THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Julian Mortimer; 
 
 A Draft) Boy's Straggle for Hie and Fortune 
 
 BY HARRY CASTLEMON, 
 
 A uthor of 
 
 The "Gunboat Series," "The Boy Trapper," "Sportsman's Club Series," 
 etc., etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER.
 
 COPYRIGHT 1887, BY A. L. BPRT.
 
 PZ 
 
 JULIAN MORTIMER; 
 
 OR, 
 
 A Brave Boy's Struggle for Home and Fortune, 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 THE WAGON TRAIN. 
 
 HE SUN was just sinking out of sight behind 
 the western mountains, and the shadows of 
 twilight were beginning to creep through 
 the valley, when two horsemen, who had 
 been picking their way along the rocky and almost 
 impassible road that ran through Bridger's Pass, drew 
 rein on the summit of an elevation and looked about 
 them. 
 
 One of them was a trapper he never would have 
 been taken for anything else a man aboul forty 
 years of age, and a giant in strength and stature. The 
 very small portion of his face that could be seen over 
 his thick, bushy whiskers was as brown as an Indian's; 
 and from under the tattered fur cap that was slouched 
 over his forehead, peeped forth a pair of eyes as sharp 
 as those of an eagle. He was dressed in a complete suit 
 of buckskin, rode a large cream-colored mustang, and 
 carried a heavy rifle across the horn of his saddle. 
 Around his waist he wore a leather belt, supporting a 
 knife and tomahawk, and under his left arm, suspended 
 by thongs of buckskin, which crossed his breast, hung 
 a bullet-pouch and powder-horn. This man was Silas 
 Koper one of the best guides that ever led a wagon 
 train across the prairie. 
 
 633142
 
 6 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 His companion was a youth about sixteen years of 
 age, Julian Mortimer by name, and the hero of our 
 story. He presented a great contrast to the burly 
 trapper. He was slender and graceful, with a fair, 
 almost girlish face, and a mild blue eye, which gazed in 
 wonder at the wild scene spread out before it. It was 
 plain that he had not been long on the prairie, and 'a 
 stranger would have declared that he was out of his ele- 
 ment; but those who were best acquainted with him 
 would have told a different story. He took to the 
 mountains and woods as naturally as though he had 
 been born there, and Silas Koper predicted that he 
 would make his mark as a frontiersman before many 
 years more had passed over his head. There was plenty 
 of strength in his slight figure, and one might have 
 looked the world over without finding a more deter- 
 mined and courageous spirit. He was an excellent shot 
 with the rifle, and managed the fiery little charger on 
 which he was mounted with an ease and grace that 
 showed him to be an accomplished horseman. 
 
 The boy's dress was an odd mixture of the simple 
 style of the prairies and the newest and most elaborate 
 fashions of the Mexicans. He wore a sombrero, a 
 jacket of dark-blue cloth, profusely ornamented with 
 gold lace, buckskin trowsers, brown cloth leggings with 
 green fringe, and light shoes, the heels of which were 
 armed with huge Mexican spurs. His weapons con- 
 sisted of a rifle, slung over his shoulder by a broad 
 strap, a hunting knife and a brace of revolvers, which 
 he carried in his belt, and a lasso, which was coiled 
 upon the horn of his saddle. From his left shoulder 
 hung a small deerskin haversack, to which was attached 
 an ornamented powder-horn. The haversack contained 
 bullets for his rifle, cartridges for his revolvers, and 
 flint, steel and tinder for lighting a fire. Behind his 
 saddle, neatly rolled up and held in its place by two 
 straps, was a poncho which did duty both as overcoat 
 and bed. He was mounted on a coal-black horse, which 
 was very fleet, and so ill-tempered that no one besides 
 his master cared to approach him.
 
 THE WAGON TRAIN. ? 
 
 The trapper and his young companion belonged to an 
 emigrant train which, a few weeks previous to the be- 
 ginning of our story, had left St. Joseph for Sacra 
 mento, and they had ridden in advance of the wagons 
 to select a camping ground for the night. This was a 
 matter of no ordinary importance at that particular 
 time, for during the last two days a band of Indians 
 had been hovering upon the flanks of the train, and 
 the guide knew that they were awaiting a favorable 
 opportunity to swoop down upon it. Hitherto Silas 
 had had an eye only to the comfort of the emigrants, 
 and in picking out his camping grounds had selected 
 places that were convenient to wood and water, and which 
 afforded ample pasturage for the stock belonging to the 
 train; but now he was called upon to provide for the 
 safety of the people under his charge. 
 
 The road, at the point where the horsemen had 
 halted, wound around the base of a rocky cliff, which 
 arose for a hundred feet without a single break or 
 crevice, and was barely wide enough to admit the 
 passage of a single wagon. On the side opposite the 
 cliff was a deep gorge, which seemed to extend down 
 into the very bowels of the earth. It was here that the 
 guide had decided to camp for the night. He carefully 
 examined the ground, and a smile of satisfaction lighted 
 up his face. 
 
 " This is the place we've been looking fur," said he, 
 dismounting from his horse and tying the animal to a 
 neighboring tree. " Now I will go out an' look around 
 a little bit, an' you can stay here till the wagons come 
 up. You won't be afeared if I leave you alone, will 
 you?" 
 
 "Afraid?" repeated Julian. " Of course not. There's 
 nothing to be afraid of." 
 
 "You may think differently afore you see the sun 
 rise again," replied the guide. "Now, when the train 
 comes up tell the fellers to take half the wagons an* 
 block up the road, here at the end of the cliff, an' to 
 put the others at the lower end. Then we'll be pro- 
 tected on all sides. The Injuns can't come down the
 
 g JULIA N MOR TIMER. 
 
 cliff to get at us, 'cause it's too steep; an' they can't 
 cross the gully nuther. They'll have to come along the 
 road; an' when they try that we'll get behind the wagons 
 an' fight 'em the best we know how. It's risky business, 
 too," added Silas, pulling off his cap and digging his 
 fingers into his head, "'cause if they are too many fur 
 us we won't have no chance on airth to run. We'll 
 have to stay right here an' die, the hul kit an' bilin' of 
 us." 
 
 Julian, who had never seen an Indian in war-paint or 
 heard the whistle of a hostile bullet, was amazed at the 
 trapper's coolness and indifference. The bare thought 
 of a fight with the savages was enough to cause him the 
 most intense alarm, and yet here was Silas, who had 
 more than once been a prisoner in the hands of the In- 
 dians, and who knew much better than Julian could 
 imagine it, what the fate of the emigrants would be if 
 their enemies proved too strong for them, apparently as 
 much at his ease as though there had not been a hostile 
 warrior within a thousand miles. The boy wondered at 
 his courage and wished his friend could impart some of 
 it to him, little dreaming how soon he would have need 
 of it. 
 
 "Do you really think there is danger of an attack?" 
 asked Julian, as soon as he could speak. 
 
 The trapper, who was in the act of untying a haunch 
 of venison that was fastened behind his saddle, turned 
 and looked curiously at his companion. 
 
 " Youngster," said he, " if you should diskiver a cloud 
 as black as midnight com in' up over these mountains, 
 an' should see the lightnin' a playin' around the edges, 
 an' hear the thunder a grumblin', what would you 
 say?" 
 
 '' That we were going to have a storm," replied Julian. 
 
 " In course you would. An' when I know that thar 
 are Injins all around us, an' that they are takin' mighty 
 good care to keep themselves out of sight, I tell myself 
 that they'll bar watchin'. When I see their trail, an' find 
 out that thar are nigh onto three hundred braves in the 
 party, an' that they haint got no women or plunder with
 
 THE WAGON TRAIN. 9 
 
 'em, I know that they are on the war-path. An' 
 when they foller us fur two hul days, an' their spies 
 watch us every night while we are makin' our camp 
 like that varlet over thar is watchin' us now I know 
 that they are arter us an' nobody else. The signs are 
 jest as plain to me as the signs of a thunder storm are 
 ito you." 
 
 "Is there some one watching us now?" asked Julian, 
 in great excitement. 
 
 "Sartin thar is. I've seed that copper-colored face of 
 his'n peepin' over that rock ever since we've been here. 
 If he was within good pluggin' distance all the news he 
 would carry back to his friends wouldn't do 'em much 
 good, I reckon." 
 
 As the trapper spoke he pointed toward the opposite 
 side of the gorge. Julian looked in the direction indi- 
 cated, closely scrutinizing every rock and tree within the 
 range of his vision, but nothing in the shape of an In- 
 dian's head could he see. His eyes were not as sharp as 
 those of the guide. 
 
 " Never mind," said Silas, "you'll see plenty of 'em 
 afore mornin', an' they'll be closer to you than you'll 
 care to have 'em. But you needn't be any ways oneasy. 
 They won't hurt you. It's white men that you've got to 
 look out fur." 
 
 " White men?" echoed Julian. 
 
 " Sartin. Thar's two persons in the world an' I can 
 lay my hand on one of 'em in less'n five minutes who 
 would be willin' to give something nice if they could get 
 hold of you. I know a heap more about you than you 
 think I do." 
 
 "You have hinted something like this before, Silas, 
 and I don't know what you mean. I wish you would 
 explain yourself." 
 
 " I hain't got no time now," replied the guide, shoul- 
 dering his rifle and walking briskly up the road. " Keep 
 your eyes open, an' don't go out of the camp till I get 
 back. Don't forget what I told you about them wagons 
 nuther." 
 
 The trapper quickly disappeared around a bend in the
 
 10 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 road, and Julian once more directed his gaze across the 
 gully and tried in vain to discover the hiding-place of the 
 spy. He began to feel timid now that he was alone. 
 The thought that there were hostile Indians all around 
 him, and that one of their number was concealed almost 
 within rifle-shot of him, watching every move he made, 
 was by no means an agreeable one. His first impulse 
 was to put spurs to his horse and make the best of his 
 way back to the train; and he probably would have done 
 so had he not at that moment become aware that the 
 train was coming to him. He heard the rumbling of 
 the wheels and the voices of teamsters below him, and 
 the familiar sounds brought his courage back to him 
 again. He remained at his post until the foremost 
 wagons came in sight, and then proceeded to carry out 
 the instructions Silas had given him.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 JULIAN HEARS SOMETHING. 
 
 HALF an hour the preparations for the 
 night were all completed, and Julian sur- 
 veyed the camp with a smile of satisfaction. 
 There were twenty wagons in the train, and 
 of these two barricades had been made, one at the 
 upper and the other at the lower end of the cliffs, as 
 the guide had directed. The vehicles had been drawn 
 close together, and were fastened to one another by 
 chains so that they could not be easily moved from their 
 places. The space between the wheels was blocked up 
 with plows, harrows, stoves, bedsteads and chairs, thus 
 rendering it a matter of some difficulty for any one to 
 effect an entrance into the camp. 
 
 While this work was being performed the shadows of 
 twilight had deepened into the gloom of night, and now 
 all objects outside the circle of light made by the camp- 
 fires were concealed by Egyptian darkness. Inside the 
 barricades a scene was presented that was a cheering one 
 to men wearied with their day's journey. A dozen fires 
 blazed along the base of the cliff, and beside them stal- 
 wart pioneers reposed on their blankets, smoking their 
 pipes and watching with hungry eyes the preparations 
 for supper that were going on around them. Venison 
 steaks were broiling on the coals, potatoes roasting in 
 the ashes, and coffee-pots simmered and sputtered, filling 
 the camp with the odor of their aromatic contents. 
 Cattle and horses cropped the herbage that grew along 
 the edge of the gully, and noisy children, all unconscious 
 of the danger that threatened them, rolled about on the 
 grass, or relieved their cramped limbs by running races 
 along the road. But, although the camp wore an air of 
 domesticity and security, preparations for battle were
 
 12 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 everywhere visible. The saddles and bridles had not 
 been removed from the horses as usual, the emigrants 
 wore their revolvers about their waists, and kept their 
 rifles within easy reach. There were pale faces in that 
 camp, and men who had all their lives been familiar 
 with danger started and trembled at the rustle of every 
 leaf. 
 
 Julian Mortimer, from a neighboring wagon, on 
 which he had perched himself to await the return of 
 the guide, watched the scene presented to his gaze, as 
 he had done every night since leaving St. Joseph, and 
 bemoaned his hard lot in life. 
 
 "Among all these people," he soliloquized, "there 
 are none that I can call relatives and friends, and not 
 one even to speak a kind word to me. How I envy 
 those fellows," he added, glancing at a couple of boys 
 about his own age who were seated at the nearest camp- 
 fire conversing with their parents. " They have a 
 father to watch over them, a mother to care for them, 
 and brothers and sisters to love, but they do not seem 
 to appreciate their blessings, for they are continually 
 quarreling with one another, and no longer ago than 
 this morning one of those boys flew into a terrible rage 
 because his mother asked him to chop some wood to 
 cook breakfast with. If he could be alone in the world 
 for a few days, as I have been almost ever since I can 
 remember, he would know how to value that mother 
 when he got back to her. If the Indians attack us to- 
 night some of the emigrants will certainly be killed, and 
 the friends they have left behind them in the States 
 will mourn over their fate; but if I fall, there will be no 
 one to drop a tear for me or say he is sorry I am gone. 
 There is nothing on earth that cares whether I live or 
 die, unless it is my horse. If the Indians kill me per- 
 haps he will miss me." 
 
 Julian's soliloquy was suddenly interrupted by a light 
 footstep behind the wagon in which he was sitting. He 
 turned quickly and discovered a man stealing along the 
 barricade and examining it closely, as if he "were look- 
 ing for a place to get through it. Julian's first thought
 
 JULIAN HEARS SOMETHING. 13 
 
 was to accost him, but there was something so stealthy 
 in the man's actions that his curiosity was aroused, and 
 checking the words that arose on his lips he remained 
 quiet in his concealment, and waited to see what was 
 going to happen. He had often seen the man during 
 the journey across the plains, and knew that he was one 
 of the emigrants, but why he should seek to leave the 
 camp at that time and in so unusual a manner, was 
 something the boy could not understand. 
 
 The man walked the whole length of the barricade, 
 turning to.look at the emigrants now and then to make 
 sure that none of them were observing his movements, 
 and finally disappeared under one of the wagons. Ju- 
 lian heard him working his way through the obstruc- 
 tions that had been placed between the wheels, and 
 presently saw him appear again on the outside of the 
 barricade. 
 
 Almost at the same instant the boy discovered an- 
 other figure moving rapidly but noiselessly down the 
 road toward the camp. At first he thought it was the 
 guide, but when the man came within the circle of light 
 thrown out by the camp-fires he saw that he was a 
 stranger. He was evidently a mountain man, for he 
 was dressed in buckskin and carried a long rifle in the 
 hollow of his arm, and the never-failing knife and toma- 
 hawk in his belt; but he was the worst specimen of this 
 class of men that Julian had ever seen. His clothing was 
 soiled and ragged, his hair, which had evidently never 
 been acquainted with a comb, fell down upon his shoul- 
 ders, and his face looked as though it had received the 
 very roughest usage, for it was terribly battered and 
 scarred. One glance at him was enough to frighten 
 Julian, who, knowing instinctively that the man was 
 there for no good purpose, drew further back into the 
 shadow of the wagon-cover. 
 
 The emigrant who had left the camp in so suspicious 
 a manner, discovered the stranger the moment he 
 reached the outside of the barricade, but he did not ap- 
 pear to be Burpriaed to see him. On the contrary, he 
 acted as if he had been expecting him, for he placed
 
 14 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 one foot on the nearest wagon-tongue, rested his elbow 
 on his knee, and when the trapper had approached 
 within speaking distance, said in a suppressed whisper: 
 
 " How are you, Sanders?" 
 
 The latter paid no more attention to the greeting 
 than if he had not been addressed at all. He advanced 
 close to the wagon in which Julian was concealed so 
 close that his brawny shoulders were almost within 
 reach of the boy's hand and peered through the barri- 
 cade, taking in at one swift glance all that was going 
 on inside the camp. He next looked up and down the 
 road, fixing his eyes suspiciously on every tree and rock 
 near him that was large enough to conceal a foe, and 
 having satisfied himself that there was no one near him, 
 he dropped the butt of his rifle to the ground, and 
 growled out: 
 
 "Wai!" 
 
 " Well," replied the emigrant, " I have been to Mis- 
 souri, and I have returned, as you see." 
 
 "I reckon you're satisfied now, hain't you?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " I am. I am satisfied of four things : That the boy is 
 alive and hearty; that he remembers more of his early 
 history than we thought he would; that he has come out 
 here to make trouble for us; and that he is at this very 
 moment with this wagon train." 
 
 As the emigrant said this he folded his arms and 
 looked at his companion to observe the effect these words 
 would have upon him. He, no doubt, expected that the 
 trapper would be surprised, and the latter's actions indi- 
 cated that he certainly was. He stepped back as sud- 
 denly as if a blow had been aimed at him, and after 
 regarding the emigrant sharply for a moment, struck the 
 butt of his rifle with his clenched hand, and ejaculated: 
 
 "Sho!" 
 
 " It's a fact," replied his companion. 
 
 "Wai, now, I wouldn't be afeared to bet my ears agin 
 a chaw of tobacker that you're fooled the worst kind," 
 said the trapper, who was very much excited over what 
 he had heard, and seemed quite unable to bring himself
 
 JULIAN HAtiS Si )M THING. - 15 
 
 to believe it. " The boy was young when he was tuk 
 away from here not more'n eight years old an' do you 
 'spose he could remember anything that happened or 
 find his way across these yere prairies to his hum agin? 
 Don't look reason'ble." 
 
 " It's the truth, whether it looks reasonable or not. I 
 have seen Julian Mortimer, and talked with him, and 
 consequently may be supposed to know more about him 
 and his plans than you who have not seen him for years. 
 What was that?" 
 
 Julian, astonished to hear his own name pronounced 
 by one whom he believed to be a stranger to him, uttered 
 an ejaculation under his breath, and forgetting in his 
 excitement how close the men were to him, bent forward 
 and began to listen more intently. 
 
 The very slight rustling he occasioned among the folds 
 of the canvas cover of the wagon was sufficient to attract 
 the attention of the emigrant and his companion, who 
 brought their conversation to a sudden close, and look- 
 ing about them suspiciously, waited for a repetition of 
 the sound. 
 
 But Julian, frightened at what he had done, and 
 trembling in every limb when he saw the trapper turn 
 his head and gaze earnestly toward the wagon in which 
 he was concealed, remained perfectly motionless and 
 held bis breath in suspense. 
 
 The men listened a moment, but hearing nothing to 
 alarm them, Sanders folded his arms over the muzzle of 
 his rifle, intimating by a gesture that he was ready to 
 hear what else the emigrant had to say, and the latter 
 once more placed his foot on the wagon-tongue, and 
 continued: 
 
 "It is time we had an understanding on one point, 
 Sanders. Are you working for my cousin, Reginald, or 
 for me?" 
 
 " I'm workin' fur you, in course," replied the trapper. 
 " I've done my level best fur you. I had my way with 
 one of the brats, an' put him whar he'll never trouble 
 nobody." 
 
 "Has he never troubled any one since that night?
 
 1(5 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 Has he never troubled you? " asked the emigrant, in a 
 significant tone. "Could you be hired to spend an 
 hour in Reginald's rancho after dark?" 
 
 " No, I couldn't/' replied the trapper, in a subdued 
 voice, glancing nervously around, and drawing a little 
 closer to his companion. "But that thar boy is at the 
 bottom of the lake, an' I'd swar to it, 'cause I put him 
 thar myself. What it is that walks about that rancho 
 every night, an' makes such noises, an' cuts up so, I 
 don't know. You had oughter let me done as I pleased 
 with the other; but you got chicken-hearted all of a 
 sudden, an' didn't want him rubbed out, an' so I stole 
 him a>vay from his hum for you, an' you toted him off 
 to the States. If he comes back here an' makes outlaws 
 of you an' your cousin, it's no business of mine. But 
 I am on your side, an' you know it." 
 
 " I don't know anything of the kind. It is true that 
 you did all this for me, and that I paid you well for it; 
 out I know that you have since promised Reginald that 
 you would find the boy and bring him back here. Will 
 you attack this train to-night?" 
 
 "Sartin. That's what we've been a follerin' it fur. 
 If you want to save your bacon, you'd best be gettin* 
 out." 
 
 " I intend to do so; but I don't want the boy to get 
 out; do you understand? You know where to find me 
 in the morning, and if you will bring me his jacket and 
 leggins to prove that he is out of the way, I will give 
 you a thousand dollars. There are a good many boys 
 with the train, but you will have no trouble in picking 
 out Julian, if you remember how he looked eight years 
 ago. You will know him by his handsome face and 
 straight, slender figure." 
 
 " I'll find him," said the trapper; "it's a bargain, an' 
 thar's my hand onto it. Now I'll jest walk around an' 
 take a squint at things, an' you had best pack up what 
 plunder you want to save an' cPar out; 'cause in less'n 
 an hour me an' the Injuns will be down on this yere 
 wagon train like a turkey on a tater-bug." 
 
 The emigrant evidently thought it best to act on this
 
 JULIAN HEARS SOMETHING. 1? 
 
 suggestion, for without wasting any time or words in 
 leave-taking he made his way carefully through the 
 barricade into the camp. 
 
 The trapper watched him until he disappeared from 
 view, and then said, as if talking to himself, but in a 
 tone of voice loud enough for Julian to hear: 
 
 "A thousand dollars fur doin' a job that you are 
 af eared to do yourself! I don't mind shootin' the boy, 
 but I'd be the biggest kind of a dunce to do it fur that 
 money when another man offers me $5,000 for him alive 
 air' well. If that youngster, Julian, is in this camp, I'll 
 win that five thousand to-night, or my name ain't Ned 
 Sanders." 
 
 The trapper shouldered his rifle, and with a step that 
 would not have awakened a cricket, stole along the bar- 
 ricade, carefully examining it at every point, and men- 
 tally calculating the chances for making a successful 
 attack upon it. When he had passed out of sight in 
 the darkness, Julian drew a long breath, and settled 
 back in his place of concealment to think over what he 
 had heard.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A EIDE IN THE DARK. 
 
 DESCRIBE the feelings with which Julian 
 Mortimer listened to the conversation we 
 have just recorded were impossible. He 
 knew now that he had been greatly mistaken 
 in some opinions he had hitherto entertained. He had 
 told himself but a few minutes before that there was 
 no one on earth who cared whether he lived or died; 
 but scarcely had the thought passed through his mind 
 before he became aware that there were at least two 
 persons in the world who were deeply interested in that 
 very matter so much so that one was willing to pay a 
 ruffian a thousand dollars to kill him, while the other 
 had offered five times that amount to have him delivered 
 into his hands alive and well. It was no wonder that 
 the boy was overwhelmed with fear and bewilderment. 
 " Whew!" he panted, pulling off his sombrero and 
 wiping the big drops of perspiration from his forehead, 
 "this goes ahead of any thing I ever heard of. I wonder 
 if Silas had any reference to this when he said that 
 there were two men in the world who would be willing 
 to give something nice to get hold of me! I'm done 
 for. If I am not killed by the Indians, that villain, 
 Sanders, Avill make a prisoner of me and take me off 
 to Reginald. Who is Reginald, and what have I done 
 that he should be so anxious to see me? I never 
 knew before that I was worth $5,000 to anybody. 
 Who is that emigrant, and how does it come that I 
 am in his way? lie says that he has talked with 
 me and knows all about my plans, but I am positive 
 that I never spoke to him in my life. I never saw him 
 until I found him with this wagon train at St. Joseph. 
 I have had some thrilling adventures during the past
 
 A R2DE IN THE DARK. 19 
 
 few weeks, and I can see very plainly that they are not 
 yet ended." 
 
 Julian, trembling with anxiety and alarm, clambered 
 out of the wagon, and leaning on the muzzle of his 
 rifle, looked down into the gorge, thought over his 
 situation, and tried to determine upon some plan of 
 action. His first impulse was to acquaint the emigrants 
 with the fact that one of their number had been hold- 
 ing converse with an enemy, and have the traitor se- 
 cured at once. His next was to provide for his own 
 safety by collecting the few articles of value he possessed 
 and making his way back to the prairie; but he was 
 deterred from attempting to carry out this plan by the 
 fear that while he was fleeing from one danger he might 
 run into another. The savages had probably surrounded 
 the camp by this time, and he could not hope to pass 
 through their lines without being discovered. The best 
 course he could pursue was to wait until the guide re- 
 turned. He would know just what ought to be done. 
 
 Julian was so completely absorbed in his reverie that 
 he forgot to keep an eye on what was going on around 
 him, and consequently he did not see the two dark 
 figures which came stealing along the road as noiselessly 
 as spirits. But the figures were there, and when they 
 discovered Julian they drew back into the bushes that 
 lined the base of the cliff, and held a whispered con- 
 sultation. Presently one of them stepped out into the 
 road again and ran toward the camp. He did not 
 attempt to escape observation, but hurried along as 
 though he had a perfect right to be there. He seemed 
 to be ignorant of the boy's presence until he heard his 
 voice and saw the muzzle of his rifle looking straight 
 into his face. 
 
 "Halt!" cried Julian, standing with his finger on the 
 trigger, ready to enforce his command if it were not 
 instantly obeyed. " Who are you?" 
 
 "A friend/' replied the man. " Don't shoot!" 
 
 " Come up here, friend, and let us have a look at 
 you." 
 
 As the stranger approached Julian saw that he
 
 20 JULIAN MO K TIMER. 
 
 appeared to be very much excited about something, and 
 that he breathed heavily as if he had been running long 
 and rapidly. 
 
 " If you are a friend what are you doing on the out- 
 side of the camp?" asked the boy. 
 
 " Why, we've been trappin' here in the mountains, me 
 an' my pardner have, an' to-day the Injuns driv us out," 
 replied the stranger. " We jest had to git up an' dig 
 out to save our har, an' left all our plunder in the hands 
 of the redskins spelter, bosses, traps, an' every thing 
 except our rifles. While we were a makin' tracks fur 
 the prairie we come plump agin somebody; an' who do 
 you 'spose it was? It was Silas Koper. We used to be 
 chums, me an' him did, an' have hunted and trapped 
 together many a day up in the Blackfoot country. We 
 found him watchin' the camp of Ned Sanders an' his 
 band of rascals, an' Silas said that if he had just one 
 more man he could kill or captur' the last one of 'em. 
 He told me whar his wagon train was, an' axed me would 
 I come down an' get one of the fellers to lend a hand. 
 He said that Julian Mortimer was plucky an' a good 
 shot, an' he'd like to have him. Mebbe you know him 
 an' can tell me whar' to find him." 
 
 " I can. I am Julian Mortimer," replied the boy, 
 proudly. 
 
 "You!" The trapper seemed to be first surprised, 
 and then disappointed. He surveyed Julian from head 
 to foot, and then continued: " Sho! I expected to see a 
 man. What could a little cub like you do with Sanders 
 and his gang?" 
 
 " I am man enough to put a ball into one of them if I 
 get a fair chance," replied Julian. " I know something 
 about Sanders, and have reasons for wishing him put 
 where he will never see me again." 
 
 " Wall, you're spunky if you are little, an' spunk is 
 the thing that counts arter all. Mebbe you'll do as well 
 as any body. Will you go?" 
 
 " Of course I will, if Silas sent for me." 
 
 " 'Nough said. Go easy now, an' do jest as you see 
 me do."
 
 A RIDE IN THE DARK. 21 
 
 The trapper shouldered his rifle and started down the 
 road at a rapid run, with Julian close at his heels. 
 
 When they passed the first bend in the road a man 
 came out of the bushes, where he had been concealed, 
 and followed after them with noiseless footsteps. Julian 
 did not see him, and neither did he see the dark forms 
 that were hidden behind the trees and rocks 011 each side 
 of the path; he saw no one except his guide until he 
 came suddenly around the base of a cliff and found him- 
 self in front of a camp-fire, beside which lay half-a-dozen 
 rough-looking men stretched out on their blankets. 
 
 Julian stopped when this unexpected sight greeted his 
 eyes, but his guide kept on, and seating himself on the 
 ground before the fire, jerked his thumb over his 
 shoulder toward the boy, and coolly announced: 
 
 " Here he is, fellers. Leastwise, he says that's his 
 name." 
 
 Julian stood like one petrified. He looked at his 
 guide, at the trappers that were lying around, and then 
 his gaze wandered toward an object which he had not 
 before noticed. It was Silas Eoper, who stood on the 
 opposite side of the fire, with his back to a tree, to which 
 he was securely bound. 
 
 One glance at him was enough for Julian, who now 
 saw that he had been duped. He understood the trick 
 that had been played upon him as well as though it had 
 been explained in words, and wondered at his own 
 stupidity. If it had been true, as the strange trapper 
 had told him, that Silas was keeping guard over the 
 camp of the outlaws, and needed just one more man to 
 enable him to effect their capture, would he have sent 
 for an inexperienced person like himself when there 
 were at least a score of old Indian-fighters among the 
 emigrants? Julian told himself that he ought to have 
 known better. 
 
 These thoughts passed through his mind in an instant 
 of time, and in his excitement and alarm, forgetting 
 everything except that he was in the presence of enemies, 
 he faced about and took to his heels; but he had not 
 made many steps when the man who had followed him
 
 02 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 from the camp, and who was none other than Sanders 
 himself,, suddenly appeared in his path. 
 
 "Not quite so fast!" said he, in savage tones. " You're 
 wuth a heap to us, if you only kuowedit, an' we couldn't 
 think of partin' with you so soon." 
 
 As the trapper spoke, he twisted the boy's rifle out of 
 his grasp, tore the belt which contained his revolvers and 
 hunting-knife from his waist, and then seized him by 
 the collar and dragged him toward the fire Julian, who 
 knew that it would be the height of folly to irritate the 
 ruffian, offering no resistance. 
 
 " I call this a good night's work," continued Sanders, 
 who seemed to be highly elated. "We've been waitin* 
 fur both them fellers fur more'n a year, an' we've got 'em 
 at last. This is Julian. I knowed him the minute I 
 sot my* eyes onto him, and could have picked him out 
 among a million. He hain't changed a bit in his face, 
 but he's grown a heap taller an' stouter, an' p'raps is a 
 leetle livelier on his legs than he was when me an' him 
 run that foot-race eight year ago. Eemember that 
 don't you, youngster?" 
 
 " No, I don't," replied Julian. " I never ran a race 
 with you in my life. I never saw you until to-night." 
 
 "Didn't! Wol, I've seed you a good many times 
 durin' the last two months, an' have talked with you, 
 too; but I was dressed up like a gentleman then, an* 
 mebbe that's the reason you don't recognize me now. 
 Dick thinks he knows more about you than anybody 
 else, but I reckon he don't." 
 
 "Who is Dick?" asked the boy. 
 
 " He's the feller who was talkin' to me to-night while 
 you were settin' in that wagon listenin' to us. I didn't 
 know you were about thar until Dick had gone back 
 into the camp, an' then I seed you come down from the 
 wagon. I wanted to get you away from thar, 'cause I 
 was af eared that if you were in the camp durin' the fight 
 some of the Injuns might send a ball or arrer into you, 
 an' that would have been bad fur me an' my mates, 
 'cause it would have tuk jest $5,000 out of our pockets. 
 I didn't see no chance to slip up an' make a pris'ner of
 
 24 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 you without alarmin' the emigrants, so I come back 
 here air* got one of my men, an' me an' him made up 
 that story we told you. It worked first-rate, didn't it.'" 
 
 "But you have not yet told me who ])ick is/' said 
 Julian, without answering the outlaw's question. "How 
 did he become acquainted with me; and what reason has 
 he for wishing me put out of his way? I heard him say 
 that he would give you a thousand dollars if you would 
 kill me." 
 
 " Them's his very words. But you needn't be no ways 
 Bkeary, 'cause I wouldn't hurt a hair of your head not 
 while I can make more money by takin' good care of 
 you. As fur the reasons Dick's got fur havin' somethin' 
 agin you, that's his business an' not mine. Mebbe you'll 
 know all about it one of these days. But I reckon we 
 might as well be movin' now. What have you done 
 with the critters, Tom?" 
 
 The man who had guided Julian to the camp of the 
 outlaws arose from his seat, disappeared in the bushes, 
 and presently returned leading three horses. At a sign 
 from his captors Julian mounted one of the animals, 
 Sanders sprang upon the back of another, and seizing 
 Julian's horse by the bridle rode off into the darkness, 
 followed by Tom, who brought up the rear. The boy 
 wondered what the outlaws were going to do with him, 
 and hoped that Sanders, who had shown himself to be 
 quite communicative, might see fit to enlighten him; 
 but the trapper seemed to have relapsed into a medita- 
 tive mood, for he rode along with his eyes fastened on the 
 horn of his saddle, and for half an hour never opened 
 his lips except to swear at Julian's horse, which showed 
 a disposition to lag behind, and to answer a challenge 
 from the foremost of a long line of Indians who passed 
 them on the road. 
 
 When Julian saw these warriors he thought of the 
 emigrants, and knew that the fight the guide had pre- 
 dicted was not far distant. It was begun that very 
 hour, and the signal for the attack was a single, long- 
 drawn war-whoop, which echoed and re-echoed among 
 the cliffs until it seemed to Julian as if the mountains
 
 A RIDE IN THE DARK. 25 
 
 were literally filled with yelling savages. No sooner 
 had it died away than a chorus of frightful whoops 
 arose from the direction of the camp, accompanied by 
 the rapid discharge of fire-arms and the defiant shouts 
 of the emigrants, which came to Julian's ears with ter- 
 rible distinctness. Although he knew that he was at a 
 safe distance from the scene of the conflict, and in the 
 power of men who would protect him from the savages, 
 he could not have been more terrified if he had been 
 standing side by side with the pioneers battling for his 
 life. 
 
 "What do you think of it, anyhow?" asked Sanders, 
 noticing the boy's agitation. " Never heered sounds 
 like them afore, I reckon." 
 
 " No," replied Julian, in a trembling voice, " and I 
 never want to hear them again. It is some of your 
 work. Silas says the Indians would not be half as bad 
 as they are, if it were not for white renegades like you 
 and your friends, who are continually spreading dissatis- 
 faction among them, and urging them on to the war- 
 path." 
 
 "Wouldn't!" exclaims Sanders. "I don't reckon 
 we're any wuss than other folks I've heern tell on. Thar 
 are men in the world an' some of 'em don't live so very 
 far from here, nuther who walk with their noses in the 
 air, an' think themselves better'n everybody else, an* 
 yet they are bad enough to offer men like me an' my 
 mates money to put some of their own kin out of the 
 way. We're jest about as good as the rest if we are out- 
 laws." 
 
 For the next two miles the route pursued by the trap- 
 pers and their prisoner lay through a deep ravine, where 
 the darkness was so intense that Julian could scarcely 
 see his hand before him, and at ever}' step of the way 
 the reports of fire-arms and the whoops and yells of the 
 combatants rang in his ears. There was a fierce battle 
 going on at the camp, and the boy wondered who would 
 gain the victory. 
 
 The question was answered in a few minutes, for when 
 the three horsemen emerged from the valley, and reached
 
 26 JULIAN MORTIMER, 
 
 the summit of a high hill, over which the road ran, 
 Julian looked back and saw a bright flame, which in- 
 creased in volume every moment, shining over the tops 
 of the trees. Then he knew that the emigrants had 
 failed in their attempts to beat oft' their assailants. The 
 savages had succeeded in setting fire to the wagons 
 which formed the barricade, and when that protection 
 was swept away, the battle would be changed to a mas- 
 sacre. The Indians would pour into the camp in over- 
 whelming numbers, and surrounded as the emigrants 
 were on every side, not one of them could hope to 
 escape. 
 
 " Thar's another wagon train gone up, "said Sanders, 
 with savage exultation. " It's a pity that every one of 
 them can't be sarved the same way. Why don't folks 
 stay in the States whar they belong, instead of coming 
 out here whar they know they ain't wanted? How 
 would you like to be in that camp, youngster ? " 
 
 "I don't know that I should be in a much worse 
 situation than I am now," replied Julian. " If I were 
 with the emigrants I should probably be killed, and I 
 am not sure that I shall fare any better at the hands 
 of the man into whose power you intend to deliver me." 
 
 " That's a fact," said Sanders, reflectively. "If I 
 was in your place, an' was tuk pris'ner, I believe I'd as 
 soon be among the Injuns as in the hands of Eeginald 
 Mortimer." 
 
 "Reginald Mortimer!" repeated Julian, in great 
 amazement. 
 
 " He's the very feller whose name I spoke," replied 
 Sanders, turning around in his saddle and facing his 
 prisoner. 
 
 Julian looked earnestly at the trapper for a few 
 seconds and drew a long breath of relief. 
 
 "I begin to understand the matter," said he. "I 
 knew you were mistaken as to my identity." 
 
 "Which?" exclaimed Sanders. 
 
 " I mean that you have got hold of the wrong boy. 
 Because my name happens to be Mortimer, you think I 
 am the one this man Reginald wants; but when he sees 
 me and knows my history, he will release me."
 
 A RIDE Iff THE >AA\ 27 
 
 When Sanders heard this he threw back his head 
 and burst into a loud laugh, in which he was joined by 
 Tom. Julian could not see that he had said anything 
 calculated to excite their mirth, but the outlaws could, 
 and they were highly amused so much so that it was 
 fully five minutes before they recovered themselves 
 sufficiently to speak. 
 
 "Wai, you are a green one," said Sanders, at length. 
 "The minute Reginald puts his eyes on you he will say 
 that you are the very chap he's been a-lookin' fur so 
 long, an' instead of releasin' you he'll lock you up whar 
 you'll never see daylight again. Maybe he'll do some- 
 thing wuss I don't know." 
 
 " I wouldn't put myself in your place ana run tne 
 risk," chimed in Tom. "But I'd a heap sooner be 
 rubbed out to onct than be shut up in that rancho of 
 his'n. Sich queer dpin's as they do have thar! The ole 
 man can't keep a thing in his house." 
 
 "What is the reason!" asked Julian. 
 
 " 'Cause it's stole from him, that's the reason money, 
 we'pons, clothes, grub everything. He can't keep 
 nothing. " 
 
 " Why doesn't he lock his doors?" 
 
 " Haint every door in the rancho got mor'n a dozen 
 bolts an' chains onto it, an' don't he keep three or four 
 big dogs on the outside of the house, an' as many more 
 inside? An' haint he sot up night after night with his 
 pistols in his hands watchin' fur the thieves? It don't 
 do no *arthly good whatsomever. Things is missiii' all 
 the while, an' nobody don't know whar they go to. 
 You see," added Tom, sinking his voice almost to a 
 whisper, " thar's some folks besides the ole man livin' 
 in that ar rancho, an' they don't need doors an' winders. 
 They can go through a keyhole, or a crack an inch wide, 
 and even a solid stone wall can't stop 'em. I slept thar 
 one night, an' if I didn't see 
 
 " Hold your grip, Tom," interrupted Sanders, 
 hastily. " Somehow I don't like to hear that thing 
 spoke ot. That rancho is a bad place to stop at, that's 
 a fact; an' I'd as soon fight a fair stand-up battle with
 
 28 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 the biggest grizzly in the mountains as to spend an 
 hour thar arter sundown. I wouldn't be half so bad 
 skeered." 
 
 After saying this Sanders relapsed into silence again, 
 and so did Tom; and Julian, who had heard just enough 
 to excite his curiosity, tried in vain to induce them to 
 continue the conversation. He wanted to learn some- 
 thing about Eeginald Mortimer, and know what the 
 trappers had seen in his house that frightened them so 
 badly; but they paid no heed to his questions, and 
 Julian was finally obliged to give it up in despair. 
 
 How far he traveled that night he did not know. He 
 was so nearly overcome with fear and anxiety, and so 
 completely absorbed in his speculations concerning the 
 future, that at times he was utterly unconscious of what 
 was going on around him. All he remembered was 
 that for five long hours Sanders kept his horse at a full 
 gallop, leading the way at reckless speed along yawning 
 chasms and under beetling cliffs which hung threaten- 
 ingly over the road, that he became so weary that he 
 reeled about in his saddle, and that finally, when it 
 seemed to him that he could no longer shake off the 
 stupor that was pressing upon him, Sanders suddenly 
 drew rein and announced that they were at their jour- 
 ney's end. 
 
 Julian looked up and found himself in an extensive 
 valley, which stretched away to the right and left as far 
 as his eyes could reach. In front of him was a high 
 stone wall, over the top of which he could see the roof 
 of what appeared to be a commodious and comfortable 
 house. The building was evidently intended to serve as 
 a fortification as well as a dwelling, for the walls were 
 thick and provided with loop-holes, and the windows 
 were protected by heavy iron-bound shutters. 
 
 All was dark and silent within the rancho; but when 
 Sanders pounded upon the gate with the butt of hia 
 revolver, a chorus of hoarse growls arose on the other 
 side of the wall, and a pack of dogs greeted them with 
 furious and long-continued barking. Presently Julian 
 heard a door open and close in the rancho, and saw the
 
 A RIDE IN THE DARK. 29 
 
 light of a lantern shining above the wall. Then came 
 the rattling of chains and the grating of heavy bolts, 
 and a small wicket in the gate swung open and was 
 immediately filled by the bull's-eye of a powerful dark 
 lantern. The person who handled the lantern, whoever 
 he was, could obtain a good view of the horsemen, but 
 they could not see him, for he remained in the shade, 
 lie consumed a good deal of time in making his obser- 
 vations, and Sanders began to grow impatient. 
 
 " Wai, Pedro," he growled, "when you get through 
 lookin' at us you'll let us in, won't you? We've got 
 business with the ole man, an' we're in a hurry. I 
 don't want to stay about this place no longer than I can 
 help," he added, in an undertone. 
 
 The sound of the outlaw's voice must have satisfied 
 the man as to the identity of his visitors, for he closed 
 the wicket, and after a short delay opened the gate, 
 and Sanders led the way into the rancho.
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 JULIAN FINDS A KELATIVE. 
 
 |AD JULIAN been entering a prison, knowing 
 that he was destined to remain there for the 
 term of his natural life, he could not have 
 
 been more terrified than he was when he 
 
 found himself surrounded by the gloomy walls of the 
 rancho, and heard the ponderous gate clang behind him. 
 He was playing an involuntary part in a strange and 
 mysterious drama, and the uncertainty of what might 
 be the next scene in which he would be forced to assist, 
 kept him in a terrible state of suspense. But he was 
 blessed with more than an ordinary share of courage, 
 and when the first momentary thrill of terror had passed 
 away, he called it all to his aid, and prepared to meet 
 whatever was in store for him with an undaunted front. 
 He appeared to be much more at his ease than the two 
 trappers, for they had suddenly lost their swaggering, 
 confident air, and were gazing about them uneasily as 
 though they were apprehensive'of discovering something 
 they did not care to see. 
 
 "He's all grit, haint he?" whispered Sanders, who, as 
 well as his companion, seemed surprised at the captive's 
 coolness and indifference. " He's a genuine Mortimer." 
 
 "Mebbe he'll look different afore he has been many 
 hours inside these yere walls," replied Tom, in the same 
 cautious whisper. " Wait till he gets into the house an' 
 sees him, as I saw him one night." 
 
 ''Well, if you're going in you had better dismount, 
 hadn't you? Or do you intend to ride your horses in? 
 NVho's this you have here?" 
 
 It was Pedro who spoke. He had lingered to fasten 
 the gate, and now came up and elevated his lantern to 
 take a survey of the trappers and their prisoner. When.
 
 JULIAN FINDS A RELA TIVE. 31 
 
 the rays from the bull's-eye fell upon Julian's features 
 he staggered back as if he had been shot, his face grew 
 deadly pale, and his whole frame trembled violently. 
 
 " It isn't it isn't " 
 
 Pedro tried to pronounce some name, but it seemed to 
 stick in his throat. 
 
 " No, it isn't Mm," replied Sanders; " it's the other." 
 
 "Not Julian?" exclaimed the Mexican, plainly much 
 relieved. 
 
 " Yes, Julian, an' nobody else." 
 
 "Why, how came he here? Where did you find 
 him?" 
 
 "Now, Pedro, you haven't offered us $5,000 to 
 bring him to you safe an' sound, have you? Them's 
 questions we don't answer for nobody except the ole man. 
 We want to see him, an' purty quick, too." 
 
 Sanders dismounted from his horse, and at a sign from 
 him Tom and Julian did the same. Pedro led the way 
 toward the door of the rancho, shaking his head and 
 ejaculating in both Spanish and English, and turning 
 around now and then to look sharply at Julian as if he 
 had not yet been able to make up his mind whether he 
 was a solid flesh and blood boy or only a spirit. He con- 
 ducted the trappers and their captive into the house, and 
 after pausing to fasten the door, led them through a long, 
 wide hall, the walls of which were hung with old- 
 fashioned pictures and implements of the chase, and 
 ushered them into an elegantly furnished- room; and 
 after taking one more good look at Julian, waved his 
 hand toward a couple of chairs and asked the trappers 
 to be seated. 
 
 " I will go and tell the governor who you are, and 
 whom you have brought with you," said he. 
 
 "Hold your horses!" exclaimed Sanders, suddenly, 
 and in great excitement. " You haint agoin' to take 
 that light with you an' leave us here in the dark? I 
 wouldn't stay here fur all the money the ole man's got 
 stowed away in that cave of his'n, if it's $50,000." 
 
 " Fifty thousand!" sneered Pedro. " You have Queer 
 ideas of wealth. Better say fifty million; and he don't
 
 32 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 know where it is any more than you do. He'll find out 
 now, however/' added the Mexican, with a hasty glance 
 at Julian. 
 
 " Wai, put that lantern on the table if you're goin' 
 out," repeated Sanders. 
 
 Pedro muttered something about having any thing 
 but an exalted opinion of a man, who, after braving in- 
 numerable dangers, was afraid to remain in a dark room 
 for a moment or two, but he complied with the request. 
 He placed the lantern on the table and went out, leaving 
 the trappers and Julian to themselves. The latter sunk 
 helplessly into the nearest chair, while Sanders and his 
 companion, after looking all about the room to make 
 sure that there was no fourth person present, moved up 
 closer together and stood regarding one another with an 
 expression of great amazement on their faces. 
 
 "Fifty million!" whispered Sanders, who was the first 
 to speak. "Do you believe it?" 
 
 " That's a monstrous heap of money," replied Tom 
 " more'n the hul State of Californy is worth. But I've 
 allers heern tell that old Keginald had more yaller boys 
 stowed away in this rancho than a wagon train could 
 haul away. If it's a fact, we've made a mistake by " 
 
 He finished the sentence by jerking his thumb over 
 his shoulder toward Julian. 
 
 "Sartin, we have," replied Sanders. "We hadn't 
 oughter give him up for no $5,000. Pedro told us that 
 the ole man don't know whar the money is any more'n 
 we do, but that he would find out all about it now; and 
 when he said that he looked at Julian. Did you notice?" 
 
 Tom replied in the affirmative. 
 
 " That means that the money is hid somewhars; but 
 it can't be that the boy knows whar it is, 'cause he was 
 so young when he was took away from here. Thar's a 
 heap o' things about this house an' family that I would 
 like to have made clear to me. But I know one thing, 
 an' that is, we can make up 011 the other feller what we 
 lose on Julian; an' besides, we can watch our chance an' 
 steal the boy out agin when what's that? Did you hear 
 anything, youngster?"
 
 JULIAN FINDS A RE LA TIVR. 33 
 
 Sanders' voice trembled as he asked this question, and 
 facing suddenly about he gazed first toward the farther 
 end of the room, and then toward Ju'ian, who hud 
 started to his feet, and stood looking the very picture 
 of bewilderment. 
 
 " I did," replied the boy, in a scarcely audible whis- 
 per; "and I saw something moving those curtains, 
 too." 
 
 The walls of the room into which Julian and his cap- 
 tors had been conducted, instead of being plastered or 
 papered, were concealed by crimson hangings which ex- 
 tended from the ceiling to the floor. These were the 
 curtains of which he had spoken. 
 
 As he sat listening in a dreamy sort of way to the 
 whispered conversation of the trappers, he heard a grat- 
 ing noise on the other side of the hangings resembling 
 that which would be occasioned by a key turning in a 
 rusty lock. 
 
 A bright, dazzling light blazed up for an instant and 
 was extinguished, and then the hangings were pushed 
 aside a ad a pair of eyes appeared at the opening and 
 looked into the room. 
 
 Julian saw a portion of the face to which they be- 
 longed and sprang to his feet in great astonishment, for 
 he thought he recognized the features of the emigrant 
 whose conversation with Sanders he had overheard. But 
 the face was withdrawn almost as soon as it appeared, 
 and Julian was not allowed a second look. 
 
 "What did you see?" cried Sanders, his face ghastly 
 pale, and the hand which rested on the lock of his rifle 
 trembling visibly. 
 
 "I saw some one looking in here," replied Julian, 
 " and it was the same man who offered you a thousand 
 dollars to put me out of the way." 
 
 "Dick Mortimer!" Sanders almost shrieked. 
 
 The expression of terror on his face gave way instantly 
 to a look of profound astonishment. He dropped the 
 butt of his rifle heavily to the floor, and Tom uttered a 
 long-drawn whistle. 
 
 The two men stared vacantly at one another for a
 
 34 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 moment, aiid then with a common impulse sprang across 
 the room and tore aside the hangings. 
 
 There was no one there. Nothing was revealed ex- 
 cept the solid stone wall which formed that side of the 
 room. Where could the emigrant have gone? He cer- 
 tainly had not come into the room, and neither could 
 he have retreated through the wall. Julian stood trans- 
 fixed. 
 
 "I know I saw him there," said he, as soon as he 
 could speak. " It beats me where he could have gone 
 so suddenly." 
 
 " That's nothing," replied Sanders. " You'll be beat 
 wuss than this if you stay in this rancho all night, I can 
 tell you that." 
 
 But the trapper's actions indicated that it was some- 
 thing, after all, for as soon as he had satisfied himself 
 that the emigrant had disappeared, he dropped the hang- 
 ings as if they had been coals of fire, and snatching the 
 lantern from the table retreated toward the door with 
 all possible haste, with Tom close at his heels. Nor 
 was Julian far behind the trappers when they reached 
 the hall. 
 
 He did not wonder now that they were impatient to 
 transact their business and leave the house. He- would 
 have been glad to leave it himself. His captors had 
 told him that there were some " queer doings" in that 
 rancho. Did they refer to scenes like this? Were people 
 who, like this emigrant, had no business there, in the 
 habit of walking about the house every night, and oi 
 vanishing after such a bewildering fashion when discov- 
 ered; and was he to be compelled to remain there a wit- 
 ness to such proceedings. 
 
 The boy trembled at the thought. He was not super* 
 stitious. He knew that he had seen the face of a man 
 peeping out from behind the hangings, and he believed, 
 too, that his sudden and mysterious disappearance could 
 be explained, and that there was nothing supernatural 
 about it; but nevertheless he resolved that as long as he 
 was allowed the free use of his feet he would not remain 
 in a dark room in that house without company.
 
 JULIAN FINDS A RELA TIVE. 35 
 
 When the trappers retreated into the hall he went 
 with them, and like them, kept his back turned toward 
 the room, and impatiently awaited Pedro's return. Nor 
 was he obliged to wait long. 
 
 In a few seconds he heard a door open and close, a 
 light flashed into the hall, and two men came hurrying 
 toward him. One of them was Pedro, and the other 
 was a tall, foreign-looking gentleman, in dressing-gown 
 and slippers, who came along with a smile on his face, 
 and his hand outstretched, as if about to greet some 
 friend from whom he had long been separated. 
 
 Upon reaching Julian's side he threw his arms around 
 him and clasped him in a most affectionate embrace to 
 which the boy submitted without uttering a word. He 
 had not expected such a reception as this; and, if one 
 might judge by the expression on the faces of the trap- 
 pers, they had not expected it either. Their under- 
 jaws dropped down, they stared at one another for a 
 moment, and then Tom gave utterance to another long- 
 drawn whistle, and Sanders pounded the floor with the 
 butt of his rifle. 
 
 "Julian! Julian! is it possible that you have returned 
 at last?" cried the gentleman, holding the boy off at 
 arm's length for a moment, and then straining him to 
 his breast once more. "Don't you know your Uncle 
 Keginald?" 
 
 " It's him sure enough, ain't it?" asked Sanders. 
 
 "Of course it is he," replied the owner of the rancho, 
 still clinging to Julian as if he never meant to lot him 
 go again. "I should have recognized him if I had. met 
 him in Asia. No one but a Mortimer could ever boast 
 of such a face as that. Where did you find mm? 
 Julian, why don't you tell me that you are glad to see 
 me?" 
 
 "I say, guv'nor," interrupted Sanders, "couldn't he 
 talk to you jest as well arter we are gone? Me an' my 
 pardner are in a monstrous hurry. How about them 
 $5,000?" 
 
 " I will place it in your hands this moment. Coni& 
 with me."
 
 36 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 Seizing Julian by the hand, Eeginald Mortimer for 
 that was the gentleman's name led the way along the 
 hall, and into a room which the prisoner saw Avas used 
 as a sleeping apartment, for there was the bed from 
 which this man, who claimed to be his uncle, had just 
 arisen. 
 
 Conducting the boy to a seat on the sofa, and leaving 
 the trappers to stand or sit as suited their fancy, the gen- 
 tleman produced a bunch of keys from his desk and un- 
 locked a strong box which was standing at the head of 
 his bed. 
 
 When the lid was thrown back Julian opened his eyes 
 and leaned forward to obtain a nearer view of the con- 
 tents of the box. 
 
 Such a sight he had never seen before. The box was 
 literally filled with gold coin some of it packed away 
 in little drawers, and the rest tied up in canvas bags. 
 Two of these bags the owner lifted out of the box and 
 handed to the trappers, saying: 
 
 " There is the money I promised to give you if you 
 succeeded in restoring Julian to me safe and sound. I 
 give you my hearty thanks beside, for you have rendered 
 me a most important service. Pedro, show Sanders and 
 his friend to the best room in the house." 
 
 " Nary time, if you please !" exclaimed the trapper, 
 with a frightened look. " We'll feel a heap better, an* 
 sleep a sight easier, if we camp in the mountains." 
 
 " But I want to talk to you about Julian. Where 
 did you find him?" 
 
 " We'll tell you all about that when we bring the 
 other feller to you." 
 
 "The other fellow?" 
 
 "Yes; that is, if we can come to tarms." 
 
 "Whom do you mean?" 
 
 " Silas Koper. Say another five thousand fur him, 
 an* we'll have him here to-morrow bright an' arly." 
 
 "Silas Roper!" exclaimed the gentleman, gleefully. 
 "Am I not in luck? Certainly, I say it; bring him 
 immediately." 
 
 " It's a bargain. Come pn, Tom."
 
 JULIAN FINDS A RELATIVE. 37 
 
 "Well, go, if yon must, and remember that although 
 I am under obligations to you now, I shall be vastly 
 more your debtor when you give that man into my 
 hands. My plans are working splendidly." 
 
 When the door had closed behind the trappers Reg- 
 inald Mortimer locked his strong box and once more 
 turned toward Julian. The latter, who since his arrival 
 at the rancho had moved like one in a dream, aroused 
 himself by a strong effort and looked squarely into the 
 man's face. lie gazed at him a moment, arid then 
 sprung to his feet with a cry of alarm and ru toward 
 the door.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 JULIAN'S HOME. 
 
 E HAVE said that Julian Mortimer was the 
 hero of our story, and in order that you may 
 imderstand what brought him to the moun- 
 tains, and how it came that several persons 
 whom he believed he had never seen before should 
 take so deep an interest in him, we must go back and 
 relate some events that transpired previous to the be- 
 ginning of our story. 
 
 On the banks of the Missouri River, about fifty miles 
 below St. Joseph, was a small clearing, in which stood 
 a dilapidated cabin inhabited by the family of John 
 Bowles. It was a gloomy-looking place, and that was 
 not to be wondered at, for Jack, as he was familiarly 
 called, was not the man to waste any of his time or 
 money in beautifying his home. Both were much too 
 precious for that. His time was spent in hunting and 
 trapping, and his money what little he earned was 
 devoted to the purchase of bad whisky, of which he 
 was exceedingly fond. He was a tall, heavy, broad- 
 shouldered man, and looked the very impersonation of 
 laziness. His two boys, Jake and Tom, were chips of 
 the old block, and his wife was a sharp-featured, ill- 
 ternpered woman of wonderful strength and daring, 
 and it was said that in a fair rough-and-tumble fight 
 for things came to that sometimes in the cabin of Mr. 
 Bowles she was more than a match for her redoubtable 
 husband. 
 
 The neighboring settlers had but little to do with 
 Jack. They remarked that his family went clothed in 
 rags from one year's end to another; that they were 
 sometimes destitute of even the common necessities of 
 life; and that Jack hunted early and late and spent
 
 JULIAN'S HOME. 39 
 
 every cent he made at the grocery at " The Corners." 
 But one stormy night a stranger was seen to ride rapidly 
 away from the cabin, and from that hour things seemed 
 to take a turn for the better with Jack Bowles. He 
 and his family appeared in brand new suits of clothing; 
 the boys sported silver-mounted rifles in place of the 
 rusty single-barreled shot-guns in which they had be- 
 fore taken so much delight; a neighbor, who knew 
 something of the use of carpenters' tools, was employed 
 to patch up the cabin, and Jack gave up hunting and 
 spent his days and nights in lounging about the grocery, 
 drinking whisky and showing large rolls of bills and 
 handfuls of gold and silver. The settlers noticed, too, 
 that the cabin had an inmate whom they had never 
 seen before a slender, fair-haired boy about eight years 
 of age, who seemed to be altogether out of his element 
 there. And they told one another also that Jack and 
 his wife had reasons for wishing to keep him out of 
 sight as much as possible, for whenever any one passed 
 the clearing the boy would be summoned into the house 
 by the shrill voice of Mrs. Bowles, and the door closed 
 upon him. 
 
 From this they naturally concluded that the boy and 
 the money Jack spent so freely were in some way con- 
 nected; and, when hard pressed, Jack acknowledged 
 that such was the fact. He said that the boy's name 
 was Julian Mortimer; that he had been brought to the 
 cabin by a stranger who wished to leave him there for a 
 month or two while he went on a business tour to New 
 Orleans; and that he had paid a few weeks' board for 
 him in advance. There was one thing, however, that 
 Jack did not see fit to disclose, and that was that the 
 stranger had cautioned him to keep strict watch over 
 the boy, and under no circumstances to allow him far 
 out of his sight. For awhile the settlers wondered 
 greatly at this story; but it soon ceased to be the topic of 
 conversation, and finally even the circumstance of the 
 stranger's visit was forgotten. 
 
 Weeks grew into months, and months into years, and 
 Julian Mortimer was still an inmate of Jack Bowies'
 
 40 JULIA N MOR TIMER. 
 
 cabin, which he had learned to call home. The money 
 that had been paid for his board had long ago been 
 squandered at The Corners, and Jack had been obliged 
 to overhaul his long-neglected implements of the chase, 
 and resume his old occupation of hunting and trapping. 
 
 The cabin was in a worse condition now than it was 
 before it was repaired. It was built of rough, unhewn 
 logs, and contained but one room. It had no floor the 
 ground, which had been trampled upon until it was as 
 hard as a rock, answering that purpose. The only 
 furniture it could boast of were two miserable beds, and 
 a three-legged pine table that had been pushed against 
 the wall to enable it to retain its upright position. As 
 for chairs, there were none; the places of these useful 
 articles being supplied with boxes and empty nail-kegs. 
 There were no windows in the cabin, all the light and 
 air being admitted through the door, which was allowed 
 to stand open during the coldest days in winter. 
 
 A ladder on one side of the room led to the loft where 
 Julian slept. It was the most uncomfortable part of the 
 house, for some of the boards at the gable-end had fallen 
 off, the shingles on the roof were loose, and during a 
 storm the rain and sleet rattled down on his hard pillow. 
 There was nothing inviting about Julian's bed, for it 
 was simply a pile of husks, with a large gunny sack, a 
 tattered blanket, and one or two ragged coats spread 
 over it. But he always went to that bed aching in every 
 muscle after his hard day's work, and slept as soundly 
 there, in spite of the cold wind and rattling shingles, as 
 if it had been a couch of down. 
 
 One end of the cabin was occupied by an immense 
 fire-place, with a stick chimney, which leaned away from 
 the building as if about to topple over. A fire was 
 burning brightly on the hearth one cold afternoon in 
 March, and before it stood Mrs. Bowles, watching some 
 venison steaks that were broiling on the coals, and 
 smoking a short cob pipe, which was held firmly between 
 her teeth. She was angry that Avas plain enough to be 
 seen and, indeed, it would have been difficult to find 
 her in any other mood. She thought she had good
 
 JULIAN'S HOME. 41 
 
 reasons for showing her temper occasionally, for "that 
 Julian," as she called the household drudge, was the 
 plague of her life. More than half an hour ago she had 
 sent him out after firewood, and although she had called 
 him three times, and promised to dust his jacket for 
 him the moment he came within reach of her arm a 
 threat that never failed to quicken the pace of her sons 
 he had not yet returned. She watched the broiling 
 steaks for a few minutes, listening the while for the 
 sound of footsteps, and then went to the door, removed 
 the pipe from her mouth, threw back her head an 3 
 shrieked : 
 
 " You, Julian! Have you gone clear to St. Joe arter 
 that firewood? 1 ' 
 
 This time her shrill tones reached the ears of a young 
 fellow about sixteen years of age, who was at work in 
 the edge of the woods at a short distance from the house. 
 We ought rather to say that he had been at work, and 
 was resting from his labor, leaning on his ax and gazing 
 thoughtfully at the ground when the woman's sharp 
 voice broke in upon his reverie. 
 
 " There it is again," said he, with a long-drawn sigh, 
 lifting his ax and resuming nis work. "It's Julian! 
 Julian! from morning untii night. Julian has to do 
 everything that is done on the farm. I shouldn't mind 
 the work so much if they would only give me some warm 
 clothes and say a kind word to me now and then; but 
 they won't do it. Look at that," he added, pausing, 
 with his ax suspended in the air, and gazing do \vnat his 
 boots, which were so sadly out of repair that they 
 afforded his feet but very little protection from the mud, 
 and none Avhatever from the sharp, biting air. " This 
 coat is so thin that the wind blows right through it; and 
 as for this hat well, perhaps it is better than none at 
 all, but not much. These are the only clothes I have in 
 the world, and they are the best I have owned since I 
 came to this place eight years ago. I have money enough 
 to buy others, but 1 dare not do it, for fear that they 
 will be taken away from me and given to that lazy Jake 
 or Tom. And as for the treatment I receive why,
 
 42 JULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 there isn't a dog on the place so badly abused. I 
 suppose I shall get another beating now for keeping 
 Mrs. Bowles waiting for this firewood." 
 
 When Julian had finished his soliloquy and his chop- 
 ping, he threw down his ax, and shouldering one of the 
 heavy back-logs he had cut, made his way slowly toward 
 the house. Mrs. Bowles was too busily engaged with 
 her preparations for supper to think of the rawhide 
 which she had taken from its accustomed nail behind 
 the door and laid upon the table close at her side, and 
 Julian succeeded in transferring his pile of wood from 
 the edge of the clearing to the cabin without attracting 
 her attention. This done, his work for the night was 
 over, and he was at liberty to attend to a little business 
 of his own. 
 
 Drawing on a pair of tattered gloves he left the house, 
 and walking briskly past the corn-cribs, struck into the 
 path that led through the woods to The Corners, turn- 
 ing his head now and then to make sure that there was 
 no one observing his movements. Had he taken pains 
 to look closely at one of the corn-cribs as he went past 
 it, he would have discovered two pairs of eyes peering 
 through an opening over the door; and had he glanced 
 behind him when he reached the cover of the woods, 
 he would have seen the door fly open and two figures 
 spring out and run swiftly along the path in pursuit of 
 him. 
 
 Julian had set out to visit his traps. Minks, foxes 
 and raccoons were abundant in the woods about the 
 clearing, and he was very expert in taking them. Dur- 
 ing the last two winters he had earned a sum of money 
 that was quite a respectable fortune in his eyes; and 
 more than that, he had purchased an excellent rifle, a 
 supply of ammunition and a fine young horse, which he 
 intended should some day carry him miles and miles out 
 of the reach of Mrs. Bowies' rawhide. 
 
 The rifle, together with his money and stock of furs, 
 was concealed where no one would ever think of looking 
 for it; but the horse was claimed by Tom Bowles, Jack's 
 younger son, who took possession of the animal as soon.
 
 JULIAN'S HOME. 43 
 
 as Julian brought him home. But that was a matter 
 that did not trouble our hero. Of course he was denied 
 the pleasure of riding the horse for Jake and Tom fol- 
 io Aved the example set them by their parents, and tyran- 
 nized over Julian in every possible way but he knew 
 Avhere to find him when he wanted him; and when he 
 was ready to undertake the journey he had been plan- 
 ning and thinking about, he intended to take posses- 
 sion of him without consulting Tom Bowles or any one 
 else. 
 
 On the day that Julian first brought the horse home 
 he created quite a commotion in the Bowles family. 
 When he told Jack, in the presence of his wife and sons, 
 that the animal was his own private property, and that 
 he had paid 875 in cash for him, the inquiry very natur- 
 ally arose, where did the money come from? That was 
 a matter that Julian did not care to talk about. If he 
 replied that he had received it for the furs he had 
 trapped, he knew that Jack and his boys would hunt 
 the woods over until they found his dead-falls, and then 
 rob and destroy them. 
 
 He declined to enlighten them on this point, and that 
 created on uproar at once. Jack swore lustily; Mrs. 
 Bowles flourished her rawhide; Tom took charge of the 
 horse and led him off to the stable; and Jake threatened 
 to black his eye for him. But Julian, who was not one 
 of the sort who are easily frightened, remained firm, and 
 Jack and his boys were compelled to change their tactics 
 and resort to strategy. 
 
 They told one another that they would keep a sharp 
 eye on all Julian's movements, and follow him wherever 
 he went; and if they did not find out what he did in 
 the woods while he was there, and what it was that took 
 him away from home so regularly every night and morn- 
 ing, they would know the reason why. 
 
 But even this plan failed, for Julian was always on 
 the alert and could not be caught napping. His ears, as 
 sharp as an Indian's, always told him when he was fol- 
 lowed. On such occasions he would stroll carelessly 
 about through the woods, as if he had no particular
 
 44 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 object in view, and finally make his way home again 
 and go to work. Then Tom and Jake would be angrier 
 than ever, and Julian was certain to suffer for his watch- 
 fulness. 
 
 On this particular evening, however, Julian was not 
 as careful as usual. The plans he had been so long ma- 
 turing were almost ready to carry into execution, and 
 he was so completely wrapped up in his glorious antici- 
 pations concerning the future that he did not hear the 
 light footsteps of Jake and Tom as they dodged through 
 the bushes behind him. 
 
 He walked straight to the creek, and from the force 
 of long habit, paused on the bank to look about him. 
 Having satisfied himself that there was no one in sight, 
 he sprung into the bed of the stream, and looking 
 under the overhanging roots of a beech where he had 
 set one of his traps, discovered a large mink caught by 
 one of his hind feet. 
 
 A blow on the head with a stick stilled the animal, 
 and after resetting and baiting the trap, Julian picked 
 up his prize, and rejoicing in the thought that the 
 skin of the mink would bring $2 more to be added to 
 his little fortune, hurried on up the creek. 
 
 For an hour Julian continued his walk, stopping now 
 and then to bait and set a trap that had been sprung by 
 some animal too cunning to be caught, or to take a fox, 
 mink or raccoon out of another, and finally he stopped 
 at the foot of a precipitous cliff with $13 worth of furs 
 thrown over his shoulder not a bad afternoon's work 
 for a trapper of his years. 
 
 He now became more cautious than ever in his move- 
 ments. His first care was to convince himself that 
 there was no one following him; and in order to set his 
 fears on this score at rest, he dropped his game and ran 
 back along the bank of the creek, peering through the 
 trees in every direction, and passing so close to Tom 
 and Jake, who had thrown themselves behind a log to 
 escape discovery, that he could have touched them. 
 But he saw no one, and believing himself to be alone in 
 the woods, he once more shouldered his game and made
 
 JULIANA HOME. 45 
 
 his way up the cliff until he reached a thicket of bushes 
 that grew near the summit. 
 
 Here he paused, and began pulling away the leaves 
 with his hands, presently disclosing to view a small 
 door which had been set into the face of the cliff. 
 The opening of the door revealed what appeared to be 
 the mouth of a cave, extending down into the ground. 
 Julian threw in his foxes and minks one after the other, 
 and then crawled in himself and closed the door after 
 him.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 JULIAX MEETS A STRANGER. 
 
 ULIAN'S first move, after he had shut 
 the door, was to strike a match, and his 
 second to light a candle which he took from 
 a shelf close at hand. As the light blazed 
 up, lie held it above his head and took a survey of the 
 cave, or, as he called it, his "store-house." It was a 
 very small one not more than six feet square but it 
 was large enough to contain all Julian's earthly posses- 
 sions. All that could be seen was a quantity of furs, 
 some already cured and neatly baled up, and others 
 hanging against the walls stretched upon boards and 
 frames to dry; but there were other valuable articles 
 stowed away there, and as soon as Julian had glanced 
 about the room to see that nothing had been disturbed 
 during his absence, he placed his candle on the floor 
 and proceeded to bring them to light. 
 
 The walls, floor and ceiling of the room were com- 
 posed of small saplings, and two of these saplings con- 
 cealed treasures that were of more value to Julian than 
 all his furs. One of them was in the floor, and when 
 it had been lifted out of its place by the edge of a 
 hatchet, some of the young trapper's wealth, which 
 would have made Jake and Tom open their eyes in 
 amazement could they have seen it, was disclosed to 
 view. 
 
 It consisted of a silver-mounted rifle, inclosed in a 
 strong canvas bag to protect it from the damp and dirt, 
 a hunting-knife, an ornamented powder-horn and a 
 fawn-skin bullet-pouch, both the latter filled with am- 
 munition. 
 
 Julian looked at these articles long and lovingly. He 
 had come by them honestly they were the first valua-
 
 JULIAN MEETS A STRAttGER. 4? 
 
 bles he had ever owned, and he had worked so hard for 
 them! He took the rifle from its case, drew it up to 
 his shoulder and glanced along the clean brown barrel, 
 as if drawing a bead on an imaginary deer's head, held 
 it in a dozen different positions to allow the light to 
 shine on the silver mountings, and finally returned it, 
 with all the accouterments, to its hiding-place, and went 
 to look after his other treasures. He removed one of 
 the saplings that formed the ceiling, thrust his arm into 
 the opening and drew out a small tin box, which 
 contained money to the amount of $80 the pro- 
 ceeds of two winters' work at trapping. Julian ran 
 hastily over the bills to make sure that they were all 
 there, then put back the box, returned the sapling to its 
 place, and drawing his knife from his pocket sat down 
 to remove the skins from the animals he had just 
 captured. 
 
 "I'm rich!" he exclaimed, looking about him with a 
 smile of satisfaction. "Counting in my money and 
 what my horse, hunting rig and hunting furs are worth, 
 I have at least $250. I have purchased everything I 
 need, and some fine, frosty morning, when Mrs. Bowles 
 calls for 'you, Julian,' to get up and build the fire, he 
 won't answer. He'll be miles away, and be making 
 quick tracks for the Rocky Mountains. I only wish I 
 was there now. There's where I came from when I was 
 brought to Jack Bowies' house. I just know it was, 
 because I can remember of hearing people talk of going 
 over the mountains to California, and I know, too, that 
 there were gold diggings on my father's farm, or raiicho, 
 I believe he called it. I'm going to try to find my 
 father when I get there, and if I ever see him I shall 
 know him." 
 
 Julian's thoughts ran on in this channel while he was 
 busy with his knife, and in half an hour the skins had 
 all been stretched, and the young trapper was ready to 
 return to the miserable hovel he called home. He ex- 
 tinguished his candle, crawled out of the cave, and after 
 concealing the door by piling leaves against it, hurried 
 down the bluff and into the woods, happy in the beHef
 
 48 JULIA N MOR TIMER. 
 
 that no one was the wiser for what he had done; but no 
 sooner had he disappeared than Jake and Tom Bowles 
 came out of the bushes in which they had been hidden, 
 and clambered up the cliff toward Julian's store-house. 
 
 It was rapidly growing dark, and Julian, anxious to 
 reach the cabin before his absence was discovered, broke 
 into a rapid run, which he never slackened until he 
 reached the road leading from The Corners to the clear- 
 ing. There he encountered a stranger, who, as he came 
 out of the bushes, accosted him with: 
 
 " Hold on a minute, my lad. I believe I am a little 
 out of my reckoning, and perhaps you can set me 
 right." 
 
 Julian stopped and looked at the man. He could not 
 get so much as even a glimpse of his face, for the broad 
 felt hat he wore was pulled down over his forehead, and 
 his heavy muffler was drawn up so high that nothing 
 but his eyes could be seen; but the boy at once put him 
 down as a gentleman, for he was dressed in broadcloth, 
 and wore fine boots and fur gloves. Julian looked at 
 his neat dress, and then at his own tattered garments, 
 and drew his coat about him and folded his arms over it 
 to hide it from the stranger's gaze. 
 
 "Is there a hotel about here?" continued the gentle- 
 man, approaching the place where Julian was standing. 
 
 "No, sir," was the reply; "none nearer than The 
 Corners, and that's ten miles away." 
 
 " Is there no dwelling-house near?" 
 
 "There is a shanty about a mile distant belonging to 
 Jack Bowles, but I wouldn't advise you to go there." 
 
 " Then I am on the right road after all," said the 
 stranger, with a sigh of relief. "Jack Bowles! He's 
 just the man I want to see. I have some important 
 business with him. He can accommodate me with a 
 bed and supper, can he not?" 
 
 "He can give you some corn bread and venison, but 
 as for a bed, that's a thing he doesn't keep in his house. 
 If you happen to have half a dollar in your pocket, 
 however, he will stow you away somewhere. Jack will 
 do almost anything for half a dollar. Why, what's the 
 matter, sir?"
 
 / ULIA N MEL TS A 57 'RA NGER. 49 
 
 It was no wonder that Julian asked this question, for 
 the gentleman, who had now advanced quite near to 
 him, took just one glance at his face, and started back 
 as if he had seen some frightful apparition. He pushed 
 his hat hack from his forehead, pulled his muffler down 
 from his face, and stared at Julian as if he meant to 
 look him through. The boy was astonished at his be- 
 havior, and he would have been still more astonished if 
 he had been able to look far enough into the future to 
 see all that was to grow out of this meeting. 
 
 "Boy!" exclaimed the gentleman, in a voice which 
 his agitation rendered almost indistinct, " who are you? 
 What's your name ?" 
 
 "Julian Mortimer," replied our hero. 
 
 ''Julian! Julian Mortimer!" repeated the man, as if 
 he could scarcely believe his ears. " It cannot be pos- 
 sible. Why, boy, you're just ahem! I mean what a 
 striking resemblance." 
 
 The stranger spoke these last words hurriedly, and 
 then, as if recollecting himself, hastily pulled his hat 
 down over his forehead again, and once more concealed 
 his face with his muffler all except his eyes, which he 
 kept fastened upon Julian. 
 
 " No doubt you think I act very strangely," he con- 
 tinued, after a moment's pause, "and perhaps I do, but 
 the truth of the matter is, you look so much like a 
 young friend of mine a relative, in fact that for a 
 moment I was almost sure you were he. But, of course, 
 you can't be, for he is dead been dead eight years. If 
 you are ready we will go on." 
 
 Julian was forced to be contented with this explana- 
 tion, but he was not quite satisfied Avith it. It was 
 made in a bungling, hesitating manner, as if the man 
 were thinking about one thing and talking about an- 
 other. More than that, the excitement he had exhib- 
 ited on the first meeting with Julian seemed to increase 
 the longer he looked at him; and now and then he 
 rubbed his gloved hands together as if he were meditat- 
 ing upon something that afforded him infinite pleasure. 
 He continued to watch the boy out of the corner of his 
 eye, and finally inquired:
 
 50 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "Is this man Bowles, of whom you spoke, your 
 father?" 
 
 " No, sir/' replied Joe, emphatically. " I live with 
 him, but he is no relative of mine. My father, as I re- 
 member him, was a different sort of man altogether." 
 
 "Eh!" ejaculated the stranger, with a start. "As 
 you remember him? Ah! he is dead, then?" 
 
 "Not that I know of, sir. He was alive and well 
 the last time I saw him. Fll see him again in a few 
 weeks." 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 " Out West. He owns a rancho near the mountains 
 with a gold mine on it." 
 
 ' ' Then why are you here?" 
 
 ''Because I can't help myself. I didn't come here of 
 my own free will, but was brought by one who will have 
 good cause to remember me if I meet him again when 
 I become a man." 
 
 " Do you think you would know him if you should 
 see him again ?" asked the stranger, looking sharply at 
 Julian, and putting his hat lower over his eyes. 
 
 " I am quite sure I should. He stole me away from 
 my home and brought me here; but why he did it I 
 can't tell. I don't intend to stay any longer, if it would 
 do him any good to know it. I've got a good horse and 
 rifle, and plenty of money, and I am going to leave here 
 in a few days and go back to the mountains where 
 I belong, and I shall not ask Jack Bowies' consent, 
 either." 
 
 "Do you think he would oppose it?" 
 
 "I know he would. He would beat me half to death, 
 or his wife would, and lock me up in the smoke-house 
 till I promised never to think of such a thing again. 
 I'm going to run away, and by the time he misses me I 
 shall be a long distance out of his reach. " 
 
 The man listened attentively to all Julian had to say, 
 and when the latter ceased speaking he placed his 
 hands behind his back, fastened his eyes on the ground, 
 and walked along as if he were in a brown study. He 
 did not look up until they reached the door of the cabin
 
 JULIAN MEETS A STRANGER. 51 
 
 wnerc Jack Bowles, who had just finished his supper, 
 stood smoking his cob pipe. 
 
 "Wai, who have ye got thar?" was his surly greet- 
 ing. 
 
 "A gentleman who wishes to find a place to stay all 
 night/' replied Julian. 
 
 "Why don't he toddle on and find it, then? "growled 
 Jack. " I ain't a hinderin' him, be I? He can't stop 
 here. I don't keep a hotel to take in every Tom, Dick 
 and Harry that conies along. Wai, I be dog-gone!" 
 
 Jack suddenly took his pipe from his mouth, and 
 stepping hastily up to the stranger, bent forward and 
 peered into his face. Then something that was in- 
 tended for a smile of recognition overspread his own 
 countenance, and extending his hand with as cordial an 
 air as he could assume, he continued: 
 
 "I allowed I had seed ye somewhar afore, Mr. eh?" 
 
 Jack paused before the name he had been about to 
 pronounce escaped his lips, interrupted by a hasty 
 gesture from the stranger, who glanced toward Julian 
 and raised his hand warningly. 
 
 "You are mistaken, my friend," said he, blandly. 
 " You have never seen me before, but I hope the fact 
 that I am a stranger to you will not prevent you from 
 extending your hospitality to me for the night." 
 
 Jack stared, took a few long, deliberate pulls at his 
 pipe, looked first at the eaves of the cabin, then down 
 at the ground, and finally turned to Julian for an expla- 
 nation. 
 
 "What's he try in' to get through hisself?" he asked. 
 
 " He wants something to eat and a bed to sleep in," 
 replied the boy. 
 
 "Oh! Why didn't he say so, then? Wai, stranger, 
 I reckon we can hang ye up somewhar," added Jack, 
 who had seen and comprehended the warning gesture; 
 " although, as I told ye afore, we don't make a business 
 of takin' in every tramp that comes along. Ye see, in a 
 new country like this it ain't safe. Ole woman, make 
 up another batch of them corn-dodgers an' fry a slice or 
 two of that bar's meat. Julian, what be ye a standin'
 
 52 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 thar gapin* at? Cl'ar yerself. Come in, stranger 
 come in an' set down." 
 
 Julian moved around the corner of the cabin and re- 
 mained out of sight until he heard Mrs. Bowles laying 
 the table for the guest, and then he also entered. 
 
 It was not a very sociable party he found in the house. 
 Mrs. Bowles was moving about preparing the corn- 
 dodgers and bear meat; the visitor, who had removed his 
 overcoat and muffler, was comfortably seated on a nail- 
 keg in a dark corner of the room, and Jack Bowles sat 
 in front of the fire, his elbows resting on his knees and 
 his hat pulled down over his eyes, which were slowly 
 moving over the stranger's person and scrutinizing his 
 dress and ornaments. 
 
 Julian noticed that his gaze rested long on the watch 
 chain that hung across the stranger's vest, and on the 
 diamond ring that glittered on his finger, and the ex- 
 pression he saw on Jack's face alarmed him and made 
 him wish most sincerely that he had never conducted 
 the gentleman to the cabin. 
 
 No one spoke until supper was ready, and then the 
 guest was invited to " draw up and pitch in." Julian 
 tried to obtain a glimpse of his features as he came out 
 of his dark corner, but the man, as if guessing his in- 
 tention, kept his head turned away from him and took 
 his seat at the table with his back to the fire, so that his 
 face still remained in the shadow. 
 
 While he was busy with his corn-dodgers and bear 
 meat, Jake and Tom came in. They glanced curiously 
 at the guest, and Tom seated himself beside the fire op- 
 posite Julian, whom he regarded with a triumphant 
 smile, while Jake went to one of the beds that stood in 
 the room and carefully hid something under the pillows. 
 Julian afterward recalled the movements of these two 
 worthies, and wondered why his suspicions had not been 
 aroused. 
 
 When the stranger had satisfied his appetite, the three 
 boys, at a sign from Mrs. Bowles, sat down and made 
 a very light meal of that which was left, and no sooner 
 had they arisen from the table thar they received a
 
 JULIAN MEETS A STRANGER. 53 
 
 second signal from Mr. Bowles, who pointed with his 
 thumb over his shoulder toward that part of the room 
 in which the beds were situated. 
 
 The boys all obeyed the order, but one of them, at 
 least, had no intention of going to sleep. It was Julian, 
 who, as he slowly mounted the ladder that led to the 
 loft, told himself that he was in some way connected 
 with the stranger's visit to the cabin, and that he would 
 learn something about the matter before morning, if 
 there was any way for him to accomplish his object. 
 He stretched himself upon his hard bed, and drawing 
 one of the coats over his shoulders, waited impatiently 
 to see what was going to happen. 
 
 For half an hour all was still; then some one began 
 to move softly about the cabin, a step was heard on the 
 ladder, and a light flashed upon the rafters over Julian's 
 head. 
 
 Presently a hand grasping a tallow dip appeared 
 above the edge of the loft, closely followed by the griz- 
 zly head and broad shoulders of Jack Bowles, who 
 stopped when he reached the top of the ladder and 
 gazed at our hero long and earnestly. 
 
 Julian was wide awake, and through his half-closed 
 eyelids could see every move Jack made, but the latter, 
 believing him to be fast asleep, descended the ladder 
 and joined his guest. 
 
 " My suspicions are confirmed/' soliloquized Julian. 
 "'They intend to talk upon some subject that they 
 don't want me to know anything about. I am going to 
 learn something now. Perhaps I shall find out who I 
 am and where my father is, and why I was brought 
 here. What if this man should prove to be my father, 
 who, for reasons of his own, does not wish to reveal 
 himself to me ? " 
 
 Julian, highly excited over this thought, rolled noise- 
 lessly off the bed upon the floor, crept to the edge of 
 the loft, and looked over into the room below. Jack 
 had just placed his candle on the table, and was ap- 
 proaching his guest with outstretched hand. 
 
 "Now, then, Mr. Mortimer," said he, "the boy is
 
 54 JULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 out of the way fur the night, an' thar's no use in settin' 
 back thai* away from the fire. Draw up an' give us a 
 shake." 
 
 "Mr. Mortimer!" was Julian's mental ejaculation. 
 
 His heart seemed to stop beating. He opened his eyes 
 to their widest extent and kept them fastened upon the 
 stranger, who pulled his nail-keg in front of the fire 
 and seated himself upon it.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FLIGHT. 
 
 HEN THE gentleman came out of his dark 
 corner, and the light of the candle fell upon 
 his features, Julian took a good look at him, 
 and an expression of great disappointment 
 settled on his face. 
 
 "Whoever he is, he is not my father," said he, to him- 
 self, "for my father had gray hair. This man is a 
 stranger, and as it would be a mean piece of business in 
 me to stay here and listen to his conversation I will 
 crawl back to my pile of husks and go to sleep." 
 
 Acting upon this resolution Julian began a slow and 
 cautious retreat; but he had not gone far when a thought 
 struck him, and he crept back to the edge of the loft and 
 looked over into the room again. 
 
 "Jack called him Mr. Mortimer," soliloquized the 
 boy, "and I should like to know who and what he is. 
 The manner in which he acted when I met him in the 
 woods makes me believe that he has seen me before, and 
 that he knows something about me that he wishes to 
 keep hidden from me. I have a good deal at stake and 
 it will do no harm to listen a while anyhow." 
 
 It was a very handsome face that Julian's eyes rested 
 upon, and one that he did not think he should ever for- 
 get. Although the man's language indicated that he 
 was an American, his features had a decided Spanish 
 cast. His face was dark and wore a haughty expression, 
 his hair was long and waving, and like his mustache and 
 goatee, was as black as midnight. Julian looked at him 
 attentively, and was surprised to see that he shook 
 hands with Mr. Bowles and his wife, as if they were old 
 acquaintances whom he was glad to meet once more. 
 
 "It's a long time since I've seed ye, Mr. Mortimer,
 
 50 JULIAN MOK TIMER. 
 
 but I allowed I knowed ye as soon as I clapped my eyes 
 onto ye/' said Jack, drawing his nail-keg a little closer 
 to the side of his guest. 
 
 " And you came very near making a mess of it, too," 
 replied the latter, with some impatience in his tones. 
 " I believe that boy suspects me he looked at me as if 
 he did and I would not have him know who I am for 
 the world. You're sure he is asleep?" 
 
 " Sartin, 'cause I went up to look. We've kept him 
 safe an' sound fur ye, 'cordin' to orders, hain't we?" 
 
 " An' now you have come to take him away from us 
 I jest know ye have," exclaimed Mrs. Bowles, raising 
 the corner of her tattered apron to her left eye. "I 
 don't know how I can let him go, 'cause my heart's 
 awfully sot onto that poor, motherless boy." 
 
 " We've done our level best by him,' chimed in Jack. 
 " Ye told us when ye brought him here that he was a 
 gentleman, an' a gentleman's son, an' we've treated him 
 like one." 
 
 " When lie brought me here," repeated Julian, to him- 
 self ; and it was only by a great exercise of will that he 
 refrained from speaking the words aloud. 
 
 He became highly excited at once. Mr. Mortimer 
 was the one who had stolen him away from his home 
 and delivered him up to the tender mercies of Jack 
 Bowles and his wife the very man of all others he most 
 wished to see. He had been a long time coming, almost 
 eight years, and now that he had arrived, Julian found 
 that he was destined to become better acquainted with 
 him than he cared to be. He watched the guest more 
 closely than ever, carefully scrutinizing his features in 
 order to fix them in his memory. He hoped to meet 
 him some day under different circumstances. 
 
 " He haint never had no work to do, an' we never 
 struck him a lick in our lives," continued Jack. " We've 
 treated him hetter'u our own boys. He's got a good 
 hcss of his own, an' I've been a feedin' it on ten my corn 
 ever since he owned it, an' never axed him even to bring 
 in an armful of wood to pay for it. An' my boys do say 
 that he's got a heap of money laid up somewhars. If ye
 
 THE FLIGHT. 57 
 
 have come to take him away I reckon ye'll do the hand- 
 some thing by us." 
 
 "My friends," interrupted the guest, as soon as he 
 saw a chance to speak, " I know all about Julian, for I 
 have talked with him. I know what he has got and 
 what he intends to do. Have you ever told him anything 
 about his parentage?" 
 
 " Nary word," replied Jack. 
 
 " Then I wonder how it is that he knows so much 
 about it. He knows that his home is near the moun- 
 tains; that he was stolen away from it, and that he has a 
 father there. More than that he intends to go back 
 there very soon, and is laying his plan? to run away 
 from you." 
 
 " Wai, I never heered the beat in all my born days!" 
 exclaimed Mrs. Bowles, involuntarily extending her 
 hand toward the rawhide which hung on the nail behind 
 the door. "I'll give him the best kind of a whoppin'in 
 
 the mornin'. I'll beat him half to What should 
 
 the poor, dear boy want to run away from his best friends 
 fur?" 
 
 "The leetle brat the ongrateful rascal!" said Mr. 
 Bowles. "That's why he's bought that ar hoss; an' 
 that's why he's been a huntin' an' trappin' so steady to 
 earn money to run away from us, is it? I'll larn him." 
 
 And Jack turned around on his nail-keg and looked 
 so savagely toward the loft, where Julian was supposed 
 to be slumbering, that the eavesdropper was greatly 
 alarmed, and crouched closer to the floor and trembled 
 in every limb, as if he already felt the stinging blows of 
 the raw-hide. 
 
 "It seems that my visit was most opportune," con- 
 tinued the stranger. " If I had arrived a day or two 
 later I might not have found Julian here. He would 
 probably have been on his way to the mountains; and if 
 he had by any accident succeeded in finding his old 
 home, all my plans, which 1 have spent long years in 
 maturing, would have been ruined. I came here to 
 remove him from your care. It appears that certain 
 persons, who are very much interested in him, and who
 
 58 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 have been searching for him high and low ever since I 
 brought him here, have by some means discovered his 
 hiding-place, and it is necessary that I should remove 
 him farther out of their reach. I shall take him to 
 South America." 
 
 " What's that? Is it fur from here ?" asked Jack. 
 
 "It is a long distance. I came down the river from 
 St. Joseph in a flatboat," added the visitor. " I found 
 that the captain is a man who will do anything for 
 money, and I have arranged with him to carry us to 
 New Orleans. It will take us a long time to accomplish 
 the journey, but we cannot be as easily followed as we 
 could if we went by steamer. If you will accompany 
 me I will pay you well for your services. I can say that 
 the boy is a lunatic and that you are his keeper." 
 
 "'Xough said!" exclaimed Jack. "I'm jest the man 
 to watch him." 
 
 " But you must not watch him too closely," said Mr. 
 Mortimer earnestly. "If he should accidentally fall 
 overboard during the journey it would not make any 
 difference in your pay." 
 
 "In course not," replied Jack, with a meaning glitter 
 in his eye. "If he gets one of them ar' crazy spells 
 onto him some dark night an' jumps into the river, 
 why then " 
 
 "Why then you ought to be handsomely rewarded 
 for your faithful services while in my employ, and dis- 
 charged." 
 
 "Perzactly. Whar is this yere flatboat now?" 
 
 " I left her about twenty miles up the river. I told 
 the captain to lay up for a few hours until I could have 
 time to come down here and transact my business with 
 you. She will be along about noon to-morrow. Have 
 everything ready so that we can hail her, and step on 
 board without an instant's delay." 
 
 " I don't fur the life o' me see how I can let him go 
 my heart is so sot onto him," sighed Mrs. Bowles, once 
 more raising her apron to her eyes. "He do save me a 
 heap o' steps, an' he's a monstrous good hand to cut 
 wood an' build fires o' frosty mornin's."
 
 THE FLIGHT. 59 
 
 " But he hain't never had it to do," interrupted Jack, 
 who, for reasons of his own, thought it best to impress 
 upon the mind of his guest that Julian's life under his 
 roof had been one continual round of ease and enjoy- 
 ment. " We allers makes our own boys roll out o' morn- 
 in's and cut wood, an' Julian can lay in his comfortable 
 bed, as snug as a bug in a rug, an' snooze as long as he 
 pleases. The reason we've tuk sich good care of him is, 
 'cause we thought ye sot store by him. Ye're some kin 
 to him, I reckon. Ye're names is alike." 
 
 "That is a matter that does not interest you," an- 
 swered the guest sharply. "I pay you to work for me, 
 and not to ask questions." 
 
 "I didn't mean no offense. But when I see a man 
 like yerself totin' a boy about the country, an' leavin' 
 him hid in a place like this fur eight year, an' then 
 huntin' him up agin, an runnin' him off to some other 
 place, an' hear ye say that if he falls into the river an' 
 gets drownded ye won't be no ways sorry fur it, I think 
 there's something up, don't I? Ye don't do that fur 
 nothing; an' since the boy ain't ole enough to be a 
 standin' atween ye an' a woman, I naterally conclude 
 that he stands atween ye an' money. Howsomever, it 
 hain't no consarn of mine. I know which side of my 
 corn-dodger's got the lasses onto it." 
 
 " Pap! I say pap!" suddenly cried a voice from one of 
 the beds. " Ye think yer sharp, ye an that feller do, 
 but ye ain't so sharp as ye might be." 
 
 " Hush yer noise, boy, an' speak when ye're spoken 
 to," exclaimed Jack angrily. "Ye needn't be no ways 
 oneasy, Mr. Mortimer," he added, seeing that his guest 
 arose hastily to his feet and appeared to be greatly ex- 
 cited to know that their conversation had been over- 
 heard. " We're all true blue here, an' my boys has too 
 much good sense to blab what they hears leastwise 
 while they are paid to keep their mouths shet. Ye, 
 Jake, roll over an.' go to sleep." 
 
 "All right, pap," said Jake, obeying the first part of 
 the order. " If ye wake up in the inornin' an' find that 
 yer bird has flew ye needn't blame me, 'cause I told ye. "'
 
 60 JULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 "Eh?" roared Jack, jumping up in great amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 "0, he won't be here, an* ye can bet yer bottom dol- 
 lar on it. He's heered every blessed word ye said." 
 
 "Who? Julian?" gasped the visitor. 
 
 "Sartin. I seed his head a stickin' over the hull time 
 ye was a talkin'." 
 
 Had a bomb-shell burst in the room the two men 
 could not have been more astonished. They stood mo- 
 tionless for a moment, and then, with a muttered im- 
 precation, Jack bounded across the floor and went 
 swiftly up the ladder that led to the loft, closely fol- 
 lowed by his guest, whose face was as pale as death, 
 while Mrs. Bowles snatched the rawhide from its nail, 
 and rolling up her sleeves took her stand in front of the 
 fire-place, prepared for any emergency. 
 
 Jack sprung into the loft when he reached the top of 
 the ladder and ran straight to the bed, expecting to lay 
 his hands upon the eavesdropper; but he was not there. 
 With eager haste he threw aside the tattered coats and 
 blankets, and even kicked the corn-husks about, but no 
 Julian was hidden among them. Nor was he anywhere 
 in the loft; for there was no furniture there, and conse- 
 quently no place of concealment large enough to shelter 
 a squirrel. 
 
 " Dog-gone ! " roared Jack, stamping about so furi- 
 ously that the boards which formed the floor of the loft 
 creaked and bent, and seemed on the point of breaking 
 beneath his weigh* and letting him through into the 
 room below." 
 
 " He's gone, as sure as ye're a foot high." 
 
 " He probably escaped through this hole," said Mr. 
 Mortimer, running to the gable-end of the cabin where 
 the boards had fallen off. "It isn't more than ten feet 
 to the ground, and he could easily drop down without 
 injuring himself. He must be brought back at any 
 cost." 
 
 "In course he must, an' I know how to do it. I've 
 got a hound that'll trail him. Ole woman, stick yer 
 head outer that door an' holler for Nero."
 
 THE FLIGHT. 61 
 
 While Mrs. Bowles was shouting out the hound's 
 name, awaking the echoes far and near with her shrill 
 voice, Jake and Tom were pulling on their clothes with 
 all possible haste. 
 
 " Here's a fine chance for a spec/' said the former, 
 Blyly pulling a small tin box from under his pillow and 
 putting it carefully into his pocket. " Mebbe that 
 feller in the store clothes will give something to have 
 Julian brought back. The ole man'll never ketch him 
 'cause he can't run fast enough; an' Julian's too sharp 
 to give a hound a chance to foller him. We know jest 
 the place he'll make tracks fur, an' if we go thar we 
 can gobble him." 
 
 " Ye Jake!" cried Mr. Bowles, hurrying down the 
 ladder, " when I get time, I'm a goin 3 to give ye the 
 best wallopin' ye ever heern tell on." 
 
 " Ye needn't mind," replied Jake, in great alarm. 
 
 "But I will mind, I tell ye; an' I hain't agoin' to 
 forget it, nuther." 
 
 "I hain't been a doin' of nothing, pap." 
 
 " That's jest what's the matter. I'm goin' to lick ye 
 fur not doin' something fur not tellin' me that ye seed 
 Julian a listenin'. Here he comes! Here's the fellei 
 that'll bring the runaway back to us in less'n five 
 minutes." 
 
 At this moment the door was dashed violently open 
 and in bounded Nero, who seemed to know that there 
 was work for him to do, and was impatient to 
 begin it. He was a magnificent brute so large that 
 when he sprang up and placed his paws upon his 
 master's shoulders his head was on a level with Jack's. 
 He showed a frightful array of teeth and growled 
 threateningly at the visitor, who constantly shifted his 
 position in order to keep Jack's burly form between 
 himself and the savage beast. 
 
 " Thar's the dog fur ye, Mr. Mortimer," said Bowles, 
 looking proudly at his favorite. " He'll ketch any 
 thing ye tell him toj from a bar down to a chicken. 
 Hand me that rope, ole woman. I'll have to hold him 
 in the leash, or he won't leave enough of Julian to make
 
 62 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 it wuth while to take that trip down the river. Now, 
 then, hunt 'em up, ye rascal!" 
 
 Having made one end of the rope fast to the hound's 
 collar, Mr. Bowles wrapped the other about iiis hand 
 and. arm, snatched a blazing fire-brand from the hearth, 
 and hurried out of the door and around the house, to 
 examine the ground there, and ascertain if Julian had 
 really escaped from the opening in the gable-end. The 
 hound struck the scent at once, and uttering a loud bay 
 dashed off into the darkness, dragging the clumsy Jack 
 after him. 
 
 " Now's your time," whispered Tom, when the yelp- 
 ing of the dog and the encouraging yells of his master 
 began to grow fainter in the distance; " speak to him." 
 
 "I say!" exclaimed Jake, addressing himself to Mr. 
 Mortimer, who was pacing nervously up and down the 
 floor; "pap '11 never ketch him, but we can, 'cause we 
 know whar to look fur him." 
 
 " Then why don't you doit?" demanded the guest, 
 angrily. " I will give you $10 apiece if you will bring 
 him back to me." 
 
 " Wai, that's business. We were jest waitin' to hear 
 ye say something of that kind. Come on, Tom." 
 
 The two boys rushed out of the house, and running 
 swiftly along the path that led by the corn-cribs, wvre 
 soon out of sight.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHASED BY A BLOOD-IIOtHSTD. 
 
 ULIAN did not remain long enough in his 
 concealment to overhear all the conversation 
 we have recorded, for an action he witnessed 
 on the part of Jake Bowles, shortly after that 
 worthy got into bed, turned his thoughts from the 
 stranger, and his plans into another channel. He saw 
 Jake thrust his arm under his pillow and draw out a small 
 tin box, which he opened, and after looking over his 
 shoulder to make sure that his father and mother were 
 too much engaged with their visitor to pay any atten- 
 tion to himself, he drew out of it a roll of bills. He 
 ran his fingers over them caressingly, held them above 
 his head to allow the firelight to shine upon them, and 
 exhibited in various other ways the delight he ex- 
 perienced in having them in his possession; after which 
 he returned them to the box, replaced it under his 
 pillow, and settling himself comfortably between the 
 blankets, threw his arm over his head, and as Julian 
 thought, prepared to go to sleep. But Jake did not 
 intend to do anything of the kind, for he saw the 
 top of the eavesdropper's head over the edge of the 
 loft. 
 
 " That's my box," thought our hero, his cheek grow- 
 ing suddenly pale, and his heart beating against his ribs 
 with a noise that frightened him. "I've been robbed." 
 The knowledge of this disagreeable fact came upon 
 him with a force so stunning and bewildering, that for 
 a few seconds he lay as motionless upon the floor of the 
 loft as if he had been stricken down by some powerful 
 hand. His secret was discovered after all his pains, 
 and by the very ones from whose knowledge he had 
 wished most to keep it hidden.
 
 64 JULIAN" MORTIMER. 
 
 "My horse went first/'' thought Julian, striving hard 
 to choke hack the tears that arose to his eyes, ' ' and 
 now everything else is gone; for, of course, if they 
 found the box they must have found my furs and my 
 rifle also. And I was always so careful never to go near 
 my store-house until I had satisfied myself that there 
 was no one in sight. I shan't give up those things, and 
 that's all about it. Because I have never resisted their 
 tyranny, Jack and his boys think I am a coward, but 
 now I will show them what I am made of." 
 
 Very slowly and cautiously Julian drew back from 
 the edge of the loft, and retreated toward the opening 
 in the gable-end of the cabin. So stealthy was he in 
 his movements that even the wakeful Jake did not hear 
 him as he crept across the floor, swung himself down 
 from the gable-end and dropped to the ground. 
 
 The instant he landed on his feet lie darted off at 
 the top of his speed, directing his steps toward the 
 corn-cribs. 
 
 " That much is done/' panted Julian, "but the work 
 is yet to come. It will be no trouble to saddle my 
 horse and secure my rifle and furs, but how am I to 
 obtain possession of that money? It is mine, and I am 
 determined to have it. Here, Billy! Here, Billy!" 
 
 Julian's horse, which was standing under a dilapidated 
 shed, raised his head on hearing his name pronounced, 
 and seeing his master open one of the cribs, came up, 
 expecting the ear of corn which the boy never failed to 
 have ready for him whenever he passed through the 
 stable-yard. Julian knew where Tom kept his saddle 
 and bridle, and it was but the work of a few seconds to 
 place them on the horse. When this had been done he 
 climbed over the corn to the farther end of the crib, 
 and began tossing aside the ears, muttering as he did so: 
 
 "This place is a regular repository for stolen goods. 
 I have found more than one article belonging to me 
 stowed away here, and unless I am very much mistaken 
 ah! I thought so. Here are my furs all baled up 
 and ready for transportation, thanks to Tom and Jake 
 my rifle and my hunting-knife. Now, if they had
 
 CHASED BY A BLOOD-HOUND. (55 
 
 only left my money here I would be on my way to St. 
 Joseph in less than five minutes. I must have it if it 
 takes me a week to get it." 
 
 Julian hastily pulled the canvas cover off his rifle, 
 and slung the weapon over his shoulder by a broad strap 
 that was attached to it, buckled his hunting-knife about 
 his waist, placed his furs, which Tom and Jake had 
 tied up in one bundle, close at hand, and once more be- 
 gan throwing the corn aside, searching everywhere for 
 his powder-horn and bullet-pouch. While thus en- 
 gaged his attention was attracted by a great uproar 
 which suddenly arose in the house. He listened, and 
 could hear the tramping of heavy feet and the sound of 
 angry, excited voices, with which were presently min- 
 gled the shrill tones of Mrs. Bowles, who thrust her 
 head out of the door and shouted for Nero. 
 
 " The blood-hound ! " gasped Julian. " I didn't think 
 Jack Bowles was as bad as that. Oh! for just one load 
 for my rifle! But why should Nero harm me? He has 
 known me as long as he has known any of the family. 
 I have often shared my meals with him, and perhaps if 
 he overtakes me he will recognize me." 
 
 Julian knew too much, however, of the nature of the 
 fierce brute to indulge long in this hope. 
 
 Nero was the terror of the neighborhood, and when 
 aroused he had been known to defy Jack Bowles him- 
 self. Our hero was perfectly well aware that the hound 
 would trail him as he would a deer, and that if by any 
 chance he succeeded in overtaking him, he would pull 
 him down and throttle him without the least mercy. 
 His heart beat a trifle faster than usual when he 
 thought of the probable results of a fight with the ter- 
 rible animal, and his hands trembled as he caught up 
 his bundle of furs and clambered over the corn toward 
 the door. 
 
 He had left Billy with his head in the crib, feasting 
 on the corn within his reach, and he believed that he 
 would remain there until he was ready to mount him; 
 but when he came out of the door he saw him at the 
 farther end of the yard, prancing and playing about in 
 high glee.
 
 66 JULIAN MORTIMER, 
 
 The boy ran toward him, pronouncing his name in a 
 low voice, but Billy, instead of obeying the call, kicked 
 up his heels and galloped away to the other side of the 
 yard. Just then Julian heard the door of the cabin 
 thrown open, and looking back saw the hound spring 
 into the room and fawn upon his master. 
 
 "I'm caught," thought our hero, in intense alarm. 
 " I dare not wait to secure my horse, and on foot I can 
 never hope to escape from that dog. I might as well 
 give up now as any time." 
 
 The boy's actions, however, did not indicate that he 
 had the least idea of surrendering himself without a 
 struggle for his freedom. 
 
 After one more unsuccessful attempt to capture his 
 unruly steed, he threw his pack of furs over his shoul- 
 der, leaped the fence that inclosed the stable-yard, and 
 striking the path that led to the woods, ran for his life. 
 He did not waste time in looking back, and there was 
 no need of it, for his ears kept him posted in all that 
 was going on. He knew when Jack and his dog came 
 out of the cabin, and the cold sweat started out from 
 every pore in his body when Nero's deep-toned bay, and 
 his master's exultant yells, rang out on the still air, tell- 
 ing him that the trail had been found and the pursuit 
 commenced. 
 
 Calling to his aid all the power he had thus far held 
 in reserve, Julian flew along the path with the speed of 
 a frightened deer, and with a few bounds reached the 
 cover of the woods. 
 
 Without in the least slackening his pace, he threw his 
 bundle of furs into the bushes on one side of the path, 
 and pitched his rifle as far as he could in the opposite 
 direction. His second move was to pull off his coat 
 and wrap it around his left arm, and his third to draw 
 his hunting-knife from its sheath, and tie the thong of 
 buckskin which was attached to the handle around his 
 wrist. His face all this while wore an expression that 
 would have astonished Jack Bowles could he have seen 
 it. 
 
 Being now relieved of every encumbrance, Julian flew
 
 CHASED BY A BLOOD-HOUND. 6? 
 
 along with redoubled speed, through darkness so intense 
 that he could scarcely see his hand before his face, leap- 
 ing logs and ditches, and struggling through thickets of 
 briers and cane that at almost any other time would 
 have effectually checked his progress, all the while lis- 
 tening to the baying of the hound, and wondering why 
 the animal was so long in overtaking him. 
 
 When he had accomplished nearly half a mile, and the 
 sounds of the chase began to grow fainter, showing that 
 his pursuers were losing ground, he uttered an exclama- 
 tion of delight, and slackened his pace. 
 
 "I thought Nero's music did not ring out as loud and 
 clear as usual," said he to himself; "and now I know 
 the reason. Jack is holding fast to him, and the dog is 
 choking himself to death trying to get away. Mr. 
 Bowles never saw the day that he could catch me in a 
 fair race. I may as well go slower and save my 
 breath." 
 
 But, even as these thoughts were passing through 
 Julian's mind, he heard a sound behind him that 
 brought from him a cry of alarm, and caused him to 
 spring forward again with all the power he could com- 
 mand. It was a yell of rage from Jack, accompanied by 
 a loud, ringing bay, such as Nero usually uttered when 
 following a trail. The eager hound had escaped from 
 his master's control. 
 
 The fugitive shuddered at the thought, and would not 
 permit himself to believe it; but in a few seconds the 
 fact became too apparent. Nero's bays sounded nearer 
 and nearer, and presently Julian heard him crashing 
 through the bushes behind him. 
 
 His lightness of foot could not save him now. The 
 fight he so much dreaded could not be avoided, and the 
 sooner he was prepared for it the better. 
 
 To think, with Julian, was to act. He at once 
 decided that the little open glade he was then traversing 
 should be the battle-ground. It was almost entirely free 
 from undergrowth, and moreover, the branches of the 
 trees overhead were not so thick as to entirely shut out 
 the light of the moon, which, just then, as if in
 
 68 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 sympathy with the fugitive, made a feeble effort to shine 
 through the clouds that obscured it. . 
 
 A few rapid steps brought him to the opposite side of 
 the glade, and to the foot of a huge poplar. Here he 
 faced about, and taking his stand with his back against 
 the tree, so that the shock of the first collision might 
 not knock him off his feet, he wrapped his coat closer 
 about his arm, and fastened it there by tying the sleeves 
 in a knot with his teeth, grasped his hunting-knife with 
 a firmer hold, and calmly awaited the appearance of the 
 blood-hound. Nor was the contest long delayed. 
 
 Stimulated by the freshness of the trail, Nero came 
 on with long and rapid bounds, and at last broke from a 
 thicket on the opposite side of the glade, and with a bay 
 which rang in Julian's ears like the knell of death, 
 moved swiftly toward his victim. 
 
 The fugitive had barely time to settle his hat more 
 firmly on his head and brace himself for the shock, when 
 the fierce animal arose in the air and launched himself 
 at his throat. The arm with the coat wrapped around 
 it was quickly interposed, and Nero's ponderous jaws 
 closed upon it with a power that, for an instant, ren- 
 dered Julian incapable of action. He was borne back 
 against the tree by the weight of the brute, but rallied 
 in a moment, and then began the most desperate 
 struggle of his life. 
 
 The hound was as quick as a cat in his movements, 
 and seemed endowed with as many lives; for, although 
 the boy's long, keen blade found lodgment in his body 
 more than once, it appeared to make no impression upon 
 him. He clung to Julian's arm with the tenacity of a 
 bull-dog, never once loosening or shifting his hold; and 
 now and then, throwing all his strength into the effort, 
 he gave his antagonist a shake that brought him to his 
 knees. 
 
 To make matters worse, Jack Bowles was not far be- 
 hind. He was soon near enough to shout directions to 
 his hound. He heard the sounds of the struggle, and 
 believing that his favorite was gaining the mastery, 
 ordered him to let go his hold.
 
 70 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 " He is past minding, Jack," shouted Julian, whose 
 courage and determination had never once flagged dur- 
 ing all the doubtful contest; "and when I am done with 
 him he will be past hearing you." 
 
 Jack heard every word, and comprehended the situa- 
 tion as well as if there had been light enough for him to 
 see everything that was going on. It was wonderful how 
 quickly his tone changed. 
 
 "Hi! hi!" he yelled, forcing his burly form through 
 the bushes with all the speed of which he was capable, 
 pull him down, Nero ! Shake him to death, ye rascal ! 
 Drop that ar we'pon, Julian, or I'll larrup ye within an 
 inch of yer life. I wouldn't have that dog hurt for 
 $100." 
 
 " You ought to have thought of that before you put 
 him on my trail," replied Julian. "There! Thank 
 goodness that ends it." 
 
 The hound ceased the battle as suddenly as he begun 
 it. He became limp and lifeless all at once, and sank 
 to the ground in a heap, dragging Julian with him. 
 But even in death his jaws would not relax their hold. 
 His long teeth had caught in the coat, and Julian could 
 not release his arm. 
 
 Just then, Jack Bowies burst from the bushes, and 
 came lumbering across the glade. He saw Julian 
 kneeling beside the hound and knew instinctively what 
 had happened. His astonishment and rage knew no 
 bounds. 
 
 "Dog-gone!" he roared; "ye've done it now, boy. I 
 wouldn't be in yer cowhide shoes fur no money. Hold 
 on, tlr.ir! Come back here, or " 
 
 The oaths and threats with which Jack awoke the 
 echoes of the forest made Julian's blood run cold, but 
 they did not check his flight. 
 
 Finding himself unable to obtain possession of his 
 coat, he slipped his arm out of it and fled, leaving the 
 garment in the hound's mouth. 
 
 He was out of sight in u moment.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL. 
 
 ULIAN, almost exhausted by his violent ex- 
 ertions, was in no condition to continue his 
 liight. He simply ran to the opposite side 
 of the poplar, in front of which the fight 
 had taken place, and threw himself flat between the 
 roots, where he lay trembling with fear, and hardly 
 daring to breathe lest Jack should discover him. But 
 that worthy was too angry to see anything except his 
 prostrate hound. He bent over the animal for a mo- 
 ment, and then i-ushed frantically oft' in the direction he 
 supposed Julian had gone, stamping through the bushes 
 like a mad man and stopping now and then to listen for 
 the sound of the fugitive's footsteps. He made a wide 
 circuit through the woods, searching everywhere for the 
 object of his vengeance, and finally came back to his 
 favorite again. 
 
 He seemed to be unable to bring himself to believe 
 that he had seen Nero alive for the last time. He placed 
 him upon his feet, called him by name, and even shook 
 him to make him show some signs of life; and when 
 at last he had satisfied himself that the dog was really 
 dead, he jumped up and spurned him with his heavy 
 boot. 
 
 "Only think!" he exclaimed aloud; "a, hound that 
 could pull down a four-pronged buck as easy as he could 
 a chicken, that could stretch a two-year-ole bar while ye 
 was a thinkin' about it, an' chaw up a full-grown wild- 
 cat every mornin' afore breakfast, has met his match at 
 last in that leetle pale-face Julian, who doesn't look as 
 if he had pluck enough to face a mouse. Nero, I am 
 teetotally ashamed of ye. Whar is that Julian? If I 
 don't ketch him I shall lost the money I was goin' to
 
 72 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 make by that trip to Orleans. But I'll make more 
 outen Mr. Mortimer. I'll have that watch an' that 
 ring, an' everything he's got in his pockets afore day- 
 light. I hain't a goin' to be swindled on all sides, I 
 bet ye." 
 
 When Jack had finished his soliloquy every word of 
 which Julian had overheard he once more began his 
 search for the fugitive. The boy remained quiet in his 
 concealment until the sound of his footsteps had died 
 away, and then with a long breath of relief arose to his 
 feet and went to recover his coat. He found it where 
 Jack had thrown it after freeing it from the teeth of 
 the hound. It had never bean a very valuable piece of 
 property since it came into his possession, and now it was 
 in a worse condition than ever; but Julian, knowing that 
 he was destined for months to come to live entirely in 
 the open air, could not think of leaving it behind. He 
 threw the garment over his shoulder, and taking a last 
 look at the hound, and shuddering as he recalled the 
 incidents of the fight, bent his steps through the woods 
 toward his store-house. He wanted to see what Tom and 
 Jake had done to it. Perhaps they had left something- 
 there worth saving. He was very cautious in his move- 
 ments, stealing along with a step that would not have 
 awakened a cricket and pausing every few feet to listen. 
 But he heard no suspicious sounds, and when he reached 
 the cliff in which his store-house was located he was sat- 
 isfied that he had seen the last of his enemies for that 
 night at least. 
 
 He found the ruins of his store-house lying all along 
 the side of the bluff, for the young robbers, not content 
 with taking possession of Julian's valuables, had pulled 
 out the saplings of which the house was built and scat- 
 tered them far and wide. As Julian stood looking at 
 the ruins of the cabin, thinking how hard he had worked 
 to build it, and wondering how Jake and Tom had ever 
 discovered it, he heard a slight rustling in the bushes by 
 his side, and before he could turn to see what occasioned 
 it, he found himself lying flat 011 his back with a heavy 
 weight on his breast holding him down. At the same 
 instant he felt a strap passed around his wrist.
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL. 73 
 
 Had his assailant conducted his operations in silence, 
 Julian, who believed that he had fallen into the clutches 
 of Jack Bowles, and that it would be folly to resist, would 
 have suffered himself to be bound without even a word 
 of remonstrance, but his antagonist, having a confeder- 
 ate close by, and believing that he was likely to have 
 more on his hands than he could well attend to, shouted 
 lustily for help. 
 
 " Here he is, Jake," he yelled. "Hurry up. I'll hold 
 him an' ye can tie him. The $20 are our'n." 
 
 " Tom Bowles ! " cried Julian. 
 
 " Sartin; an' ye'll find it out as soon as we get ye fast. 
 Don't go to bein' sassy now, 'cause we won't b'ar it. Tie 
 that ar strap around his arms, Jake." 
 
 "Perhaps Jake isn't man enough to do it," replied 
 our hero; and the sequel proved that he was not. 
 
 Julian arose to his feet as easily and quickly as though 
 there had been no one there to prevent him, and seizing 
 Tom by the collar, gave him a trip and a push that sent 
 him heels over head down the cliff. 
 
 Without waiting to see what had become of him, Ju- 
 lian turned upon Jake, and then began another fight, 
 which, although by no means of so serious a character 
 as the one Julian had had a few minutes before, was 
 quite as furious and determined. Jake was older and 
 larger and stronger than Julian, but by no means as ac- 
 tive. He was fighting for the $10 his father's guest had 
 promised him if our hero was brought back to the cabin 
 a prisoner, and to retain possession of the $80 he carried 
 in his pocket. 
 
 He knew that Julian was aware that he had the money 
 about his person, for the very first clutch he made was 
 for Jake's pocket, in which he felt the box. His fingers 
 closed upon it at once with a tenacity fully equal to that 
 with which our hero had clung to his arm. 
 
 "Leave go, consarn ye," yelled Jake, "or I'll punch 
 ye!" 
 
 " Let go yourself," replied Julian. " I earned it hon- 
 estly it is mine, and I am going to have it if I have to 
 fight you here till daylight."
 
 74 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "Help! Tom, help!" shouted Jake, doubling himself 
 up and twisting about in all sorts of shapes to break Ju- 
 lian's hold. " Be ye a coward that ye stand down there 
 gapin' that way?" 
 
 Tom did not reply, and neither did he show any in- 
 clination to respond to his brother's appeals for assist- 
 ance. He stood at the foot of the bluff, holding his 
 hands to his side, which had been pretty severely bruised 
 by his fall, and listening to the footsteps and ejacula- 
 tions of some one who was approaching through the 
 bushes at a rapid run. 
 
 " Ye know that I've got a'most a hundred dollars of 
 his'n in my pocket! " yelled Jake, indignant at the con- 
 duct of his brother. "Be ye goin' to stand thar an' let 
 him take it away from me ? " 
 
 "A'most a hundred dollars!" cried a familiar voice in 
 tones of great amazement. " Hang on to him, Jake, 
 an' I'll say no more about the whoppin' I promised ye." 
 
 "0, won't ye ketch it now, Julian!" shouted Tom, 
 almost beside himself with delight. "Pap's a comin' !" 
 
 Both the combatants heard the words, and the fight 
 became desperate indeed. Julian strove with greater 
 determination than ever to force the coveted box from 
 Jake's pocket, and the latter, encouraged by the hope of 
 speedy and powerful assistance, confidently continued 
 the struggle which he had more than once been on the 
 point of abandoning. But fortune favored the rightful 
 owner of the money. An unlucky step on the part of 
 his antagonist precipitated them both into the excava- 
 tion in which the store-house had stood, and that ended 
 the contest. 
 
 A severe bump took all the courage out of Jake, who, 
 getting up a howl of pain, raised both hands to his head, 
 while Julian, with a shout of triumph, secured the box 
 and sprung out of the cave. A burly form met him 
 on the brink, and strong fingers closed on his coat 
 collar. 
 
 " I've got ye at last! " exclaimed Jack Bowles, so over- 
 joyed that he could scarcely speak. " Give up them hun- 
 dred dollars to onct, or I'll wallop ye till
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL. 75 
 
 Julian did not hear what else Jack had to say, for he 
 was not there. Mr. Bowles stood holding at arm's length 
 a tattered coat, to the collar of which he was clinging 
 with all his strength; but the boy who had been in the 
 garment when he took hold of it was bounding swiftly 
 down the bluff. 
 
 When Julian recovered his coat after his fight with 
 the hound, he had thrown it over his shoulders and se- 
 cured it by a single button at the throat. The button 
 had given away under Jack's hold, leaving the boy at 
 liberty to take himself off, which he did with a prompt- 
 ness and celerity that struck Bowles and his sons mo- 
 tionless with astonishment. By the time they had re- 
 covered themselves sufficiently to think of pursuit Julian 
 was out of hearing. 
 
 " Hurrah for me!" soliloquized the fugitive, hugging 
 his beloved box close to his breast and stealing along 
 through the woods as noiselessly as a spirit. "I've got 
 everything except my horse. As soon as Jack and his 
 boys have gone to bed I'll catch him and bid good-by to 
 Missouri. I am all right now." 
 
 At no time during the next half-hour was Julian out 
 of sight of the ruins of his store-house, or out of hearing 
 of the voices of Jack Bowles and his boys. He sat on a 
 log so near them that had it been daylight he would 
 certainly have been discovered, watching their move- 
 ments and listening attentively to every word they said. 
 He heard Jake relate the history of the box containing 
 the $80, and learned for the lirst time that he and his 
 brother had followed him when he went out to examine 
 his traps, and thus discovered his secret. 
 
 As Jack and his boys believed that Julian would make 
 the best of his way up the river now that he had recov- 
 ered his money, they did not attempt any vigorous pur- 
 suit. They ran a short distance through the woods in 
 the direction in which the fugitive had disappeared, and 
 then Jack, utterly discouraged and almost boiling over 
 with fury, ordered his sons to follow him toward home. 
 
 "A'most a hundred dollars!" he repeated for the 
 twentieth time. "Don't it beat all the world how that
 
 76 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 boy could make more money than the hul of us put to- 
 gether? An' ye say that he's got a bundle of mink skins 
 as big as ye can shoulder that he stole outen the crib 
 whar ye had hid 'em? They'll bring him forty or fifty 
 dollars more, consarn it all. Why didn't ye tell me about 
 the money an' the furs the fust thing when ye brought 
 'em home, like ye had oughter done ? I'm goin' to f oiler 
 him to-morrow on hossback. If I don't ketch him I 
 shall owe ye two lickins, an' if they ain't sich as ye'll 
 remember the longest day ye live, I'm a Dutchman." 
 
 Jack and his boys walked slowly along the path that 
 led from the store-house to the clearing, and as soon as 
 they were out of sight in the darkness, Julian arose 
 from his log and followed after them. He kept within 
 hearing of their voices all the while, and when they 
 reached the clearing he stood at the fence Avhich in- 
 closed the stable-yard, and saw them enter the house. 
 
 As soon as they had disappeared, he ran back to the 
 place where he had left his rifle and furs, which, as he 
 had taken particular pains to mark the locality, he was 
 not long in finding. The rifle he slung over his shoul- 
 der, and the furs, together with the box containing his 
 money, he concealed in a hollow log. 
 
 This being done, he once more bent his steps toward 
 the clearing, resolved to make another attempt to secure 
 his horse. The animal, which was still running rest- 
 lessly about the yard with the saddle and bridle on, 
 positively refused to permit himself to be captured, and 
 Julian finally went toward one of the cribs, intending 
 to try the persuasive effects of an ear of corn. As he 
 drew near the door he stopped, almost certain that he 
 saw the figure of a man standing in the shadow of the 
 crib. A moment later he knew that his eyes had not 
 deceived him, for the man, finding himself discovered, 
 came out in plain sight and walked rapidly toward him. 
 It was Mr. Mortimer. 
 
 " I knew you \vould never go away and leave your 
 horse," said he, in a tone of triumph. "I have been 
 watching for you for the last half-hour. I have a legal 
 right to control your actions, my boy, and you will save
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL. 77 
 
 yourself some trouble by Julian, stop! What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 The stranger lost his commanding, threatening air in 
 an instant, and coming to a sudden halt, raised both his 
 hands before his face, and turned away his head as if he 
 had seen something frightful. The change was brought 
 about by an action on the part of Julian who, believing 
 that the man was near enough to him to prevent any 
 attempt at escape, cocked his rifle and leveled it full at 
 Mr. Mortimer's breast. He acted on his first impulse. 
 Had he taken a second thought he would probably have 
 made no move of this kind, for he knew that the 
 weapon was empty. But Mr. Mortimer did not, and 
 he stopped and backed away from the boy with much 
 greater haste than he had used in approaching him. 
 
 "What do you mean, you young outlaw?" repeated 
 the man, his voice trembling in spite of all his efforts 
 to control it. 
 
 " I mean that I am not going to allow myself to be 
 taken on board a flatboat and pushed overboard," replied 
 Julian, calmly; and seeing that the empty rifle proved 
 so valuable an assistant, he resolutely kept it pointed 
 toward the stranger's breast. 
 
 "Turn that weapon away!" cried Mr. Mortimer, 
 after shifting his position a dozen times to get out of 
 range of the deadly muzzle. " I will have you arrested 
 the first thing in the morning." 
 
 "Very good," answered Julian. "Then perhaps 
 you will be called upon to show by what authority you 
 took me away from my home and brought me here, and 
 why you want me drowned in the river." 
 
 "I am your guardian, I tell you." 
 
 ' ' I suppose I am at liberty to do as I please about be- 
 lieving that, am I not? But admitting that you are, it 
 does not give you the right to abuse me, does it? Who 
 made you my guardian?" 
 
 Before Mr. Mortimer could answer this question the 
 door of the cabin opened, and Jack Bowles appeared 
 on the threshold, and stood looking out into the dark- 
 ness. Julian's guardian, if such he was, was about to
 
 ?8 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 call out to him, but checked the words that arose to his 
 lips when he saw the muzzle of the rifle looking straight 
 into his face. 
 
 "Don't speak above your breath, " said the boy, in 
 low, earnest tones. " I have just one more word to say 
 to you, and then I am off. I suppose you think I am 
 the only one about here who has enemies, do you not? 
 Well, you are mistaken. Your life is in danger, if you 
 only knew it." 
 
 " My life!" repeated Mr. Mortimer, as soon as he 
 could speak. " From whom?" 
 
 " Jack Bowles. He is bound to have money, and he 
 don't care how he gets it. As he and his boys have 
 failed in their attempts to rob me, and since he is likely 
 to lose what you offered to pay him if he would accom- 
 pany you to New Orleans, he has determined to rob you 
 to-night. I heard him say so. If you go to sleep you 
 will never see the sun rise again. This is one act of 
 kindness I have been able to do you in return for the 
 evil you have done me. Good night." 
 
 " Mr. Mortimer, be that you a standin' out thar by 
 the corn-crib?" shouted Jack Bowles. 
 
 The gentleman heard the question, but he was think- 
 ing too busily about something else to reply. Ho stood 
 motionless, watching Julian as he sped swiftly through 
 the stable-yard, and when he leaped the fence and ran 
 along the path that led toward the woods, Mr. Mortimer 
 slowly and reluctantly returned to the cabin. 
 
 " Wasn't thar nobody out thar with ye?" demanded 
 Jack. 
 
 "Yes," was the scarcely audible reply; "Julian was 
 there, but I could not detain him, for he had a loaded 
 rifle in his hands." 
 
 " Why didn't ye holler?" asked Jack fiercely. " I've 
 got a rifle, I reckon." 
 
 " Would you call for help if you saw a weapon pointed 
 straight at your breast?" 
 
 Jack made no answer. He stepped aside to allow his 
 guest to pass, and Mr. Mortimer entered and took his 
 seat on one of the nail-kegs. He glanced at his host,
 
 GOOD FOR EVIL. ?9 
 
 and saw that there was something about his person that 
 he had not before noticed. It was broad leather belt, 
 from which protruded the buck-horn handle of a bowie- 
 knife. Mr. Mortimer shuddered as he looked at it, and 
 wished himself away in the woods with Julian,
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 JULIAJST HAS A VISITOR. 
 
 F WE were interested in the fortunes of Mr. 
 Mortimer, we might put in an interesting 
 chapter here by relating the various incidents 
 that transpired in the cabin during the night; 
 but as we have nothing to do with his personal ad- 
 ventures only in so far as they are connected with Ju- 
 lian's, it will be enough to say that it was a night of 
 terror for him, and one that he never forgot; that, de- 
 clining the pressing invitation his host extended to him 
 to occupy the bed which Mrs. Bowles had arranged for 
 his especial benefit, the guest took his seat in the corner 
 in which the billets of wood for the fire-place were piled, 
 and folding his arms and leaning his head against the 
 wall, watched Jack as closely as ever a cat watched a 
 mouse; that Jack, seeing that the gentleman's suspi- 
 cions had been aroused in some mysterious manner, 
 fumed inwardly, but believing that time and patience 
 would accomplish wonders, settled back on his nail-keg 
 to wait until his guest, overcome by weariness and want 
 of sleep, should be compelled to seek repose; that, as 
 the night wore on, and Mr. Mortimer never once 
 changed his position or showed the least sign of drowsi- 
 ness, Jack began to grow uneasy, and sat fingering the 
 handle of his knife, and occasionally running his eyes 
 over the gentleman's person from head to foot, as 
 if mentally calculating the chances of a successful 
 encounter with him; that finally, resolved on trying 
 strategy, Jack threw himself upon the bed, and after 
 snoring lustily for half an hour, suddenly opened his 
 eyes, which had never once been closed in sleep, only to 
 find Mr. Mortimer as watchful and seated as near the 
 billets of wood as ever; that then Jack's patience was
 
 JULIAN HAS A VISITOR, 81 
 
 all exhausted, and he snored in earnest, but the visitor 
 never moved until daylight began to stream in through 
 the half -open door. 
 
 No one, to have heard the hearty good-morning Jack 
 wished his guest as soon as he opened his eyes, would 
 have believed that he had ever had designs upon his 
 life. Neither of them alluded to the matter in any 
 way, but Bowles noticed that his guest was always on 
 the alert. 
 
 About 10 o'clock in the forenoon a flatboat might 
 have been seen moored in front of the cabin. On the 
 shore stood a party of three men, one of whom was 
 Jack Bowles, another Mr. Mortimer, and the third the 
 captain of the boat a gentleman who looked enough 
 like Jack to be his brother. After saying this it is 
 scarcely necessary to add that he carried the face of a 
 villain. 
 
 A fourth man was pacing the bank a short distance 
 from the party mentioned, watching all their move- 
 ments, listening eagerly to the few words of their con- 
 versation that now and then caught his ear, and noticing 
 with some nervousness, which showed itself in the fre- 
 quent changing of his hands from the arm-holes of his 
 vest to the pockets of his coat, that they were looking 
 at him rather suspiciously. 
 
 This gentleman, whoever he was, had evidently be- 
 stowed considerable pains upon his toilet; and the digni- 
 fied manner in which he bore himself, as well as the 
 satisfied and admiring glances which he occasionally cast 
 down at his dress, indicated that he had a high opinion 
 of himself and his personal appearance. 
 
 His garments were all of the finest broadcloth; but as 
 some of them had been made for larger, and others for 
 smaller men than himself, they fitted him oddly enough. 
 His trowsers being too long, were rolled up around the 
 tops of a pair of heavy cowhide boots; and his coat- 
 sleeves being too short, revealed arms that were as brown 
 and muscular as those of a blacksmith. A heavy watch- 
 chain hung across his vest, and the fingers of both his 
 hands were ornamented with enormous seal rings. But
 
 82 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 little could be seen of his face, for it was almost en- 
 tirely concealed by thick, bushy whiskers, and by a large 
 red handkerchief, which was passed under his chin and 
 tied over his head. 
 
 "Who is he?" asked Mr. Mortimer, who became un- 
 accountably nervous and excited the instant his eyes 
 rested on the stranger. 
 
 " He gave no name/' replied the captain of the flat- 
 boat. " He came aboard of us shortly after you left 
 yesterday, and engaged passage for New Orleans. He is 
 going to the West Indies for his health." 
 
 "For his health!" echoed Mr. Mortimer. 
 
 He turned and looked at the stranger again, taking in 
 at a glance his powerful shoulders, which, like those of 
 Tom Hood's coachman, were much "too broad to be 
 conceived by any narrow mind," his quick, elastic step, 
 ruddy face, and brawny hands and arms, and asked 
 himself if a finer specimen of robust health could be 
 found anywhere. 
 
 "I know that man in spite of his disguise," said he, 
 at length, " and I know what brought him here. He 
 must not be allowed to accompan 1 y us, captain. I will 
 give you double his fare if you will order him to stay 
 ashore." 
 
 " It is too late," replied the skipper. " He has paid 
 his passage, and I charged him a good round sum too." 
 
 ' ( Well, return it to him, and tell him that as your 
 cabin is to be occupied by a dangerous lunatic and his 
 keepers you cannot accommodate him." 
 
 ' I will talk to him, but I don't know how much good 
 it will do. He is very impatient to start down the river, 
 and, what appears strange to me, he is anxious to go in 
 my boat." 
 
 " It isn't at all strange to me. His name is Sanders, 
 and he was sent out here to watch me, and by my 
 cousin." 
 
 Mr. Mortimer, who in his excitement had spoken a 
 little too hastily, suddenly checked himself and looked 
 savagely at the man whom he had called Sanders. The 
 latter, observing his close scrutiny, pulled his handker-
 
 JULIAN HAS A VISITOR. 83 
 
 chief closer about his face and shifted his hands from 
 his pockets to the arm-holes of his vest. 
 
 " Speaking of this crazy boy/' said the captain, "re- 
 minds me that you have not yet told me when you will 
 be ready to start with him. I have engaged to deliver 
 my cargo of hoop-poles by a certain time, and I can wait 
 for you but a few hours longer. You say that the boy 
 has taken it into his head that he is rich, that he has 
 friends living out West, and that he has escaped and 
 concealed himself in the woods?" 
 
 " Yes," replied Jack. "He got away from us last 
 night. Me an' Mr. Mortimer were jest goin' to start 
 after him on hossback when yer boat come in sight. 
 We'll have him here afore sundown if thar's men enough 
 in the county to hold him. Mebbe this feller has heerd 
 of him. I'll ask him." 
 
 The person referred to was a settler, who was just re- 
 turning from The Corners, and who at that moment gal- 
 loped up on his horse. He stopped when he saw Jack 
 preparing to speak to him, and in reply to his question 
 if he had seen or heard of Julian, said: 
 
 " Yes; I saw him at The Corners not more than two 
 hours ago. He traded off 845 worth of mink skins and 
 bought some powder and lead. He said that he had 
 made a camp on the bluffs over on Beaver Creek, and 
 that he was going to stay there a day or two. Anything 
 the matter with him?" 
 
 " He's gone clean outen his head, that's all," replied 
 Jack. 
 
 " Crazy?" cried the settler. 
 
 1 ' Sartin. He stole a'most a hundred dollars of me 
 last night an' run away. He wouldn't a done that if 
 he'd been in his right mind, would he?" 
 
 Jack, having gained all the information he desired, 
 gave Mr. Mortimer a significant look, and the two 
 walked rapidly toward the cabin, at the door of which 
 their horses were standing, saddled and bridled, and 
 springing upon their backs rode off across the clearing. 
 
 " Did I do right in savin' what 1 did about Julian?'' 
 asked Jack, as soon as he and his companion were out el 
 hearing of the men on the bank.
 
 84 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 " Perfectly. I want everybody who is likely to meet 
 him to know that he is not in his right mind. You see, 
 when we take him on board the flatboat he may tell the 
 captain or the crew that we are his enemies, and that he 
 knows we intend to do him some injury; but as we have 
 already told them that he is crazy they will pay no atten- 
 tion to what he says. Don't you understand?" 
 
 "In course. But ye hain't changed yer plans, have 
 ye? Ye hain't a-goin' to put him in a 'sylum, be ye?" 
 
 " I never had any such intention. If he falls over- 
 board you shall have $200; but, of course, that is a 
 matter that we keep to ourselves." 
 
 " I know jest what ye mean. Folks will think that 
 we take Julian on board the flatboat to carry him to 
 Orleans; but we don't. We take him thar so as to drop 
 him into the river, an' get him outen yer way. Make 
 yer mind easy. Them two hundred is mine." 
 
 The settler, who was very much astonished at what 
 Jack had told him, and had half a mind to join in the 
 pursuit, watched him and his companion until they 
 were out of sight, and then continued his ride; but he 
 had not gone far when when he was stopped by the odd- 
 looking man in broadcloth. 
 
 "Stranger," said the latter, in regular backwoods 
 vernacular, " whar is this yere Beaver Creek you was a 
 speakin' of?" 
 
 " I don't know that I could direct you so that you 
 could find it," was the reply. 
 
 "Who said I wanted to find it?" inquired the man. 
 " I only axes you which way it is from here, an' how 
 fur?" 
 
 " Well," returned the settler, facing about in his 
 saddle, shutting one eye and gazing at the woods 
 through the half-closed lids of the other; "it's four 
 miles right north of here if you go through the timber, 
 and eight miles if you go by the road." 
 
 The man in broadcloth walked off at once, and with- 
 out stopping to thank the settler for his information. 
 As long as he remained within sight of the cabin and 
 fiatboat he was very deliberate in his movements; but
 
 JULIAN HAS A J'fSfTOK. 85 
 
 the instant the woods concealed him from view, he 
 broke into a rapid run, threading his way through the 
 thick bushes with a celerity that was surprising. Up 
 hill and down, he went, never once slackening his pace 
 or deviating from the course the settler had given him, 
 until at last he saw a thin cloud of smoke arising 
 through the trees in front of him, and after climbing a 
 precipitous cliff, found himself standing face to face 
 with Julian Mortimer. 
 
 The boy, who being busy with his preparations for 
 dinner, had not heard the sound of his footsteps until 
 he reached the top of the bluff, jumped up with his gun 
 in his hand, ready to fight or run, as occasion might 
 require. His first thought was that his enemies had 
 tracked him to his hiding-place; but finding that his 
 visitor was a stranger, and that he appeared to have no 
 hostile intentions, he leaned on the muzzle of his rifle 
 and waited for him to make known his business. 
 
 The man, whose breath was not even quickened by 
 his long and rapid run, gazed about him with an air 
 of interest. He looked at the brush shanty which Ju- 
 lian had erected to protect him from the weather, at 
 the comfortable bed of blankets and leaves which was 
 arranged under the sheltering roof, at the squirrels 
 broiling before the fire, and then his eyes wandered to 
 our hero, at Avhom he gazed long and earnestly. The 
 boy did not look much now as he did when he escaped 
 from Jack Bowies' cabin, for he was dressed in a suit of 
 new and comfortable clothes, and sported a wide- 
 brimmed hat and a pair of high-top boots. 
 
 "Julian," exclaimed the stranger, at length. "It's 
 you sure enough, hain't it? I hain't seed you fur 
 more'n eight year, but I would know you any whar." 
 
 "Would you?" asked Julian, throwing his rifle into 
 the hollow of his arm and resting his thumb on the 
 hammer; "then have the goodness to leave here at 
 once. I am suspicious of every stranger who calls me 
 by name." 
 
 "An' well you may be," replied the man, earnestly, 
 "'cause most of 'em are enemies to you. But I hain't.
 
 8 fj J ULIAfr MOR TIMER. 
 
 I'm a friend, an* I can prove it. Do you know that 
 Dick Mortimer an' Jack Bowles are huntin' the country 
 over to find you ?" 
 
 " Yes; but I wasn't aware Mr. Mortimer's name is 
 Dick." 
 
 " Wai, it is. The flatboat's come, an' when they 
 ketch you they're goin' to take you to Orleans an' lock 
 you up fur a crazy boy." 
 
 " Why, they said last night that they were going to 
 push me overboard and drown me," said Julian, as soon 
 as he could speak. 
 
 " Mebbe they be. I don't know what they are goin' 
 to do I'm only tellin' you what I heerd 'em say." 
 
 " Who are you, any how; and how does it come that 
 you know my name?" 
 
 " Why, boy, I've knowed you ever since you was knee 
 high to a duck, an' your father afore you." 
 
 "You have?" cried Julian, greatly amazed. 
 
 " In course. An' your mother an' your brother, too. 
 They live out in the mountains, an' I come to take you 
 to 'em. They'll be monstrous glad to see you, an* 
 they're waitin' fur you." 
 
 "Are they all alive?" 
 
 " The last blessed one of 'em." 
 
 "I remember my father," said Julian, gazing thought- 
 fully at the ground, "and it seems to me that I have 
 some recollection of my brother; but I never knew any- 
 thing about my mother. What brought you here?" 
 
 "I come to your camp to tell you that Bowles and 
 Mortimer are comin' arter you on hossback, an' that if 
 you want to save yourself you had better dig out. An' 
 I come to Missouri 'cause your friends sent me here 
 arter you. I know the hul lot of 'em, I tell you, an' if 
 you will trust yourself to me I Avill take you to 'em safe 
 an' sound." 
 
 Julian, astounded and bewildered by this proposition, 
 dropped the butt of his rifle to the ground, and looked 
 sharply at the man, as if he meant to read his very 
 thoughts. Was he really the friend he professed to be? 
 Of one thing the boy was certain and that was that he
 
 JULIAN HAS A VISITOR. g? 
 
 was not an ally of Mr. Mortimer. If lie had been he 
 would not have warned him that another attempt was 
 about to be made to capture him. 
 
 How gladly would he have given himself up to the 
 man's guidance if he had only been sure that he was 
 trustworthy ! He would have followed him all over the 
 world, and braved all imaginable dangers, if he knew 
 that by so doing he would be restored to his home once 
 more. Home,! How the word thrilled him! 
 
 " Who in the world am I?" Julian asked himself in 
 great perplexity; "and how does it happen that the 
 moment I am ready to carry my plans into execution, 
 men whom I never remember to have seen before should 
 suddenly appear and exhibit so deep an interest in me? 
 If I have such good friends, who are so very anxious to 
 see me, why did they leave me here for eight long years 
 to be beaten, and starved, and treated worse than a dog? 
 I can't understand it at all." 
 
 " What do you say?" asked the stranger; "will you 
 go? You had better be in a hurry about making up 
 your mind to something, 'cause I can hear the trampin' 
 of bosses." 
 
 "Yes," replied Julian, "I shall go; but I shall go 
 alone." 
 
 " Wai, then," continued the man, who was plainly 
 very much disappointed by this decision, " let me give 
 you a word of advice: If you won't trust me, don't trust 
 nobody do you hear? You'll meet plenty of folks who 
 know you, an' who will have something to say to you; 
 but don't listen to 'em. Jine a wagon train at St. Joe, 
 an' when you reach Fort Kearney, stop thar. You will 
 then be within forty miles of your hum. You'd best be 
 gettin' away from here, 'cause them fellers is comin' I 
 can hear 'em." 
 
 " How did they find out where I am?" asked Julian. 
 
 " Why, some chap saw you tradin' off your furs this 
 mornin' an' buying' powder an' lead, an' he told 'em. 
 Why don't you run? Don't you hear 'em comin'?" 
 
 Julian listened, and could at last distinguish the rapid 
 strokes of horses' hoofs on the hard road. He knelt
 
 88 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 down behind a log that lay on the edge of the bluff, and 
 looking over the top of it, waited for the horsemen to 
 come in sight. 
 
 The sound of the hoofs grew louder and louder, and 
 in a few minutes Mr. Mortimer came into view, and 
 drawing rein at the foot of the bluff, sprung out of his 
 saddle. Jack Bowles was not with him; he was alone. 
 
 " I am not afraid of him," thought Julian. " I kept 
 him at bay last night with an empty rifle, and now I 
 have a loaded one. He shall never capture me." 
 
 Julian arose to his feet, and turned to look at the 
 stranger. He was not in sight. The boy had not heard 
 even the rustle of a leaf to tell him that he was in 
 motion, and yet he had disappeared. He wished now 
 that he had paid more attention to the man's warning; 
 but his mind was so fully occupied, and he was so deeply 
 interested in what he had had to say about the home and 
 friends that were waiting for him away off in the mount- 
 ains, that he had hardly given a thought to the danger 
 which threatened him. He began to think of it now, 
 however, for he heard Mr. Mortimer ascending the bluff. 
 
 " Hold on, down there!" cried Julian. " I am watch- 
 ing you." 
 
 "Ah! you are there, are you?" replied Mr. Mortimer. 
 " I will soon be there, too. If I had known that your 
 rifle was empty, I should have secured you last night." 
 
 "Who told you it was empty?" 
 
 " We found your powder-horn and bullet-pouch in the 
 corn-crib this morning. Don't attempt any resistance 
 now. You are surrounded, and cannot escape." 
 
 " Surrounded!" echoed Julian. 
 
 He turned quickly, and sure enough there was an 
 enemy in his rear, who had mounted the bluff on the 
 opposite side, and approached so cautiously that the boy 
 had not heard him. It was Jack Bowles.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 JACK'S PLANS. 
 
 HE EXPRESSION Julian saw on the face of 
 his old enemy alarmed him greatly. His 
 countenance was distorted with fury, and the 
 boy saw enough in it to satisfy him that Jack 
 intended to take ample revenge on him for what he had 
 done. With a cry of terror he turned and took to his 
 heels; but Bowles was already within reach of him, and 
 before our hero had made many steps, he fastened upon 
 liis collar with one hand, and with the other twisted his 
 rifle out of his grasp. 
 
 "Let's see ye slip outen yer coat an' get away from 
 me this time," said Jack, with savage exultation. " I've 
 got a long account to settle with ye, my lad. I'll larn 
 ye to go about the country stealin' money an' killin' 
 honest folks' huntin' dogs. We'd best tie him, hadn't 
 we, Mr. Mortimer, fur fear that he gets one of them ar 
 crazy spells onto him?" 
 
 11 Certainly," said that gentleman, who, having by this 
 time reached the top of the bluff, stepped forward to 
 assist in securing the prisoner. 
 
 " An' sarch him, too/' added Jack. "He may have 
 some dangerous we'pons about him. Don't go to makin' 
 a fuss now." 
 
 " I have no such intention," replied Julian, who, 
 knowing that he was powerless, submitted to his captors, 
 who bound his arms firmly behind his back. " But I 
 can tell you one thing, Jack you and Richard Mortimer. 
 You are not going to take me down the rirer and put 
 me into an asylum." 
 
 Mr. Mortimer was profoundly astonished at these 
 words. lie looked sharply at the prisoner for a moment 
 and exclaimed: "Has Sanders been here?"
 
 90 / JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "Sanders?" repeated Julian. 
 
 " Yes; a short, thick-set man, dressed in black, and 
 wearing an abundance of jewelry." 
 
 " I have no acquaintance with any such person/' 
 
 " But you do not say that you have not seen him. 
 You have talked with him I am certain of it or you 
 would not know that my name is Richard. Sanders 
 knows why I am here, and I know why he is here and 
 who sent him. We are both playing the same game, 
 and we shall see who will win. He shall never take 
 passage on that flatboat." 
 
 As soon as Julian had been securely bound, Jack set 
 himself to work to overhaul his pockets, searching not 
 for concealed weapons, but for the money belonging to 
 the prisoner. A very short investigation, however, 
 served to satisfy him that the coveted treasure was not 
 hidden about Julian's person, and with an expression of 
 almost ungovernable fury on his face he left him and 
 began to search the camp. He picked up the prisoner's 
 blankets, shook them thoroughly, threw aside the leaves 
 which the boy had scraped together to serve as a mat- 
 tress, and looked into every hollow stump and under 
 every log on the bluff; but nothing in the shape of a 
 box or pocket-book could he find. 
 
 " Whar is it ?" he roared, unable to contain himself 
 longer. 
 
 ' Where's what?" asked Julian. 
 ' The money, ye rascal the $145." 
 ' I haven't got as much as that." 
 ' Wai, you've got some. Whar is it, I axes ye?" 
 ' It is concealed where you will never think of look- 
 ing for it, and there it shall stay." 
 
 " I'll bet a boss that it don't stay thar," shouted Jack, 
 stamping the ground and shaking his fists in his rage. 
 " Mark my words. Afore I'm done with ye, ye '11 come 
 to this bluff an* give me that money with yer own 
 hands." 
 
 "And mark my words," replied Julian calmly. "I 
 shall do nothing of the kind. I'll die first. It is mine 
 you've no right to it, and you shan't have it."
 
 JACK'S PLANS. 91 
 
 " Never mind the money now, Bowles," exclaimed 
 Mr. Mortimer, who was becoming impatient at the de- 
 lay. "You will have plenty of time to hunt for it 
 after your return from New Orleans. We must hegin 
 our journey at once." 
 
 Jack, reluctant to abandon the search, took another 
 turn about the camp, and after venting some of his spite 
 by pulling down Julian's brush cabin and kicking 
 over the squirrels that were broiling before the fire, 
 picked up the blankets and the rifle, and seizing the 
 boy roughly by the arm hurried him down the bluff. 
 After placing him behind Mr. Mortimer on his horse he 
 disappeared in the woods and presently returned, 
 mounted on his own nag, and led the way toward the 
 clearing. He did not follow the road, as Julian hoped 
 he would, but to avoid meeting any of the settlers, held 
 straight through the Avoods. He was moody and sul- 
 len during the whole of the ride, and the deep scowl on 
 his forehead showed that he was thinking intently. 
 
 " The minute Julian drops overboard from the flat- 
 hoat, that minute I shall have $200 put into my hands," 
 soliloquized Mr. Bowles. " That's a monstrous heap of 
 money fur a poor man like me, but I'd like to have 
 them $145, too. Now how am I goin' to get it? That's 
 what I'd like to know. I'll never find it unless Julian 
 tells me whar it is, an' if he's at the bottom of the 
 river he can't tell me. Hain't thar no way fur me to 
 push him overboard without drownin' him?" 
 
 Upon this question Jack pondered long and deeply, 
 and by the time he and his companions reached the 
 clearing he must have found an answer to it, and a sat- 
 factory one, too, for he brightened up and became lively 
 and talkative. 
 
 The first person Julian saw when he reached the 
 clearing was the stranger in broadcloth, who was pacing 
 up and down the bank. He did not look up when the 
 boy and his captors rode past him, but pulled the hand- 
 kerchief a little closer about his face, and sinking his 
 chin lower into the collar of his coat, kept his eyes fast- 
 ened upon the ground.
 
 92 / 1 'I. I A JV MOR TIMER. 
 
 " If you are all ready to start, Jack/' said Mr. Morti- 
 mer, as they drew rein in front of the door of the 
 cabin, where Mrs. Bowles and her sons were waiting to 
 receive them, "we Avill go on board the flatboat at 
 once." 
 
 " Wai, I hain't quite ready/' returned Jack. " I 
 shall be away from home a long time if we go to New 
 Orleans, an' Jake and Tom'll have to look out fur 
 things while I am gone. I want to tell 'em what to 
 do." 
 
 " Your wife can do that as well as you can," replied 
 Mr. Mortimer impatiently. 
 
 "An' more'n that," continued Jack, holding open his 
 coat to let his guest see that it was in a very dilapidated 
 condition, "I've got to have some clothes, if I'm goin' 
 to a country whar white folks live. I don't want to 
 make ye ashamed of me." 
 
 " You have nothing to fear on that score. Your 
 clothes will do well enough." 
 
 " But I say they won't. I was born and raised a gen- 
 tleman, / was, and I guess I know what sort of riggin' 
 a gentleman had oughter wear when he goes a visitin'." 
 
 " I don't want to wait another minute. Don't you 
 know that we are in danger as long as we remain here? 
 Suppose some of the settlers should find out what is 
 going on?" 
 
 "Oh, now, how be they goin' to find it out? We 
 hain't a goin' to tell on ourselves, be we?" 
 
 " But the captain wants to start immediately," per- 
 sisted Mr. Mortimer. 
 
 " I can't help that. I shan't be ready for an hour or 
 two p'raps more; 'cause I've got to go to The Corners 
 arter gome good clothes." 
 
 " Then you may stay there, if you choose. I can 
 get along without your assistance." 
 
 " No ye can't, an' ye shan't, nuther," retorted Jack. 
 
 " I shall go without you," continued Mr. Mortimer, 
 decidedly. "Then what will become of the $200 I 
 promised you ?" 
 
 Jack approached his guest and placed his lips close to 
 his ear.
 
 JACK'S PLANS. 93 
 
 " If ye go without me I'll have the officers of the law 
 on yer track in less'n an hour/' said he, fiercely. "Then 
 what will become of ye ? I can say, ye know, that ye 
 offered me money to shove the boy overboard, an' p'raps 
 ye'll have to tell some things ye'd rather the world 
 wouldn't know. Ye've got money, an' ye can keep the 
 boat here as long as ye please." Then aloud he added: 
 "Ye an' Julian can step into the house, an' sit down an' 
 talk to the ole woman, an' me an' the boys will go to 
 the stable an' feed the hosses. I'll be back as soon as I 
 get my business done." 
 
 Mr. Mortimer, finding that he was at the mercy of 
 his confederate, was obliged to await his pleasure. He 
 conducted his prisoner into the cabin, while Jack led 
 the horses toward the stable, followed by Jake and Tom. 
 
 The boys assisted their father in removing the saddles 
 and feeding the animals, and when this had been done, 
 Jack conducted them into one of the cribs, and after 
 closing and fastening the door, seated himself upon the 
 corn and proceeded to make his sons acquainted with 
 certain plans he had determined upon. 
 
 He did not know that some one besides Jake and Tom 
 was listening to every word he said, but such was the 
 fact. It was Sanders, who having overheard enough of 
 Jack's conversation with Mr. Mortimer to excite his cu- 
 riosity, and seeing Bowles and his sons enter the crib 
 and shut themselves in, made a circuit through the 
 woods, and came up within hearing of their voices 
 in time to learn as much of their scheme as he cared to 
 know. 
 
 " I reckon Mr. Mortimer will get tired of waitin' fur 
 me," said Jack, "'cause he hain't no ways likely to see 
 me agin afore dark. I've got work fur ye to do, young- 
 sters, an' if ye do it as I tell ye to, there's money to be 
 made by it. Listen, now, with all the ears you've got. 
 In the fust place, in order that ye may understand the 
 hul matter, I must tell ye that this Mr. Mortimer is the 
 same feller who brought Julian here years ago. He's 
 some kin to him his pap, mebbe, fur all I know but 
 he don't want to own him, 'cause the boy somehow
 
 94 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 stands atween him an' a fortin'. He wants to put him 
 whar he'll never see him agin, an' so me an' him have 
 give out that he is crazy, an' that we're goin' to take 
 him to Orleans an' put him in a 'sylum. In course, he 
 hain't no more outen his head than I be, but that's no 
 business of mine. Mr. Mortimer's goin' to start down 
 the river with him to-night, an' I'm goin' along to take 
 care of him." 
 
 Jack did not see fit to tell his boys that Mr. Mortimer 
 had offered him money to push Julian overboard, and 
 that he had promised to do it. That was a dangerous 
 secret, and one that he did not care to trust to any- 
 body's keeping. 
 
 ' ' I shall get $200 fur makin' the trip," continued 
 Jack. "Now, I want to earn them thar two hun- 
 dred, but I don't want Julian to be tuk to New 
 Orleans an' shut up thar, 'cause if he is, we'll lose 
 jest $145 by it the hundred he stole from ye last 
 night, Jake, an' the forty-five he made this mornin' 
 outen his mink skins. He's hid the money, an' 
 I want to get a chance to make him tell whar it is; an' 
 this is the way I'm goin' to work it. As soon as it comes 
 dark, ye, Jake an' Tom, must get into the dug-out an' 
 drop down the river in it, as easy as ye can, tie it to the 
 starn of the flatboat, an' then lay down on the bottom 
 an' keep still thar. Be sure an' make it fast with a 
 short rope, so as to keep outen the way of the sweeps. 
 When ye've done that I will go up to the house, an' me 
 an' Mr. Mortimer an' Julian will go on board the flat- 
 boat, an' she'll put out into the river, draggin' the dug- 
 out arter her. When Mr. Mortimer an' most of the crew 
 have gone to bed, I'll untie Julian an' take him up fur 
 a turn about the deck. I'll give him all the chance he 
 wants to get away, an' he will be sartin to use it. He 
 said that we shouldn't never take him down the river; 
 an' bein' perfectly at home in the water, he won't mind 
 jumpin' overboard and swimmin' ashore. As soon as I 
 see him in the water I'll whistle, an' ye must cut loose 
 from the flatboat an' pick him up. Be as easy as ye can 
 about it, an' when ye onct get hold of him hang on, no
 
 JAWS PLANS. 95 
 
 matter what happens; tie him hard an* fast, an' bring 
 him hum an' put him in the smoke-house till I come. 
 I'll I)e along some time to-morrer, 'cause when Mr. Mor- 
 timer finds out that Julian is overboard he'll think he's 
 drownded, an' he'll pay me off an' discharge me. Arter 
 I get hold of Julian, it won't take me long to make him 
 tell whar he's hid them hundred an' forty-five dollars. 
 When I get that an' the two hundred I'll be rich." 
 
 " But, pap, how much be me an' Tom goin' to git fur 
 doin' the job?" asked Juke. 
 
 " Ye'll git enough to satisfy ye," was the reply. ' ' Jake 
 shall have Julian's rille fur his share. It's a good one, 
 an' didn't cost a cent less'n $25. Tom shall have his 
 blankets, which he can sell at The Corners if he don't 
 want to keep 'em, an' the clothes Julian's got on. Tom 
 thinks a heap of good clothes, an' that shows that he's 
 goin' to be a gentleman when he's growed up. An' 
 more'ii that, if I find Julian here when I come hum, 
 I'll give each of ye $10; but if he hain't here, ye shan't 
 have nothin' but the dog-gondest wallopin' ye ever heern 
 tell on, an' ye'll get that as sartin as ye're a foot high. 
 It'll be wusser'n all the rest I ever give ye biled down 
 into one. Now, be ye sure that ye know jest what ye've 
 got to do?" 
 
 Jake and Tom were not quite certain that they did, 
 and so their father repeated his instructions, and kept 
 on repeating them until the boys thoroughly understood 
 them. 
 
 Every part of the work they were expected to per- 
 form, as well as the treatment Julian was to receive prior 
 to Jack's return, was discussed, and the latter being sat- 
 isfied at last that there was no danger of failure, an- 
 nounced that it was his intention to pass the rest of the 
 afternoon in sleep. He instructed Jake to return to the 
 house and announce that his father had just set out for 
 The Corners on horseback, and then concealed himself 
 among the corn at the farther end of the crib, while his 
 boys, after making sure that there was no one in sight, 
 opened the door and went out. No sooner had they en- 
 tered the cabin than Sanders left his position behind
 
 96 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 the crib, made another circuit through the woods back 
 to the bank of the river, and once more began walking 
 up and down, now and then shaking his head and chuck- 
 ling to himself as if he were thinking about something 
 that afforded him great satisfaction.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 OX 150AKD THE FLATBOAT. 
 
 AP! I say, pap! be ye goin' to sleep here till 
 creation comes? It's pitch dark, an' me an' 
 Tom have got the dug-out tied fast to the flat- 
 
 bout, like ye told us, an' the cap'n's jest been 
 
 in the house a tellin' of Mr. Mortimer that he ain't 
 a-goin' to wait no longer. Get up, consarn it all." 
 
 It was Jake Bowles who spoke, and while he was thus 
 addressing his slumbering parent he was shaking him 
 most vigorously. Jack opened his eyes at last, and after 
 yawning and stretching his arms, and listening to what 
 his hopeful son had to say about the dug-out and the cap- 
 tain's impatience, he began to understand the matter. 
 
 "All right," lie replied, drowsily. "Now, Jake, I 
 want to be sartin' that ye know what ye've got to do. 
 Let mo hear ye go over what I said to ye this mornin'." 
 
 Jake began and rehearsed his instructions, and went 
 through with them to his father's entire satisfaction. 
 When he had concluded Jack inquired: 
 
 " What did I say I'd give ye if ye brought Julian back 
 here a prisoner?" 
 
 "Oh, I hain't forgot that, I bet ye," replied Jake, 
 quickly. " Ye said ye'd give me his rille an' $10. 
 Don't ye forget it, pap, when ye comes back." 
 
 " I won't. I'm a man what allers sticks to hig word. 
 Now let me see if ye remember something else. What 
 did I say I'd give ye an' Tom if ye let him get away 
 from ye?" 
 
 "A larrupin'." 
 
 " A little one or a big one?" 
 
 "A big one wusser than all the rest." 
 
 " I'm powerful glad to see that ye hain't forgot it. I'll 
 allers keep my promises, I told ye. Mind what ye are 
 about, now."
 
 98 JULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 Having thus cautioned his young ally, Jack staggered 
 to his feet and walked slowly toward the house, where 
 he found Mr. Mortimer pacing the floor in great excite- 
 ment. The captain of the flat boat had just left him, 
 with the information that if Jack did not return in half 
 an hour he would be obliged to start without him, for 
 he could wait no longer. 
 
 " You have come at last, have you?" was Mi\ Morti- 
 mer's greeting. 
 
 "Hain't you got a pair of good eyes? In course, I 
 have. " 
 
 " I should say it was a high time. And you haven't 
 got your clothes, either." 
 
 "Wai, that ain't no fault of mine, is it? I forgot to 
 ax ye fur some money to git 'em with, an' the store- 
 keeper wouldn't trust me. I'm all ready now, if you 
 are." 
 
 " Then take charge of Julian and bring hiwi on board 
 the boat at once. Remember that I want him kept out 
 of my sight as much as possible." 
 
 " I give ye the word of a gentleman that he shan't 
 never trouble ye no more," replied Jack significantly. 
 
 Mr. Mortimer hurried out of the cabin, damming the 
 door after him. As he sprung upon the dock of the flat- 
 boat he was met by the captain, who was impatiently 
 awaiting his appearance. 
 
 " We are ready at last," said the passenger, " and the 
 sooner you get under way the better it \vill suit me." 
 
 " Stand by the lines," shouted the cup tain. 
 
 "Where's that man?" continued Mr. Mortimer. 
 
 His companion pointed toward the bow of the boat. 
 Mr. Mortimer looked and saw Sanders pacing back and 
 forth as wide awake as ever. 
 
 " He must be made of iron," said the skipper, "for 
 he has kept up that walk ever since we landed here this 
 morning," and shows no sign of giving out." 
 
 " There is nothing strange in that. He is working 
 for money, and wants to be where he can see everything 
 that is going on. Have you told him that he can not go 
 down the river with us?"
 
 ON BOARD THE FLA TBOA T. 99 
 
 "Not yet/' 
 
 "Then do it at once. Use every argument yon can 
 think of to induce him to go ashore, and if you can not 
 make him listen to reason call your crew and put him 
 off." 
 
 Mr. Mortimer descended the stairs leading into a little 
 dismal apartment in the stern of the boat that was 
 dignified by the name of "the cabin," and the captain 
 approached his passenger, and extending a roll of bills, 
 said : 
 
 " I'm sorry to be obliged to say that I can't take you 
 to Orleans." 
 
 "Slio!" exclaimed Sanders. 
 
 " It's a fact. My cabin has been given up to a crazy 
 boy and his keepers, and I can't accommodate you. 
 Here's the passage money you paid me." 
 
 " I don't want it. A bargain's a bargain." 
 
 " I tell you that I can't take you." 
 
 " 0, I hain't no ways particl'ar as to commodation. I 
 can hang up anywhar." 
 
 " But I don't want you on board my boat, and you 
 shan't stay either. Here's your money. Take it and go 
 ashore." 
 
 " Now jest listen to me a minute, cap'n, and I'll tell 
 you something," replied Sanders, approaching the 
 skipper and speaking in a low, confidential tone. The 
 latter, believing that his passenger was about to com- 
 municate some secret to him, leaned forward and caught 
 the words: " I shan't stir a peg." 
 
 " Then I shall use force," cried the captain in a rage. 
 "I shall put you off." 
 
 At the mention of the word "force " all the combative- 
 ness in the stranger's composition arose and showed 
 itself. His eyes flashed angrily, and doubling up ono 
 huge fist he brought it down into the palm of his hand 
 with a report like that of a pistol. 
 
 " Look a here, cap'n," said he, with a great deal of 
 emphasis, "my name is Jones." 
 
 He had been on the point of pronouncing his own name 
 one that had more than once struck terror to a braver
 
 100 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 heart than the captain of the flatboat possessed but 
 recollected himself in time, and gave the first one that 
 came to his mind. 
 
 " Yes, that's my name/' he exclaimed, after a mo- 
 ment's pause " Jones Tom Jones. I'm the peace- 
 ablest feller you ever seed when I ain't crossed, but when 
 I am I'm a leetle wusser than a hul passel of wild-cats. 
 I can see through a grindstun as fur as the next man. 
 I know why you don't want me here, but I'm agoin' to 
 stay, I can tell you, an' if you want to see bullets fly 
 faster than you ever seed 'em fly afore, jest tell your 
 crew to put me off." 
 
 As Sanders said this he placed his hands in the pock- 
 ets of his coat, and when he brought them into view 
 again, he held in each one a navy revolver. After 
 flourishing them before the eyes of the captain he put 
 them away again, and locking his thumbs in the arm- 
 holes of his vest, resumed his walk up and down the 
 deck. While this conversation was going on the crew 
 had been busy casting off the lines with which the flat- 
 boat was made fast to the bank, and now one of them 
 sung out: "All gone, sir." 
 
 The captain turned, and seeing that Mr. Bowles and 
 Julian had just come on board, and knowing that it 
 would be useless to make any more attempts to rid him- 
 self of his objectionable passenger, gave orders to get 
 under way. 
 
 " Haul in that gang-plank," said he. " Get out the 
 setting-poles and shove off for'ard. Man the larboard 
 sweeps, and pull her bow out." 
 
 While the crew were busy working the boat out into 
 the river, Mr. Bowles took occasion to stroll aft and 
 look over into the water. It was very dark, but still 
 there was light enough for him to distinguish the out- 
 lines of the dug-out dragging at the stern of the flat- 
 boat. So far his plans were working smoothly. His 
 only fear was that the canoe might be discovered by the 
 pilot; but, after all, there was little danger of it, for 
 that officer, beside being obliged to give his whole at- 
 tention to directing the course of the boat, occupied a
 
 ON BOARD THE FLA TBOA T. 1Q1 
 
 position so far from the stern that he could not look 
 over into the water, even if he had been disposed to 
 do so. Jac took off his hat and nourished it about his 
 head, and instantly another hat was thrust over the 
 side of the dug-out, and being moved to and fro was 
 pulled back oat of sight. Jake and Torn were on the 
 alert, and Mr. Bowles, being satisfied of the fact, re- 
 turned to his prisoner and conducted him into the 
 cabin. 
 
 Julian took the seat pointed out to him, and looked 
 around with curiosity. Tbe cabin was a very dingy 
 apartment, and was dimly lighted by a smoky lantern, 
 which hung suspended from a beam overhead. It con- 
 tained a rusty cooking stove, a rough table, around 
 Avhich were arranged four long benches to serve in lieu 
 of chairs, and two sides were occupied by bunks in 
 Avhich the crew slept. 
 
 One of them, a little apart from the others, was pro- 
 vided with curtains, which, being looped back, revealed 
 a very comfortable-looking bed, that was doubtless in- 
 tended for Mr. Mortimer. Tbe latter gentleman had 
 nothing to say to Mr. Bowles when he came in, but con- 
 tinued his walk in silence. 
 
 Jack took a turn about the cabin, and then seating 
 himself in a chair near his prisoner, folded his arms, 
 rested his chin on his breast, and closed his eyes as if 
 preparing to go to sleep. 
 
 Being heavily loaded and short-handed besides, con- 
 siderable time was consumed in working the flatboat 
 out into the river; but at the end of half an hour a 
 gentle, gliding motion, accompanied by the "lapping" 
 sound of the waves against her sides, told Julian that 
 she was fairly under way. 
 
 Presently the captain came below, followed by some 
 of bis crew. Tbe men looked curiously at the passen- 
 gers, especially at Julian, who sat in his chair with, his 
 hands tied behind his back, and without any ceremony 
 divested themselves of some of their outer clothing and 
 tumbled into bed. 
 
 The captain, after pointing out to his passengers the
 
 102 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 beds he had arranged for them, followed their example, 
 and presently Mr. Mortimer also sought his couch. 
 
 Julian, almost worn down by fatigue and excitement, 
 waited impatiently for Jack to give the signal for retir- 
 ing, but the latter had no intention of doing anything 
 of the kind. He waited until the sounds which issued 
 from the bunks told him that their occupants were all 
 asleep, and then he beckoned Julian to follow him to 
 the deck. A terrible fear seized upon the boy as he 
 arose to obey. Was Jack about to throw him over- 
 board? 
 
 He tottered up the stairs, and when he reached the deck, 
 was astonished beyond measure and immensely relieved 
 by an unexpected proceeding on the part of his keeper, 
 who, instead of conducting him to the side and pitching 
 him into the water, began untying his hands. 
 
 "What in the world does he mean, I wonder?" 
 thought Julian. " Does he expect me to remain on 
 board this boat if he gives me the least chance to leave 
 it? If he takes his eyes off me for one instant I'll 
 astonish him." 
 
 "What are you untying that crazy fellow for?" ex- 
 claimed the pilot, who stood with his hand resting on 
 one of the sweeps which served as the rudders of the 
 flatboat. " The cap'n says he's dangerous." 
 
 "An' so he is," replied Jack " in the day-time; but 
 at night he's as gentle as a kitten. I'm goin' to let him 
 take a leetle exercise afore he goes to bed. He'll sleep 
 the better fur it. Ye needn't be afeared, 'cause I can 
 manage him. Mind what ye're about now," he added 
 in a low tone, addressing himself to Julian. " I've got 
 my eyes onto ye." 
 
 Jack Avalked aft to talk to the pilot, and Julian, de- 
 lighted to find himself once more at liberty, strolled 
 leisurely about the boat. 
 
 The crew on watch were huddled together in the 
 waist, and at a little distance from them, Sanders lay 
 stretched out on the deck, apparently fast asleep. 
 Julian walked past the prostrate forms, and taking his 
 stand on the bow, gazed toward the shore. Half the
 
 ON BOARD THE FLATS OAT. 103 
 
 width of the Missouri River lay between him and his 
 freedom. 
 
 " I can easily do it," said he to himself, " and I am 
 going to try it. Good-by, Jack. When I set my 
 feet on solid ground once more I will put a safe distance 
 between you and me before I stop." 
 
 Julian seated himself on the side of the boat and 
 looked down into the dark, muddy water, now and then 
 turning his eyes toward Jack and the pilot. The former 
 kept his back toward him and his gaze turned up the 
 river, as if he saw something there that interested him, 
 and finally the pilot, in response to some inquiry from 
 Jack, faced about and looked in the same direction. 
 This was Julian's opportunity, and he was prompt to 
 seize upon it. Placing his hands upon the side of the 
 boat he swung himself off and dropped into the river. 
 
 His sudden immersion in the cold water almost took 
 his breath away, and for a moment he felt as if every 
 drop of blood in his body had been turned into ice; but 
 quickly recovering himself he struck out lustily for the 
 shore. 
 
 There were two persons on board Avho had witnessed 
 the whole proceeding. One was Sanders, who was wide 
 awake, in spite of the terrific snores he uttered, and the 
 other was Jack Bowles. 
 
 80 delighted was Jack at the success that had thus 
 far attended his plans that he could scarcely refrain 
 from shouting. 
 
 Fearing that the pilot, if he had not also witnessed 
 Julian's act, might soon notice his absence, he looked 
 about for something to occupy his attention, and 
 found it. 
 
 " I see a snag/' said he suddenly. " Look out, or ye'll 
 be afoul of it in a minute." 
 
 "I sec it, too/' replied the pilot. " I was so busy talk- 
 ing to you that I forgot to attend to my business. Snag 
 on the starboard bow!" he shouted. " Man the sweeps, 
 all hands!" 
 
 The crew jumped at the word, and Jack sprung down 
 from the pilot's bench and walked aft whistling. Jake
 
 104 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 and Tom, who were curled up in the bottom of the dug- 
 out, heard and obeyed the signal. They straightened 
 up at once, and while one seized a paddle the other cut 
 the painter with which the canoe was made fast to the 
 flatboat, and in a moment more they were out of sight. 
 Jack stood on the stern of the boat listening intently for 
 fully five minutes, and then he was almost certain that 
 he heard a splashing in the water and a smothered cry 
 for help. 
 
 "They've got him!" said he gleefully. "I was 
 afeared they might miss him in the dark. If they had, 
 wouldn't I have dusted their jackets fur them, though? 
 But they're good boys, Jake an' Tom are. The two hun- 
 dred dollars are mine, an' the hundred an' forty-five be- 
 sides." 
 
 By this time the snag had been passed in safety, and 
 the watch once more huddled together in the waist to 
 sleep until their services were again required. Jack took 
 his stand beside the pilot, and waited for him to say 
 something about Julian's disappearance; but as he did 
 not refer to the matter, Mr. Bowles went below and 
 tumbled into bed, satisfied that no one beside himself 
 was the wiser for what had happened. 
 
 Jack awoke long before daylight, but remained quiet 
 in his bunk, awaiting a favorable opportunity to carry 
 out the rest of his plans. At last the cook entered the 
 cabin and began preparations for breakfast. Shortly 
 afterward some of the crew crawled out of their bunks, 
 and the captain also arose. When Jack saw him he be- 
 gan to bestir himself. He got out upon the floor, and 
 after dressing himself with great deliberation, went to 
 the bunk which had been set apart for Julian's use. 
 The bed certainly looked as if it had been occupied, 
 but there was no one in it now. Jack started back with 
 well-assumed surprise, uttering an exclamation that 
 attracted the attention of every one in the cabin, and 
 then rushing forward picked up something and exam- 
 ined it attentively. It was the rope with which Julian 
 had been bound. 
 
 " Wai, if this yere don't beat all natur'," cried Jack,
 
 ON BOARD THE FLA TBOA T. 1Q5 
 
 " Is he loose ? '' asked the captain in alarm. 
 
 "That's jest what's the matter. He's slipped his 
 hands outen this rope and hid hisself somewhars. Help 
 me find him, fellers," added Jack, in great excitement, 
 leading the way toward the deck; "but look out fur 
 yerselves, 'cause if any of ye had any we'pons he's found 
 'em, an' he'll use 'em, too." 
 
 A slight rustling among the bed-clothes behind the 
 curtain which concealed the bunk in which Mr. Morti- 
 mer lay, proved that that gentleman Avas awake and lis- 
 tening to all that was going on. Jack heard the noise 
 and noticed the movements of the occupant of the bunk, 
 but the captain and his men did not. They were too 
 busy with thoughts of the dangerous lunatic, whom 
 they must assist in securing, to hear or see anything. 
 They followed Jack to the deck, and during the next 
 quarter of an hour the greatest confusion prevailed on 
 board the flatboat. 
 
 Mr. Bowles that morning earned the reputation of 
 being a very courageous man ; for while he continually 
 cautioned the crew to beware of the fire-arms of which 
 he was sure his escaped prisoner had obtained possession, 
 he exposed himself most recklessly, being everywhere 
 foremost in the search, and advancing boldly into the 
 darkest corners of the hold, where no one else dared 
 to venture. Every part of the boat was thoroughly 
 searched, but no Julian was found; and Jack and the 
 captain, after talking the matter over, were obliged to 
 come to the conclusion that he had put an end to his 
 life by jumping overboard. 
 
 The next thing was to inform Mr. Mortimer who 
 Jack said was some distant relative of the unfortunate 
 youth of the melancholy fact; but that gentleman had 
 already learned the particulars from one of the crew, 
 and had also made a most disagreeable discovery. Jack 
 found him on deck, and when his eyes rested on him he 
 stopped and gazed at him in surprise. 
 
 Mr. Mortimer's serious air might have been put on 
 for the occasion, Bowles told himself, but lie never could 
 have assumed that pale face. Something was the matter
 
 106 JULIAN MORTIMER, 
 
 with him. He listened in silence while Jack and the 
 captain told him of Julian's mysterious disappearance,, 
 and when they ceased speaking he walked off to an un- 
 occupied part of the deck. 
 
 The captain presently went down into his cabin and 
 Jack joined Mr. Mortimer. 
 
 " Where is he? " asked the latter in a low whisper. 
 
 "At the bottom of the river," replied Jack in the 
 same cautious tone. " He was standin' right there, jest 
 this way," he added, stepping close to the side of the 
 boat, "with his hands tied behind him, an' I come up 
 an' give him a leetle nudge with my shoulder an' over 
 he went. Nobody didn't see me do it, either." 
 
 "I don't care to know how it was done," interrupted 
 Mr. Mortimer hastily. "I only want to be sure that it 
 was done, and effectually." 
 
 "It sartinly was. He couldn't swim fur with his 
 hands tied, conld he?" 
 
 " No; but he might have been picked up. Have you 
 Been Sanders this morning?" 
 
 "I hain't," replied Jack, looking about the deck, 
 while an expression of anxiety settled on his face. "He 
 wouldn't save him, would he?" 
 
 "Of course he would, if he got the opportunity. If 
 he could take that boy to a certain man whose name I 
 could mention he would make more money by it than 
 he ever saw. He is working against me." 
 
 " Wai, he didn't pick him up. I was on deck fur ten 
 minutes arter Julian went overboard, an' I didn't see 
 him at all. Mebbe he's about somewhars." 
 
 "No, he isn't. He's gone; and so is the yawl belong- 
 ing to the flatboat." 
 
 Jack started, and folding his arms gazed thoughtfully 
 over the side into the water. Although he had not no- 
 ticed the circumstance at the time, he now remembered 
 that on the preceding day Sanders had kept as close as 
 possible to him and Mr. Mortimer, and that he had 
 more than once paused in his walk as if he were listen- 
 ing to their conversation. 
 
 Might he not by some means have become acquainted
 
 ON BOARD THE FLA TBOA T. 1Q7 
 
 with, his plans, and set himself to work to defeat them? 
 And if Julian was so valuable to him, might he not have 
 followed Jake and Tom in the yawl with the intention 
 of securing their prisoner? The thought was enough to 
 put. Jack on nettles. 
 
 " Whar's them two hundred?" he asked, suddenly. 
 
 Mr. Mortimer, putting his hand into his pocket, pro- 
 duced a roll of bills, which he slyly handed to his con- 
 federate, and Jack continued: 
 
 " I can't be of no more use here, an' you might as well 
 tell the cap'"n to set me ashore." 
 
 " I will. I want to go myself. I am uneasy about 
 that man Sanders. Here comes the captain now." 
 
 " I shall have to land to do it," said the skipper, after 
 listening to the request of his passenger, " for I have no 
 boat to send you off in. That strange-looking man in 
 black has deserted us and stolen it. It was worth $60, 
 too." 
 
 " Say no more about that," returned Mr. Mortimer. 
 " Put us on dry land and I will compensate you for the 
 loss of your boat." 
 
 The captain gave the necessary orders to the pilot, 
 called up his crew to man the sweeps, and in a few 
 seconds the bow of the flatboat was turned toward the 
 shore.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IN THE SMOKE-HOUSE. 
 
 F ANY one on board that flatboat is crazy it 
 is Jack Bowles. He might have known that 
 I wouldn't stay there long after my hands 
 were untied. Didn't I tell him that I would 
 never go back to that camp and give him my money with 
 my own hands? I am free now, and if he ever captures 
 me again I shall deserve to be obliged to remain under 
 his roof for the rest of my days. The cabin can't be 
 more than ten miles away. I can easily walk there in 
 three hours, and it will be no trouble for me to slip into 
 the house and obtain possession of my rifle and blankets 
 without awakening Jake and Tom. Then I'll catch my 
 horse, go back to my camp on the bluffs after my money, 
 and by daylight I'll be twenty miles away." 
 
 While these thoughts were passing through Julian's 
 mind he was striking out lustily for the shore. The 
 flatboat was still in plain view, for the current carried 
 both her and him down the river at an almost equal rate 
 of speed. Julian kept close watch of her, expecting 
 every moment to hear an uproar on her deck, telling 
 him that his absence had been discovered. He little 
 dreamed that his escape, which he had so easily accom- 
 plished, had been brought about by the assistance of his 
 dreaded enemy, who was at that very moment creating 
 a diversion in his favor; and he little thought, too, that 
 the pursuers he feared were not coming from the flat- 
 boat, but from another quarter altogether. Had he 
 looked up the river occasionally, instead of keeping his 
 gaze so steadily directed across the stream, he would 
 have discovered something. 
 
 A dug-out was coming swiftly down the river, its prow 
 being pointed directly toward Julian. In the stern sat
 
 IN THE SMOKE-HOUSE. 109 
 
 Tom Bowles vigorously plying a paddle, which he used 
 with so much skill that it made not the slightest sound 
 as it rose and fell in the water. Stretched out flat in 
 the bow was Jake Bowles, who kept his eyes fastened on 
 Julian's head, now and then signaling to his brother 
 with his hands, and showing him what course to steer. 
 Julian discovered his enemies before he had swam a 
 third of the distance to the shore, but then it was too 
 late to make even an attempt to avoid them. He heard 
 a hissing sound, made by the sharp bow of the dug-out 
 as it cleft the water, and turned quickly, only to find 
 himself in the grasp of Jake Bowles, who seized his 
 collar with both hands and held fast to it. 
 
 "I reckon ye thought ye was gone, didn't ye?" he 
 cried, in a triumphant tone; "but ye hain't, be ye? 
 Yer ketched agin, an' this time ye'll stay ketchcd, I bet 
 ye. Balance the boat, Tom, an' I'll haul him in." 
 
 "I thought I left you at home, Jake Bowles!" 
 exclaimed Julian. " How came you here?" 
 
 "I guess we've got as much right on this yere river as 
 anybody, hain't we? We come arter ye, that's how we 
 come here, an' we've got ye, too." 
 
 For a moment Julian was too astonished to move. 
 The approach of his enemies had been so noiseless, and 
 their appearance was so sudden and unexpected, that he 
 was utterly bewildered. Not until Jack had dragged 
 him half-way into the dug-out did he begin to compre- 
 hend the situation. 
 
 " Let go!" he exclaimed, " or I'll capsize the boat." 
 
 "Nary let go," replied Jake. "I owe you a good 
 poundin' fur stealin' them $100 from me, an' fur knock- 
 in' me into that hole last night, an' I'm goin' to give it 
 to ye afore I let ye go. Come in here." 
 
 "No, you come out here," said Julian. "I'll duck 
 you sure if you don't let go my collar." 
 
 This was the second time the two boys had measured 
 strength, and although our hero was fighting at great 
 disadvantage, he tested the endurance and muscle of 
 his antagonist most severely. He strove to the utmost 
 to drag Jake into the water; but the latter had wrapped
 
 HO JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 his logs around one of the thwarts and thrown his left 
 arm over another, and Julian could not break his hold. 
 Nor could he overturn the boat, for Tom watched the 
 contest closely, and frustrated all Julian's attempts by 
 throwing the weight of his body on the opposite side of 
 the dug-out. 
 
 Jake, in the meantime exerted himself to drag his 
 prisoner out of the water; but finding that it was a task 
 beyond his strength, he held firmly to Julian's collar, 
 determined to wait until the latter, exhausted by his 
 furious struggles, should be obliged to surrender him- 
 self. But Julian's endurance seemed to have no limit. 
 He resolutely continued the contest, and all this while 
 the canoe was floating down the river side by side with 
 the flatboat, which was scarcely more than a hundred 
 yards distant. 
 
 " We're fightin' fur money now, we are," said Jake 
 "for the $145. It's no use fur ye to kick about so, 
 'cause we've got ye, an' we're goin' to hold fast to ye." 
 
 " You'll not get the money, even if you succeed in 
 making a prisoner of me," replied Julian, with as much 
 spirit as ever. 
 
 "We'll see about that when we've got ye hum. I 
 guess if ye go a few days without eatin' or sleeping an' 
 have the rawhide laid over yer shoulders ten or twenty 
 times every hour, ye'll be glad to tell us all we want to 
 know. Come here, Tom, an' hit him a clip with yer 
 paddle. I guess that'll fetch him to his senses." 
 
 "Souse him under," replied Tom; "that's the way 
 to make him give in." 
 
 Jake was prompt to act upon the suggestion. 
 
 Julian resisted him desperately, but one or two severe 
 blows on the fingers Avith the edge of Tom's paddle 
 broke his hold on the side of the canoe, and his head 
 was forced under the water. Jake held him there a 
 few seconds, and then pulled him to the surface, and 
 after giving him time to draw a breath or two, and 
 clear his eyes of the water, asked him if he would 
 abandon the struggle and allow himself to be drawn 
 into the boat.
 
 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "No," replied Julian, not in the least daunted; "I'll 
 never give up while I have any strength left." 
 
 " Stick him under agin," said Tom, and down went 
 Julian's head for the second time. 
 
 Jake held him under longer than before as long as 
 he dared, in fact and when he pulled him up again, 
 Julian was incapable of any serious resistance. He 
 gasped for breath, and tried to lay hold of the side of 
 the canoe. 
 
 Jake, quick to improve the opportunity thus pre- 
 sented, exerted all his strength, while Tom kept the 
 boat trimmed in order to prevent a capsize, and finally 
 succeeded in dragging his prisoner out of the water. 
 In less time than it takes to tell it he was secured be- 
 yond all hope of escape, and the canoe was shooting 
 swiftly up the river. 
 
 It was fully half an hour before Julian moved or 
 spoke. He lay so quietly on the bottom of the dug-out 
 that Jake and Tom began to be alarmed, fearing that in 
 their eagerness to take all the fight out of their captive, 
 they had gone too far, and taken the breath out of 
 him. 
 
 But Julian was fast recovering from the effects of his 
 ducking, and as soon as he was himself again the broth- 
 ers speedily became aware of the fact, for he began to 
 try the strength of the ropes with which he was con- 
 fined. He thrashed about at an alarming rate, rocking 
 the canoe from side to side, until at last the water be- 
 gan to pour in over the gunwales, and Jake and Tom 
 were obliged to cease paddling and trim their craft in 
 order to keep it right side up. 
 
 But they had done their work thoroughly, and Ju- 
 lian, finding his efforts useless, ceased his struggles, and 
 listened to the threats of his captors, who tried by every 
 means in their power to compel him to tell where he 
 had hidden his money. 
 
 During the progress of the conversation he heard 
 some things he did not know before, and one was that 
 his escape from the flatboat and his recapture by Jake 
 and Tom were a part of the scheme Mr. Bowles had
 
 IN THE SMOKE-HOUSE. 113 
 
 set on foot for the finding of the concealed treasure, 
 lie was astonished to know that while lie imagined he 
 was working for his own interests he was playing into 
 the hands of his enemy, and told himself that Jack 
 still had the most difficult part of the undertaking 
 before him. 
 
 The prisoner suffered intensely during the journey up 
 the river. The night was cold, the wind keen and 
 piercing, and seemed to cut through his wet clothing 
 like a knife. When at last the canoe reached the 
 landing ho was so benumbed that he could scarcely 
 speak. 
 
 Having made the dug-out fast to a tree on the bank, 
 Jake and Tom pulled their captive ashore, and finding 
 him unable to stand alone, took hold of his arms and 
 led him toward the house. 
 
 Scarcely were they out of sight when a heavy yawl, 
 rowed by a single man, shot up to the landing and 
 stopped alongside the canoe. The occupant sprung 
 out, and without waiting to secure his boat, crept 
 cautiously up the bank, and followed after Jake and 
 Tom. 
 
 When the brothers reached the cabin they pushed 
 open the door and entered, dragging their captive after 
 them. Mrs. Bowles, who sat nodding on one of the 
 nail-kegs, started up as they came in, and Julian knew 
 from the first words she uttered that she was expecting 
 them. 
 
 " So ye've got him, have ye?" she exclaimed, glee- 
 fully. " This night's work will make rich folks outen 
 us. An' ye was goin' to run away from us, was ye 
 from me an' Jack, who have allers treated ye like a son 
 ever since ye've been with us? An' ye've got $145 hid 
 away from us, have ye? What business have ye got 
 with so much money? Take him out to the smoke- 
 house an' lock him up thar. I'm. too sleepy to wollop 
 him to-night, but I'll tend to him the fust thing in the 
 morninV 
 
 Julian had expected a terrible beating as soon as he 
 was brought into the presence of Mrs. Bowles, and was
 
 114 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 much relieved to know that his punishment was to be 
 postponed for a few hours. It was the first time he had 
 ever known Jack's wife to be too sleepy to use the raw- 
 hide. 
 
 "An he ain't got no business with them new suit of 
 clothes, nuther," said Tom, who, while his brother was 
 searching for a candle and the key to the smoke-house, 
 was taking some of his own ragged wearing apparel 
 down from the nails in one corner of the cabin. 
 " He's got to take 'em off an' give 'em to me. Pap 
 said so." 
 
 " Ye shall have 'em, Tommy," said his mother. "Ye've 
 been a good boy an' ye desarve 'em." 
 
 "An' I'm to have his rifle an' $10 besides," chimed in 
 Jake, angling for a word of commendation. 
 
 "So ye are. Allers be good an' ye'll be sartin to 
 prosper." 
 
 When Jake had found the candle and key, and Tom 
 had selected the garments he intended to give to Julian 
 in exchange for his own, the two boys led their captive 
 out of the cabin to the smoke-house. 
 
 The first business in order, after they had conducted 
 Julian into his prison, was to rob him of his clothes. 
 Jake untied his hands and stood close by his side, in 
 order to seize him if he made any attempt to escape, 
 while Tom picked up a heavy club and stationed him- 
 self in front of the door, ready to knock the prisoner 
 down if he eluded his brother. But Julian, shivering 
 violently with the cold and utterly incapable of any ex- 
 ertion, thought only of dry clothes and comfort and not 
 of escape. He felt much more at his ease after he had 
 relieved himself of his wet garments and put on those 
 Tom had provided for him, and told himself that if his 
 captors would bring him the blankets Jack had stolen 
 from his camp on the bluff, he could obtain a night's 
 refreshing sleep in spite of the cold and his bonds. But 
 he soon found that they did not intend to permit him 
 to go to sleep at all; and during the next few minutes 
 he gained some idea of what was in store for him. 
 
 As soon as the exchange had been made, and Julian
 
 IN THE SMOKE-HOUSE. Hf> 
 
 had again been bound, Tom dropped his club, and 
 catching up a long rope which he had brought with 
 him from the house, mounted upon a box and made one 
 end of it fast to a beam overhead. At the same time 
 Jake pushed his prisoner under the beam, and seizing 
 the other end of the rope tied it to his hands. Julian 
 was now confined so that he could neither sit, lie nor 
 walk about. He must remain upon his feet and stand 
 in one place during the rest of the night. 
 
 "1 don't see any use in this," said he, dismayed at 
 the gloomy prospect before him. " I can't escape from 
 this house as long as my hands are tied." 
 
 " Wai, we can see use in it, if ye can't/' replied Tom. 
 "We're doin' jest what pap told us to do." 
 
 "An' we don't do it 'cause we're afeared of yer get- 
 tin' away, nuther," said Jake. "Ye've got to stand 
 right here without a wink of sleep or a bite to eat till 
 ye tell us whar that money is hid. Mebbe ye'll tell us 
 now." 
 
 " No, I'll not," replied Julian promptly and decid- 
 edly. 
 
 "All right. Ye'll think different in the mornin', I 
 tell ye. The ole woman will be here bright an' arly, 
 an' if ye ain't ready to open yer mouth, she'll give ye a 
 dozen or two as hard as ever she can lay 'em on. When 
 pap comes home to-morrer he'll take the job outen her 
 hands. Ye've got into a hard row of stumps, feller." 
 
 After carefully examining their captive's bonds, and 
 looking carefully about the smoke-house to make sure 
 that there was no opening in it from which he could 
 escape, even if he succeeded in freeing his hands, Jake 
 and Tom went out, locking the door after them. 
 
 When the sound of their footsteps had died away, and 
 Julian began to ponder upon what they had said to him, 
 and to realize how powerless he was in the hands of his 
 enemies, his courage for the first time gave away utterly. 
 He took a step forward and threw his weight upon the 
 rope, but it was firmly tied to the beam above and too 
 strong to be broken, and the movement only pulled his 
 hands between his shoulders, thus "tricing him up"
 
 116 JULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 most effectually. He had never dreamed that his ene- 
 mies would endeavor to torture his secret out of him in 
 this way. He had expected to be beaten, and he be- 
 lieved that he could endure that; but was his fortitude 
 proof against such a test as this? In order to save him- 
 self suifering would it not be policy to give Jack the 
 information he demanded, and when his liberty was 
 restored to him, resume his old occupation of trapping 
 until he could earn enough to purchase an outfit for his 
 proposed journey? He had worked hard for two winters 
 to accumulate the little property he now possessed, and 
 should he surrender it at the command of one who had 
 not the smallest shadow of a right to it? Julian passed 
 an hour debating such points as these, and at the end of 
 that time his decision was made. 
 
 " Fll never do it," said he to himself. " It belongs to 
 me alone. Nobody else has a claim upon it. The 
 woods are as free to Jack Bowles as they once were to 
 me much more so, in fact, for there is no one to dog 
 his steps, destroy his traps and steal his earnings and 
 if he wants money let him work for it. That's the way 
 I got mine. He will find that I am not to be starved 
 or beaten into telling him where that box is concealed. 
 Jake and Tom are coming back again. I hope they 
 have not brought the rawhide with them." 
 
 The footsteps which had attracted Julian's attention 
 drew nearer and nearer, and presently a cautious hand 
 laid hold of the padlock with which the door was se- 
 cured. Julian listened to hear the bolt turned, but soon 
 found out that his visitor, whoever he was, did not intend 
 to effect an entrance with the assistance of a key; -for 
 after shaking the lock to assure himself that it was fast 
 in the staple, he placed his shoulders against the door 
 and tried to burst it open. The prisoner heard him 
 panting and puffing as he applied his strength to the 
 stout planks. He heard, too, the angry words he mut- 
 tered when he found that his efforts were useless, and 
 caught the sound of his footsteps as he moved around 
 the smoke-house. 
 
 Julian wondered greatly. Who was he? Was he some
 
 IN THE SMOKE-HOUSE. H7 
 
 friend who, knowing that he was confined there, had 
 come with the hope of rescuing him? There was scarcely 
 a man in the settlement who would not have hurried to 
 his relief had it been known that he was in trouble, but 
 unfortunately no one was aware of his situation. Of 
 course, then, the visitor could not be a friend. Most 
 likely he was some hungry prowler, whose only object 
 was to filch a ham or a side of bacon from the smoke- 
 house. 
 
 In spite of the unpleasantness of his situation, Julian 
 became interested in the man's movements. He walked 
 around the building and finally came back and tried the 
 door again, but with no better success than before. 
 Then there was silence for a few minutes, during which 
 the man was, no doubt, thinking what was best to be 
 done, and at length a noise at one corner of the house 
 told the prisoner that he had decided upon a plan of 
 operations. He was using the projecting ends of the 
 logs as a ladder, and mounting to the top of the build- 
 ing. His success was certain now. The roof was cov- 
 ered with narrow oak boards, laid on like shingles, and 
 held in place by small nails; and it would be a matter of 
 no difficulty for him to pull a few of them off and drop 
 down on the inside of the smoke-house. That such 
 was the visitor's intention soon became evident. He 
 attacked the shingles at once, using extreme caution in 
 removing them from their fastenings, and in a few 
 seconds an opening had been made in the roof, that was 
 immediately filled by the head and shoulders of the 
 man, who lighted a match and held it up to take a sur- 
 vey of things below him. Julian had a good view of 
 him. Could he believe his eyes? lie stared hard at 
 his visitor, and uttered a cry of delight.
 
 CHAPTEK XIV. 
 
 SANDEKS TELLS HIS STOKY. 
 
 ULIAN'S visitor was the man Sanders. He 
 recognized him by the handkerchief that was 
 tied over his head. If he had come there to 
 release him would it not be sufficient proof 
 that he was really the friend he professed to be? 
 
 "Julian!" exclaimed the man, in a low but excited 
 tone of voice. 
 
 "I am here!" replied the prisoner, so overjoyed that 
 he could scarcely speak plainly. 
 
 " Wai, come out o' that. You needn't stay thar no 
 longer." 
 
 " I can't go up there I am tied." 
 
 "Are you? Then I'll soon be down to turn you 
 loose." 
 
 After burning another match to make sure the way 
 was clear below him, Sanders crawled through the open- 
 ing in the roof, and hanging by his hands, dropped to 
 the ground. A knife which he drew from his pocket 
 made quick work with the prisoner's bonds, and in a 
 few seconds he was free. 
 
 " How came you here?" Julian asked of his deliverer, 
 after he had taken a few turns around the smoke-house 
 to relieve his cramped limbs. "I left you ten miles 
 down the river fast asleep on board the flatboat." 
 
 " Not much I wasn't asleep," replied Sanders, with a 
 laugh. "I seed every thing that happened. But we 
 hain't got no time to talk. Be thar any men in the 
 house?" 
 
 "No. Jake and Tom are alone with their mother." 
 
 "Them boys? If I had known that, you wouldn't 
 have been brought in here. Climb up on my shoulders 
 now, and crawl out,"
 
 SANDERS TELLS HIS STORY. H9 
 
 Not having entirely recovered from the effects of his 
 long ride in his wet clothes, Julian was not very strong 
 or active, but after some difficulty he succeeded in 
 mounting upon Sanders' broad shoulders, and drawing 
 himself up to the opening in the roof, he crawled 
 through and dropped to the ground. The man climbed 
 u}) the logs and followed him, and when he once more 
 stood by Julian's side he gave utterance, with the first 
 words he spoke, to the very thoughts that were passing 
 through the boy's mind. 
 
 "I reckon that if I do a few more things of this 
 kind you will be willin' to b'lieve that I am any thing 
 but an enemy to you, won't you?" he asked. 
 
 "You have rendered me a most important service," 
 answered the boy, guardedly, "and I am very grateful 
 to you for it. I only wish I was as well satisfied of your 
 friendship, and the truth of some things you told me 
 this morning, as I am of the interest you somehow take 
 in me. I can not understand why you, who are an utter 
 stranger to me, should put yourself to so much trouble 
 to assist me." 
 
 " I hain't no stranger to you," replied Sanders ear- 
 nestly. "I tell you I knowed you and your brother afore 
 either of you could walk. You were stole away from 
 your home by Dick Mortimer. Your friends have just 
 found out whar you are, an' sent me arter you. You're 
 goin' to start for the plains now, hain't you?" 
 
 "I am, and in less than five minutes." 
 
 " Wai, I'm goin' the same way. You needn't travel 
 in my company unless you're a mind to, but I'd be 
 powerful glad to have you. I can show you the way to 
 St. Joe anyhow, an' as we go along I will tell you about 
 the folks you hain't seed fur so many years." 
 
 Julian leaned against the smoke-house and thought 
 over this proposition. It was a very fair one, and he 
 could not see that he would place himself in any danger 
 by accepting it. lie was almost ready to put entire 
 faith in his new acquaintance, and to believe everything 
 he had told him. He wanted to believe it, and if 
 Sanders had made his appearance a few hours before
 
 120 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 prior to his meeting with Mr. Mortimer Julian Avould 
 have placed unlimited confidence in him. But his ex- 
 perience with Jack Bowies' guest had made him timid 
 and suspicious. 
 
 Sanders did not ask him to give himself up to his 
 guidance and control, but seemed satisfied to wait until 
 he was willing to do so of his free will; and Julian told 
 himself that that was a good sign. 
 
 He at last decided that he would accept the offer of 
 the man's guidance as far as St. Joseph, and that when 
 he reached that point he would decide upon his future 
 movements. In the meantime he would watch his com- 
 panion closety, and leave him at the very first sign of 
 treachery. This determination he communicated to 
 Sanders, who seemed to be immensely delighted by it. 
 
 " I am monstrous glad to hear you say it," said he. 
 "And I'll tell you what's a fact: If you go with me as 
 fur as St. Joe, you will go all the rest of the way with 
 me." 
 
 Julian did not quite like the tone in which these words 
 were spoken, for it made him feel that there was more in 
 them than he could understand; and had there been 
 light enough for him to see the expression the man's 
 face Avore at that moment the opinion would have been 
 confirmed. 
 
 " Whar you goin' now?" asked Sanders, as Julian 
 moved toward the cabin. 
 
 " Jake and Tom have some of my property in their 
 possession." was the reply; "a suit of clothes, a rifle and 
 a pair of blankets. I must have them before I start." 
 
 "'Taint wuth while," said Sanders. "You've got 
 money; buy more." 
 
 "I may need the little I have for other purposes when 
 I get out on the plains." 
 
 "Sho! You'll find more out thar than you ever 
 dreamed of. You can walk up a ravine a little way from 
 your father's ranch o an' pick up nuggets of gold as big 
 as you can tote." 
 
 ' ' But I don't know how long it will be, or what I 
 shall be obliged to pass through, before I get there,"
 
 SANDEA'S TELLS HIS STORY. \%\ 
 
 replied Julian. " Another thing, Jack Bowles and his 
 boys shall not have the satisfaction of using anything 
 that belongs to me." 
 
 "Wai, go ahead, then, if you're so sot onto it, an' I'll 
 be close by to lend a hand if you get into trouble." 
 
 While this conversation was being carried on Julian 
 and his companion were walking toward the cabin, and 
 now they were close beside it. The boy at once pushed 
 open the door and entered, while Sanders took his stand 
 upon the steps where he could see all that went on. 
 
 There was a roaring fire on the hearth, and by the aid 
 of the light it threw out Julian could distinguish every 
 object in the cabin. 
 
 Almost the first things his eyes rested upon were the 
 clothes of which he had been robbed, spread out on a 
 couple of nail-kegs to dry. His rifle stood beside the bed 
 in which Jake and Tom lay fast asleep, and his powder- 
 horn and bullet-pouch hung from a nail over their heads. 
 Walking across the floor with his ordinary step, and 
 without taking the least pains to avoid arousing the 
 occupants of the cabin, Julian took the horn and pouch 
 down from the nail, and while slinging them over his 
 shoulder discovered the other articles of which he was in 
 search his blankets, which were snugly tucked around 
 the shoulders of the sleeping brothers. 
 
 " You are very good to yourselves, are you not?" said 
 Julian aloud. " You leave me to freeze in the smoke- 
 house, and make use of my property to keep yourselves 
 warm. You'll sleep colder for the rest of the night." 
 
 As he said this he jerked the blankets off the bed. 
 The movement awoke Tom Bowles Avho started up in 
 alarm, and was greatly amazed to see his prisoner stand- 
 ing unbound beside his bed. 
 
 "Ye Julian!" he exclaimed, as soon as he found his 
 tongue. 
 
 " That's just what's the matter!" replied our hero. 
 
 " How come ye outen that ar smoke-house?" 
 
 " I crawled out." 
 
 " Ye'll crawl back agin mighty sudden, I tell ye," 
 replied Tom, seizing his brother by the shoulder. 
 " Wake up here, Jake,"
 
 122 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "Hold on!" said Julian, lifting his recovered rifle 
 over Tom's head. " No noise, now." 
 
 If Tom was alarmed by this movement on the part of 
 Julian, he was still more terrified when he saw a head 
 and a pair of broad shoulders thrust in at the door, and 
 a clenched hand, which looked as though it might have 
 knocked down an ox, shaken threateningly at him. He 
 understood the gesture and took his hand off his brother's 
 shoulder. 
 
 "Good-by, Tom," said Julian, shouldering his rifle 
 and gathering his clothes and blankets under his arm. 
 " I am sorry that I am in so great a hurry, for I have 
 several little accounts against you and Jake that I should 
 like to settle up before I go. Give my very kindest 
 regards to your father when he returns, and be sure and 
 follow the excellent advice your mother gave you a while 
 ago in my hearing." 
 
 So saying Julian left the cabin, and Sanders slammed 
 the door after him. Followed by his ally, the boy walked 
 toward the corn-cribs, and while he was pulling off Tom's 
 tattered garments and putting on his own, which were 
 now dry and comfortable, he saw the door of the cabin 
 opened and the heads of Mrs. Bowles and her two sons 
 thrust cautiously out. But they did not speak to him 
 or venture beyond the threshold. They peered into the 
 darkness a moment and then closed and fastened the 
 door; and that was the last Julian ever saw of them. 
 
 Billy, proving more tractable than on a former occasion, 
 was captured and saddled without difficulty. In two 
 hours more Julian's camp on the bluff was again occu- 
 pied. The brush shanty which Jack Bowles had pulled 
 down had been restored to an upright position; a fire 
 was burning brightly before it; Billy was standing 
 hitched to a tree close by; and Julian, with his saddle 
 under his head for a pillow, and the tin box containing 
 his money safely stowed away in his pocket, lay stretched 
 out on one of the blankets, while Sanders reclined upon 
 the other smoking his pipe. The man had been relat- 
 ing how he had hidden behind the corn-crib and over- 
 heard Jack Bowies' plans concerning Julian, and thus
 
 SANDERS TELLS HIS STOR Y. 123 
 
 been able to take measures to defeat them. He had 
 been a witness to everytking that happened on board 
 the flatboat. He had seen Julian go overboard, and 
 knowing that Jake and Tom were close by waiting to 
 pick him up, he had clambered down into the yawl, as 
 soon as he saw an opportunity to do so without attract- 
 ing the attention of any one of the flatboat's crew, and 
 pushed off to Julian's assistance. His story was fol- 
 lowed by a long pause, which was broken by our hero, 
 who said: 
 
 " I am ready to hear what you h#ve to tell me about 
 my parents. You say they are both alive?" 
 
 " Both of 'em," replied Sanders. 
 
 " How does my father look?" 
 
 " Jest as nateral as life enough like you to be your 
 brother, if it wasn't for his gray har an' mustache. He's 
 a tall, broad-shouldered man, has an eye like an eagle's, 
 an' is the best hossman an' rifle-shot in the West. He's 
 awful rich, too; I don't b'lieve he knows how much he's 
 wuth. You see, your mother an.' she's a lady, you bet 
 is a Spanish woman. Her father, long years ago," 
 Sanders went on hurriedly, as if he did not intend to 
 allow his listener any time to ask questions, "took it 
 into his ole head that he wanted to be away from every- 
 body, an' so he located out thar in the mountains. He 
 allers was rich, but when he got out thar he found him- 
 self richer'n ever. Thar was gold all around him. He 
 couldn't walk without steppin' onto it, an' he picked it 
 up by cart-loads. Your father, who was out thar sojerin', 
 resigned his commission in the army an' married his dar- 
 ter; an' in course when the ole man died he came into pos- 
 session of all his gold dust. But thar were some people 
 about who didn't want him to keep it. The only kin 
 folks your mother had after her father died were a 
 brother an' cousin, an' you see if everybody else had 
 been out of the way, all the money would have fell to 
 her brother. They ain't the honestest fellers in the 
 world, her kin folks ain't, I must say. They're the 
 wust sort of gamblers, bein' monstrous fond of three- 
 card moute, an' they are even suspicioned of doin'
 
 J.24 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 things a heap sight wuss than that; an* since your 
 father an' his family wouldn't die an' leave them to take 
 charge of the money, they laid a plan to hurry up mat- 
 ters an' divide the plunder between them. But all the 
 harm they done was to steal you away from home, an' 
 that didn't do 'em no good 'cause I've found you agin." 
 
 "You say that Dick Mortimer is the man who kid- 
 naped me?" asked Julian, when Sanders paused. 
 'Sartin, I do." 
 
 'And that he is a relative of my mother's?" 
 ' Them's my very words." 
 ' Well, now, is he her brother or her cousin?" 
 He's her brother." 
 Her own brother?" 
 In course." 
 
 How can that be? My mother's name wasn't Mor- 
 timer before she was married, was it?" 
 
 " Eh?" exclaimed Sanders, somewhat disconcerted by 
 this question. " Oh, no; in course not. Her name 
 was Cordova, an' Dick's her cousin." 
 
 " Then how does it come that his name is Morti- 
 mer?" 
 
 " Eh? I'm blessed if I know. I guess it jest hap- 
 pened so. An' your brother's alive an* all right, too. 
 Now he's a boy, he is. You're mighty right. His 
 name's Fred. Won't he make things lively for you 
 though when you get out thai? You hain't goin' to 
 sleep, be you?" 
 
 " Yes, I am," replied Julian, rearranging his blanket 
 and resting his head on his hard pillow, " I have 
 scarcely closed my eyes during the past forty-eight 
 hours, and I begin to feel the need of rest. We have a 
 long journey to make to-morrow, you know. Good- 
 night." 
 
 Sanders looked sharply at the boy, and settled back 
 on his blanket, muttering as he did so: 
 
 " Did I tell him anything out of the way, I wonder? 
 I am afraid I got that brother an' cousin business 
 mixed up a trifle too much. I said jest what Reginald 
 told me to say as nigh as I could. If I can only man-
 
 SANDERS TELLS HIS STORY. 125 
 
 age to keep him with me till we reach St. Joe, I am all 
 right. It will make a rich man of me." 
 
 "It is no use to waste time in listening to this fellow 
 and building hopes on what he says," thought Julian, 
 throwing his arm over his head, and watching his com- 
 panion through his half -closed eyes. "He repeated his 
 story as if he had learned it by heart, and some portions 
 of it didn't hold together. I wish he would take off 
 that handkerchief and give me a fair view of his face. 
 Who is he, and why did he come here? My father 
 never sent him, for, if he is alive and well, and knows 
 where I am, he would have come himself if he wanted 
 to have me near him. He is no friend of Dick Morti- 
 mer, for he is working against him. Is he up to some 
 trick of his own, or is he employed by somebody? I'll 
 not go to sleep, for I am afraid of him. 1 can't well 
 avoid traveling in his company as far as St. Joseph, 
 but when I get there I will have no more to do with 
 him." 
 
 For a short while Julian was wakeful enough. His 
 recent excitement and adventures, and his speculations 
 concerning the future, kept his brain busy and banished 
 sleep. But at last his thoughts became confused, his 
 eyelids grew heavy, and in a few minutes more he waa 
 iii the land of dreams.
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 THE JOURNEY COMMENCED. 
 
 HEN Julian opened his eyes again the sun 
 was rising. He started up with an exclama- 
 tion which was repeated as soon as he was 
 fairly awake. His first thought was of his 
 companion. He was gone. A glance about the camp 
 showed him that something else was also missing his 
 rifle, which he had placed under the eaves of the cabin 
 close at hand and ready for use in case of emergency. A 
 strange feeling came over Julian, and it was some min- 
 utes before he could muster up courage enough to place 
 his hand upon the breast of his jacket in which he car- 
 ried his box of money. But he did it at last, and was 
 immensely relieved to find that his box was safe. He 
 removed the lid, and saw that its contents had not been 
 disturbed. 
 
 While he was trying to find some explanation for his 
 companion's absence, and wondering why, if he had de- 
 serted him and stolen his gun, he had not taken the 
 money also, Sanders appeared in sight over the brow of 
 the bluff with Julian's rifle on his shoulder and several 
 squirrels in his hand, which he had shot for their I reak- 
 fast. The boy said nothing about the fright his absence 
 had occasioned him, but assisted him in cooking and 
 eating the squirrels, telling himself the while that what- 
 ever else Sanders might be he was not a thief. It was 
 plain now that if he had any designs upon Julian, the 
 time to carry them into execution had not yet arrived. 
 
 When the two had satisfied their appetites Billy was 
 saddled, the fire extinguished, and the journey toward 
 St. Joseph commenced. Julian rode the horse and San- 
 ders walked by his side, striding along at an astonishing 
 rate and keeping Billy in a trot all the way. He proved
 
 THE JO URNE Y COMMENCED. ] o 7 
 
 to be a very entertaining companion, and told stories of 
 adventure in the mountains and on the plains tillJulian 
 became interested in spite of himself. Sanders, quick 
 to notice the fact, again spoke of the home among the 
 gold mines to which he was ready to conduct Julian if 
 the latter would only trust to his guidance; but seeing 
 very plainly that the boy did not believe a word he said, 
 he dropped the subject and did not refer to it again. 
 
 At noon they stopped at a farm-house, where both 
 travelers and horse were regaled with an excellent din- 
 ner, and about 10 o'clock that night found themselves 
 in a hotel in St. Joseph. Julian asked to be shown at 
 once to his room, and after he had locked himself in 
 and barricaded the door with the washstand and chairs, 
 he drew a long breath of relief, and for the first time 
 since meeting Richard Mortimer believed himself free 
 from danger. The feeling of comfort and security he 
 experienced was certainly refreshing, but it would have 
 been short-lived had he known what his companion in 
 the adjoining room was thinking about. 
 
 That worthy was up and doing at a very early hour, 
 and his first move, after he had come out of his room 
 and looked up and down the hall to make sure that there 
 was no one in sight, was to place his ear and then his 
 eye to the keyhole of Julian's door. He heard and saw 
 enough to satisfy him that the boy had not yet arisen, 
 and this point being settled he went down stairs and out 
 of the house. He hurried along the streets, and after 
 turning numerous corners found himself in front of a 
 small and very dingy public house, which, as the sign 
 before the door indicated, was called the "Hunter's 
 Home." It was patronized exclusively by frontiersmen, 
 and some of the guests were already astir and lounging 
 about the doors. Sanders glanced at the groups as he 
 walked by them, and turning the nearest corner passed 
 on out of sight. No sooner had he disappeared than two 
 men arose from the bench on which they had been sit- 
 ting, and strolling down the street and turning the same 
 corner, presently came up with Sanders, who was perched 
 upon a dry-goods box in front of a store.
 
 128 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 " I allowed it was you, Ned, but I didn't know," said 
 one of them,- advancing and extending his hand, which 
 Sanders shook cordially. " You're dressed up like a 
 gentleman. What luck?" 
 
 "I've got him." 
 
 "You have?" cried both the men in concert. 
 
 " It's a fact. He's in a hotel not more'n a half a mile 
 from here Julian Mortimer himself, an' nobody else. 
 I've had the wust kind of a time a gettin' him. Dick 
 Mortimer was thar ahead of me." 
 
 "Sho!" 
 
 "Yes. An' we're goiii to have a wusser time, I am 
 afraid, gettin' him out of the town to the prairy. He's 
 sharper'n two steel traps, that boy is, an' somehow he 
 don't like the looks of me. He knows a heap about 
 himself, an' is too smart to swallow a single one of the 
 lies I told him. He's goin' to cut loose from me, I can 
 see it in his eye; an' whatever we do must be done to 
 once. He wants to jine a wagon train, if he can find 
 one." 
 
 " Wai, he can," replied one of the men, " 'cause 
 thar's one goin' out to-day. Silas Eoper's goin' along." 
 
 "Silas Boper!" replied Sanders savagely. "He's 
 allers in the way. He musn't see the boy, 'cause if 
 he does our goose is cooked done brown. Come with 
 me to the hotel, an' as we go along I will think up some 
 way to manage this business." 
 
 Sanders jumped off the dry-goods box and walked 
 rapidly away, closely followed by his two companions. 
 When they arrived within sight of the hotel he stopped, 
 for they saw Julian standing on the steps. Sanders' 
 friends recognized him at once, and declared that they 
 would have known him if they had met him on the 
 other side of the world. They held a short, whispered 
 conversation, after which the two men retreated into a 
 door- way out of sight, and Sanders kept on and accosted 
 Julian. 
 
 " You're an 'arly bird, hain't you?" said he, with an 
 awkward attempt to appear cordial and friendly. " So 
 am I. I have been findin' out somethin' about the
 
 THE JO URNE Y COMMENCED. 120 
 
 wagon trains, an' I am told that one went out yesterday 
 bound for the very place you want to go. It will pass 
 within ti hundred yards of the door of your father's 
 rancho. I am goin' to start after it directly. Thar 
 won't be another goin' out under a month, an' I can't 
 wait so long; fur I've no money to waste in payin' board 
 bills." 
 
 " Neither have I," said Julian. 
 
 "Then you'd best go with me, hadn't you? We can 
 easy ketch the train by day after to-morrow 
 
 Sanders paused suddenly, finishing the sentence with 
 something that sounded very much like an oath. He 
 gazed earnestly down the street for a moment, and then 
 turned and walked rapidly away, drawing his handker- 
 chief close about his face as he went. He did not slacken 
 his pace until he had left the hotel out of sight, and was 
 joined by his two companions, who had made an equally 
 hasty retreat. The expression on their faces indicated 
 that they were terribly enraged about something. 
 
 " If they wasn't worth so much money to us I would 
 make way with both of them in less time than it takes to 
 say so!" exclaimed Sanders, in a very savage tone of 
 voice. " Did you ever hear tell of such luck? I've done 
 all that can be done at this end of the route, but I hain't 
 beat yet. We'll go to the mountains now, an' have every 
 thing fixed agin' the wagon train gets thar." 
 
 For some reason Sanders and his friends now seemed 
 anxious to leave the town with as little delay as possible. 
 They made the best of their way to the Hunter's Home, 
 which they entered hurriedly, and when they again made 
 their appearance on the street they were all on horse- 
 back and carried rifles on their shoulders and revolvers 
 and bowie-knives in their belts. 
 
 No one not well acquainted with him would have 
 recognized Sunders as the same man who had gone into 
 the hotel but a few minutes before. His broadcloth and 
 jewelry had disappeared, also the handkerchief which he 
 had worn about his face, and he was dressed in a suit of 
 buckskin, which had evidently seen the hardest kind of 
 service. If Julian could have taken one glance at him
 
 130 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 now, he would not have felt the least inclination to 
 renew his short acquaintance with him, nor would he 
 have wondered that the man had been so careful to keep 
 his features concealed from view. Perhaps he would 
 have asked himself why he did not continually wear the 
 handkerchief. 
 
 His was the worst looking face that had ever been 
 seen in the streets of St. Joseph one that any man 
 except its owner would have been ashamed of; and even 
 lie had thought best to hide it for a while lest it should 
 bear testimony against him and defeat his plans. But 
 as he was now about to leave the country of civilized 
 men and go among those of his own kind, concealment 
 was no longer necessary. He appeared in his true char- 
 acter, that of villain and desperado. 
 
 When Sanders and his companions were fairly out of 
 the stable-yard, they put spurs to their horses, and rode 
 swiftly away. They stopped that night long enough to 
 ascertain that Julian was with the emigrants, and to 
 make a demonstration, the result of which shall be 
 related presently, and then resumed their rapid gallop, 
 which they did not slacken in one day, nor two; and 
 even at the end of a week, mounted on fresh horses, 
 which they had stolen or obtained in exchange for their 
 own jaded animals, they were still riding toward the 
 mountains as if for dear life. In this way they gained 
 considerably on the wagon train, and by the time it ap- 
 peared in sight of Bridger's Pass, Sanders had mustered 
 assistance, and was ready to accomplish by force of arms 
 what he had failed to gain by strategy.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 SILAS KOPEK, THE GUIDE. 
 
 URPRLSED at the abruptness with which 
 Sanders had deserted him, and at the unmis- 
 takable signs of rage and alarm he exhibited, 
 Julian stood looking after his retreating form 
 until it disappeared from view, and then directed his 
 gaze down the street. 
 
 He could see nothing there calculated to frighten 
 Sanders or any body else. There were but few men in 
 sight, and these appeared to have no hostile intentions 
 toward any one, for they were going quietly about their 
 business, and did not seem to be aware that there were 
 such persons as Julian and his late companion in 
 existence. 
 
 Among them was a man who attracted the boy's atten- 
 tion at once; and he also seemed to be an object of 
 interest to all in his immediate vicinity, for every one 
 who passed him turned to look back at him. He was 
 the nearest approach to a giant that Julian had ever 
 seen. Sanders, large and powerful as he was, would 
 have looked like a boy beside him. He was as straight 
 as an arrow, and moved along as if he were set on 
 springs. He was dressed in a complete suit of buckskin, 
 even to his moccasins, and carried the never-failing 
 knife and revolver about his waist. But little could be 
 seen of his face, for it was covered with immense 
 whiskers, which reached almost to his belt. He walked 
 with his hands in the pockets of his hunting-shirt, look- 
 ing carelessly about him, as if he had determined upon 
 nothing in particular. 
 
 Arriving at the steps where Julian stood, he seated 
 himself upon them, and drawing a pipe from a little 
 pouch which hung at his belt, prepared to till up for a 
 smoke.
 
 132 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 Julian watched all his movements with interest, and 
 felt a strange kind of awe in the man's presence. He 
 was certainly a trapper, and he must be a daring one, 
 too, unless his looks belied him, for he would have been 
 picked out among a thousand as a man who was not to 
 be daunted by any physical dangers. He must know all 
 about life on the frontier, of course, and perhaps he 
 could give some information concerning the wagon train 
 of which Sanders had spoken. 
 
 "Sir!" said Julian, as soon as this thought passed 
 through his mind. 
 
 " Wai!" returned the trapper, raising a pair of honest- 
 looking brown eyes, which seemed to invite the boy's 
 confidence. 
 
 " Can you tell me whether or not a wagon train left 
 this place yesterday for the mountains?" asked Julian. 
 "I can." 
 
 "I understood there was/' continued Julian, after 
 waiting for the man to say something else. 
 "Then you understood what wasn't so." 
 "Was there none left?" 
 "No." 
 
 " What object could Sanders have had in view in tell- 
 ing me that falsehood?" thought the boy. "When does 
 the next one start?" 
 To-day." 
 How soon?" 
 'Toonct." 
 
 Where from?" 
 
 * From a place 'bout a mile from here, right up this 
 street." 
 
 'Could I go with it?" 
 
 I reckon. Want to go to Californy?" 
 ' No, sir; I am bound for the mountains." 
 
 For the Peak?" 
 ' No, sir; for the mountains." 
 'Wai, wharabouts in the mountains?" 
 'Whereabouts?" replied Julian. 
 He gazed at the trapper a moment, and seating him- 
 self on the opposite end of the steps, looked down at
 
 SILAS ROPER, THE GUIDE. 133 
 
 the ground in a brown study. The question propounded 
 to him excited a serious train of reflections in his mind. 
 He had always spoken and thought of "'the mountains" 
 without having any very definite idea concerning them. 
 He had imagined that when he was once safe across the 
 plains his troubles would all be over, and that it would 
 be a matter of no difficulty to find the home and friends 
 of which he was in search if they were still in existence; 
 but the trapper's last words had opened his eyes and 
 showed him the real magnitude of his undertaking. 
 'Whereabouts in the mountains?" 
 
 This was a question, that Julian could not answer. 
 He remembered now to have read somewhere that the 
 Eocky Mountains covered an area of 980,000 square 
 miles. How could he hope to find his father in such a 
 wilderness as that? He might be in Mexico, or he 
 might be in Oregon Julian didn't know. After all he 
 had endured and accomplished, the obstacles that lay in 
 his path were but just beginning to make themselves 
 manifest. This reflection for the moment utterly un- 
 nerved him, and tears began to fall from his eyes. The 
 trapper removed his pipe from his mouth long enough 
 to say: 
 
 "Cryin'?" 
 
 " I know it is unmanly," replied Julian, "but I can't 
 help it. I have been through some difficulties lately, 
 but I can see that there are worse ones before me. But 
 I'll never give up never!" 
 
 " Stick to that allers," said the trapper, now begin- 
 ning to show some interest in what the boy had to say. 
 *' IS'ever-give-up has carried many a feller through the 
 wust kind of scrapes. Got any friends out West?" 
 
 " Yes, sir or, rather, I had a few years ago; but I 
 don't know where to find them. Did you ever hear of 
 Major Mortimer?" 
 
 " I b'lieve I've heerd his name spoke/' 
 
 " Do you know where ho lives?" 
 
 " I can't jest say I do exactly. T liar's only two or 
 three men who can tell whar he is now, but I know 
 whar he used to live."
 
 134 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 " He is my father. " 
 
 "I know it." 
 
 "You do?" cried Julian. He looked at the man in 
 utter bewilderment, and arose hastily to his feet. 
 " Good-day, sir," said he. " I am obliged to you for 
 the information you gave me about that wagon train." 
 
 The trapper made no reply. He took his pipe out of 
 his mouth and looked after the boy as he jumped off 
 the steps and hurried down the street, and when he dis- 
 appeared he arose, thrust his hands in his pockets and 
 sauntered after him. What would Julian have thought 
 if he had known that he was running away from the 
 only friend he had east of the mountains? 
 
 "I will have nothing to do with any one who has ever 
 seen or heard of me," soliloquized the boy, as he hur- 
 ried along, looking into the different stores he passed. 
 "How does it come, I wonder, that so mauy^men whom 
 I never saw before know me? I am going to depend 
 upon myself until I am satisfied that I am out of danger. 
 If Sanders makes his appearance again I will send him 
 about his business. I will go out with that wagon train, 
 and perhaps before I reach the mountains I shall find 
 some man who doesn't know me, and who can give me 
 the information I want. This is the place I am looking 
 for." 
 
 He stopped in front of a store, where a boy about his 
 own age was at work taking down the shutters. It ap- 
 peared to be a sort of variety store, for clothing and 
 furnishing goods were displayed in one of the windows, 
 and weapons and saddlery in the other. 
 
 Julian entered, and when he came out again, a quarter 
 of an hour afterward, he had made as great a change in 
 his appearance as Sanders did during the short time he 
 remained in the Hunter's Home. He was dressed in a 
 full Mexican suit, which the polite and attentive clerk 
 had made him believe was just the tiling to wear during 
 a journey across the plains, and in the saddle-bags, 
 which he carried over his shoulder, was another and a 
 finer suit of the same description, as well as a small 
 supply of powder and lead, a brace of revolvers, and
 
 SILAS ROPER, THE GUIDE. 135 
 
 several other articles of which he thought lie might 
 stand in need. On his arm he carried a poncho a 
 rubber blanket with a hole in the center which was to 
 be used in lieu of an umbrella in rainy weather. 
 
 When he came out and bent his steps toward the 
 hotel, a tall fellow in buckskin, who was loaning against 
 an awning on the opposite side of the street, straight- 
 ened up and followed after him. When he sat down to 
 his breakfast the same man walked through the hall, 
 and looked in at the dining-room; and when, after pay- 
 ing his bill at the hotel, he came out with all his 
 weapons and luggage, and sprung upon his horse, the 
 man in buckskin disappeared down a neighboring street, 
 and presently came back again, mounted on a large 
 cream-colored mustang, and rode in pursuit of Julian. 
 
 Our hero found that the information the strange 
 trapper had given him concerning the wagon train was 
 correct. The emigrants had been encamped on a com- 
 mon a short distance from the hotel, and when Julian 
 came up with them they were all on the move. The 
 road in advance of him was dotted with white wagon- 
 covers as far as his eyes could reach. It was a novel 
 and interesting sight to him, and he soon forgot his 
 troubles in watching what was going on around him. 
 The day that he had thought of and lived for so long 
 had arrived at last, and he was fairly on his way to the 
 mountains. The road the emigrants intended to follow 
 might not lead him to his home, but what of that? It 
 was enough for him to know that it crossed the mount- 
 ains somewhere. 
 
 Billy, being in high mettle, insisted on going ahead, 
 and his rider allowing him a free rein, was carried at a 
 swinging gallop along the entire length of the train 
 until he arrived at the foremost wagons. The emigrants 
 all seemed to be in excellent spirits, and Julian heard 
 them laughing and talking with one another as he 
 dashed by. On the way he passed several boys, who 
 were racing their horses along the road, now and then 
 stopping to call back to their parents and friends in the 
 wagons. Their merriment had an effect upon Julian
 
 ]3G JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 It made him contrast their situation with his own. In 
 all that wagon train there was no one to greet him, no 
 one who knew how he longed for a word of sympathy 
 and encouragement from somebody, and no one who 
 cared for him or his affairs. 
 
 "But I am free!" said the boy, who was not long in 
 finding some crumbs of comfort with which to solace 
 himself. "I can go where I please, and there is no 
 Jack Bowles to dog my footstep, and beat me with his 
 rawhide. I can eat, sleep and wi:lk about in perfect 
 security, knowing that there is no one to molest me. I 
 am leaving behind me Richard Mortimer, Sanders and 
 all the rest of my secret enemies, and the dangers and 
 difficulties I have yet to encounter will be such as I 
 know how to meet. If I do not find my home and 
 friends before my money is gone, I have a good horse 
 and rifle, and I know how to shoot and trap. I shall 
 be able to take care of myself." 
 
 There were several men riding in company in advance 
 of the train, and not wishing to intrude upon them, Ju- 
 lian fell in behind, and during the whole of that fore- 
 noon never spoke a word to any one. When noon came 
 the wagons began to draw off into the woods one by 
 one, and in a quarter of an hour the entire train had 
 come to a halt, and preparations for dinner were actively 
 going on. Julian, hungry and lonely, would have been 
 glad of an invitation to join one of the happy parties 
 that were scattered about among the trees, but no one 
 noticed him. He dismounted a little apart from the 
 rest of the emigrants, and after tying his horse to a 
 tree, spread his poncho upon the ground, and was 
 about to begin an attack upon the small supply of 
 crackers and cheese stowed away in his saddle-bags, 
 when some one spoke to him. 
 
 "Wai, my lad, its grub time," said a familiar voice. 
 
 Julian looked up, and there, leaning tipon a rifle that 
 an ordinary man could scarcely have raised to his shoul- 
 der, stood the tall trapper whom he had met in the 
 streets of St. Joseph. At the sight of him his old 
 fears were revived with redoubled force.
 
 SILAS ROPER, THE GUIDE. 137 
 
 "Here's one enemy I haven't left behind me," thought 
 Julian. " I must still be on the lookout for treachery. 
 I know it is dinner-time," he added, aloud; "and I am 
 just about to take advantage of it." 
 
 "In what way? I don't see that you have got any- 
 thing to eat." 
 
 "I have, nevertheless," replied the boy, laying his 
 hand on his saddle-bags. 
 
 " Do you keep it in thar?" asked the trapper, with a 
 laugh. " How long do you think it'll last you?" 
 
 "A day or two; and when it is gone my rifle must 
 supply my larder. There must be an abundance of 
 game on the plains." 
 
 "Humph! That shows how much you know 'bout 
 prairie life. Sometimes thar's game an' sometimes thar 
 hain't. An' sometimes when we know thar's plenty of 
 buffaler an' antelope only a little ways off, we can't go 
 out to shoot 'em fur fear of the Injuns. What'll you 
 do under them sarcumstances?" 
 
 Julian didn't know. He would be obliged to go to 
 bed hungry, he supposed. 
 
 "Yes, an' you'll go to bed hungry many a night afore 
 you see the mountains, if this is the way you're goin' to 
 do business," continued the trapper. " We can do bet- 
 ter'n this fur you. Come into our mess; we'd be glad 
 to have you." 
 
 Julian thanked the man for his kind offer, but took 
 time to consider before replying. The interest his new 
 acquaintance seemed to take in his welfare made him 
 suspicious, and he wanted to keep as far away from him 
 as possible. But, after all, if the trapper had any de- 
 signs upon him, what difference would it make whether 
 Julian remained at one end of the wagon train or the 
 other? It would certainly be better to make sure of 
 plenty to eat during the journey than to depend upon 
 his rifle; and, if he saw anything in the trapper's actions 
 to confirm his suspicions, he could easily avoid being 
 left alone with him. 
 
 He arose and picked up his saddle-bags, and the trap- 
 per, who had waited patiently for an answer to his invi
 
 138 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 tation, shouldered his rifle and led the way through the 
 woods, presently stopping at one of the wagons, beside 
 which a party of three men were seated on the ground 
 .eating their dinner. 
 
 These looked curiously at Julian as he came up, and 
 seemed to be waiting for the trapper to tell why he had 
 brought him there; but as he did not appear to think 
 that any explanation was necessary, they made way for 
 the boy, and waving their hands toward the plates con- 
 taining the corn-bread and bacon, went on with their 
 conversation. 
 
 The trapper soon satisfied his appetite, and mount- 
 ing his horse, which was grazing close by, rode off, leav- 
 ing Julian alone with the three men. He listened to 
 their conversation, and soon learned that they were 
 from an Eastern State, that they had never been West 
 before, and that their destination was the gold mines of 
 California. 
 
 This silenced some of Julian's fears, and finally, ven- 
 turing to inquire who the trapper was, he was told that 
 his name was Silas Roper, and that he Avas the chief 
 man of the wagon train the guide. The men were 
 enthusiastic in their praises of him, and if they told 
 the truth, as Julian hoped they did, Silas was one in 
 whom he could well afford to confide. 
 
 Our hero then explained how he came to be brought 
 into the mess, following up the story with as much of 
 his history as he was willing the men should know, and 
 their hearty words of sympathy and welcome placed him 
 at his ease at once, and almost made him believe that at 
 last he had found real friends. 
 
 While the dinner was in progress a horseman came 
 leisurely down the road, gazing earnestly at every group 
 of emigrants he passed, as if he Avere searching for some 
 one. When he reached the place where Julian and the 
 three men were seated, he drew rein with an exclama- 
 tion of surprise and satisfaction, and sat motionless in 
 his saddle, staring at them as if debating some point in 
 his mind. Having at last decided upon something he 
 rode up to the party and accosted them.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 ACEOSS THE PLAINS. 
 
 HE MOMENT Julian's eyes rested upon the 
 strange horseman he asked himself where he 
 had seen him before. There was something 
 about him that looked familiar. He was 
 dressed in rough clothing, like the rest of the emigrants, 
 wore high-top boots and a broad felt hat. His hair was 
 cut close to his head, and his face, which was dark and 
 haughty, was clean shaven; although the blue shade 
 about his chin and upper lip showed that goatee and 
 mustache had recently been growing there. His voice 
 sounded strangely familiar, too, although Julian could 
 not recollect where he had heard it before. 
 
 The man announced that he Avas bound for San Fran- 
 cisco, and that having been obliged to make his prepara- 
 tions for the journey in great haste, in order to join that 
 wagon train, he had had no opportunity to lay in a 
 supply of provisions. As their moss appeared to be 
 small he would be glad to join it, if the men had no 
 objections, and was willing to pay liberally for the privi- 
 lege. Julian's new friends had no objection whatever. 
 They liked good company, and if the stranger would 
 agree to pay his share of the provisions he might come 
 in and welcome. And so the matter was settled, and 
 the new-comer became a member of Julian's mess. 
 
 Our hero had never carried a lighter heart than he 
 did during that afternoon's ride. He no longer felt that 
 he was utterly forsaken in the world. He had some one 
 to talk to now men who had never seen or heard of 
 him before, who did not even know his name, but who 
 nevertheless sympathized with him and took an interest 
 in his affairs. And it Avas because these new-found 
 friends were strangers to him that Julian felt safe in
 
 140 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 their company. He was still suspicious of the guide, 
 notwithstanding the high terms of praise in which he 
 had been spoken of by the members of his mess, and he 
 disliked the appearance of the new emigrant also. 
 
 The latter seemed desirous of cultivating the boy's 
 acquaintance. He addressed a good many of his re- 
 marks to him, and whenever he said anything that he 
 thought to be particularly interesting or witty, he would 
 look at Julian and wink. This was quite enough to ex- 
 cite the boy's suspicions; but he comforted himself with 
 'the thought that neither the guide nor the emigrant 
 would dare molest him in the presence of the whole 
 wagon train, and that he would take care never to be 
 left alone with them. 
 
 The afternoon passed quickly away, and it was sunset 
 almost before Julian knew it. His day in the saddle had 
 severely tested his endurance, and he was glad indeed 
 when the train came to a halt. Being desirous of show- 
 ing his new friends that he appreciated their kindness 
 to him, he assisted them in making the camp, unhar- 
 nessing the mules, providing the wood for fire, and 
 bringing the water with which to fill the camp-kettle. 
 The guide, whom he had not seen during the whole of 
 the afternoon, made his appearance when supper was 
 ready, and so did the emigrant; but the latter did not 
 approach the fire. He stopped at a respectful distance, 
 looked hard at Silas, whose back was turned toward 
 him, and then walked quickly out of sight. Julian, 
 astonished at his singular behavior, looked around at 
 the other members of the mess to see if any beside him- 
 self had observed it; but the men were too busy with 
 their corn-bread and bacon to pay any attention to what 
 was going on outside their own camp. 
 
 Supper over, Silas and his companions stretched them- 
 selves on their blankets to enjoy their pipes, while Ju- 
 lian busied himself in gathering up the dishes and pack- 
 ing the remains of the supper away in the wagon. This 
 done, he went out for a stroll down the road; he wanted 
 to see how the camp looked by moonlight. 
 
 The day's journey, although it had been a hard and
 
 ACROSS THE PLAINS. 141 
 
 fatiguing one, seemed to have had no effect i;pon the 
 spirits of the emigrants, who were as merry and laughed 
 and sang as loudly as when they left St. Joseph. They 
 seemed to be supremely happy and contented, and 
 Julian did not wonder at it. They had everything 
 their hearts could desire to make them happy, and he 
 had everything to make him miserable. If he had had 
 parents and brothers and sisters there he would have 
 laughed too, and felt as light of heart as the best of 
 them. But there was not a soul with whom he could 
 claim relationship in less than a thousand miles, and 
 perhaps not in the world. Julian was falling into his 
 melancholy mood again, and he wanted to be alone; the 
 sounds of merriment grated harshly on his ears. He 
 left the camp and hurried down the road. On he went, 
 regardless of the flight of time, through the woods in 
 which the wagons had halted, to the prairie that lay 
 heyond, brooding over the past and speculating on the 
 future. 
 
 How long his fit of abstraction continued he could not 
 have told ; but when he came to himself the camp-fires 
 were out of sight, and he was standing on an extensive 
 plain which stretched away before him as far as his eyes 
 could reach, without even a tree or bush to break the 
 monotony. He was done; there was not a living thing 
 within the range of his vision. This was Julian's first 
 glimpse of the prairie, and it was not without its effect 
 upon him. He gazed in wonder. What an immense 
 region it was that lay between him and his home all 
 India could be put into it twice, he had read somewhere 
 and until that moment what a ridiculously faint con- 
 ception he had had of it! What would he not have given 
 to have been able to tell what lay beyond it? He 
 listened but not a sound came to his ears. An unearthly 
 silence brooded over the vast expanse a silence so deep 
 that he could hear the beating of his own heart. Julian 
 was awed, almost frightened by it; and turning quickly 
 about he started for the camp at the top of his speed. 
 
 Perhaps Julian would have been really frightened if 
 he had known that he was not so utterly alone as he
 
 142 JULIAN MORTIMER, 
 
 imagined himself to be. There were no less than four 
 persons in sight of him all the while, and part of the 
 time, five. Three of them were Sanders and the men 
 who had left St. Joseph in his company. Having 
 watched the train from a safe distance all that day, they 
 entered the camp as soon as it grew dark to satisfy 
 themselves that the boy of whom they were in search 
 was among the emigrants. They saw him as he strolled 
 through the woods and followed, hoping to find an 
 opportunity to make a prisoner of him. The fourth 
 man, who watched every move Julian made daring the 
 time he remained within sight of him, and Avho carried 
 in his hand a revolver cocked and ready for use, was the 
 emigrant; and the fifth was Silas Koper. The latter, 
 unlike the others, who made use of every tuft of grass to 
 cover their bodies, walked erect down the road, keeping 
 always within rifle-range of Julian, whose form, being 
 clad in dark garments, was thrown out in bold relief 
 against the gray background of the prairie. The 
 emigrant saw him, if Julian did not, and for some 
 reasons of his own thought it best to abandon his pursuit 
 of the boy. He concealed himself in the grass until the 
 trapper had passed on, and then scrambled to his feet 
 and slunk away in the direction of the camp. 
 
 Julian had not retraced his steps very far before he 
 began to wish most heartily that he had turned back long 
 ago. There was some one following him following, 
 too, for the purpose and with the determination of over- 
 taking him. His ears told him that such was 'the fact, 
 and there was no need that he should look back to make 
 sure of it he dared not do it. He heard the sound of 
 the pursuit very plainly the stealthy, cautious patter 
 of moccasine'd feet on the hard road, which grew louder 
 and more distinct every instant. Who was his pursuer? 
 The guide, beyond a doubt, for he was the only man in 
 the train who wore moccasins. Fear lent Julian wings, 
 and he made headway astonishingly; but there was some 
 one beside the clumsy Jack Bowles in pursuit of him 
 now, and the lightness of foot that had brought him off 
 with flying colors in his race with that worthy could not 
 avail him.
 
 ACROSS THE PLAINS. 143 
 
 "It's no use, Julian," said a gruff voice behind him. 
 " I'm a comiu', an' if I don't overhaul you thar ain't 
 no snakes. You're ketched, an' you might as well stop 
 an' give in." 
 
 But our hero was not one of the kind who give in. 
 He strained every nerve to escape, but his pursuer 
 gained rapidly. He was close behind him now Julian 
 could hear his heavy breathing; but just as he was ex- 
 pecting to feel his strong grasp on his collar, a blinding 
 sheet of flame shot out of the gloom directly in advance 
 of him, and something whistled through the air close 
 to his ear. In another minute Julian had run squarely 
 into the arms of Silas Eoper, and his pursuer had faced 
 about and was making his way through the tall grass as 
 if a legion of wolves were close at his heels. 
 
 "I reckon I thro wed away that chunk of lead, didn't 
 I?" said Silas. "You needn't be skeered now. I 
 know you ain't hurt, 'cause I've had my eyes on you all 
 the while." 
 
 Julian, weak with terror and utterly bewildered to 
 find the guide in front, when he had all the while sup- 
 posed him to be behind and in pursuit of him, could 
 not reply. 13ut if he was surprised at this, he was still 
 more amazed at the manner in which Silas received him. 
 He did not show the least desire to do him an injury, 
 but on the contrary extended his arm around him pro- 
 tectingly, and supported him until he had somewhat 
 recovered himself. 
 
 " You're lively on your legs fur a little one," con- 
 tinued the trapper, "but you're well nigh give put, 
 ain't you? If thar had been just a trifle more light 
 Sanders would have been past harmin' you now." 
 
 "Who?" gasped Julian. 
 
 " Sanders. You didn't think to hear of him again 
 so soon, did you?" 
 
 " I never expected to hear from him again." 
 
 " Sho! Wai, you'll hear and see more of him durin* 
 the next few weeks than you'll like, / tell you. That 
 was him a chasin' you, 'cause I've seed him often enough 
 to know him," added the trapper, leading the way to- 
 ward the camp, loading his rifle as he went.
 
 i 44 JULIA JV MOR TIMER. 
 
 " You said you were watching me," said Julian. 
 " Why did you do it?" 
 " 'Cause I'm a friend to you." 
 
 " I begin to believe you are," replied the boy, casting 
 all his suspicions to the winds. " If I had been sure of 
 it to-day when I first saw you, I shouldn't have run 
 away from you; but I have seen so much treachery 
 lately that I distrust everybody." 
 
 ' ' I can easy b'lieve that. I know purty near what 
 Dick an' Ned have been up to." 
 
 " You told me this morning that you know who I 
 am. Of course, then, you know my father." 
 Sartin I do." 
 ls he alive?" 
 'He is." 
 
 'And my mother?" 
 
 'No, she's dead died when you was a little feller." 
 'And my brother?" 
 'He's all right." 
 
 ' Can you take me to my father?" 
 I reckon not." 
 What's the reason?" 
 
 ' 'Cause I don't know whar he is that's the reason. 
 I'll allers be a friend to you, howsomever." 
 
 During the walk to the camp Julian asked innumer- 
 able questions about his home and friends, but the in- 
 formation that we have just recorded was all he could 
 extort from the trapper. Ho taxed his ingenuity to the 
 utmost, and propounded his inquiries in a dozen different 
 ways, but Silas could neither be surprised or coaxed into 
 revealing more than he had already told. Nor did Ju- 
 lian ever hear anything more from him, although he 
 saw very plainly that the trapper knew all about him, 
 and could easily gratify his curiosity if he felt so in- 
 clined. Day after day he renewed his endeavors to 
 worm out some small item of information, but all 
 he could ascertain positively was that his father and 
 brother were alive and well, and with that he was 
 obliged to be content. Of another thing he was also 
 pretty certain, and that was, that he should not find his
 
 ACROSS THE PLAINS. 145 
 
 home if he found it at all the pleasant and inviting 
 place that Sanders had represented it to be. But in 
 this respect he was not much disappointed, for he had 
 built no hopes upon anything his false friend had told 
 him. 
 
 During the journey across the plains nothing worthy 
 of record occurred to vary the monotony of Julian's 
 life. He met with no more adventures, for Sanders 
 had disappeared, and although the boy was certain that 
 Silas could tell what had become of him, all his ques- 
 tioning failed to elicit the desired information. The 
 emigrant kept himself as much as possible out of sight. 
 The members of the mess expressed some surprise at 
 his abrupt desertion of them, and asked one another 
 what could have been the occasion of it; but no one 
 knew, and in a day or two the matter was forgotten. 
 
 As the days progressed Julian's f rindship for and con- 
 fidence in his silent friend steadily increased. Silas on 
 his part cherished an unbounded affection for his young 
 companion, and manifested it by a thousand little acts 
 of kindness. He beguiled many a weary mile of their 
 journey with stories of what he had seen and done, and 
 descriptions of life in the Far AVest, but said not a word 
 about Julian's affairs unless he was asked. 
 
 At last the Eocky Mountains began to loom up before 
 them, and on the same day Silas, who as usual was rid- 
 ing in advance of the train with Julian, pointed out a 
 hostile Indian on the summit of a distant swell. 
 
 "How do you know he is hostile?" asked Julian. 
 " Can you see the paint on his face at this distance:"' 
 
 "No, but I know who's been a smokin' an a talkin' 
 with his tribe around the council fires," replied the 
 trapper. "You think you've been through a heap 
 since you fust seed Dick Mortimer, and p'raps you 
 have; but you'll go through a heap more if you live a 
 week longer. You needn't be afeared of the Injuns, 
 howsomever," added Silas, seeing that the boy's cheek 
 blanched, and that he cast anxious glances toward the 
 distant warrior. "They won't harm you. If every 
 man, woman and child in the train is massacred, you'll 
 be kept safe, unless you are hurt by accident."
 
 146 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "What makes you think so?" 
 
 " I don't think so, I know it; but I hain't got time to 
 talk about it now, 'cause I must ride back an' keep the 
 wagons closer together." 
 
 This was always the way with the trapper after he 
 had said something that Julian was particularly anxious 
 to have explained he had no time to say more on the 
 subject just then, but must see to something that 
 demanded his immediate attention. 
 
 Julian was greatly perplexed by what he had just 
 heard. It sounded very unreasonable, but he did not 
 doubt the truth of it, for he had learned to put implicit 
 faith in the trapper's word. 
 
 In two days more Bridger's Pass was reached, and the 
 emigrants made their camp for the last time. 
 
 We have already related how Julian was enticed away 
 from the wagon train by the outlaws, who carried him 
 on horseback to Reginald Mortimer's rancho, and that 
 during the ride he heard the sounds of a fierce battle 
 going on between the Indians and the emigrants, and 
 saw the train consumed by fire. 
 
 We have also told of his introduction to the man who 
 called himself his uncle, and described the reception 
 that gentleman extended to him. He was conducted 
 into Mr. Mortimer's sleeping-apartment, and saw the 
 outlaws receive a heavy reward for delivering him into 
 the hands of the owner of the rancho, after which 
 Sanders and his companion took their departure, and 
 Julian was left alone with his new relative. 
 
 Then for the first time he raised his eyes and took a 
 fair look at the man. Surely he had seen that face and 
 figure somewhere. They were those of Richard Morti- 
 mer. He had left him on board a flatboat more than a 
 thousand miles away, and here he was in the mountains 
 where he least expected to see him, ready now and able 
 to carry out his plans against Julian's life. 
 
 One glance at him was enough for our hero, who, 
 with a cry of terror, turned and ran toward the door.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE EMIGRANT AGAIN". 
 
 TOP ! " cried Reginald Mortimer, in great as- 
 tonishment. " Come back here!" 
 
 Julian heard the command, but he did not 
 
 heed it. He strove with nervous haste to 
 
 open the door, but the knob refused to turn for him. 
 He dashed himself against it with frantic violence; but 
 the stout oak planks had been intended to resist a 
 stronger force than he could bring to bear upon them, 
 a*nd they did not even tremble beneath his weight. 
 
 Reginald Mortimer appeared to be utterly confounded 
 by the boy's behavior. He watched his movements for 
 a few seconds, and said: 
 
 "Julian, you could not leave the rancho if you were 
 to effect an entrance into the hall. Shall I call Pedro, 
 and tell him to let you out?" 
 
 It was now Julian's turn to be astonished. He had 
 expected violence, but was not prepared for the accents 
 of kindness. He looked timidly at the man, and took 
 his hand off the door-knob. 
 
 " Come here and tell me all about it," continued Reg- 
 inald Mortimer in a mild tone. "Why should a glance 
 at me alarm you ? Is there anything so very frightful 
 about me?" 
 
 " No, sir; but yon are the man who stole me away 
 from my home and took me to live with Jack Bowles. " 
 
 The owner of the rancho opened his eyes, but said 
 nothing. 
 
 "And you came to his house not long ago and offered 
 him money to drown me in the Missouri River," added 
 Julian. 
 
 Reginald Mortimer was profoundly astonished. After 
 hesitating a moment, as if undecided how to act, he
 
 148 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 extended his hand to Julian, and leading him to a seat 
 on the sofa, placed himself beside him. 
 
 " My dear boy," said he, kindly, " what delusion is 
 this you are laboring under? You have made a great 
 mistake. That this house is your own, and that you 
 will some day have a better right here than I or any 
 body else, I admit. And that you were stolen away 
 long years ago by some bad man is equally true; but I 
 knew nothing of it until after it was done, and neither 
 did I know where you were, for all my efforts to find 
 you were unavailing. I never heard of Jack Bowles 
 before. I have not the least idea where he lives, and 
 neither do I know who the man was who wanted to 
 drown you in the river. It certainly was not I." 
 
 " Then it was some one who looks exactly like you/* 
 said Julian. 
 
 " There is but one person in the world who resembles 
 me, that I am aware of, and that is my cousin your 
 Uncle Richard. It could not have been he, for he has 
 tried as hard to find you, and is as much interested in 
 your welfare as I am. Besides, he went to Port Stough- 
 ton two months ago to shoot buffaloes, and has not yet 
 returned. It could not have been Sanders either, for 
 he does not look at all like me. More than that, he 
 is a firm friend of our family, and has worked hard to 
 find you not with any intention of doing you an in- 
 jury, but in order to restore you to your home and 
 friends once more. You must be dreaming." 
 
 While Reginald Mortimer was speaking Julian was 
 looking him sharply in the face and thinking busily. He 
 was not deceived by the man's apparent sincerity. 
 Although greatly mystified he knew that he was not 
 dreaming. His thoughts wandered back to that memo- 
 rable night on which he had first seen Richard Mortimer 
 at Jack Bowies' cabin. He remembered how closely he 
 had scrutinized his features in order to impress them 
 upon his memory, and when he compared them with the 
 features of the man who was now seated at his side he 
 told himself that any one not intimately acquainted with 
 the two gentlemen would have declared them to be one
 
 THE EMIGRANT AGAIN. 14!) 
 
 and the same person. But something that just then 
 occurred to him satisfied him that they could not be. 
 He thought he must be growing very dull, or else he 
 would have known long ago that the emigrant who had 
 joined the wagon train at St. Joseph, and watched all 
 his movements so closely during the journey across the 
 plains, could be none other than Eichard Mortimer. He 
 wondered that he had not thought of it before, and 
 especially that he had not recognized him when Sanders 
 pronounced his name in the reception-room. 
 
 Another thing that suddenly became clear to him was 
 that the trapper, Sanders, Avas the same man who had 
 rescued him from the smoke-house. 
 
 Julian saw the reason for his pretended friendship 
 now, and knew why it was that the man had been so 
 anxious to accompany him to the mountains. He wanted 
 to make 85, 000 by delivering him into the hands of 
 Reginald Mortimer. But there were still a good many 
 things that he could not understand, and he wondered if 
 they would ever be made plain to him. 
 
 " You are greatly in need of rest," said Mr. Mortimer, 
 laying his hand gently on the boy's shoulder. " You 
 are completely exhausted. Go to bed now, and I will 
 talk these affairs over with you in the morning. I will 
 then explain everything. If you feel timid in this 
 gloomy old house I will tell Pedro to make you a bed 
 here on the sofa." 
 
 " I would rather be alone, if you please," replied 
 Julian. " I have been through a good deal to-night, 
 and I want time to think it over. My mind is greatly 
 confused." 
 
 Reginald Mortimer lighted a caudle, and after unfas- 
 tening the ponderous spring-lock which held the door 
 and prevented Julian's escape from the room, he con- 
 ducted him along the main hall for a short distance, and 
 turned into another that ran at right angles with it, 
 finally ushering him into his sleeping apartment. 
 
 ''This is your room," said he. "' You are master 
 here, and if you will take the trouble to look about you, 
 you will find that I have neglected nothing that I
 
 150 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 thought would add to your comfort. Now, if you will 
 dismiss your fears, if you have any, as I hope you will, 
 for they are certainly groundless you can enjoy a 
 refreshing sleep. You need not hurry yourself in the 
 morning, for I will wait breakfast for you. Good-night, 
 and pleasant dreams." 
 
 Eeginald Mortimer placed the candle upon the center- 
 table and went out, closing the door after him. Julian 
 stood listening to the sound of his retreating footsteps, 
 and when it had died away, and he heard a door open 
 and close in some distant part of the house, he stepped 
 carefully across the floor and tried the lock. It was not 
 fastened. 
 
 " This looks as though there might be some truth in 
 that man's story," said he to himself. "The doors in 
 this rancho if that is what the house is called seem to 
 have a way of locking themselves, and I fully expected 
 to find myself a prisoner. I'll see that no one enters 
 here to-night. If Dick Mortimer is still prowling around 
 he shall never see the inside of this room. And Reginald 
 doesn't know that Dick is about here at all. He thinks 
 he is off on a shooting excursion at Fort Stoughton, 
 wherever that is. Dick evidently keeps his movements 
 hidden from his cousin, and that proves that he is up to 
 something he doesn't want him to know." 
 
 Julian turned the key in the lock as he said this, put 
 down the catch, and seeing two strong bolts on the door, 
 one above and the other below the lock, he pushed them 
 into their sockets. Not satisfied with this he tilted one 
 of the chairs against the door, and placing the back 
 under the lock, and bracing the hind legs firmly against 
 the floor, thus formed a barricade that could not have 
 been easily forced from the outside, even if the lock and 
 bolts had been undone. 
 
 This much being accomplished, Julian took his stand 
 in the middle of the iloor and looked about him. His 
 quarters were large and airy, and contained a greater 
 variety of elegant furniture than he had ever seen before. 
 The floor was covered with a soft carpet that gave out 
 no sound as he stepped across it. The walls were con-
 
 THE EMIGRANT AGAIN. 151 
 
 cealed by blue and gold hangings, and in one corner 
 stood a comfortable bed, which, with its clean white 
 spread and pillow-cases, presented a great contrast to 
 the miserable couch to which Julian had been accus- 
 tomed for the last eight years. Opposite the bed was a 
 huge lire-place, and over it was a mantel-piece of black 
 walnut, on which stood an ornamental clock. In the 
 corner beside the fire-place was a small book-case, con- 
 taining a collection of works that would have delighted 
 any boy who was as fond of excitement and adventure 
 as Julian. In spite of the limited advantages he had 
 enjoyed in his old home he had learned to read and write, 
 and having an all-devouring passion for books, he had 
 perused every thing that came in his way. On the 
 opposite side of the fire-place stood a finely carved ward- 
 robe, and the first things Julian's eyes rested upon when 
 he opened the doors was a double-barrel shot-gun, a 
 rifle, and a belt containing a revolver. 
 
 "This is just what I've been looking for," said he 
 joyfully, as he drew the elegant six-shooter from its 
 holster. "If I am master of this room, as that man 
 says I am, I have a right to do as I choose. I choose to 
 say that I want to be alone here to-night. Dick Morti- 
 mer had better keep his distance, and so had those 
 strange people Sanders spoke of, who can go through 
 key-holes, and cracks an inch wide, and even solid stone 
 walls. If they trouble me I will see if a bullet can go 
 through them. J^ow, where is the ammunition?" 
 
 That was a question easier asked than answered. The 
 accouterments belonging to the weapons were all in the 
 wardrobe the powder-horn and bullet-pouch depend- 
 ing from the muzzle of the rifle, and the shot-bag and 
 flask hanging from the ramrod of the double-barrel; but 
 they were empty. Nor was there any ammunition in 
 the" room. Julian overhauled the drawers in the lower 
 part of the book-case, but they contained nothing but 
 writing and drawing materials. Then he searched all 
 the drawers in the bureau; but although they were filled 
 to overflowing with all sorts of trinkets and valuables 
 (h-ar to the heart of youth nothing in the shape of 
 powder and lead could be found.
 
 152 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 With a sigh of regret Julian returned the useless re- 
 volver to its holster, and throwing himself into a large 
 easy-chair, which extended its arms invitingly, stretched 
 his feet out before him, thrust his hands into his pock- 
 ets and went off into a reverie. 
 
 " What a change a few short weeks have made in my 
 circumstances," thought he. "It seems only yesterday 
 that I was living in a den that a respectable dog would 
 turn up his nose at, going about clothed in rags, starv- 
 ing both summer and winter, and beaten and sworn at 
 by every one of the family. Now I find myself under 
 the roof of a man who speaks almost the first kind words 
 to me that I ever remember of hearing, who embraces 
 me and tells me that he is my uncle, and leading me to 
 a room fitted up like a palace informs me that I am sole 
 master of it. And I need not get up in the morning at 
 the first peep of day to cut fire-wood and help Mrs. 
 Bowles lay the table and cook corn-dodgers, but may 
 sleep as long as I please, and my breakfast will be kept 
 waiting for me. This man tells me, too, that I shall 
 some day have a better right here than he, who now 
 claims to be the owner of the rancho. Isn't it enough 
 to turn any one's head? I will go to sleep now, and 
 perhaps in the morning some of these things, which now 
 seem to be involved in such impenetrable mystery, will 
 be clearer to me." 
 
 Julian arose to his feet, and having turned down the 
 quilts began to divest himself of his jacket. Suddenly 
 he paused and stood holding the garment in his hand, 
 and looking first at the candle on the table and then at 
 the hangings which concealed the walls. 
 
 "I've heard and witnessed enough to-night to make a 
 coward of almost anybody except Silas Roper," thought 
 he, "but I believe I've got the nerve to do it. I am 
 going to see what is on the other side of those curtains. 
 If there is any way for that emigrant, or for those people 
 that Sanders spoke of to get in here, I want to know it. 
 I shouldn't like to wake up in the night and find them 
 prowling about my room. Gracious!" 
 
 Julian felt the cold chills creeping over him, and
 
 THE EMIGRANT AGAIN. 153 
 
 glanced quickly about the apartment, half-expecting to 
 see some frightful object advancing upon him from some 
 dark corner. 
 
 At first he was half-inclined to pass the night in the 
 easy-chair, and never go to sleep at all; but dismissing 
 the thought almost as soon as it entered his mind, he 
 snatched the candle from the table and hurrying across 
 the room raised the hangings. 
 
 Nothing was to be seen but the huge blocks of stone 
 which formed the walls. On one side of the room there 
 was no opening except the fire-place, opposite to which 
 was the door. The other two sides, as Julian discov- 
 ered when he raised the hangings, were provided with 
 windows. 
 
 He placed his face close to the panes, but not even 
 the twinkle of a star could be seen through the gloom. 
 Somewhat surprised thereat, Julian deposited his candle 
 on the floor, looped back the curtains and carefully 
 raised the window. It opened into what appeared to be 
 a deep recess in the wall. At the opposite side was a 
 heavy iron-bound door, just the size of the window, 
 which swung inward as Julian drew the bolt, and then 
 he saw the stars shining down upon him, and the full 
 moon rising above the mountain tops. 
 
 " This house Avas certainly intended for a fort," 
 thought the boy, gazing in surprise at the massive 
 walls around him, which seemed strong enough to resist 
 the heaviest artillery. " There isn't a wooden partition 
 in it as far as I've seen. They are all of stone, and 
 must be six or seven feet thick. I can't see the use 
 of it." 
 
 This was a point upon which Julian was enlightened 
 before he was many hours older. He learned that the 
 walls were not as solid as they appeared; that there 
 were long corridors and winding passage-ways running 
 through them, communicating with every room in the 
 house, and all leading to a gloomy cavern in the hill be- 
 hind the building, with which he was destined soon to 
 become well acquainted. 
 
 Julian held the shutters open and took a survey of
 
 154 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 the scene before him. He saw the high stone wall 
 which surrounded the house on all sides, the ponderous 
 gate which had opened a short time before to admit him 
 and the trappers, the well-beaten bridle-path leading 
 across the valley toward the mountains, and noted even 
 the smallest object within the range of his vision, but 
 nothing looked familiar. 
 
 The home of his boyhood was not so gloomy and des- 
 olate a place as this in which he now found himself. 
 There was no high wall to shut out all view of the outer 
 world, but there were flowers blooming before the door, 
 a pleasant grove close by, and people constantly coming 
 and going. And there was a jolly old gentleman, from 
 whose side he was scarcely ever separated, who used to 
 take him on his knee and talk to him for hours; and 
 now and then a laughing, blue-eyed boy would make his 
 appearance after a long absence, spend a few days in 
 romping with him and then go off again. Where was 
 that father and brother now? If they were alive and 
 well, as Silas had so often assured him, why were they 
 not living there in the rancho, if that was their home? 
 Why should they remain away and allow a stranger to 
 take the management of their affairs? 
 
 "If I have a home and friends I must look further 
 to find them, that is plain enough to be seen," solilo- 
 quized Julian, closing the shutter and creeping back 
 into the room. " But before I go I should like to know 
 what object this man has in view in bringing me here 
 and claiming me for his nephew. When I meet him in 
 the morning I will call him Uncle Eeginald, and act as 
 though I believed What are you doing here?" 
 
 When Julian stepped down from the window-seat into 
 the room he had just left, he found that it had an occu- 
 pant who had no business there. It was not a spirit, 
 either, for spirits do not need lanterns to guide their 
 footsteps, and revolvers to defend themselves, and this 
 intruder had both. One was held in his left hand by 
 his side, and with the muzzle of the other he Avas cover- 
 ing Julian's head. It was the emigrant, clean shaven 
 and close cropped, as he was when the boy first saw him 
 with the wagon train.
 
 THE EMIGRANT AGAIN. 155 
 
 "What do you want here, Dick Mortimer?" cried 
 Julian, recoiling before the muzzle of the revolver. 
 "Clear out I" 
 
 " So you know me, do you?" inquired the man, with 
 some surprise. " That villain, Sanders, has been post- 
 ing you. He has deserted me and gone over to my 
 cousin; but, fortunately, I shall have no further occa- 
 sion for his services. Put on your jacket and come with 
 me; and mind you, no noise!" 
 
 "By what authority do you order me out of my own 
 house?" demanded Julian, scarcely knowing what he 
 said. ' ' I am master here, if you please." 
 
 "Ah! Eeginald has been posting you, too, has he?" 
 exclaimed the emigrant angrily. "You have learned 
 more than I ever intended you should know; but it 
 can't be helped now. This is my authority," he added, 
 raising his revolver to a level with the boy's head and 
 placing his finger on the trigger; "and you will do well 
 to respect it. What else did Keginald say to you? Did 
 he tell you who you are, or give you any information 
 concerning your father?" 
 
 " No; but I know that he is alive and well." 
 
 " Then Silas has been posting you. Do you know 
 where he is?" 
 
 " That's my business. Have you a man with you 
 waiting to earn that $1,000, or do you intend to do the 
 work yourself?" 
 
 "You know that too, do you? No; you need stand 
 in no fear of bodily harm as long as you obey my com- 
 mands. I have come to the conclusion that I can use 
 you to as good purpose as Reginald can. No more 
 words now. Put on that coat and come with me." 
 
 Julian mechanically obeyed. His bodily powers wei e 
 so nearly exhausted, and he was thrown into such a 
 state of bewilderment and alarm by his new adventure, 
 that he suddenly seemed to become insensible to every 
 emotion. He could walk and talk, but he received no 
 more impression from the objects around him than if lie 
 had be? t in a dream. He no longer shrunk away from 
 the rr ilver which was kept pointed straight at his
 
 156 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 head, nor was he surprised when the emigrant raised the 
 hangings at the foot of the bed and disclosed to view an 
 opening in the wall that solid stone wall which Julian 
 had so carefully examined but a few minutes before. 
 He clambered through without waiting for the order, 
 and followed his captor along a narrow passage-way and 
 down a flight of steps into a commodious underground 
 apartment, which, judging by its general appearance, 
 was used as a cellar and store-house. Here the emi- 
 grant spoke again, and the sound of his voice aroused 
 Julian to a sense of his situation. 
 
 " Yes, yes," said he, ' ' I have changed my plans 
 concerning you. Silas Eoper is the man I want now, 
 and in order to get hold of him I must hold fast to you. 
 I have a comfortable little shooting-box up in the mount- 
 ains, and there you can stay and enjoy Great 
 
 heavens!" 
 
 The emigrant ceased speaking and started back as if 
 he had been shot. Julian looked up into his face and 
 saw that it was white with terror, and noticed, too, that 
 he was trembling violently in every limb. His eyes 
 were staring fixedly toward the farther end of the cellar, 
 and following the direction of his gaze Julian discovered 
 something that made his heart beat a little faster than 
 usual. 
 
 It was not a frightful object his gaze rested upon 
 nothing but the figure of a feeble and decrepit old man, 
 who was walking across the opposite end of the cellar. 
 He moved along with tottering step and form half- 
 bent, his thin silvery hair streaming down over his 
 shoulders, and one withered hand grasping a staff upon 
 which he leaned heavily. He seemed ignorant of the 
 presence of the emigrant and his prisoner, and walked 
 on without looking either to the right or left. Sud- 
 denly, however, he turned and approached the foot of 
 the stairs. Julian could not see his eyes, which were 
 fastened upon the ground, but he obtained a fair view 
 of his face. He could discover nothing in it calculated 
 to frighten any one, for its expression was mild and 
 benevolent, but the emigrant seemed unable to endure
 
 THE EMIGRA NT AGAIN. 157 
 
 the sight of it. He retreated as the old man advanced, 
 growing more and more terrified every moment, and 
 finally with a shriek of dismay dashed the lantern upon 
 the floor, extinguishing the light and leaving the cellar 
 shrouded in darkness. Julian turned and made a feeble 
 attempt to ascend the stairs, but exhausted nature gave 
 away at last. He felt himself falling falling and then 
 all was blank to him.
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 UNCLE KEGINALD EXPLAINS. 
 
 HEN Julian's consciousness returned it was 
 broad daylight. The instant his eyes were 
 open the thrilling events of the night came 
 back to him, and he started up in alarm, ex- 
 pecting to find himself still in the power of the dreaded 
 emigrant. But, although he saw enough to astonish 
 him beyond measure, there was nothing to terrify him. 
 His persevering and relentless enemy was nowhere to be 
 seen. He was snugly tucked up in bed in the same 
 room to which he had been conducted by Eeginald 
 Mortimer, his clothes were lying in order on a chair 
 close at hand, the curtains were thrown back, the 
 windows and shutters all open, and heaven's bright sun- 
 light was streaming in. And what was very surprising, 
 there was the door locked and bolted and secured by the 
 chair, just as he had left it. 
 
 "Can it be possible that those things never happened, 
 and that Dick Mortimer, with his lantern and revolver, 
 the long, dark passage-way, and the feeble old man who 
 frightened him so terribly, were objects that I saw only 
 in my dreams?" exclaimed Julian. 
 
 As this thought passed through his mind he sprung 
 from the couch, and running to the opposite side of the 
 room pulled up the hangings, fully expecting to find 
 there the opening through which his captor had con- 
 ducted him into the passage-way. But the wall was as 
 solid as ever not one of the huge blocks of stone was 
 out of place. 
 
 " If I dreamed that I did not dream that I left these 
 curtains all down and the windows closed, did I?" Julian 
 asked himself in deep perplexity. " Somebody baa cer- 
 tainly been in here while I was asleep, and he didn't come
 
 UNCLE REGINALD EXPLAINS. 159 
 
 in through the door either. I've spent my last night in 
 this house. I didn't hear any of those frightful sounds 
 Sanders heard the night he slept here, but I've seen 
 enough. If I ever get outside these walls I'll not come 
 back. What's this?" 
 
 After hastily throwing on his clothes Julian stepped 
 to the table to help himself to a glass of water from the 
 pitcher that some thoughtful hand had placed there, 
 when his eyes fell upon a paper, folded in the form of a 
 letter, and addressed to himself. With eager haste he 
 opened it, and after some trouble, for the spelling was 
 defective and the writing almost illegible, he deciphered 
 the following: 
 
 "Have no fear. Watchful friends are near you, and 
 no harm shall come to you. Reginald Mortimer is your 
 uncle. Treat him as such." 
 
 Julian read these mysterious words over and over again, 
 and finally carried the paper to the window and exam- 
 ined it on all sides, in the hope of finding something 
 more something to tell him who these watchful friends 
 were, and where the missive came from. Being disap- 
 pointed in these hopes he put the letter carefully away 
 in his pocket and resumed his toilet. He was a long 
 time about it, for he frequently stopped and stood at the 
 window gazing out at the mountains on the other side of 
 the valley, or walked up and down the room with his 
 eyes fastened on the carpet. His mind was busy all the 
 while, and by the time he was ready to leave the room 
 he had thought over his situation and determined upon 
 a plan of action. Just then the little clock on the 
 mantel struck the hour of 10. 
 
 " I am getting fashionable," said Julian, who, remem- 
 bering how carefully Richard Mortimer was always 
 dressed, and believing that Uncle Reginald, as he had 
 determined to call him, might be equally particular, 
 stopped to take another look at himself in the mirror 
 before quitting the room. 
 
 It was a very handsome face and figure that the polished 
 surface of the glass reflected. A finely embroidered shirt 
 with wide collar and neck-tie, a closely fitting jacket of
 
 1 60 JULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 dark-blue cloth, black velvet trousers, brown cloth leg- 
 gings with green fringe, light shoes, and a long crimson 
 <ash worn about the waist, completed an attire that set 
 off his slender, well-knit frame to the very best advan- 
 tage. One could scarcely recognize in him the half- 
 starved ragamuffin whose daily duty it had been to keep 
 Mrs. Bowles supplied with back-logs and fore-sticks. 
 
 Having satisfied himself that he was presentable, 
 Julian undid the numerous fastenings of the door, 
 smiling the while to think how inefficient they had 
 proved to keep out the intruders of whom he stood so 
 much in fear, and was rl-.out to pass out into the hall 
 when the sound of voices reached his ears. He paused 
 and listened, his attention being attracted by the mention 
 of the name of one in whom he was now more than ever 
 interested. 
 
 " Wai, I don't reckon we could help it, could we?" 
 growled a voice which the boy knew belonged to the 
 trapper Sanders. " Me an' my pardner ain't the men to 
 let $5,000 slip through our fingers without doin' our 
 level best to hang onto it, be sure?" 
 
 "A couple of blockheads, I say!" replied the voice of 
 Reginald Mortimer, in angry, excited tones. "Two 
 desperadoes like you and Tom to allow t* single man like 
 Silas Roper to get the better of you. Go and hide your- 
 self. How did it happen?" 
 
 " Why we was a bringin' him down here this mornin' 
 on hossback, me and Tom was," replied Sanders, "an* 
 the first thing we knowed he slipped his hands out o' his 
 bonds, which we thought we had made hard an' fast, an' 
 afore we could say 'Geu'ral Jackson' with our mouths 
 open, he jerked Tom's gun out o' his hands, knocked 
 him from his saddle as clean as a whistle, an' sent the 
 ball into me." 
 
 " Hurrah for Silas?" thought Julian, gleefully. " He 
 has escaped. Now, if there is any way in which he can 
 assist me he will not fail to do it." 
 
 " He was out o' sight an' hearin' afore we could raise 
 a finger to stop him," continued Sanders. "I guess my 
 broken arm an' Tom's bloody head is proof enough of 
 what I say, hain't it? We couldn't help it."
 
 UNCLE REGINALD EXPLAINS. 101 
 
 ee Perhaps you did the best you could," replied Reginald 
 Mortimer in a milder tone. " That Silas Roper is a 
 match for any two men in the mountains. Come into 
 this room and let Pedro dress your wounds." 
 
 " Nary time," said Sanders emphatically. " I've had 
 jest the wust luck in the world ever since I had any- 
 thing to do with you an' your house, an j now I'm goin' 
 to cut you. I came here to tell you that, an' I ain't 
 never comin' nigh you again. Let us out o' here." 
 
 " You will come whenever I choose to send for you," 
 said Mr. Mortimer fiercely. 
 
 " ( Oh, if it comes to that cap'n, in course we will," re- 
 plied Sanders, dropping his angry, confident tone very 
 suddenly. " We're bound to obey orders, but don't ask 
 nary one of us to come here agin. We'd a heap sooner 
 you'd send us out to steal hosses and rob miners." 
 
 "Silence!" said Mr. Mortimer in a hoarse whisper. 
 e ' Do you not know that the very walls in this house have 
 ears? You mutt capture Silas Roper; and I will give 
 you the money I promised you whenever you deliver him 
 into rny hands, lie is about here, and he will remain in 
 the vicinity as long as I hold fast to this stool-pigeon." 
 - Uncle Reginald and the trappers passed through the 
 door into the yard, and Julian strolled along the hall, 
 and not knowing where else to go, entered the reception- 
 room. While he was walking about with his hands in 
 his pocket, he was thinking over some portions of the 
 conversation to which he had just listened. 
 
 "Captain?" he repeated. "What is Uncle Reginald 
 captain of ? Steal horses and rob miners ! Silas told 
 me that the mountains were full of men engaged in 
 that kind of business, and I wonder if this new relative 
 of mine is in any way connected with them! lie must 
 be; and he must be their leader, too, for Sanders 
 acknowledged that he was bound to obey his orders. 
 Good gracious! What sort of a place have I got into, 
 anyhow?" 
 
 While Julian, appalled by this new discovery he had 
 made, was pacing restlessly up and down the floor, Un- 
 cle Reginald hurried in. Tne scowl on his forehead
 
 162 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 indicated that he was in a bad humor about something, 
 but it cleared away instantly when he discovered Julian, 
 and advancing with outstretched hand he greeted him 
 in the most cordial mai ner. 
 
 " I hope you rested well after the fatigues and excite- 
 ments of yesterday," said he with a friendly smile. 
 " You look as if you had. Breakfast is waiting, and 
 while we are discussing it we will have a social chat." 
 
 The boy, making some satisfactory reply, returned 
 his uncle's smile and the hearty pressure of his hand, 
 and accompanied him toward the breakfast-room, which 
 was located at the farther end of the hall. He glanced 
 over the well-filled table as he took the chair pointed 
 out to him, and told himself that if this breakfast was 
 a fair sample of Uncle Reginald's style of living he 
 would never go hungry while he remained under his 
 roof. Corn bread, salt meat and buttermilk did not 
 constitute the substantial part of the repast as they in- 
 variably did in the cabin of Jack Bowles. There were 
 juicy venison steaks, hot muffins, wheat bread, eggs, 
 boiled and fried, toast and potatoes in abundance, and 
 also coffee and chocolate, which Pedro, who waited 
 upon the table, drew from a silver urn vhich stood on 
 the sideboard. More than that, thx cloth WP.S spotless, 
 the dishes clean and white, mid tl.j table was altogether 
 so nicely arranged, and looked so inviting, that Julian 
 grew hungry the moment his eyes resti-H upon it. 
 
 When Pedro had supplied the wants of his master 
 and his guests, he retired, and the two were left alone. 
 
 " Well, Julian," said Uncle Reginald in a cheery 
 voice, "do you feel inclined for a gallop on a swift 
 horse this morning? I have some business that will 
 occupy my attention until dinner, and if you in the 
 meantime wish to amuse yourself in that way, there is a 
 very fine filly in the stable which I purchased expressly 
 for you, and which I hope will supply the place of the 
 horse you lost last night." 
 
 " You must have been expecting me," said the boy. 
 
 " Certainly. I have been looking for you every day 
 for the last two months; and as this introduces the
 
 UNCLE REGINALD EXPLAINS. 1G3 
 
 subject which I know you are impatient to talk about, I 
 will now make the explanation I promised you. In the 
 first place, do you know that last night you slept in your 
 old home for the first time in eight years? You were 
 born in this house, and every thing in and about it- 
 money, horses, cattle and gold diggings will come into 
 your undisputed possession the moment you are twenty- 
 one years old. It is a fact. You are by no means the 
 pauper you have always supposed yourself to be/' 
 
 Julian dropped his knife and fork, and settling back 
 in his chair looked the astonishment he could not ex- 
 press in words. lie gazed earnestly at his uncle, and 
 then ran his eyes around the room as if he were trying 
 to make an estimate of the value of his possessions from 
 the few articles he saw about him. 
 
 "It is the truth, every word of it," repeated Reginald 
 Mortimer. " It is all yours, and it is a property worth 
 having, I assure you. Your father, who was my brother, 
 is dead, and so is your brother Frederick. I am your 
 guardian, and stand ready to surrender your patrimony 
 to you whenever you are competent to take charge of it. 
 I assumed control of your father's affairs immediately 
 after his death. At that time you were eight years old 
 and your brother nine. Fred died, and shortly after- 
 ward you were stolen away by some one, who, as I this 
 morning learned from Sanders, who told me all about 
 it, took you off to Missouri and left you there with one 
 Jack Bowles. For eight years I made every effort to 
 find you, and I have at last succeeded. I do not intend 
 that you shall be separated from me any more.'" 
 
 "Well," said Julian, when his uncle paused. 
 
 " Well, that's all." 
 
 "All!" echoed the boy. "Am I to learn no more of 
 my history than this brief outline? Do you not know 
 who it was who stole me away?" 
 
 " I haven't the slightest idea." 
 
 "Or what he stole me away for?" 
 
 "Why, of course your property had something to do 
 with it, but just what I can't tell." 
 
 Julian, who had settled into an easy position in his
 
 104 y ULIAN MOR TIMER. 
 
 arm-chair with the expectation of hearing something 
 exciting about himself, straightened up, and with an 
 expression of great disappointment on his face, resumed 
 his toast and coffee. He wanted to hear more, and he 
 was satisfied from his uncle's manner that he could tell 
 him more if he felt so inclined ; but it was plain that he 
 did not, for his next words related to another subject. 
 
 " I hope you are now convinced that the fears to 
 which you last night gave way were entirely groundless/' 
 said Mr. Mortimer. "I shall endeavor by every means 
 in my power to make your life here a pleasant one. I 
 have been very lonely and I Avant you to cheer me. I 
 want you to feel that you are one of the family, that 
 you have a right to be here, and that you are at liberty 
 to go and come Avhenever it suits your fancy. You 
 shall have the best horse in the stable, a pack of hounds, 
 a servant to wait on you, and live like a gentleman. 
 There is a fort about two miles distant. Some of the 
 officers have their families with them, and among them 
 are several boys about your own age. Whenever you 
 Avant company, bring them up here. They Avill find 
 enough to interest them." 
 
 "Perhaps they would also find some things they 
 Avould not care to see," said Julian, thinking of his 
 recent adventure with the emigrant. 
 
 " What do you mean?" 
 
 " Why, some of those strange people who go about of 
 nights making such unearthly noises." 
 
 "That sounds just like Sanders," exclaimed Uncle 
 Reginald impatiently. " Julian. I hope you are a boy 
 of too much good sense to pay the least attention to any 
 thing that low, ignorant fellow may say to you. There 
 isn't a word of truth in it." 
 
 "Nor about the secret passage-ways that run all 
 through the house?" 
 
 ' Not a particle. It is all moonshine." 
 
 : Or about the old man who lives in the cellar?" 
 
 : All the veriest nonsense in the Avorld." 
 
 ' Or about your missing things?" 
 
 ' Why, as to that, I have missed some things, that's a
 
 UNCLE REGINALD EXPLAINS. \ 05 
 
 fact, but I know where they went. Pedro took them, 
 lie is a great rascal." 
 
 " Why do you not discharge him if he is a thief?" 
 
 ' ' Because servants are not so easily procured in this 
 wilderness. More than that, he is a valuable fellow in 
 spite of his faults understands all my ways, and knows 
 just how I want every thing done. You will stay with 
 me ? " 
 
 ''Certainly, sir. I have not seen so much of the com- 
 forts of a home that I can afford to throw them away as 
 soon as they are oifered to me. Beside, I want to see 
 the bottom of this mystery." 
 
 " What mystery? Well, perhaps it does seem a little 
 strange that I, a man whom you never remember to 
 have seen before, should claim you as a nephew, and 
 tell you that I hold in my hands a valuable property 
 which is all your own, but it is nevertheless true." 
 
 "And there are other things that seem strange to 
 me," continued Julian. " One of them is that you can 
 live here unmolested, as you evidently do, while peacea- 
 ble emigrants are butchered at your very doors." 
 
 "That is also easily explained. In the first place, 
 that wagon train was quite a lengthy step from my door 
 when it was attacked about forty miles. In the next, 
 there is a fort and a regiment of soldiers almost within 
 call of me. I have twenty-five herdsmen in the valley, 
 and at the very first sign of a war-party they would come 
 flocking into the house, which could withstand the as- 
 sault of all the Indians on the plains. Now, if you have 
 finished your breakfast, and are ready for your ride, I 
 will show you your horse." 
 
 If Julian had given utterance to the thoughts that 
 were passing through his mind, he would have told his 
 uncle that he was not quite ready for his ride. There 
 were other questions that he would like to have had an- 
 swered. He wanted to know what sort of an organiza- 
 tion it Avas of which his uncle was captain; why he was 
 so much interested in Silas lioper that he was willing to 
 give 5,000 for his apprehension; if he knew that his 
 cousin, liichard Mortimer, instead of being at Fort
 
 166 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 Stoughton hunting buffaloes, was prowling about some- 
 where in the immediate neighborhood, and that he had 
 twice visited the rancho the night before. He wanted 
 to know which of the two men who claimed to be his 
 guardian was so in reality; how Uncle Reginald had 
 found out that he was hidden in the wilds of Missouri; 
 why, since he was so very anxious to find him, he had 
 sent the trapper after him instead of going himself; and 
 why Sanders had deserted him so suddenly when Silas 
 Eoper made his appearance in the streets of St. Joseph. 
 He wanted to know who Silas Roper was; how he had 
 learned so much about himself; and what Uncle Regi- 
 nald meant when he said that the guide would not leave 
 the vicinity of the rancho as long as the " stool -pigeon" 
 was there. These and other questions had Julian in- 
 tended to propound to his uncle; but the abruptness 
 with which all the topics upon which he most wished to 
 converse were dismissed, satisfied him that it would be 
 a useless waste of time, and that his relative did not 
 intend to enlighten him any further than he saw fit. 
 Julian would have been glad of an opportunity to talk 
 to one of those "watchful friends" spoken of in the 
 note. He had a great deal to say to him. 
 
 "Romez, bring out Snowdrop/' 
 
 It was his uncle who spoke, and the sound of hi? 
 voice aroused Julian from his reverie. They had now 
 reached the stables which were built under the same 
 roof with the house and surrounded by the same wall 
 and were standing in front of the door. 
 
 The Mexican hostler to whom the order was addressed 
 disappeared in the stable, and in a few minutes came 
 out again, leading a beautiful snow-white mare, saddled 
 and bridled. 
 
 Julian looked at her with delight, and declared that 
 he had never seen a finer animal. She was very showy, 
 and. pranced about as if impatient to exhibit her mettle. 
 
 " I did not care to ride at first, but I do now," said 
 Julian. " I will be ready as soon as I get my rifle and 
 revolver. But I must have some ammunition." 
 
 "Pedro will supply you," replied Uncle Reginald. 
 " Go to him for everything you want."
 
 UNCLE REGINALD EXPLAINS. 1Q7 
 
 It was but the work of a few minutes to run to his 
 room, throw his rifle and accouterments over his shoul- 
 der, buckle his revolver about his waist and return to 
 Pedro for the powder and lead. He was out again 
 almost as soon as he went in, and vaulting into the sad- 
 dle he bade his uncle good-by and rode at a full gallop 
 out of the gate.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 JULIAN GETS INTO BUSINESS. 
 
 F THERE is anything better calculated than 
 another to put one at peace with himself and 
 all the world, it is a brisk gallop on a good 
 horse of a fine summer's morning. It is a 
 specific for melancholy. When Julian was safe outside 
 the gloomy walls of the rancho, and felt himself being 
 borne through the air with the speed of a bird on the 
 wing, his spirits rose wonderfully, and in the exuberance 
 of his glee he swung his sombrero about his head, and 
 gave utterance to a yell almost as loud and unearthly as 
 any he had heard uttered by the savages the night 
 before. The spirited mare responded to the yell with a 
 fresh burst of speed, and her rider, giving her a free 
 rein, was carried at a rapid rate through the valley in 
 which his uncle's rancho was located, through the wil- 
 lows that skirted the base of the mountain, and finally 
 found himself in a rocky defile which wound about 
 among the cliffs. Here the mare voluntarily slackened 
 her pace to a walk, and Julian wiped his flushed face 
 with his handkerchief and looked about him. He could 
 see nothing but rocks. They hemmed him in on all 
 sides, and towered above his head until their tops 
 seemed to pierce the clouds. 
 
 " I don't know why I ever allowed myself to be brought 
 in here," thought the boy, " or why the horse should 
 leave a level path to follow so miserable a road as this. 
 Perhaps Uncle Reginald purchased her of some miner or 
 settler up here in -the mountains, and she thinks she is 
 on her way home. At any rate she seems to know 
 where she is going, and so long as she doesn't lose me I 
 don't care where she carries me. I hope I shall find 
 some one to talk to. Since uncle will not tell me any-
 
 JULIAN GETS INTO BUSINESS. 109 
 
 thing about myself, I must learn what I want to know 
 from other sources. Halloo!" 
 
 This exclamation was called forth by an unexpected 
 sight that greeted his eyes. As he came suddenly around 
 an abrupt bend in the path, he found before him a long, 
 low, narrow cabin, built snugly under a beetling cliff 
 which hung threateningly over the gorge. Two well- 
 beaten paths appeared at this point; one leading to the 
 doors of the building, and the other running on down 
 the gorge. The mare, which seemed perfectly familiar 
 with the locality, quickened her pace at once, and before 
 Julian could gather up the reins to check her, she had 
 turned into the first mentioned path, and galloping up 
 to one of the doors stopped as if waiting for her rider to 
 dismount. After looking all about him, without dis- 
 covering any one, Julian began to take a survey of the 
 premises. 
 
 There were two doors in the house, both opening out 
 on the path. A short examination of the ground in 
 front of the one at which his horse had stopped, showed 
 him that it led into a stable; while the other, no doubt, 
 opened into the living-room, for there was a rough 
 bench beside it for the accommodation of loungers. 
 While Julian was wondering by whom and for what 
 purpose the house had been erected in that remote and 
 lonely spot, his attention was attracted by the move- 
 ments of his horse, which, after pricking up her ears and 
 looking intently at the door in front of her, as if expect- 
 ing the arrival of some one, began pawing the ground 
 impatiently. 
 
 "She thinks there ought to be somebody here," 
 thought Julian. "And there certainly is something in 
 the stable/' he added, after listening a moment, "for I 
 can hear the stamping of horses. Halloo! the house!" 
 
 Julian waited for a reply, and listened for some move- 
 ment in the cabin which would tell him that his call had 
 been heard; but the only response he received was the 
 echo of his own voice thrown back from the cliffs. This 
 satisfied him that the owner of the premises was absent; 
 and picking up his reins, he was on the point of turning
 
 170 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 back toward the valley, when, by the merest accident, 
 he discovered something that he might have seen before 
 if he had made good use of his eyes. It was a small 
 window close under the eaves of the house, which was 
 filled by the muzzle of a revolver and a pair of gleaming 
 eyes looking straight at him. 
 
 Too astonished to speak, the boy sat in his saddle won- 
 dering what was going to happen now, and presently 
 saw the six-shooter disappear and the eyes approach 
 closer to the opening. A moment afterward a shaggy 
 head, crowned by a broad-brimmed hat, was thrust 
 slowly out, and a masculine face, that was by no means 
 handsome or prepossessing, was exposed to his view. 
 
 " It's you after all, hain't it?" growled a deep voice, 
 in no very amiable tones. 
 
 " Yes," replied Julian, " it is I. But I heartily wish 
 it was somebody else," he added, mentally. 
 
 " Why in tarnation didn't you whistle? I didn't know 
 you in them new clothes, and I might have put a ball 
 into you just as easy as not. I'll be out in a jiffy." 
 
 As the man said this he drew in his head and closed 
 the window. Julian was glad indeed when his villainous 
 face disappeared, and trembled when he reflected that 
 perhaps that revolver had been leveled at his head, and 
 those evil eyes fastened upon him ever since he arrived 
 within sight of the cabin, and he had never suspected it. 
 He saw at once that he had placed himself in a danger- 
 ous position. One of two things was certain. The 
 owner of the rancho was either hiding from pursuit, or 
 else he was engaged in some unlawful business. If he 
 were an honest man he would not act so strangely. 
 
 "But how does it happen that he recognizes me?" 
 Julian asked himself. " Does he know who I am, or 
 does he take me for somebody else? If he knows that I 
 am Julian Mortimer, he may be a man of the Sanders 
 stamp who has been hired to put me out of Dick's way. 
 If he thinks that I am an acquaintance of his, or an 
 accomplice, he will certainly discover his mistake as 
 soon as he has a fair view of my face, and then what 
 will he do to me ? I think I had better not wait for him,"
 
 JULIAN GETS INTO BUSINESS. 171 
 
 As quick as thought Julian wheeled his mare and 
 touched her with his spurs; but the animal, knowing 
 probably that good care and plenty of corn awaited her 
 entry into the stable which she regarded as her home, 
 responded very reluctantly. Before she had made many 
 bounds the door of the stable was jerked open, and a 
 voice called out in surprised and indignant tones: 
 
 "Halt! halt! I say, on the instant, or you're a dead 
 man!" 
 
 Julian knew that the speaker was in earnest, for his 
 command Avas followed by the click of the lock of his 
 revolver; but he would have kept on in spite of his fear 
 of the bullets had not his horse, which doubtless recog- 
 nized the voice, came to a sudden stand-still. Julian 
 looked back and saw that the man's pistol was pointed 
 straight at his breast. 
 
 "If you ain't a little ahead of all the fools I ever saw 
 in all my born days my name ain't Bob Smirker, and 
 never was," exclaimed the owner of the rancho fiercely. 
 " That's the second time I have come within an inch of 
 shooting you. Come back here now, and let's have no 
 more fooling." 
 
 Julian, not daring to attempt to continue his retreat 
 on his unwilling steed, was compelled to obey. Calling 
 all his courage to his aid, he turned about and rode back 
 to the cabin. Smirker looked sharply at him as he 
 came up, but Julian met his gaze without flinching, and 
 even succeeded in calling a smile to his face. Believing 
 that he had nothing to gain by deception, he began to 
 explain who he was and how he came to be there; but 
 the man interrupted him, and Julian was afterward glad 
 that he had done so. 
 
 " I hope I am not intruding, sir," he began. " I was 
 out for a breath of fresh air " 
 
 "Oh, hush your nonsense!" cried the owner of the 
 rancho angrily. "You're always 'out fora breath of 
 fresh air ' when you are doing something you've no busi- 
 ness to do. That was what you said to me on the day 
 you found my secret passage-way which leads down from 
 the top of the cliff. I didn't want anybody but myself
 
 172 / ULIA N MOR TIMER. 
 
 to know about that passage-way, and when I found 
 that you had discovered it I was mad enough to shoot 
 you. You're eternally up to some foolishness, and it's 
 the greatest wonder in the world you haven't been killed 
 a thousand times. Everybody says so. Now, Fred, if 
 you should come here every hour in the day for the next 
 ten years, don't ever ride up without giving the signal, 
 and don't try to run away when I open the door. This 
 ain't boy's play we're at, as you would soon find out if 
 them soldiers or some of the settlers should get hold of 
 you. You hadn't ought to done it, 'cause I didn't know 
 you in that Mexican rig. Come in. I've got something 
 for you." 
 
 While the man was speaking he was looking squarely 
 into Julian's face, and the latter was waiting in an agony 
 of suspense to see what he would do when he discovered 
 that he had mistaken the identy of his visitor. But 
 Smirker did not seem to think he had made a mistake. 
 Having delivered his lecture and thus worked off a little 
 of his indignation, he returned his revolver to his belt 
 and led the way into the stable, closely followed by Ju- 
 lian's horse, which moved after him without waiting for 
 the word from her rider. Julian drew a long breath of 
 relief, and told himself that the danger for the present 
 was past. The difficulty now was to personate the boy 
 whom Smirker believed him to be. 
 
 While his companion lingered to fasten the door, Ju- 
 lian dismounted and ran his eye about the stable, which 
 was lighted by a lantern suspended from one of the 
 beams. It was much larger than it appeared on the out- 
 side, showing that it extended under the cliff. It was 
 provided with stalls for a dozen horses, three of which 
 had occupants. The mare being left to herself, walked 
 into one of the stalls and immediately began munching 
 some corn which had doubtless been placed there for 
 her. 
 
 "Now, then," said Smirker, when he had fastened 
 the door, "where is it? Hand it out here." 
 
 " Where is what?" asked the boy. 
 
 "Why, you know. Didn't you bring it?"
 
 JULIAN GETS INTO BUSINESS. 173 
 
 "No," replied Julian, who of course had not the 
 slightest idea Avhat the man meant. 
 
 "Didn't they say anything about it?" asked Smirker, 
 who appeared to be very much disappointed as well as 
 angry. 
 
 "Not a word." 
 
 "Well, now, this way of doing business don't suit me, 
 and yon may tell 'em that I said so. I run just as much 
 risk here as them that steals the swag every bit; 'cause 
 how do I know but them soldiers will be down on me 
 when I ain't looking for them ? Looks like they wanted 
 to swindle me out of my share. But, after all, they 
 ain't ahead of me much, 'cause I you won't blow on 
 me, Fred?" 
 
 "Of course not," replied Julian. 
 
 ">I've got a little plunder here that I'm going to 
 keep till they come down with the yellow bovs they owe 
 me." 
 
 "What sort of plunder?" 
 
 "Why, nuggets and gold-dust twenty-five hundred 
 dollars' worth. You see, I was down in the mines the 
 other day, and heard of a man who had struck a lead 
 and was going home that very day. But he didn't go." 
 
 "Why not?" asked the boy, when Smirker paused. 
 
 " 'Cause I knocked him on the head that's why. I've 
 got the gold hid away safe. Do you want to go back 
 now, or will you stay awhile? I am lonesome here all 
 by myself." 
 
 " I had better go now," replied Julian, who was eager 
 to escape from the man's presence at the earliest possible 
 moment. " I am in something of a hurry." 
 
 Smirker struck up a lively whistle, and taking a 
 bridle down from a pin beside the door, went into one 
 of the stalls and brought out a horse which looked 
 enough like Snowdrop to have been her brother. He 
 was the same color, the same size, and just as stylish 
 and spirited. Julian knew that he was expected to ride 
 this horse away and leave his own steed in the care of 
 the man; and, although he did not quite like the ar- 
 rangement, he consoled himself with the thought that
 
 JL74 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 if he never saw Snowdrop again he would lose nothing 
 by the exchange. 
 
 " You ride good horses, Fred/' said Smirker, as he 
 put Julian's saddle on the horse he had just brought 
 out, "but you had better take my advice and get others 
 of a different color. White horses don't do for such 
 business as this, 'cause they show too plain of nights; 
 and any one who happens to pass you on the road will 
 remember of having seen you. There are plenty of 
 better horses in the world, and the one I am going to 
 send with you is one of them." 
 
 Smirker having by this time saddled and bridled the 
 white nag, went into a second stall and brought out a 
 large bay horse which he walked up and down the stable 
 for Julian's inspection. The moment the boy's eyes 
 rested on him he became reconciled to the loss of his 
 mare, and even eager to part with her, if by so doing 
 he could gain possession of this magnificent animal. 
 If his speed and endurance were equal to his beauty, he 
 was certainly a horse worth having. 
 
 " He's lightning on wheels," declared Smirker, as he 
 slipped a bridle over the bay's head, "and perhaps he 
 will give you as much as you want to do to lead him. 
 He came from Fort Stoughton, and was stolen from the 
 major, who had just brought him from the States. 
 There you are/' he added, waving his hand toward the 
 horses, intimating by the gesture that Julian was at 
 liberty to take charge of them as soon as he pleased. 
 "I wish you a pleasant journey. You have been very 
 lucky so far, and I hope your good fortune will con- 
 tinue." 
 
 The boy was prompt to take advantage of the permis- 
 sion thus given him to leave the cabin. He quickly 
 mounted the white horse, inquiring as he did so: 
 
 "Any word to send to anybody?" 
 
 "Yes, there is," replied Smirker, "and I came near 
 forgetting it. You can tell the fellows below that the 
 captain's cub has got back at last/' 
 
 "What cub?" 
 
 " Why, Julian; the one he's been looking for so long.
 
 JULIAN GETS INTO BUSINESS. 175 
 
 We'll finger some of that money and find out where 
 that hidden gold mine is now." 
 
 " Does this this cub know where it is?" 
 
 "No, but Silas Roper does. Sanders was here this 
 morning and told me the whole secret." 
 
 " The captain hasn't got hold of Silas, has he?" 
 
 "Not yet, but he will have him before long. It is a 
 little the queerest thing I ever heard of, this plan of the 
 captain's is," continued Smirker, placing one hand on 
 the horn of Julian's saddle, and settling into an easy 
 position against the side of the horse as if he had a long 
 story to tell, "and it shows what a head he's got on his 
 shoulders, and what education will do for a man. You 
 see but in the first place you know that he is no more 
 of a Mortimer than I am?" 
 
 Julian, not daring to trust himself to speak, nodded 
 his head, pulled out his handkerchief ostensibly for the 
 purpose of wiping his forehead, but really to conceal 
 the sudden pallor which he knew overspread his face, and 
 the man went on: 
 
 " The captain's playing a deep game, and he's going to 
 succeed in it, too. He's making a decoy duck of Julian 
 using him to keep Silas Roper about here until he 
 can catch him; and when he once gets hold of him and 
 finds out where the money and the nuggets are, he'll 
 make short work with both of them." 
 
 What else Smirker was about to say Julian never 
 knew, for an unexpected interruption occurred at that 
 moment. A shrill whistle, sounding from some point 
 close at hand, echoed through the gorge. It produced 
 a strange effect upon Julian's companion, for he turned 
 as pale as death, and the hand which he placed upon 
 the butt of his revolver trembled visibly. He stood 
 motionless until the whistle was repeated, and then hur- 
 ried across the floor and mounting a short ladder that 
 leaned against the wall of the stable, opened the win- 
 dow before spoken of. 
 
 No sooner had he looked out than he sprung to the 
 ground again, and with a volley of oaths that made 
 Julian's blood run cold, strode up to him and seized him 
 by the collar.
 
 176 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "Look here, my cub," lie hissed, between his clenched 
 teeth, "I suspected yon all along. There ain't two 
 White-horse Freds in this country, and I know it. Who 
 are you? Speak quick!" 
 
 As he said this he pulled his revolver from his belt 
 and leveled it at Julian's head.
 
 CHAPTEK XXI. 
 
 WHITE-HORSE FRED. 
 
 TJLIAN, who had been congratulating him- 
 self upon the ease with which he was about 
 to extricate himself from his perilous situa- 
 tion, was dismayed at this turn of events. 
 He comprehended the matter perfectly. White-horse 
 Fred, so called probably from the color of the animals 
 ne rode, was a member of a band of horse thieves and 
 robbers, and it was his business to assist in moving the 
 plunder from one point to another. The man Smirker 
 belonged to the same organization, and it was his duty 
 to receive and care for the booty until such time as the 
 authorized agents of the band called for it. He had 
 
 Srobably been on the lookout for his confederate when 
 ulian arrived. 
 
 " But why didn't he know that I wasn't White-horse 
 Fred as soon as he looked into my face?" thought the 
 boy, so nearly overcome with terror that he did not 
 hear the words that had been addressed to him. "And 
 how does it happen that I was riding Fred's horse? 
 How did my uncle come by him? I can't understand 
 it?" 
 
 "Speak quick!" repeated Smirker, savagely, "and 
 don't try to draw no weapons. Who are you ?" 
 
 He pulled back the hammer of his pistol with the 
 thumb of his right hand as he spoke, and shifting his 
 left from Julian's collar to the butt of the revolver 
 which the boy was on the point of pulling from his 
 belt. 
 
 "Who should I be?" returned Julian boldly. "If 
 I've no business here how came I by that horse I brought 
 you? That's what I'd like to know." 
 
 "And if that fellow out there ain't White-horse Fred
 
 178 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 how did he give Fred's whistle so exact, and how did 
 he come by Fred's clothes? That's what I'd like to 
 know." 
 
 It was plain, both from Smirker's tone and manner, 
 that he began to believe that he had been a little too 
 hasty. He let go Julian's pistol, lowered the hammer 
 of his own weapon, and stood gazing at our hero with 
 an expression of great bewilderment on his face. 
 
 " Wouldn't it be a good plan to ask him?" suggested 
 Julian. 
 
 Smirker thought it would. He jerked open the door 
 of the stable, and Julian, who was on the point of dash- 
 ing his spurs into his horse and riding over the robber 
 and making good his escape,, found his way blocked up 
 by a dashing young fellow, who rode gayly into the 
 stable, but stopped short on discovering Julian, and 
 checked the words of greeting that arose to his lips. 
 For fully a minute no one spoke. The two boys sat on 
 their horses staring at one another, and Smirker, after 
 closing and locking the door, took his stand between 
 them, looking first at the new-comer and then at Julian, 
 apparently unable to come to any decision concerning 
 them. 
 
 The strange equestrian was a youth about Julian's age 
 and size, only a little more robust, and had the two been 
 dressed alike it would have been a matter of some diffi- 
 culty for any one to tell them apart. Julian looked as 
 if he had just come out of a lady's bandbox, while the 
 new-comer seemed to have bestowed but little care upon 
 his toilet that morning. His dress consisted of a red 
 flannel shirt, open at the throat and worn without a coat, 
 coarse trowsers, which were thrust into a pair of high- 
 top boots, and a broad-brimmed hat. A belt encircled 
 his waist, supporting a knife on one side and a revolver 
 on the other. .He rode a small Indian pony, which, 
 judging by its appearance, had been driven long and 
 rapidly. 
 
 "Now, then/' said Smirker, who was the first to re- 
 cover the use of his tongue, "one of you two fellows 
 has got himself in the worst kind of a scrape one that
 
 WHITE-HORSE FRED. 179 
 
 he will never get out of alive. Which is White-horse 
 Fred?" 
 
 Julian had shown a tolerably bold front as long as a 
 hope of escape remained, but now that he found the 
 door of the stable locked upon him, and himself com- 
 pletely at the mercy of the two robbers, his courage 
 gave Avay utterly, and he could not have made an in- 
 telligent reply to Smirker's question even if he had had 
 any thing to say. 
 
 The new-comer was the genuine White-horse Fred 
 there could be no doubt about that, for he had given 
 the signal when he approached the cabin, and more than 
 that, tSmirker had recognized him by the clothes he 
 wore. 
 
 Giving himself up for lost, Julian waited almost im- 
 patiently for the strange horseman to speak, believing 
 that the opening of his lips would be the signal for his 
 own death. What, then, was his amazement when he 
 heard the boy exclaim: 
 
 "White-horse Fred! If there is anyone here that 
 goes by that name, it must be you or that young gentle- 
 man over there." 
 
 "Then you ain't him!" said Smirker, growing more 
 and more perplexed. 
 
 "No. Do I look like him!" 
 
 " You sartinly do, and act like him. What were you 
 whistling out there for?" 
 
 " Oh, just to hear the echo." 
 
 "And what made you come in nere?" 
 
 "Because you opened the door." 
 
 " You talk like White-horse Fred, too. But if you 
 hain't him you're where you've got no business to be, 
 and you'll never get away, nuther." 
 
 8mirker raised his revolver and pointed it at the boy's 
 breast. Julian, faint with terror, turned away his head 
 and held his breath in suspense; but the stranger never 
 flinched so much as a hair's breadth. 
 
 " Don't do anything rash," said he calmly. " I have 
 told you who I am not, and now you had better ask me 
 who I am."
 
 ] 80 JULIAN At OR TIMER. 
 
 " I don't care who you are. You're a dead man." 
 
 "And you will be another in less than an hour/' re- 
 plied the boy, without the least sign of alarm. " My 
 Uncle Reginald Mortimer's servant is close behind me. 
 He will know that I came in here, and if I don't go out 
 again he will also know what has become of me." 
 
 Smirker lowered his revolver, and falling back a step 
 or two, stared blankly at the speaker, and then at our 
 hero. The astonishment his face exhibited was fully 
 reflected in Julian's. The latter's terror had all given 
 way to surprise. He forgot Smirker and his revolver, 
 the danger of his situation, and every thing else except 
 the last few words the stranger had uttered: " My Uncle 
 Reginald Mortimer." Who was this fellow who was 
 going about claiming Julian's relative as his own ? 
 
 "You have concluded not to shoot me, haven't you?" 
 asked the boy, whose coolness and courage were wonder- 
 ful to behold. 
 
 "Who are you?" demanded Smirker. 
 
 "My name is Julian Mortimer. I am a stranger 
 here, having but just arrived from the States. I came 
 out this morning to take a ride, and it seems I have got 
 into a place where I am not wanted. I beg pardon for 
 my intrusion, and will thank you to open that door and 
 let me out." 
 
 "Julian Mortimer!" exclaimed Smirker. 
 
 "Julian Mortimer!" echoed the owner of that name, 
 in a scarcely audible voice. 
 
 If our hero had been surprised before, he was doubly 
 so now. He could scarcely believe that he had heard 
 aright. If this stranger was Julian Mortimer, who in 
 the world was he, Julian asked himself. Were there 
 two boys of that name in existence, and was Uncle 
 Reginald the guardian of both, and holding in his 
 hands a valuable property to be surrendered to them 
 when they reached their majority? 
 
 He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming, 
 and looked hard at the stranger, who seemed not a little 
 astonished at the sensation he had created. 
 
 As for Smirker, he was as nearly beside himself as a
 
 WHITE-HORSE FRED. 181 
 
 sane man could well be; and, what was very singular, 
 ho seemed all of a sudden to have discovered some 
 reason for wishing to keep as far away from Julian as 
 possible, for he backed into one of the stables and stood 
 eying him like a caged hyena. 
 
 "Well, what of it?" said the stranger. "Perhaps 
 you don't believe what I told you. If it is necessary 
 that I should furnish proof, I can do so. Open the 
 door and let me out." 
 
 " You spoke that name just in time/' said Smirker 
 fiercely, "for in a minute more you would have been 
 done for. If you are really the captain's cub, you are 
 worth too much to us to be put out of the way yet 
 awhile. But not much I won't let you out-doors. 
 Your story may be true, and it may not. I am going 
 to keep you here till I can send to headquarters and find 
 out." 
 
 " All right," replied the boy, swinging himself from 
 his saddle and gazing about the stable as if everything 
 he saw in it was full of interest to him. " I am easily 
 suited. I'd as soon stay here an hour or two as not. I 
 never was in a house like this before. What makes you 
 call 'cm all ranchos?" 
 
 " Look a here," added Smirker, turning to our hero. 
 "If this fellow is Julian Mortimer, who are you?" 
 
 " Are you not yet satisfied that I am White-h'orse 
 Fred?" asked Julian in reply. " Perhaps you want me 
 to prove it." 
 
 Julian's terror had all passed away now, and he was in 
 his right mind again. There was still a chance of escape. 
 Although he had not the remotest idea who the new- 
 comer was, he had heard and seen enough to satisfy him 
 that he was a stranger in that wilderness as well as him- 
 self, and that he was not White-horse Fred, consequently 
 he ran no risk in continuing to personate the character 
 he had been compelled to assume. Indeed, it was the 
 only thing he could do. He was impatient to be off, 
 too, for the real White-horse Fred might arrive at any 
 moment, and then something would certainly happen. 
 
 " There's a mystery at the bottom of this, and I'll bet
 
 182 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 a horse on it," said Smirker, shaking his fists in the air, 
 and striding up and down the stable. " I know you are 
 White-horse Fred/' he added, addressing himself to our 
 hero, "but but what's the rest of your name? Fred 
 what?" 
 
 " Fred nothing. That's all the name I've got. I 
 never had any other." 
 
 "Well, you have got another, and if it is the one I 
 think it is, I don't see how in the world you come to be 
 riding about here. You had ought to be at the bottom 
 of the lake. I'll see the fellows below this very night, 
 and have a new runner put on this route, or I'll give up 
 the station. I ain't a going to have no such fellow as 
 you coming about me. You can't get out of here any 
 too sudden." 
 
 This speech was all Greek to Julian, except the last 
 sentence. That he understood perfectly, and was quite 
 ready to act upon the suggestion it contained. The 
 moment Smirker opened the door of the stable he dashed 
 the spurs into his horse, which sprung forward like an 
 arrow from a bow, and tore down the path with the 
 speed of the wind, the bay following. In a few seconds 
 he was out of sight. 
 
 Scarcely waiting for Julian to get fairly out of the 
 stable, Smirker slammed the door and locked it, and 
 turning fiercely upon his new prisoner disarmed him by 
 jerking off the belt which contained his knife and 
 revolver. Having thus put it out of the boy's power to 
 do any mischief, Smirker suddenly seemed to become 
 unconscious of his presence. He had much to think 
 about, and for the next quarter of an hour he gave him- 
 self up entirely to his reflections, never once casting a 
 single glance toward his companion. He paced up and 
 down the stable with long strides, shaking his head and 
 muttering, and trying in vain to find some explanation 
 for the strange, and to him bewildering, incidents that 
 had just occurred. They were more than bewildering 
 they were absolutely terrifying, as the expression on his 
 face and his whole bearing and manner abundantly 
 proved. He walked with a very unsteady step, his burly
 
 WHITE-HORSE FRED. 1Q3 
 
 frame trembled like an oak in a storm, and now and 
 then he raised his hand to dash away the perspiration 
 which stood on his forehead like drops of ram. 
 
 The prisoner was as cool and collected as ever. -Being 
 left to himself, he strolled carelessly about the stable, 
 examining every object in it, and occasionally directing 
 his gaze toward the open door leading from the stable 
 into the living-room of the cabin. Finally he leaned 
 against one of the stalls, and when Smirker's back was 
 turned hastily pulled something from his pocket and 
 tossed it into the manger something that gave out a 
 ringing, metallic sound as it fell. The noise, slight as 
 it was, caught the man's ear and aroused him from his 
 reverie. He turned and confronted his prisoner at 
 once. 
 
 "What you doing there?" he demanded. 
 
 " Nothing at all," was the reply. " I am waiting as 
 patiently as I can for you to explain why you have robbed 
 me of my weapons, and are keeping me here. I assure 
 you that my Uncle Reginald will have something to say 
 to you about this before you are many hours older." 
 
 "What you doing there?" repeated Smirker fiercely; 
 " I heard something chink." 
 
 ' ' Perhaps it was my persuaders/' said the boy, lifting 
 his boot and exhibiting a huge Mexican spur, orna- 
 mented with little silver bells, which tinkled musically 
 as he moved his feet about. 
 
 " P'raps it was, and p'raps most likely it wasn't. 
 Haven't I lived long enough to tell the difference between 
 the rattling of spurs and the jingling of money? I have, 
 I bet you. I'll soon find out what you've been up to." 
 
 Smirker walked into the stall in front of which the 
 boy was standing, and then for the first time the prisoner 
 began to show signs of anxiety. He closely watched the 
 man's movements, and cast frequent and impatient 
 glances toward the door of the living-room, as if he were 
 expecting and earnestly desiring the arrival of some one. 
 
 Smirker was in the stall but a few moments, and when 
 he came out he carried in his hand a small canvas bag, 
 at the sight of which the prisoner turned white with
 
 184 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 terror. Taking his stand under the lantern, Smirker 
 nntied the string with which the bag was fastened; but 
 no sooner did his eyes fall upon its contents than he 
 dropped it as if it had been a coal of fire, and his face 
 grew livid with rage and alarm. 
 
 " Betrayed!" he roared, stamping his feet furiously 
 upon the ground, and nourishing his fists in the air. 
 "And, fool that I was, I might have known it! I sus- 
 pected it from the beginning." 
 
 " What's the matter?" asked the boy, and his voice 
 was as firm and steady as ever. 
 
 "What's the matter?" shrieked Smirker, driven 
 almost insane by his intense passion. " Do you stand 
 there and ask me what's the matter? It's the last 
 question you will ever ask me, for you are as good as a 
 dead man already. Didn't I say that there was some- 
 thing at the bottom of all this? You are White-horse 
 Fred that bag proves it. It contains nuggets, and 
 gold-dust, and money my share of the swag which I 
 have received and sent to the fellows below. I expected 
 to get it from tbat other boy, and asked him for it; but 
 of course he couldn't give it to me, being an imposter. 
 And I allowed him to go off scot free, and even told him 
 some secrets that nobody outside the band ought to 
 know. How long will it take him to ride to the fort 
 and tell what he has seen and heard, and lead a squad 
 of soldiers back here? And you helped him out in it 
 you, a sworn member of the band! Now, you shall tell 
 me what you mean by acting as you have done. Speak 
 in a hurry, or I'll choke it out of you !" 
 
 Smirker, howling out these words with a fierceness 
 and energy which showed that he was terribly in earnest, 
 advanced toward his prisoner in a low, crouching atti- 
 tude, something like that a wild beast would assume 
 Avhen about to spring upon its prey. 
 
 The boy's face was very pale, but he bravely stood his 
 ground. Knowing that escape was impossible, he was 
 prepared to fight desperately for his life. 
 
 "Will you tell me?" asked the robber, creeping for- 
 ward with a slow, cat-like motion.
 
 WHITE-HORSE FRED. 185 
 
 " I have nothing to tell/' replied the boy, "except 
 this: I have friends close at hand, and they ought to be 
 here now." 
 
 " Then I will have this business over before they 
 arrive." 
 
 " Come on, and I will show you what a Mortimer is 
 made of." 
 
 Before the words of defiance had fairly left the boy's 
 lips, Smirker bounded forward, and the two closed in a 
 death struggle.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE SPECTERS OF THE CAVE. 
 
 HE FIGHT was of longer duration and was 
 much more desperate than one would sup- 
 pose it could have been, considering the im- 
 mense advantage which Smirker possessed 
 over his wiry antagonist in weight and muscle; but of 
 course it could end in but one way. White-horse Fred, 
 bruised and exhausted, was borne to the ground at last, 
 with the man's knee on his breast and his brawny hand 
 at his throat. 
 
 "Now let's hear from you," hissed Smirker. "Who 
 was that fellow who came here and passed himself off 
 for you, and why did you help him out in it? Speak, 
 before I choke the life out of you." 
 
 If Fred could have obeyed his reply would have been 
 as defiant as ever; but the powerful grasp on his throat 
 rendered articulation impossible. 
 
 "You won't tell me?" demanded Smirker; "then take 
 the reward of your treachery." 
 
 The robber's hand glided around his side to his belt, 
 and when it came, in sight again it brought with it a 
 gleaming bowie-knife, which was raised in the air above 
 tho prisoner's breast; but just as it was on the point of 
 descending it was arrested as effectually as though the 
 arm which wielded it had been turned into stone. 
 
 "Hold hard, thar!" 
 
 The words, uttered by a strange voice and spoken in 
 a tone of stern command, rang through the stable with 
 startling distinctness. Smirker raised his eyes and there, 
 standing in the door to which Fred had so often directed 
 b-is gaze, was a gigantic figure clad in buckskin, holding 
 in his hands a long, heavy rifle, the muzzle of which was 
 pointed straight at the robber's head,
 
 THE SPECTERS OF THE CA VE. 18? 
 
 " Silas Roper!" gasped Fred's antagonist. 
 
 " 'Taiu't nobody else, as you'll find out mighty sud- 
 den if you move an eyelid," was the reply. "Drop that 
 we'pon an' get up from thar." 
 
 The command was no sooner uttered than it was 
 obeyed by the trembling Smirker, who threw down his 
 knife and slunk away like a whipped cur before the stal- 
 wart trapper, as he came striding into the stable, and 
 retreating toward the nearest stall, held both his hands 
 above his head in token of surrender. 
 
 " None of that ar, now," said Silas, as he bent over 
 the prostrate form of the boy. "Keep out in plain 
 sight whar I can have an eye on you. Are you bad hurt, 
 Fred? If you are, that feller's signed his death-war- 
 rant." 
 
 "No! no!" moaned the boy faintly. "Don't touch 
 him." 
 
 Smirker was amazed to hear the one who had so nar- 
 rowly escaped death at his hands interceding for him. 
 It relieved him of all fear of bodily injury, and ho 
 straightway began to recover his composure; but he 
 drew a step or two nearer to Fred's side, thinking it 
 best to keep as far as possible out of the reach of the 
 giant, whom he knew had good cause to be at enmity 
 with him. 
 
 "I shall be all right as soon as I have had time to re- 
 cover the breath he choked out of me," continued the 
 the latter. "Oh, Silas, I am so glad to see you! But 
 why didn't you come just a few minutes sooner. I have 
 seen him. He was in this very stable." 
 
 " Him ! " repeated the trapper. "Who? Not Julian ? '' 
 
 " Yes, Julian. I didn't think I should know him 
 when I met him, but I did. I wanted to throw my 
 arms around him and tell him that he was my brother, 
 but Smirker was in the way. I am terribly disappointed 
 in him, Silas. He is from the States, you know, and I 
 expected to see a boy who hadn't courage enough to face 
 a sheep. But he'll do." 
 
 " Why, how come he here?" asked Silas in great as- 
 tonishment.
 
 188 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 " I haven't the least idea. Make Smirker tell. He'll 
 do anything you ask him." 
 
 "How was it?" demanded the trapper, turning to the 
 owner of the cabin. " Tell nothing but the truth." 
 
 Smirker was too completely cowed by the presence of 
 the giant, with whose powers he had more than once 
 been made fully acquainted, to fabricate a falsehood 
 even if he had anything to gain by it. Not daring to 
 disobey, or even to hesitate, he began, and in a faltering 
 voice told the story of Julian's visit to his cabin just as 
 we have related it. He also described what had taken 
 place after Fred's arrival, but added that Silas must ask 
 the boy to explain that, for it was something he could 
 not comprehend. 
 
 "I can soon make it plain to you," said White-horse 
 Fred, now taking up the story. "You can't imagine 
 how surprised I was to find Julian here, and if Smirker 
 had possessed any control over himself I should not 
 have known what to do. But the way he looked and 
 acted gave me a clew, and I saw through the whole 
 thing as clearly as if it had been explained to me in 
 words. Uncle Reginald, you know, happened to ride by 
 old Antoine's cabin the other dii/ while I was absent, and 
 seeing one of my horses, Snowdrop, there, suddenly con- 
 ceived a violent passion for her and took possession of 
 her without saying so much as 'by your leave.' I won- 
 dered what he intended to do with her and now I have 
 found out. He gave her to my brother. Julian this 
 morning thought he would take a ride and look over 
 the country, and not knowing that the horse belonged 
 to a band of robbers, gave her a loose rein and she 
 brought him here. Finding that he had got himself 
 into trouble, he acted upon some hint that Smirker 
 gave him and passed himself off for me; and if / had 
 not arrived just as I did, he would have got away with- 
 out being suspected. To help him out of the difficulty, 
 I told Smirker that my name was Julian Mortimer, and 
 the blockhead believed it." 
 
 " Thar ain't nothing so very strange in that," observed 
 Silas. "No man on airth could tell you two apart if 
 you was dressed alike."
 
 THE SPECTERS OF THE CAVE. 189 
 
 "But we wore not. Smirkcr has seen me in these 
 clothes a hundred times, I suppose, and I should think 
 he ought to have recognized me. Now that I think of 
 it, I ran something of a risk, didn't I? Suppose that 
 when I said that my name was Julian Mortimer, my 
 brother had lost his courage and revealed himself? 
 Wouldn't I have been in a scrape? I depended entirely 
 upon his presence of mind to carry me through, and I 
 didn't lose by it. But wasn't he astonished, though? I 
 thought he would tumble out of his saddle. But he 
 behaved pretty well, considering that he is from the 
 States." 
 
 " Why didn't you want to tell me who he was?" asked 
 Smirker, who had listened attentively to the story. 
 
 "I would have been smart to do that, wouldn't I?" 
 returned White-horse Fred. " Suppose I had told you, 
 and you had succeeded in making an end of me before 
 Silas came, what would you have done? You would 
 have gone straight to Uncle Reginald and told him what 
 had happened, and he would Well, it's enough for 
 you to know that he would have made trouble for Ju- 
 lian. Silas, if you had only come a few minutes sooner 
 he would have been with us now. I am uneasy about 
 him. lie will get into difficulty when he gets home, 
 now you see if he doesn't." 
 
 "I couldn't come no sooner," replied the trapper; 
 "'cause I had more trouble than I thought I'd have 
 crawlin' down that long, dark passage-way that leads 
 from the top of the cliff. What's the matter with you?" 
 
 This question was addressed to Smirker, who suddenly 
 began to exhibit a greater degree of terror than the cir- 
 cumstances seemed to warrant. The show of courage 
 he had maintained ever since he found that Fred was 
 disposed to stand between him and the vengeance of the 
 trapper vanished as quickly as it had appeared; and 
 scarcely able to retain an upright position, he was 
 obliged to lean against the wall for support. 
 
 " You needn't be no ways skeery," said Silas, who 
 seemed to feel some compassion for the trembling 
 wretch. " We've got plenty agin you, but if you behave
 
 190 JULIAN MORTTMER. 
 
 yourself, nobody's goin' to hurt you. All we ask of you 
 is to tell us something we want to know; an' if you will 
 do that, we'll turn you loose, an' you can dig out of this 
 country as soon as you please." 
 
 "I'll tell you anything," replied Smirker quickly. 
 "But first I'd like to have you tell me something. 
 When I Avas going to pitch into you," he added, turning 
 to White-horse Fred, "you told me to come on, and 
 you would show me what a Mortimer was made of, 
 did n't you?" 
 
 "I did," replied the boy. "I knew, of course, that 
 you were too much for me, but I wasn't going to sur- 
 render. That's something I don't know how to do." 
 
 " And you have said two or three times thfct Julian is 
 your brother, hain't you ?" Smirker went on. 
 
 " I have, and he is." 
 
 " Then you must be the son of old Major Mortimer?" 
 
 " I am proud to say that I am." 
 
 "Well, now if you are, what business you got walking 
 about on top of the ground? That's what I'd like to 
 know. You had ought to be at the bottom of the lake 
 that lies behind your father's rancho. Sanders put you 
 there, 'cause I seen him do it with my own eyes." 
 
 "I know he did, and my body is there yet," replied 
 White-horse Fred. 
 
 "Eh?" exclaimed Smirker, drawing away from the 
 boy toward the trapper. 
 
 " Don't you know that a Mortimer can't be killed?" 
 asked Fred, who, having recovered from the effects of his 
 struggle with the robber, was his jolly, reckless self once 
 more. "And have you not yet learned that the mem- 
 bers of our family have the power of throwing the shield 
 of their protection around their servants? It's a fact. 
 You remember old Juan, do you not? Dick Mortimer 
 shot him twice with his own hands, and you knocked 
 him on the head with the butt of your rifle; and then 
 you both picked him up and threw him over a cliff, 
 didn't you?" 
 
 " There ain't no use in saying we didn't," replied 
 Smirker. " But I was hired to hel^ in that work."
 
 THE SPECTERS OF THE CA J'. 191 
 
 " Oh, of course. Men always have some excuse for 
 doing wrong. Well, that old fellow's body may be at 
 the bottom of that gorge now, but I don't believe it is. 
 There is something that looks wonderfully like him 
 walking about above ground this very day. If you want 
 to see it we can show it to you." 
 
 " You needn't put yourselves to no trouble/' whined 
 Smirker. " Ask me all the questions you want to and 
 turn me loose." 
 
 " The old chap walks around of nights, too," con- 
 tinued White-horse Fred, in a tone of voice that made 
 the cold chills creep all over his listener, " assisting his 
 friends in every possible way and executing all sorts of 
 vengeance ^m his enemies. How would you feel if you 
 should wake up about midnight and see him coming to- 
 ward you just this way?" 
 
 Fred threw himself into a crouching posture, similar 
 to that which Smirker had assumed a few minutes be- 
 fore, drew his head down between his shoulders, dis- 
 torted his features, opened his eyes and mouth to their 
 widest extent, spread out his fingers like the claws of a 
 wild beast, and crept slowly toward the robber. 
 
 " Don't!" cried Smirker. 
 
 " We're goin' to take you right whar he was seed 
 last," said Silas, who believing that time enough had 
 been wasted, thought it best to bring Fred's pleasantries 
 to an end; "and if you don't tell us what we want to 
 know we'll show him to you as sure as you're a hoss- 
 thief. Put the saddles on the critters, Fred, while I tie 
 this feller." 
 
 " I will tell you what you want to know now," said 
 Smirker, who continued to exhibit the most abject 
 terror. 
 
 "Yes; but you see we want to take you to a place 
 whar we can keep you safe till we find out whether or 
 not you tell us the truth." 
 
 As Silas spoke he detached a halter from one of the 
 bridles hanging on the wall, and with it securely bound 
 the arms of his prisoner, who remonstrated earnestly 
 against the proceeding, but never once thought of 
 resistance.
 
 192 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 By the time this was done Fred had saddled the two 
 horses in the stable, one of which was Snowdrop, and 
 the other an animal belonging to Smirker, replaced the 
 belt containing the revolver and knife about his waist, 
 and also secured possession of the bag containing the 
 nuggets and gold-dust. Silas then mounted Smirker's 
 horse, and bending down from his saddle and placing 
 his arm about his prisoner, raised him to a seat behind 
 him as easily as if he had been a child. 
 
 In a few minutes more the trio were riding down the 
 gully at a brisk trot. Silas and his young companion 
 held their weapons ready for instant use, and kept a 
 good lookout on all sides of them. If they chanced to 
 meet any of the band of which their prisoner was a 
 member, they might be called upon to fight for posses- 
 sion of him. But they accomplished the descent of the 
 gorge, crossed the valley, and entered the woods on the 
 opposite side without meeting anyone, and finally found 
 themselves in the vicinity of the rancho. Here they 
 became very cautious in their movements, White-horse 
 Fred leading the way at a slow walk, and frequently 
 stopping to look about and listen. Presently he dis- 
 mounted in a dense thicket, and having tied his nag to 
 one of the bushes, seated himself on the ground, his 
 example being followed by the trapper. For fully half 
 an hour they and their prisoner sat motionless in their 
 place of concealment, and at the end of that time Silas 
 Koper's quick ear caught the sound of a stealthy foot- 
 fall. He communicated the fact to Fred in a whisper, 
 and the latter was instantly on the alert. He crept away 
 through the bushes, and presently came back again. 
 
 "It's Dick," said he, in a low tone; "and after 
 Julian again Fll warrant. Isn't he persevering? He is 
 coming down the hill. Do you think I could get ahead 
 of him?" 
 
 "I reckon you might if you're right lively, '' replied 
 the guide. " But be careful of what you do. One mis- 
 take would spile everything." 
 
 The active Fred was out of sight almost before Silas 
 had ceased speaking. Threading his way rapidly but
 
 THE SPECTERS OF THE CA VE. 193 
 
 noiselessly through the woods, he reached the bottom of 
 a Ayide and deep ravine, Avhich lie crossed Avith a feAv 
 SAvift bounds. Arriving at the base of a hill on the 
 opposite side, he pushed aside a thick cluster of bushes, 
 disclosing to view a dark opening, which seemed to ex- 
 tend far down into the regions below. Into this he 
 dived like a squirrel going into his hole, and in a second 
 more Avas out of sight. 
 
 The bushes which concealed the opening had scarcely 
 sprung back to their places Avhen Kichard Mortimer 
 appeared in sight, moving down the ravine with sloAV 
 and cautious steps, and pausing every fe\v feet to look 
 about him. When he reached the mouth of the cave 
 he backed into the bushes, and concealing himself 
 among them, stood for a long time listening and gazing 
 up and doAvn the ravine. Being satisfied at last that 
 his movements Avere unobserved, he dreAv back into the 
 opening, and hurried along a narrow passage-Avay, Avhich 
 led first to the store-room before spoken of, and thence 
 through the hill to Reginald Mortimer's rancho. 
 
 " I am IIOAV going to make amends for the cowardice 
 I exhibited last night," soliloquized Richard Mortimer. 
 " I am heartily ashamed of Avhat I did, and I shall 
 never again allow myself to be frightened from my pur- 
 pose by so shalloAV an artifice. It couldn't have been 
 old Juan's ghost I saAV, for there are no such things. 
 Neither could it have been the old man himself, for he 
 Avas put out of the Avay long years ago, and as I Avas 
 present Avhen the deed was committed, and even assisted 
 in it, I knoAV that the Avork was thoroughly done. The 
 apparition certainly looked exactly like him, and if it 
 comes in my Avay to-night I am going to find out Avhat 
 it is. My Derringers are freshly loaded, and I Avill see 
 Avhat impression the bullets in them Avill make upon 
 it." 
 
 The passage-way was as dark as midnight, but Richard 
 Mortimer, being perfectly familiar with all its windings, 
 Avalked rapidly through it, and turning an abrupt bend, 
 found himself at the place where the passage opened 
 into the store-room. Although he had braced his nerves,
 
 194 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 called all his courage to his aid, and was fully prepared 
 to encounter something here, he could not repress the 
 thrill of horror that ran through him, or the exclama- 
 tion of astonishment that escaped his lips the moment 
 he emerged from the passage-way. 
 
 A pale green light, whose source was invisible, and 
 through which objects could but be dimly seen as 
 through a mist, was streaming through the cellar. To 
 Richard Mortimer's excited imagination it seemed to 
 proceed from the bodies of two persons who were slowly 
 approaching him from the opposite end of the apart- 
 ment one a very aged man, and the other a youth who 
 looked remarkably like White-horse Fred. They were 
 walking side by side, gazing into each other's faces, and 
 appeared to be conversing earnestly, for their hands 
 were constantly employed in gesticulating, and their lips 
 moved, although no sound came forth. The light, 
 which gave a strange and unearthly appearance to their 
 features, seemed to move as they moved; and, instead of 
 diffusing itself about the room, was confined to a narrow 
 space in the immediate vicinity of the figures. Richard 
 Mortimer gazed, and as he gazed felt his courage oozing 
 out at the ends of his fingers. His first impulse was to 
 turn and take to his heels, but the weakness was only 
 momentary. Recovering himself by a strong effort, he 
 advanced boldly into the store-room, but its mysterious 
 occupants took no notice of him. He drew one of his 
 Derringers from his pocket, and leveled it at the old 
 man's breast. 
 
 "I have just one bullet apiece for you, my friends," 
 said he, his voice trembling in spite of his efforts to 
 control it, " and unless you stop that pantomime and 
 speak to me, I will bring this farce to an end in a way 
 that you probably have not expected." 
 
 He paused, but no answer was returned, nor was 
 there the least change in the expression of the counte- 
 nances of the two figures to show that his words had 
 been heard. They continued to approach the place 
 where he was standing, talking earnestly and gesticu- 
 lating.
 
 THE SPECTERS OF THE CAVE. 195 
 
 They wore now quite near to him so near that 
 llichard Mortimer retreated a step or two, and as he did 
 so his finger pressed the trigger. There was a bright 
 flash, a stunning report, and when the smoke, which for 
 a few seconds obscured his vision, cleared away so that 
 lie could see the effect of his shot, he dropped his empty 
 weapon and staggered back as if he were about to fall. 
 There stood the old man erect and unharmed, still talk- 
 ing with his companion, and neither of them seemed 
 to have heard the report of the pistol. 
 
 To draw the other and discharge it was but the work 
 of an instant, but it had no visible effect upon the ob- 
 jects of his vengeance, who continued to advance, the 
 light keeping pace with them, and their faces appearing 
 to assume a more ghostly and unearthly look the nearer 
 they approached. 
 
 And now Richard Mortimer discovered something 
 that had hitherto escaped his notice a tiny stream of 
 blood which was trickling down the old man's temple, 
 and two holes in the breast of his buckskin jacket. 
 White-horse Fred was as wet as if he had just come out 
 of the lake, and the water dripped from his garments as 
 he moved along. The sight reminded Richard Mortimer 
 of one memorable night when scenes of horror and 
 bloodshed had been enacted at the rancho, and drove 
 away every particle of his courage. With a wild shriek 
 of terror he turned and fled like the wind.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 JULIAN MAKES A DISCOVEKY. 
 
 TIE, HERO rode away from the cabin which 
 had been the scene of his recent thrilling 
 adventure in an ecstasy of bewilderment 
 and alarm. He could not find a satisfactory 
 explanation for a single one of the strange incidents 
 that had happened there they were all shrouded in a 
 mystery which he could not penetrate. Of one thing, 
 however, he was certain, and that was that that gallant 
 young fellow, whoever he was, who had so narrowly es- 
 caped death at Smirker's hands, should not remain long 
 a prisoner. He would have him out of that cabin if 
 there was any way by which his release could be effected, 
 and find out what he meant by claiming to be Julian 
 Mortimer. Perhaps that "watchful friend," who had 
 addressed that note to him and visited his room the night 
 before while he was asleep, could tell him what ought 
 to be done under the circumstances, if he could only 
 obtain an interview with him. This he would use his 
 best endeavors to accomplish by returning at once to 
 his uncle's rancho, and remaining awake all night. If 
 his mysterious friend should come into his room before 
 morning he would be sure to see him. 
 
 Julian's new horse was quite as swift as Snowdrop, 
 and showed the same willingness to go ahead. He flew 
 down the rocky path at break-neck speed, the bay quietly 
 following. For two hours he continued that mad gallop, 
 and at the end of that time suddenly slackened his pace 
 to a walk. This aroused Julian, who straightened up 
 and looked about him, expecting to see his uncle's 
 rancho close before him; but not a building of any de- 
 scription was in sight. His horse was toiling up a steep 
 mountain path, which led through a wilderness of trees
 
 JULIAN MAKES A DISCOVERY. 107 
 
 and rocks that Julian did not remember to have seen 
 before. He knew that he had not passed that way in 
 the morning. He had been so completely absorbed in 
 his reflections that he had not thought of directing his 
 steed, but trusted to the animal to carry him back to 
 his uncle's raucho. But now he remembered, with a 
 thrill of terror, that he was not riding Snowdrop, but a 
 horse belonging to a robber one, too, which was in the 
 habit of making frequent and perhaps daily journeys 
 between certain points. The animal seemed to know 
 where he was going, but Julian did not. He had not 
 seen the valley since he left Smirker's cabin, and that 
 proved that the horse, without attracting his attention, 
 had turned into another path, and was carrying him 
 deeper into the mountains. But to what place? To an- 
 other robber station beyond a doubt. Julian shuddered 
 at the thought. 
 
 To add to his alarm, night was rapidly coming on, 
 the sky was overcast with clouds of inky blackness, the 
 lightning was playing about the mountain tops, and the 
 hoarse mutterings of a storm could be heard in the dis- 
 tance. What was to be done under such circumstances? 
 He could never retrace his steps and find his way back 
 to the valley in the dark. He knew by the experience 
 he had already had with Snowdrop that the animals 
 White-horse Fred rode, having become accustomed to a 
 particular line of duty, objected to having their usual 
 manner of proceeding interrupted; and if the nag on 
 which he was now mounted should show the same dis- 
 inclination to turn back that Snowdrop had exhibited 
 to leave Smirker's cabin, what could he do? He would 
 be obliged to depend entirely on himself, and he would 
 become hopelessly bewildered before he had gone a hun- 
 dred yards. To camp beside the path and wait for day- 
 light would be equally hazardous, for the crash of fallen 
 timbers in the distance told him that the swiftly ap- 
 proaching storm was sweeping every movable thing be- 
 fore it. He must go on he had no alternative. 
 
 " There's some consolation in knowing that I can't 
 get into a much worse scrape than that which I have
 
 198 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 just got out of," thought Julian. "If I don't succeed 
 in passing myself off as White-horse Fred, I will reveal 
 myself and trust to luck. In that event the robbers will 
 only make a prisoner of me, for I am worth too much 
 to them to be harmed. Smirker said so, although I 
 haven't the least idea what he meant by it." 
 
 Having settled this point, Julian put spurs to his 
 horse, which, having by this time gained the summit of 
 the hill, set off at the top of his speed. The gloom of night 
 settled rapidly over the mountains, growing more and 
 more intense every instant, and finally even the nearest 
 objects were shut out from his view, save when the oc- 
 casional flashes of lightning burst from the thick black- 
 ness overhead. To increase his uneasiness, he became 
 aware that the path over which he was being carried 
 with all the speed his horse could command ran along 
 the brink of a deep precipice. Trusting entirely to the 
 white nag, and leaving the bay to take care of himself, 
 Julian clung with a death-grip to the horn of his sad- 
 dle, closing hi? yes when the lightning illuminated the 
 scene, that he might not see the dangers before him, 
 and then when darkness once more settled over the 
 mountains holding his breath in suspense, momentarily 
 expecting to find himself whirling headlong to destruc- 
 tion. But the sure-footed animal, having carried the 
 real White-horse Fred along that same chasm on many 
 a night like this, was too familiar with the way to run 
 into any dangers. 
 
 Nearer and nearer came the storm, a roar like that of 
 a thousand express trains filling the canyon behind him, 
 the lightning flashing incessantly, the thunder booming 
 and echoing among the cliffs like rapid discharges of 
 heavy artillery, the crash of falling timber sounding 
 louder and plainer every instant, and faster and faster flew 
 the white horse with his terrified rider. He sped along 
 like a bird on the wing, never once abating his speed even 
 in the roughest and most difficult places, and finally, to 
 Julian's immense relief, carried him into a thickly 
 wooded ravine, and after making several abrupt turns 
 and plunging through a dense thicket of bushes, came
 
 JULIAN MAKES A DISCOVERY. 100 
 
 to a sudden halt. On the instant the boy placed his 
 hand to his mouth and gave a perfect imitation of 
 AVhite-horse Fred's whistle. 
 
 "Ay! ay! "came the response through the darkness, 
 the voice sounding close at hand. 
 
 "Whew!" panted Julian, drawing his handkerchief 
 across his dripping forehead. "Wasn't it lucky that I 
 had my wits about me? I heard a window close, and a 
 bolt rattle as it was pushed into its socket; and that 
 proves that some one heard my approach and was on 
 the lookout. If I hadn't given the signal just as I did 
 I might have been shot. Wouldn't I give something to 
 know what I have got to go through with now?" 
 
 Julian could not see even the faintest outline of a 
 house before him, but nevertheless there was one there. 
 The sound of voices and the tramping of heavy feet on 
 a stone floor came faintly to his ears, followed by the 
 grating of bolts and locks; and presently a door swung 
 open close at his side so close that if he bad thrust out 
 his hand he could have touched it a flood of light 
 streamed out into the darkness, and a man with a lan- 
 tern appeared on the threshold. Julian's horse at once 
 moved forward, carrying his rider into a stable similar 
 to the one adjoining Smirker's cabin, and the bay fol- 
 lowed closely at his heels. Scarcely had they reached 
 the shelter of the friendly roof when the storm burst 
 forth in all its fury. 
 
 Julian rolled off his horse rather than dismounted, 
 and the hostler, after closing and fastening the door, 
 held up his lantern and peered sharply into his face. 
 
 "Why, boy!" he exclaimed in great amazement. 
 
 " It is all up with me now," thought Julian. " I am 
 discovered at last." 
 
 "Well, sir!" continued the man, after a pause. "I 
 have seen something to-night I never expected to see in 
 my life White-horse Fred frightened.", 
 
 " I guess you would be frightened if you were in my 
 place," returned Julian, greatly relieved. 
 
 " The soldiers haven't been after you, have they?" 
 
 The boy replied in the negative.
 
 200 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 "Oh, it's the storm, then. It's awful, that's a fact. 
 I never heaid such thunder or such a roaring of wind. 
 l r ou got here just in time, didn't you? Listen to that 
 rain. The water in the gullies will be breast high to a 
 horse in five minutes. Where did this fellow come 
 from?" asked the hostler, leading the bay into one of 
 the stalls. 
 
 "From Fort Stoughton. He was stolen from the 
 major." 
 
 "Is this all you've got? Haven't you brought any 
 dust or nuggets?" 
 
 "No. That was all Smirker had to give me." 
 
 " The fellows up there are getting lazy. They never 
 send anything but horses lately. What do you know 
 that is interesting or exciting?" 
 
 " Nothing. Smirker told me to tell you that the cap- 
 tain's cub had got back." 
 
 " Glory!" exclaimed the man, looking over his shoul- 
 der at Julian, and bringing his horny palms together 
 with a noise like the report of a pistol. 
 
 " I don't know what he meant by it," added Julian, 
 hoping that the man would finish the story Smirker had 
 been relating to him when White-horse Fred arrived. 
 
 " Of course you don't, but I do; and it is the best 
 piece of news I ever heard." 
 
 "Why is it?" 
 
 " That is a secret known only to a few of us whom 
 the captain is willing to trust. But, of course, as you 
 are a faithful member of the band, you will one day 
 share in the benefits of it. I'd like to tell you, but I'm 
 sworn to tell nobody. Your supper is waiting." 
 
 That was something Julian was glad to hear. Uncle 
 Reginald had kept him in such a state of excitement 
 that morning that he had eaten very little breakfast, 
 and he was as hungry as a wolf. Fortunately there was 
 but one door leading out of the stable beside the one at 
 which he hai come in, and he knew which way to go to 
 find the living room of the cabin. 
 
 Being satisfied now that he could pass himself off any- 
 where for White-horse Fred, he boldly pushed open the
 
 JULIAN MAKES A DISCOVERY. 201 
 
 door and found himself in the presence of two rough- 
 looking men, who were stretched out on benches, with 
 their saddles under their heads for pillows. 
 
 At one end of the room was a table, made of unplaned 
 boards, upon which was a goodly supply of corn-bread 
 and bacon, a tin plate with a fork beside it, and a quart 
 cup, which a villainous-looking Mexican, who entered 
 from another door just as Julian came in from the sta- 
 ble, was filling with very black-looking coffee. The men 
 on the benches greeted him with rude cordiality, the 
 Mexican bowed to him, and Julian, assuming an air of 
 carelessness and indifference that he was very far from 
 feeling, threw his sombrero into one comer of the room 
 and seated himself at the table. 
 
 The nervousness and timidity he felt on first entering 
 the room very soon began to wear away. The men, 
 after making some coarse jests concerning his new 
 clothes, entered into a lively conversation with him, and 
 asked a multitude of questions about persons and places 
 which Julian had never seen or heard of. From some 
 remarks they let fall he found out why they were so in- 
 quisitive. They were obliged to remain in that cabin 
 month in and month out, scarcely ever stirring beyond 
 the threshold; they never saw any new faces except 
 those of the captain and the two agents who brought 
 the stolen property there and took it away again; and 
 they knew nothing of what Avas going on in the outside 
 world except what their visitors told them. Julian 
 gratified their curiosity by relating a very few things 
 that had happened that day in Smirker's cabin, and a 
 good many things that had not happened. He repeated 
 every word that had been told him about the "captain's 
 cub," in the hope that the men would tell him the rest 
 of the story, but in this he was disappointed. They 
 expressed unbounded delight at the intelligence, but 
 said, somewhat fiercely, that Smirker ought to have held 
 his tongue. 
 
 But little was said after this. The men having lis- 
 tened to all Julian had to tell them, rearranged their 
 blankets and prepared to go to sleep; and the boy, being
 
 202 JULIAN' MORTIMER. 
 
 left to himself, gave his whole attention to the corn- 
 bread and bacon. When he finished his supper and 
 arose from the table, the robbers were both snoring 
 lustily. 
 
 "AVhat's the next thing 011 the programme, I won- 
 der?" soliloquized Julian, who, not knowing what else 
 to do, walked about the room looking at the weapons 
 which hung upon the wall. "I am afraid to make a 
 move in any direction for fear I shall act so unlike 
 White-horse Fred that somebody will suspect me. I'll 
 stroll around a little and see what sort of a place I have 
 got into.'" 
 
 The Mexican who had served up the supper came in 
 at this moment to clear away the dishes, and when he 
 went out again, Julian walked to the door through 
 which he disappeared, and stood there looking about 
 him, and wondering if it would be safe to venture be- 
 yond it. It led into a long, narrow hall, at the oppo- 
 site end of which was a second door that communicated 
 with the kitchen. This door was open, and the sounds 
 that issued from the room told him that the Mexican 
 was engaged in washing the supper dishes. 
 
 After a moment's pause Julian kept slowly on, in- 
 tending to take a peep into the kitchen; but when he 
 had gone about half-way through the hall, he saw an- 
 other door at his left hand, which he had not before 
 noticed. It was open, and led into a room which pre- 
 sented a great contrast to the one Julian had just 
 left. 
 
 It was nicely furnished, carpeted, provided with a 
 comfortable bed, and there were ornaments on the man- 
 tel over the fire-place, and pictures hanging upon the 
 walls. In the middle of the floor was a table with the 
 remains of a supper upon it, and beside it sat a tall, 
 military-looking gentleman dressed in a faded suit of 
 black. He sat with his head resting upon his hand, 
 and his eyes fastened upon the floor; and there was 
 something in his face, which was turned partly toward 
 him, that attracted the boy's attention and excited his 
 sympathy at once. He knew instinctively that the man

 
 204 / ULIA N MOR TIMER. 
 
 was in trouble. A second glance showed him that he 
 was a prisoner that he was in double irons. 
 
 Who was he, and what had he done to incur the dis- 
 pleasure of the robbers that they should keep him so 
 closely confined? If Julian had been able to answer 
 this question,, and had known the full value of the dis- 
 covery he had just made, he would have been astonished 
 and excited beyond measure.,
 
 CIIAPTEE XXIV. 
 
 PEDEO MAKES ANOTHER. 
 
 illE PRISONER raised his head with aweary, 
 languid air when Julian stopped before his 
 door, but no sooner did his eyes rest full upon 
 the boy than his whole appearance changed 
 as if by magic. The look of utter dejection faded 
 from his face, and was succeeded by an expression in 
 which excitement and hope were strangely blended. 
 Placing his finger upon his lips with a warning gesture, 
 he arose to his feet, and then Julian saw that he was 
 even more securely confined than he had supposed, be- 
 ing chained to the floor. 
 
 The prisoner, who was considerably past the prime of 
 life, was a man of very commanding appearance, and in 
 his youthful days must have been a model of strength 
 and agility; but now his frame was emaciated to the last 
 degree, his cheeks were pale and sunken, and his eyes, 
 which were fastened eagerly upon the boy, had a wild, 
 defiant look in them. 
 
 As he arose slowly and tremblingly to his feet, he 
 beckoned to Julian impatiently, almost fiercely, to enter 
 the room, at the same time drawing a letter from his 
 pocket and tossing it toward him. It fell upon the car- 
 pet just inside the door, and Julian, filled with wonder, 
 stepped forward and picked it up. An instant after- 
 ward he would have given everything he ever hoped to 
 possess if he could have recalled the action. 
 
 The rattling of dishes in the kitchen suddenly ceased, 
 and the Mexican cook came into the hall, humming a 
 tune and snapping his fingers as if he felt at peace with 
 himself and all the world, and Julian knew, as well as 
 if it had been told him, that he was coming into that 
 room.
 
 206 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 The anxiety and alarm he exhibited were fully shared 
 by the prisoner, whose face was the color of ashes. He 
 could not have been more fully alive to the dangers of 
 the boy's situation if he had been in the same peril 
 himself. After looking all around the room, searching 
 for some avenue of escape or place of concealment, he 
 pointed with a quick movement behind the door, and 
 sinking back into his chair rested his head upon his 
 hand. Julian understood the gesture and was quick to 
 obey it. He dodged behind the door like a flash of 
 light, and a moment later the Mexican came into the 
 room. 
 
 "Have you finished your supper?" he demanded 
 roughly. 
 
 " No," replied the prisoner. " Come in again in a 
 few minutes." 
 
 " Now, I want you to hurry up; do you understand 
 that? I am not going to wait all night for those 
 dishes." 
 
 The Mexican went out again and stood looking up 
 and down the hall. Once he started toward the living- 
 room, and the movement gave Julian new cause for 
 alarm. What if he should go in there and discover his 
 absence? What would the robbers do to him if they 
 should find him concealed in the room with their pris- 
 oner? The fears these questions conjured up were 
 speedily set at rest, however, for the man turned about 
 and went into the kitchen again; and when the rattling 
 of the dishes told Julian that he had resumed his work, 
 he thrust the letter into his pocket, slipped from behind 
 the door, and with noiseless steps retraced his way to 
 the living-room. He arrived there just in time to 
 escape danger from a new source, for the door of the 
 stable opened and the hostler entered. He found the 
 boy seated beside the table, with his arms folded and 
 his head resting upon them. He had assumed this posi- 
 tion in order to conceal his face, which he knew was as 
 pale as that of the dead. 
 
 "Wake up here, Fred!" cried the man, striking Ju- 
 lian on the shoulder with his open hand, " You've no
 
 PEDRO MAKES ANOTHER. 207 
 
 business to go to sleep. You know it's against orders 
 for anybody except us four fellows to stay in this rancho 
 all night. The storm is over, and you can start back 
 now." 
 
 "Start back!" thought Julian, raising his head and 
 nabbing his eyes as if he were very sleepy. " Must I 
 ride along that dreadful chasm again to-night? Where 
 will that horse take me? Back to Smirker's, prob- 
 ably." 
 
 " You will have a pleasanter time going than you did 
 coming/' continued the hostler. " The moon is shin- 
 ing brightly." 
 
 "Any messages?" asked Julian. 
 
 " None that I think of. Be down again to-morrow?" 
 
 The boy, replying in the affirmative, accompanied the 
 hostler to the stable, and in a few minutes more heard 
 the heavy door locked behind him, and was flying along 
 the zigzag path that led from the rancho to the chasm. 
 
 The ride proved to be much more to his liking than 
 the one he had taken a few hours before. The moon 
 lighted up every object within the range of his vision, 
 and he had a fair view of the dangers through which 
 he had passed. The horse carried him along the chasm 
 in safety, and when that was passed Julian threw the 
 reins loose on the animal's neck and gave himself up to 
 his reflections. Of course the prisoner occupied all his 
 thoughts. He pulled the letter from his pocket and 
 looked at it on all sides. There was something written 
 on it probably the address of the person to whom it 
 was to be delivered; but Julian, with the aid of no bet- 
 ter light than that afforded by the moon, could not 
 make it out. He had two prisoners to assist now, he 
 told himself Smirker's captive and the old gentleman 
 Avlio had given him the letter. The former, as we 
 know, was no longer in need of help; but the other 
 was, and in Julian he had a friend worth having. He 
 hud others, too, shrewd, active, daring men, who had 
 labored unceasingly for years to discover his where- 
 abouts and effect his release, but without the least hope 
 of success. Silas lioper would have given the best 
 years of his life to have known what Julian knew.
 
 208 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 It seemed to our hero that the ride would never come 
 to an end. He made no attempt to guide his horse, but 
 kept a good lookout on both sides in the hope of seeing 
 some familiar landmark. He did not intend to be car- 
 ried back to Smirker's cabin if he could prevent it. An 
 hour later he emerged from a deep ravine into a broad, 
 level valley, and then he knew where he was. His 
 horse showed a desire to carry him up a narrow path 
 which led to a high hill beyond; but Julian insisted on 
 having his own way, and by the help of his spurs soon 
 induced the animal to yield to his guidance. The five 
 miles that lay between him and his uncle's rancho were 
 quickly accomplished, and when Julian drew rein in 
 front of the gate he felt as if a mountain had suddenly 
 been removed from his shoulders. 
 
 "I never expected to see this place again/' thought 
 he, as he pounded upon the gate with the handle of his 
 hunting-knife. " Uncle Eeginald told me this morn- 
 ing that he wanted me to feel that I had a right to go 
 and come when I pleased, and I guess he will think I 
 haven't been slow to take advantage of his permission. 
 It must be long after midnight, but I can't go to sleep, 
 for I don't want to miss seeing that watchful friend of 
 mine, if he comes about." 
 
 The furious blows Julian showered upon the gate 
 brought the dogs out in full chorus, and in a few min- 
 utes Pedro also appeared with his lantern. He must 
 have known who it was demanding admittance, for he 
 did not stop to look through the wicket, but opened the 
 gate at once, and Julian rode in. 
 
 " I am sorry to be obliged to disturb you at this hour," 
 said the boy, as he dismounted in front of the door of 
 the rancho, "but I couldn't help it." 
 
 " I was up and waiting for you," was the reply. 
 "Your uncle has given me orders to hold myself in 
 readiness to attend to you at any hour of the day or 
 night; so you see well I Carrajo!" 
 
 The Mexican, wno had taken Julian's bridle from his 
 hand, ceased speaking very suddenly, raised his lantern, 
 and after surveying the horse all over, opened his eyes
 
 PEDRO MAKES ANOTHER. . 209 
 
 to their widest extent, and broke out into a volley of 
 Spanish oaths and ejaculations indicative of the greatest 
 astonishment. He had made an alarming discovery. 
 
 " Well, what is it?" asked Julian. " Do you see any- 
 thing strange ?" 
 
 ' ' No, " answered the man hastily. * ' Take this lantern 
 to light you to your room, and I will put your horse in 
 the stable." 
 
 " Is anything new going to happen, I wonder?" 
 thought Julian, as he took the proffered lantern and 
 made his way along the hall to the sleeping apartment. 
 "Pedro has found something to surprise him, and I 
 can't imagine what it can be. I guess Uncle Reginald 
 would be surprised, too, if he knew where I have been 
 and what I have seen since he last saw me." 
 
 Never before had a room looked so cozy and comfort- 
 able, or a bed so inviting, as Julian's did that night. 
 He was almost exhausted by his long ride and the ex- 
 citement through which he had passed, but he had a 
 matter of importance before him, and he could not 
 think of retiring. His first move was to light the 
 candle that stood on the table and extinguish the lantern, 
 and his second to draw his easy-chair beside the table 
 and take the mysterious letter from his pocket. It was 
 soiled and crumpled, and Julian thought it must have 
 been written a long time, and that the gentleman had 
 carried it constantly about his person, waiting for an 
 opportunity to give it to some one. The words written 
 on the outside were: 
 
 "To any good Christian into whose hands this letter 
 may come." 
 
 " That means me/' thought the boy. " That poor 
 gentleman is in great trouble, I know, and I am Christ- 
 ian enough to help him out of it if I can." 
 
 He opened the letter, little dreaming what a surprise 
 was in store for him, and looked at the signature to see 
 who the writer was. He looked, and the blood went 
 rushing back upon his heart, leaving his face ghastly
 
 J ULIA N MOR T1MKR. 
 
 pale. Ho rubbed his eyes, held the letter closer to the 
 candle, and slowly read aloud the words: 
 
 " Yours, in dire distress, SAMUEL MORTIMEE, 
 "Late Major of the Army of the United States." 
 
 "It is from my father!" gasped Julian, sinking help- 
 lessly back into his chair. 
 
 " Is it? Then give it to me," said a stern voice close 
 at his elbow. 
 
 A hand suddenly appeared from behind his chair, and 
 clutching the letter, attempted to snatch it from his 
 grasp, but the boy's fingers closed upon it with a most 
 determined grip. Thinking of the emigrant, he started 
 up with a cry of alarm to find himself confronted by 
 Uncle Reginald, whose face was as black as a thunder- 
 cloud.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 HOW IT KKSULTEI). 
 
 HEN PEDRO took charge of Julian's horse he 
 did not lead him directly to the stable, but to 
 the back part of the house, where he left him 
 until ho could run into the kitchen and pro- 
 cure another lantern. When became out again he made 
 a thorough examination of the animal, and having at 
 last satisfied himself that he made no mistake, he run 
 into the house and pounded loudly upon the door of 
 Uncle Reginald's bed-room. The summons quickly 
 brought that gentleman to his feet, and when the 
 numerous bolts and locks had been undone, Pedro 
 pushed open the door and entered without ceremony. 
 The excitement and alarm depicted upon his features 
 must have been contagious, for no sooner did Mr. 
 Mortimer glance at his face than his own assumed a 
 very anxious look. 
 
 " Did Julian ride Snowdrop away this morning, or did 
 I dream it?" asked Pedro, before he was fairly inside the 
 door. 
 
 " You did not dream it," was the reply. "lie did. 
 Why do you ask the question?" 
 
 " Because here's the very mischief to pay. I told you 
 just how it would be if you turned that boy loose to run 
 about the country like u wild colt. I shouldn't bo sur- 
 prised if your little game was brought to an end in less 
 than twenty-four hours." 
 
 " What do you mean?" cried Uncle Reginald in alarm. 
 "Speak out plainly." 
 
 "I mean that if Julian rode Snowdrop away he has 
 brought Bob back that's what I mean." 
 
 Pedro's employer was utterly confounded by this
 
 212 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 intelligence. His under jaw dropped down, and lie 
 looked at his companion without saying a word. 
 
 "It is the truth?" continued the Mexican. "Now 
 where did he leave Snowdrop, and where did he get 
 Bob? Either at Smirker's or at the other place; and if 
 he has been there, it proves something." 
 
 " It does, indeed," cried Eeginald Mortimer, turning 
 white to the lips. " It proves that some of my trusted 
 men have turned against me ; for he could never have 
 gained admittance to either place except through 
 treachery. I must talk to him, and see if ha has learned 
 anything he ought not to know." 
 
 Uncle Eeginald threw on his clothes with all possible 
 haste, and hurried along the hall to Julian's room. The 
 door opened when he turned the knob, and entering 
 without attracting the boy's attention, he found him in 
 the act of reading a letter. When Uncle Keginald saw 
 the letter all his worst suspicions were confirmed. He 
 knew where Julian had been, and he knew, too, by 
 whom the missive had been written, and what it con- 
 tained. Approaching the boy's chair with a cat-like 
 tread, he leaned over his shoulder and made an attempt 
 to take the paper out of his hand; but Julian detected 
 the move in time to defeat it. He sprung to his feet, 
 and for a moment the two stood holding the letter be- 
 tween them, and glaring at one another like wild beasts 
 at bay. Uncle Reginald was astonished at the look of 
 defiance and determination he saw in the eyes that were 
 fastened upon him. It taught him something of the 
 spirit of the youth with whom he had to deal. 
 
 " Julian," said he, in a tone of voice which he intended 
 should frighten the boy into obedience to his commands, 
 " I have a good deal to say to you; but, in the first place, 
 give me that letter." 
 
 " I would as readily give you my life," was the prompt 
 reply. 
 
 " Let go, I tell you," said Uncle Reginald, in a still 
 sterner voice, making a vain effort to unclasp the sinewy 
 fingers that were closed upon the letter. 
 
 " Let go yourself. It is from my father. I have 
 more right tn it than you have, and I will not let go.
 
 HO W IT RESUL TED. 213 
 
 <e I am your guardian, Julian, and have the right to 
 control you, as you will quickly learn to your cost, if you 
 do not obey me." 
 
 " I don't care if you are the King of the Sandwich 
 Islands, you shan't have this letter: I don't believe you 
 are my guardian. You have done nothing but tell me 
 one falsehood after another ever since I have been here. 
 You said my father was dead, and he isn't. He is alive, 
 and I have seen him seen him, too, in prison and 
 chained to the floor. You say you are my uncle, and 
 you are not. You have no more right to the name you 
 bear than your Mexican servant has not a bit." 
 
 "Who told you all this?" asked Uncle Eeginald, 
 making a strong effort to keep back the tempest of pas- 
 sion which was almost ready to break forth. 
 
 "Your man Smirker. 1 am going to have him 
 arrested as soon as I can go to the fort. He killed a 
 miner and stole his money; he told me so." 
 
 "He told you so!" repeated Reginald Mortimer. 
 
 " Yes. He mistook me for a rascally accomplice of 
 his White-horse Fred." 
 
 " Did Smirker introduce you into Hale's rancho I 
 mean the place where you saw this prisoner?" 
 
 "No. The horse he gave me in exchange for mine 
 introduced me there." 
 
 " Well, go on. What else do you know?" 
 
 " I know you had better let go this letter instantly ; 
 for if you don't " 
 
 Julian finished the sentence by placing his hand upon 
 the butt of his revolver; but before he could draw it 
 from his belt Eeginald Mortimer released his hold upon 
 the letter, and bounding forward, seized the boy by the 
 throat, and attempted to throw him to the floor. 
 
 Julian was neither surprised nor frightened. He 
 retained his presence of mind. His first thought was 
 not of defense but of the letter; and having secured that 
 by thrusting it into his bosom he was ready for the 
 struggle. How the contest would have ended if he had 
 been left to himself it is hard to tell; but help was close 
 at hand. The hangings at the foot of the bed were
 
 214 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 thrust cautiously aside, and a pair of eyes appeared and 
 looked into the room. They watched the combatants a 
 moment and then disappeared, and shortly afterward 
 the hangings were again raised and three figures sprung 
 from behind them. The foremost was Silas Roper; 
 close at his heels followed the strange horseman whom 
 Julian had met at Smirk er's cabin; and the rear was 
 brought up by the feeble old man, who, by simply 
 walking across the cellar the night before, had saved 
 our hero from being carried away captive by Richard 
 Mortimer. 
 
 At this moment the door through which Uncle Reg- 
 inald had entered was cautiously opened, and another 
 head was thrust into the room. It was the head of 
 Pedro, the Mexican, who, after just one glance at what 
 was going on inside the apartment, drew back out of 
 sight. 
 
 " The jig is danced at last," said he to himself, as he 
 ran along the hall, " and those of us who are found in 
 these parts in the morning will be called upon to settle 
 with the fiddler. It is nothing more than I expected, 
 but I know how to block this little game." 
 
 Pedro went straight to the stable, led out the horse 
 Julian had brought there a short time before, and 
 springing upon his back, rode off toward the mount- 
 ains. 
 
 Silas and his friends had come into that room on 
 business, and their actions indicated that they were dis- 
 posed to waste no time in carrying it out. The trapper 
 walked straight up to Reginald Mortimer, and seizing 
 him by the collar and tearing his hand from the boy's 
 throat, threw him at full length on the floor. Julian 
 staggered to his feet as soon as he was relieved of the 
 weight of his antagonist, to find a pair of strong arms 
 clasped about his neck, and to hear himself addressed 
 in terms of endearment, to which he listened like one 
 in a dream. Then lie felt himself forced into a chair, 
 and knew that Silas came up and shook hands with 
 him, and that he was followed by the feeble old man, 
 who said something that was doubtless intended for a
 
 HO IV IT RESUL TED. 215 
 
 welcome; but Julian's mind was in such a whirl of 
 excitement that he could not understand a word he 
 uttered. 
 
 "^What's the matter with you, anyhow?" asked 
 White-horse Fred, bringing his hand down upon Ju- 
 lian's shoulder with a force that fairly made the 
 boy's teeth rattle. "Can't you say you are glad to 
 see me, or are you above owning a brother who belongs 
 to a band of robbers?" 
 
 " Let me collect my thoughts a little, and then I will 
 talk to you," replied Julian. "I can't quite under- 
 stand all this." 
 
 "And there's another as much in the dark as you 
 are," said Fred, pointing to Reginald Mortimer. "You 
 perhaps imagine you are dreaming, and I know he 
 wishes he was, don't you, captain? There are two of 
 us here whom you never expected to see in the flesh 
 again; are there not? Take your time, Julian, and 
 think the matter over, and while you are about it I will 
 look around and pack up a few articles that may be of 
 use to you, for we are going to find new quarters for 
 you now." 
 
 Julian settled back in a chair and gazed long and 
 earnestly at all the persons in the room at the old 
 Mexican who stood at his side leaning upon his staff; at 
 Silas, sitting upon the bed and smiling complacently at 
 him as if he enjoyed his bewilderment; at Reginald 
 Mortimer, lying bound and helpless on the floor, and 
 who, like Julian, was almost overwhelmed with aston- 
 ishment; and then at his brother, who was skipping 
 about the room, overhauling the bureau, wardrobe and 
 book-case, now and then depositing some articles which 
 he took from them upon a blanket he had spread on 
 the floor. 
 
 "My brother!" said Julian aloud. "How strangely 
 it sounds." 
 
 " Doesn't it!" replied Fred, pausing in his work and 
 looking over his shoulder at Julian. " But it is the 
 truth. I don't know what you think about it, but I am 
 delighted to claim the relationship. A brother is some-
 
 216 JULIAN MORTIMER* 
 
 thing worth having out here in this wilderness, I tell 
 you." 
 
 " What is your name?" asked Julian. 
 
 "Fred White-horse Fred, if it suits you better 
 sworn agent for a band of outlaws and rascals of which 
 our worthy uncle here is the acknowledged leader. Any 
 objections to my company?" 
 ' Then you are not dead?" 
 ' Do I look like it?" 
 ' And you are not Julian Mortimer?" 
 ' By no means. How could I be when you are that 
 lucky individual?" 
 
 ' Then why did you tell Smirker so ?" 
 ' To help you out of a scrape," replied Fred, picking 
 up the bundle he had made and throwing it over his 
 shoulder. " But I say, Julian," he added, a shade of 
 anxiety overspreading his merry countenance, "of 
 course you are not aware of the fact, but you have 
 jeopardized the life of one who is very dear to both of 
 us by getting into this fuss with Uncle Reginald." 
 
 "How?" asked Julian. 
 
 "Why, our father has been a prisoner in the hands of 
 the band of which I am a member for eight years, and 
 if anything happens to the captain Uncle Reginald 
 his jailors have orders to shoot him as soon as word 
 comes to their ears." 
 
 "The news is on the way to them now," said the rob- 
 ber chief, with savage emphasis, ' ' and he will be shot 
 before daylight. Pedro is already on his road to the 
 mountains." 
 
 " Who sent him?" demanded White-horse Fred. 
 
 "I expect he sent himself," cried Julian, starting 
 from his chair in great excitement. I saw him put his 
 head in at ' the door just as you came in. We must be 
 off at once." 
 
 " But where will we go, and what shall we do?" asked 
 Fred. "We don't know where father is; if we did, we 
 should have released him before this time." 
 
 " Well, I know where he is, and I have seen him. 
 More than that, I've got a letter from him."
 
 HO W IT KESUL TED. 217 
 
 "Hold hard thar!" exclaimed Silas, as Julian drew 
 the letter from his pocket, and moved nearer the candle. 
 " Don't read a word of it here, for thar's no knowin' 
 how many pairs of ears thar may be listenin* to it. 
 Come with us, an' we will talk this matter over." 
 
 Julian had never seen three persons more excited 
 than the trapper and his companions were over the an- 
 nouncement he had just made. It did not take the 
 form of words, but showed itself in their counte- 
 nances, and in their hurried, nervous actions. They 
 prepared to leave the room at once. Silas raised the 
 captive robber to his shoulder as if he had been a sack 
 of flour, while the old Mexican skipped before him 
 like a boy of sixteen, and held up the hangings which 
 concealed the entrance to the secret passage-way. 
 White-horse Fred, who had looked into the muzzle of 
 Smirker's revolver without flinching or even changing 
 color, was pale enough now, and the hand with which 
 he extended Julian's sombrero to him now trembled 
 like a leaf. They left the room without saying a word, 
 and followed Silas, who led the way along the passage 
 to the cellar, where they found a man with a lantern 
 waiting for them. It was Romez, the hostler. He 
 was greatly astonished to see the trapper carrying Regi- 
 nald Mortimer on his shoulder, but without asking any 
 questions he turned and mounted a ladder which rested 
 against the wall of the cellar. 
 
 While Julian was going up he had leisure to make an 
 examination of the store-house. It was a natural cave 
 in the mountain, and seemed to have no roof at least 
 there was none that could be seen. The wall against 
 which the ladder was placed arose for the height of 
 thirty feet, as smooth and perpendicular as if it had 
 been fashioned by the hand of man, and terminated in 
 a broad, level platform. When the parties stepped 
 upon this platform they paused until Romez had drawn 
 up the ladder, and then mounted to a second ledge of 
 rock higher up the cavern. This ladder was also drawn 
 up, and the journey resumed along a narrow, slippery 
 path, that finally ended in a dark opening, which proved 
 to be the mouth of a smaller cave.
 
 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 The interior of this cavern presented a scene which 
 filled Julian with astonishment. Almost the first ob- 
 ject his eyes rested upon was Smirker's burly form 
 stretched out on a little pallet in one corner. He was 
 securely bound, and did not look much now like the 
 reckless desperado he had appeared when Julian first 
 met him in his cabin. But the presence of this man did 
 not occasion him so much astonishment as the sight of 
 the gold that was scattered about the room. He saw it 
 there in all shapes in dust, nuggets, quartz and coin. 
 It was stowed away in chests, tied up in little bags, and 
 packed upon shelves and piled in corners as if it had 
 been merchandise of some description. Julian had 
 never dreamed that all the gold mines of California 
 could produce as much of the precious metal as he saw 
 collected in that one small room. The cave was also 
 used as a receptacle for various odds and ends rifles, 
 revolvers, muskets, hunting-knives, saddles and bridles. 
 As Julian glanced about him he told himself that he 
 knew now what had become of some of the articles Un- 
 cle Reginald had missed from his rancho. 
 
 " During your travels to-day did you hear Smirker or 
 anybody else say anything about some hidden treasure 
 which he hoped to handle some day?" asked White- 
 horse Fred. 
 
 Julian replied that he did. 
 
 "Well, here it is. This is the cause of all our trouble. 
 If it hadn't been for these yellow boys we might have 
 been a united, happy family to-day. " 
 
 "I don't reckon it'll be very long afore we're all to- 
 gether agin like we used to be," said Silas, as he deposited 
 his prisoner upon the pallet beside the other. " If the 
 major is where we can get at him we'll have him out 
 this very night. How did you find him, Julian?" 
 
 "Smirker gave me a horse in exchange for mine that 
 took me straight to his prison," replied the boy. And 
 then he went on to relate, in a few rapid words, how his 
 curiosity had led him to walk about the rancho, and that 
 while on his way to the kitchen he had found the pris- 
 oner. He described, too, how narrowly he had escaped
 
 HO W IT RESUL TED. 219 
 
 discovery by the Mexican when he came in to remove 
 the supper dishes, and told what had passed between 
 Uncle .Reginald and himself prior to the arrival of Silas 
 and his friends. 
 
 "You are a lucky fellow, Julian," said White-horse 
 Fred, when he had finished his story. " I have been 
 making regular daily journeys to that rancho for more 
 than a year, and never saw or heard anything to lead me 
 to suspect that affairs were not all right there. I used 
 to wonder why there were four men at that station 
 and only one, or at the most two, at the others, and 
 have thought it strange that they should always be so 
 particular to hurry me away. No matter how bad the 
 weather was they wouldn't let me stay all night. But 
 what is to be done, Silas? Pedro has gone to the mount- 
 ains to warn Hale and his crowd, and if he gets there 
 before we do, the discovery Julian has made will be of 
 no value to us." 
 
 " 'Tain't wuth while to do anything in a hurry," re- 
 plied the trapper. " Let's hear what's in that letter." 
 
 Julian drew the letter from his pocket, and taking his 
 stand near the lantern, began reading it aloud. 
 
 We do not reproduce it because its contents have no 
 bearing upon our story. It was just such a letter as any 
 one of us would have tried to write had we been placed 
 in Major Mortimer's situation. It described some events 
 that happened long years before, and which we shall 
 presently hear from the lips of White-horse Fred, and 
 pleaded for assistance in language that would have wrung 
 tears of pity from any but a savage. 
 
 Julian's cheeks were wet long before he ceased read- 
 ing, and once he stopped and turned toward the robber 
 chief as if he had half a mind to take an ample revenge 
 on him. The old Mexican wept like a child, and gave 
 vent to his indignation by pounding on the floor with 
 his staff; while Silas and White-horse Fred stood, with 
 clinched hands and compressed lips, gazing at Julian 
 with eyes that would grow dim in spite of them. 
 
 A dead silence succeeded the reading of the letter, 
 which was finally broken by the trapper, who, after a
 
 220 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 short consultation with the two boys, determined upon 
 a plan of action. This he explained in a few words, 
 and preparations were at once made to carry it into 
 effect. 
 
 Leaving the old Mexican to watch the prisoners, the 
 rest of the party descended to the cellar and thence made 
 their way into the stables. Julian mounted Snowdrop 
 and Fred went in pursuit of her mate, but he was gone. 
 
 "Good luck attends us on all sides to-night!" said he 
 gleefully. " Here were a dozen horses in the stable, and 
 instead of taking a fresh one that blockhead Pedro se- 
 lected an animal which has already traveled forty miles 
 to-night. So much the better for us. We'll overtake 
 him before he has gone five miles." 
 
 The party mounted in haste, and galloping out of the 
 gate directed their course down the valley.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 FEED'S STORY. 
 
 IIITE-IIORSE FRED and his long-lost but 
 now recovered brother were boys who were 
 not much given to sentiment; but although 
 they did not go into ecstasies over one an- 
 other, they were none the less delighted at their re- 
 union. They kept as close together as possible, and 
 clung to each other's hands as they galloped along, as if 
 afraid that something might again come between them 
 to separate them. 
 
 "Well, old fellow," said Fred at length, "'it didn't 
 take you long to raise a row after you got here, did it. 
 Uncle Reginald little dreamed, when he was working so 
 hard to find you in order to further his own ends, how 
 completely you would kick over his kettle of fish in less 
 than twenty-four hours after your arrival. We'll keep 
 those white horses as long as we live, won't we. They 
 are the best friends we've ever had." 
 
 "I believe that now," replied Julian; "but I didn't 
 think so when they were roaming about among the 
 mountains with me and carry iiig me to robber dens. 
 But, Fred, you are not a horse-thief?" 
 
 "I never stole a horse, or anything else, if that is what 
 you mean; but I have been a member of the band for 
 more than a year. I've had charge of a good many dol- 
 lars' worth of stolen property first and last, and if I had 
 happened to fall into the hands of the settlers while I 
 had it in my possession, I'd have been gone up sure." 
 
 " Why, Fred, what made you do it." 
 
 "I had an object in view one that justified even 
 worse things than that. It will not retard our speed in 
 the least if we talk as we go along, so I will tell my 
 story first I know you are dying to hear it and then 
 I will listen to yours. Where shall I begin?"
 
 222 JULIAN MOKTIMEX. 
 
 "At the beginning, of course. Tell me who I am, 
 how I came to be an inmate of Jack Bowies' cabin, and 
 all about it. I have lived among mysteries for the last 
 few weeks, and I want every one of them explained." 
 
 "And yet there isn't a single mystery connected with 
 your history, or mine, either," replied White-horse 
 Fred. "I can make everything plain to you in ten 
 minutes. In the first place, that old rancho back there 
 is our home. It was built by Grandfather Cordova, our 
 mother's father, who came out here in early times. 
 AVhen I tell you that it was intended as a fort as well as 
 a dwelling, you will know how those secret passage-ways 
 came to be there. Such a building was necessary in 
 those days, for it was hardly safe for white men 
 about - " 
 
 " Safe!" interrupted Julian. " It isn't safe now." 
 
 " Oh, things have changed wonderfully since that 
 house was built, and even during my recollection. We 
 call ourselves a quiet, orderly, well-disposed set of 
 people; but when grandfather first came out here he 
 saw some excitements, I tell you. He was a native 
 of Mexico, and brought Avith him a small colony of his 
 own people. The Indians were so troublesome that the 
 government was obliged to keep a strong body of troops 
 here, and father was one of their officers. He com- 
 manded the fort; and Silas, who was in more than one 
 battle with him, says he was a fighter worth looking at. 
 He had not been out here very long before he fell in 
 love with and married our mother, Inez Cordova, threw 
 up his commission, and went to digging gold and raising 
 cattle. Everything went on smoothly until grandfather 
 and mother died, and then the trouble began. In one 
 night our family was completely broken up by a couple 
 of adventurers, who ought certainly to have had some 
 mercy on us if they had no affection for us, for they 
 were our mother's brother and cousin. 
 
 " So far your btory corresponds with the one Sanders 
 told me," said Julian. 
 
 " Can't you remember anything about those happy 
 days?" continued White-horse Fred. " I can, but then
 
 223 
 
 I am almost two years older than you are. I can re- 
 member tluit Juan the old fellow who came into your 
 room with us to-night and his two boys, Komez and 
 Antoine, were great favorites of mine. Juan was 
 father's major domo he had charge of everything in the 
 house. Komez was the hostler, and Antoine was the 
 chief herdsman. They were life-long servants of our 
 family, and they and a few others have since proved 
 themselves as true as steel. When I became old enough 
 to be trusted alone with a horse, I used to ride out to 
 Antoine's hut, which was located in the lower end of 
 the valley, and spend weeks at a time with him, assist- 
 ing in herding the cattle and learning to throw the 
 lasso. Father would occasionally ride out there to see 
 that I was all right, and now and then I would come 
 home to spend a day with you." 
 
 "I can remember those visits," observed Julian. 
 
 "At that time, in spite of the gloom thrown over it 
 by the death of our mother, which occurred when you 
 were about three years old, our house was not the deso- 
 late place it is now. The officers of the fort used to 
 visit there regularly to talk over army matters with 
 father, eat Juan's excellent dinners, and enjoy the 
 splendid shooting the mountains afforded. Father did 
 considerable trading with the trappers and friendly In- 
 dians; the house was always full, and there was always 
 something interesting going on there. Somehow the 
 story got abroad that father was immensely rich. Well, 
 he was wealthy, but he didn't have as much money as 
 most people supposed he did." 
 
 "How much was he worth, anyhow?" asked Julian. 
 
 " Perhaps a couple of million, and the most of that 
 once belonged to grandfather." 
 
 " Why, I heard Pedro tell Sanders that he had fifty 
 millions stowed away somewhere." 
 
 "Ah, nonsense! Pedro has about as clear ideas of 
 wealth as he has of the moon; and that's something he 
 knows nothing at all about. The story got wind from 
 this simple circumstance: Father was one day walking 
 up a little ravine a short distance from the house, pros-
 
 224 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 pecting, when he found a pretty good-sized nugget. 
 The next day he picked up another, and a week or two 
 afterward he found a third. He told some of the 
 officers of it, and they spread it around. There were a 
 few miners here then, and they at once crowded into 
 the ravine and turned up every inch of it; but ndt an- 
 other nugget was brought to light. That, however, did 
 not serve to convince them that there was not a gold 
 mine of wonderful richness hidden about there some- 
 where. They industriously circulated the report, and 
 finally the story, together with the news of grandfather's 
 death and mother's, reached the ears of a couple of men 
 in San Francisco, who at once laid their plans to pos- 
 sess themselves of father's wealth. They were Keginald 
 and Eichard Cordova, mother's brother and cousin. 
 
 "They were graceless scamps, those same fellows 
 professional gamblers, who had been cast off by grand- 
 father on account of their profligate habits. As our 
 parents had never mentioned their names, no one out 
 here knew that there were such men in existence. 
 They came to the mountains, and, as bad luck would 
 have it, the first man whose acquaintance they made 
 was Ned Sanders. They pumped him carefully, and 
 found that he was just the fellow they wanted, for he 
 knew a good deal about our family, and would do any- 
 thing for money. They unfolded their plans to him, 
 which were to murder father and his boys, and claiming 
 to be his brothers, seize upon his property. Sanders 
 entered heartily into their scheme, but he proposed a 
 slight change of programme. 
 
 " ' I've got better idees nor them,' said he. ' The ole 
 major's got a heap of money laid up somewhar, but it 
 ain't a drop in the bucket to what we'd finger if we 
 could only find that hidden gold mine of his'n. We'll 
 make way with the boys, 'cause they won't be of no use 
 to us; but we won't harm the major. In course he 
 won't want to tell us whar the gold mine is, and we 
 can't scare him into it, nuther, 'cause he's one of them 
 kind of fellers that don't scare wuth a cent; but we 
 can force it out o' him in another way. "We'll make a
 
 FRED'S STOR Y. 225 
 
 prisoner of him, and shut him up away from his horses, 
 an' his hounds, an' his cattle, an' keep him shut up till 
 he is willin' to tell us what we want to know/ 
 
 "Just see the heathenish ingenuity Sanders ex- 
 hibited!" exclaimed White-horse Fred angrily. " Know- 
 ing full well that father could not be frightened into 
 revealing his secret, he resolved to torture it out of him; 
 and he decided, too, upon the only method that could 
 by any possibility prove successful. Being a man of 
 active habits, it would be but little short of death for 
 him to be shut out from the world and deprived of oc- 
 cupation. Liberty and something to do were as neces- 
 sary to his existence as the food he ate, 
 
 " Sanders also told the plotters that Major Mortimer 
 and his boys were not the only ones with whom they 
 would have to deal. There were some firm friends of 
 the family who must be got rid of, or they would make 
 trouble. First, there was Silas lloper. During a battle 
 with the Indians, father had saved his life at the risk of 
 his own, and Silas was so grateful for it that he gave up 
 hunting and trapping and turned herdsman in order 
 that he might always be near father. It wouldn't be a 
 safe piece of business to attempt to harm the major or 
 any of his family while Silas was about. And there was 
 old Juan and half a dozen others, who had been em- 
 ployed in the family in grandfather's life-time. They 
 could never be induced to lend their aid to so villainous 
 a scheme, and they must be killed. In order to cope 
 Avith so many men Silas was a small army in himself 
 it would be necessary to have more help, and this San- 
 ders agreed to furnish. 
 
 " The plan was thoroughly discussed, and a time set 
 for carrying it into execution. When the night arrived, 
 Sanders appeared with three choice spirits, named 
 Smirker, Hale and Lutz. They began operations by 
 effecting an entrance into the rancho through the cellar. 
 Father was surprised in his bed, and bound hand and 
 foot; three of the obnoxious Mexicans were murdered in 
 their sleep; but old Juan, taking the alarm, iled from 
 the house. He was seen, however, pursued, and over-
 
 226 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 taken on the brink of a deep gully, a short distance 
 away. He was stabbed, shot twice, beaten on the head 
 with the butt of a rifle, and finally thrown over the cliff; 
 but he is to-night hale and hearty, in spite of his wounds 
 and his ninety-five years. 
 
 " The next in order was Silas Roper. They sur- 
 rounded his cabin, broke open the door, and there their 
 operations in that quarter ceased. The trapper, who 
 says he always keeps himself in trim for a fight, assumed 
 the offensive at once, and whipped out his assailants 
 with an ease that must have astonished them. Lutz, 
 who was the first to enter the cabin, was shot dead in 
 his tracks; Reginald received a blow over the head that 
 laid him aside for a week or two; Sanders got another, 
 and so did Smirker; and Silas escaped Avithout a scratch. 
 
 " The next thing was to go back to the house after 
 you and me. I remember as well how I felt when 1 
 awoke and found the outlaws in my room as if the in- 
 cidents I am trying to describe had happened only 
 yesterday. I remember, too, of seeing you jump out of 
 bed, and draw a bee-line for the door. You got out, 
 but Sanders ran after you and brought you back." 
 
 " That must have been what he referred to when he 
 told me that he and I once ran afoot-race," said Julian. 
 
 " I can recall the thoughts that passed through my 
 mind when Sanders and Smirker, accompanied by 
 Richard, were taking us down to the lake to throw us in. 
 I remember of falling through the air and sinking in the 
 water, but beyond that all is blank to me. After I was 
 thrown in, an idea suddenly occurred to Richard, and 
 he concluded to make a change in his programme, and 
 save you alive for some future emergency. A time 
 might arrive when an heir to the hidden gold mine in 
 the existence of which he and his cousin firmly believed 
 would be a convenient thing to have about. There 
 were a good many ways in which he might be used. So 
 Richard, after seeing his cousin disposed of in some 
 remote place where he would not be likely to be dis- 
 covered, and giving Sanders some very minute instruc- 
 tions, took you and started off to Missouri.
 
 FXED*S STORY. 22? 
 
 " In the meantime, old Juan had recovered his con- 
 sciousness. When he was thrown into the gorge he did 
 not fall to the bottom, but lodged on a leaning tree about 
 four feet below the brink of the cliff. When he came to 
 himself he crawled down to the lake to bathe his 
 wounds, but stopped just before he reached the bank, 
 for he saw llichard and the two outlaws coming down 
 with us. He saw them throw me into the water, and 
 when they went away with you he jumped in and 
 rescued me. 
 
 " In the morning those of the servants who had not 
 been molested, and who had slept soundly in spite of all 
 the noise and confusion, awoke to find the rancho almost 
 deserted. The owner and his family had disappeared, 
 and some of their own number were lying dead in their 
 beds. They went at once in search of the commanding 
 officer of the fort, who came up, but could make noth- 
 ing of our disappearance. At the end of a week or two, 
 as nothing was seen or heard of us, he concluded that 
 we also had been foully dealt with, and thought it high 
 time that some one was put there to attend to things. 
 He asked the servants if they knew whether or not 
 father had any relatives near, and Sanders, who hap- 
 pened to be present, said he had heard him speak of two 
 brothers, Reginald and Richard Mortimer, who were 
 living in San Francisco. 'The officer decided to send a 
 letter to them, and Sanders agreed to carry it. He 
 made a great show of starting off, but rode only about 
 five miles through the mountains to a miserable little 
 hut where Reginald was waiting for him. 
 
 " Two months afterward Uncle Reginald was acknowl- 
 edged by the officers, the settlers, and the servants as the 
 lawful master of the rancho, and father was languishing 
 in the prison into which he had been thrown, with the 
 assurance that he should never come out of it until he 
 told where his wealth was concealed. He denied all 
 knowledge of the gold mine, but said that he had some 
 money stowed away in a safe place, and that he would 
 die in confinement before he would tell where it was." 
 
 " Why didn't Silas and Juan go to the commander of
 
 228 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 the fort and tell him what had happened?" asked 
 Julian. 
 
 " I was just coming to that. They met the next 
 morning in our treasure-house, which you visited to- 
 night, to talk the matter over. They had both seen 
 enough to satisfy them that father had been carried away 
 as a prisoner, and they had no difficulty in guessing at 
 the object his captors had in view. If they told the 
 commander of the fort he would send his cavalry scout- 
 ing about among the mountains, and that would alarm 
 the robbers, and perhaps lead them to murder father. 
 The first thing to be done was to find out where he was 
 confined, and it would be time enough to call in the 
 help of the troops when that had been ascertained. 
 But with all their efforts and they did everything men 
 could do they failed to gain the slightest clew to his 
 whereabouts. He had disappeared as completely as 
 though he had never existed at all. They spent years in 
 the search, but until you told them Avhat you had seen 
 to-night they knew no more about the matter than they 
 did when father was first captured. 
 
 "About four years ago I thought I was getting old 
 enough and shrewd enough to take a part in the search 
 myself ; but Silas and Juan would not permit it. They 
 said that as long as I kept out of sight everybody would 
 believe me dead, but that if I showed my face I would 
 be recognized at once, and Reginald would send some 
 one after me who would make sure work of me. But at 
 last I could endure the inactivity no longer; and once, 
 when Silas was away in the mountains, I came out of the 
 cave in which I had spent the best part of four years of 
 my life, and began to look about to find something to 
 do. Most of father's servants were gone, and their 
 places were supplied with new ones ; but there were 
 some of the old ones left, and among them were Romez, 
 Antoine and Itlmriel. The latter had been promoted 
 by Richard Mortimer, as he called himself, to the posi- 
 tion of body-servant; Romez held his old position as 
 hostler, and Antoine was still a herdsman. I lived with 
 the latter for two years, assisting him in his duties, and
 
 FRED'S STORY. 22 ( J 
 
 waiting impatiently for something to turn up. I was 
 careful to keep out of sight of Reginald and Richard, 
 but mingled freely with the rest of the people about the 
 rancho, and even with the soldiers and settlers, and no 
 one knew me. I paid regular nightly visits to old Juan, 
 who lived in the cave where father's money was hidden, 
 and once while on my way there something happened 
 that suggested to me a plan of action. 
 
 " There are two passage-ways that lead to the cellar 
 one from the house and the other from the outside of 
 the hill. I always went in through the latter, and I 
 went very slowly and cautiously too, for fear of finding 
 some one in there whom I did not care to see. One 
 night I did find some persons there Reginald and 
 Richard, who were examining the walls of the cellar by 
 the aid of a lantern. Old Juan said they used to spend 
 a good deal of time there looking for the concealed 
 treasure. 
 
 " I was so surprised to see them that I did not think 
 of retreat, and after I had time to collect my thoughts I 
 did not feel any inclination to turn back. Although I 
 had often seen the men at a distance, this was the first 
 time since that memorable night that I had ever been so 
 near to them, and I wanted to take a good look at them. 
 Silas and Juan had often told me in the most emphatic 
 language never to attempt to harm one of them, even if 
 I got the opportunity and knowing that they had 
 father's welfare at heart, and that they were wiser than 
 myself, I had promised to obey. But I could not resist 
 the temptation to draw my rifle to my shoulder and 
 cover both their heads with the sight they were stand- 
 ing closely together and squarely in line, so that one 
 bullet would have passed through them both telling 
 myself the while how easily I could shoot them, and how 
 richly they deserved it. While I stood in this position 
 Reginald turned toward me. Finding that I was discov- 
 ered, I did not lower my rifle, but kept it at my shoulder, 
 determined that if he offered to molest me I would resist 
 him to the best of my ability. But I soon found that 1 
 had nothing to fear. " lie stood for a moment gazing at
 
 230 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 me with eyes that seemed almost ready to start from 
 their sockets, and said in a husky voice: 
 11 ' Merciful heavens! Dick, look there!' 
 " Dick looked, and one look was enough. He pro- 
 nounced my name with a shriek, and dropping his 
 lantern, fled from the cellar, closely followed by his 
 cousin. At first I was greatly astonished at their be- 
 havior, but after thinking the matter over, I began to 
 understand it. Keginald and Richard are very ignorant 
 men, in spite of their fine flow of language, and of 
 course they are superstitious. They believe in signs and 
 omens, and apparitions, and knowing that they had put 
 me at the bottom of the lake, they could not compre- 
 hend how I came to be standing there alive and un- 
 harmed. This, as I have said, suggested to me a plan 
 of action. I knew all about those secret passage-ways, 
 and I made use of them to keep those two guilty men 
 in a constant state of alarm. I gave up herding cattle 
 and spent all my time loitering about the house, listen- 
 ing to the conversations between Reginald and his fol- 
 lowers, and showing myself whenever I saw an oppor- 
 tunity to frighten somebody. I tied a piece of thick 
 green cloth over the bull's-eye of a dark lantern, and 
 carrying this in my hand I used to wander about the 
 passage-ways of nights, uttering the most unearthly 
 shrieks and howls. I paid regular visits to Reginald's 
 sleeping- room and Dick's, and took possession of every- 
 thing I could carry away, such as money, weapons, 
 clothing and furniture. Old Juan undertook to watch 
 the cellar. He showed himself every time Reginald, 
 Richard, or Pedro went in there, and finally frightened 
 Richard so badly that he left the house and went to live 
 in a little cabin he built in the mountains. 
 
 11 One night I went into a room to see what I could 
 pick up, and whom should I find there but Ned San- 
 ders and an outlaw friend of his fast asleep in bed. I 
 took possession of their weapons, carried them into the 
 passage-way out of their reach, and then placing my 
 lantern in one corner, and taking my stand in the mid- 
 dle of the room where the light would fall squarely on
 
 FEED'S STOtfy. 231 
 
 my face, began to groan awfully. I was not long in 
 arousing them, and when their eyes were fairly open 
 they were not long in leaving the room either. I never 
 found an opportunity to appear to Sanders after that, 
 for he shunned the rancho as if it had been a grizzly 
 bear's den. 
 
 " I spent a good many months in this way, and at 
 last finding that I coiild learn nothing about father, I 
 went to herding cattle again. In the meantime Uncle 
 Eeginald and Sanders had organized a band of robbers 
 and horse-thieves; and this, as I afterward learned, was 
 the occasion of a fierce quarrel between the cousins, 
 who came to blows over it. Richard didn't want any- 
 thing to do with such an organization, believing that it 
 would endanger the success of their plans, but Reginald 
 carried his point. Richard never forgave his cousin for 
 that, and being determined to be revenged upon him 
 he has been working for the last two years to obtain 
 possession of all father's money, intending as soon as he 
 gets it to decamp and leave Reginald in the lurch."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 FEED'S STORY, CONCLUDED. 
 
 ELIEVING that some of the members of 
 this band of robbers knew where father was/' 
 continued White-horse Fred, " I watched for 
 an opportunity to join it, and finally suc- 
 ceeded in my object. I became one of the runners, or 
 couriers; that is, it was my duty to convey orders and 
 the stolen property from one point to another. It was 
 a subordinate position, although I ran just as much 
 risk as Sanders, or any other member of the band who 
 did the stealing, and I knew that as long as I held it I 
 could not hope to learn much of the secret business of 
 the organization; consequently I worked hard for pro- 
 motion, and, if I am to believe what I have been told, 
 I did some reckless things. At any rate, it wasn't 
 long before the name of White-horse Fred became 
 pretty well known about here. I have been chased and 
 shot at by soldiers and settlers more times than I can 
 remember, and I have been in the fort when the officers 
 were talking about me and laving plans for my cap- 
 ture." 
 
 " Why didn't they recognize you?" asked Julian. 
 "I didn't say that /was well known, did I? I said 
 my name was. The officers didn't know who I was 
 that's the reason they didn't recognize me. There were 
 only five men who knew me by the name I bore 
 Smirker, and the four fellows at Hale's rancho. No 
 one dreamed that White-horse Fred and the apparition 
 who kept Uncle Reginald's rancho in such an uproar 
 Avere one and the same person, and I had emphatic 
 orders from Silas and Juan never to reveal myself. 
 Everybody had heard of the queer doings at Uncle
 
 FRED'S STORY) CONCLUDED. ^3'] 
 
 Reginald's, and it Avas whispered about among the rob- 
 bers that Fred Mortimer and old Juan had risen from 
 their graves to torment their murderers. I was in 
 hopes that we would soon frighten Reginald away; but 
 he had come there after father's money, and he was 
 determined he would not go until he got it. 
 
 "All this while my story has now covered the space 
 of more than seven years Reginald was keeping father 
 closely confined in some hidden prison, hoping to break 
 his spirit and force him to tell Avhere his money was 
 concealed. But father remained firm, and Reginald 
 became tired of waiting at last, and so did Sanders. 
 The latter finally thought up another plan by Avhich to 
 obtain possession of the treasure, and when he had 
 matured it he went to Reginald to talk it over. 
 
 " Old Juan, who was always on the watch, saw him 
 go into the rancho, and believing that he had some 
 private business to transact that it might be well for 
 him to overhear, he went into the passage-way, opened 
 the secret door that led into Reginald's sleeping-room, 
 and set himself to listen. We afterward learned that 
 there was another listener to that conversation, and it 
 was Richard. He and Reginald were now at open 
 enmity. He never made his appearance at the rancho 
 in the day-time, but loitered about there of nights, 
 searching everywhere for the money, and taking notes 
 of all that was going on and I ought to say right here 
 that Richard and Sanders, who had hitherto been fast 
 friends, had a falling out. Richard, for some reasons 
 of his own, did not want his cousin to know that you 
 were alive. Sanders and Smirker were the only ones 
 beside himself who Avere acquainted with the secret, 
 and as soon as they found out that he wanted it kept 
 from Reginald's knowledge they demanded yellow boys 
 as the price of their silence. Richard supplied their 
 Avants as long as he could, but at last his funds were 
 exhausted and he could obtain no more. Sanders had 
 been expecting this, and having pumped Richard's 
 pockets dry, he deserted him and went over to Reg- 
 inald.
 
 234 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 " ' Capen/ said Sanders, when he and Eeginald had 
 locked themselves in the bed-room in which their private 
 interviews were always held, ' I'm gettin' monstrous 
 tired of waitin' fur a sight o' them big nuggets. The 
 old major's never goin' to give in he'll die fust/ 
 
 " 'I am afraid so/' replied Reginald; 'but what can 
 I do more than I have done? It is a very easy thing to 
 deprive a man of his liberty, but it's quite a different 
 matter to make him open his mouth when he's deter- 
 mined he won't. If we had only been smart enough to 
 keep the boys alive, we could have worked on his feel- 
 ings through them. But he knows they are dead, and 
 that's what makes him so desperate/ 
 
 " 'I know nary one of 'em hain't dead/ replied San- 
 ders. ' I mean, you see ' 
 
 " ' Yes, I know what you mean. You mean that they 
 are both dead, but that one of them has come back and 
 walks around nights,' said Reginald, looking all about 
 the room as if he expected to see something frightful. 
 'But you haven't seen the other Jiilian have you/ 
 
 " 'No; but I know he's alive. Oh, it's a fact/ added 
 Sanders, seeing by the expression on Reginald's face that 
 he was hardly prepared to believe this. 'He wasn't 
 never hurt at all. Fred was flung into the lake and 
 drownded an' I don't see why in creation he don't stay 
 thar but Julian wasn't/ 
 
 "And with this preface, Sanders went on to tell what 
 Richard had done with you, and why he had saved you 
 alive. He said that from some remarks Richard had ac- 
 cidentally let fall he had learned pretty nearly where 
 you could be found, and added that for a suitable con- 
 sideration he would produce you. 
 
 " 'An' when we get him out here, capen, we'll have 
 two strings to our bow/ continued Sanders. ' I don't go 
 in very strong fur attemptin' to work on the f eelin's of the 
 major leastways not till we have tried something else 
 'cause he's awfully hard-headed, an' when he onct makes 
 up his mind to a thing he's as sot as one of the Rocky 
 Mountains. Thar's one other man in the world who 
 knows wbar the nuggets is hid, an' if we can get hold of
 
 FRED'S STORY, CONCLUDED. 335 
 
 him, I b'lieve we can make him open his mouth. It's 
 Silas Roper. You see, him an' old Juan used to do 
 pua-ty much as they pleased here in the major's time, 
 an' they knowed all about his private business matters. 
 Juan would be the best one to work on, 'cause he hain't 
 got Silas's grit, but he hain't come back here in sich 
 shape that we can manage him.' 
 
 "'But we don't know where Silas is/ said Reginald. 
 
 " ' Never mind. He's about here somewhar, an I'll 
 bet a hoss onto it. An' I'll bet on another thing, too: 
 As soon as Silas finds out that we've got Julian here 
 he'll come out of his hidin'-place, an' we can captur' 
 him. Understand my plan, don't you?' 
 
 " Reginald did understand it, and gave it his hearty 
 approval. He spent an hour talking the matter over 
 with Sanders, giving him some very minute instruc- 
 tions, so that there could be no possible chance for fail- 
 ure, and brought the interview to an end by telling him 
 a long list of lies to be repeated to you, and furnishing 
 him money to bear his expenses to the States." 
 
 "I have often wondered what object Sanders could 
 have had in misrepresenting things as he did," remarked 
 Julian. 
 
 " I can tell you. Reginald thought it very probable 
 that you had been left in some thickly settled part of 
 the country, and he was afraid that Sanders, if left to 
 himself, might attempt to carry you away by force. By 
 doing that he might have aroused the settlers and the 
 officers of the law in the neighborhood, and thus de- 
 feated his plans. If he had once succeeded in getting 
 you out on the prairie away from everybody, he would 
 have thrown off his mask and appeared in his true char- 
 acter very cjuickly. 
 
 "Sanders started for the States that very night, and 
 so did Richard. The latter was determined that if he 
 could not possess father's money nobody should, and he 
 hoped to reach your hiding-place in advance of Sanders, 
 and dispose of you so effectually that you never could be 
 found. Old Juan told Silas about it when he came in 
 from the mountains, and he also started for the States,
 
 236 JULIAN MORTIMER, 
 
 intending to wait for you at St. Joe, and to take charge 
 of you if Sanders brought you there. He succeeded in 
 getting hold of you at last, and brought you to the 
 mountains. Eichard, finding himself outwitted, joined 
 your train in disguise, hoping to find an opportunity to 
 shoot you during the journey, while Sanders came on 
 ahead and raised a band of Indians to attack the train. 
 He had been promised $5,000 if he would deliver you 
 into Eeginald's hands, and that money he was deter- 
 mined to have. Our affairs have been pretty Avell mixed 
 up for the last eight years, but this night will see them 
 straightened out again.-" 
 
 " I certainly hope so. But, Fred, why didn't Silas, 
 when he found me, tell me that he was a friend, and 
 that he would assist me?" 
 
 "He did tell you that. If he had told you more, 
 would you have believed him? Hadn't Sanders deceived 
 you and made you suspicious of everybody? When you 
 and Silas were sitting on the steps of the hotel in St. 
 Joe, and he told you that he knew who you were, didn't 
 you jump up and run away from him? The old fellow 
 isn't much given to talking anyhow. He believes in 
 actions rather than words. You know that he was cap- 
 tured by Sanders and some of his band on the night the 
 train was attacked, and that he escaped from them the 
 next morning." 
 
 "What would Eeginald have done to him if he had 
 been brought to the rancho?" 
 
 " He would have tried to force him to tell where 
 father's money was hidden, and if he had refused, as he 
 certainly would have done, that would have been the last 
 of Silas. Then Eeginald would have used you to frighten 
 father, telling him that he had you in his power, and 
 that if he didn't tell where that money was he would do 
 something dreadful to you." 
 
 " What was Eeginald's object in treating me so kindly? 
 Why didn't he keep me a close prisoner?" 
 
 ' ' Why, he wanted to make Silas Eoper show himself, 
 so that he could be captured. That could never be done 
 by shutting you up. The best way was to give you full
 
 FRED'S STORY, CONCLUDED. 337 
 
 swing, and allow you to roam about as much as you 
 pleased, for then Silas would be sure to see you, and you 
 would sooner or later get into the habit of meeting him 
 regularly; and when that state of affairs had been 
 brought about, it would be but little trouble for Sanders 
 and some of his band to surprise and capture Silas. In 
 order to make you contented and willing to stay with 
 him, Reginald provided you with every comfort, and told 
 you that story about your being the sole heir to the 
 property. He thought that would serve as well as bolts 
 and bars to keep you about the rancho, for no boy in 
 full possession of his senses would be likely to run away 
 while he believed that he had a million or two in 
 prospect. 
 
 " I was out riding my route on the night you arrived, 
 but old Juan was on the Avatch as usual, and he knew 
 when you were brought into the rancho. He frightened 
 Richard, and made him abandon the idea of carrying 
 you off to the mountains; and when you fell down in a 
 swoon, he and Romez took you back to your room and 
 put you to bed. It was Juan who wrote the note you 
 received, and opened your windows the next morning 
 before you awoke." 
 
 " I shall never forget how surprised I was to find that 
 some one had been in there," observed Julian. 
 
 " When I visited Juan the next morning I found Silas 
 with him. They told me what had happened the night 
 before, adding that you had just gone out riding on 
 Snowdrop. 1 was very much disappointed, for I had 
 hoped to meet you as soon as you arrived. You see, to 
 explain how you came by that mare, I make my home 
 with Antoine, the herdsman. When I return from 
 Hale's I generally go there and leave my horse, and then 
 set off to visit old Juan. Yesterday morning when I 
 went home I found Snowdrop missing, and Antoine 
 told me that Reginald had taken her. lie gave her to 
 you, and that one move on his part did us more good 
 than eight years' hard work has done. 
 
 " I had an encouraging piece of news for Silas. 
 Smirker had told me that he knew where father was
 
 238 JULIAN MORTIMER. . 
 
 confined, and the trapper and I, after talking the matter 
 over, decided to arrest him, and force the secret from 
 him. On the same day he told me this he communi- 
 cated to me another piece of news, and that was that 
 he had two holes to his burrow, and a way of escape to 
 be made use of in case of an attack from the soldiers or 
 settlers; and thinking that if we concluded to make a 
 raid on him when Silas came home, it might be well 
 enough to know where that other hole to his burrow 
 was, I spent one whole day in looking for it. I discov- 
 ered it at last, and when I came down through it and 
 burst into his cabin, Smirker was so angry that he had 
 half a mind to shoot me." 
 
 " He told me about that," said Julian. " But did he 
 never suspect your identity?" 
 
 " Never until this morning; and then he did not 
 suspect me at first, but you. He was one of those 
 who threw me into the lake, and when he learned 
 that I wouldn't stay there, and that I had come back to 
 [Reginald's rancho, and was cutting up dreadful shines, 
 he became badly frightened. He often talked to me 
 about it, and acknowledged that he was afraid that the 
 " haunt," as he called it, might take it into his head to 
 visit his cabin. When he saw us together this morning, 
 and found out that one of us was a Mortimer, he knew 
 the other must be also, for he says we look exactly alike, 
 and so does Silas. Hale and his crowd must also see a 
 very strong resemblance, or else you never could have 
 passed yourself off for me in that rancho, where they are 
 constantly on the lookout for treachery. Smirker be- 
 lieved that you were White-horse Fred, and also that 
 you were Fred Mortimer, and the discovery he thought 
 he had made alarmed him greatly. He breathed much 
 more freely after you had gone out, and so did I. 
 
 " For myself I should have felt no fears, had it not 
 been for one thing. I had with me a bag containing 
 nuggets, dust and money, which I was to deliver to 
 Smirker; if he searched me and found that bag in my 
 pocket, he would know that I had deceived him that I 
 was the real White-horse Fred and my life wouldn't
 
 FRED'S STORY, CONCLUDED. 239 
 
 be worth a moment's purchase. I tried to dispose of 
 the bug, but lie detected me in the act, and the result 
 was just what I expected. He called me a traitor., told 
 me that my time had come, and was on the very point 
 of making his words good when Silas appeared. He 
 came down the secret passage-way that leads from the 
 top of the cliif, and arrived just in time. 
 
 " We tied Smirker, put him on a horse, and started 
 to carry him to our cave. As it was rather early we 
 make it a point never to go in and out of the cellar 
 during the day-time we dismounted to wait until it 
 should grow dark. While we were sitting in our place 
 of concealment, Richard came down the ravine, and I 
 knew that he was about to make another attempt to 
 capture you. I hurried down the mountain, reached 
 the cellar before him, held a short consultation with 
 Juan, called Romez out of the stable to assist us, and 
 by the time Richard arrived we had a nice little surprise 
 in store for him. I poured a bucket of water over my 
 head that was to make me look as if I had just come 
 out of the lake, you know and Juan, who had on the 
 same clothes he wore on the night he was thrown over 
 the cliff, made himself hideous by putting a little red 
 paint on his forehead. Romez perched himself upon 
 the top of the cellar wall with my dark-lantern in his 
 hand, which, by the aid of green cloth and a wide band 
 of birch bark around the bull's-eye, was so arranged 
 that it would reflect only a narrow streak of green light; 
 and when Richard came in Juan and I were walking 
 across the cellar with the light shining full in our faces. 
 He had come prepared for just such an emergency as 
 this, and drawing his Derringers from his pocket, he 
 fired them both at Juan; but finding that the old fellow 
 didn't fall as he expected he would, he threw down his 
 weapons and took to his heels. I've got them now," 
 added White-horse Fred, drawing the Derringers from 
 his boots. "I may have a chance to try them on Joe 
 Hale to-night, and if I do he'll drop. There are bullets 
 in them this time." 
 
 " Were there no bullets in them before?"
 
 240 y ULIA N MOR TIMER. 
 
 " Not when they were fired at Juan. You see, Richard 
 is too much of a gentleman to do anything for himself 
 that he can make another do for him. He thinks Ithu- 
 riel, his servant, can be trusted to any extent, but, as it 
 happens, he is one of the best friends we have, and it is 
 through him that we have learned so much about 
 Richard and his doings. Richard told him to load his 
 Derringers very carefully, adding that he wanted them 
 to shoot something that had appeared to him the night 
 before. Ithuriel, knowing very well what that some- 
 thing was, charged the pistols heavily Avith powder, but 
 put in no bullets. He came straight down to Juan, and 
 told him what he had done, and so when Richard 
 pointed his pistols at us, we were not afraid of them. I 
 
 guess now I have told Halloo! There he is. Come 
 
 on, Julian." 
 
 Fred, bringing his story to a sudden close, put spurs 
 to his horse, and dashed away at the top of his speed.
 
 CHAPTEE XXVIII. 
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE RANCHO. 
 
 "LILIAN was not long in discovering the cause 
 of his brother's excitement. It was a white 
 horse which was moving along the mountain 
 path a short distance in advance. He ran 
 heavily as if almost ready to drop with fatigue, and car- 
 ried on his hack a man dressed in Mexican costume. 
 The horse was Bob, and his rider was Pedro. 
 
 A race ensued at once. Bob was as fleet as the wind, 
 but he was wearied with his night's travel, and the pur- 
 suers, mounted on their fresh horses and led by Silas 
 Roper, who coiled up his lasso as he Avent, gained 
 rapidly. The white horse disappeared in a thickly 
 wooded ravine; but Silas and his party soon came up 
 with him standing motionless in the path, and Pedro 
 was seen darting into the bushes which lined the base of 
 the cliff. An order to halt, followed by the whistle of a 
 lasso and the ominous click of three revolver locks, 
 brought him to the path again, where he stood holding 
 his hands above his head in token of surrender. Silas 
 and Romez dismounted, bound the prisoner hand and 
 foot, and after concealing him behind a log that lay at 
 the base of the cliff, the party resumed its journey as if 
 nothing had happened, Fred leading the white horse. 
 As this incident had been confidently looked for, it 
 brought no comments from any one except White-horse 
 Fred, who said, as he resumed his place by his brother's 
 side: 
 
 " If Pedro had had half the sense I have given him 
 credit for, he would have known that an iron nag 
 couldn't stand sixty miles in a full gallop over such 
 roads as these. I hope Bob will recover a little of his
 
 242 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 wind before we reach Hale's, for I want to use him then. 
 When we caught sight of Pedro/" he added/' " I was 
 about to remark that I had finished what I had to say, 
 and would listen to you. Now, tell me all about your- 
 self. I know you have seen some exciting times." 
 
 Julian's story was quite as interesting to Fred as the 
 latter's story had been to Julian. It took him fully 
 half an hour to complete it, and by that time they were 
 in the vicinity of Bale's rancho. When they reached 
 the chasm which had been such a terror to Julian, they 
 dismounted, and after a short consultation had been 
 held, and Fred had exchanged his red shirt and coarse 
 trowsers for his brother's natty Mexican suit, he placed 
 himself at the head of the party, and conducted them 
 on foot to Major Mortimer's prison. As noiselessly as 
 spirits they approached the building and drew up around 
 the door. Not a whisper was uttered, for their plans 
 had been thoroughly discussed, and each one knew just 
 what he was expected to do. 
 
 Having seen his companions stationed to his satisfac- 
 tion, Fred crept back along the path again, and dis- 
 appeared in the darkness. He was gone nearly half an 
 hour, and then the sound of horse's hoofs on the hard 
 path told his impatient friends that he was returning. 
 Louder and louder grew the clatter of the hoofs, and 
 presently Julian knew that it had been heard by the 
 robbers, for there was a movement in the cabin, and a 
 small window beside the door, close under the eaves, 
 was slowly and cautiously opened. In a few seconds 
 the horse and his rider appeared dodging about among 
 the thick bushes that grew on each side of the path, 
 and drew up before the door. Fred's whistle met with 
 a prompt response. 
 
 "Ay! ay!" exclaimed the man at the window. 
 "What's the matter now? Anything wrong?" 
 
 "I should say there was," replied Fred in a voice 
 that trembled with excitement. "The soldiers have 
 sprung a trap and caught every soul of us in it except 
 the captain and me. There isn't a gentleman of the 
 road left down our way not one."
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE RANCHO. 243 
 
 The robber expressed his surprise at this piece of 
 news by a volley of oaths arid exclamations that made 
 Julian wonder. 
 
 He opened the slide of a dark lantern, and allowing its 
 rays to shine out of the window upon the young horse- 
 man, said: 
 
 " How can that be possible? Things were all right 
 this morning the captain said so.-" 
 
 "Well, if you could see him now he would tell you 
 that things are all wrong," replied Fred. 
 
 "Where is he?" 
 
 " He is hiding at Smirker's. He sent me down here 
 with a note," replied White-horse Fred, showing the 
 letter that Julian had received from his father. "It's 
 an order, and an important one, too, I guess, for he told 
 me to give it into the hands of no one but Joe Hale." 
 
 "Kow I'll be blessed if there isn't something mighty 
 queer about all this," said the robber after a little reflec- 
 tion. " You had better come in and give an account of 
 yourself." 
 
 "I am perfectly willing to do that. Open the door, 
 and be quick about it too, for I am in a hurry to get 
 through here. I tell you I am not going to stay in this 
 country after what I have seen. I am off for 'Frisco 
 this very night." 
 
 The robber was in no hurry to open the door. He 
 thrust his lantern out of the window and took a good 
 look at White-horse Fred and the animal on which he 
 was mounted; but he could see nothing "wrong about 
 them. 
 
 The horse, which was covered with foam, stood with 
 his head down and his sides heaving plainly, very nearly 
 exhausted. A single glance at him and at his rider's 
 pale face was enough to satisfy the robber that there 
 was more truth in the boy's story than he had at first 
 believed. 
 
 "I guess you have seen sonic strange things, Fred," 
 said he. "You're as white as a sheet." 
 
 The boy had nothing to say in reply, but told himself 
 that any one would have shown some nervousness in his
 
 244 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 circumstances. His father's life depended upon the 
 movements of that man who was leaning out of the 
 window talking to him. If he opened the door all 
 might be well; but if he carried on all the conversation 
 through the window, and kept the door closed, their 
 expedition would end in failure, and Major Mortimer 
 would be a doomed man. It was no wonder that Fred's 
 face was pale. 
 
 The appearance of the horse and his rider went a 
 long way toward allaying the robber's suspicions; but 
 ever on the lookout for treachery, he thought it best to 
 examine the ground in front of the rancho before open- 
 ing the door. He thrust his head and shoulders out of 
 the window and held his lantern down beside the wall. 
 There was some one there, but the robber was not 
 allowed time to see who it was. 
 
 Silas Roper was crouching close beside the door, 
 directly under th window, and he knew by the sudden 
 gleam of surprise and intelligence which shot across the 
 man's face that he had been discovered. Fred knew it 
 too, and gave up all hope; but not so Silas. He was 
 fully equal to the emergency. Crouching lower, for an 
 instant, like a tiger gathering himself for a spring, he 
 bounded into the air with the quickness of thought, 
 and seizing the robber, pulled him bodily from the win- 
 dow to the ground, stifling his cry for help by a strong 
 grasp on his throat. 
 
 "Never mind us," whispered the trapper, as his com- 
 panions sprung forward to assist in securing the pris- 
 oner. "I'll take care of this fellow, an' do you open 
 that door while you've got the chance." 
 
 Julian saw the necessity of prompt action, and so did 
 Romez. White-horse Fred had told his companions that 
 there was but one man on guard at a time at Hale's 
 rancho, and now that he had been secured, the next 
 thing was to make good their entry into the building 
 before the other robbers were aroused. 
 
 Romez took his stand under the window, and Julian, 
 mounting upon his shoulders, dropped down on the 
 inside of the stable. The locks and bolts with which
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE RANCITO. 245 
 
 the door was secured were quickly but noiselessly undone, 
 and Silas and his two companions rushed in and fol- 
 lowed Julian,, who, with his revolver in one hand and 
 the lantern in the other, led the way to the living- 
 room. 
 
 Hale and his companion were found fast asleep on the 
 benches, and were pounced upon and secured by Silas 
 and llomez before they had time to think of their 
 weapons, which were lying close at hand. 
 
 White-horse Fred, having seized an ax as be passed 
 through the stable, kept close behind his brother, who 
 led him straight to his father's prison. 
 
 "This is the door!" cried Julian, scarcely able to 
 speak, so great was his excitement and delight " down 
 with it! Come here, Mexican!" he added, leveling his 
 revolver at the cook, who, having been aroused by the 
 noise, at that moment came out of the kitchen; "you're 
 a prisoner." 
 
 If the man was too sleepy to comprehend the fact just 
 then, he became fully sensible of it a few seconds later, 
 for Silas and Romez came bounding through the hall 
 and seized and tied him in the twinkling of an eye. 
 
 Fred, meanwhile, Avas showering furious blows upon 
 the door, and when he had loosened the hinges, Silas 
 placed his broad back against it and Avith one push sent 
 it flying into the middle of the room. Fred and Julian 
 rushed into the apartment side by side, expecting to 
 find their father waiting with open arms to receive 
 them, but stopped suddenly and recoiled with horror 
 before the sight that met their gaze. 
 
 The major was sitting limp and motionless in his 
 chair, his chin resting on his breast, and his hands 
 Avhich had been relieved of the irons, probably to allow 
 him to retire to rest hanging by his side. His face 
 Avas paler noAV than when Julian saw it a feAV hours be- 
 fore, and at the sight of it he cried out in dismay that 
 they had come too late. 
 
 " No, AVO hain't nuther!" exclaimed Silas, raising the 
 insensible form of his beloved commander tenderly in 
 his arms. " Thar ain't nothing the matter Avith him 
 all he wants is air."
 
 246 / UL1A N MOK TIMER. 
 
 Silas carried the major into the living-room and laid 
 him upon a pile of blankets which Fred and Julian had 
 spread upon the floor. There he left him to the care of 
 the boys while he and Komez proceeded to complete the 
 work that had been so well begun. Their first care was 
 to ransack the building and satisfy themselves that no 
 one else was confined there, and their second to dispose 
 of their prisoners so that they could be found again 
 when wanted. They could not take the robbers with 
 them when they returned to the valley, for they had 
 other work to do, and must ride rapidly. It would not 
 be safe to leave them in the rancho, for they might be 
 discovered and released by some of their friends. They 
 must be gagged to insure their silence, and hidden away 
 in the woods where no one would ever think of looking 
 for them. 
 
 "When they returned to the living-room after per- 
 forming their work, they found the major standing 
 erect and holding his boys clasped in his arms. Hough 
 men that they were, they were touched by the sight. 
 They remained respectfully apart, watching the happy 
 group and listening to their conversation, now and then 
 glancing at one another, and drawing their hands 
 hastily across their eyes; but when they went up to 
 greet the major they were the every-day. Silas and 
 Romez, as calm and indifferent, apparently, as they had 
 been a few moments before while dealing with the 
 horse-thieves. 
 
 Romez took off his sombrero, and said, "How do!" 
 in his imperfect English, while Silas gave the major a 
 military salute, and informed him that he was powerful 
 glad to feel his grip once more. The emotion was all 
 exhibited by the rescued man, who clung to the faithful 
 fellows who had labored so long and perseveringly for 
 his release as if he never wanted to let them go again. 
 
 The major's unexpected restoration to his family and 
 to liberty had a wonderful effect upon him. His buoy- 
 ancy of spirits, his strength and energy, returned at 
 once; and during the ride homeward, he led the way at 
 such a rate of speed that continued conversation was
 
 THE ATTACK ON THE RANCHO. $47 
 
 quite out of the question. He rode the bay horse which 
 Julian had brought from Smirker's cabin, and which 
 the boy regarded as his own special charge. He knew 
 where the animal came from, and he hoped at no distant 
 day to be able to restore him to his rightful owner. 
 
 After crossing the valley the party made a wide circuit 
 through the mountains on the opposite side, arriving 
 just at daylight in front of a small cabin. The door was 
 forced without ceremony, and one of the two men who 
 were surprised in their beds was secured before he was 
 fairly awake. The new prisoner was Eichard Cordova, 
 and his companion, who armed himself and joined the 
 major's party, was Ithuriel, his servant. In a little less 
 than five hours Silas and his three companions had 
 ridden more than fifty miles over rough mountain roads, 
 captured eight desperate fellows, and that, too, without 
 having once been called upon to use any weapon more 
 formidable than the ax, with which White-horse Fred 
 had cut down the door of his father's prison. When 
 Julian thought of it, he told himself that the trapper 
 was indeed a man of action. 
 
 The major and his party rode at once to the fort, and 
 his appearance there among the officers, with several of 
 whom he had once been intimately acquainted, pro- 
 duced a great commotion. The commander listened in 
 amazement to his story, and acting upon the informa- 
 tion which Silas was able to give him, at once dispatched 
 his cavalry to the mountains in pursuit of the robbers 
 who were yet at large. The history of the wrongs of the 
 major and his family spread like wild-fire, and everybody 
 who heard it was astonished and enraged. The trap- 
 pers about the fort, and the sutlers and miners flew to 
 arms to assist in hunting down the outlaws, and during 
 the week following Julian and his brother found ample 
 opportunity to gratify their love of excitement. The 
 avengers did their work quickly and well, and the sum- 
 mary manner in which the captured desperadoes were 
 disposed of served as a warning to other lawless spirits 
 in that section for all time to come. 
 
 At the end of a fortnight the fighting was all over,
 
 ^48 JULIAN MORTIMER. 
 
 the excitement had somewhat abated., the settlers and 
 miners had resumed their various avocations,, and the 
 major and his boys were once more in peaceable posses- 
 sion of their home, which soon began to wear its old 
 familiar look again. The high stone wall which sur- 
 rounded the rancho was leveled to the ground, and 
 flowers planted where it stood. The officers of the fort 
 visited there regularly as of old, and the rooms which 
 had so long been silent and deserted echoed to the sound 
 of laughter and music. 
 
 Everybody looked upon Fred and his brother as 
 heroes. The almost inexhaustible fund of stories the 
 former had collected during his connection with the 
 robber band, as well as the adventures he met with 
 while in the performance of his perilous duties, were 
 listened to with interest by all the visitors at the rancho, 
 and none were more delighted with them than the offi- 
 cers who tried so hard to capture him. He and his 
 brother for a few weeks led a life of quiet ease, for the 
 keen and rational enjoyment of which they had been 
 fully prepared by their recent perils and excitements. 
 The time never hung heavily on their hands. They 
 had much to talk about, and when weary of fighting 
 their battles over again, there were their horses, hounds, 
 guns and fishing-rods always at their command. We 
 might relate many interesting incidents that happened 
 in that valley before the boys bade good-by to their 
 father and their mountain home to become students in 
 an Eastern academy, but " A Brave Boy's Struggles for 
 Home and Fortune " are ended, and our story must end 
 with them. 
 
 The few who had remained faithful to their em- 
 ployer during his exile were not forgotten. The major 
 and his boys showed them every kindness and attention 
 in their power, and among all those who had claims 
 upon their gratitude and esteem none commanded a 
 larger share than Silas Koper, the guide.
 
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 As a great and fearless leader of thought and antagonistic to many features 
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 warmly admired and loved by a great part of the reading world, and coming 
 ages will accord him his due. He has told the world new truth and the world 
 will grow up to his majestic stature. Robert Thorne, 
 
 The Meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. 
 Translated by GEORGE LONG, M.A., with a biographical sketch and 
 a view of .the philosophy of Antoninus by the translator. Including 
 also an essay on Marcus Aurelius by Canon Farrar. Portrait. 12mo, 
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 " The noblest book of antiquity " is Canon Farrar's estimate of the " Medita- 
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 been made better and truer men by the ennobling influence of the great soul 
 and lofty character of this pagan emperor. Robert Thorne. 
 
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 Faust. By JOIIANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE. Com])lete in two 
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 $1.00. 
 
 Deeper meanings are discovered with every reading, and familiarity does 
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 The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. By WASHINGTON 
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 The book is refined, poetical and picturesque, full of quaint humor, exquis- 
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 Lorna Doone. A Romance of Exmoor. By K. D. BLACKMOKE. 
 
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 These wonderfully reproduced scenes, and the men and women with whom 
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 Hypatia, or New Foes with an Old Face. By CIIAKLES KINGS- 
 
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 The plot is well developed, the characters are vigorously drawn, and the 
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 Romola. By GEOKGE ELIOT. Portrait. 12mo, cloth, gilt top, 
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 book has nowhere the air of tiresome preaching, but it stands the test of a 
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