To The West Part 89

From where I knelt I could see the fire clearly, and as he came across, I was thinking how animal-like he looked, when I fancied I saw a movement, and before I could be sure, there was a flash, a loud report, and a twig dropped from over my head upon one of my hands.

"Bear! bear!" shouted a voice, and the men sprang to their feet. But by this time Esau was alongside of me, and rising up we hurried along in a stooping position, leaving the eager voices more and more behind, the men being evidently hunting for the bear one of them believed that he had shot.

"Was he firing at me?" said Esau.

"Yes; he saw you, I suppose."

"But he might have hit me," cried Esau, indignantly. "Chaps like that have no business to be trusted with guns."

"Hist!"

"Come on, lads," we heard plainly. "I'm sure I hit him."

"Don't be a fool," cried another voice. "Wait till daylight. Do you want to be clawed?"

"Shall I roar?" whispered Esau.

"Don't--don't, whatever you do," I whispered back in alarm, for I had not the slightest faith in my companion's imitation, and felt certain that we should be found out.

The men too seemed to be coming on, but in a few minutes the rustling and breaking of wood ceased, and we crept on again for a little way; and then, with the light of the fire reduced to a faint glow, we stood upright and began to ascend the little valley at a fairly rapid rate for the darkness.

"What an escape!" I said, breathing more freely now.

"That's what I ought to say," grumbled Esau. "That bullet came close by me."

"And by me too," I replied. "I felt a twig that it cut off fall upon me. But never mind as we were not hit."

"But I do mind," grumbled Esau. "I didn't come out here to be shot at."

"Don't talk," I said. "Perhaps we shall come upon another camp before long."

I proved to be right, for at the end of an hour we came upon a rough tent, so dimly seen that we should have pa.s.sed it where it stood, so much canvas thrown over a ridge pole, if we had not been warned by a low snoring sound.

We crept down to the waterside, and slowly edged our way on; but when we were some fifty yards farther we stopped to consider our position.

"S'pose that's old Gunson," said Esau, "and we're going away from him now?"

The idea struck me too, but I set it triumphantly aside directly.

"If it were Mr Gunson there would be a fire, and most likely Quong keeping watch. Besides, we don't know that he had a tent like that."

"No, he hadn't got a tent," a.s.sented Esau; and we went on, to find that at every quarter of a mile there was a tent or a fire; and it soon became evident that the solitary little valley we had explored on the day of my accident was rapidly getting to hold a population of its own.

We had pa.s.sed several of these busy encampments, and were beginning to despair of finding Mr Gunson, when, as nearly as we could guess in the darkness, just about where we washed the gold, we came upon a fire, whose warm yellow glow lit up a huge pine, and at the scene before us we stopped to reconnoitre.

"That's where I was cutting the tree," muttered Esau; "and--yes, there's old Quong. Look!"

Sure enough there was the yellow-faced, quaint little fellow coming out of the darkness into the light to bend down and carefully lay some fresh wood upon the fire, after which he slowly began to walk back.

Mr Gunson must be here, I thought, for Quong would naturally be drawn to him as a strong man who would protect him.

"Come along," I said; "we are right after all."

"No, no, stop!" he cried, seizing me and holding me back, for Quong evidently heard our voices, and darted back among the trees.

"Nonsense," I said, struggling.

"Keep back, I tell you. 'Tain't safe. They don't know it's us, and somebody may shoot."

It was a foolish thing to do, but I wrested myself free and ran forward.

As I did so I heard the ominous _click click_ of a gun-lock, and stopped short.

"Halt! Who's that? Stand!" cried a deep voice; and the effect was so great upon me, that I felt like one in a nightmare trying to speak, but no words came.

Esau was not so impressed, however, for he shouted wildly--

"Hi! Don't shoot. It's only us. Mr Gunson there?"

The boughs were parted, and the familiar figure of the prospector came out into the light, rifle in hand.

"Why, Gordon!" he cried. "You? Glad to see you; you too, Dean. But that's risky work, my lad. Don't you know the old proverb--'Let sleeping dogs lie'? I did not know you were friends, and these are dangerous times; I might have tried to bite."

He shook hands with us both as he spoke, and Quong came cautiously out from among the trees.

"Ay, ay, ay!" he cried, beginning to caper about. "You come along? How de-do-di-do. Quong make hot flesh tea."

"No, no; they don't want tea at this time of night."

"Yes, please give me some," I said, for I was hot and faint with exertion. "I shall be glad of a mug."

"Hot flesh tea," cried Quong, beginning to rake the fire together.

"Makee cakee dleckly."

"Why, Gordon, what brings you here?" cried Mr Gunson. "You belong to the opposite camp. Raydon hasn't let you come gold-washing?"

"No," I said, hurriedly. "Have you seen those men?"

"What men? There are plenty about here."

"I mean those men you quarrelled with on the steamer about Quong."

"Eh? 'Bout Quong?" cried the little Chinaman, looking up sharply. "Bad man on puff-boat pullee tail neally off. No."

"Yes; they have been at the Fort to-day--yesterday--which is it--and they are down below yonder now."

"What, those fellows?" cried Gunson, excitedly; and he gave vent to a long low whistle. "That's awkward."

"I was afraid you did not know," I said, hurriedly. "I knew you were here, and I came to warn you. Mr Raydon--"