To The West Part 22

"I dare say you could live twenty times as long, boy; I could. Look here; these people are decent, clean, and honest,--do as you like,-- hadn't you better come here? They'll board you for half the money I'm paying--that is, they would you. I don't know about him--he's such a wolfish-looking fellow."

"Why, I don't eat any more than he does!" cried Esau.

"Don't think you do, boy, you should say. Well, what do you think of it?"

"Dunno," said Esau, rather surlily. "Seems to me as if everybody here wants to rob you. How do I know you don't?"

"Ah, to be sure, boy, how do you know? Perhaps I do. Going to plan to get you somewhere all by yourselves, and then shoot you both. I am pretty good with a revolver."

"Didn't seem like it just now."

"No, it didn't," said Gunson, coolly. "Ah, how like a boy that sounds.

Do you know what shooting a man means?"

"Killing him if you fire straight," said Esau.

"Right; and hurting him, eh?"

"Of course."

"Well, look here, my lad; the man who shoots another hurts himself far more than he hurts his victim. You don't understand that. Wait till you are as old as I am, and you will. I did not want to kill either of those ruffians. It was not a question of aiming, I had only to hold the pistol down, and it would have hit one of them. Well," he continued, "shall I take you to the captain? and will you bring your things here?

or will you go your own way?"

I looked at him fixedly, for everything in the man's appearance seemed to say, "Don't trust him," till his one eye lit up, and a smile began to curl his lip. Then my hand went out to him.

"Yes," I said, "you are an Englishman, and I'll trust you."

He gripped my hand hard, and then turned to Esau.

"Well," he said, "what do you say? Think I shall do you a mischief?"

"Yah! Not you," said Esau. "I'm not afraid of you. Here, let's get our things from that other place."

"Let's have the landlady in first," said Gunson, smiling; and he went to the door and called.

A pleasant-looking German woman came, and in the most broken up English I ever heard, said we could come at once, but got into a muddle over terms till Gunson joined in, and spoke to her in German, when the difficulty was at an end.

"Nice bright-looking place, and plenty of suns.h.i.+ne," said Gunson, as he led us down to a wharf where a schooner was being laden with barrels, while a red-nosed, copper-complexioned man looked on smoking a cigar.

"Here, skipper, two more pa.s.sengers for you--friends of mine; will you have them?"

The captain looked us both over, and then nodded.

"How much?"

The captain looked at us again, and then said a certain number of dollars for the two--a price which astonished us.

"I'll say right for them," said Gunson. "They'll send their chests on board."

"There!" said our new friend, as we walked back. "That matter was soon settled. Now go and pay your bills, get your traps, and come on to me."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

IN NEW QUARTERS.

Gunson nodded, and we parted, Esau keeping very quiet for a few minutes before speaking.

"I suppose it's all right," he said; "but if ever a chap looked like bad company, he do."

"But he seems as friendly to us as can be."

"Yes," said Esau. "But what does he want here with a pistol? Some of the people board s.h.i.+p was coming to keep shop, some to farm, and some to be servants. I want to know what he wants here?"

"Perhaps the same as he would in New Zealand, and at the Cape of Good Hope. I should say he's a traveller."

"What in? Yah! He don't look the sort of man people would trust with goods to sell. Traveller? Why, you see dozens of 'em in the streets off Cheapside--big, good-looking fellows, with great curly whiskers and beards. He isn't a traveller. n.o.body would buy of him."

"I mean a man who goes through foreign countries."

"What for?"

"To see them."

Esau shook his head.

"I don't think he's a traveller of that sort. I say, look out."

"What is it?" I said, expecting to see a dray come along.

"That chap."

Sure enough, there was the dark, yellow-looking scoundrel watching us, and he followed at a distance till he had seen us enter the hotel where we had been staying.

We stated that we were going away, and went and packed up our few things at once, while from the corner of the window we had the satisfaction of seeing two more of our a.s.sailants come up, and remain in conversation with the first for a few minutes, after which they walked away.

"Now, if we could get off at once, Esau," I said, "they would not see us go, and when they return they might come and watch here as long as they liked."

Esau jumped at the idea, and went out to see if he could find a man to help us carry our boxes, while I paid our bill.

Before I had done he was back with Gunson, whom he had met, and told what he was after, with the result that they had returned together.

"I'm only a poor man," said our friend, with a laugh, "so I thought I might as well come and earn half a dollar. I thought too," he added, seriously, "that it would be better not to employ a stranger, who would be able to point out where you are staying, in case your acquaintances want to hunt you out to do you an ill turn."

We were only too glad of his offer, and in less than an hour we were safely in the shelter of our new resting-place; while upon Esau's going out to reconnoitre, taking a good round so as not to be seen, he returned shortly in high glee, to tell us that the three men were seated on a stack of timber, watching the hotel we had left.

"And ready for some mischief, I'll be bound," said Gunson. "These fellows work in clans, and I shall be very glad if we can get away without a crack on the head."