CHAPTER XIII.
ANOTHER BARGAIN.
Our friends were prudent enough to cook every available portion of themountain sheep, and to preserve what remained for future contingencies.The climate was so warm that they could not hope to keep it more than aday or two; and, as it was, they took the wise course of placing as muchof it within their stomachs as they could conveniently carry. Thegood-tempered red Newfoundland seemed to be growing corpulent on thisspecies of living, protracted hunger alternating with an over supply offood.
They saw no more wild animals during the day, but just as they wereentering the Salinas Valley Elwood discovered something lying in thepath before them which at first he believed to be an Indian, eitherasleep or dead; but Terror instantly ran up, and seizing it in his teethlaid it at his feet, and discovered a beautiful Indian blanket.
"Strange!" exclaimed the boy, holding it up before him. "This shows thatwe are not the first persons who have traversed this section."
"I wonder that we do not see more savages."
"Isn't it beautiful?" said Elwood, turning the blanket over andexamining its texture and designs. It was indeed handsome and veryvaluable, resembling much the famous blankets made by the ApacheIndians. It was fully a half-inch in thickness, so compactly knittogether as to be water-proof. Its border and the design of the figureswere a miracle of skill in color and combination. Every hue of therainbow seemed reproduced in the most pleasing combinations. Thecenter-piece was a figure of the sun which, with the rays radiating fromit, was of a most intense yellow, while around the border were picturedall the fruits that any one has ever heard as being indigenous toCalifornia.
"That must be very valuable," said Howard.
"It is so heavy it tires my arms to hold it."
"That same thing would bring yez five hundred dollars, any day, in SanFrancisco," added Tim O'Rooney. "It'll pay yez to carry it there."
"It is just the thing to wrap around us when we lie down to sleep."
"Yis, if ye wraps up in that yez'll wake up and find yersilves roastedto dith. Yez might as well crawl into an oven and bake yersilves and bedone with it."
"We can then spread it on the ground, and protect ourselves from themoisture!" said Howard, who was beginning to appreciate the value of thearticle.
"I've saan them things before," added Tim O'Rooney. "The Apaches andMohaws in New Mexico make 'em. It has tuk a couple of squaws the bistpart of a year to do the same."
"But where is the owner? An Indian could not lose such a thing withoutknowing it. Why, it is a load to carry, and I should expect to lose mycoat as soon as to part with this."
Of course there could be no explanation of the cause of the blanketbeing found where it was. It was plain that no Indian could have partedwith it unknowingly, and its high value made it still more puzzling thatit should have been left in such a place. It might be that theowner--some fragile Indian girl--had wearied with carrying it, and hadthrown it down for a warrior friend of hers to pick up and take to itsdestination for her.
This conjecture, made by Tim O'Rooney himself, raised a serious questionas to whether they had a right to carry the blanket away when there wasgood reason to doubt its being lost or abandoned.
"If a year's work has been lavished upon it," said Elwood, "it cannot bepossible that it has no owner."
"I think Tim is right; he or she expects to return or send and get it."
"But it is singular that if such is the case it should be left here,when it could have been easily hid in these bushes."
"That only proves that there are no people about--no white ones atleast. If the owner had any fear of this place being visited by_Christians_, he would have taken pains to hide his property; but as hewas sure there were none but savages and heathen, he was certain hisblanket was safe."
Howard Lawrence, jesting though he was, spoke the truth, and deeplyashamed are we to confess it.
The question received an unexpected and unmistakable solution. Whilethey were still conversing, they descried a gaudily dressed, ratherhandsome-looking squaw tripping lightly behind them. Her head was bent,and she did not discover them until the growl of the dog caused her toraise her head. She was then within a dozen yards of Howard, he being inthe rear and holding the blanket in his hand. She looked at them with analarmed expression in her strange dark eyes, and seemed to be too muchfrightened to think of fleeing.
Howard signified his friendship by walking quietly toward her andholding out the blanket as if inviting her to take it. She readilycomprehended the meaning of his advance, and when the article was withinreach she took it.
"Now make a bargain if you can," called out Elwood.
Howard produced the gold watch--a small hunting-case--and offered it tothe young woman. She examined it with childish curiosity, but in amanner that showed that it was not the first time she had looked uponsuch an article. She held it a for moments, and then with a pleasedsmile passed the blanket to him, bowed gracefully, wheeled quickly, andslipped away charmingly.
"Hurra!" fairly shouted Elwood, "you are as good as Tim at making abargain."
"She must live somewhere about here, and no doubt will tell how she gotthe watch, and that may set some of her friends on our track."
"Let 'em come," said Tim. "I've a gun that I larned how to shoot, andthat blanket we can wrap around us, and I don't believe you could shoota bullet through it by raison of its thickness."
The party resumed their journey, quite jubilant over the rifle andblanket. They still needed but one thing, or rather two things, guns forthe boys. Terror was such a sharp and faithful sentinel they would havefelt almost safe with these additional fire-arms. Howard and Elwood werequite confident that they could shoot with remarkable precision,although, neither had ever aimed or discharged a gun; but in thisrespect they were not so very different from other boys.
At noon they made a hearty meal upon a portion of what still remained ofthe mountain sheep, and then stretched themselves out for an hour'srest. Tim O'Rooney was plentifully supplied with tobacco, and perhapscould not have felt more comfortable or satisfied with his situation. Helolled on the grass, and wondered whether Mr. Lawrence was anxious forhim to get home or not, finally reaching the conclusion that he wasrather indifferent upon the subject himself. The greatest distress ofHoward and Elwood was the pain that their parents would feel regardingthem; but they hoped to reach home without great delay, when they wouldquickly turn their weeping into joy.
The two could not grow weary of admiring their beautiful blanket. It wasa wonderful affair indeed, and doubtless contained within it enoughmaterial to supply a "shoddy" contractor with the basis for a thousandarmy blankets. The boys would have willingly given both their watchesfor it and considered themselves greatly the gainers. They looked uponit as their joint property.
"I do believe it is rifle-proof," said Howard. "The fine threads ofwhich it is composed are woven so compactly that you can hardlydistinguish them."
"I should be rather fearful of risking a rifle-shot from any one if thatwere all that protected me."
"We can easily test it. Let's hung it up and shoot a bullet at it."
"No, that would be too bad. The ball might go through, and then it wouldbe spoiled in its looks. Now it seems really perfect----"
"I say, me boys----"
Tim's utterance was checked by the discharge of a rifle and the nearwhistle of the bullet. He started up and glanced around him.
"Injuns, or me name isn't Tim O'Rooney, from Tipperary, Ireland, the gemof the say!"