CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
A BIVOUAC.
"Oh, I say, Griggs, isn't this a lovely place!" said Ned that eveningjust before sundown, as they sat beside a glowing wood fire, waiting forthe sufficient cooking of the bread-cakes that had been made. Griggswas combining the duties of watch and cook; the animals were grazingcontentedly; the rest of the party were sleeping just where they hadwearily thrown themselves down after their long journey--all save Ned.He had woke up a few minutes before, to sit staring about him, wonderingwhere he was, and with a vague notion in his head that the setting sun,whose horizontal rays were searching the gully to its deepest depth andstaining the sky with the most glorious tints wherever they could restupon a fleecy cloud, was rising, and that the odour that saluted hisnostrils was given off by the breakfast cakes.
Griggs was busy raking the glowing ashes over one of those cakes, and ashe did not seem to hear, Ned glanced at where Chris lay with his headupon a doubled-up blanket, and repeated his question, which this timebrought forth a reply.
"Yes; it's beautiful enough, my lad, but not the place we want."
"You haven't had a good look round yet," said Ned.
"Quite good enough to satisfy me that the map was not made here."
Ned was silent for a few minutes, and then he said suddenly--
"Yes, it's going down, and it will soon be night. I was puzzled atfirst. I thought it was morning. It all comes through lying down atsuch an unnatural time."
"Ah, you mustn't expect to go on in the regular way when you'retravelling, my lad," said Griggs, "but get your bit of sleep when thechance comes."
"I suppose so," said Ned; "but it was ever so long before I could gooff, though I was as tired as a dog. Chris was just as bad, but he'ssleeping soundly enough now."
"No, I'm not," said Chris quietly. "I'm wide awake, listening to whatyou say, and smelling the cakes. Are they nearly done, Griggs?"
"Want another quarter of an hour, and then I shall make the tea."
"Then I shall go and bathe my face," said Chris. "That'll freshen meup. Will you come?"
This was to Ned, who rose at once, and they walked off together towardswhere a little stream came gurgling and splashing down from the heightsabove.
"They sleep well enough," said Chris, with a side wag of the head.
"Yes; but I couldn't. I say, shall we have to watch to-night?"
"No, I think not. I'm sure we shall have our turn to sleep tillmorning."
"That's right. I know I shall go off like a top. But I say, look atthe sky and those fir-trees up there."
"Lovely," said Chris. "Some parts are so bright, all red and orange,and others look quite purple and black. It keeps changing so fast too,that the black shadows seem to move."
"Yes; that's what I thought more than once as I lay there before youwoke. It was just as if something was creeping about under the boughs."
"Not an Indian spy on all fours, was it?" said Chris quickly.
"Nonsense! He wouldn't have shown himself like that."
"Wasn't a wild beast?"
"Of course not. If it had been it would have scared the mules andponies. No, it was only a shadow creeping along, and I suppose, afterall, I wasn't quite awake. Now then for that water. It's sure to befresh and cold, and will wash all the sleepy feeling away."
Ned was quite right. The water had come tumbling down from somewherehigh up the peak, and felt quite icy as they lay down upon their facesamongst the stones and scooped it up out of a little moss-grownrock-pool for a few minutes, before rising up to dry their faces,feeling bright and elastic once more and wonderfully ready for theevening meal, the preparations for which sent forth another scent farmore attractive than that which came from the ferns which grew in everycrevice of the rocks, and the pines whose aromatic resin shed a fainterperfume now that the heat of the sun had died away.
So beautiful was the soft gloom in the valley, so delicious the warmglow above, about the summit of the peak, that every one looked contentand dreamy, as they sat almost in silence about the camp-fire andpartook of their welcome repast.
"My turn to-night, Lee," said Wilton suddenly. "I don't think we shallbe disturbed--do you?"
"No; I feel sure that we got away unseen, and in an hour it will be sostill that you can hear the slightest sound."
"And so dark that an enemy could not find us."
"Till the moon rises," said Bourne, "and then I come on. I say, doctor,you're going to have as idle a time as the boys."
"And I'm sure father wants it," said Chris sharply; "he nearly workshimself to death."
"And never felt better in my life," said the doctor, with a pleasantlaugh. "This mountain air is glorious after the work in those drearysalt plains. But thank you all the same, Chris, my boy; you'll takecare that I am not quite worked to death, eh?"
"You won't let me," said the boy quickly.
"No," replied the doctor. Then changing the subject, he turned toGriggs. "Just a word with you, neighbour," he said. "You feel prettyconfident about to-night, don't you?"
"Yes; we'll have a good rest, and to-morrow--"
"Well, what about to-morrow?" said the doctor, for the American paused.
"Strike right off to the south."
"Why?" said Wilton sharply.
"Because, grand as all this part is, it won't do. A man wouldn't dry upwith starvation and thirst in such a country as this, but get fat andlazy. We're not anywhere near the map land yet."
"I'm afraid not," said the doctor; "but the climate is perfect. Onewould like to settle here, for some things."
"One?" said Bourne. "I know two."
"Three," said Wilton.
"All of us," cried Chris.
"I didn't speak," said Griggs dryly.
"No; but you said you liked the place if it wasn't for the Indians,"cried Ned.
"Ah, I wasn't thinking about the gold then, my lad."
"The gold!" cried Bourne contemptuously. "What is the gold, after all,but so much yellow metal?"
"That's right enough, sir," said Griggs, "but precious--"
"Precious!" said Bourne, with more contempt in his tone. "A fancyword."
"I hadn't finished what I meant to say, sir," said Griggs.
"Finish then," cried Bourne. "I don't believe you are a slave to thelust for gold."
"Slave, eh?" said Griggs merrily. "Britons never shall be slaves, asyou sing--nor Murricans neither. No, sir. I was going to say precioususeful, when you cut me short."
"I beg your pardon, Griggs."
"Granted, sir. I was speaking as a man who has toiled for years andyears to get a decent living by his plantation, and I must say, afterall my disappointments I should like to drop all at once upon that goldcity where the stuff's lying waiting to be carted away."
"Yes," said the doctor; "after all our lost labour it would bepleasant."
"I don't want to wear gold chains and rings, and to keep carriages,"continued Griggs, "but I should like to have enough of the yellow stuffto put in a bank, and one might do a good deal of good if one made apile."
"Yes, I quite agree with you," said the doctor. "We all do, and we'llwork till we find it."
"Of course," cried Wilton; "but I don't like that striking off southto-morrow; why should we do that?"
"It means getting clear of the Indians," said Griggs, "and into a morelikely part."
"But we should have to go right across that desert yonder. I could seeit stretching away to the horizon from one point we passed to-day."
"So did I, sir," said Griggs.
"Then why not keep hugging the mountains?"
"Or letting them hug us, Ned," whispered Chris.
"Didn't use the glass when you looked out over the salt plain, did you,Mr Wilton?" said Griggs.
"No; there wasn't any need. I could see nothing else but one vastalkali plain."
"That's a pity, sir," said the American.
"That's what I say, and I propose that we k
eep on in the mountains tillwe can see a place likely to be that we are looking for."
"Look here, gentlemen," said Griggs, "I'm Amurrican, and I speak with aslow sort of drawl which comes nat'ral to me. You don't give me time.I've got a lot more to say about that lookout and the glass, only--snip-snap, you cut my speech right in two."
"I'm very sorry, Griggs," cried Wilton. "Did you use the glass upthere?"
"Up there, and several other places too. That's why I asked the doctorhere to let me carry it."
"Well, and what did you see?" cried Wilton.
"Nothing, till we got to that highest part."
"And then?"
"Why then, right away south where the salt plains seemed to come to anend--"
"Ah!" cried the doctor.
"I could see just a line of faint clouds or shadows."
"Yes, clouds," said Wilton--"shadows."
"Nay, it warn't," said Griggs. "Clouds and shadows miles away--ahundred, perhaps--seen through this clear air look like clouds andshadows."
"Of course," said Wilton.
"Blackish or greyish. These didn't."
"How did they look then?" said Bourne.
"Like mountains, sir; just that beautiful, wonderful, soft, pale pinkishblue. We were very high up, it was as clear as clear, and I don't sayhow far it was off; most likely a hundred miles away, perhaps two; butthere they were, a long line of 'em, some high and some low. Mountains,and no mistake, and that's where we ought to go."
"Right across that scorching desert?" said Wilton.
"Yes, sir. It won't be nice, but we'll take plenty of water."
"And risk the rattlesnakes?"
"Yes, sir, and leave the Indians to themselves here," said Griggs."They may have this part and welcome. We don't want it. What do yousay, doctor?"
"That we'll have a good rest to-night, and climb to-morrow morning ashigh above us as we can to get another glimpse of your mountains,Griggs, and then map down our course by the compass and start, aftermaking the best preparations we can. Have you anything more to sayagainst the plan, Wilton?"
"Not a bit," cried the latter. "I didn't know that Griggs had gotanother range of mountains up his sleeve. There, I'm a lazy one, and Ican't help longing to loaf about in a beautiful place like this. Ishould like to stop and shoot and explore. The place is lovely."
"Wait till we've got the gold, sir," said Griggs merrily, "and then I'mwith you. Nothing I should like better than to stop about here if MrLo! the poor Indian, would leave us alone. But he wouldn't, I know ofold, and I've a great objection to standing still for him to make atarget of me and stick me as full of arrows as a porcupine. Say, Iwonder we haven't seen any of those gentlemen, and those black and whitefellows with the feathery tails."
"The skunks!" cried the doctor. "No, nor do we want to. Then now for agood rest. Sleep, boys, and `pay attintion to it,' like BarneyO'Reardon. This moss will feel like feather-beds to-night. My word,how dark it has grown while we have been talking! Good-night, everyone. I'm half-asleep now."
Five minutes later he was quite, and the rest, saving the watch, wererapidly following his example, the only sounds heard being the distanthoot of an owl, the musical trickling of falling water, and the crop,crop of the grazing beasts.