Dave Porter in the Gold Fields; Or, The Search for the Landslide Mine

  CHAPTER XXIII

  IN THE MOUNTAIN CAVE

  Dave had been in perilous situations before, and had learned theimportant lesson that if he lost his wits all would be lost. Themountain lion was large and powerful and evidently in full fightinghumor.

  The youth was armed, carrying a pistol by Tom Dillon's orders. Now, ashe backed against the nearest rock, he drew the weapon and pointed it atthe beast.

  The mountain lion crouched still lower and the tail of the creaturemoved from side to side with greater swiftness. Dave felt that inanother second or two the beast would make a leap for him.

  In the semi-darkness of the rocky defile he could see the lion butindistinctly. But the two eyes were glaring at him and on one of thesehe centered his aim as best he could.

  As he pulled the trigger of the pistol the mountain lion jumped at him.Crack! went the weapon, echoing loudly in that confined space. Thebullet missed the beast's head and buried itself in the shoulder. AsDave fired he leaped to one side.

  It was well that our hero made that move, otherwise the mountain lionmust have come down directly on top of him. As it was the beast fell athis side, snarling and snapping fiercely, and turning in an effort toascertain what that thing was which was burning him in the shoulder.

  Crack! the pistol sounded out again, and this time the mountain lion washit in the neck. Over and over he rolled, but got quickly to his feet,and, wounded as he was, prepared for another spring at our hero.

  Again Dave fired, but this time his aim was not so true, and the bullet,grazing the lion's tail, struck a rock with a sharp click. Then thesavage creature hurled himself straight for Dave's breast.

  Bang! bang! It was the double report from a huge, old-fashionedhorse-pistol that Tom Dillon carried. The old miner had come clatteringto the spot on horseback and with a single glance had taken in thesituation. The leap of the mountain lion was stayed, and with a finalsnarl the beast rolled over and over, disappearing of a sudden into theopening of the cave Dave had discovered.

  "Are you hurt, lad?" asked the old miner, after he had waited anxiouslyfor several seconds for the mountain lion to reappear.

  "Not in the--the least," was our hero's panting answer. "But it--it wasa close call!" and he shuddered. "Do you think he's dead?"

  "I shouldn't wonder. You hit him, didn't you?"

  "Yes, twice. But they couldn't have been very good shots, or he wouldn'thave come for me again."

  "Mountain lions is mighty tough, lad. I've seen one with six bullets inhim still show fight. Load up, as quick as you can. His mate may bearound."

  This advice was, however, unnecessary for Dave was already rechargingthe empty chambers of the pistol. From his Uncle Dunston he had learnedyears before the advisability of keeping one's weapon ready for use atall times.

  The sound of the shots had called the others of the party to the scene,and numerous were the questions asked.

  "Wow! a mountain lion!" cried Phil. "And did you kill him, Dave?"

  "I don't know whether he is dead. Mr. Dillon and I both hit him, and heflopped around here until he slid down into that hole yonder."

  "Maybe he isn't dead yet," suggested Roger.

  "Even so, being badly wounded, he'll stick to his shelter," said AbeBlower. "Say," he went on, "thet looks like a putty good sized cave!"

  "Just what I was thinking," returned Dave. "I was going to have a lookinside, when that mountain lion growled and sprang out at me."

  "We'll light some torches, and take a look at the place," suggested oldTom Dillon.

  "Oh, supposing it's an entrance to that lost mine!" cried Phil.

  "It would be great!" added the senator's son, enthusiastically.

  "I hardly think it could be thet," put in Abe Blower. "But if the caveis long enough, it might lead to one o' the shafts as was sunk fer themine; eh, Tom?"

  "That's true," responded the old miner.

  "I've got my electric torch with me," said Roger, bringing that usefularticle from his pocket. "We can use that in the cave."

  "The light wouldn't be strong enough, an' steady enough," answered AbeBlower. "We'll have to have regular torches, and plenty of 'em, too.Caves like thet are often full o' holes, an' ye might step into one an'fall down to Chiny, or somewhere else," and he smiled, grimly.

  The old miners had picked up some sticks for torches on the way,thinking they might come in useful for firewood if for nothing else, andseveral of these were now lit and swung into a lively blaze.

  "No use of all of us goin' in there," said Abe Blower.

  "No, somebody has got to stay here an' watch the hosses," answered TomDillon.

  A brief discussion followed, and it was agreed that Abe Blower and Rogerand Dave should go down into the opening, leaving Tom Dillon and Phil toguard the animals and the camping outfit. Possibly the shipowner's sonwas disappointed by this arrangement, but if so he did not show it.

  "It might not take more'n a few minutes to look into the cave," said AbeBlower. "An' then ag'in, it might take some hours. But, no matter howbig the hole is, we won't be gone more'n two hours, Tom;" and so it wasdecided.

  As they entered the cave--for such it really proved to be--they heldtheir torches over their heads and looked anxiously for the mountainlion.

  "I don't see anything of his majesty," said Roger, in almost a whisper,for the strange adventure had set his nerves on an edge.

  "Oh, I suppose he had life enough left to crawl quite a distance,"answered Dave.

  The cave was irregular in shape, forming something of an undergroundsplit in the rocks. The flooring led steadily downward, with here andthere an opening of unknown depth.

  "A good place to prospect," said Abe Blower, as he flashed his torchover the rocky walls.

  "Do you imagine there is gold in those rocks?" asked Dave.

  "Might be, lad, an' silver, too. But there might not be enough to makeit pay to git it out."

  "I see the mountain lion!" cried Roger, a minute later. "There he is, inyonder corner, in his den. And look, it's his mate!"

  All gazed and not far distant beheld a scene that touched their hearts.On the rocks lay the dead lion and over him stood his mate, licking hisface with her rough tongue.

  "Look out!" cried Abe Blower, and drew his horse-pistol--a companionweapon to that carried by Tom Dillon. "She'll come fer us, sure!"

  The old miner was right. Swiftly the lioness turned, and set up a savageroar that echoed and reechoed throughout the cavern. Then, in spite ofthe torches--for all savage beasts are afraid of fire--she prepared tofight those she felt had slain the one she loved.

  It was Abe Blower who fired first, and scarcely had the sound of theshot died away when Roger and Dave pulled trigger. Over and over whirledthe lioness, and then of a sudden struck one of the wide cracks in theflooring of the cave and disappeared from view. They heard the bodystrike on some rocks far below; and then all became silent.

  "Oh, wasn't that awful!" gasped Roger, and felt of his forehead, wherethe cold perspiration had gathered.

  "I--I kind of hated to do it," answered Dave. "She was mourning over hermate!"

  "Shall we send the other body down, too?" went on the senator's son.

  "Might as well," was the quick answer, and soon the other lion wasdragged to the opening and dropped down. Abe Blower looked on at thework and smiled grimly.

  "I suppose ye are sorry for thet lioness, but I ain't," he said. "Theyare wicked critters, I can tell ye, an' they do a whole lot o' damage."

  "I suppose they live according to their nature," replied Dave, softly.In his mind's eye he could still see the tawny lioness licking the faceof her dead mate.

  On they went again. The cave was narrow here but presently broadenedout. The roof was, for the most part, less than ten feet high, so theboys felt just as if they were "walking between big pie crusts," asRoger quaintly expressed it. The cave seemed to be dry, although whenthey stopped once more to look around, they heard the distant gurgle ofa stream of water.

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sp; "Wall, I can't see as it looks anythin' like a mine," announced AbeBlower, presently. "Nothin' like a shaft around here."

  "I wonder how long the cave is?" came from Dave. "It must endsomewhere."

  "Say, wouldn't this make a good place to camp out in?" asked Roger, ofthe old miner.

  "Not much!" was the quick answer.

  "Why not? It would be cool in the daytime and warm at night, with alittle campfire."

  "Maybe, lad. But wot if some o' these rocks should shift? They'd squashye as flat as a flapjack!"

  "I didn't think of that."

  "I don't believe it is very safe in here," said Dave. "This cave musthave been formed by that landslide, and, if so, perhaps the dirt androcks haven't finished settling yet. I don't want any rocks to come downon my head!"

  "Nor on any of us!" added the senator's son.

  "I've got an idee thet we are a-comin' to another openin'," remarked AbeBlower, a few minutes later, after they had made a sharp turn to theright.

  "Why so?" asked Roger.

  "I kin feel some fresh air from somewhere."

  "I feel it too," returned Dave. "Doesn't it come from overhead?"

  "Mebbe, lad; although I thought it was ahead."

  "Here is that stream of water!" cried Roger, as they made another turn."But we can't get at it," he added, somewhat disappointedly.

  "Why?"

  "It's down below the split in the rocks. Look!"

  He held up his torch so they could look down into something of asharp-edged basin of rocks. A dozen feet below they could see the waterpouring from one hole in the rocks and disappearing farther on.

  Nearly an hour had been spent in walking and crawling around the bigcave. They had had several narrow escapes from pitfalls and were movingwith caution.

  "Maybe we had better go back," suggested Roger.

  "I was thinkin' thet myself," answered Abe Blower. "Nothin' much inhere, so far as I kin see. We might come back later an' have anotherlook--if we don't discover thet lost mine elsewhere," he added.

  "You are sure this is the right district?" asked Dave.

  "Oh, yes, the lost Landslide Mine can't be very far away," was the oldminer's reply.

  They turned back, heading, as they thought, for the opening by whichthey had entered. On and on they walked, occasionally slipping andsliding where the rocks sloped. Then they came to a spot where there wasa wide crevice to cross.

  "My gracious, did we jump over that when we came this way?" queried thesenator's son, as all gazed at the wide opening, which was of unknowndepth.

  "We certainly did not!" declared Abe Blower.

  "Then we have come the wrong way!" put in Dave, quickly.

  "It sure looks like it, lad."

  "If that's the case, we'll have to go back!" came from Roger. He lookedaround them and his face paled a trifle. "Oh, do you think we are lost?"

  "If we are not, we are next door to it," was Abe Blower's seriousanswer.