The Peril Finders Part 17

"Yes; but then see what pains we took to water and manure them. Nothing else has done well."

"No, nothing. As father says, it has all been like slow ruin coming on; but I like the dear old place all the same, because we helped to make it out of the wilderness into a great garden. Oh, Chris, I wish we weren't going."

"So do I, but it's of no use to go on wishing. We should have felt much more miserable when we were starting to go back to England, not knowing what we were going to do. We should have had to go, and this is going to be like a great roving holiday, seeing something fresh and new every day."

"So it will be. There, I begin to feel better now. I say, look at the sun rising--isn't it glorious!"

"Always is," said Chris cheerily. "How different it makes things look!

I always feel better when the sun shines. There, good-bye, old place, if we never see you again."

"But I say, Chris, we might come back some day, you know."

"Not likely."

"Why? We might find the gold, and then come back here to live. It wouldn't matter then about the peaches and grapes and things failing."

"No; father wouldn't want the money then," said Chris thoughtfully. "I should like to come back, after all, but--"

_Bing_!--Bing!--Bang!

"That's done it, sir," cried Griggs, his voice ringing out cheerily in the morning air. "I'll tuck the hammer and nails in my pouch. They may come in useful. No, I can't; it's full. I'll tuck the hammer handle through my belt. Either of you youngsters got room for a few nails in your pocket?"

"I have, Griggs," cried Chris quickly, and, with something to do, the pain of the farewell to the beautiful scene came to an end.

"Ready?" cried the doctor sharply.

"Aye, aye!" came back, and the horses shuffled and spread their legs.

"Mount!" cried the doctor, and every one sprang to his saddle amidst the stamping of the mustangs' feet. "Lead on, Griggs," cried the doctor.

The American pressed his cob's sides and trotted to where the leading mule stood browsing, ready to raise its head, shaking the bell violently, and make a vicious snap at the horse's neck with its bared teeth.

But Griggs was ready for it, and threw out one of his long legs, the toe of his boot catching the mule in the cheek and spoiling the aim.

"Look here, my fine fellow," he cried, "don't you try that game again, or I'll fix a spike to the end of a stout hickory ready for lancing those gums of yours. I'm afraid you've got toothache, or you wouldn't be so ready to bite. Now then, ring up. Get on."

"Forward!" snouted the doctor; and as the mule led the way under the American's direction the whole heavily-laden team filed after, settling down steadily enough, the hors.e.m.e.n bringing up the rear, looking like a little detachment of irregular cavalry as they wound along the tracks through the blighted plantation, straight away for the uncultivated wilds.

"Good-bye to five years' labour," said the doctor, turning in his saddle for a last look.

"Five years' disappointment," said Wilton sadly.

"Five years of buried hopes," said Bourne slowly; but the boys were silent, neither daring to trust his voice.

"And now," cried the doctor, "for five years of unburied hope and looking forward to the future. Here, boys, you ought to give a cheer.

Who'll lead?"

No one: the moments were too sad, for there seemed to be a thick black veil hanging before them right in front, and neither dared to think of what might be to come.

Onward, onward into the future, with the wilderness unseen waiting to swallow up the adventurers in the unknown way--the perils to be encountered happily hidden from them as yet.

CHAPTER NINE.

A NIGHT SCARE.

It had been decided that they should make for the farthest part known to them south and west, where the wildest country lay, and they had been twice before, Griggs having paid double that number of visits in search of game. There the cultivation ceased entirely, for the rich soil gave place to sage-brush and a far-stretching tract of salt or alkali desert, Griggs proposing that they should cross this, for after a good deal of questioning the settlers in that direction, he elicited the information that one of the settlers upon the verge of the good lands had seen a strange-looking tramp, as he called him, pa.s.s his lonely shanty one evening, but feeling no desire for any such company he had stood back among the trees, and his place had certainly not been seen by the stranger.

"That shows we should be a bit nearer where he came from," said Griggs, "and it would be a fair day's journey for a beginning. We could find a spot to camp out for the night, and start early the next morning to see if we could not cross the bad land before dark."

"How far would it be?" asked Bourne.

"Ah, that we must find out from the man who lives nearest to the edge,"

replied Griggs. "He's pretty sure to have been some distance into the desert shooting, and even if he doesn't know he'll be able to tell us where we can find water, for that's what we must always go by. When it's too far off for a day's journey we must take our bottles and the little casks full."

The mules soon steadied down; the day was hot, but not unpleasantly so, and after crossing a very wild patch some miles in extent they picked up a track and followed it, to come upon cultivated land again, and the track led them to a shanty built upon the bank of a river also dried into a series of pools; but as they approached the house and obtained a near inspection of the cultivated ground it became very plain that no hoe had been between the rows of fruit-trees that year, and on riding up to the shingled wood house, they found no sign of living creature--no ducks paddling in the pool, or fowls pecking about near the enclosed yard; all was still and silent. They had come upon another sign of failure, for, as far as they could see, the place had been deserted for quite a year.

"A sign that we are not alone in giving up," said the doctor; "but it will make a capital place for our first halt. Go and see what the water is like in that farthest pool, Chris. This one is nearly all mud."

Chris urged his mustang forward towards where there was a glint of water through some trees four or five hundred yards ahead, but he had not gone one-fourth of the distance before he was overtaken by Ned, who was as eager as he to see what the place was like.

They soon knew--a carefully-tended Far West estate, given up and allowed to go back to a state of nature. Fruit-trees had been planted in abundance, but as the boys got farther from the house the wild vines and weeds were gradually mastering the useful trees, and in another year or two the plantations would have lost all trace of the hand of man and be wild jungle once more.

"I dare say there'll be fish enough," said Chris. "This is a deeper pool than we generally see. I say, how sandy the ground is here!"

The next minute they realised why it was so sandy, for instead of its being a cleared track it proved to be the dried-up bed of a little sandy river, one that linked the pools together when the wet season came on.

"It looks as if no water had been along here for a twelvemonth," said Chris. "Look there."

His cob had seen the object at which he pointed first, and stopped short with its ears p.r.i.c.ked forward to where, grey and glistening, a snake lay basking in the hot sunshine amongst some stones, but now, alarmed by the snort given by Chris's mustang, it began to glide away, pa.s.sing amongst some dried-up reeds and leaves, giving forth its strange soft rattling sound with its tail the while.

"Well, we don't want to waste powder and shot on him," said Chris.

"Come on," and they rode on to the edge of what proved to be a shallow lagoon some acres in extent, from which they startled a few waterfowl into flight, the ducks, as they splashed along the surface before rising, starting off other occupants of the pool in turn, a little shoal of fish darting off and raising a wave which marked their course towards the middle, where, the water growing deeper, they disappeared.

"Well," said Chris, "we know all we want to know now.--There are rattlers about, and if it wasn't for them it wouldn't be a bad place for a long halt."

"We can take care to avoid the snakes," said the doctor, "and as there is plenty of good water we'll stay here till the morning; but as we are in such good time two or three of us will ride on to see what the country's like further on. Perhaps the next plantation may have some one to give us a little information."

Camp was formed then as far as was necessary, the fairly-well-built house offering plenty of shelter, and the place round, ample grazing-ground for the beasts.

A hasty meal was made, and then Wilton and Griggs were appointed scouts, riding off and returning at sundown with the information that the plantation they were on was the farthest to be seen--all beyond was wilderness, but with nothing in the shape of high ground beyond, save in one spot where a hill or two rose faintly blue against the sky.

"Isn't it jolly!" said Ned, after they had partaken of an exceedingly muddly meal, the water being fetched from the lagoon, and the fire for boiling their coffee having been made of wood that was indisposed to burn, while no matter where they arranged the provisions it was only to have them attacked by insects, which came from under planks or stones, dropped from the rough ceiling of the decaying shanty, came flying, crawling, hopping, or with sharp raps as if they had formed part of the charge of a gun.

But it was a change. Everything was fresh, and this first start had ended the monotonous drudgery of their unsatisfactory life at the plantation.

So Ned had given his opinion that it was jolly, an idea which, now he had shaken off the feeling of depression at leaving what had for years been his home, Chris fully shared.