
enchanting picture.
OLD FRIENDS. 331
He had been sitting thus for half an hour, when a well-known,
merry voice suddenly called out,—
"Doctor!"
He turned quickly, and jumping up, and running towards the
stranger, with a look of pleased astonishment he cried,—
" Emile—Baron, wherever do you come from ? "
"Erom San Erancisco, Doctor," answered the young man,
with a laugh, as he held out his hand to his old friend. " And
you may be sure I am very glad that you should be the first
friend whom I meet here, but—you're going away ? "
" Going away!" repeated the Doctor; " I've only just come.
But it's rather a good joke; I had determined to speak to no
one on the road, and you were the first man on whom I was going
to try my resolution. I did not know you at all in your cotton
miner's shirt, as you sat on the stone. I took you for a Erench-
man."
" And you've not been in this place at all yet, and know nothing
about it," inquired the young man.
" I know," answered the Doctor, with a smile, " that the place
before us is called Paradise; but whether it will prove a Paradise
to us is a question we cannot yet decide."
As he spoke he looked sharply at his young friend, and could
not avoid seeing that he blushed slightly. Perhaps the young
man felt that he looked discomposed, for he turned hastily, and
led the conversation into a different channel.
"Now just look, Doctor," he said, "what a really beautiful
country this is; and to think that these lucky Americans should
have won it so easily, with all the treasure it contains."
" It is a charming prospect, Baron," answered the Doctor;
" but though I was happy enough out in the woods among the
beautiful flowers, a feeling of oppression always comes over me
directly I see such a settlement as this. Gold, gold, and again
gold! It's positively the only thing one hears talked about.
The people think of nothing else, and therefore can have no other
subject of conversation. The quality and yield of every hole are
discussed, and the lumps found there are described. You hear how
much this or that miner realized on such and such a day; how
much another has scraped and grubbed together within a week;
and to any man who hasn't an interest in it, the whole subject
becomes so nauseous that one feels inclined to pack up one's
traps and run right away, to get rid of it."
"But my dear Doctor," said the young man, "you must
remember that we are in California. You wouldn't go to a fish-
ing-village and expect not hear about fish. In time, perhaps, all
332 OLD FRIENDS.
this may change, hut now we must even take things as they are;
and I will confess to you that I rejoice in the strong young country,
and have a hearty respect for its inhabitants. From what 1 had
heard at home, I fancied the Americans a rough, speculating,
tobacco-chewing race, always buying and selling; and to tell you
the truth, I came over in the full expectation of finding my ideas
verified, and have been so agreeably disappointed, that I look
on the people with very different eyes. There are scamps enough
among them, I know; about as many, in proportion, as we have
in Germany, only that here they don't go about in broadcloth
and varnished boots; but the fellows have a fund of strength
and endurance, a persistence in what they once undertake, and a
courage to execute the hardest and most dangerous tasks that I
have ever seen equalled. I don't think we need adopt their
horrible habit of tobacco-chewing,—but if we could take example
by their patriotism and national pride, and could inoculate our
people at home with a little of it, it would be a great blessing
for us; and perhaps some day we might win a territory for our-
selves where such a plant can grow."
"But there area terrible number of scamps among them,"
observed the old Doctor,—"more, I fancy, than we should find in
Germany; take for instance these gamblers."
"Our scamps at home are not so brazen and impudent, I grant
you, but they are quite as numerous; and all the more dangerous
because they are obliged to work out their knavery in secret.
These gamblers, you must remember, are like the offscouring of
of the whole nation,—I may almost say of the world, not except-
ing Indian Thugs and Italian bandits.—By the way, I never
heard any more of that Siftly, from the day when I had the
quarrel with him. He vanished like a spectre, and the only
thing I heard respecting him was that he had gone off in pursuit
of his runaway partner."
" Yery likely. Well! I am not anxious for the honour of his
acquaintance," said Dr. Rascher; " and I only hope we shall see
no more of him. But can you explain to me, my young friend,
why two flags are waving on the flagstaff yonder ?"
" I've been puzzling my brains about that very thing for some
time," answered Baron Lanzot. " The uppermost looks, as far
as I can make out at this distance, like the American ensign;
but I cannot make out the other at all."
" And there seems a good deal of disturbance in the city, if
we can dignify the single street of tents by such a name.
These inhabitants of Paradise don't appear to lead a verv quiet
life."
OLD FRIENDS.
333
" Something must be the matter, certainly," saidBaron Lanzot;
"suppose we go down and see ?"
" With all my heart. But what on earth has brought you to
the mines, my dear Baron; for I presume you have left your
name of Emile down in San Erancisco."
"Yes," laughed his friend; "I've wrapped it up in the
waiter's napkin; but earlier than that,—in fact, as soon as I left
Germany, I left my title behind me; and so, my dear Doctor,
you must be so kind as to call me simply Lanzot. If you're
determined on being polite, you may put' Mr.' before it."
"You're quite right, my dear Mr. Lanzot, or Lanzot," said
the old man, "in preferring this course. You are obliged to
forget everything like title and precedence in a country like
this; for rank is a very curious thing, and can only be appre-
ciated under particular circumstances, and in its own circle. A
single soldier among a crowd of civilians has a strange appear-
ance, and the glaring contrast of colours of his coat and collar
seems to offend the eye; but among his comrades he looks
picturesque enough. So you have done right to doff your title,
like the soldier's coat, till you step back into the ranks in the
old country. Now, too, it will not be so incongruous to see you
with pickaxe and spade."
" Bah!" replied the young man merrily, " they would at least
be better in keeping with the baron's title than would the plate
and napkin."
"That's true enough; but it has always been a riddle to me
how in the world you could have taken up with such a calling.
I suppose you got tired of it at last, did you not ?"
There was a slight blush on the young man's merry face as he
replied,—
" Why, certainly, I grew very tired, of it. At last, I one day
flung down a whole heap of plates at my captain's feet—you
remember him, the little withered Erenchman,—and I threw him
right across the table ; and so we parted; and I fancy each was
flad to get rid of the other. Then I went away from San
rancisco to try my fortune in the mountains; ana as I knew
that you were somewhere about here, and the name c Paradise'
had a pleasant sound, I turned my steps hitherward."
"On my account ?" asked the Doctor, with a roguish smile;
then h© added, in a more serious but not a less friendly
tone,—
" Take care, take care, my dear Lanzot, and let this affair of
yours with this Monsieur Bigault, or whatever his name is, be a
warning to you. Connections are more easily made than broken,
334 OLD FRIENDS.
and you must think that you are going to return to your own
country some day. Don't forget this, and always keep the path
of retreat open; and do not choose a partner whom you cannot,
if necessary, throw across the table with a clear conscience. I
Reed not say more, I am sure."
" No, my good Doctor," answered Lanzot; " and I will cer-
tainly remember your advice; but now let us make haste down
into the valley; for, to say the truth, I have had no breakfast,
and am deplorably hungry. Come, my good old grey, you
will have a couple of days' rest, unless, indeed, we have to
be off to-morrow. So, forward, Doctor, as quickly as you
please."
The Doctor had no objection; so on they went, each leading
his beast towards the valley.
There were no regular paths towards the different mines, with
the exception of the one highway; and the waggons had to
make their way through field and forest as best they could. It
was not at all a rare occurrence that they broke down, or came
to grief in one way or another; and thus it happened that our
travellers came upon some fragments of a small cart which had
foundered there a short time before. The greater part of the
wreck had been carried off into the valley; but the front of the
cart, with a single wheel, still lay there, by the trunk of a felled
tree.
Lanzot, merry and mischievous as a schoolboy, caught up the
wheel, and turning to his companion, suggested,—
" Suppose we set it rolling, Doctor; what say you ?"
"Do nothing of the kind," remonstrated the steady old
physician; " for the proprietor is sure to come back to fetch it
away."
" Then, perhaps, he'll find it coming to meet him," said
Lanzot, with a laugh. " I was always fond of rolling stones
down a steep hill. I like to see them bouncing down into the
valley;" and so saying, he gave the little wheel a swing, and
sent it careering down the hill. At first it rolled merrily down
the incline, which was not very steep; but acquiring additional
impetus from the wavy nature of the ground, its speed increased
more and more, and instead of swerving to the right or left, and
falling over on its side, as they expected it would do, it rushed
in long leaps into the valley, skipped over a couple of low bushes,
and disappeared.
The two men had stood still in astonishment at the perform-
ance of the wheel, and listening to the rumbling of the rolling
body, which still reached them from below.
OLD PRIENDS,
335
Suddenly there was a crash, and immediately afterwards a loud
shout of surprise and terror.
" Hallo!" cried Lanzot, in considerable alarm; "I hope I've
not done some mischief or other through my nonsense !"
"I hope not," said the Doctor, also alarmed. "I trust the
poor fellow who gave that shout is only frightened, and not hurt.
Hut, at any rate, we must go down and see."
"Certainly," answered Lanzot. "If I've done mischief, I
must pay for it; at any rate, the wheel couldn't have tumbled
into a glass shop, for there are none here—that's one comfort.
I only hope we haven't damaged anybodyand, without another
word, they pursued their way as fast as their beasts could
follow.
On that eventful morning the Counsellor and the Assessor had
risen as usual to go to their work beside the mountain stream.
But the disturbance in the camp made them uneasy; and when
they noticed the preparations the Mexicans were making with
their flag, and heard from one of their countrymen who happened
to come by, that the wood swarmed with Indians, they very sen-
sibly made up their minds to remain quietly in their tent, and
wait the issue of the affair. Their hands and arms, moreover,
they thought would be benefited by an extra rest. So the
Counsellor turned to the right-about, filled his pipe, and sat
down in his usual place by the fire on a stump, with his back
against an oak tree, observing to his companion,'—-
"You can lay on a few bits of wood, Assessor—dumplings
to-day."
"A very capital idea, Counsellor," cried his goodnatured
partner; and he proceeded, at the risk of losing his spectacles,
to pull and haul a heavy log into the fire: he had fetched it the
evening before, with great labour, from the wood. The Coun-
sellor looked on benignantly, without moving a limb to aid him.
" A very capital idea," resumed the Assessor; " and if we take a
good rest to-day, we shall work all the harder for it to-morrow:
so there will be no loss incurred."
" None at all," assented his partner; and, after a few more
pulls at his pipe, he went quietly to sleep, while the Assessor,
with unwearied industry, continued the preparations for their
meal.
The rest of our German friends, namely, Lamberg, Binderhof,
and Hufner, had also struck work for the day, as they felt
anxious, like the Counsellor, regarding the movements of the
Indians. The two first of them, moreover, took a real interest
336 OLD FRIENDS.
in the question of the moment, and were anxious to see how this
quarrel between the Americans and this mass of Mexicans would
end.
The Counsellor and the Assessor, however, were profoundly
indifferent as to all these transactions. The Counsellor slept
like a cradled babe; and though the sound of the gong and
drums, and the unmusical strains of " Yankee Doodle " mingled
fitfully in his dreams, they did not even make him turn his head.
Nor did the Assessor pay any attention to the disturbance, which
he considered had nothing at all to do with him; it was the
business of the proper officers to look to it. If, indeed, he had
been Assessor here, he thought, he would at once have investi-
gated the whole affair, and drawn up a protocol of such a length
as to strike terror to the soul of the most mutinous. But for
the moment his business was to cook dumplings, with a delicate
piece of an ox which Mr. Hale, the sheriff, had killed only the day
before; and he was particularly anxious that the Counsellor
should be satisfied with his skill in cookery, inasmuch as the way
to the heart of that dignitary lay through the region immediately
below.
Mr. Hufner was another who cared very little about the
Americans and the Mexicans;—he had much more important
things to occupy him.
He was considering, poor man, whether his mother-in-law
elect had received his letter yet, and what she would say when
she did receive it. He had even bribed the postman who brought
up the mail once a month from San Erancisco, and took letters
back with him in the steamer to that city, in order that if a lady
should ask him how things were up there, he might be sure to
reply " Yery bad indeed;" and now he sat unemployed in front
of his tent, with the image of his mother-in-law looming darkly
before his troubled soul.
What a noise and disturbance the Americans were making
over yonder! What could it all mean ? Lamberg and Binderhof
had already gone off to see; and, at last, he could stand it no
longer. He determined to walk over to the Counsellor's tent,
and ask that great man and his friend the Assessor to give him
their opinions as to what he should do if his mother-in-law really
made her appearance. He could not take her into his tent, that
was certain; as it was, Binderhof never let him be at peace for
a minute; and what was to be done ?—how in the world was he
to pacify her ?
The Counsellor was still asleep, and the Assessor did not dare
to wake him; but, in his endeavours to move about noiselessly,
OLD FRIENDS. 337
he stumbled over a pine log, and fell just in front of the
Counsellor, with such a crash that the latter started up in
dismay.
"I beg ten thousand pardons!" he nervously ejaculated.
" Eact is—I tumbled down."
The Counsellor muttered something which fortunately escaped
the ears of his careful partner, and began pulling savagely at his
pipe, which had, however, to be re-lighted, as its proprietor's
nap had lasted for an hour and a half.
Mr. Hufner now came forward, and after a few introductory
remarks, explained the cause of his visit. His mother-in-law
stood like an avenging fury before his soul; and yet, poor fellow,
he was unconscious of any crime.
"Nonsense!" was the Counsellor's commentary—"mother-
in-law! Don't be afraid; if she comes, set her to dig—all
a lottery—glad to see her. Perhaps mother-in-law will have
luck."
" Yes; but only think, sir, if she were really to come."
"Yes, Counsellor, it certainly would be a dreadful thing,"
assented the Assessor, before whose soul the image of Mrs.
Siebert rose with awful distinctness.
"Bah—a couple of old women," grumbled the Counsellor,
through a thick cloud of smoke. " Don't want to hear anymore
of it—Dumplings ready ? "
" In a moment, Counsellor," answered the Assessor, who had
been trying the contents of the iron pot under peculiar
difficulties, inasmuch as his spectacles became covered with
steam and had to be wiped every time he peered into the seething
mass. At last he succeeded in fishing out one of the dumplings
with a wooden fork of his own manufacture, and, tasting it,
found it exactly the thing.
" Dine with us ? " asked the Assessor, turning abruptly to
Mr. Hufner, and putting his long pipe out of his mouth.
" Much obliged to you, Counsellor," answered poor Hufner,
with a bow, " but my appetite is gone; and since I heard those
dreadful news I have hardly touched a morsel."
" Preposterous! " cried the Counsellor. " Well, begin,
Assessor;" and taking on his knee the tin plate and spoon
his industrious companion handed to him, he looked expectantly
towards the steaming caldron. The Assessor, still rather a
novice in his vocation, was going to lay hold of the handle with
his naked hand; but he drew back his palm with a shrill scream,
and bundled off into the tent to find a rag, the Counsellor
seeming inclined to use his cambric handkerchief for the purpose,
z
338 OLD FRIENDS.
"That's the new alcalde down yonder," observed Mr. Hnfner
to the Counsellor. " I fancy he wants to come by here; you
will then see him distinctly. He is an American, and they say
he's a very determined fellow."
" Ah—-1 don't care," answered the hungry Counsellor. " As-
sessor, where the deuce are you staying ? "
"In a moment, Counsellor," cried the Assessor, who came
hurrying out with a piece of rag he had brought with him all
the way from San Erancisco. "We'll see at once how they've
turned out—I only trust they're not hard."
He was bending over the caldron to get a firm and secure
hold of it, when a remarkable rumbling was heard on the moun-
tain-side just above them. All three looked up in surprise; but
they had hardly time to jump out of the way, before the wheel,
bounding upward from a little stone against which it had struck,
and urged to railway speed by its long descent, swerved aside
and came with a crash against the ill-fated caldron, the
depository of so many hopes.
Eor a moment all was confusion. The Assessor gave a yell of
terror, the Counsellor sprang up and let his plate and knife fall,
and the hot broth hissed and spattered in the fire, while a shower
of sparks and wood-ashes rose high into the air; but the wheel,
effectually checked in its course, spun round once or twice like a
teetotum, and then rolled slowly past the alcalde, till a bush with
outstretched arms stopped its destructive career.
Hetson, who had witnessed the whole catastrophe, was not
exactly in the humour for laughing; still, the whole affair was so
ludicrous, that he could not resist a smile, as he stepped towards
the tent, to see if any one had been hurt. Moreover, he at once
recognized the Counsellor and Mr. Hufner as his fellow-pas-
sengers on board the Leontine, and he knew that Hufner spoke a
little English.
He found Hufner and the Assessor standing disconsolate by
the ruins of the dinner; while the Counsellor, breathless with
rage, was giving vent to his anger in a torrent of invectives.
Hetson, whose sharp eye could not distinguish the form of a
single enemy on the face of the incline, judged, rightly enough,
that the whole incident had occurred more through a freak of
some solitary traveller than through deliberate malice, and tried
to impart his opinion to the Counsellor. But that worthy man
was far too much excited to listen to reason. Hetson might as
well have spoken to the wheel itself. The Counsellor danced up
and down, stamping his feet on the ground, and reiterating
threats "and imprecations of terrible import, wherein such words
OLD FRIENDS. 339
as—Criminal action—dumplings—rascals—thieves—California—
and hanging—were the only intelligible items.
Hetson had just made up his mind to let the angry man cool
down as best he might, when two men appeared coming down the
steep incline, and leading their beasts by the bridles. These
were no doubt the aggressors; and as some angry passages
might be expected between them and the aggrieved inhabitants
of the tent, he stopped to see what would come of it. The next
moment he recognized in one of the new-comers his old friend
Dr. Rascher, and ran to welcome him with quite a shout of
pleasure.
" My dear Doctor!" he cried, shaking the old man's hand
vehemently; "some good angel must have guided your steps
hither. I don't know any one whose face I would rather see
just now than yours."
"Dear Mr. Hetson," replied Rascher, with equal glee, "it
does my old eyes good to see you looking so fresh and hearty.
But you're pale still—very pale: you've not been here long
enough for the mountain air to take effect. But I shall soon see
you perfectly recovered, and as strong as we can wish you to be."
" Doctor, I've some important news to tell you."
" I shall be at your service in a moment. I hope Mrs. Hetson
is quite well and happy ? "
" Perfectly."
" Well, thank God for all things; and now let me introduce
to you a very dear friend of mine, Baron de—no, no, I mean
Mr. Lanzot, who, by the way, does not make your acquaintance
under the best auspices; for he it was who rolled down the wheel
which has, I am sorry to observe, caused .some confusion down
yonder. I hope it is not your tent."
"No,M replied Hetson, with a smile; "but the people are
fellow-passengers of ours, and you've certainly spoiled their din-
ner. One of them is that comical old fellow with the pipe—a
member, I beh'eve, of the legal profession."
" Oh, the Counsellor," said Rascher, laughing; " we must see
how we can propitiate him. I suppose the thing is not impos-
sible. My dear Lanzot, let me introduce you to my good friend
Mr. Hetson. You remember I spoke of him and his amiable
wife when I recommended the young Spanish lady to be Mrs.
Hetson's companion."
"Mr. Hetson," said Lanzot, with an honest blush, "I am
happy to make your acquaintance, and am only sorry it should be
on the occasion of such a foolish freak of mine."
" You'll be able to make your peace with your countrymen, I
z 2
340 OLD FRIENDS.
have no doubt," said Hetson, smiling. "Now, Doctor, can I
have a word with you ? "
" You seem in a great hurry; but first we must arrange the
affair here. They'll believe me, an old steady man, and a
fellow-passenger into the bargain,—when I tell them that no
harm was intended, and that we're ready to pay for the damage
we have done."
Hetson was obliged to give in; and they went down together
to the enraged Counsellor, who at first would not hear of any-
thing like a compromise, and declared the affair should be the
basis of an action at law. The proposal of pecuniary com-
pensation he looked upon as an insult added to injury; but,
luckily, in the midst of his wrath, he had refilled his pipe, and a
few energetic pulls at the sedative tobacco seemed to calm him
down a little.
The dinner certainly had become a total wreck. There was
no hope of saving even the smallest fragment of it. But the
Assessor, with his own inexhaustible good-nature, promised to
provide another meal without loss of time. Mr. Hufner ran off
to bring his own iron pot; and, further mollified by the sight of
these active preparations, the Counsellor was at length induced
to stretch out the hand of forgiveness to young Lanzot; which
ceremony he accompanied with the following remarkable oration:
"Well, I don't care—foolish tricks—rolling wheels down
hills—almost broken my pipe—confounded California;" and as
the three men turned away, he added, " Stupid coxcomb—broken
the pot—shook hands with him—ought to have kicked him
out;"—and the Counsellor became mysteriously hidden from
view in a cloud of sm<?ke from his pipe.
the prisoner.
341
CHAPTER XXV.
the prisoner.
Baron Lanzot soon saw that the American had something
to say to his old friend in private; as soon, therefore, as they had
left the tent, and the presence of the majestic Counsellor, he took
his mule by the bridle, and walked on alone down the incline,
the other two following him, deep in conversation. The old man
had reason now and then to shake his head, and to interpose with
a few soothing words; for Hetson poured out his whole heart
before him, telling him, in short excited sentences, of all the
occurrences of the last eventful days. Still the Doctor found
reason to rejoice at the change which had come over the whole
demeanour of his former patient.
This was not the hypochondriacal, undecided, despairing man
whom he had known and pitied on board the Leontine, and in
San Erancisco. His whole demeanour, his manner of express-
ing himself, and even his ideas on various subjects, had become
firmer and more independent. Even when he asked for advice,
he seemed already determined to act; and the remembrance of
the past only hung like a thin mist over his spirit.
One circumstance only had wounded him deeply; the thought,
nay, according to Siftly's declaration, the certainty, that his wife
had known of the presence of her former lover, and that — for
what purpose he cared not — she had arranged a secret meeting
with that lover. This part of the story Dr. Rascher vehemently
refused to believe. He expressed his firm belief that though
Mrs. Hetson might have accidentally encountered Charles Gol-
way, she had never sought the meeting. He strengthened his
protestations on this point by giving his American friend such a
sketch of Siftly as rendered any statement made by that worthy
man very doubtful; and now it flashed upon Hetson's memory
that his wife had said she wished to tell him of something
before he went out on his expedition against the Mexicans.
On one point both the men were agreed,—that the Englishman
must be compelled by fair means or by force to quit the plaoe.
If, as Rascher firmly believed, he was a man of honour, he would
342 THE PRISONER.
do so of his own accord; if he refused, two courses were open:
either he must be compelled to depart, or Hetson and his wife
must seek some other dwelling-place.
Absorbed in conversation, they had reached the centre of the
town, when their attention was suddenly aroused by a noisy
crowd of people, who came thronging up the street towards
them.
Hetson, still uncertain whether the angry Mexicans would not
after all hazard an attack, in conjunction with the Indians,
begged Rascher to wait for him, and hurried as fast as he could
towards what seemed the nucleus of the tumult. This nucleus
was formed by our old acquaintance Mr. Smith, who, with mani-
fest tokens of ill-usage upon him, with his face pale as death and
distorted by pain, and the blood still trickling down from where
his ears had been, was clinging to his horse rather than sitting
upon it, and shrieking to his countrymen in a shrill, grating voice,
for revenge against the Indians.
The wild excitable fellows, with weapons still in their hands,
were only too ready to respond to the call; and there was a
general call for Hetson, whom they looked upon with great
respect since the occurrences of the morning, to lead them on.
The only man who, amid all the uproar, maintained an appearance
of perfect serenity and composure was old Nolten. Already pre-
pared to return to his former working-place, and to his old com-
panions, he sat on his raw-boned grey horse amid the throng,
and when Mr. Smith stopped screaming for revenge, from mere
want of breath, he said, coolly,—
"Hanged if I raise a finger for the fellow,—and I hope all
honest Americans will do as I do. If you hadn't killed the poor
devil of a red-skin the other day, mister, you'd have rode through
the Indians as safely as I intend to do in a quarter of an hour.
As it is, it just serves you right. Pirst you ill-use the poor
brutes, and when they serve you out for it, you come to your
friends and squeak out for revenge. What surprises me is that
they haven't taken your life; but that you've had your ears
docked just serves you right; that's my opinion — old Nolten's
opinion,—and if you don't like it, you'd better say so."
He turned his horse, and rode slowly through the throng of
Americans. Many voices cried out,—
" You're right, Nolten, the fellow deserved it," as he rode
slowly up the street towards the mountains.
Hetson was going to mingle in the crowd, when Hale came
towards him, and seizing his arm, led him aside, and briefly told
him of the affair under the last alcalde, as it had happened.
THE PRISONER. 343
There was no doubt that the gambler had shed blood without
any reason, and that the Indians were justified in the revenge
they had taken. Hale declared, for his own part, that he would
do nothing at all against the Indians; for as they had not got a
hearing when they applied for one, it was not fair to listen to
the other fellow now. It was a pity he was a citizen of the
United States—that it was. If some of the wild boys chose to
go out to take revenge upon the red-skins, why, no one could pre-
vent them; but his opinion was that the alcalde ought to refuse
flatly to meddle in the matter. If they thought the Indians had
done them any wrong, let them complain in the proper way, and
the matter would be decided by a jury.
"Hallo, Hetson ! " shouted a rough .voice, — and Siftly, with
his pale bleeding partner by his side, and a noisy tribe of fol-
lowers at his heels, came striding towards the alcalde. " You're
standing there chattering and splitting straws ! Are we to stay
here quietly till the red-skins come down upon us, and serve us
as they've served him? No, hang it all! Better sweep away
all the foreigners and these brown scoundrels from the face of
the earth together, than let a drop of American blood be shed
without revenge!"
Hetson glanced with mingled pity and disgust at the mutilated
figure before him, and inquired into the particulars of the affair,
which Mr. Smith proceeded to relate in his own way. But when
he proceeded, interrupted at intervals by angry exclamations
from the bystanders, to inform the alcalde how the chief Kesos
had robbed him of eight hundred dollars, a loud voice suddenly
shouted through the uproar,—
" That is a lie!"
They all turned in astonishment at the voice, and the next
moment Count Beckdorf, just returned from work, with his tools
on his shoulder, and wearing his red woollen mining-shirt and
straw hat, stepped into the circle, and standing opposite to the
alcalde, said boldly,—
" If this man has reason to be thankful to any one that his life
at least has been spared, it is to the chief, a*bout whom he now
lies. I was there, witness of the whole scene, though I and my
comrade were not able to save the poor devil from what has hap-
pened to him. He must bear witness himself that we did all we
could. Not one of the Indians meddled with his gold; and they
did not hinder him from mounting his horse, whose saddle-bags
had never been touched."
" I lost it—I lost it while they were dragging me up the hill,"
stammered the gambler, with a look of deadly malice at Beck-
344 THE PRISONER.
dorf. " What do you know about it ? You don't mean to say
you're standing up for the rascals."
" I'm only standing up for the chief, who behaved honourably
and well in the matter," answered Beckdorf, quietly. "As to the
punishment you received, that is your affair and theirs, and I
give no opinion upon it. But there was no robbery; and if the
money had only been lost, it would be found again. But no man
carries eight hundred dollars in gold or silver in his breast-
pocket; and we don't deal in notes here. I fancied the gentle-
man wouldn't tell the thing just as it happened; and so 1 came
down to correct him if his memory played him false."
"And what the devil have you to do with the matter at all, to
make yourself so busy?" roared Siftly, unable to contain his
-anger at the foreigner's boldness.
"Stop, Siftly," interposed Hetson, seizing his arm as the
gambler pushed angrily forward; "I am obliged to the man for
the information; for it has prevented our setting out on an un-
just expedition, as we should probably have been obliged to do,
if Mr. Smith had really been robbed by the Indians. Their
having revenged themselves for the murder of one of their tribe
is another matter, and must be decided by a jury, if your friend
chooses to proceed in the matter. Of course, I am ready to
give him every assistance."
"Are you, indeed?" exclaimed Siftly, measuring him from
head to foot with a glance of contempt; " it's a pity that we
don't care to wait for your tardy help. Come, boys! who's for
going out and taking half a dozen of the red scoundrels'
scalps ?"
"A whole lot, I fancy!" shouted Briars, always ready for
anything like a fight. " I'll go—we'll all go ! "
"No, we won't all go, though," interposed another American
dply. " Those who kick up shines in the hills can take the con-
sequences; besides, the fellow there—what a sight he looks with-
out his ears, to be sure !—I say, he can't have a clear case, or he
wouldn't have told that lie about the eight hundred dollars.
They tried the same kind of thing over in Murphy's yonder.
Hanged if I interfere with the Indians, for one."
"Nobody asked you, Mr. Cook," retorted Siftly, 'angrily;
"we don't want you; with half a dozen good fellows, I'll under-
take to lick the whole lot of them. Come on, boys, we'll teach
the rascals to cut off white men's ears !"
A few of the most turbulent followed him, as he started off
up the street; but the greater number remained behind, and
even of those who followed Siftly, several dropped off, either
THE PIUSOMER.
345
from lack of interest in the affair, or because they were doubtful
as to the rights of the case. It was certainly, as they expressed
it, "confounded impudent" in the Indians to cut off a white
man's ears; but then the fellows had been provoked first. The
chief had always been friendly enough; and, moreover, the
mountains were swarming with the red rascals, and it was very
uncertain what they might do.
Count Beckdorf stood with folded arms beside the sheriff,
lookiug gloomily after the retreating group, when a hand touched
him on the shoulder; and turning, he saw two laughing brown
eyes gazing at him. Eor a time he gazed in astonishment at the
face he encountered; he knew the features well enough, but
among all the thousands of faces which he had seen in Cali-
fornia, he could not for a moment identify them.
"Honoured Count," said- the stranger with a merry laugh,
" you must excuse me if I take the "
"Emile!" exclaimed the Count, scarcely believing the evi-
dence of his senses, on finding,an old friend in such a place, and
under such circumstances;—■ "is it really you ?"
" As you see, alive and well; but tell me, George, have you
really turned miner P You look quite the digger, in your red
shirt and old straw hat, and with your right shoe all trodden
down at heel."
Beckdorf had seized his hand, and kept shaking it energetically,
as he cried:—
"Welcome a thousand times to the mountains, whatever
may have brought you here;—I never expected there was such a
surprise in store for me as this ! Are you going to stay ? ''
" Eor the present, at any rate. I am on a cruise, Californian
fashion, and am not bound to any place in particular; here no
man binds himself—it's not the custom."
" Have you been here long ? "
" About six months; and within that time I've been wood-
cutter, clerk, boatman, mule-driver, and waiter at a restaurant.
But now I ought to question you, in my turn. What wind
blew you out of the German drawing-rooms into this wilderness?"
" The same, most probably, that swept you across,—the equi-
noctial gale, which rose in Paris in 1848, and like a true thaw-
wind, came from the west, and broke up the rotten old crust of
ice in our fatherland. I found I could not employ my time
better than in travelling."
" And now you're at work here ? "
" In company with another German. You've not tried your
fortune in the mines ? "
346 the prisoner,
" Not yet."
"So much, the better. Then I shall have the honour of
teaching you the noble art and mystery of gold-washing. You've
time to come ? "
"I?—yes—certainly. What could there be to hinder me ?"
"Yery good; then come with me to my hole. My partner,
by the way, will be wondering why I don't come back; and we
can have a good talk as we go."
" And when shall we return ? "
"When the work-day is over," replied Beckdorf with a laugh.
"In this country one learns the meaning of the word,—we
haven't much notion of it at home;" and he linked his arm into
his friend's, and marched him off along the street towards the
silent valley where he worked.
Cook, an old settler from the Western States, who, by speak-
ing out so roundly, had prevented several thoughtless fellows
from joining Siftly's gang, was meantime standing, where they
had left him, leaning on his rifle, with his eyes bent moodily on
the ground. His horse had become impatient, and was pawing
the sand with its forefoot; its master, however, did not take any
notice of its uneasiness, but continued to look out straight
before him.
So Hale found him, when he returned, after accompanying the
alcalde part of the way to his tent.
"Hallo, Cook!" he accosted him, "what's the matter with
you, man?"
" With me ?—nothing particular, only I'm annoyed that such
a rabble as those fellows yonder should call themselves American
citizens. Deuce take me, if I don't think the Australian convicts
are better men."
" You mean that Siftly ? "
" I mean the whole confounded gambling set of them," replied
Cook, roughly. " The rascals are just like so many vultures or
carrion crows; wherever a pound or two of gold's dug out of
the ground, there they are; and do they ever do an honest day's
work themselves ?—not they. It pays them better to watch for
any poor devils who are fools enough to try what they call their
luck with them, and in the end they send them back to their
work cleared out as clean as if they'd never earned a cent."
"Well, but isn't it their own fault, the stupid devils?"
_ "That's true enough, and I can almost say it serves them
right; but I do hate the cheating rascals who earn their living
in such a sneaking, lazy way against the law.' Why can't we do
THE PRISONER.
347
here as the gold-washers up at Bich Gulch have done, and turn
the whole lot of them out of the place ? What do you get by
allowing them to stay here ? Did one of the whole gang sa
much as shoulder a rifle this morning?"
"You ask what I get from them?" repeated Hale. "If f
had my way, out they'd go, and the sooner the better. Eut I
don't quite know how to bring the matter before the alcalde, fol
it seems that Siftly is an old friend of his."
"No great recommendation for the alcalde," grumbled Cook.
"But what do we want with an alcalde at all in the matter?
We can't do anything legally against them, and the scamps know
it well enough; the only thing we can do is to turn them out.
Now just see the mischief they may do if they come into contact
with the Indians to-day. Who's to blame the poor brutes if
they revenge themselves when they see a chance ? What should
we do, Hale, if we were they ? For my part, I reckon I should
shoot every white man I found. This will be a great country
some day; but there'll be hard work first to get rid of the
rascally fellows who prey upon it."
"No wonder," said Hale, "for all the ruffians in creation seem
to be flocking over here to try their luck. The authorities in
San Francisco are too weak to do anything against them, and
the lawyers are nearly all to be bought up, and so are the
judges."
" That's true; they've all come here to get gold in some way
or other; those who can't manage pick and spade, try it on
with the quill. Devil take the quill-drivers; I should like to
turn them out too."
" I hope you don't include our alcalde ?" said Hale, laughing.
"He's a man to be respected, I can tell you; he managed the
Mexicans as well—ay, better than any back-woodsman could
have done. But what are you about with your horse ?—going
away ?"
"No," answered Cook, "I've only just caught him, and must
manage to get a stable for him for a day or two, till the Indians
have either gone away or grown quieter, or I shall have them
shooting him with their confounded arrows, and afterwards eating
him up ; though the old chap would be a tough bit of goods too.
"Who's that fellow over yonder, who's been watching us for such
a time ?"
" I don't know," answered Hale; " he doesn't look like an
American; I fancy he's a Britisher. He wants to speak to us,
I think, for he's coming this way."
The sheriff was right. The stranger—who had been looking
318
THE PRISONEB.
not at the two men but at the horse—came up, nodded to them
both, and then turning to Cook, asked,—
"Is that horse to be sold, sir?"
" To be sold !" repeated Cook. " "Well, nearly everything is
to be sold up here at the mines, — and why shouldn't the horse
be sold too, that is, if anything like a price is offered ?"
"And what do you want for him ?"
Cook reflected for a moment before he answered. Opportune
as the stranger's offer was, he feared, like a true Yankee, to ask
anything less than the buyer might be induced to give. At last
he said,—
"I think if you were to give eight ounces you'd make a very
good thing of it. I mean, of course, without the saddle and
bridle."
" Eight ounces is a good deal of money for an old horse, and
I only want it to carry me to San Erancisco."
" Couldn't let it go for less than eight ounces," said Cook.
"I've got another that I might let you have a little cheaper;
but the brute's grazing up among the hills somewhere, and I
don't care to go after it so long as the Indians are about. If
you can wait a day or two, I can perhaps go and look after it
for you."
"I should like to be ofF to-day," answered the other, "if
I could get a horse to suit me. Can't you take seven for
it?"
" Tell ye what, stranger, if you want a horse, this one is cheap
as dirt at eight ounces; if you don't, two ounces are too much
for you to give. But I don't want to be hard; so if you'll give
seven and a half, it's yours. It's a sound, clever hoss, though
it's nine year old,—and will carry you to Stockton in a day."
"D'ye think so ?"
" Call William Cook a liar if it don't."
" Yery well, then, come with me into a tent, and I'll weigh
out the gold."
"Don't think we need do that; haven't you got your scales
with you ?"
" Certainly I have."
" And so have I. Do you weigh it first, and I'll weigh it
after you; and if we're both satisfied, we needn't trouble the
dealers about it. I don't like their weights. If you ask them
to weigh off seven ounces, they're sure to make eight of it, and I
don't want to take advantage of you."
The stranger looked again at the horse, and seemed satisfied
with its appearance; then he stepped up to a large stone, which
THE PRJSONEE. 349
had been pushed aside so as not to interrupt the line of tents,
and began weighing oft the stipulated amount.
" That's a Britisher who finds this place getting too hot to
hold him," whispered Hale to his friend.
^ "Very likely,"answered Cook; "there's something queer in
his way of speaking, and he looks to me as if he was more
accustomed to the sea than to dry land. Well, the old hoss is a
safe one, and won't run away with him or throw him off, so long
as he don't ill-use him."
The stranger had, meanwhile, weighed off the gold in his little
scales, and piled it up on a piece of paper. Cook weighed it
after him, and found the quantity right.
" Good coarse gold," he observed. " Where did you dig it
up?"
" Yonder, by the Macalome," was the answer; " at least part
of it; for some I got for my tools, tent, and other things I sold.
You'll be kind enough to wait here with your horse a minute,
while I fetch my saddle and bridle. They're lying in that tent
yonder."
"All right, stranger," said Cook, who was pouring the gold
into his own bag; but he kept a single piece in his hand, and
looked sharply and inquiringly at his customer. The English-
man nodded slightly, and went off towards the tent.
" Well, good-bye, Cook," said Hale, holding out his hand;
"you need have no trouble about a stable for your horse now."
" I don't know that," whispered Cook, with such a strange
startled look, that the sheriff stared at him in wonder for a minute,
and then exclaimed,—
"Why, man, what the deuce is the matter with you ? You
look as white as chalk all on a sudden. Are you ill ? "
" Hale," whispered Cook, holding out the piece of gold for the
sheriff to see; " I know this piece of gold,—I know who dug it
out—and who—parted with his life before he gave it up."
" You know ?—and who was it ? "
" Johns," whispered Cook, as if he feared that the very wind
would carry the name to his murderer.
" Johns! " cried Hale; " the man we found murdered up
yonder in the wood ? "
" Hush, — don't speak so loud, or the fellow will hear you.
You know we two worked together. I was sitting at the cradle,
he was standing in the hole and digging, and he found this piece
of gold, — a little piece of quartz set into four flakes of gold, as
neatly as any goldsmith could have done it. I was going to take
it among mine, but he asked me to let him have it, as he wished
350 THE PRISONER.
to send it to his mother, in the States; and I am certain he
would not have given it up for twice its value."
" And you believe "
" That this man is his murderer, delivered by God's justice
into our hands. If not, let him prove to us how he came by this
bit of gold."
"Are you sure of what you say, Cook ? Remember that the
life of a fellow creature my be sacrificed through a supposed
resemblance between two pieces."
" Hale, I could take my oath as to the identity of that piece
of gold," said Cook; " it is not possible that nature could pro-
duce such an extraordinary form twice, without the slightest
variation. Besides, look at this hole in the back of it,—this was
full of earth, which Johns scratched out with his knife, — and
here the knife slipped, and left that little notch, which Johns
afterwards tried to knock out with the back of the blade. Johns
had two other pieces which I would undertake to know again, as
easily as I do this."
" That's proof enough," said Hale. " Stay, here he comes
back."
" What are you going to do ? " asked Cook.
" To arrest him, of course; and a jury shall decide whether he
is guilty or not. Are you ready to step forward as his accuser ?"
"At any moment you like."
"Yery good, then."
" Gentlemen, I have kept you waiting rather a long time,"
said the stranger, who now came back laden with his saddle and
bridle and bags; " but I had a little account to pay there. Will
you be so good, sir, as to take your saddle off ? "
" First answer me one question," interppsed the sheriff,
holding up the piece of gold. "Where did you get this
from ? "
" That's a strange question," answered the Englishman, " par-
ticularly in the mines, where a piece of gold may pass through
jix different _hands in as many days. I don't even know if it
really was mine."
"I just this moment received it from you," said Cook,
sternly.
" Well,—is it not good gold ? "
" Yes, it is certainly gold," said Hale; " but I wish to know
how you came by this piece. Did you dig it up yourself, or did
you receive it from any one ? "
" And what right have you to question me about it at all ? "
asked the Englishman bluntly.
THE PRISONER. §51
"I am the sheriff of this place," answered Hale.
" Ah, that alters the case; then you certainly have a right to
an answer. Unfortunately I shall scarcely be able to give you a
satisfactory one."
" Then it will be a bad thing for you," said Hale seriously.
"A bad thing forme?" repeated the Englishman. "How
so ? I have certainly dug for gold; but latterly, after I had
grown tired of the mines, and wanted to return to San Erancisco,
I have sold my tent and my tools, and this very morning my
horse, which had fallen lame. The last gold I got was for my
horse; but I cannot say if this particular piece was among it or
not,—at least I could not swear to it, as I put all my gold into
one bag. But what's the matter with the piece of gold, that
you should ask so particularly about its former owner ? Who was
he?"
"A poor fellow," answered Hale, with a piercing look at the
Englishman, "who was found here the other morning murdered
and buried in a hole."
" Murdered! " exclaimed the Englishman, in a tone of horror.
" Why, that's dreadful!"
"I'll tell you what, my friend," said the sheriff, touching him
lightly on the shoulder, " you're my prisoner, and I advise you
for your own sake, to make no resistance; it could do you no
good, and would only make your position worse."
" Your prisoner!—on a charge of murder!—here !"
"If you are innocent, you will be able to prove it; if you are
guilty, you must have known the consequences of your crime
when you committed it. You look like an Englishman."
" I am an Englishman."
" So I thought,—and you came over here from Australia ? "
" No,—from Valparaiso.
" But you went there from Australia ? "
" No,—from England direct."
"Very well, — all that will be looked into. Now I must
trouble you to come with me. Cook, I must beg you to accom-
pany us, and the alcalde will see to the rest."
"Sir," said the Englishman, "there is some unfortunate
error here, which must be cleared up; but I cannot tell you how
disagreeable it is to me to be detained just now."
" I can imagine it must be," rejoined Hale drily; " but there's
no help for it. Mr. Hetson will soon settle the affair."
" Who will settle it, did you say ?" cried the prisoner, in
a tone of alarm.
"Hallo, sir," said Cook, who had noticed his gesture,
352
THE PRISONER.
" that don't look very much like innocence. Do you know the
man ? "
"I've never seen him/' answered the Englishman, who had
quickly regained his composure. " Is he your alcalde ? "
"Yes; by the way, don't be alarmed about the hoss," said
Cook, as the prisoner cast an anxious glance towards his pur-
chase. "If you're innocent, it shall be at your disposal as soon
as the jury has acquitted you; and if not, why, you won't have
much need of it, for I reckon they'll make you walk the only
journey you'll have to go."
" Hetson! "—muttered the prisoner to himself—and as he
glanced again at the horse, the thought of liberty swept across
his mind. What if he jumped into the saddle and fled ? Before
they could overtake him he would have gained the forest—who
would be able to find him ? But flight was impossible; for
Cook, who seemed to have an idea that his prisoner meditated
something of the sort, hastened to loosen the saddle-girths, and
held his rifle prepared for action in his left arm. It was in vain—
he could not escape his destiny.
"Have you any arms about you ? " asked the sheriff; "if so,
you must give them up. I only do my duty; but that I shall
do, you may depend upon it."
" Here," answered Golway, after a short pause, and he drew
his revolver from his pocket. " This is the only weapon I carry,
except my pocket-knife."
" Have you no other broader knife about you ? "
"No; you may search me."
"That will do," said Hale, pocketing the revolver; "the
rest you shall hear from the alcalde. And now we must be
moving."
the meeting.
353
CHAPTER XXVI.
the meeting.
Doctor Rascher had kept out of the way of the tumult in
the street. He had a constitutional dislike to noise and disturb-
ance, and could not help wondering how people managed to
quarrel so much in a country where there was room enough foi
every one to go where he liked and do what he pleased. Rut if
they seemed to like quarrelling, he had at any rate no idea of
mixing himself up with their dissensions; he had quite enough
excitement without that.
Hetson soon came back, and the Doctor went away with the
alcalde to his tent, not only to see his good friends, Mrs. Hetson
and her Spanish companion, but in the hope that he would be
able once and for all to establish the peace he had once already
brought among them, as physician to Hetson's mind rather than
to his bodily ailments.
On entering the tent, they found Mrs.- Hetson bending over
Manuela, who, with white cheeks and tearful eyes, knelt on the
ground beside her protectress. In the farthest corner of the
canvass room sat Don Alonzo, with his head sunk on his breast
and his hands folded on his knees—a picture of mingled rage and
shame. He started up with a guilty look, when the two men
glanced at him in wonder.
Manuela, too, rose hastily, and was about to retire, when her
eye rested on Dr. Rascher. Mrs. Hetson no sooner saw him than
she ran forward, her pale face radiant with joy, and both her
hands extended.
"Welcome, a thousand times welcome, dear Dr. Rascher,"
she cried; " you come providentially indeed."
" What has happened ? " inquired Hetson, who could not fail
to notice the disturbance of Manuela and her father, while Dr.
Rascher was vehemently shaking hands with Mrs. Hetson.
"I will tell you presently," said Jenny; "you shall know
everything. But first, Prank, I must inform you, in the presence
of our old friend, of something for which you cannot be quite
unprepared, but which——"
"I know all," interrupted her husband; and the stern, searching
2 a
354t The MEETING.
glance, with which he accompanied the words, sent the blood
careering in streams to her cheek and brow.
"You know it?" she repeated in amazement; and then a
thought flashed upon her, and she added, in a half-startled
tone, " You know it through that man Siftly ? "
Hetson, with his eyes still fixed upon her, nodded in acquies-
cence.
For a few moments she scarcely knew how to go on—for in
the wild light in his eyes she read, to her horror, the old unhappy
madness, the old pain and doubt, which had already threatened
to undermine his life, and had made her so unspeakably wretched.
But soon she regained her composure, and continued, in a voice
of gentle reproach,—
" And if he told you everything, he must have told you that
Charles Golway would never have set foot on this coast but
through your own fault."
" Through my fault!" exclaimed Hetson, amazed at the
accusation.
" Through your fault," repeated his wife. " Did I not beg you,
when we were in Chili, not to keep our destination secret?
Your unhappy suspicion—oh, do not deny it, Frank ! for in your
delirious ravings you have confessed all—your unhappy sus-
picions gave a wrong interpretation to my words of warning.
You thought I wanted to leave a trace behind us, by which my
former lover might follow me. It was your unhappy want of
confidence in me that directed his steps this way, for, according
to the accounts they gave him in Yalparaiso, he thought we had
sailed for one of the Australian ports; and thus he followed the
stream of emigrants to this coast, feeling quite certain he would
not encounter us here."
" There you have it, my dear Mr. Hetson," interposed old Dr.
Rascher; "the very confirmation of what I told you before.
You ran yourself into danger, if you had an honest and honourable
man to deal with,—from a rascal you had nothing to fear,—■
besides, he could not be a rascal to whom Mrs. Hetson once gave
her affection."
" And what is to be done now ? " gasped Hetson, fairly on the
rack with contending emotions; " what is to be done to avert
the evil which threatens us through his presence here ? "
"To be done?" repeated his wife, with a melancholy smile;
"^here is nothing for us to do, Frank. What could be done, he
has done already. He is going to leave this spot; and probably
at this moment his horse is carrying him far away from us—he
will never cross our path again."
THE MEETING. 355
" God grant it," whispered Hetson, half speaking to himself—
" God grant it!"
" Now this is just what I expected," struck in cheery old
Dr. Rascher; " and so, my good Mr. Hetson, you see that all
your fears, which at last took the form of a dangerous illness,
were foolish, and I may almost say suicidal, for you were destroy-
ing the whole peace and happiness of your life."
" Where did you meet him ? " asked Hetson, in a low voice,
as his eye again sought his wife's countenance.
"On the mountain yonder," answered Jenny quietly; "I
had gone there with Manuela to enjoy the beautiful morning."
" But you had never before gone so far from our tent."
"True; but that was just the reason. The fresh pure air on
the mountains lured us to enjoy the view from thence. Neither
of us had any idea that the neighbourhood was so disturbed,
and particularly that there were so many Indians prowling
about."
Again Hetson was silent; but it was evident that another
question weighed upon his soul, which he feared to put into words.
But he could not contain himself. He felt constrained to sift
the affair to the very bottom, and he at last nourished a vague hope
that he would be able at one stroke to dissipate all his old
fears: So with a determined, and yet a faltering, voice, he said
at last,—
" Jenny—had you—had you no suspicion—no idea that you
would meet that man yonder ? "
" Frank,—my dear Frank!" exclaimed his wife in a terrified
voice, "that question came not from your heart—some meddler,
some interloper must have sown that suspicion in your brain.
Have I once—one single time—been false or deceitful towards
you ? Have I ever kept any secret from you for so much as a
single hour ? "
"And Manuela—she knew nothing about him?" continued
Hetson, who was resolved to drain the cup to the dregs.
" Manuela," repeated Jenny—and for the first time there was
something like bitterness in her tone—" truly you are an adept
in the art of tormenting; but I will answer your question simply
and truly. On my word of honour, she knew nothing—not a
word. Are you satisfied now ?"
Hetson was silent; and involuntarily his eye rested on
Manuela, who stood trembling beside her protectress.
"But what has happened?" he asked, as he looked from the
girl to her father. " What is the matter ? Manuela had been
crying when I came into the tent."
2 A 2
356 THE MEETING.
" That man," answered his wife, " whom you call your friend,
is a villain."
"Who—Siftly?" .
"Yes, that is his name. With diabolical cunning he has
lured that poor old man into his net again; and when he had
deprived Don Alonzo of the few dollars he had won by his hard
work, day by day, he persuaded him, under the influence of a
blind passion for play, to stake his daughter's freedom."
"Manuela's ?" asked Hetson, in astonishment.
"Yes, Manuela's," answered his wife, her eyes flashing
brighter than ever with indignant scorn. "You know how it
weighed upon her soul that she had to serve as a decoy in those
dens of iniquity the people rightly call gambling-hells. To escape
from that, she came hither with us, and felt happy in our simple,
quiet way of living; and now her own father has staked his child,
and she is again to be a servant to that demon in human shape."
" I don't understand you," cried Hetson, bewildered.
" She is to play two hours every evening for a whole month in
his tent—that is what he asks; and he says he has a right to
demand it."
"And Manuela?"
" She says she will die rather than consent."
While Mrs. Hetson was speaking, Don Alonzo had risen slowly
from his chair; and though he spoke English very imperfectly,
he understood it well enough to know what they were talking
about. He came up to the American, who looked at him in
mingled scorn and pity, and, seizing his arm, he exclaimed,
passionately, in his own language,—
" Senor, your wife has told you the truth; but, believe me, by
all that is holy, the man played false."
"And does that excuse you, senor?" asked Hetson,—"does
that make the action, by which you would have consigned your
daughter to the old misery, a laudable one ?"
" I did not think of that," groaned the old man, wringing his
hands in impotent despair; "I only wanted to fly from this
dreadful country; and the three hundred dollars which he staked
would have taken me home with my child."
" And now ?" asked Hetson coldly.
"God alone knows what will become of us," groaned the
unhappy father, hiding his shrunken face in his hands.
" Ana does the law give the gambler any power over the young
iady?" asked Dr. Rascher anxiously; while Manuela fixed her
eyes upon the alcalde's, as if she expected to hear her death-
warrant from his lips.
THE MEETING.
357
"How old is Manuela ?" lie asked.
" Eighteen years."
The alcalde was silent, and there was a painful pause in the
room.
Again Don Alonzo rose, grasped the alcalde's arm, and said, in
a voice almost inaudible from anguish,—
" Senor, I cannot describe to you what I have suffered this past
night. I dreaded the dawn, like the criminal who knows that the
executioner will come at sunrise. I wept and prayed; and in my
agony of grief I vowed, with a strong resolution, never more to
touch a card. Pray intercede for me with your countryman, that
he may not insist on the bargain we have made, and from dawn
till midnight I will work, till 1 have paid the three hundred dollars
which apparently, though not in reality, he staked against me.
I know he deceived me; but in the eyes of the world I am his
debtor."
"Father!—my dear, dear father!" sobbed poor Manuela,
running to him, and hiding her head on his breast.
A wild uproar outside the tent made them all start up; and
the next moment the canvass curtain was pushed aside, and
Hale's round face looked into the apartment.
" Beg pardon for disturbing you, ladies," he began, "but the
affair is of consequence. Squire, we've got a man here against
whom there's a grave suspicion that he was the man who robbed
and murdered that poor fellow Johns. Here, sir, please step
forward; and if "
" Charles!" exclaimed Mrs. Hetson, almost in a shriek, and
clutched the back of the nearest chair to prevent herself from
falling.
Hetson started at the name, as if a musket-ball had struck
him; but there was no change in the expression of his marble
features; his cold, dark eye only wandered restlessly from his
wife to the prisoner, and back again.
Golway, too, was pale; but he met the eye of the judge with
a firm and almost a sad look. Thus the two men stood for a time
silently gazing at one another. A number of miners had attempted,
in their usual unceremonious fashion, to crowd into the tent.
Hale ordered them back, but could not prevent one or other of
them, every now and then, from raising the curtain at the
entrance of the tent, to give a peep at what was going on
within.
At length Hetson turned gravely, but not unkindly, to his
wife, and said,—
"My dear, you see that this is, at the present moment,
358 the meeting.
no place for women. I must beg you and Manuela to
retire."
"And do you take Charles Golway for a murderer, Frank?
Do you believe for one moment that he could be guilty of such a
deed ?" asked Jenny, in a voice stifled by anxiety and distress.
"He shall have justice," answered the alcalde coldly. "If
he is really innocent, he has as little to fear from us as from a
jury in his own country; but if guilty, he should suffer, if he
were my own brother."
Mrs. Hetson still lingered; she seemed unable to tear herself
from the spot where she stood; but she felt that her presence
was not only superfluous, but even objectionable; so, taking
Manuela's hand, she left the room with her companion, without
trusting herself to look round.
"Mr. Hetson," said the prisoner, who had followed them
with his eyes till the curtain fell behind them, " I need not tell
you that our meeting is an involuntary one. Your own sheriff
will bear witness for me on that point. But, I assure you, I
deeply deplore having disturbed your domestic peace. But for
this unhappy error, I should have been riding towards the nearest
harbour at the present moment."
"That's true, at any rate," cried Cook, who, with several
others, had made his way into the tent. "I can swear to the
fact that he wanted to be off."
"Mr. Golway—for that is your name, I understand,"—began
the alcalde, who preserved an appearance of imperturbable
calmness.
" Charles Golway," replied the Englishman, with a slight bow.
" Mr. Golway, I need scarcely assure you, after all that has
passed, that it is very painful to me to meet you in this position.
Nevertheless, as alcalde of this district, I have my duty to do,
and must now proceed in the usual course."
The prisoner bowed again, and the alcalde continued, turning
to Hale,—
" What grounds have you, sheriff, for such a serious suspicion
against this man, and who is his accuser ? "
Hale had listened with some surprise to the conversation
between the judge and the prisoner, though of course he could
not understand its drift. It was plain enough that they knew
each other, and that neither of them rejoiced to meet the other.
But that was nothing to him. The alcalde's question was plain
enough, and Hale replied just as concisely:
" His accuser is James Cook here, an honest farmer from the
States: I can speak to his respectability."
THE MEETING. 359
" And what have you to say against the man, Mr. Cook ? "
" Only this, squire/' answered the farmer, " that I found him
in possession of this piece of gold, which I dug out a short time
ago, in company with Johns; and with which I know Johns,
poor fellow, would never have parted while he had life—not for
twice or three times its value,—for he wanted to save it for his
mother, or to send it to her."
" And how came this piece of gold into your possession, Mt(
Golway ? "
" The question seems to be a very plain one," answered the
prisoner, " and yet it's not easy for me to answer. Go into any
dealer's tent, and take a piece of gold out of his bag, and then
ask him from whom he got that particular bit. He'll say, most
probably, as I do now,—' I can't tell; I cannot undertake to
examine each separate piece before I put it into the scale.'"
" You are not a dealer ? "
" Granted; but within the last few days, before I left my last
working-place, I sold my cradle, my tools, my tent and bed, and
various other things, to different people, and received all kinds
of gold in payment. I'm very sorry that any poor fellow should
have been murdered: but I am guiltless in the matter, and only
a misunderstanding could have raised this suspicion against me.
I can't blame the people for demanding an explanation, but I
now call upon you to conclude the whole affair. I am neither a
robber nor a murderer; and want no further favour than to be
allowed to pursue my way in peace to the nearest harbour—San
Francisco—where I intend to embark at once."
"I haven't the least doubt of it," Hale struck in; "but just
to prevent your ' embarking' in such a hurry, we've laid you by
the heels. Cook is ready to swear that this piece of gold
belonged to the murdered man, in whose hands he saw it only a
few days ago; and until you can show us from whom you
received it, we must look upon you as the man who took it from
poor Johns."
" And there has been enough American blood spilt in Cali-
fornia," cried Cook, " to make us look a little more closely at
the goings-on of you strangers; and those among you who are
honest men, can't say we're wrong. So long as England—and
in fact all Europe — sends its rascals over to America, you
can't wonder that the Americans don't think much of such
strangers when they meet them. You can't tell, by just looking
at a fellow, what he is; and when we get such strong evidence
as we've got here, I think we should be worse than fools if we
didn't keep our bird, now we've caught him."
360 THE MEETING.
"Do you consider me capable of such a crime, Mr. Hetson?"
asked the prisoner, turning half angrily to the alcalde.
"My own opinion, sir," answered the judge, "whether
favourable to you or the contrary, has nothing to do with the
case. We are here on Californian soil, and under Californian
laws, and to these we must submit ourselves. Anything that I
can do, in assisting you to produce proofs of your innocence, I
will gladly undertake—in fact, it is my duty; so I advise you to
tell me candidly all you know about the piece of gold, and
consider whom you can call to witness in your favour."
" All who could come forward for me are at the Macalome,"
replied the accused; " but I don't know their names, and not
even the Christian names of all. One of them, I met this morn-
ing up in the hills, not far from this place; but he was only
going to stay for a short time, and has probably gone back to his
old working-place."
" And what's his name ? "
"I never heard his name. I only know that he's an
American."
"And cannot you in any way describe the people from
whom you received gold in return for your tools and other
property ? "
" If I saw them, I could identify them. One is even here—I
sold my horse, which had fallen lame, to him. I believe, more-
over, that this is the man from whom I received the piece of
gold—at any rate, I remember he gave me coarse gold, though I
was not in the humour to notice it very particularly. How
could I tell what a scrape I should get into ? "
" And don't you know even this man's name ? "
"No—who asks another his name, when he buys or sells?
Besides, if the man came by the gold wrongfully, he would be
Bure to deny it; and I can't even take my oath on the subject."
" But you know how he looked, and where he was at work ?"
insisted Hale, more than ever convinced by the prisoner's vague
replies that he was the murderer, and anxious to convict him out
of his own mouth, by producing the people he described.
" He looked like any other of the gold-digging fellows,"
answered Golway moodily. "He was at work by the mountain
slope yonder, where the bushes stretch out some distance towards
the valley. A little bridle-path leads down into this camp from
there, and several negroes are working close by."
" Oh, I know the place you mean; and you say your horse
"was lame ? "
" Yes, he had grazed his right fore-leg against a stump, and
THE MEETING.
361
ripped up the skin. He's a brown horse, with his left hind-leg
white as far as the hock, and with a white star on his forehead."
" Come, we shall be able to find him," said Hale; "there are
not many lame horses among us just now. But how are we to
get the witnesses over from the Macalome, when you're not even
able to tell us their names ? "
" Send some one there with me, and I will "
" That won't do, my friend. There are too many Indians
prowling about. I don't even know if we could get a messenger
to ride over."
"And what would be the use of that ? " said Cook. "They
can only prove that you worked over there. No one will be
able to swear that you never left the place for half-an-hour, or at
night."
" And how are we to guard the prisoner now P " asked Hale.
"We can't keep him long, and we haven't any prisons."
"We can do nothing further, Mr. Hale," observed the
alcalde, " than to take down the facts and examine the wit-
nesses. If we consider the charge proved, we must deliver the
prisoner up to the district court, which will sentence him. I
have no authority in a life and death matter."
" But a jury has," exclaimed Cook angrily. " Do you think
we shall send the murderer of as brave a fellow as ever carried
a musket in the American woods, to the lawyers over at Golden
Gate or San Trancisco, for them to let him go whenever they
choose ?"
"You will do, sir, what the law tells you," answered the
alcalde gravely.
"if you think that," cried Cook, with a scornful laugh,
" you don't know California yet. But I'll be handed if "
"Silence, Cook," interrupted Hale. "The aftair must take
its course, and you can't alter it if you swear till you're black
in the face. The chief thing now is to guard the man, so that
he can't give us the slip."
" I shall not run away," observed the prisoner quietly.
" Yes, that's all very well," retorted Hale; " but I shouldn't
like to trust to your bare word. Anything else to say, Mr.
Hetson?"
"No; you'll take care that the accused has what is neces-
sary."
" He shall have meat and drink."
" And that he is not insulted."
"He is in my charge," said Hale; "and till we know whether
he is guilty or not, I'll take care that no one gets at him."
362 the meeting.
" And where will you guard him ? "
" In my own tent. I shall find Volunteer sentinels enough."
"Verygood. Once more, Mr. Golway, I am sorry to see you
in such a position; but "
"Do your duty, sir," answered Golway. " I ask nothing more."
"Anything else, squire?" asked the sheriff. Hetson shook
his head; and the two men led the prisoner away, to keep him
safely guarded in Hale's tent until the jury should assemble.
Dr. Bascher had been a silent but attentive auditor of the
whole examination. When the others had left the tent, he went
up to Hetson, and seizing his hand, exclaimed in an earnest
tone,—
" Mr. Hetson, I feel convinced that this man is innocent."
" But the gold found on him ? "
" Might easily have passed through two or three hands since
the real culprit had it in his possession. Do you believe the
man to whom your wife would once have given her hand capable
of such a deed?"
"I have asked myself that question," answered Hetson. "But
who can sound the depths of a human heart?"
" You have sounded his," answered the old man gravely, " as
well as I have. Like myself, you are convinced that he has not
committed this crime—that he is incapable of it; and you must
do everything in your power to procure for him the evidence he
needs—if your life is not to be one scene of remorse—one long
regret for the evil you might have prevented."
" He stands under the power of the law," said Hetson
gloomily.
" So do we all; but I need not remind you how the laws are
administered in California—how the excited mob will tread under
their feet all law and order, for the sake of gratifying the hot
passion of the moment. I have not lived so long in the States
without learning what is meant by Lynch law."
Hetson had thrown himself into a chair, and sat there moodily,
leaning his elbow on the table and his head on his hand. He
did not hear his wife when she quietly entered from the inner
tent, and glided up to him. When she at last whispered his
name, he held out his hand, which she seized eagerly ; but he
never turned his head towards her.
" Drank !" she murmured in a voice that trembled with
anxiety, "I have heard everything; these thin canvass walls
are a feeble barrier to the angry voices of men. They have evil
designs against that unhappy man, and you—you will not be
able to protect him."
THE MEETING. 363
"But suppose he has really committed the murder?" observed
Hetson, without looking up.
" Frank, what do you mean ? that question never came from
your heart! " cried Jenny, in accents of terror.
" A piece of gold that belonged to the dead man has been
found upon him."
"If an angel came from Heaven!" exclaimed Mrs. Hetson
passionately, " and told me he had done it, I should say no—-
no—it is impossible!"
"Jenny!" said Hetson, rising and looking at her with a stern
glance, " you are beside yourself."
And Dr. Rascher hastened to add: " Be calm, my dear lady,
I entreat you."
" Why should I be calm," she retorted, her eyes flashing with
indignant defiance. " Have I not schooled my heart, and crushed
it down, month after month ? Have I ever had a thought but
for this man's peace, any wish but to make him happy ? Have
I not done everything a woman could do to cure him of the
miserable weakness that held him captive like a frightened
child? I have followed him into this wilderness, among a horde
of men so savage, that the very Indians keep aloof from them.
I have given up my life—my whole life, truly and faithfully, to
him. But there are bounds to everything. Some things would
drive me to madness; and there is a place in my heart where if
you wound me the wound is fatal. Have a care—have a care !
for if you drive me mad, I will not answer for the conse-
quences!"
"And so you love this man still!" Hetson burst out, and his
voice sounded hollow and almost unearthly in its passion.
"Love him?" repeated his wife faintly; and the hand she
had stretched out in her ardour fell powerless by her side—" love
him ? I love him as I would a dear friend who is dead, whom I
may never look upon again in this life. But I will not see him
murdered before my face," she continued, with returning vehe-
mence. " Do not trifle with feelings, Frank, which God himself
has implanted in our hearts, and which can never be destroyed
while those hearts continue to beat. That man was my first
love; and though I have rooted up that love out of my heart,
the fibres had struck too deep to be torn quite away. I have
renounced him; and content with your love, Frank, will never
let the shadow of that earlier feeling come between us, to
darken the sunlight of our home; but you can never demand
that I should forget him; nor can you expect that his mur-
derer——"
364 THE MEETING.
"Jenny, Jenny!" almost shrieked Hetson, stretching out his
arms blindly towards her.
"It is enough," interrupted his wife, and she broke off
abruptly, while a death-like paleness overspread hear face. " God
never lays upon us a burden heavier than we can bear; for when
the cup becomes too bitter, there is in the thought itself an
opiate that makes us forget all grief and sorrow."
"Mrs. Hetson, dear Mrs. Hetson!" implored the kind-hearted
old Doctor, hastening towards her, and seizing her hand, while
a big tear stood in each of his honest eyes; " pray, pray be re-
assured. If Mr. Golway is really innocent, of which I have not
the slightest doubt, you have nothing to fear for his life. Acci-
dental circumstances have thrown suspicion upon him; and from
this suspicion he must, in the eyes of the world, be cleared. You
may, nevertheless, look with confidence for the result of the in-
vestigation; and leave me, and still more your husband, to see
that everything is done to clear him thoroughly."
Hetson had resumed his old position at the table, and his wife
was still too much moved even to look at him. Rascher begged
her, more by signs than words, to leave her husband to himself
for a while; and, with a deep sigh and a silent pressure of her
kind friend's hand, she turned away, and retreated to her own
little room.
" My dear Hetson," said the Doctor, approaching the alcalde,
as soon as Jenny was gone. But Hetson interrupted him, and,
stretching out his hand, not unkindly, said in a low voice,—
" Dear Doctor, you must leave me alone for a while; I have
much to settle with myself before I can form a clear judgment
upon all these things, and wish to be free from all impressions
from without. You are not offended with me for this ?"
"I can't leave you in better company," answered the old
man heartily. "Look into your own good heart, my dear young
friend, and pray for strength to do what is right, and to be deli-
vered from evil suspicion. When I come back, I hope to see
you meet me with an open brow and a light heart."
He shook the alcalde heartily by the hand, and went. Twilight
came on, and deepened into night; but still the man sat there
motionless and still, with his elbow on the table and his head
resting on his hand.
the evening in the camp.
365
CHAPTER XXYII.
the evening in the camp.
The rumour that the murderer of JohnsNhad been discovered
and captured had meanwhile spread like wildfire through the
little community; and to the true report of his English birth,
lying fame had appended the supplementary intelligence that he
was a convict who had either escaped from Australia, or been
shipped direct to California by the British government. That
he would be hung on the next tree without delay was considered
as certain.
No work had been done that day. The people had spent the
afternoon in drinking in the various tents, and their' natural
excitement had been increased in no small degree by this way of
disposing of their leisure time.
The return of the expedition against the Indians did not tend
to re-establish peace and quietness. The men who had taken
part in that notable affair came back in very ill humour; for, as
they expressed it, they had not "got a chance" at a single
Indian. Out of the almost impervious thickets clouds of arrows
had been discharged at them, slightly wounding several of their
number, without their being able to discover the foe, who seemed
to have vanished into the ground itself.
Siftly was particularly enraged, for his horse had been struck
in several places, and he had been at last obliged to abandon the
pursuit without achieving the smallest result. The Indians
retired into the mountains, and it would have been dangerous to
follow them further into the steep gorges. Besides, stones and
fragments of rock came rolling down threateningly towards
the little troop, warning them that the red-skins had occupied
the heights, where they were quite out of the reach of their
pursuers.
Within the last few days, Siftly, in partnership _ with the
notable Mr. Smith, had erected a tent at the extremity of the
little town, separated only by two or three abandoned " claims "
from the other canvass dwellings. Thus relieved from the rivaky
of the other gambling-rooms, he knew the character of the popu*
366 THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
lation well enough to feel certain he would have plenty of visitors
as soon as Manuela began to exert her musical talents in his
cause. Though the men understood no more about music than
if they had been so many bears, they liked to hear her play, and
the very novelty of the entertainment would not fail to draw
many visitors.
To this tent Siftly retired, and busied himself with his horse;
first taking the saddle from the poor creature's reeking back, and
then proceeding to wash its wounds with brandy, muttering savage
curses all the time. Presently Boyles came up, and remained
for a time standing silently beside him.
At first Siftly took little notice of his friend. He was angry
with Boyles for not having joined the expedition against the
Indians—angry with the expedition for having failed—angry with
himself and with the whole world. But still Boyles made no
motion to depart, and at last broke silence, as Siftly seemed in
no humour to do so*
" Siftly," he said, "I've come to pay you back, with my best
thanks, the gold you lent me the other day."
"Keep your thanks for those that want them," was the
gracious reply, " and hand me the gold. You seem, after all, to
prefer breaking your back out in the flat to making your fortune
in an easy way. Well, every man works according to his taste
or his ability."
"You're right," answered Boyles; "I wasn't cut out for a
player, as Smith taught me, to my cost, and so I leave the pro-
fession to cleverer people. It was four ounces you lent me;
there's just that weight in the bag here. Weigh it; you'll find
it correct."
" All right," answered Siftly, thrusting the gold into his pocket,
bag and all, with an air of indifference; " but keep out of the
horse's way; the brandy stings it, and it may kick."
" You seem to have met the Indians, then, after all ?"
" God's curse upon the brown dogs! But what's that to you ?
You took precious good care of your skin, I fancy."
Boyles made no reply to this taunt, but looked thoughtfully
at the angry speaker for a minute or two, as if in doubt whether
to continue the conference or not. At last he said,—
" Something of importance has happened here in the camp
while you were away."
"I know all about it," grumbled the gambler; "they've
caught the fellow who murdered Johns. I wonder who was
sharp enough to smell him out."
" It was that man Cook," said Boyles. "He had worked for
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP. 367
some time with Johns, and identified part of the gold the poor
fellow had dug out. There was one piece, in particular, that he
found in the Britisher's possession, and on the strength of that
the man was arrested."
_ Siftly had stopped in his occupation, and was listening atten-
tively, with his right elbow resting against the horse's side."
" A particular piece ? " he repeated at last, with a chuckle.
"It must be uncommonly particular, for him to undertake to
know it from the rest."
" He is ready to swear to it."
" Then they'll hang the man," coolly observed the gambler.
" What do I care ! Confound the interpolers—there'll be one less
of them."
"But do you know, Siftly," said Boyles, looking anxiously
round to see that no one could overhear them—" is any one in
your tent there ? "
" No—what's the matter ? "
"Do you know what piece of gold it was that they have
arrested him for?"
" Do I know ? Are you mad, or drunk, Boyles ? How on
earth should I know ? " asked the gambler scornfully.
"It was one of the pieces," continued Boyles, without noticing
his companion's excitement, " that you lent me the other day."
" I!" yelled Siftly, jumping up with a livid face. " Are you
going to lug me into the cursed affair, for the sake of some stupid
notion you've got into your stupid skull ? Damn it, Boyles, have
a care, or it would be better for you that you'd never seen
California."
The look with which he accompanied this speech was so full of
wild reckless passion, that Boyles involuntarily retreated a step or
two. But the latter felt obliged to ease his heart of the weight
that pressed upon it—he was determined to relieve his doubts in
one way or another, and went on steadily enough, though his
voice trembled a little at first,—
"Don't misunderstand me, Siftly; "You've always been
friendly to me, and I'd be the last man to wish to get you into a
scrape; but you must answer me one question—me only—no
one else in the world—and then leave me to manage the rest."
" First tell me," asked Siftly, in reply, " who put this mad
idea into your head."
" What mad idea ? "
" That you received the bit of gold from me. How came it to
pass from you to the stranger ? "
'"I bought his horse of him—it had fallen lame "
368 THE EVENING IN THE CAME.
"His horse was lame?" asked Siftly, with increasing
interest. "The suspected murderer is an Englishman—is he
not?"
"Yes—a young fellow "
"And his horse was brown, if I don't mistake, and had a
white hind leg."
" So it had. You've seen it before, then ? "
An evil smile played round Siftly's mouth, as he muttered,
without attending to the last question,
" So it's that chap, is it ? I thought he would come to some
such end. But it serves him right. Why did the fool come
here at all ? "
" So you know him ? "
" Yes, by sight. And he swore, you say, that he got the piece
from you ? "
" No, he did not. He even said, he could not swear to it, as
he had sold several things, and had not particularly noticed the
gold he got in payment. But he thought it was among what I
paid him, and the sheriff came to me and questioned me on the
subject."
" What ? Hale did ? And what did you say ? "
"Why, Siftly," answered the young fellow—turning aside to
hide the blush that came into his face—" the fact is, I—I evaded
it—told him I did not know the piece of gold."
" Very well," cried Siftly, with a laugh of triumph : "then the
affair's all right. What need to bother any more about it ?"
" What need ? " repeated Boyles, opening his eyes in wonder.
" Why, you forget that on the strength of that piece of gold the
poor devil may be hung."
" That's their affair and his," muttered the gambler, as he
took the bridle from his horse, and turned it loose.
" But the man's innocent," urged Boyles in a whisper.
" How do you know that ? " retorted Siftly.
" Siftly, I can swear by the heaven above us you gave me that
bit of gold," declared Boyles, in a firm but suppressed voice.
" I know it too well. I thought it so curious, that I intended
to keep it, to have it made into a breastpin. I only wish I had;
but this morning I forgot all about it. I was so glad at making
such a good bargain with the man for his horse "
" And what do you want with me ? " demanded Siftly, with
another of his evil glances.
" To ask you from whom you had the bit of gold."
" And to get me cross-questioned by your set of blockheads on
the jury?"
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
369
"Haven't I told you that I denied all knowledge of the
matter ? "
"Ah, yes. I forgot—so you did. Then you only want the
information for your own private satisfaction. You're sure of
that ? "
"Yes."
"Then I'll tell you,—and perhaps it will set your mind at
rest, for I don't believe you're mad enough to connect me with
the business. The gold I lent you the other day I won the
evening before from a Mexican over in Cedar Valley."
" And do you know the man ?"
" Know him ? How should I know him ? I kept my eye on
his gold, ay, and on his cards and his fingers too, and never
looked at his face; besides, all those Mexican rascals look
alike."
"Why, then," exclaimed Boyles, from whose mind the answer
seemed to have removed a load, " we can help the poor devil,
who has almost got the rope round his neek. If I tell
Hale "
" Are you mad ? " interrupted Siftly, with an oath. " Do you
want to get me into a scrape, to help a cursed Britisher out of
it ? That would be very fine. Where do you suppose I can
find the Mexican from whom I got the gold, eh ?—and till I can
do it, I'm to be worried and badgered with their examinations ?
Not I, I can assure you."
" But you surely don't want an innocent man to be hanged,
Siftly ? "
"An innocent man? How do you know, pray, that he is
innocent ? Ten chances to one, he's one of those scoundrelly
convicts who swarm everywhere, — and whether they hang him
here or in San Francisco isn't any great matter. But at
any rate I don't intend to come forward for him I can assure
you; and if you choose to lug in my name to the sheriff, you
must take the consequences."
" I take the consequences ? "
" How do you intend to prove that you had the bit of gold
from me, eh ? — and have you quite forgotten a certain night in
the swamp on the Mississippi ? "
" Siftly," faltered Boyles, from whose face every vestige of
colour fled, as the gambler uttered this speech, with a malignant
grin, " I was innocent of that man's death, — you know that
well enough—you can't help knowing it. If I had had the least
suspicion of what was going to be done, it should never have
taken place,—at least not in my presence."
2 B
370
THE EVENING IN THE CAMF.
" Well, at any rate, you've not forgotten that day," said Siftly,
with a grin.
" If I were to live a hundred years," answered Boyles, with a
shiver, " I should never forget it."
" So much the better for you," observed Siftly, with a mean-
ing look. " That fellow was a traitor, Boyles, — an informer,—•
and if you know what's best for yourself, you'll keep silence, and
let the affair take its course, especially as you can't alter it.
But of this you may be certain, that if you come forward with
this nonsensical story against me, or give any one else a hint of it,
I shall not consider myself bound to keep what I know to my-
self; let me tell the jury what I think of you, and see what they'd
say to it."
" Siftly !—for God's sake—you don't mean "
" Go to the devil! " interrupted the gambler gruffly. " Here
are friends for a man—ha, ha ! The proverb says,' Save me from
my friends,' and I'm hanged if it doesn't say right. However,
do just as you please. You've told the sheriff already that you
don't know the piece of gold, and that the stranger never had it
from you; now go back and tell him you've just remembered
that perhaps it belonged to Siftly, because Siftly was fool enough
to lend you some gold the other day. Then let me get up to
have my say, and we'll see who makes the most impression on
the jury, you or I,—and then we'll settle our own account after-
wards;" and without waiting for a reply, he took up his saddle
and bridle from the ground, and walked off with them into his
tent.
Boyles waited for a little while, but the gambler did not re-
appear. Still he did not like to part thus from a man whom he
feared, and who had, after all, done him a kindness when he needed
it; and after standing for a long time wavering and uncertain,
as his disposition was, which made him an apt tool in the hands
of such a man as Siftly, he at last followed him into the tent.
There he remained for about a quarter of an hour, at the
expiration of which time they came out together,—Siftly with
his hand resting confidentially on Boyles' shoulder; so they went
down the street into the town.
Everywhere groups of men might be seen standing in the twi-
light, discussing the events of that important day.
The Mexicans had at first been objects of interest; but either
they feared the Americans would make an attack upon them at
nightfall, or they were ashamed to show their faces after their
display of cowardice in the morning; be that as it may, the
last of them had gone off from the fiat into the mountains
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
371
early in the afternoon, and not a single straggler remained be-
hind on the whole wide expanse. Since their disappearance,
the discovery of the murderer of Johns had been the chief
topic of conversation, for no one doubted that the prisoner
really was the culprit. Siftly parted from Boyles in the town,
and lingered near the various groups, to hear what they
thought.
The general opinion seemed to be that the jury would assemble
in the morning, and the prisoner would be executed some time
in the afternoon. As regarded his being delivered up to the
district court, Briars and his set swore, with sundry profane oaths,
that they would never allow such a thing to be done. They were
men enough, they said, to settle accounts with an Australian
convict, and if the people in the district court wanted work, they
might find it for themselves.
Tolerably satisfied with the aspect of affairs, and in a much
better temper, Siftly now began to think of his own plans. To
carry out his designs, he required the assistance of Hetson,
whom he accordingly proceeded to seek out without loss of
time.
The sun had disappeared behind the hills, and while the tops
of the pines and cedars still shone in the rosy evening light, the
night had already begun to spread her black veil over the plain.
Thus when Siftly reached the alcalde's tent, it was almost dark
in the interior; and it was not until he had peered in for a
moment or two, that he recognized the figure of his friend,
seated at the table, with his head resting on his hand.
" Hetson, are you asleep ? "
" No,—is that you, Siftly ? "
" The same; but why, in the name of wonder, are you sitting
here in the dark, brooding ? Let us have alight, for pity's sake—
or better still, take a stroll through the town with me; for I've
someting to talk to you about that I don't want every one in the
neighbouring tents to hear."
Hetson remained for some time longer sitting in the same
position, and did not appear even to have heard what his visitor
said. Suddenly he started up with an apparent effort, seized his
hat, and followed Siftly into the open air.
The gambler proceeded to take his arm in a confidential
manner; and as they strolled up the street he began, uncere-
moniously enough,— ,
" I spoke to you this morning about the contract I made with
your old Spanish friend, about Manuela's playing in my tent;
and now I must request you to desire the girl to be ready
2 b 2
372 THE EVENING IN THE CAME.
in about an hour's time. I hope she won't give me any
trouble."
" Have you spoken to me about this already ? " asked Hetson,
looking at him in some surprise.
"Certainly I have," answered Siftly, with a laugh ; "but your
head was full of other things, and you did not seem to hear
what I said. The affair, by the way, is simple enough, for Don
Ronez "
" I know the particulars," interrupted Hetson; " I heard them
from Don Alonzo himself. I'm glad, by the way, that our con-
versation has taken this turn ; for I have a request to make."
" And what may it be ?" asked Siftly, whose black brows
began to contract into an ominous frown.
" Simply this: Don Alonzo has been playing with you, though
I particularly begged you not to tempt the unhappy old man
again."
" Tempt him ? What's the Spaniard to me ? If he's fool
enough to bring his gold to my table, why should I send him
away ?—and hasn't he the same chance that I have of winning the
stake ? "
" We won't discuss that question just now," answered Hetson,
with a half-smile. " Don Alonzo might also lose his gold so long
as he had any left to lose; but he has staked on a card something
over which he has no right—I mean his daughter's freedom."
"Nonsense!—freedom!" retorted Siftly, with a laugh.
"Nobody wants to buy her of him; and the whole question
relates only to an hour or two every evening, which she is to
employ in playing her violin in my tent. Besides, Manuela is
not yet of age, and therefore he certainly has a right to dispose
of her time."
" We'll waive that question for the present," continued the
alcalde. " My request is, that you release the Spaniard from
his agreeement, and accept as a set-off the amount of the stake
you risked against him, in money."
_ " Hanged if I do it," answered Siftly, abruptly disengaging
his arm from Hetson's. "We're neither of us children who
play for sugar-plums or counters. We both knew very well
what we staked before the card fell; and if he's sorry for his
bargain, it's his affair, and not mine."
" Manuela refuses to play."
" I had an idea that she would," said Siftly, with a chuckle..
"It's the old story: but, she'll have to yield here, as she was
obliged to do at San Francisco. I fancy we've laws here to uphold
the rights of Americans against the foreigners."
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
373
"In this case you may be mistaken. Our Californian laws are
not everywhere identical: many things that interfered with the
privileges of the Spanish race, as the old proprietors of the soil,
have been altered in their favour. Take, for instance, the prac-
tice of playing hazard. It is strictly forbidden in the States, and
yet nobody thinks of interfering with it here."
"Ha! ha!—they know why," laughed Siftley. "They'd
better not try to put it down. But what's the use of our
splitting straws here? The thing has been settled—settled
by full-grown, responsible men;—there were ten or twelve
witnesses present, and there's no need of wasting another word
on the subject. So do me the favour to give the girl a setting-
down, to make her give up her foolish resistance; for she can't
help herself, after all."
" Come, Siftly, suppose I beg you, as a favour to me person-
ally, to give up what you consider your right, and to conclude
the affair amicably. We've disturbance enough in the camp
already just now, without bringing in any private questions of
our own."
"Then I'm very sorry that I must refuse your request,"
answered Siftly, in a stubborn tone. " I know I am in the
right; and if I am compelled to it, I shall force the obstinate girl
to fulfil the contract."
" So you refuse the stake, which I should pay you down in
full immediately."
" I certainly decline it, and demand that the girl shall make
her appearance in my tent this evening."
"Then I am sorry to have to inform you," said Hetson,
calmly, " that she will not make her appearance in your tent—
at least, not while I am alcalde here."
"You forget through whom you got the post!" exclaimed
Siftly, in an angry tone.
"Through whom?—Through the choice of the people, I
presume," was the reply.
" The people's choice would certainly never have fallen upon
you," hissed Siftly between his teeth, "if I hadn't spoken
up for you. But I, who set you up, can pull you down again.
I'd have you remember that, Hetson."
" I think you are over-rating your influence," answered his
friend, with a provoking smile. " But supposing this is not the
case—as long as I fill any post here, I shall certainly maintain its
rights."
" By treading down the rights of the Americans, I suppose;
—a cursedly clever way of going about your work; only I fear
374 THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
Master Hetson, that you're over-rating your power now. I sup-
pose your successful trip into the flat to-day has turned your
head; but you must remember that one success isn't everything."
"The Mexicans are scattered," answered Hetson coolly;
and I don't think they'll try their game of this morning again."
"Tush! I'm not talking of those cowardly brutes," answered
Siftly sulkily. " If you'd only fired off a rifle among the tents,
they'd have run off."
"Then what do you allude to?" asked Hetson, incredulously.
" I allude to your lucky capture—on which, under other cir-
cumstances, I should have heartily congratulated you."
" I don't know," said Hetson gravely, " if I can look upon
what you call my capture as anything fortunate. I had nothing
to do with it. The man stands under the law; and he will
be released or punished according as he is found guilty or
acquitted."
"Yes, of course, we know all about that!" cried Siftly, and he
burst into a loud laugh. " But suppose they acquit him, and he
goes out free; suppose this interesting danger and imprisonment—
for you know there's nothing like it to raise a man in a woman's
estimation—suppose it should awaken a tender sympathy for him
in Mrs. Hetson's heart?"
" Siftly! What are you saying ?"
" Suppose I were to come forward and state that he received
that troublesome bit of gold from me—and you see I've won a
good many remarkable bits from the Mexicans, here and else-
where, and might not this have been among them—do you
think any one would have the impudence to accuse me of the
murder ? Remember that I might do such a thing; if not for
your sake, or the stupid fellow's, I might do it to please your
wife."
"Listen to me, Siftly," said Hetson, stopping short, and seizing
the gambler by the arm. " I don't know how far you are capable
of bearing false witness—I believe that in mere anger and spite
you are making yourself out worse than you are—but if you
could indeed bring true testimony to prove that this unhappy
man is innocent, I should really and truly be most grateful to you."
Siftly stared, as if he thought these words were spoken with
some sinister design; then, suddenly turning round, he grumbled
out:
"You're mad enough for anything, I do believe; and who the
devil's to understand you ? But now I ask, for the last time,
Will you exert your authority as alcalde to procure for me what
I have a right to, or not ?'"
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
375
" No ! You have my decided answer."
" Then I'm to take the law into my own hands ?"
"Yon may try: but as sure as i stand here, the man who
attempts to enter my tent against my will, or for an unlawful
purpose, shall be shot dead !"
" Pooh !" laughed the gambler scornfully; " your threats are
nothing to me. But as you won't have peace, why, we must
have war; and I'll undertake to show you that we have men in
the camp who are not to be trifled with."
And throwing his poncho over his shoulder, he strode away up
the street towards Kenton's tent, leaving Hetson standing alone
where they had talked.
Count Beckdorf led his new-found friend into the valley, where
Fischer, undisturbed by the Indian tumult and all the lawless pro-
ceedings of the day, had been quietly sitting, rocking his cradle.
He felt interested in the quarrel between the Indians and the
white men, but not sufficiently so to give up his day's work. His
services as interpreter were, moreover, no longer required in the
Paradise; for the new alcalde spoke French and Spanish better
than he did; so he could, with a good conscience, leave the two
parties to fight out their battle without interfering in the matter
at all.
He had, however, waited with some impatience for Beckdorf's
return, and listened with interest to every particular of the events
that had taken place, rocking the cradle all the time, like an in-
dustrious matron. But when Beckdorf spoke of the expedition
against the Indians, he observed, with a laugh, " that they might
just as well try to catch their own shadows." That they had cut
the gambler's ears off, raised them considerably in his estimation.
While they talked, Lanzot was initiated into the noble art of
gold-digging—his task being to carry pailfuls of earth to the
cradle when it required replenishing.
Judging from the general aspect of affairs, a lively evening
was to be expected in the camp; so the firm of Fischer and
Beckdorf wisely resolved not to begin sinking another hole, but
to make a half-holiday of it, so soon as they had exhausted the
treasures of their present claim, which appeared a tolerably pro-
ductive one.
They arranged to meet again in the Alsace tent, the general
place of rendezvous of the Germans; and Fischer went home at
once, while Beckdorf, taking Lanzot's arm within his own, set out
on a walk round the upper part of the flat, so as to enter the
town on the other side of the "red earth."
376 THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
" This is, as you say, a wonderful country," observed Lanzot,
after they had mutually related their adventures; " but it's in a
primitive condition, after all. Fancy a land with the population
all males—I should not have thought it possible—and yet we see
it here before our eyes."
" Wait! you must except our little Paradise from your cen-
sure, for, in one respect, it has the advantage over all the other
mining towns. Besides a few very ordinary backwoodswomen,
who have come with their husbands across the rocky mountains,
we have two ladies here, not called so by courtesy, but well-bred
women."
" Keally !" asked Lanzot; and if Beckdorf had looked in his
face at that moment, he would have seen that explanation was
unnecessary. "Ah, yes! 1 remember that Mr. Hetson, an
American, has brought his wife with him to the mines."
" And there is a very lovely Spanish girl in their company,"
observed Beckdorf. "Not a Spanish girl of the kind you meet
here in California, but one evidently belonging to the better
class, and a charming performer on the violin. A few minutes
ago they went into the tent of the old American yonder, whose
wife is very ill."
"Where ?" asked Lanzot, in a great hurry. " I haven't seen
any one."
"Because you kept staring over at the town. If we stay here
a little longer, we shall see them come back. She often goes
over to visit the poor old dame, and never empty-handed."
"You say she plays the violin ?"
"I am told she does. I have not heard her yet."
"Then, perhaps, this is the same young lady I knew at San
Erancisco. Is her father's name Don Ronez ?"
"Quite right," answered the unconscious Beckdorf, never
suspecting how unnecessary the confirmation was; "but see,
there they come. Turn aside here, Emile, this way; the foot-
path will lead us directly towards them."
Beckdorf was right; little Manuela had only been to pay a
charitable visit to the sick wife of an American, and to take her
some small dainties. But, with the fear of Siftly before her eyes,
she had persuaded her father to accompany her; and had not
stayed longer than was absolutely necessary, to present her little
offering, and to make a few kind inquiries concerning the
patient's state.
She came tripping along, with her eyes on the ground,
keeping as close to her father as she could. She had certainly
heard the approach of the two men, and their voices; but had
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP. 377
not dared to look up, for fear of encountering the bearded face
and sardonic smile of her enemy; Don Alonzo, for his part, was
absorbed in his own reflections, till a cheerful " Hallo, sefior,"
caused him first to look up, and then to hurry forward, while his
melancholy face shone with an unwonted smile.
"Don Emilio !" he exclaimed, holding out his hand joyfully.
"What good star brings you here ?"
"Don Emilio ?" whispered Manuela, and she turned very red,
but did not seem displeased, for all that; indeed, little Manuela
put out her hand and welcomed him heartily, observing to
herself as she did so, that the young man had been very kind
to her father at San Erancisco—a grateful little girl was
Manuela.
And what a budget of news they had to tell each other; these
people, who, according to Lanzot's account, were so slightly
acquainted—and how they both flushed with pleasure—and what
sparkling eyes those were, that little Manuela raised to the face
of her father's friend ! But the unlucky Beckdorf only knew a
few words of Spanish, in consequence of which deficiency his
share in the conversation was a very monosyllabic and unsatis-
factory one. Lanzot had, moreover, completely forgotten that
such a man as Beckforf existed; he had eyes and ears only for
Manuela, who was telling him, with all the energy and earnest-
ness of gesture peculiar to her country, of the capture of the
young Englishman, and the interest that Mrs. Hetson seemed to
take in him as an old friend.
" But," he asked, " what could he, a perfect stranger, do in
the matter?"
" Everything," Manuela earnestly replied. " If he would only
visit the poor captive, who had not a single friend in the place.
She had heard that he wanted to call witnesses, and nobody
would bring them for him, and to-morrow morning that hor-
rible jury would come together. He could help the poor
man, she was sure, for he had helped them before;" and as she
looked appealingly into his face, Lanzot felt as if he could ride
to the ends of the earth, to do her errand; but she soon roused
him from his pleasant reflections, for she told him of Siftly—how
he had come there, and cheated her father again at play, and now
wanted to force her to appear in his odious tent. She had but
one hope, she said, and that was in the alcalde's protection; if
he failed her, she would be quite forsaken."
"Not quite, Manuela," answered Lanzot, in a voice of the
heartiest sympathy. " Eirst we'll visit this prisoner you talk of,
and see what can be done for the poor fellow, and then——"
378 THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
" Save lrim, and I will be grateful to you for ever," cried Ma-
nuela—and, seizing her father's arm, she hurried away.
Pleasantly as such words could not fail to sound in the ears of
a man in Lanzot's position, they still left an uneasy feeling in his
breast. Who was this man, that Manuela should interest herself
so warmly in his fate ? There was only one person who could
give him information on this point, to wit, Doctor Kascher—and
to find Doctor Rascher, he accordingly resolved.
Beckdorf, who knew nothing of the capture of the Englishman,
was prepared to tease Lanzot about the good terms on which he
evidently stood with the young Spanish lady, with whom he had
professed himself so slightly acquainted. But the former told
liim, in a few brief words, of the occurrences of the afternoon,
and of the interest the Eetsou-v took in the prisoner (he said
nothing of Manuela), and he found his friend ready and willing
to assist him. It was getting dark, and if any steps were to be
taken that evening, there was no time to be lost. '
Doctor Rascher had "taken lodgings" in a tent adjoining
Hetson's, as his friends were unable to accommodate him.
Thither they now went in quest of him, but were unsuccessful;
and returned to the town to make inquiries in the different tents.
Perhaps, they thought, he might have been sent for to the Alsace
tent, by one of the Germans who usually assembled there in the
evening.
As they walked along the street, a man, with a iarge Mexican
cloak folded round him, strode quickly past, without noticing
them. It was too dark to distinguish his face, but his gait and
appearance struck Lanzot as familiar, and made him observe to
Beckdorf,—
"I ought to know that fellow. Do you know who he
is ?"
"The greatest rascal ever raised on American soil," answered
his friend; " a gambler of the name of Siftly."
"I thought it was he," said Lanzot; "but what, in the name
of wonder, was that ?"
A dark figure had been running down the street, so rapidly as
almost to come in contact with them; it stopped abruptly, and
then glided away, like a serpent, between the tents.
"Strange!" muttered Beckdorf, looking sharply after the
fugitive. " The fellow did not seem to have the clearest con-
science in the world. He looked to me almost like a Chinaman;
but they've left the flat some days ago—and besides, they never
come into the town after dark. But we'll just see where the
fellow went; whether he's still hiding between the two tents, or
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
379
has taken himself off into the red flat. You stand here, Lanzot,
while I go round, to head him back this way."
Lanzot did as he was told; and Beckdorf, well acquainted
with the locality, slipped round the tent, to try and cut off the
fugitive's retreat.—Whoever he was, he had run for it; the space
between the two tents was empty.
" There, let him go," said Beckdorf with a laugh, as he came
back from his fruitless pursuit. " If he's on a bad errand, some
one will be sure to catch him : and if he only avoided us because
he didn't want our acquaintance, we must manage to bear the
deprivation."
"And where is the tent you spoke of?"
" There! just opposite."
" Then let us go and see if the Doctor is there."
As he spoke, a voice hailed them.
"Baron!" it said, "is that you?"
" The Doctor, as I'm alive," cried the young man joyfully.
" Doctor, we've been looking for you as if you were gold; we
want some information ?"
" We want some !"
" I, and an old friend, whom I have met by chance here in the
mines, Count Beckdorf. When we can get into the light, I'll
introduce you two gentlemen to each other. The fact is, I've
been speaking with Manuela. Where are they keeping the pri-
soner ?"
" In the sheriff's tent."
"And do you think we can obtain admittance to him ?"
" There is no harm iu trying. But what good can you do him,
my dear Lanzot? The only thing that could save him, or at
least relieve him from his unpleasant position—for I can't
believe they would hang him on such evidence as they have got—
would be to bring over a couple of men from Macalome, to
prove an alibi"
" If he only knows their names," said Beckdorf, " I'll under-
take to bring them over. I can find my way even at night."
" But, unhappily, he does not know their names. The most he
can do is to describe the men's appearance."
"Then we must speak with him," said Beckdorf decidedly;
"the sheriff knows me, and I'll introduce you;" and without
another word he hurried away the two men towards Hale's tent.
Honest Hale had taken the captive into his especial charge;
rather a delicate office in such a town of tents. The place did
not possess a prison, or even a proper blockhouse in which to
incarcerate a man; and there was nothing for it but to watch
380 THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
him continually, until he was either released or given up to his
judges.
There were, however, plenty of volunteers to stand sentry; hut
still it was a disagreeable affair, and only to be endured for a
short time, on an emergency. If the prisoner had managed to
break bounds, and had once got fairly into the dark flat, not all
the inhabitants together would have been able to recapture him.
Hale knew that well enough, and had taken his measures
accordingly.
Though inclined to use his prisoner as well as circumstances
would allow, the sheriff had considered it necessary to tie the
Englishman's hands behind his back. He was placed in such a
manner that a light fell full Upon him, exposing not only his
hands, but his whole figure, in bold relief. Two sentinels sat,
one on each side of him, with loaded guns on their knees and
revolvers in their belts, so that flight became impossible. Eor
further security, however, a third sentinel had been posted out-
side the tent to keep off the curious crowd. The sheriff did not
wish the accused to be incommoded; and there were scores of
idle fellows about the place who would have spent hours staring
in at the poor captive as if he had been a wild beast, after the
established rule and custom of crowds on such occasions.
This sentry accordingly snubbed our three friends in very un-
ceremonious fashion, and told them to be off about their business.
But Beckdorf insisted on at least seeing the sheriff; and Hale,
coming out in front of the tent, admitted them, on condition that
they should not approach within arm's length of the prisoner.
The interior looked impressive enough; the two backwoodsmen,
with their long rifles, who redoubled their vigilance as the
strangers entered; and the flickering candles throwing their light
on the dejected prisoner, as he sat depressed and anxious between
his watchful guards.
He had flung himself on a wooden bench, and sat brooding
silently, with his eyes fixed on the ground. A mattress lay on
the floor before him, to serve him for a bed if he should wish to
sleep; but he was too restless for that. A crushed, blighted life
lay behind him; and with an angry consciousness upon him that
he had in no way deserved the strokes of misfortune which had
fallen in succession upon him, he felt almost a morbid suicidal
joy in dwelling upon the sad events of the last day.
The three Germans approached him with friendly overtures;
but it cost them some trouble to conquer the distrust with which
he looked upon all strangers; and it was not till Dr. Rascher
announced himself as a firm friend of Mrs. Hetson's, on whose
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP. 381
authority he begged Mr. Golway to deal openly with him, and
say what could be done towards clearing him of the false charge
upon which he was detained, that his brow cleared, and he became
more communicative.
The information he had to give was of so scanty a kind, that
Dr. Rascher could not help shaking his head in a melancholy and
doubtful way, and the sheriff, who had thrown himself upon the
bed, burst out plainly—
"I say, old boy, if you can't tell a better tale than that you
were not here but somewhere else, your case is in a queer con-
dition, and I would not be in your skin for something."
Beckdorf, nevertheless, placed some stress on his declaration
concerning the old man, who, he persisted, had ridden down with
him part of the way to the town, on some business or other,
though he could not tell what this business was. He exhorted
Golway to describe the appearance of this man, and to repeat
what he could remember of his conversation; and Hale himself
became an attentive auditor.
Until now the sheriff had firmly believed that the Englishman
had really committed the crime with which he stood charged.
The uneducated American, however honest and well-meaning he
may be, almost always has a latent idea that England would like
to domineer over America, and, consequently, he hates the
Britishers, and in fact would look on the prospect of a war with
England as a very desirable thing. The dejected demeanour of
the prisoner, too, though it proceeded from an entirely different
source, was ascribed by Hale to a consciousness of guilt. But
now that young Beckdorf, whom he knew and esteemed as a
thoroughly respectable, and where occasion required, a determined
man, interested himself so warmly for the captive, Hale's pre-
1'udices began to give way, and the possibility rose dimly before
lim, that the poor fellow might be innocent, after all. But why
had he been in such a deuce of a hurry to get away ? Still he
set himself seriously to consider who the "old American"
in question could be; the stirring scenes of the day had
prevented any of the actors from dwelling very distinctly in his
memory.
" If I am not mistaken," observed Golway at last, " he men-
tioned having lost his two sons in the last Mexican war."
"But, my good sir," said Beckdorf disconsolately, "if you
could only remember his Christian name; that would, at any rate,
be some clue."
" Hurrah! I have it," shouted Hale. " He's given a clue;
and I know now whom he means. It must be old Nolten."
382
THE EVENING IN THE CAMP.
"Did you hear that name mentioned ? " asked Beckdorf
eagerly.
" No," answered the prisoner; "but I recollect distinctly his
mentioning about his sons."
"Andis he at Macalomes?" asked the sheriff; "for he has
gone away from here."
" He intended to go back there."
"Then I'll fetch him," said Beckdorf, determinedly. "I'll
undertake to ride over in six hours; and have him here to-mor-
row at noon."
"Bah !" interposed Hale; "you can't ride through the moun-
tains alone, and at night, now our fellows have made the red-
skins as wild as they can be."
" I'm not afraid of them; they know me, and I've never been
unfriendly towards them."
"All cats are grey at night, as the proverb says," objected
Hale; " and they'd stick you and your horse full of arrows
before you could say ' Walle, Walle !'"
"Do you think that Nolten's testimony would benefit him ? "
"Well, I think it would," replied Hale. "Nolten is an
honest man, out and out; and if he swears here that he saw the
Englishman every day of the last week at Macalomes, that will
make a great difference in his favour. But I don't quite believe
the story."
"And when was the jury to be called ?"
" To-morrow morning. But if you undertake to bring a
witness, I will take it upon myself to defer the matter till the
evening. With whom did you work there, stranger P "
" At first with a fellow-countryman of mine."
"He won't do you any good," interrupted Hale, shaking his
head.
" And he's gone away from Macalomes, too—afterwards with
an American of the name of Robins. If he were still there, I
should not want any other witness; for he was ill for a time,
and we slept in the same tent. But he left the mines a few
days ago, when he got better, and God knows where he has gone
to. So that old American whom you call Nolten—and I dare
say you're night in his name—is my only resource. I think he's
friendly towards me; and if I had followed his advice, I
should never have come into this unlucky town at all. Perhaps
he may bring one of his friends with him who has seen me
there."
"Don't you fancy the gold-diggers have nothing to do but to
go riding about to attend juries," said Hale sententiously; " but
the jury.
383
old Nolten will come, I reckon, if lie fancies he can be of any
use. So you're really going to start to-night, Beckdorf ?"
" Now, directly! If I can only manage to find my horse in
the dark."
" I'd offer you mine," said Lanzot, " only I want to go with
you."
" Then pray give it me—you can do me no good; in fact,
you'd only detain me, and I have nothing to fear. So good-bye
for the present, sir—keep a good heart—by to-morrow, at noori, I
hope to be back with, good news."
Golway nodded to him with a sad smile; and the three Ger-
mans, anxious to lose no further time, left the tent at once.
" Those foreigners stick together like a bag of nails," said one
of the Americans, who had listened to the conversation with an
incredulous air.
The sheriff took no notice of the remark, but went up to the
prisoner and unbound his hands.
" There," he said, " he can't get away, for his feet are tied;
and he'll sit more comfortably now. Only take care, Bill, that
he don't stoop and untie them."
Golway would have thanked him; but he turned away, and
threw himself on his bed.
CHAPTER. XXYIII.
the jtjky.
Next morning a thick fog had spread itself over the flat,
wrapping the whole valley in an impenetrable veil. This cir-
cumstance did not tend to calm the excitement the events of the
foregoing day had raised. Yague reports were carried through
the camp that the Indians and Mexicans had again assembled in
the hills, and were resolved to make a joint attack on the town;
and, strangely enough, their object was asserted to be the libera-
tion of the English prisoner. Not one of the Americans went
out to his work. Each with his rifle on his shoulder, the men
strode to and fro through the camp, or stood in separate angry
groups, discussing the measures to be adopted.
384 THE JURY.
The fog, which became so thick that nothing could be seen
ten paces off, prevented them from ascertaining how far these
reports were true or false; and one or two random shots fired off
in the mountains were sufficient to keep the excitement of the
people at its highest pitch; for these shots were taken as hostile
signals concerted by the foe.
One or two of the boldest spirits went out as scouts; and
Hetson had taken his revolver, and patrolled round the whole
flat. But the mere fact that he had discovered nothing to justify
alarm was not sufficient to quiet the rest, and they loudly de-
manded that the alcalde should call together the jury to decide
the fate of the prisoner.
The feeling among the Americans towards the captive was
almost uniformly hostile; and even the quietest among them
could not, or would not, give up the idea that he was a convict
sent over from England, and that it was necessary to give the
Britishers an example of the treatment such characters had to
expect in California.
Hale tried in vain to make them understand that they had not
the right to execute sentence of death upon any man, even if
they had caught him in the very act of murder. The people were
not in the humour to see this fact, or, if they saw it, to acquiesce
in it; and the sheriff imparted to the alcalde his conviction that
the fellows would take the law into their own hands if the
prisoner should really be found guilty.
Under these circumstances, Hetson thought it best to send
Golway at once, with a sufficient escort, to the district court at
Golden Bottom; but the very mention of the plan raised great
anger among the people, who told the alcalde, in so many plain
words, that the Britisher had murdered one of themselves, and
should suffer for his crime where it had been committed: the
district court was welcome to say what it liked. If the alcalde
did not choose to let the prisoner have a jury, they would lead
him away to the nearest tree, and judge him there; which, after
all, they declared the shortest and most sensible way of disposing
of the business.
Hetson tried, as far as he could, to conceal from his wife the
animosity borne by the community towards the prisoner; but
the thin lining of the tent was not a sufficient barrier to prevent
her hearing the angry speeches of the excited crowd. Doctor
Baseher scarcely quitted her side on this unhappy morning; and
Emile Lanzot, after a long conference with the Doctor, went out
to sound the feelings of nis fellow-countrymen, to see if they
would support the judge, and protect the prisoner, in the event
THE JUEY. 3S5
of a riot among the Americans. But he brought back slender
comfort. Eischer was the only man who at once declared himself
willing to help; the rest declined undertaking anything that might
look like a demonstration; and the CounseSor alone promised to
attend the court—unarmed, of course. He seemed to think one of
his abrupt rebukes would be quite sufficient to bring the turbulent
Americans to reason; but young Lanzot, much as he had been
amused on previous occasions by the old fellow's eccentricities,
declined his offer, and turned to the frenchmen, without better
success.
If it had been one of their own countrymen, they said, they
would have supported him; but they declined to interfere in any
quarrels between Englishmen and Americans, which those two
nations were perfectly competent to settle among themselves.
They were determined to maintain their own rights in the
mines, and would not therefore give the Americans what might
be to the latter a welcome opportunity of beginning fresh quarrels.
Hale had, moreover, informed the alcalde that a German had
started off on horseback the night before to go to Macalome, to
bring over old Nolten as a witness for the prisoner; and Hetson
had made up his mind not to let the jury assemble till late in the
afternoon. He had, in addition, despatched a messenger to
Golden Gate in the person of the little ship-boy Jim, who had
behaved so gallantly m the attack on the Mexicans. The youngster
declared he didn't care for either Indians or senores; and, being
accommodated with Eischer's horse, he rode boldly away into the
fog to deliver a letter to the judge of the district court, inform-
ing that dignitary of the recent events.
More Hetson could not do ; but even this one active measure
seemed to remove a weight from his mind. Whatever happened
now, he had done his best, and the consequences would not rest
with him.
Thus the morning passed heavily away. Dull and heavy, as
the fog that wrapped the flat, were the thoughts that agitated
every breast in the little community. Their heads, none the
cooler for the festivity of the last evening, still whirled with
excitement; and they seemed like men seeking for some
object on which to expend their feverish restlessness. Woe to
the unhappy man who falls into the hands of a mob while it is
in this humour!
With painful impatience Doctor Rascher had counted the
hours as they hurried by, and still the young German did not
return with" his witness. Twelve o'clock came,—one—two
o'clock,—and still there were no signs of his approach. Had he,
2 c
386 THE JURY.
perhaps, lost his way in the fog ? The supposition was by no
means improbable; for the thick wreaths still hung over the flat,
and clung to the sides of the mountains with most provoking
pertinacity, and seemed as if they never would move.
The Americans, too, began to murmur, as time went on with-
out any preparation being made for the trial. At last, with
Cook at their head, they went to the alcalde, and declared that
they would on no account consent to the postponement of the
affair after four o'clock. The jury had already been chosen,
though the prisoner had a right of challenging some of the num-
ber, for whom other jurymen would be substituted. But how
could he, a stranger, "know friends from foes ?
Four o'clock came, and the jurymen were going to assemble,
according to their custom, in Hetson's tent. But the alcalde
had begged the sheriff to lend him his tent for the nonce, and
Hale had willingly granted his chief's request, for even he had an
idea that the ladies were better away from such a noisy scene as
the court would probably present.
Siftly had not shown his face since their quarrel; he had been
active enough, nevertheless, and had succeeded in raising a pre-
judice against the alcalde, in spite of the gallantry he had shown
on the preceding day. But the better class of people kept aloof
from the gambler; though, angry that Hetson would not give up
the "Britisher" to their tender mercies, they allowed the fiercer
spirits—with the ever turbulent Briars at their head—to threaten
violence if the prisoner were not delivered up to them, without
making any effort to check the mutiny.
Siftly could not imagine why Hetson should wish to see his
enemy .and rival at liberty; but the knowledge that Hetson
really did wish it was quite enough to make the vindictive man
do his utmost to cross his plans. Hetson, that wavering, timid
fellow, had dared to thwart him—him to whom he owed the
position he held, and which had only been given to him because
Siftly hoped to find the alcalde a passive tool for his purposes.
He must be put down, the gambler muttered, if he could not be
turned to account; and there could not be a more favourable
moment than the present to execute such a design. He would
take good carp that Hetson did not carry off the Spanish girl
before she had fulfilled her contract; and when once the
meddling alcalde was gone, she and her father would be quite
in his power.
The rascal grinned with savage delight, as he painted the
future in these agreeable colours; and so he continued rumi-
nating, till the approach of the jury, who came trooping towards
THE JURY. 387
the sheriff's tent with a mob of Americans at their heels, roused
him from his reverie.
In the mean time, other Americans had come in from the
neighbouring mines; they had heard of the hostile proceedings
of the Mexicans, and were hastening to their countrymen's
assistance. The new comers all carried long rifles; and many a
sunburnt stalwart fellow among them Jind grown old in the
backwoods, and in combats against wild beasts and wild Indians.
Hale marked their arrival with considerable satisfaction; for he
knew many of them personally, and felt assured that they would
join the^ cause of law and order, rather than make common cause
with Briars and his reckless troop, if matters came to the worst.
The crowd soon grew too large for Hale's tent; and it was at
last determined that the court should be held in the open air—•
in the " red earth " behind the tents. A score of busy hands
were directly at work to fill up a couple of pits, to level a suffi-
cient space. A chair was placed for the alcalde on a little mound
of earth; and a couple of planks, laid upon stakes driven into
the earth, served as seats for the jury. Siftly had intrigued in
vain to be chosen a juryman; they would none of him, for he
was a reputed gambler. The Americans used, indeed, to waste
their money at the gaming-table; but they disliked the men who
made gambling a source of livelihood, and considered them un-
worthy of such an honourable position. Nobody expressed this
opinion in so many plain words; but the gamblers got hardly
any votes, and the few who held with them were people of their
own stamp. And thus Siftly stood, with his poncho across his
shoulders, an/1 his broad-brimmed hat over his eyes, not far from
Hetson's chair, to watch the progress of affairs.
It was half-past four o'clock when the prisoner appeared, led
forward by his guards; and at the same moment Hetson ap-
proached from the opposite direction : it would have been diffi-
cult to tell which was the accused and which the judge, so deadly
pale did each of them appear.
Many of the rough new comers came forward to welcome the
alcalde; for Hale had told them how well he had behaved the
day before; and his trophy of victory, the Mexican flag, was still
waving below the American ensign out in the flat. They shook
him heartily by the hand, and expressed their regret that " they
hadn't had their share of the fun."
It had become a little lighter; and just as the jury took their
seats, the sun pierced through the upper portion of the fog,
showing the blue sky just above their heads. But over the
earth the mist still hung heavily.
2 c 2
388 THE JURY.
The preparations for the jury's accommodation, were now com-
pleted, ana the whole conclave had assembled; but Hetson still
delayed, in the hope that the German might yet appear with his
witness. At last the jury became impatient, and the Americans
declared themselves quite tired of what they called "his nonsense."
There was a general cry for the trial to begin; they would be put
off no longer: and Hetson saw that the next hour would decide
the prisoner's fate. Unwillingly, he gave the signal for the opening
of the court.
Erom the list of jurymen whose names had been handed in to
him, Golway, acting upon Hale's advice, had struck out the name
of Briars. At first he had refused to acknowledge their jurisdic-
tion, and would have protested against the whole proceedings as
illegal; but Hale persuaded him to give up this design; re-
presenting, with perfect truth, that it would do the prisoner no
good, and only make the common people more bitter against him
than ever.
Cook now stepped forward,—and, to do him justice, he told a
plain unvarnished tale: how Johns, in whose company he had
worked, had been found murdered and buried in the wood; how
he, the witness, had afterwards sold his horse to the prisoner,
and received, in payment, a piece of gold, which he could declare
on oath to have belonged to Johns, and which the latter would
certainly not have parted with of his own free will. He went
on to describe how they had dug out this piece, and two others
of remarkable shape and appearance; whereof, certainly, only
this one had been found in the prisoner's possession. Johns,
poor fellow, had been much pleased at finding these pieces, and
had declared he would take or send them to his mother; and
now he was lying murdered in his grave, and the poor mother at
home would be waiting in vain, day after day, for news of liim.
If the stranger could give a satisfactory account of how he came
by the bit of gold, it would prove his innocence; if not, he
ought to be made to suffer for it—at least that was his, Cook's,
opinion.
A fierce murmer ran through the court, when Cook concluded
his evidence. By the picture he had conjured up, he had in-
voluntarily struck a chord that vibrated in many a rough bosom;
and sympathy with the poor mother, who would wait in vain for
her son's return, increased the disgust and hatred they felt
towards his cowardly murderer.
The feeling against him was at the strongest when the pri-
soner began his defence; but though he still looked pale, and his
voice trembled at first, he soon grew calmer, and spoke out like
THE JURY. 389
a man. With a sparkling eye and a raised voice, he indignantl}
denied all knowledge of the murder. He told them briefly how
he had worked on the Macalome, but had soon got tired of it.
He was a seaman, he said, and was going back to his old
calling, when an unhappy error caused his arrest. He had
certainly not examined the gold he received as the price of his
tent, tools, and other articles, so closely as to be able to tell each
separate piece; but the more he thought about the matter, the
more certain he felt that he had received this piece in question
from a man to whom he had sold his lame horse—though this
man, so the sheriff told him, denied it. It was physically impos-
sible, he continued, that he should have committed this murder,
inasmuch as he had only left Macalome late in the evening of the
day before yesterday; and this, he could undertake to prove, if
time and opportunity were given him to call witnesses. A
young German had undertaken to bring witnesses for him, but
had probably lost his way in the fog. In conclusion, he said he
felt sure they would not pronounce a judgment upon any man till
they had given him an opportunity of clearing himself; and,
therefore, he demanded to be taken to Macalome, that he might
prove his innocence.
"Who the devil's to believe that!" roared Briars, savagely.
" Take you to Macalome, eh! That you may bolt on the way,
with this confounded fog to help you off. Hadn't you better
send to your own rotten old country at once for witnesses ?"
"Silence in court," cried the sheriff. "Briars, you've no
right to put in your word here."
" Haven't I, though ?" retorted Briars, in a tone of defiance.
" We'll soon see who's got most to say here, we or the quill-
drivers. Let him show where he got the bit of gold from—if he
can't, he'll have to swing."
" Confound you," roared Hale in a passion, and in a moment he
would have seized the rioter by the collar; but Hetson inter-
posed.
"Stop, Hale," he cried; "never mind the fellow and his
threats just now, but call Boyles hither to answer the prisoner's
charge against him."
"Boyles! Hallo, Boyles!" shouted a dozen voices, "Where
the deuce has he got to; he was here not long ago. Boyles!
—Boyles!"
Some went off into the street of tents to look for him, and
others were sent to his own tent and to Kenton's, for the same
purpose. But he was nowhere to be found, and in the course of a
quarter of an hour the messengers came back without him.
SPO fHE JURY.
"What the mischief d'ye want Boyles for, at all," shouted
Briars, crowding forward again. " Swear me as a witness
instead of him, for I was there when Hale asked him about the
bit of gold. He said he knew nothing about it, and had never
seen it in his life. Besides, it's nothing but a lie, trumped up
by the fellow yonder."
" Thank you, sir," answered Hetson, glad of the opportunity
the interruption afforded; " we can't substitute your testimony
for that of another man; and until Boyles is found, this trial
cannot go on."
" I should think," said Siftly, " that the sheriff, who spoke
with the man, would be the best substitute for him. We
Americans have made up our minds that this affyjr shall be
pushed on, and there is not one among us who considers Boyles
capable of committing murder."
"I shall not come forward for Boyles," said Hale. "I
certainly questioned him, and showed him the piece of gold; and
he told me he knew nothing about it."
" Well, what do we want more ?" interrupted Briars, bois-
terously—"
" But his manner did not please me at all," continued Hale
quietly ; " he didn't seem quite certain about it himself; and, at
any rate, he may repeat his answer here, on oath. Besides, I
gave him notice that he would have to appear in court."
" Gentlemen of the Jury!" said Hetson, " the whole evidence
against the prisoner rests on the circumstance of that one piece
of gold being found in his possession, and the man from whom
he believes he received it is not here, although he has been
summoned. I am, consequently, of opinion that I am right in
adjourning the court until this witness is found."
" And supposing Boyles doesn't appear ?" urged Siftly;
" suppose he has gone out prospecting somewhere in the moun-
tains, without thinking of your court at all ?"
''Then I shall release the prisoner, for want of evidence
against him," answered the judge coldly.
" And do you intend to stand that, my boys P" roared Briars,
turning round to. his gang; " shall we let these infernal Aus-
tralian convicts come here with pistols and knives murdering
American citizens, and then let them get off scot-free and
laugh at us, because the judge and the sheriff are afraid ?"
" The man is guilty," cried many voices in reply, and Siftly's
among them; " what do we want with Boyles ?—we've nothing
to do with him."
"Then we won't stand shuffling here any longer," yelled
THE JURY. 391
Briars, rushing forward as he spoke. " Now then, my bold boys,
follow me," and with Siftly and nine or ten others, he made, a
rush at the prisoner.
"Briars, I warn you!" cried Hale. " You're interfering with
my office,—and by Heaven, you shan't touch a hair of the man's
head without my leave."
"Just as you please," blustered Siftly; and he seized the
prisoner by the shoulder to drag him away. But a rough hand
seized him by the throat, and thrust him back with such violence
that he staggered, and almost measured his length on the
ground.
" Death and fury!" yelled the gambler, foaming with rage,
" that white-faced vagabond again; you're just in time, my lad; "
and he drew his revolver from his pocket. But before he could
take aim, Lanzot had rushed in and seized him by the throat,
while one of the jurymen snatched the weapon, doubly dangerous
in a crowd, from his grasp.
The struggle between Briars and the sheriff, though it lasted
only a few seconds, did not end so harmlessly; for when Hale
sprang forward with Lanzot in the prisoner's defence, Briars,
who was raging like a wild beast, aimed such a terrific blow at the
sheriff's face with the brass-bound stock of his rifle, that it would
have shattered his skull if it had struck him fairly. As it was, he
had barely time to spring aside; and even then the sharp edge
laid his cheek open. Hale, however, was quicker with his
revolver than Siftly; and, before Briars could repeat the blow,
a shot, fired straight in his face, laid him dead upon the
ground.
The whole affair had passed in less than half a minute, and the
newly-arrived troop of Americans had taken no part in the con-
troversy so long as it continued merely a wordy quarrel; but no
sooner had Briars begun a forcible attack, and Siftly drawn his
revolver, than they grasped their rifles, and now they came
striding across the rioter's body, and drew up between the
wounded sheriff and the prisoner.
Their leader, or at least he who seemed to possess the chief
authority among them, was a man of short stature, but firmly
knit, dressed in a leather hunting-shirt, leggins, and moccasins,
and with long snow-white hair falling over his shoulder. He
was well known in the mines under the title of the "Little
Devil."
"Do you call yourselves Americans?" shouted this personage, in
no measured voice, to the rioters, presenting his long rifle straight
at them. " Shame on you, ye rascals; darned if I don't let day-
392 THE JIJKY.
light into the first scamp who lifts a hand against any one here,
as sure as I've got my hand on the trigger now!"
" Let me go!" screamed Siftly, too much maddened with rage
to hear or notice the threat. "I must have his heart's
blood!"
" Stand away from him, behind there!" shouted the sheriff,
springing forward, almost as angry as Siftly himself, with the
blood streaming down his face, and his revolver cocked in his
hand. " One step forward, my lad,—only one, and you and he
will be buried together."
"Cowardly dogs," hissed Siftly, with a livid face. "All
against one, for the sake of a rascally Britisher. There isn't a
man among ye who dares to stand alone against me."
"If you desire it, sir," observed Lanzot, proudly, "I shall be
at your service to-morrow morning. I've waited for you once
in vain, already."
" Good — d—n it, I'll take you at your word, my boy,"
answered Siftly, with savage joy. " To-morrow morning, at
seven o'clock, by the hill yonder."
Lanzot bowed slightly, and would have answered, but the
sound of hoofs came clattering along the road.
" Nolten, by Jove!" as three horsemen became visible,
dashing up the street among the tents. "Nolten and Beck-
dorf!"
"Too late ?" asked the old man, anxiously, as his eyes fell on
the prostrate body.
"Too late, if you came to help that mutinous scoundrel,
Nolten," answered the old hunter, with a chuckle; "but not
for the prisoner. Do you come as a witness for or against
him ? "
"For him, Mackinney—for him!" replied Nolten, hastily, and
he sprang from his saddle, and turned his horse loose; "and as I
perceive, I'm in time, thank God!"
"Robins!" shouted Golway, joyfully, as he recognized the
man who accompanied Nolten; " that's friendly of you, that you
haven't left me in the lurch."
" Left you in the lurch!" repeated Robins, a handsome young
American, running up to him to shake hands; then suddenly
noticing the cords with which Golway was bound, he drew his
knife from its sheath, and at once cut them asunder.
" My good friends," t he cried eagerly, to the Americans, who
came crowding round in surprise at this energetic proceeding,
" you've accused this man of committing a murder, and there
isn't a better fellow on the face of the earth. He nursed me
THE JURY. 393
when I was sick, like a brother;—and I can take my bible oath
that he never left Macalomes for a single quarter of an hour
till the day before yesterday, in the evening, when we parted."
"If you want any other witness, I'm ready," said old Nolten;
" and 1 reckon you know me well enough to take my word. If
this young fellow has gold that belonged to the murdered man,
he has nothing to do with his death."
" Indeed!" cried Hale; " then we've nothing further to do
but to look up this Mr. Boyles—for I've a notion that he knows
more about this mattter. Hurrah, boys ! does any of you object
to letting the Britisher go now? Hallo! where the deuce are the
jury ? "
"Gone to the deuce, Hale," answered one of the Americans,
with a laugh. "You know there's no keeping the fellows
together."
Hetson was perhaps the only man present who had remained
perfectly quiet during the late scene of uproar. He had kept
his revolver firmly in his hand, and seemed to wait for the right
moment to interfere; and when the strange Americans took the
affair into their hands, he at once laid down his weapon.
Now he came down from his seat, and touching Golway on
the shoulder, said in a tone of genuine pleasure,—
" Sir, you are free; and sorry as I still am, that you should have
met with such a disagreeable adventure here, on the other hand,
I rejoice at being able to promise you perfect security, so long
as you choose to remain with us."
"Mr. Hetson "
" Come with pae," interrupted the alcalde, looking his rival
full in the face. "Jenny has been very anxious about you."
Golway was silent for a moment. Then he replied in a low
voice,—
"Mr. Hetson, I think you had better let me go. If the
people here had not forcibly detained me, I should have been far
off by this time."
Hetson made no reply, except what was conveyed in a hearty
shake of the hand; but the two men understood one another
perfectly.
Robins had in the mean time been telling his countrymen,
among whom he recognized several acquaintances, how he had
worked in company with this Englishman, until he fell sick; and
how carefully the latter had nursed him, and had even insisted on
sharing with him the money he earned while he, Bobins, was
lying helpless on his back. He himself had intended to leave
Macalome, and had only by mere chance been detained in the
394 THE JURY.
neighbourhood, where he met Nolten and the young German.
Nolten knew him, and remembered that he had been the
Britisher's partner,—and directly he heard in what a scrape his
mend had got, he threw himself on his horse, and at once rode
off to his assistance.
When Cook heard the matter thus satisfactorily explained, he
felt a little uncomfortable at the thought of having been the sole
cause of bringing an innocent man into such a dangerous scrape.
With all his bluntness, he was a straightforward, good-
natured fellow; so, going up to the prisoner, he shook hands
with him, and said in his rough way—
" Stranger, I'm real sorry to have pulled you up so short here,
and, as it appears, without any reason. But Nolten and Robins
are respectable men, and they both say you're an honest fellow.
So I hope you won't bear malice. But I'd give my little finger
to know who really did the deed. By the way, you're not above
taking a bit of advice, I suppose ? " -
" Certainly not. What is your advice ? "
Cook gave a meaning glance at the gamblers and their friends,
who were carrying away the body of Briars, and said, in a low
voice,
" It's just this: I'd advise you to keep clear of those fellows
yondey. Human life is very cheap with them; one would think
they priced your life by the value of their own."
"I don't think I shall fall "into their hands again," said
Golway, with a melancholy smile. "I'm going to leave
California."
"Seen enough of it—eh? Well, do you know," continued
Cook, in his blunt way, " it isn't the best place in the world for
Britishers, for one really never knows how one stands with
them. Still, we ought to have been a little more careful, I
grant you. A very little more, and we should have hung you up
this morning."
Hetson now took the Englishman's arm in his own, and led
him away towards his tent."
"Hallo, sir!" cried Cook, after them; "you can have your
horse whenever you please. I'll take good care of it mean-
while."
Golway nodded to him, and then walked with the alcalde for a
short distance, uncertain what course to take. At last, when
the rest were out of hearing, he stopped, and said in a friendly,
but still a decided tone—
"Mr. Hetson, I am fully sensible of your kindness and confi-
dence,in wishing to introduce me, who have, unfortunately, been
THE JURY. 395
such a thorn in your side, into the circle of your domestic life;
but do not let us deceive ourselves in the flush of our new friend-
ship. It is not well done to tear open wounds that have scarcely
yet ceased to bleed. What is done cannot be undone; ana,
believe me, I have prayed—earnestly and sincerely prayed,—
that Jenny—forgive me—that—that Mrs. Hetson might be as
happy with you as I had fondly hoped tp make her. Tell her
the good news of my release—I am sure she will be glad,—and
let that be sufficient. Tate brought us together here, contrary
to my wish; but perhaps it is better so—it will be a kind of
conclusion to the feelings which have disturbed our peace—a
longer tarrying would be bad for both of us."
" But you must not part from us in this way," urged
Hetson.
" No," replied Golway. " The sun is just setting, and I
hardly think I could find my way to Stockton in the dark. I
shall stay here till to-morrow morning. If you will allow me,
I shall come over to your tent to take leave of you both."
Hetson stood for a few moments looking thoughtfully on the
ground. At last he heartily shook the Englishman's proffered
hand, and said in a tone of hearty admiration,—
" Golway you are a good fellow—a man of honour; and happy
as I am in the possession of Jenny, I am sure that she would
have been a luckier woman if you had been her husband. But
you are right in what you say; act as you think best. But I
cannot consent to let you run the risk of being insulted or in-
jured in this place, where there are, unfortunately, many turbulent
characters; and to make sure of your safety, I can recommend
you no better and more upright man for a host than our sheriff,
Mr. Hale."
" I have taxed his hospitality already," said Golway, with a
smile.
" Unfortunately, you have. But you stand in a different posi-
tion now. If you are determined not to come with me, at least
follow my advice, and do not quit his tent this evening ; though
we shall keep our eyes upon the riotous fellows, too. Still it is
better not to get in their way; for they are sure to be savage,
now that one of their number has been shot. Here comes
Hale; one word to him, and you will be well and safely pro-
vided for."
It was after sunset, and a meeting of "American citizens,"
friends of the deceased Briars, assembled in Kenton's tent, and
began their proceedings with drunken and noisy rioting. Angry
396 THE JURY,
mutinous speeches were made, and the people seemed ready to
fight their way with fire and sword through all opposition; but
while the uproar was at its height, the sound of hoofs was heard
clattering along the street, and a number of men from Golden
Bottom,led by the little Sailor Jim, the majority of them dressed
in hunting-shirts, and with long rifles on their shoulders, came
galloping into the town, and stopped before the alcalde's tent.
The topers and gamblers and their friends, disturbed in their
uproar by the approach of this cavalcade, lost no time in seeking
to gain over the new comers to their side. These men, however,
were not a motley crew collected at random, but a picked troop, led
on by the judge of Golden Bottom in person, and sworn to main-
tain the law. They distrusted the overtures of the half-drunken
revellers, put back the full glasses held out to them, and kept
steadily in their ranks beside their horses, till their leader had
been closeted for some time with the alcalde and the sheriff, and
had learned from them all the events of the last few days. After
this interview, Hale had their horses led away to a safe and fer-
tile grazing place, while the men themselves were accommodated
with quarters for the night in one of the more respectable drink-
ing tents, where no gambling was allowed.
The quiet, determined bearing of these men was just the thing
to impress the noisy crew, who, after their vain attempt at fra-
ternization, went back to Kenton's in dudgeon. One or two orators
rose to speak; but somehow the words seemed to stick in their
throats, and their audience had become tame and disheartened;
and so it came to pass that, with the exception of those who
stayed up to pass the rest of the evening at the gaming-tables,
the majority went home to bed before ten o'clock, without car-
rying into effect the threats, uttered in the earlier part of the
evening, of attacking the tents of the alcalde and sheriff, and
burning every foreigner in the place out of house and home.
It was about midnight when Smith, who had made his first
appearance in public since his misfortune, came lounging up the
■street, with Siftly at his side, towards the tent they inhabited
together. They walked on in silence, each absorbed in his own
reflections, and neither feeling inclined to begin a conversation.
They had proceeded about half the distance between Kenton's
tent and their own, when they suddenly heard a shrill but not a
very loud cry, which seemed to come from the ground close to
them.
" What was that ?" said Siftly, standing still to look round him.
" An owl," answered Smith, carelessly.
" It came from the ground."
THE JTJEY. 397
" Catching mice, I suppose. Now, it's just in front of us; do
you hear ? "
The same cry resounded about a hundred paces in advance,
and Siftly, turning _ again in the direction whence he had first
heard it, listened intently ; but all was still. Only the leaves
of a few trees, left standing for the sake of their shade, were
heard to rustle, and the crickets chirped. There was little to be
seen; for the night was dark, and the fog had come down after
sunset, and lay thicker than ever on the damp earth.
But hardly had the two men passed on, when a dark form rose
cautiously from the earth, a few paces from where they had been
standing, and glided noiselessly on, like a spectre, among the
tents.
"What about that green German chap, you were going to
fight to-morrow morning?" asked Smith after a short pause.
" The plan you told me of would have been all very well, if these
fellows had not come over from Golden Bottom; but now I don't
care to risk my neck by joining in it."
"There'd be more risk for your neck than for your ears, at
any rate," sneered Siftly.
" It's all very well for you to talk," answered the cropped
gambler, moodily; " but I know one thing, namely, that if those
fellows are quartered here long, the place will be too warm for
me; and I'd rather look out for a new opening, a little nearer
to the capital."
"Why, you're not afraid of the fellows, I hope?" cried
Siftly. " Why, I look upon them as so many new customers,
who'll be bringing their gold into our tent to-morrow evening.
What harm can they do us ?"
As they talked, a dark mass was gliding slowly like a snake
along the ground; when they came nearer it stopped, and
remained lying motionless. Smith was walking directly towards
it, and must have stepped upon it, if he had not suddenly started
to one side.
"What's the matter?" asked his companion.
" Oh, nothing but one of those rascally stumps left lying in
the middle of the way for a man to break his legs over in the
night," grumbled Smith in answer. " I was very nearly tumbling
over it."
When the two had passed, the object which Smith had mis-
taken for a stump rose slowly from the ground. It proved to be
a man, not tall, but strongly built, who, without losing a moment,
walked after the two companions noiselessly, keeping exact step
with them. Another figure joined him, and a slight hissing
398 the jury.
noise, uttered by one of them, was answered by a similar signal
not far off.
"What the deucd can those things be, that seem to be swarm-
ing about, to-night?" observed Smith, restlessly. "Are they
really owls, I wonder ?"
" I mean to carry out that affair with the Spanish girl, Smith,"
said Siftly, who had not heard the sounds, and did not heed his
companion's remark. " Play debts must be paid. The girl is
not of age yet, and not a court in all California can save her.
The district judge will give Master Hetson a snubbing, you'll
see, particularly after this affair with the Mexicans. Hang it, I
mil have her,—and it would be the first time in my life I had
failed in anything I'd set my heart on."
"Take care what you're about, Siftly," said the cautious
Smith; " the rascals here in the camp don't hold us in much
esteem, and have begun to say very disagreeable things."
"Nonsense! what can they do?" retorted Siftly, with a
scornful laugh. "Of course, when they've lost their money
they're as wild as bulls ; but that's only till they have got hold
of some more, and then they come back with it to our tables as
regularly as clockwork. They can't do without us, my lad;
they'd be dying for something to do, if it were not for us."
In the mean time the two had reached their tent. They would
not have gone in so quietly, if they could have seen certain dark
figures who had been there before, and had stood listening for
them near the entrance. Now everything was silent.
At the entrance of the tent stood a matchbox. Siftly took it
up, and struck a light. In the tent two rude bed-places had been
erected of stakes rammed into the earth, and a few boards nailed
across, with a rather hard mattress and a woollen rug for bedding,
in addition to the Californian cloak, which both the gamblers
wore. By the side of each bed was a little table, on which each
man laid his revolver and his knife. Their gold they were accus-
tomed to take into bed with them, so that it might be at hand
in case of emergency.
Smith, whose wounds were still stiff and sore, wrapped him-
self tightly in his woollen coverlet; but Siftly, on whose little
table the light was burning, sat for a long time, leaning his head
on his hand, looking darkly at the floor, with clenched teeth and
knitted brow.
Once the woollen coverlet of his bed, that hung down almost
to the ground, moved; the lower edge was raised slowly and
cautiously, and a dark eye peered out from beneath: but the
light was still burning.
leave-taking. 399
"Smith!" said Siftly, starting—" Smith!"
There was no reply, and Smith's quiet breathing showed that
he was fast asleep. Siftly cursed him for a lazy dog, put out
the light, and wrapping himself in his poncho, addressed himself
to slumber.
CHAPTER XXIX.
leave-taking.
Next morning brought no change of weather. The same mist
hung upon the valley, and the air was raw and cold. The day
seemed to struggle hard to pierce the thick wreaths, and the
sky was hidden m a mantle of leaden gray.
Scarcely had the first tokens of dawn appeared in the East,
when the canvass curtain of Hale's tent was thrust aside, and a
man entered with a whispered " Hallo, Hale !"
"Hallo!—who's there?" cried the sheriff in reply, seeing a
form, but unable in the imperfect light to recognize his visitor.
As he spoke, he involuntarily laid his hand on the revolver at
his side, and sat up in bed.
"I must speak with you," continued the intruder in the same
suppressed voice. ^ '
" You're in a devil of a hurry, that you can't even wait for
daylight," answered the sleepy sheriff, crossly. " Who are
you?"
"Boyles."
"The deuce!" cried Hale, wide awake in a moment; and he
jumped out of bed with a bound. " What brings you here ? I
hope it isn't your conscience."
" Yes it is, though," stammered the visitor. " I wanted to go
away from here, but I couldn't."
" What!—was it you who. murdered Johns ?" exclaimed the
sheriff in a startled voice. He knew Boyles as a weak and a
careless man, but had never supposed him capable of deliberate
Cri"Lord save us !—no "—cried Boyles, frightened in his turn at
the imputation. " No—there's no blood upon my hands, thank
400 XEAVE-TAKING.
God! now that the poor devil of a Britisher has not been
hun<*."
"But you know the murderer!"
"I suspect some one, certainly," answered Boyles.
" And his name is ?"
"Siftly." Boyles said this half in a whisper, and glanced
nervously over his shoulder, as if he feared to see the gambler
standing behind him.
" Bid you hear that, sir ?" asked the sheriff, speaking to some
one at the further end of the tent.
"Bor Heaven's sake! whom have you got here?" faltered
Boyles, almost sinking with fright.
"The man whom our worthy jurymen and citizens so nearly
murdered yesterday," answered the sheriff, sternly. "So he
had the gold from you?"
" Yes," groaned the young man. " I was afraid Siftly would
shoot me dead if I said anything, and so I denied it; but now I
can bear it no longer. That man is innocent. The day before
the body was found, Siftly came into the camp. I knew him,
and told him in conversation of that Mr. Smith's being here in
the camp, with whom he's now so thick. He was so glad to
hear it, that he lent me a few ounces of gold."
" He did not seem to be very partial to Mr. Smith at that
time P"
" No; I thought he seemed angry with him for some reason
or other,—and I wondered very much to see them in partnership
next day."
"And did you remark anything unusual about Siftly on that
occasion?"
" Yes ; but I only remembered it afterwards. When he gave
me the gold I s|iw blood upon his hand. He said he had scratched
himself with the brambles."
" And have you spoken to him about this ?"
" Yes—not about the blood, but about the piece of gold. He
says he won it at play from a Mexican, but that he would not be
mixed up in the affair; and swore to have my life if I said a word
about it. Now the secret is out—now you know all. I have
eased my conscience, so let me go. If Siftly finds me out, he'll
shoot me, as sure as I stand here. You don't know that man,
and—I should not be the first."
" No, my boy," said Hale, who had been hurrying on his clothes
during the recital, " I cannot let you go now; for without you our
whole case would fall to the ground. But you may depend upon
it the rascal shall do you no harm: I'll be answerable for your
LEAVE-TAKING. 401
safety. But for your own justification you must stop here now;
for, after your confession that you really paid the gold to the
Britisher, every one would at once suspect you to be the mur-
derer, and Siftly would be the very first to throw the imputation
upon you if you ran away. Leave me to see that he's made harm-
less before he is confronted with you. You'll always have time
afterwards to go your way. Now stay here for an instant with
Golway,—I shall be back in five minutes. You won't go away ?
—you'll promise me that ? "
"I shall stay here," said Boyles faintly, and he sank down on
a chair; while Hale, after whispering a few words to the English-
man, left the tent. Still he did not seem to trust Boyles; for in
less than two minutes he was back again, walking impatiently up
and down before the tent. He had only roused Cook, who slept
in a tent close by, and exhorted him to come with the alcalde
without a moment's loss of time.
Ten minutes afterwards Cook and Hetson stood in the
tent; and having been hurriedly made acquainted with the sub-
stance of Boyle's confession, Hetson went away to wake up the
district judge of Golden Bottom and his people. They proposed
to surround Siftly's tent, and then to arrest him.
The men of Golden Bottom soon appeared, rifle in hand, before
the sheriff's tent. Two of them were left behind with Boyles, to
prevent any attempt at escape, and the rest went rapidly and
noiselessly along the street till they reached the tent indicated by
the sheriff.
By this time it was broad day: a dead silence reigned through-
out the flat.
Here and there a dealer looked curiously from his tent, attracted
by the regular tramp of the column; but no one accosted them;
and Siftly's tent was surrounded by armed men before the inmates
could have had any suspicion of danger.
On the way they had decided upon the plan to be adopted; for
it was expected the gambler would make a desperate resistance if
he really felt himself guilty. Escape was impossible, for the whole
flace was surrounded by men; and there was, moreover, a deep
ole on the side towards the mountains.
Accompanied by two stalwart young fellows, Hale advanced
towards the entrance. All three had their revolvers ready for
instant use; but no sound was heard from within the tent save a
feeble moaning. They listened: presently all was again silent j
and the sheriff, with his weapon advanced in his right hand, put
back with his left the curtain that concealed the interior.
" Siftly, in the name of the law I " but he stopped abruptly,
2 D
402 LEAVE-TAKING.
and stood petrified with horror at the spectacle he beheld. He
could not utter a sound, but only motioned to the rest with his
hand, beckoning them to advance.
Over the gambler Siftly their power was gone. His soul was
standing before a higher Judge; but before them they saw his
corpse, so horribly mutilated that even the hardy backwoodsmen,
accustomed as they were to spectacles of death, turned pale and
sick.
The body lay half across the bed in which the murderers had
found their victim. Any one of the hundred wounds with which
it was pierced would have been fatal. Along band of black hair
was wound tightly round the throat, and the other end fastened
into a nail in one of the bed-posts, so as to support the corpse in
a half-erect posture.
On the bed lay Smith, his hands and feet tightly bound
together, and fastened in such a way to the bed-post that he
could not move a limb; he had been gagged moreover. But he
did not appear to have suffered any bodily harm; and as soon as
the spectators had recovered from their first emotions of surprise
and horror, they hastened to free the poor wretch from his
bonds.
Though the murder had been committed before his eyes,
Smith could give no account of the perpetrators. In the middle
of the night, so far as he could judge of the time, he had been
seized by rude hands, and as soon as he opened his lips to call
on Siftly for aid, a gag had been thrust into his mouth, to pre-
vent his raising an alarm. He fancied the tent had been filled
with dark figures, and could almost swear that they were Chinese.
But presently a cloth had been flung over his head so that he
could only see that they had struck a light. Then he heard
Siftly's cries and groans; and then everything was quiet, the
light was extinguished, and the foes disappeared noiselessly as
they had come.
The Americans were not long in doubt as to the perpetrators
of the deed, and the cause which had actuated them. Hale well
remembered the events of the day on which the two men, whose
deeds had brought such tragic consequences upon* them, had
pounced upon the poor Chinamen in the flat, ill-used and
plundered them. The Chinese did not seem to have any wish to
conceal the revenge they had taken; for with the very pigtail
,he had so wantonly severed from the head of their leader Siftly
had been strangled and afterwards hung up.
Some of the Americans were for pursuing the murderers at
once; but Hale held them back until he should have searched the
LEAVE-TAKING. 403
tent, explaining meanwhile how the Chinese had been, without
provocation, beaten and robbed by the two men, Siftly and
Briars.
That their only object had been revenge for past injuries, was
evident enough from the state of the gambler's store of gold,
which lay untouched, and for which the Chinamen had not even
stopped to look.
When Hale, assisted by Hetson and Cook, looked over Siftly's
separate stock, Boyles's suspicion was found verified. There
were two pieces,—one in the form of a cross, and another of a
triangular shape, with three little fragments of quartz embedded
in it,-—which Cook at once identified as having been the property
of his poor friend Johns.
Smith was, indeed, unbound; but they did not set him free, for
it was expected he would make some further disclosures respect-
ihg his late partner. There was no need of using threats with
the poor devil who had lately met with such ill-luck, to make
him tell what he knew; he was completely prostrated, mentally
as well as physically. Pale and breathless, and almost too weak
to stand on his feet, he sat huddled together on the side of his
bed; and though he had evidently no suspicion of Siftly's
uilt with regard to Johns, he yet confessed, voluntarily, that
is partner had set fire to some houses in San Erancisco, in
order to steal the gold belonging to the other players in the
Parker House in the confusion. He had just enough left of his
old cunning to disguise his own share in this transaction, and
he begged piteously to be allowed to go;—he would leave the
mines instantly, and promise, on his honour! never to come back.
There was no particular charge against the luckless Mr.
Smith;—and it was considered advisable, considering the ex-
cited state of the town, not to proceed rigorously against an
American, without real necessity for such a step. _ So, after a
short consultation, they took him at his word. His horse was
saddled,—and a slight hint that it would perhaps be bestfor
him to hasten his departure as much as possible was sufficient
to send him off at once. A quarter of an hour afterwards he was
in the saddle, and without waiting for breakfast, without bid-
ding farewell to a single friend or leaving one man to regret
his departure, he wa3 trotting away, via Stockton, for San
Erancisco. . .
It was unanimously determined, that all the gold found in
Siftly's possession, should be sent to Missouri, to the mother of
the murdered Johns; and Hetson was intrusted with the fulfil-
ment of this decree.
2 b 2
404
LEAVE-TAKING.
Indignant at the Chinamen's barbarity, certain active spirits
set off to overtake Siftly's murderers—though Hale grumbled,
and swore they ought to be rather obliged to the Celestials for
ridding them of such a villain. Pursuit, however, was rendered
almost impossible by the thick mist;—and the Chinamen had got
too good a start; three days afterwards, the active spirits came
back, having had their journey for their pains.
One man at least felt really grateful to the Chinese,
who, by revenging themselves on Siftly, had prevented that
ferocious person from doing him an injury—this man was, of
course, Boyles. Siftly's death, cleared up the mystery of the
murder; but it had another effect, and a good one. The more
respectable among the Americans saw how dangerous it was to
allow the gambling fraternity to carry on their nefarious trade
among them. Smith's rapid flight, which did not seem to argue
a very quiet oonscience, strengthened them in this impression.
In an orderly meeting held the same morning, it was determined
that all professed gamblers should be ordered to quit Paradise
and Golden Bottom; and the proprietors of drinking-tents were
flatly forbidden to allow the cheating game of " hazard " to be
played in their establishments.
The majority of these objectionable characters did not even
wait for the summons to depart. The death of Briars and Siftly,
and Smith's rapid disappearance, had so disheartened them, that
they hardly waited to hear the result of the meeting, before they
packed up their few movables, saddled their horses, and rode off,
almost indifferent in what direction they went. There were
plenty of mining towns where they could pursue their profession
without molestation or annoyance; and with this reflection they
consoled themselves.
Baron Lanzot, and his second, Count Beckdorf, unconscious of
the events of the night, had made their preparations for the pro-
jected duel, and were just about to proceed to the ]flace appointed
for the meeting, when they were met by the intelligence of
an scarcely regret it 1" was Beckdorffs observation.
" It was quite disagreeable to me to put you on a par with such
a scamp;—and now there will be no shots exchanged."
"I could not have avoided meeting him," said Lanzot. "Our
scrupulous ideas with regard to equality in a duel would scarcely
pass current here in the mines; and my disgust at the fellow
would have been taken for cowardice. Now he is dead, and can
do no more harm,—and the Chinese have saved me the trouble
and anxiety of undermining his schemes. But here comet
LEAVE-TAKING.
Doctor Rascher. What, Doctor, all equipped again ? Are you
going away F And whither ?"
" Have you not heard what has occurred in the night ?"
" To those two American gamblers ? Yes. But that cannot
affect you!"
"It should not, and yet it does," answered the old man.
" Mine is not the time of life at which a man can take pleasure
in such wild scenes as are enacted here. 1 have reached those
years when one begins to wish for rest and quiet—in so far, of
course, as they can be combined with my scientific pursuits.
Considering the state of the country here—overrun by Mexicans,
Indians, and vagabond gamblers—I should scarcely feel comforta-
ble, and would prefer returning to the Lower Calaveres; where
there is quite a treasure to be found, in the way of plants and
flowers."
" And so you really intend to start to-day ?"
"Yes; for I have met with an admirable travelling companion.
I shall ride with Mr. Golway, and we are only waiting for the
return of ray friend Hetson, who has still some arrangements to
make in that wretched Siftly's tent. I suppose, my dear Baron,
you ride with, us ?"
" I!" exclaimed Lanzot, with quite a start of alarm.
" Well, and why not? Did you not tell me yesterday evening,
that you would quit the mines, as soon as you had settled
accounts with that miserable man whose fate has overtaken him
to-day in such a sudden and awful manner ?"
" Yes,—certainly," stammered Lanzot. "I—I really intended
—but, you see, I've been here such a short time, and should like
to look about me a little more."
" Will you think me very rude," suggested the Doctor, " if
I tell you my conviction that you have stayed here too long
already ? "
Lanzot reddened; he made no reply, however, but only looked
musingly on the ground.
" Have you considered, my dear Lanzot," continued the old
man, in a kindly and a hearty tone, " that after you have done
with this wild miner's life, you will want to return to your
country and to your family? You will never, I am sure, do
anything that you would have cause to think of with remorse;
but you know, better than I could explain them to you, the
prejudices of the old world, and of the society to which, after
all, you will return. Have you ever given this your real and
serious consideration ? "
" Why, not yet, my dear Doctor," answered Lanzot frankly,
406
LEAVE-TAXING.
holding out his hand to the kiudold Mentor; "but you may rest
assured I will do so."
"That's right. But believe me when I assure you that you
could not find a more unsuitable spot for such considerations
than this place where you now are. Come back with me to San
.Francisco. If *your purse is not heavy enough for the journey,
mine is heartily at your service, and I hope you will make no
scruple in using it."
At this moment, the sound of music was heard from the
neighbouring tent. It was the sound of some stringed instru-
ment, so lighly touched that it seemed as though the wind had
swept across the chords of an JEolian harp. The Doctor felt
how Emile's fingers tightened upon his hand, as he listened with
bated breath. Anon the music sounded louder and more
gloriously full, and then sank again like a whisper of love and
regret.
Neither of the men spoke a word ; even the old Doctor held
his breath, till the music died away as it had begun, in a plaintive
murmur.
" Who was that ? " asked Beckdorf, in amazement. " I never
heard anything like it in my life."
"It is Manuela," answered Lanzot, almost in a whisper.
"Doctor," he continued, turning with a half-smile to his old
friend, " you see why I cannot leave this place."
The doctor sighed, and answered,—
" I see there is nothing more to be done in the way of counsel
or exhortation. But how are you to go home with Don Alonzo
your companion? "
" I give you my word," cried the young man, " that I will do
nothing rashly or foolishly. I know you take a kind interest in
my fortunes; but you do not, perhaps, know that I am perfectly
independent with regard to my relations, and have no need to
account to any one for the steps I take. So give me time, dear
Doctor, to make up my mind—give me time to become better
acquainted with the girl. Don Alonzo, by the way, is of a good
family, though in reduced circumstances—so even our old pre-
judices need sustain no shock. But then, upon my word,
I don't even know if the girl will have anything to say to me."
"Come—I see I've been wasting my time," said the Doctor,
g5od-humouredly. " My dear Baron, if you are already asking
yourself such questions, you are what the people here would cafi
a 'gone' man; and I can only resign myself to what cannot be
altered, and wish you every blessing and happiness,"
"But, my good Doctor "
LEAVE-TAKING. 407
" We'll have another talk on this subject," replied Rascher.
" Come, this is a pretty affair," struck in Count Beckdorf,
laughing; " yesterday evening, he was almost going to let me
introduce him to the young lady."
Yoices were heard without, and in the neighbouring tent.
Hetson had come back, and Dr. Rascher was preparing for
departure.
"We shall see each other again?" he said, cheerfully, "I
shall say good-bye to you outside the tent, and I hope we shall
soon meet in San Francisco."
The Doctor waved his hand once more to the two young men,
and then went briskly away in quest of his mule.
"I have kept you waiting a long time, Mr. Golway," said
Hetson, as he entered the tent; "but the delay was caused by a
circumstance which will dissipate the last traces of suspicion'
against you which one or other of our obstinate fellows might
still have nourished."
" I hear they have discovered the real murderer ?"
" Yes, and in a condition," said Hetson, shuddering, " which
placed him beyond the reach of earthly punishment. God be
merciful to him; for before His judgment-seat the wretched man
now stands. There is now not the slightest obstacle to your
staying here. I will guarantee that "
"My horse is saddled," interrupted Golway; "and within
an hour I shall be far from here. Believe me, it is better for
both of us—and peace and contentment will return to us all!"
" God grant it!" said Hetson gently. " Is it true that Doctor
Rascher accompanies you ?"
" I am fortunate in securing his company. He wishes to live
in a quieter neighbourhood than this, to pursue his studies and
investigations. But if it is not inconvenient, I will go at once
with you, to say farewell to your wife."
Hetson made no reply, but he took Golway's arm, and they
went together towards his tent.
Jenny was sitting at the table alone. She looked pale and
exhausted, as she rose and came towards them.
" Jenny," said her husband with a quiet smile; "here is the
man who has for months robbed me of sleep, and the thought of
whom almost drove me mad, from the apprehension that he might
one day stand opposite to you, as he does now. How I mistook
him—how deeply I wronged both of you, I now acknowledge.
A tardy acknowledgment, I know—but not too late, I hope, for
any of us."
408 LEAVE-TAKING.
" Mr. Golway!" faltered Jenny, bnt Hetson continued:
" He is come to say good-bye to you; say a kind word to kim
for me, that he may not think hardly of us when he is gone; for
I shall be his debtor as long as 1 liveand before either of
them could reply, he turned and quitted the tent.
Jenny looked anxiously after him; but she could not trust
herself to speak; and for more than a minute the two stood
looking at each other in silence.
Golway was the first to recover himself, and to falter out
"Mrs. Hetson—I am deeply grateful to your husband for
allowing me this last meeting before I go back to my home—the
ocean. Like him, I had looked forward with dread to the
prospect of meeting him and you; but I bless the chance—if,
indeed, we can call anything that happens in this wonderful world
a chance—which has turned my steps this way. I shall go
better satisfied,—I shall go well satisfied; for 1 see you under
the protection of a brave, honest man, who knows how to value
the treasure he has won. Our paths are now different; and
Heaven knows if we shall ever meet again; but you may rest
assured that I shall bless the memory of this hour, and that I
shall never forget you. Farewell!"
He took her passive hand, and raised it to his lips.
"Farewell, Charles," murmured Jenny; " God bless you for
all your love and truth—and be assured that I shall always think
of you with affection. God guide you, and keep you, and give
you peace. Time softens every grief; and it will not leave
yours without balm ; and I know well, the reflection that I am
happy with Hetson will be a comfort to your generous soul.
First, he won my respect; afterwards, I came to appreciate his
warm, honest heart; and now that your appearance has chased
away the one dark cloud which hung over our hearth, I look
forward to a peaceful, happy future for us all. I have to thank
you for this hope, as for many a happy hour in former days; I
shall never forget it, or forget you, and now, farewell' "
The horse which Cook had brought and saddled for the
stranger, was pawing the sand outside the tent. Once more his
lips touched her hand; the next moment saw him in the saddle.
Hetson was standing there, and held out his hand—a firm
grasp, understood by each, was their parting; but neither of
them spoke a word.
Dr. Kascher was already in the saddle, taking leave of his
friend, when Lanzot came out of a tent, with a spade and pick-
axe on his shoulder, and accompanied by Don Alonzo and
Beckdorf.
LEAVE-TAKING. 409,
The Doctor shook his head when he saw him; but he could
not help smiling.
" So you're really going to remain here P " he observed.
" Yes, as a worthy gold-digger," answered Lanzot, laughing;
and, laying his hand on the Spaniard's shoulder, he added,
" Don Alonzo and I are going to try our luck together; and
when we've worked out our passage-money, we shall pack up and
go to Germany, to the banks of the Rhine."
"Passage-money, my dear Baron; you remember what I
offered you yesterday—and I shall feel really grieved if "
" I must earn it myself, my dear Doctor, or else I shall not
care about it. Self-earned bread is sweetest; I've learned that
lesson here in California; so let me have my own way. But
where shall I find you when I get to San Prancisco P "
" In the United States Hotel; and so, farewell—let me hear
good news of you soon."
They waved their hands to each other; and the old horse, and
the clever little mule, set off trotting merrily up the little street of
tents towards the mountains.
When Hetson returned to his tent, he found Jenny standing
there alone. She turned aside, on seeing him enter, to hide the
tell-tale drops that sparkled on her eyelids. Then her husband
went up, and stole his arm round her waist; and as her head
sank on his breast, he kissed her forehead, and resting his cheek
on her curls, comforted her as one would comfort a child.
"Weep on, my poor Jenny," said he, "weep on, if it
relieves your grief. I feel now, more than ever, how wrong and
foolish I have been—how I have increased your burden, when I
ought to have helped you to bear it. That is past and gone;
from this time no shadow shall come between us. Weep for a
while, dear girl, and grieve for the man to whom your heart first
clung,—do not hide your heart's sorrow from me,—I will mourn
for him with you, for he is a man worthy to be regretted. But then
you must afterwards let me see your bright eyes looking gaily
and cheerfully at life. I will endeavour to supply the place of
your first love,—and when I fail, dear Jenny, you must bear
with me."
"Prank—my own, dear Prank," sobbed his wife, while a
smile broke through her tears like a sunbeam; " whatever I
have lost, your kind words make' up for it richly."
" And I will do another thing for you, my dear one. I see
how wrongly I have acted in bringing you to this savage place.
But endure it only for a short time longer,—for a few weeks,—
until I have done my duty to the people, who have shown con-
410
conclusion.
fidence in me by choosing me for their alcalde. Then we will
return to my beautiful country, on the banks of the Ohio—to the
circle of my family, who will receive you with open arms—and
you shall forget all grief and sorrow, and this last evil journey of
ours shall be to both of us as the remembrance of a heavy
dream."
" It has been a dream, Frank," answered his wife, in a low
voice, " a bad, bad dream, and Heaven be praised that you have
awakened from it. I have no further fear; stay here and do
your duty as long as you feel you have a duty to fulfil; then we
will return to your home, my dear Frank. My parents have
promised to follow us and settle there,—and, oh, Frank! we
shall be so happy!"
Four weeks had elapsed since the events last described, aud
the red and yellow leaves falling thickly in the forest gave
warning of the coming autumn; the sk
hung here and there over the horizon, and everything gave token
that the season of rains would soon begin.
In the little town, meanwhile, peace and tranquillity had been
fully restored. Hetson, assisted by Hale, and the more respect-
able portion of the American community, had succeeded, in spite
of some opposition, in banishing all gambling-tables from the
camp; whereupon the gamblers, unwilling to lose their time in
such an unprofitable place, took their departure without giving
further trouble.
The Indians, too, had ceased to annoy them. Scattered troops
were, indeed, seen here and there, in the vicinity; but they held
no converse with the white men, and seemed only anxious to
avoid them. The women came to collect hazelnuts, acorns, aud
other wild fruits of the forest, for their winter store; and the
men only formed little escorts for their defence; for there was
no hunting—the deer in the forest had been scared away long
since.
CHAPTER XXX.
conclusion.
;low with the vivid blue of summer.
CONCLUSION. 411
A few Mexicans had also reappeared; but they went away
again, when the monthly tax, now introduced as a regular thing,
was demanded of them. They had no idea of making any
further resistance, but retired into the valleys seldom visited
by Americans, to avoid the oppressive impost as long as
possible.
One change had taken place in Hetson's tent,—a change
which filled Manuela's gentle heart with grief. Her father, un-
used to the hard work to which he had devoted himself with
iron industry and perseverance, fell sick of a fever, which, in the
absence of proper medical aid, soon became dangerous. His
daughter scarcely moved from his side, and tended him day and
night with vigilant affection; but she could not restrain' the
ebbing stream of life; and nine days after the commencement
of the attack his friends dug a quiet grave for Don Alonzo
under a shady tree at the foot of the hill.
The old man had kept his word, and never touched another
card; yet shame and grief at the wrong he had done his daughter
had done much to weaken his strength and break his heart. But
even in dying he* had the consolation of seeing his child—his
Manuela—protected and provided for by an honest, manly hand.
Young Lanzot, who had employed his time most satisfactorily in
" making up his mind," begged Don Eonez to give him the right
of protecting his daughter, by consenting to their union; and,
with a last effort of his failing strength, the old Spaniard laid'
their hands in each other and blessed them.
Of course they did not purpose remaining in California; and
this and several other circumstances made the Hetsons wish to
quit the " Paradise " as soon as possible. Domestic comfort in
such a place was of course out of the question. Gold! Gold!
was the universal watchword; and the go-ahead system of
America, pushed here to its utmost limits, thrust everything
like quiet enjoyment aside. Hetson and Lanzot therefore de-
termined to leave the mines in the course of a few days, and
proceed to San Prancisco; thence to take passage in the first
ship, and bid farewell for ever to California.
Hale was very dissatisfied with this arrangement; for from
respecting his alcalde, he had got to love him heartily. But
even he could not deny that the place was not a suitable one for
women, though their personal safety might not be endangered.
So, with a heavy heart, he resigned himself, as he said, "for the
sake of the ladies."
The necessary preparations were now carried on with great
vigour, and the day of departure fixed for the next Saturday
412 CONCLUSION.
morning, the day on •which an empty goods-waggon generally
started on the return journey to San Francisco.
Among our German acquaintances the last four weeks had
also produced some changes. The so-called " German Com-
pany," consisting of Binderhof, Lamberg, and Hufner, had been
completely dissolved. Hufner had at last got tired of working
for his two lazy partners; and when he left them, it occurred to
Lamberg and Binderhof that they could not well get on in com-
pany without a working partner. So, after they had both abused
Hufner as an ungrateful man, and prophesied that he would
come to a bad end in California, they parted likewise, to try their
fortune separately. Of course they pronounced California the
most miserable country on the face of the earth.
The firm of " Counsellor and Co." had also dissolved partner
ship. The old Assessor, who could no longer endure the hard
mining work, in addition to the weight of domestic cares (for
the Counsellor touched nothing at home but his pipe and tobacco-
pouch), was afraid of falling seriously ill, and consequently ob-
tained a situation as salesman in one of the dealers' tents, throw-
ing his own very small capital into the concern. The dealer, a
German Jew, though he had a sharp eye for his own interest,
fully appreciated the good qualities of his assistant: so that,
comparatively speaking, the Assessor was very comfortable in
his new employment, which suited him much better than the
laborious search for gold with his former partner.
The Counsellor complained bitterly of the Assessor's defection,
and seemed more than half inclined to resume his " mountain
labours;" but, failing in an attempt to lure Mr. Hufner into
partnership—for Hufner had acquired experience, and knew his
man — ana as, moreover, his stock of tobacco had become
exhausted, and could not be renewed in the mountains,—as soon
as he heard that the Hetsons, Beckdorf, and Lanzot intended
returning to San Francisco, he determined to join them, espe-
cially as he was afraid to undertake the journey alone. Beck-
dorf, to whom he told his intention, strengthened him in his
purpose; but though they could manage to find room for the
Counsellor's chest in the waggon, there was not an inch left for
the Counsellor himself; so he was at last forced to trust himself
to the tender mercies of a mule he purchased of a dealer. Beck-
dorf and Lanzot were likewise mounted; and the three chain-
pions declared they would do battle for the ladies against all
comers.
The cavalcade was to start at ten o'clock in the morning; and
already, at daybreak, the Counsellor had ordered in the Assessor
CONCLUSION. 415
to help him to pack—a request the goodnatured old Assessor
could not find in his heart to refuse.
The Counsellor's interpretatation of "helping" to pack was
rather a wide one, inasmuch as it meant that the Assessor should
pack while the Counsellor smoked hii ^ng pipe. He had
already sold his tent and tools to Mr. Hufner, who had also
come in.
The Assessor packed and packed till he could hardly see
through his spectacles, while Hufner was busy getting breakfast,
—cooking beefsteaks on the gridiron, and preparing to make
pancakes of what remained of the stock of flour and sugar. The
Counsellor had also given up his last bottle of brandy, to celebrate
the occasion with as much festivity as possible.
" I must confess, Counsellor," said the Assessor, looking up
at last from his work, and wiping his spectacles, "that this
packing makes me long to be off to San Erancisco too."
" Be off, then," was the Counsellor's concise answer—" dog's
life here."
" It cannot be denied," continued the Assessor, " that the life
we lead here leaves much to be desired, especially in the way of
houses. I've been used to walls, and all this open air and tent
work hardly suits my constitution. Still—I don't know—San
Francisco might "
"Mrs. Siebert will be very glad to see you."
The Assessor made no reply ; but the Counsellor had hit
upon his one great objection to return to the capital. The
Assessor had, even in the last weeks, indulged himself with
visions of returning to Europe when he should have saved a little
money; but these hopes were always dimmed by the prospect of
having to slink through San Erancisco like a criminal, to avoid
the clutches of that dreadful woman.
While he still stood ruminating on the affair, the remembrance
of San Erancisco had also called up heavy thoughts in the mind
of Mr. Hufner, who began, in a low nervous voice,—
" Counsellor, I had a horrible dream last night."
" Indians—getting your throat cut ?" guessed the Counsellor,
at a venture.
"No; worse than that. I dreamt that Mrs. Schneidrauller
had ar*ved here, and "
" Schfoeidmuller!—mother-in-law ?"
" Yes—and had thrown herself into the water in despair."
" Nonsense!" grumbled the Counsellor; " who ever heard of
a mother-in-law drowning herself!—mothers-in-law never do—
. never met with a case. By the way, found nothing yet P"
414 CONCLUSION.
" Nothing!" groaned Hufner, taking the coffee from the fire,
and pouring in a little cold water to make the grounds sink—
"at least nothing I could think of marrying upon. I am the
most unhappy fellow in existence; and yet I'm quite innocent.
Why, good Heavens! I work like a horse; but how can X help
it that I don't find anything ?"
"Hallo! — some one coming," cried the Counsellor, who
noticed that a stranger was being directed to their tent by one
of the townspeople, and was striding straight towards them across
the bleak open flat.
The Assessor and Hufner, on looking in the direction indi-
cated, saw a traveller coming slowly towards them leading a mule
by the bridle. He stopped at the fire outside the tent, took off
his hat politely, and asked, in German,—
" Can you tell me if the Counsellor is at home ?" Hufner had
looked attentively at the stranger's face as he came along. He
was sure he had seen him before, but could not at the moment
tell where; but the Counsellor answered at once,—
"Yes—here—I'm he."
"Very glad of the honour of your acquaintance," answered
the stranger; " and, as I see, the coffee is just ready—that's well.
Please, Mr. Hufner, tell the girl to bring another cup."
"Mr. Ohlers, as sure as I'm alive!" exclaimed Hufner in
astonishment, recognizing his former companion, "like the
cuckoo, by the bad voice."
" Ofilers—so it is," repeated the Counsellor. " Confounded
great beard—didn't know you."
" Mr. Ohlers, and no other," cried the Assessor, after staring
for a time in astonishment at his old acquaintance. " Well, I'm
heartily glad to see you again. You're just in time to join our
last breakfast, for the Counsellor is going to quit the mines this
very morning."
" Ha, indeed," said Ohlers, as he sat down by the fire, after
shaking hands all round. " I suppose the Counsellor has just
washed out his heap of gold, and is going back to Germany, to
be made minister for foreign affairs at one of our courts, eh ?
In that case, I beg to introduce myself to his gracious con-
sideration as head, poisoner of one of the medical faculties; and
have no objection, in consideration of a salary, to become an
honorary member of any number of learned societies."
" Heap of gold!" growled the Counsellor, puffing out great
clouds of smoke; " dog's life — nothing to be found —■ any-
where."
"Nothing to be found ? Well, perhaps, the Counsellor hasn't
CONCLUSION. 4,15
looked properly for it; but so far as I have heard, the impression
prevails generally that there is gold in California."
" Go, dig—try yourself," grumbled the man of the law between
two great whiffs.
" Thank you," answered Ohlers; " I did not come to California
to disturb our mother earth, but to seek for rich people, who
would pay me good money for bad medicines. But I dbn't
think the prospect particularly good, for everybody seems in the
enjoyment of provokingly good health. A little yellow fever,
small-pox, or cholera, would be quite a godsend."
" Yes; that would be a fine affair," said the Assessor indig-
nantly, "to be ill here, in California. The very thougnt is
horrible. What should one do ?"
"My dear Mr. Assessor," interrupted Ohlers, "I am com-
missioned with a thousand kind messages for you, from Mrs.
Siebert."
"Thank you; I—I—hope she and her children are well,"
stammered the Assessor. I'm glad to—to hear from her."
" She's well—very well—earns a good living by washing and
ironing, and don't seem to regret her poor husband very much.
But she particularly charged me to let her have your address, if
I should chance to meet you anywhere in the mines. I had no
idea that I should find you here; and, in fact, only came out of
my way to find Mr. Hufner, and be the bearer of some important
family news."
"For me?" asked Hufner in a startled voice, and turning pale
as death. The Assessor, too, had been taken quite aback by the
words of the malicious little apothecary—for if Mrs. Siebert
were to learn by any chance that he was here, and intended to
stay, for a time at any rate, why that woman was capable of any-
thing,—and Hufner thought just the same thing of his mother-in-
law.
Ohlers, who knew his men well, had killed two birds with one
stone; and though he suffered agonies from his desire to laugh,
he sat quite unmoved, and held out a tin mug for the Assessor
to fill.
"My good Mr. Ohlers," said the Assessor in a trembling
voice, as he complied with his request, " I—I should like to—to
remark that I have made up my mind to leave this place imrae-
diately, and that it is quite uncertain which way I shall go.
You must know yourself what an uncertain kind of thing it is,
looking out for any one in the mountains. Even letters are lost
here, as often as not."
"But surely you'll be here for some time yet," urged Ohlers,
*1.6 CONCLUSION.
in a sympathizing tone, " and Mrs. Siebert, I am sure, would be
so truly rejoiced."
"I may very probably leave in the beginning of next week,"
interrupted the Assessor, in a great hurry; " but I shall write to
Mrs. Siebert myself, and tell her where I can be heard of. So
pray do not give yourself any trouble on my account."
"No trouble at all, my dear Assessor," persisted Ohlers;
" but do as you say; the poor woman will be very glad, I'm
sure, for the children have been a dreadful trouble to her lately."
"You said you had some news for me, my dear Mr. Ohlers,"
observed Hufner, who had sat as if on coals for the last few
minutes. " You spoke of family affairs, if I am not mistaken."
" I ?—Oh, yes. I suppose you don't know yet," said Ohlers, in
a cheery tone, " that the young lady to whom you are betrothed
has landed safely in San Erancisco, and could hardly await the
time when she should be welcomed by her ardent lover F "
•"Yes—yes—Mr. Ohlers, I heard of the dreadful—I mean
the happy circumstance—but I was not able to "
" Ah ! you don't know how she missed you," continued the
apothecary; " and she is such a dear, good girl, too—so gentle
and complying; and her mother—my word, that's a famous
woman for you—such a resolute character!"
" A mother-in-law—and a resolute character!" muttered the
Counseller. " Ah! that must be fine!"
" Yes, Counsellor, you wouldn't believe what a fine woman she
is—a jewel of a mother-in-law, whom I would marry myself if
she'd have me, and if I could make up my mind to change from
a bachelor apothecary to a married man."
" Girl pretty P " asked the Counsellor.
" Who ? Miss Schneidmiiller ? Splendid, I assure you,—so
gentle, so delicate and yielding! I tell you, she made quite a
sensation in San Erancisco — only she's almost too delicate to
work."
"Yes, that she is," sighed poor Mr. Hufner from the bottom
of his heart, for the words seemed to pierce him like a two-edged
sword. " Ear, far too delicate. But how can I, wretched being that
I am, help it, that I have no luck and that she followed me to
California so terribly soon. I will work, and have worked, like
a horse; I consider it my duty—but, for pity's sake, what is to
become of her ? "
" Of your mother-in-law ?" asked Ohlers.
" No, no—of Leonora."
"She'd have to take what sie could get to do, if the
worst came to the worst," answered Ohlers, shrugging his
CONCLUSION. 417
shoulders. " But it^js not a very good place for a young girl,
this Califonium, as Ballenstedt used to call it. By the way,
does any one know what has become of Ballenstedt ? No ?
Well, he was a funny fish. But, as I was saying, this is a bad
country for a young girl; but a married woman has nothing to
fear: that's what her mother said, and I think she is quite
right."
" But it is as much as ever I can do to earn my bread here,"
groaned Hufner, piteously.
" That I grant you," said Ohlers, holding out his tin mug to
get it refilled; " and that may probably have been one of the
reasons why she has married some one else."
The Assessor stopped filling the tin mug, the Counsellor
stopped pulling at his pipe, and Mr. Hufner jumped up from
his chair as if he had been sitting on hot lead.
"Married some one else!" he shouted, fearing to trust his
own ears.
" Yes," answered Ohlers, as coolly as if he were telling the
most indifferent news. " Another cup, if you please, Assessor;
your coffee is capital. Yes, a young good-looking fellow of an
American, who fell over head and ears in love with her; and,
strangely enough, it was without seeing the mother-in-law at all;
for she was ill in bed."
"Bat that is quite impossible, Mr. Ohlers," shouted the
Assessor; " the young lady, so far as I know, has only been
five weeks in California at the longest, and expected her lover
from the mines."
" Your calculation is admirably correct, Assessor," answered
Ohlers; "but, from inquiries she made, she found that her
lover—may 1 trouble you to hand me the sugar? — that her
betrothed could be with her in San Fransisco in six days at the
latest. But she had the unexampled patience to wait a full
fortnight. After this long period had elapsed, she did not think
herself bound by any previous promise; and as the young
American had really been very kind to her, and she thought
it right to make him some return, she presented him her
hand." .
Hufner sank back on his chair, folded his hands on his knees,
and sat for a long time gazing at the fire, without a word of
reply.
" My dear Mr. Hufner," said the goodnatured Assessor, ever
ready to sympathize with distress, " I feel that this is a heavy
olow for you to bear j but you know, what's once done can't be
2 E
418
CONCLUSION.
undone; and perhaps, after all, it is a fortunate thing for the poor
girl,—and for you too."
Not a -word" did Hufner say in reply; but he rose slowly,
and went away into the tent, letting the curtain fall behind
him.
"You're sure," said Ohlers, mysteriously, "that there tire no
daggers or pistols within his reach."
" Heaven defend us!" exclaimed the Assessor, in a great
fright. " Unhappy young man ! "
" Hush! " said Ohlers, motioning them to be silent; and he
crept on tip-toe towards the tent, to see what the " unhappy
man " was about—and richly was he rewarded for his trouble.
Mr. Hufner, it must be told to his shame, was not seeking
for dagger, pistol, or any deadly weapon whatever; noiselessly,
hut with a face beaming with joy, he was dancing—dancing on one
leg, rubbing his hands, snapping his fingers, and manifesting
his joy in a hundred ways, as secretly as he could under the
circumstances.
Ohlers, who saw that Mr. Hufner would certainly not com-
mit suicide, might have retired unobserved. But this he did
not care to do; on the contrary, he put the curtain a little aside,
thrust in his head, and said, —
"My dear Mr. Hufner, you must not take the matter so
much to heart. You see, there's no help for it, and after
ail "
" Silence, fpr pity's sake," cried the deceitful Hufner, who
stood at once stiff and rigid, and with a mournful countenance,
" my dear Mr. Ohlers; 1 beg you won't say anything of this.
You see—but please to come in—you see—you can hardly
wonder that I "
" Am very glad," suggested Ohlers.
" That Leonora," continued the forsaken one.
" Is off your hands," said Ohlers.
"Is provided for" concluded the deceiver. "I have no
prospect here of establishing a home for her, and "
" The mother-in-law "
"Well, yes," said Hufner with a sigh; "and until now I
have reproached myself bitterly for having lured the poor girl
lato this unhappy country. I thought, you see, she was so attached
to me that she would pine away dreadfully if she had to live
without me; but I see I have been mistaken. Oh, women!
women!"
" Come, do me the favour, my dear Mr. Hufner, and don't be
CONCLUSION. 419
sentimental. That would be against all reason,—and, besides,
the coffee's growing cold."
" But you won't tell them that "
"Not a syllable, on my honour;" and without givinghim
time to say more, Ohlers locked his arm in that of the discon-
solate lover, and led him back to the fire.
"There, gentlemen," he said, on rejoining the others, "he is
quite calm now; you see, the first shock of grief is past. Give
him a cup of coffee, Assessor, to wash down the last dregs of
his despair."
The Counsellor, who had meantime been actively engaged in
devouring his breakfast,- was just about to make some reply,
when a horseman came galloping up the incline, and Count
Beckdorf appeared before them.
" Hallo, Counsellor!" he cried, " make haste to your saddle;
the cavalcade will come by here directly, and your baggage must
be taken down to the road yOnder."
"Confound it!" exclaimed the Counsellor, jumping up and
grasping his pipe,—"already ? I never thought of it."
"Where's your mule?" asked Beckdorf, laughing at the
Counsellor's bewilderment.
" Mule—don't know; somewhere in the bush."
" Now here's a fine affair; you'll be left behind, to a certainty,
or the ladies will be kept waiting an hour; and one thing's as
bad as the other. In what direction is it, about ? "
The Counsellor waved his pipe in a bow, comprising about
one fourth of the horizon, and Beckdorf burst into a shout of
laughter.
"Is it a mule with half its left ear cut off?" asked
Ohlers.
"Yes, that's it!" cried the Counsellor eagerly.
" Then I saw it as I came up, about five hundred paces from
here, leaning against an oak, fast asleep; I thought at first, it
was a stuffed mule that had been left there and had half fallen
down."
Beckdorf shook his head, and cried: "Then make haste,
Counsellor; collect your property, and get it taken down to the
roadside; perhaps these gentlemen will help you. I will go in
the meantime and bring you your mule." So saying, he turned
his horse, and galloped down the incline.
The conversation was, of course, entirely interrupted. The
Counsellor pottered about, looking for all sorts of things, not one
of which he was able to find. His tobacco-pouch, his tinder-box,
2 E 2
4-20 CONCLUSION.
his hat, his cravat, his pocket-book,—in fact, everything belong-
ing to him, that was not a fixture, seemed to have been mislaid;
and while the Assessor and Hufner helped him to look, almost
reduced to despair at his untidiness, Ohlers sat quietly by the
fire, and finished up the pancakes.
At last everything was found, and packed in the saddle-bags;
and Hufner and the Assessor, both evidently glad to be rid, at
last, of their troublesome friend, went panting down to the road
with his great chest between them, to leave it there till the
waggon should come by.
When Beckdorf came back with the mule he had succeeded in
finding, the Counsellor really put the pipe out of his mouth for a
moment, to fasten the saddle on his beast; but, of course, he
could not manage it. He tried it in every possible way, but it
would not fit; and at last Count Beckdorf was obliged to do it
for him. Ohlers, who could have settled it for him easily, never
offered to help, but sat by the fire, and enjoyed the fun mightily.
The Assessor and Hufner had, meantime, come back to the
fire; and the former felt very much in the melting mood, on
taking leave of a man with whom he had lived in friendship for a
time. The Counsellor was going back to Germany, and it was
hardly probable they would ever meet again in this world.
The Counsellor, meanwhile, puffed steadily on; and his feel-
ings, if he had any, were hidden in a dense veil of tobacco-
smoke.
Now the vehicle came rolling up; a light van on four wheels,
drawn by a pair of strong horses, and arranged as comfortably as
possible for the ladies, by means of mattresses and feather beds,
with the luggage piled up at the back. Hetson himself had
taken a seat in the carriage, or rather in the waggon, as he did
not wish to purchase a horse for the short journey; and Lanzot
rode on one side, of course the side where Manuela sat.
Poor girl, she had found it hard to part from her father's
grave; that morning she had visited it again, with her lover by
her side, and had wept bitterly over the little wooden cross—she
knew she should never see it again. But now she was calmer.
The cheerful, bracing autumn morning soothed her excited feel-
ings—and then there was a secret pleasure in the thought that
she was going at last to leave this land, always fraught with mis-
fortune for her, and to begin a new and a happier life by the side
of the man who had won her heart.
It was a matter of some difficulty to get the Counsellor into the
saddle; and, when mounted at last, he could not for a long time
CONCLUSION". 421
find the right stirrup. At length even this was accomplished, and
there was nothing left to do but to lift the heavy chest into the
waggon—a piece of work which of course fell upon Hufner and
the Assessor.
Now all was ready. The horses started, and the carriage rolled
along the road.
"Now, my dear Counsellor," the Assessor began, shaking
hands, with bis affectionate heart full at the prospect of parting;
but ^ whether the Counsellor was fearful of damping his own
spirits, or really felt indifferent about saying farewell, certain it
is that he kicked his mule in the sides, gruffly gave them " Good
morning," and grasping the saddle with his right hand, while he
held his eternal pipe, instead of a riding-whip, in his left, rode off
without another word. His two friends, rather abashed at his
abrupt departure, stood for some time in the road, looking after
him with eyes of astonishment.
Thus the Counsellor departed out of the mines, and from
among his friends, who had served him, week after week, with
patient and ready kindness, and without the slightest feeling of
self-interest or hope of reward. And why ? Because he was a
Counsellor. He had a somewhat high-sounding title, and they,
honest Germans that they were, could not sufficiently shake off the
old German husk of flunkeyism to divest themselves of the awe
it inspired!
Once in the saddle, the Counsellor began, as he tottered in his
seat, to waver in that opinion concerning his intrinsic and inward
worth which had hitherto sustained him. It was already a
hardship to him that he was obliged to hold the bridle, so
little was he accustomed to do anything for himself; and then
his mule did not proceed with an even pace, but accommo-
dated itself to the horses, according as they went faster or
slower.
Here nobody cared for him or his dignity,—he had to hold
tight, and get on as best he could,— and what a hard trotter the
brute of a mule was ! The Counsellor vented secret curses on the
Assessor, who had advised him to purchase the mule; and yet
the poor Assessor had acted in perfect good faith. He felt per-
suaded that a man like the Counsellor knew everything, and,
consequently, that he must be able to ride.
The weather was glorious. The freshness of a bright autumn
morning lay spread over the green wood; and with the murmur-
ing mountain-stream at their feet, from whence the clattering of
a dozen water-wheels sounded upwards—with the mighty trees
4 22 CONCLUSION.
rustling over their heads, the travellers went gaily on their
round.
They had proceeded a few miles, when they overtook a solitary
wanderer, who had come down from a little footpath in the hills,
and now seemed making for the same point as themselves. There
was no lack of single travellers on the road, some going heavily
laden towards the mines, others returning from thence; so that
the wanderer did not attract the notice of the party in the
carriage. But Beckdorf thought he knew the lounging step,
and the general appearance of the untidy figure seemed familiar
to him. The man had, by the way, no kind of baggage—not
even a blanket, but slouched along with his hands in his pockets,
looking very well pleased with himself.
In a little time they had overtaken him, and Beckdorf, reining
in his horse, cried, laughing,—
"Why, Mr. Erbe, where the deuce have yon been hiding all
this time ? "
The Counsellor's mule seemed to think the meeting consti-
tuted a sufficient excuse for a little rest, and stopped so sud-
denly as almost to shoot the Counsellor over his head.
"Ah, count!" said the dirty passenger, without taking his
hands out of his pockets, but with a polite nod of his red head;
" How d'ye do F—I've been in the hills up yonder—digging and
washing."
" Had any luck P "
"Bah!" and Mr. Erbe's shoulders went up towards his ears
in a contemptuous shrug—" devil take what the people call luck
up in the mines. I caught a bad cold, and was very ill; and
afterwards it was just as if every one found something but me.
How I've made up my mind, and pm going back to San Eran-
cisco."
" Eor what purpose, if I may inquire, Mr. Erbe ? " asked
Beckdorf, amused at the man's coolness.
"Don't quite know—most likely to set up a barber's shop,
and shave the people."
" Ah! your old trade ?"
"Yes."
"Well, then, I wish you luck," said Beckdorf, gathering up
the reins in his hand. " Don't be too long on the road."
"Oh, I've plenty of time," answered Mr. Erbe; "one ought
never to do a thing in a hurry. Where are you off to ?"
" To San Francisco, like yourself."
"Ah!" said Erbe, musing, "then perhaps we might—"he
CONCLUSION. 423
Was goiag to add—"set up a barber's shop together;" for he
thought the German must have money. But, on second refl.ec-
tion, he considered that Beckdorf knew nothing of the shaving
mystery; so that he, Erbe, would have to be the working
partner—a thing he abominated — so he did not finish his
remark.
"But what have you done with your effects, Mr. Erbe ?"
" Hm !—the baggage ? " drawled Erbe, looking over his
shoulder as if to assure himself that nothing was there; " why,
fact is, I've sold out—there's more to be had in San
Erancisco."
" Certainly," laughed Beckdorf; " and you'll travel all the
lighter. So good morning to you, Mr. Erbe."
" Morning," answered the barber, with a nod; and Beckdorf
galloped along the road, to overtake the waggon, followed
by the Counsellor's mule at the top of its speed — to the
great discomfiture of the rider, and the amusement of
Mr. Erbe.
At noon, they made a short halt, that the horses might rest
and bait; far this purpose they stopped on the bank of the
little river Calaveres, on whose shady margin there was excellent
grass.
The passengers dined here, gipsy fashion, and at about two
o'clock set forth again on their journey. They wished to get to
Stockton that night, however late it might be, in order to catch
the steamer that was to start for San Erancisco next morning.
They had not proceeded far, before their attention was drawn
to a dispute, in the road before them, between the rider of a
mule and a foot-passenger. A bend in the road brought them
close up to the combatants, before they were observed. It
seemed that the foot-passenger was the aggressor, for he was
tugging with might and main to pull the other to the ground.
Beckdorf and Lanzot, who were riding side by side, thought
they had come just in time to prevent a highway robbery.
Grasping their pistols, they put spurs to their horses, and rode
down at a gallop to the scene of action, followed, sorely against
his will, by the unhappy Counsellor. In spite of their arrival,
the aggressor seemed to have no notion of desisting from his
attack—for he had hold of the rider by one leg, and would not
let go; and as the mule made a start forward, the poor rider
came down to the ground with a thump. The thick German curse
that accompanied his heavy fall, convinced the two horsemen
that this was not a case of robbery, so much as an ordinary
424 CONCLUSION.
quarrel; and now Beckdorf, to his infinite surprise, recognized in
the man who had pulled the other off his mule, one of the mildest
and most polite men he had ever met in his life—to wit, the
tenor singer Bublioni.
" What in the world are you about here, my good sir," he
cried out, laughing; " and what harm has that gentleman, who
is rubbing himself, done you ? "
" That gentleman! " repeated the indignant Bublioni, who ♦ad
seized the mule by the bridle, and jumped into the saddle;
"that is the most impudent cheat under the sun—he calls him-
self the Actuary Korbel; he's plundered me of everything I
could call my own, and now wanted to ride past me, as proud as
may be, while I trudged along on foot."
"You give me up my mule, Mr. Bublioni," blustered the
actuary. "Gentlemen, you won't allow my property to be
stolen from me on the high-road ? "
" Stolen, you rascal!" screamed the singer; " everything I
possessed—eleven ounces of gold—has this cheat taken from me
under the pretence of buying provisions."
" Well!" said Korbel with a lurking grin—" wasn't I on my
way to "
" Then give me back my money, and you shall have your mule
at once."
" The money is in San Francisco already," said the actuary.
" Yes, that I can believe," cried Bubiioni; " but in whose
bag? And I, meanwhile, have quite ruined my voice. A
nice profit I've got out of my gold-digging, — a catarrh and
debts!"
" Where are you going now ?" asked Beckdorf.
" To San Francisco. I hear a theatre has been established
there, and am going to try for an engagement."
" But not on my mule," cried Korbel, and rushed upon him
to try and recapture his property. But Bublioni, who was a
good rider, made the mule swerve"to one side of the road, and
*then dashed on at full speed.
" Should we allow that ?" said Lanzot, who had looked with
some surprise at this proceeding, to Beckdorf.
" Certainly," answered Beckdorf with a laugh, " for it serves
the fellow perfectly right. He owes money to every one of us
from whom he could manage to borrow; and he has been
gambling and drinking, while that other poor fellow had to work.
But come, here's the waggon,—and we won't waste any more
time with the scamp."
CONCLUSION. 425
Tliey rode oil after the vehicle; but the Counsellor, reining in
his mule by a great exertion of strength, cried out:
" Hollo, Actuary,—glad to meet you; we're going to leave the
mines : my half-ounce ! "
The Actuary looked at him over his shoulder, with supreme
contempt, and answered with the one very unpolite word—
"Blockhead!"
" Confound it!" roared the Counsellor; but his mule put an
end to the colloquy so satisfactorily begun. The horses were in
advance, and it followed them in spite of all tugging at the bridle,
while the Comet, thrown out of its orbit, stood gloomily in the
road.
The Counsellor would have been in a great rage, if his beast
had only given him time; but the road, from this point, went
downhill for a long distance, and the light waggon went so fast
that the horses had to follow at a sharp trot. So there was
nothing for it but to leave the " half-ounce " in the lurch, and
put up with the opprobrious epithet " blockhead."
The scene by the roadside became more and more animated.
Here and there the Americans had already begun to build their
little improvements—block-houses, with a little bit of inclosed
field before each. At sunset the travellers encountered several
caravans of mules resting by the wayside, and at last the white
tents of Stockton came in view.
In Stockton they had to stay for the night; but at daybreak
the next morning a steamer started for San Erancisco, and
landed them in the capital after a passage of less than twelve
hours.
In San Erancisco they were welcomed by Doctor Rascher, who
had been informed of their arrival, and had, indeed, already
secured berths for them in a steamer about to start for Panama.
This steamer, however, was not to weigh anchor for three days, and
Lanzot made use of the interval to celebrate his marriage wii li
Manuela. Doctor Rascher still shook his head gravely, but he was
noticed to be particularly active in making every necessary
preparation, and seemed to sympathize most heartily in the
happiness of the young people.
They were married at three in the afternoon of the last day,
and at six they were to be on board the steamer Mohican, whose
black funnel was belching out smoke over the bay.
The Counsellor had intended to embark with them; but he
was not ready, the Assessor not being at hand to pack for him.
Count Beckdorf also remained behind, to try his luck once more
426
CONCLUSION.
in the mines, as he said, laughing. But he insisted on seeing his
friends safely on board. The Counsellor went too, as he had
nothing on earth to do to pass away the time.
Through all the bustle and turmoil of the newly-created city,
—through the hurrying after gold,—through a crowd of incor-
porated speculations and perambulating price-currents, the happy
group, who had found the purest of all gold, peace of mind,
threaded their way towards the landing-place, from whence a
little boat was to carry them to the steamer.
Their way lay along the wharf or pier, built out into the bay,
that the ships might unload there at flood-tide; and here the
Counsellor, stalking along with his nose in the air, as usual,
came with a thump against a gigantic personage, hung all over
in a most wonderful manner with fire-tongs, shovels, tripods,
weapons, and tools,—a living and perambulating ironmonger's
and cutler's shop,—who stood in the middle of the path, offering
his wares to the passers-by.
" Confound it! " exclaimed the Counsellor; and then staring
up into the round, goodnatured face of the giant, which, once
seen, could never be forgotten, he muttered,—
"Hm!—an old acquaintance."
It was the very man before whom he had been carried as a
prisoner on the first night of his sojourn at the mines. But the
giant had quite forgotten so small a personage as the Counsellor.
" Any kind of iron article to-day, my good sir ? " he asked
politely. " A revolver, hunting-knife, bayonet, fire-shovel, tongs,
knives, forks, spoons, or letter-weights ? "
" Hm !—queer-looking chap!" muttered the Counsellor, as he
passed slowly by the giant towards the end of the wharf.
He arrived there just in time to see the boats pushing off, full
of passengers, and hurrying towards the steamer, whose bell had
already begun to ring,
The Hetsons and Lanzots saw him, and waved a farewell,
which he was too cross to return.
" Go to the deuce!" he muttered crustily; and turning away,
stumped back into the town.
Doctor Rascher and Count Beckdorf were in the boat with
their friends, with whom they parted regretfully, with many
hearty farewells, and promises of future meetings. The ladies
were assisted up the broad companion-ladder,— the boxes were
heels began to
monster, and the anchor was weighed amid the cheery sing-
snorting sea-
conclusion. 427
ing of the sailors. A few minutes later the clear water of the
bay was parted by the Mohican!s sharp bow, and the little boats
danced up and down in the swell she left in her wake. Erom the
quarter-deck of the steamer, just below where the ensign fluttered
gaily in the breeze, tw9 white handkerchiefs were seen waving a
last adieu.
" Earewell! God bless you!" cried good old Dr. Rascher,
with two bright tears in'his honest eyes ; and across the bay,
towards the Golden Gate, sped the gallant ship, eager to breast
the ocean waves, and bound for home !
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Far West.
Ran Away to Sea : A Boy's Adven-
tures, written by Himself.
Rifle Rangers; or, Adventures in
Southern Mexico.
Scalp Hunters : A Romance of
Northern Mexico.
Tiger Hunter.
Vee-Boers.
War Trail; or, The Hunt of the
Wild Horse.
White Chief: A Legend of Northern
Mexico.
White Gauntlet : The Days of
Cromwell.
The White Squaw—The Yellow
Chief.
Wild Huntress.
Wood Rangers.
Young Yagers : A Narrative of
Hunting Adventures in Southern
Africa.
SIS WAIiTEE SCOTT'S NOY
and the original Steel PI:
J. M. W. Turner, and others.
Waverley.
Guy Mannering.
Old Mortality.
Heart of Midlothian.
Rob Roy.
The Antiquary.
Bride of Lammermoor.
Black Dwarf, and Legend of Mon-
trose.
Ivanhoe.
The Monastery.
The Abbot.
Kenilworth.
SES. With the Author's Notes,
ies by George Cruikshanx,
Red cloth, 3s. 6d, each.
The Pirate.
Fortunes of Nigel.
Peve-ril of the Peak.
Quentin Durward.
St. Ronan's Well.
Redgauntlet.
Betrothed, and Highland Widow.
The Talisman, and Two Drovers.
Woodstock.
Fair Maid of Perth.
Anne of Geierstein.
Count Robert of Paris.
Surgeon's Daughter.
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited, London and New York.
Twelfth]
Routledge's Railway Library Advertiser.
[lisue.
EDWARDS' "HARLEHE" FOR THE HAIR.
HAIR PRODUCER & RESTORER.
Prevents fhe Hair fatting off and turning grey.
THE WOSLD - EEHOWM ED REMEDY
FOR BALDNESS.
Tor Curing Weak and Thin Ey< 1 ishes, Preserving,
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Soft. For Eemoving Scurf, Dandruff, etc., also ||f:
for Restoring Grey Hair to its natural colour, it is
without a rival.
Is., 2s. 6d., and5s. Gd. per Bottle, from Chemists and Perfumers everywhere.
Gold Medals, Paris, 1878 :1889.
Of Highest Quality, and Having
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CHEAPEST.
Numbers for use by BANKERS, &c.—Barrel Pens, 225, 226, 262 : Slip Pens,
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THE BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with foil particulars, post free on
application. FRANCTS RaYF.NSCROFT, Manager.
Twelfth] Routledge's Railway Library Advertiser.
[Issue.
CURES CATARRH & SORE THROATS.
1)11. DUNBAR'S
ALKAHAM,
the original Anti-Catarrh
Smelling Bottle is the only
Cure yet discovered for
COLDS AND SORE
THROATS by Inhalation.
Shun inferior substitutes. Of
Chemists, 2s., or post-free,
from NEWBERY'S, King
Edward Street, London,
E.C.
SULPHOLINE
SIBOTTLES.
LOTION.
A SPOTLESS SKIN.
A BEAUTIFUL COMPLEXION.
REMOVES ALL DISFIGUREMENTS.
USED IN THE ROYAL NURSERIES-
MATTH JEl'W
PREPARED FULLERS'EARTH
Is invaluable for Protecting the Skin and Preserving the
Complexion from Winds, Redness, Roughness,
Chaps, etc.
6d. & 1s. OF ALL CHEMISTS.
Is the BEST REMEDY
yet Discovered.
It acts like magic in relieving
pain and throbbing, and soon
cures the worst Corns and
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for reducing Enlarged Great Toe
y| Joints, which so mar the sym-
metry of the feet.
THOUSANDS HAVE BEEN CURED,
fome of whom have suffered for fifty years without being able to get relief from any
vther remedy. A trial of a box is earnestly solicited, as Immediate Belief is Sure.
Boxes Is. ljd., of all Chemists; free for 14 stamps, from the Sole Makers :
M. BEETHAM & SOU, CHEMISTS, CHELTENHAM.
Twelfth] Routledge's Railway Library Advertiser. [Issue.
FOR ALL
From the Laboratory of
THOMAS JACKSON
Strangeways, MANCHESTER.
the Year
Round.
PRINCE
ALBERT'S
CACHOUX.
DAINTY MORSELS IN THE FORM
OF TINY SILVER BULLETS,
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JACKSON'S
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For
Mending w
Every <
Article of h
Ornament
It surpasses
cheapness, ai
climates. It 1
in all quarters
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in neatness, in
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in China,
2 Glass,
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strength, and
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in Bottles at
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Or by
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WANSBROUGH'S
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NIPPLE
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FOR LADIES NURSING.—By wearing the
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the nipples are healthy, they screen from all
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heal whilst reposing in the bath of milk secreted
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.livery box is labelled 2j
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At
Is. per Pair,
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JACKSON'S
RDSMA.
For the removal of Hair without a
Razor, from the Arms, Heck, or Face, as
well as Sunburn or Tan.
The activity of this depilatory is notable. It
is easy and safe. It leaves a Whole Skin and
a Clean Complexion.
At Is.
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1894,
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For Abroad
at Foreign
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100,000, s. >
EDMUND EVANS, ENGRAVER AND PRINTER, RACQUET COURT, PLEET STREET, LONDON, E.C.
cfv ap - T/lo nJtfap
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