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A DESPERATE CHANCE:
OR
THE WIZARD TRAMP'S REVELATION,
A Thrilling Narrative.
By OLD SLEUTH.
"He Placed the Ladder of Saplings Across the Abyss."]
1897
CHAPTER I.
THE CAMPFIRE IN THE GULCH--AN ALARM--THE SOLITARYFIGURE--UNDER COVER--A WHITE MAN--"HAIL,FRIEND!"--A CORDIAL MEETING--A SECOND STRANGECHARACTER.
"Well, Desmond, we've taken a desperate chance, and so far appear to belosers."
The circumstances under which the words above quoted were spoken wereweird and strange. A man and a mere youth were sitting by a campfirethat was blazing and crackling in a narrow gulch far away in the RockyMountains, days and days travel from civilization.
The circumstances that had brought them there were also very strange andunusual. Desmond Dare was the son of a widow who owned a small farm inNew York State. There had been a mortgage on this farm which was aboutto be foreclosed when Desmond, a brave, vigorous lad, sold his onlypossession, a valuable colt, and determined to enter a walking match forthe prize. He was on his way to the city where the match was to takeplace when in a belt of woods he heard a cry for help. He ran in thedirection whence the cry came and found three tramps assailing a fourthman. The vigorous youth sprang to the rescue and drove the three trampsoff, and was later persuaded by the man he had rescued to go with him toa rock cavern. There the lad beheld a very beautiful girl of aboutfourteen whose history was enveloped in a dark mystery; he also learnedthat the man he had rescued was known as the wizard tramp. The latterwas a very strange and peculiar character, a victim of the rum habit,which had brought him away down until he became a tramp of the mostpronounced type. This man, however, was really a very shrewd fellow,well educated, not only in book learning, but in the ways of the world,and seeing that Desmond had resolved to take a desperate chance, thetramp volunteered to land him a winner; he succeeded in so doing. Thechampion of the walking match carried his money to his mother, the trampwent upon an extended spree and spent his share. Afterward the tramp andDesmond Dare started on the road together. The girl had been placed withMrs. Dare on the farm, and the man and boy proceeded West afoot,determined to locate a gold mine. The former discovered each day somenew quality, and held forth to Desmond that some day he would make avery startling revelation. The youth had no idea as to the character ofthe revelation, but knowing that the tramp, named Brooks, was a veryremarkable man, he anticipated a very startling denouement. After manyvery strange and exciting adventures Brooks, the tramp, and Desmond Darearrived in the Rockies, and in due time started in to find their goldmine. The previous history of these two remarkable characters can beread in Nos. 90 and 91 of "OLD SLEUTH'S OWN."
At the time we introduce the tramp and Desmond Dare to our readers inthis narrative, they had been knocking around the mountains in search oftheir mine and had met with failures on every side, and at length onenight they camped in the gulch as described in our opening paragraphs,and Brooks spoke the words with which we open our narrative.
They were sitting beside their fire; both were partly attired as huntersand mountaineers, and both were well armed. Brooks, who had practicallybeen a bloat had lived a temperate life, had enjoyed plenty of exercisein the open air, and had experienced to a certain extent a return of hisoriginal physical strength and vigor. At the time the whilom tramp madethe disconsolate remark quoted, Desmond asked:
"What do you propose to do--give it up?"
"I don't know just what to do, lad."
"We've scraped together a little gold dust; possibly we may have moneyenough to engage in some legitimate business, and what we can't get bythe discovery of a mine, we may acquire in time in speculation. You areshrewd and level-headed."
"That would be a good scheme for you, lad, but not for me. I am too faradvanced in life to earn money by slow labor now. What I propose is thatyou go back, take all the gold we have, and enter into trade; you arebright and energetic and may succeed."
"And what will you do?"
"I shall continue my search for a mine, and some day I may strike it."
Brooks was a college graduate, a civil engineer, and a mineralogist, andbelieved he had great advantages in searching for a mine, but, as hasbeen indicated, thus far their tramp and search had been a dead failure.
"I'll stick with you," said Desmond.
"No, lad, you must go back."
"I swear I will not; I like this life, and remember, we have gatheredsome wash dust and we may gather more. I don't know the value of what wehave gathered from the bottom of that stream we struck, but I do knowthat it would take a long time to accumulate as much money in trade.Remember, we have been in the mountains only six weeks."
"That is all right, but we might stay here six years and not make afind."
At that instant there came a sound which caused Brooks and Desmond tobend their ears and listen. Some of the Indians were on the warpath; aband of bucks had been making a raid and had been pursued by the UnitedStates cavalry into the mountains. Indians, as a rule, do not take tothe mountains, but sometimes when pursued hotly they will separate intosmall bands and scatter through the hills; these fellows are dangerous.They would have murdered any white men they might meet for their armsalone, without considering the spirit of wantonness or revenge thatmight animate them.
Brooks and Desmond rose from their seats beside the fire and movedslowly away. At any moment an arrow or even a rifle shot might come andend the life of one or both.
Desmond had become a very expert woodsman; he and Brooks had beenchased by Indians several times and had exchanged shots with one band.They knew a cover in a crevice in the wall of rock which ran up abruptlyeach side of the gulch; from this spot they could survey and also make agood fight in an emergency. They had good weapons, plenty of ammunition,and what was more, coolness, skill, and courage. Desmond, especially,was a very cool-headed chap in times of danger; the use of firearms wasnot new to him, nor was the woodsman life altogether a novelty, for hehad been raised in a very wild and desolate mountain region.
Quickly they stole to cover, although they believed it possible thatthey might have been seen, for they had absolute proof, well known towoodsmen, that if there were foes in the vicinity they had beendiscovered. Once in their covert they lay low, and a few moments passed,when they beheld a solitary figure advancing slowly and very cautiouslyup the gulch, and as the figure came in the light of the fire Desmond,whose eyesight was very keen, said:
"It's a white man; he looks like a hunter; we will wait a moment or two,but I guess it is all right."
The figure, meantime, with rifle poised, advanced very slowly andfinally stood fully revealed close to the fire, and indeed he was awhite man of strong and vigorous frame.
"I'll go and meet him," said Desmond; "you lay low here, rifle in handready to shoot in case he proves an enemy."
"All right, lad, go ahead."
Desmond stepped from his hiding-place and advanced toward the fire. Thestranger saw him, still held his position ready for offense or defense,and permitted Desmond to approach, and soon he discerned that the ladwas a white man and he called:
"Hail, friend!"
"Hail, to you," replied the lad.
The two men approached and shook hands. The hunter was a splendidspecimen of physical manhood, and his face indicated honesty andgood-nature.
"Are you alone here, lad?"
"No."
"Where's your comrade?"
Desmond made a sign, and Brooks stepped forth from the crevice andapproached the fire.
"Hail, friend," said the stranger hunter.
Brooks answered the salutation, the two men shook hands and the strangersaid;
"What may be your business out here?"
"We'll talk of that later on; but, stranger, you took great chances."
"I did?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"In approaching the fire you were exposed; suppose the fire had beenkindled by Indians?"
The woodsman laughed, and said:
"I knew it was not an Indian's fire."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"How is that?"
"They don't create such a big blaze. I knew white men were around, andmen whom I need not fear, but I was on my guard all the same."
"We could have dropped you off."
"Well, yes, but out here we have to take chances, and it was necessaryfor me to do so."
"It was?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"I need food; I have not struck any game lately. The fact is, I've beenup in the peaks where there is no game. I hope you have a cold snackhere, my friends, and some tobacco, for I have not had a regular tobaccosmoke or chew for over a month."
"We were just about to prepare some coffee and make a meal."
"Good enough; did you say coffee? Well, I have struck Elysium; I haven'ttasted a cup of coffee in a year. You see I was snowbound away up in themountains; fortunately I had plenty of dried meat, and I was compelledto wait until I was thawed out."
Brooks commenced making the coffee, and while doing so the woodsmanasked:
"Are you regular hunters?"
"No."
"Ever in the mountains before?"
"Never."
"You've been taking great chances."
"We have?"
"Yes."
"How so?"
"The mountains are full of bad Indian fugitives, and they are very ugly.Some are parts of a raiding gang of bucks, and others are rascals whohave made a kick out at the reservation. I've met twenty of them in thelast ten days; they are in squads of twos and threes, and they are fullof fight."
"We have met some of them."
"And you managed to escape?"
"We had a fight with one party."
"You did?"
"Yes."
"How did you come out?"
"Ahead, I reckon, or we would not be here."
The conversation was between the woodsman and Desmond.
"What brought you into the mountains--are you tourists?"
"No."
"On business?"
"Yes."
"Surveyors?"
"No."
"I thought not; no use to survey out this way. I suppose you are lookingfor a lost mine."
"Well, we might take in a lost mine or find a new one, it don't matter."
"Ah! I see; well, so far you've been lucky, but you've been takingdesperate chances."
"Oh! that's a way we have."