The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 109

"O, mum it is," we all repeated; and none were louder than the inspector in giving the promise.

"Well, the fact of it is," Jackson continued, "soon after I got here, and began handling the 'pasteboards,' I made the acquaintance of a young fellow who was at work mining with an uncle. I managed to clean him pretty well out; and then he used to steal pretty smart sums from his relative, until at last the old man missed his dust, and remonstrated against such injustice.

"One day, after a hard quarrel, the nephew came to me, and proposed that we should enter his uncle's tent, and take what gold he had left, and divide it equally between us. I didn't like the idea, but my friend was so sanguine that a few thousand pounds could be made without much of an effort, that I at last consented."

"I 'spose you mean that affair of Critchet's," the inspector said. "I could have told you that nothing was to be got in that quarter."

"How--you know of that attempt at mur--"

He did not finish the sentence, for the word seemed to choke him.

"Know of it?" repented the inspector; "of course I did. Don't I belong to a gang that hears of all such things? What would an organization be worth unless the news was reported?"

"But you didn't know that I was connected with the matter, did you?"

"Never you mind me--when you belong to the a.s.sociation you will know as much as I do. I'll give you the credit of saying that the job you undertook was well conducted, and only failed through the old fellow's shrewdness. Now drive on, and don't be bashful."

"We agreed upon a night," Jackson continued, "and about one o'clock we crept into old Critchet's tent, and began digging where we supposed the dust was buried, but to our disappointment found it was gone.

"My companion was so enraged that he uttered an exclamation loud enough to awaken his uncle, and he sprang from his bed and shouted for help. We feared that his cries would bring a.s.sistance, when we knew that our errand would be suspected, and that our arrest would be certain. We seemed animated by a kindred feeling, and both of our knives struck the old fellow at the same moment. He gave a groan, and fell to the ground, and then, fearing that he was not finished, we dealt half a dozen more stabs, and ran, as fast as our legs could carry us, to a gambling saloon, where we endeavored to forget our disappointment and terror by imbibing deeply of liquor.

"A little before daylight we stole back to the tent, thinking that we would raise an alarm in case he was dead; but we discovered that the old fellow had crept from his tent to a store kept by two Yankees. We tracked him by his blood, and feared that we were lost, but Follet--"

"Follet was the name of your companion, hey?" Fred asked.

Jackson hesitated for a moment, and then continued,--

"I may as well own that it was, 'cos I'm with friends who won't betray me. Follet said that he would visit the store, and by cross-examining the Yankees, find out what they meant to do, and whether the old man had made any revelations. He did so, and while there managed to drop a knife, which I had bought from them a week or two before, and which I took care to blood up, and then went before the commissioner, and boldly accused them of murdering his uncle.

"The dodge succeeded badly; the d----d fool of a commissioner let the store keepers off on bail, and shoved Follet in jail, to be held as a witness. But he's a good and true one, and has not once alluded to me."

"Is that all?" asked the inspector.

"That's all," replied Jackson, emptying his gla.s.s.

"Well, now, let me see your hands," Mr. Brown said.

Jackson held out his hands, which Mr. Brown grasped firmly, and then I heard two sharp "clicks," and to my surprise, and the consternation of our companion, a pair of stout handcuffs were on his wrists, and he was a prisoner.

CHAPTER LVII.

MORE OF THE SAME SORT.

The securing of Jackson was so sudden and unexpected that no one in the room besides our party had noticed what was going on, and even the prisoner seemed not to realize for some moments that his tongue had revealed secrets which were likely to cost him imprisonment for life. He appeared to imagine that the handcuffing was an excellent joke, and a taint smile overspread his face; but after finding that no one returned it, a deadly paleness chased the color from his lips, and he trembled as though he was already arraigned before a tribunal for sentence.

"What is the meaning of this?" he stammered out, after moistening his mouth, which seemed parched, with his tongue.

"It means," whispered the inspector, "that you are my prisoner, and the first effort that you make to escape will result in your death. Remain quiet, and do as I wish you to, and you will fare well, but--"

He pressed the barrel of a revolver against his side, and the fellow trembled at its touch.

"Who are you?" Jackson demanded, almost in an inaudible voice.

"I am that d----d Brown whom you spoke of a few minutes since," replied the inspector, with a chuckle.

"And these two men?" he asked, pointing to Fred and myself.

"The Americans, whom you thought to get convicted of murder. You see that they have played you a Yankee trick, and have rather got the best of the bargain."

The poor wretch's head fell upon his breast, and we supposed that he was completely crushed by his unexpected arrest, but we kept a sharp eye upon his movements, nevertheless, for fear that he should convey intelligence of his situation to the noisy and drunken gang in the room.

We knew that the single word "Traps" would cause them to swarm around us like hornets, and that many blows would have to be struck before we could make our way to the street and escape with our prisoner, whom we were desirous of holding on to at every hazard.

"Steel Spring," whispered the inspector, but no Steel Spring was present to respond. The fellow had stolen away unperceived as soon as the handcuffs were put on Jackson's wrists,' disliking the idea of fighting his way from the room. The act was characteristic of the man, and we cursed him in our hearts for a coward and a traitor.

Here were but three of us to oppose nearly thirty, and to add to our trouble it was not only necessary that we should get clear ourselves, but that we should take our prisoner with us; and while we knew that in case of a rush we would stand but a slim chance, we determined that we would dispute our lives with the ruffians, and make every shot in our revolvers tell.

"If that coward of a Steel Spring was only here," muttered the inspector.

"He would be of little use to us," I remarked, "for he has not pluck enough to fight a hedgehog, if it showed spirit."

"I expected to send him for the reserved police force that I have posted near at hand. I told them to wait until they got word from me, and they will obey orders."

"It is useless to repine," Fred exclaimed. "Let us make a bold push for the street, and trust to our usual good luck and boldness for an escape."

"Or, had we better sit here until morning, and pretend to drink as hard as those around us? By daylight most of those present will be either drunk or asleep, and then we could get off without much of a struggle."

The advice of the inspector was good, and perhaps we should have adopted it; but just at that moment a burly fellow staggered towards our table, and seemed determined to cultivate a more intimate acquaintance.

"You coves don't seem to drink as though you liked our lush," he began, steadying himself by holding on to the table with one hand, and pointing to the half-filled gla.s.ses before us. "If the liquor isn't good why don't you say so, and be hanged to you," he continued.

We made a short reply that we liked the liquor very much, and was going to drink our share of it as soon as we got some business arranged.

"Well, let us have a rousing drink, and I'll pay for it," our troublesome friend continued, and in spite of our declaration he ordered a pint of whiskey, and then sat down beside us as though he was determined to see that full justice was done to his treat.

I shoved Jackson's hands under the table so that his bracelets could not be seen, and then I held them in that position until the liquor was brought, when a new source of trouble awaited us. It was necessary, to escape without a quarrel, that each of us should honor the unexpected treat by partaking of it; but when it came Jackson's turn to drink, we all protested that he had his reasons for not imbibing, but our troublesome friend overruled them.

"He shall drink, by G----d, or fight," roared the ruffian; and as he spoke we saw, with some misgivings, that our corner of the room was the centre of attraction, and that the sleeping thieves were waking up, and listening to hear what the row was about.

"Sit down, man," cried the inspector, calmly, "and let me drink his share. I'll drink gla.s.s after gla.s.s with you, until daylight."

"Not by a d----d sight. I want that fellow to respond to my toast: 'Death and confusion to all policemen!'" shouted the ruffian, bringing his gla.s.s down upon the table with so much force that it was s.h.i.+vered to pieces, and one of the fragments struck our prisoner on his face, and so startled him that he sprang up, in defiance of the inspector's threat, and revealed what we had attempted to conceal, his confined hands.

The secret was out, and frowns and threats were in vain. We felt in our pockets and satisfied ourselves that our revolvers were ready, and then waited for the astonished ruffian to give an alarm; but he seemed incapable of motion, for he sat staring at Jackson as though hardly daring to believe his eyes.