The Peril Finders Part 12

"Must have been a mosquito."

"I'll skeeter you to-morrow morning, Master Chris!"

"Don't wait: do it now!" (defiantly.)

"You coward! You know that if I hit at you the doctor would jump up in a rage."

"No, he wouldn't, because we'd creep out through the open door and go into the shed. Come on; I'm ready."

"I shan't. I want to sleep."

"I don't. I can't. I feel all over of a tingle. I should like a set-to. Come on out, and then I should like you to skeeter me."

"Don't be a fool, Chris. Let's go to sleep and get ready for to-morrow.

My word, what a day we shall have! It seems wonderful. I can hardly believe it's true."

"That is," said Chris, for there was an angry rap on the part.i.tion, given by the doctor, who felt as nervously excited as the two boys.

The final rap brought calm, though, sending the lads off into a deep sleep which lasted till sunrise, when they stepped out of their rough bunks, hurried down to the water-pool to have a bathe, and had just finished bathing when Chris caught sight of the tall gaunt figure of the American striding through the Bartlett-pear plantation.

"_Coo-ee_!" cried Chris.

"Oh, there you are, young 'uns," came in reply. "Mornin'. Well, what time will you be ready to start?"

"Directly after breakfast," cried Chris.

"Packed up your duds?"

"No, not yet."

"Well, look sharp."

"All right. But if we go--"

"_But if_! Why, we are going."

"I hope so," cried Ned. "But I say, Griggs, what are you going to do about your shanty? Are you going to lock it up and leave the key with the nearest neighbour?"

"Tchah! Nonsense! I'm going to put together what I want in a mule-car, ready for hitching the two kickers on, and then I'm going to take a hammer and a bag of spikes, and nail up the door and window. I shall advise your gov'nors to do the same here."

"But of course we shall take no end of things with us," said Chris.

"You won't, my lad. We shall load up two or three cars, but it will be with meal and tinned meat, bacon and ham. Tea, coffee, and sugar, of course. Ammunition, a few tools, a waterproof or two, and a tent.

That's all."

"What about clothes?"

"Oh, we shall bring them on our backs. It's going to be light marching-order, I can tell you."

"That won't matter," said Ned. "I shall like it. I say, Griggs, it'll be like one long jolly great picnic."

"Yes, if we keep well, and the Indians let us alone."

"But, shall we meet Indians, Griggs?" cried Chris excitedly.

"Not we. Sooner go miles round; but they'll meet us, I expect."

"Oh!" said Chris thoughtfully. "But what for?"

"To get our mules and carts, and all we have with us."

"But what about ourselves?"

"Oh, we're no use to them," said the American dryly. "They'll pitch us aside as so much rubbish--if we'll let 'em."

"Get on!" cried Ned. "He's talking like that to frighten us. But I say, Griggs, what about the gold?"

"Well, what about it?"

"If there's tons upon tons of it, how are we going to bring it away?"

"Ah, yes. I've been thinking about that," said the American dryly, "and I've settled upon this."

"Yes! What?" cried the boys eagerly.

"To find it first. It's of no use to settle how you'll cook your bird till you've caught it."

"But we couldn't expect the mules to drag tons of metal across the desert."

"Oh yes, we could, easily. We might expect a deal more than that; but they wouldn't do it."

"Get out! He's laughing at us, Ned."

"Of course I was. Here, are your governors up yet?"

"They weren't when we came out," replied Chris.

"Well, I wonder at them, I dew," said Griggs. "Sleeping, with an idea like this to think about. I never had a wink all night. Say, this is going to be a change from pruning and weeding, eh?"

"Oh, it's glorious--splendid!" cried the boys.

"Is it? Wait a bit. Now come on; you're dressed enough, ain't you?"

"Yes, quite right now."

"Then let's go and hunt up the gov'nors. I want to know whether they really mean business."

"Oh yes, they'll go," cried Chris.