The Peril Finders Part 13

"Think so?"

"I feel sure of it."

"So do I," added Ned. "My father's quite eager to go."

"_Bagh_!" cried Griggs. "I was afraid that after sleeping on it they'd draw back. This is good news, boys, for, oh, how tired I am of drudging on here for nothing! Come on."

There was not much need for coming on. They had not gone half-way to the big shanty before they came suddenly upon the doctor and his two friends, who met them with the customary good-morning.

"Well, Mr Griggs," said the doctor, "you've come to say that the idea of last night is wild and impossible."

"Who told you so, sir?" cried the young American.

"No one. I only came to that conclusion."

"Then you thought wrong, sir, and perhaps it was what you had made up your mind to yourself."

"Oh no, Griggs. We have decided quite the contrary. If there is any drawing back it will be on your side."

"That's right then, sir. When do we start?"

"As soon as we have settled our affairs and bought the necessary stores."

"But we shall try and find a purchaser for the plantation--of course, at a reasonable price," said Bourne. "Just about the value of what we have put into the place, the building and the tools."

"If we wait for that, gentlemen," said Griggs, "we shall never get off.

But you try."

"Yes, we will try," said the doctor. "Of course it will be amongst the settlers a few miles round."

This was decided upon, and the doctor and Bourne rode off that morning, making a tour of about thirty miles from plantation to plantation, before they returned, tired out, to the evening meal, and found Griggs busy with Wilton and the boys just finis.h.i.+ng up the task of thoroughly cleaning and oiling the firearms.

"Back again, then?" said Griggs. "Will you want my hammer and spikes, gentlemen?"

"Your hammer and spikes?" cried the doctor, wonderingly. "What for?"

"To lock up your doors and windows here, same as I'm going to do mine."

"Oh, I see," said the doctor. "Yes, I expect we shall."

"Didn't find no customers then, sir?"

"Customers?" cried the doctor querulously. "Every one wanted to sell.

My impression was that not one settler we broached the subject to would have taken our plantation as a gift."

"That's about how it stands, sir," said Griggs. "They wouldn't. Why should they? It would only make them more work and less profit. You do as I do, sir--I mean, as I'm going to do: nail up the doors and shutters. I don't suppose any one would meddle with the shanty. If he did he couldn't take away the land, so it would be here all right if you ever came back and wanted it, which isn't likely, is it?"

"Not at all," said Bourne emphatically.

"Didn't say you were going gold-hunting, I s'pose, sir?" asked Griggs.

"Not exactly."

"Then some one did ask questions?"

"Everybody did," replied the doctor, "and I said we were going prospecting."

"Oh, you might have said the real thing, sir. They sneer at you as much for one as for t'other. But that don't matter. I don't know, though: if they knew as much as we know we should have the whole settlement after us; not that I should mind every one I know having a nibble at the yellow cake, but where half-a-dozen people might manage to find enough water, fifty folk would die of thirst, and perhaps tell us it was all our fault."

"Yes, the smaller our party the better, I say," said Bourne.

"Which means I'd better stop out of it, sir," said Griggs shortly.

"No, it does not, Griggs," cried the doctor warmly. "Cer-tain-ly not,"

added Bourne. "You will come with us, of course."

"Well, I--"

"That'll do, Griggs; no backing out," said Wilton shortly.--"Now then, what about stores?"

"I propose that two of us decide what money will be necessary, and then go over to Mainton with two mule-carts and spend it on such things as we shall want. That will take a week, including the obtaining a sufficiency of ammunition."

"Which means plenty, gentlemen, for we might be regularly besieged in our wagon, and have to beat the Injuns off."

"I don't antic.i.p.ate that," replied the doctor calmly, while the boys felt their nerves tingle; "but we will be prepared. Then we shall come back--I mean those who undertake the task will come back, and that will be all that is necessary to be done, save having one or two good discussions as to the route we shall take. Then we'll start upon our wild quest."

"Wild indeed, I'm afraid," said Bourne.

"Nay! Not it," cried Griggs. "We've got plenty of time."

"And plenty of room," said Wilton, laughing.

"To be sure we have," continued Griggs. "Lookye here, I've been thinking this little bit of a job over, and it seems to me as plain as A B C."

"Indeed!" said the doctor, smiling. "How do you make that out?"

"This way. We've got the map of the part where it is."

"Certainly, and all we've got to find out is whereabouts that part lies."

"Of course: and there lies the difficulty."

"Difficulty, doctor? Not it. Now, just look here. We've got, say, three States where it's likely to be. Say, at a guess, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico."

"Oh yes, and California, Texas, and you can join on Old Mexico."

"Nay, nay; the three I said will do for a beginning. If neither of them turns out right we'll begin on one of the others. Say, we give two or three years apiece to the first lot. We've plenty of time, as aforesaid."