To The West Part 91

I promised eagerly that I would; and we were hurrying through our breakfast, when there was the trampling of feet and the breaking of wood just below.

Gunson looked up and seized his rifle, to stand ready; and directly after a man strode out of the dense forest and stood before us.

"Grey!" I exclaimed, wonderingly.

"Yes," he said, stolidly. "Morning."

"Have some breakfast?" said Gunson.

"Yes. Bit hungry," said Grey. Then turning to me and Esau--"Chief says I'm to tell you both that as you have chosen to throw in your lot with Mr Gunson here, you are not to come back to the Fort again."

I dropped my knife and sat half stunned, wondering what Mr and Mrs John would say; and as I recovered myself, it seemed as if when a few words of explanation would have set everything right, those words were never to be spoken.

Esau had been as strongly affected as I was; but he recovered himself first.

"Not to come back to the Fort again?" he cried.

"No," said Grey, with his mouth full. "Chief said if you were so mad after gold, you might go mad both of you."

"Hurray!" cried Esau. "Then I'm going to be mad as a hatter with hats full."

"Right," said Grey, stolidly, as he munched away at the cake and bacon.

"You're in the right spot."

"But hold hard," cried Esau, as another thought struck him. "This won't do. He ain't going to keep her shut up in the Fort. I want my mother."

"Right," said Grey, setting down the tin mug out of which he drank his hot tea. "I'll tell him you want your mother."

"Yes, do. I don't mind. I wanted to come up here."

"Well, Gordon, what have you to say?" cried Mr Gunson. "Any message to send back?"

"Yes," I said, flus.h.i.+ng and speaking sharply. "Tell Mr Raydon--no, tell Mr and Mrs John that I have been cruelly misjudged, and that some day they will know the whole truth."

"Right," said Grey. "I won't forget. Nothing to say to the chief?"

"No," I said; "nothing."

"Yes; a word from me," said Gunson. "Tell him that something ought to be done to preserve order here, for the people are collecting fast, and some of them the roughest of the rough."

"Yes," said Grey. "I'll tell him; but he knows already; we had a taste of 'em yesterday. Anything else?"

"No," said Gunson; "only that perhaps I may want to send to him for help."

"Best way's to help yourselves," said Grey, at last rising from a hearty breakfast. "Good-bye, my lads," he said, "till we run agen each other later on. I say," he continued, after shouldering his rifle, "did you two lads bring away guns?"

"No," I said; "of course not."

"Haven't got any then. How many have you?" he continued, turning to Gunson.

"Only my own and a revolver."

"Lend you mine, young Mr Gordon," he said, handing it to me, and then unstrapping his ammunition-belt, and with it his revolver in its holster. "Better buy yourself one first chance, and then you can send mine back. Take care of the tackle; it's all good."

"Thank you, Grey," said Gunson, grasping his hand. "You couldn't have made him a better loan. I won't forget it."

"Course you won't. Nor him neither, I know."

"Ain't got another, have you?" said Esau.

Grey shook his head.

"Good-bye," he said.

"I say, tell mother not to fret, I'm all right," cried Esau.

"And give old Rough a pat on the head for me," I cried.

"I will. Nice game you had with him last night," said Grey, laughing.

"Too good friends with you to lay hold."

"Oh, was I, sir?" cried Esau; "he's made one of my trousers knee-breeches. Look!"

He held up his leg, where the piece had been torn off below the knee, and Grey laughed as he went and disappeared in the forest that fringed the banks of the stream.

"Then now we can begin gold-digging in real earnest," cried Esau, excitedly. "I say, Mr Gunson, how's it going to be?"

"What, my lad?"

"Each keep all he finds?"

"We'll see about that later on," said Gunson, sternly. "There will be no gold-was.h.i.+ng yet."

Esau stared.

"There are too many enemies afoot. I am going to wait and see if those men come up this way. If they do, there will be enough work to maintain our claim, for, setting aside any ill-feeling against me, they may want to turn us off."

"Well, they are ugly customers," said Esau, rubbing one ear. "I say, do you think they'll come to fight?"

"If they think that this is a rich claim, nothing is more likely."

"And I say," cried Esau, "I didn't mean that."

"If you feel afraid you had better go. I dare say you can overtake that man."

"But I don't want to go."

"Then stay."