CHAPTER II.
LUCKY JIMMY.
"Oh! Ned, he's gone--poor Jimmy--pulled right over by that burro!"Harry was crying as he stood there almost petrified with horror, whilehis own pack animal acted as though it might be terrified by the fatethat had overtaken its mate, for it snorted and pulled back strenuously.
Ned knew that unless the remaining three burros were quieted a stillgreater disaster was apt to overtake them.
"Speak to your animal, Harry; get him soothed right away! Easy now,Teddy, stand still where you are! It's all right, old fellow! Back upagainst the rock and stand still there."
Ned as he spoke in this strain managed to throw a coil or two of theleading rope over a jutting spur of rock. Then turning round, he crepton hands and knees to the edge of the yawning precipice and lookedover, shuddering to note that while not nearly so high as that otherprecipice had been, at the same time the fall must be all of seventyfeet.
There at the foot he could see the unfortunate burro on his back andwith never a sign of life about him. Doubtless that tumble must haveeffectually broken his neck and ended his days of usefulness.
"Do you see him, Ned?" asked a trembling voice close by, and the scoutleader knew that Jack too had crawled to the edge in order to discoverwhat had become of poor Jimmy McGraw.
"Not yet," replied Ned, sadly; "he may be hidden under the burro, orlying in among that clump of bushes."
"But glory be, he ain't, all the same!" said a voice just then thatthrilled them all. "If ye be lookin' over this way ye'll discover thesame Jimmy aholdin' on with a death grip to a fine old rock that sticksout from the face of the precipice. But 'tis me arms that feel likethey was pulled part way out of the sockets with the jerk; and I'dthank ye to pass a rope down as soon as ye get over the surprise ofhavin' a ghost address ye."
"Bully for you, Jimmy!" exclaimed Jack; "seems like you've got nearlyas many lives as a cat. Hold on like anything, because Ned's getting arope right now, and he'll heave it over in three shakes of a lamb'stail. Don't look down, Jimmy, but keep your eye on me. We'll pull youout of that in a jiffy, sure we will. And here comes Ned right now withthe rope. He's even made a noose at the end, so as to let you put yourfoot in the same. Keep holding on, Jimmy, old fellow!"
In this manner, then, did Jack try to encourage the one in peril, so asto stiffen his muscles, and cause him to keep his grip on that friendlycrag that had saved him from sharing the dreadful fate of the wretchedburro.
Jimmy had fortunately kept his wits about him, and although the strainwas very great, because he could find no rest for his dangling feet, hemanaged to hold his awkward position until the rope came within reach.
"Be careful, now, how you manage!" called Ned, from his positionfifteen feet above the head of the imperiled scout. "Let me angle foryour foot, and once I get the noose fast around it, you can rest yourweight safely. But Jimmy, remember not to let go with one hand, becauseyour other might slip. Leave it all to me."
Ned was already working the rope so that the open noose twirled slowlyaround, coming in contact with Jimmy's foot, which the other thrust outpurposely. While no expert in such angling and more or less worked upwith fears lest Jimmy suddenly lose his precarious hold, and go down tohis death, Ned presently met with success. The noose passed over thewaiting foot, and was instantly jerked tight by a quick movement fromabove.
By then Jack was alongside the scout master eager to lend hisassistance when it came to the point of lifting Jimmy. Harry, too,hovered just behind them, unable to look over because it made him dizzywhen so terribly excited, but only too ready to take hold of the end ofthe rope and bracing his feet against some projection of the rockytrail, throw all his weight into the endeavor to draw the one theymeant to rescue to the safety of the path.
It was speedily but cautiously accomplished, for Ned would not allowhimself to be needlessly hurried, knowing how disasters so often resultfrom not taking the proper care.
Jimmy was looking a trifle peaked and worried as he came clamberingover the edge of the narrow path, assisted by Ned, who as soon as hecould get a grip on the other scout's jacket knew that all was well. Nosooner did Jimmy realize that he was surely safe than he proceeded toindulge on one of his favorite grins, although they could see that adeep sigh of gratitude accompanied the same.
The very first thing he did was to turn around, and lying flat on hischest, look back down into that gulf from which he had just beendragged.
"Gee, whiz! but that was somethin' of a drop, believe me!" he remarked,trying to keep his voice from trembling. "And there lies me silly oldburro on his back with never a sign of a kick acomin'. He's sure on theblink and whatever am I agoin' to do now, without any Navajo blanket tosleep in nights? Mebbe we might have ropes aplenty to lower me downthere, so I could recover me valuables. 'Tis a piece of great luck Ihad me Marlin gun in me hands at the time and dropped it on the ledge,so I did."
"If we couldn't get the things any other way, Jimmy," announced Ned,"perhaps I'd agree to that spliced rope business, because we've gotmore than thirty yards of good line with us, but I'd go down myself andnot let you try a second time. Still I don't think it'll be necessary.From what I see of the lay of the mountain we can reach that placeafter we leave this narrow trail."
Jimmy did not insist. Perhaps his nerves had been more roughly shakenby his recent experience than he cared to admit; and the possibility ofagain finding himself dangling in space did not appeal very strongly tohim.
It was just as well that Ned decided the matter as he did, for theyfound that once the end of the narrow stretch of rock was gained it wasno great task to creep along the side of the mountain to the placewhere the dead pack animal lay.
Ned and Jack made the little journey and in due time turned up againcarrying with them all that had been upon the burro, save the water keg.
"We left that behind," explained Ned, "because as we are done withdesert travel for this trip we won't find any need of such a thing. Buthere's your precious Navajo colored blanket, Jimmy; likewise we'vesaved what grub there was in the pack."
"Good for you, Ned; I'd hated to lose that blanket the worst kind, youknow; and as for the food end of the deal, well, what's the use tellingyou how I feel about that when you all know that I'm the candy boy whenthe dinner horn blows."
Jimmy was a great "feeder," as Jack called it, and on many an occasionthis weakness on his part had made him the butt of practical jokes onthe part of his chums. But Jimmy was not the one to give up anycherished object simply because some one laughed at him on account ofit. He was more apt to join in the merriment and consider it all a goodjoke.
The journey was now resumed, and the balance of the afternoon they metwith no new hardships or perils worth recording. When the day was doneand the shadows of coming night began to steal forth from all theirhiding places where the bright sunlight had failed to locate them, thefour scouts had reached the foot of the rocky mountain range and lookedout upon the plain.
Here they made camp and passed a pleasant night with nothing to disturbtheir slumbers save the distant howl of a wolf, which was a familiarsound in the ears of these lads, since they had roughed it on manyoccasions in the past in more than a few strange parts of the world.
Although they had recently passed through some very arduous experiencesthese were only looked on as vague reminiscences by these energeticchums. The future beckoned with rosy fingers and that level plainlooked very attractive in their eyes, after such a long and painfultrip across the burning deserts and through that terrible Death Valley,where so many venturesome prospectors, gold-mad, have left their bonesas a monument to their folly.
When morning came again they cooked breakfast with new vim. And thefragrant odor of the coffee seemed to appeal to them with more thanordinary force because of the bright prospect that opened before them.
"Ned says it might be only two more days before we get close to UncleJob's ranch," remarked Harry, as he
assisted Jimmy in gettingbreakfast; for since the latter was so fond of eating his comradesalways saw to it that he had a hand in the preparation of the meals, towhich Jimmy was never heard to offer the slightest objection.
"Then it's me that will have to be studying harder on all them cowboyterms so they won't take me for a greeny," Jimmy went on to say inreply. "You just wait and see how I branch out a full-blown puncher.Right now I c'n ride a bucking pony and stick in the saddle like aleech; and I'm practicin' how to throw a rope, though I must say Idon't get it very good and sometimes drop the old loop over my own cocoinstead of the post I'm aimin' to lasso. But I'll never give it up tillI get there. That's the way with the McGraws, we're all set in our wayand want baseball championships and everything else that's good to own."
"Jimmy," called out Jack just then, "I think if you didn't talk so muchwe'd be getting our breakfast sooner, because you kind of cool thingsoff. There, see how the coffee boils like mad whenever you hold up. Howabout it, Harry, isn't it nearly done? I'm feeling half-starved, totell you the truth."
"Then I'm not the only pebble on the beach this time, it seems,"chuckled Jimmy, who was so used to being made fun of on account of hisvoracious appetite that he felt happy to find that someone else couldalso get hungry on occasion.
"In three minutes we'll give you the high sign, Jack," Harry announcedand he was as good as his word, for it was not long before the chumsmight have been seen discussing the food that had been prepared andmaking merry over the meal as was their usual custom.
Starting forth in high spirits they began to head across the plain andat about noon all of them were electrified on hearing the distant butunmistakable whistle of a locomotive, showing that they wereapproaching the railroad.
After their recent experiences in the dead lands this sign ofcivilization was enough to thrill them through and through. Jimmy wasimmediately waving his hat and letting off a few yells to denote hisoverwhelming joy; while even Ned looked around with more or less of asmile on his face.
"Sounds like home, don't it?" asked Jack, beaming on the rest. "Takesyou back to good old New York, where you can sit down next to a plateof ice cream when your tongue feels thick from the heat and cool off.Seems like I'd never get my fill of cold stuff again."
Pushing on they presently sighted the railroad and also discovered thatjust as Ned had figured would be the case, they were approaching a town.
"That's where we ordered our mail to be sent on from Los Angeles, up tothe tenth, and I hope we find letters waiting for us," Harry remarked;for he was quite a correspondent, though not in the same class withFrank Shaw, another member of the Black Bear Patrol, whose father owneda big daily in New York and who often contributed letters to itscolumns when he was away on trips with Ned.
Ned on his part was wondering whether he would receive anything in theway of business communications from the Government people inWashington, for it would be forwarded on from Los Angeles if such amessage did come in cipher.
So anxious were the boys to reach the settlement on the railroad thatit was decided not to stop for any lunch at noon but to push rightalong. If there was any eating place in the town they could get a bitebefore leaving; and the change from camp fare might be agreeable tothem all.
At two o'clock they reached the place, which was hardly of respectablesize, although it had a station and post office. The first thing theboys did was to head for this latter place and ask for mail, which washanded out after the old man had slowly gone over several packages.Strangers were such a novelty in that Nevada railroad settlement thatthe postmaster evidently was consumed with curiosity to know what couldhave brought four lively looking boys dressed in khaki suits very muchon the same pattern as United States regulars, to that jumping-offplace. But they did not bother themselves explaining and he had to takeit out in guessing that the Government was so hard pushed for recruitsnow in the army that they had to enlist boys not fully grown.
While the other boys were eagerly devouring the contents of the variousenvelopes they had received, bearing the New York post mark, Ned, whohad put his own letters in his pocket for later reading, sauntered overto the station to interview the telegraph agent, who was also theticket man, express agent and filled various other offices as wellafter the usual custom of these small towns.
It was only a short time later that Jack, Harry and Jimmy, stilldevouring the long letters they had received, in which all the news ofthe home circles was retailed, saw Ned walking briskly toward them.
"He's struck something or other that's given him reason to chirk up,"announced the observant Jimmy, as he took a shrewd look at Ned's faceon the scout master drawing near. "Ten to one he's had word from thehead of the Secret Service in Washington. It'd sure be pretty punk nowif after comin' so far over deserts and the like to visit your uncle,we had to drop off here and take the train back to Los Angeles, so Nedcould help gather in some gang of counterfeiters or look up a bunch ofsmugglers bringing the Heathen Chinese across the Mexican border whileall that fighting is goin' on down there between Villa and Huerta."
Ned quickly joined them. They could see from the alert look on his facethat something must have happened since he left them shortly before toarouse Ned. His eyes shone with resolution and he had the look thatappears on a hunter's face when he discovers the track of the animal hehad long wanted to bag.
"Did you find a message waiting for you here, Ned?" asked Harry.
"Just what I did," came the reply.
"Then it must have been from Washington?" suggested Jack, anxiously."But let's hope for Harry's sake it won't call you off from this schemewe've got started."
"That's the strangest thing of it all," replied Ned; "because, you see,this message was meant to send me from Los Angeles straight down intothis very section of the Colorado River country."