To The West Part 66

"Morning," said the man, quietly; "needn't ask you how you slept. I came in late to see if the fire was all right, and you were all fast.

Here, Rough--quiet! Better make friends with him at once," he continued, turning to me.

For, after sniffing at Gunson, and Esau, who got out of his way as soon as possible, the dog turned his attentions to me, smelling me all round, as if to try whether I was good to eat, and then uttering a low deep growl, to indicate, I suppose, that he was satisfied that I was a stranger.

"Well," I said, laying my hand upon his head, feeling nervous though not showing it, "are we to be friends?"

There was a deeper growl, and two fierce eyes glared up at me, while I fully expected that my hand would be seized. Then there was a slight agitation of the great fluffy tail, which began to swing slowly from side to side, and before I knew what was about to happen the great beast rose up, planted its paws upon my shoulders, threw up its muzzle, and uttered a deep-toned bay.

"That's all right," said the man; "you and he will be good friends now.

Can I do anything for you? Start this morning, don't you?"

"Yes," said Gunson, "I'm off directly."

"Right; my wife will bring you some breakfast.--Come along."

He went to the door, and the great dog followed him with his muzzle down; but as soon as he was outside he ran back to me, thrust his great head against my side, uttered a loud bark, and then trotted off.

A few minutes after an Indian woman, dressed partly in English fashion, came in with a kettle of tea and some cake and bacon, which she smilingly placed ready for us, while Quong stood over by the fire looking very serious and troubled.

Gunson smiled and gave me a cheery look, and we sat down to the early meal; but I did not feel hungry, and was playing with my breakfast when Mr Raydon came in, looking quiet and firm as he wished us good morning.

"Quite ready for your start then?" he said; "quite decided to go to-day?"

"Quite," replied Gunson, shortly. "If you come back this way I shall be glad to see you," continued our host.

"Thank you. I hope to come back safely some day, and," he said, turning to me, "to see how you are getting on."

"I shall be very glad to see you again," I said warmly; for though I did not feel that I exactly liked the prospector, there was something beside grat.i.tude which attracted me to him.

"The Chinaman goes with you, I suppose?" said Mr Raydon, glancing to where Quong stood, looking troubled and uneasy at being superseded.

"I don't know. He is free, and not tied to me in any way."

"What are you going to do?" said Mr Raydon, turning sharply on the little fellow.

"Light n'--make blead--plenty tea hot--stlong. Cookee, velly much cookee. Speak ploper English, allee same Melican man."

"Yes; but are you going on with Mr Gunson here?"

Quong looked at the prospector and then at me and at Esau, his little black eyes twinkling, and his face as full of lines as a walnut-sh.e.l.l; but Gunson made no sign, only went on with his breakfast.

"No wantee me," said Quong, shaking his head. "Go washee washee gole, no wantee Quong."

"Then if I offered you work, would you like to stay here for a while?"

"Make blead, flesh blead? Yes, Quong going stop."

He looked at us and laughed.

Then Gunson spoke.

"Yes," he said, "he had better stay. I can carry my own pack and cook all I require. There," he said, rising, "I'm ready for my start now.

Will you lads walk a little way with me?"

"Yes," I cried; and two minutes later we were outside, with Esau shouldering the pack, while its owner stood for a few minutes talking earnestly to Mr Raydon. I could not hear his words, but from his glancing two or three times in my direction, I guessed the subject of their conversation.

Gunson would not let us go far, but stopped short at the rise of a steep slope, at the foot of which the river ran.

"Good-bye, Mayne," he said. "I shall come and look you up by and by if the Indians do not kill me, or I am starved to death somewhere up yonder. No, no: my nonsense," he continued, as he saw my horrified look. "No fear; I shall come back safely. Good-bye."

He shook hands with us both hurriedly, shouldered his pack, and we stood there watching him till he disappeared round a curve in the valley.

"He don't like me," said Esau, in a grumbling tone, as we began to walk back.

"And you never liked him," I said.

"No. Perhaps it's because he had only got one eye. Never mind, he's gone now, and we're going to stay. Will the old man set us to work?"

There seemed to be no sign of it at first, for when we returned to the Fort Mr Raydon was away, and when he returned we spent our time in what Esau called sight-seeing, for Mr Raydon took us round the place, and showed us the armoury with its array of loaded rifles; took us into the two corner block-houses, with their carefully-kept cannon, and showed us how thoroughly he was prepared for danger if the Indians should ever take it into their heads to attack him.

Then there were the stores, with the gay-coloured blankets and other goods which were dear to the Indian and his squaw, and for which a portion of a tribe came from time to time to barter the skins they had collected by trapping and shooting.

There they were, bales of them--seal, sea-otter, beaver, skunk, marten, and a few bear, the sight of all raising up in our hearts endless ideas of sport and adventure possibly never to be fulfilled.

"There," said Mr Raydon, when we had seen all the stores, including that where an ample supply of provisions was laid up, and we had visited the homes of his men, all of whom had married Indian wives, "I have not settled anything about you two lads yet. I may set you to work perhaps, but at all events not for a few days, so you can wander about the place.

Don't go away from the streams. Why?" he added, as he saw my inquiring look; "because if you wander into the forest there is nothing to guide you back. One tree is so like another that you might never find your way out again. Easy enough to talk about, but very terrible if you think of the consequences. If you ascend one of the streams, you have only to follow it back to the river. It is always there as a guide."

Nothing could have gratified us more, and for some days we spent our time exploring, always finding enough to attract, watching the inhabitants of the woods, fishing, bathing, climbing the trees, and going some distance up into the solitudes of one of the mountains.

It was a pleasant time, and neither of us was in a hurry to commence work, the attractions were so many.

"It's so different to being in streets in London," Esau was always saying. "There it's all people, and you can hardly cross the roads for the 'busses and cabs. Here it's all so still, and I suppose you might go on wandering in the woods for ever and never see a soul."

It almost seemed as if that might be the case, and a curious feeling of awe used to come over me when we wandered up one of the little valleys, and were seated in the bright sunshine upon some moss-cushioned rock, listening to the murmur of the wind high up in the tall pines--a sound that was like the gentle rushing of the sea upon the sh.o.r.e.

Mr Raydon generally asked us where we had been, and laughed at our appet.i.tes.

"There, don't be ashamed, Mayne," he said, as he saw me look abashed; "it is quite natural at your age. Eat away, my lad, and grow muscular and strong. I shall want your help some day, for we are not always so quiet and sleepy as you see us now."

I had good reason to remember his words, though I little thought then what a strange adventure was waiting to fall to my lot.

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.

WE MAKE A DISCOVERY.

We two lads wandered away one day along a valley down which a stream came gliding here, roaring in a torrent there, or tumbling over a ma.s.s of rock in a beautiful fall, whose spray formed quite a dew on the leaves of the ferns which cl.u.s.tered amongst the stones and ma.s.ses of rock. To left and right the latter rose up higher and higher crowned with fir-trees, some of which were rooted wherever there was sufficient earth, while others seemed to have started as seeds in a crevice at the top of a block of rock, and not finding enough food had sent down their roots over the sides lower and lower to where they could plunge into the earth, where they had grown and strengthened till the ma.s.s of rock was shut in tightly in what looked like a huge basket, whose bars held the stone fast, while the great fir-tree ran straight up from the top.