"I reckon she come out here ter find her mother's grave, an' met up with ther bully, her husband. Here they seem ter hev had a struggle, and then thar is only one track, but deeper, showin' that he was carryin' weight. I reckon he put his hand over her mouth an' carried her off by main strength."
"Poor Singing Bird," murmured Stella. "If she has really fallen into the hands of that brute, it's a sure thing that she'll be killed this time, and now we're bound to follow her and get her."
"That's interfering between a man and his wife," said Kit.
"I don't care. She's mine now, for I saved her life. She said so."
"All right, Stella, we'll find her if we swaller our chewin' gum. Forward!" Bud led the way, always with his eyes on the ground.
After traversing a few hundred yards he stopped.
"Here they're walkin' side by side again," he said, "and they're going toward the river."
They hastened on to the bank of the river, and there all trace of them was lost at the water's edge.
"They've crossed over, but not in a boat," said Bud. "I don't see how they could do it if they didn't swim. There isn't the sign o' a boat around here."
"Then over the river we go," said Stella. "But the question is, how?"
"I'll swim it," said Bud. "And if I find any trace of them over there, I'll holler."
Bud threw his guns on the bank and plunged into the water, and in a few minutes was across, for so near the headwaters it was not wide.
They saw him scouting along the shore, and presently he waved his hand at them, and pointed to the ground.
"He's found them," said Kit. "But how are we to get over?"
Kit ran up and down the shore, and soon found several logs, which he towed to where Stella was waiting, and fastened them together into a raft.
"There you are," he said. "Climb aboard, and I'll ferry you across."
Stella did so, and in a few minutes they were on the other side.
Bud showed them the tracks of Singing Bird, and they followed them into the woods.
Close beside the track was a huge stump of a sycamore tree, and Stella elected to sit down beside it and wait until they returned, as she was pretty tired. The boys passed on with the warning to fire her revolver three times if anything should alarm her.
As she sat beside the stump, she picked up a stick, and began poking in the earth at her feet. As she did so, there was a rumbling sound beneath her, and the world seemed to be slipping from her. This was followed by a rush of earth and a clatter of stones, and Stella went down with it.
She did not fall more than ten feet, however, before she stopped, a little shaken but unhurt.
When she had recovered somewhat, she looked about her.
Then she gave a little shriek of joy. It seemed as if she had fallen into a regular nest of pure gold, for the glittering grains were everywhere about her, on her clothes and in her hair.
Suddenly she recalled everything. She had found the mother lode that the Indian girl had told of.
Drawing her revolver, she fired three shots, the danger signal, and immediately it was answered by three shots, but from the side of the river she had just quitted.
This surprised her, but in a moment she heard a shout. It was Ted. Evidently thinking that something might befall her, he had followed, and in a few moments she heard him splashing in the water.
"Hello!" he cried.
"Here I am, Ted," cried Stella, and in a moment she saw his face outlined above her in the opening of the hole.
"How the deuce did you get there?" he asked.
"Oh, I just dropped in to take a look around, and what do you think I found? I've found gold by the bushel. Ted, this is the mother lode."
Ben, Carl, and Clay were with Ted, and soon Bud and Kit, who had heard the shots, came hurrying back.
When they heard what had happened they were much surprised.
"But this cannot be the place. Where is the sycamore tree Singing Bird said was a landmark?" said Ted.
They had pulled Stella out of the hole, and now she pointed to the big, old stump.
"That is what's left of it," she said. "If I hadn't that hunch to sit down here, we wouldn't have found the mother lode in a blue moon."
As they were speaking they heard a sound behind them, and turned to see Running Bear. He had crept up to them so silently that not one of them had heard him until he was a step away.
"Ugh!" he grunted. "White boy go away. This my country."
"Go to your grandmother," said Ted. "Where is Singing Bird?"
"She in Running Bear wigwam. Mebbe so you like Singing Bird. You can have same go away."
"What, and leave you in possession of all this gold? Not likely."
"Then Running Bear make you. Hate white boy. Not make play this time."
Before Ted was aware of his intention, the Indian had sprung upon him from the side. He was immensely powerful, and forced Ted backward toward the edge of the pit, evidently with the intention of breaking his neck by the fall.
But Ted managed to get a good hold at last, and forced him back gradually.
Then Running Bear came at him with greater strength, and again they wrestled perilously near the edge of the pit.
Running Bear took advantage of Ted's trip over the loose tree roots, and slowly forced him backward, in spite of his herculean efforts, to the pit's edge.
He had bent Ted's head back until his neck cracked, and if he threw him into the pit, it likely would kill him.
From where they stood, on the opposite side of the pit, none of the boys could get a shot at Running Bear without endangering the life of Ted.
It was a pretty tight situation, and the boys were really alarmed for Ted's safety, when out of the woods ran an apparition—a woman so covered with blood as to be unrecognizable. But Stella uttered a scream. She had seen that it was Singing Bird, who had been terribly injured by her brute of a husband, who had evidently tortured her to get from her the information she possessed about the mother lode.
Before any one could divine what she was about to do, the Indian girl had sprung toward Running Bear and plunged a long, keen knife into his back to the hilt.
It was an Indian's revenge. She had given him blood for blood.
Running Bear staggered backward, then suddenly wheeled, caught the knife from the girl's hand, and was about to plunge it into her, when he fell forward on his face and lay quite still.
Singing Bird weaved back and forth for a moment, then she, too, sank to the ground.
When the horror of the sudden tragedy passed from them sufficiently, the boys rushed to the side of the unhappy couple, but they both were dead.
That was the tragedy of the "Mother Lode Mine" on the upper Missouri, which became the property of the Moon Valley Company, and which paid enormously until it worked out, for it was only a pocket, thus putting an end to the placer mining on the islands farther down the river.
The rest is soon told. Barrows was never heard of again, for he knew that if he returned to take a court-martial for his misconduct, he would have fared badly.
That fall the officers at the post sent word to Ted that if his cattle were for sale they would be glad to buy them at his own figure, so that his independence in repudiating the first contract was a good thing after all, for, besides the profits which came from Stella's gold mine, the herd paid handsomely. But Stella never forgot Singing Bird, whose gentle life paid the penalty for the greed for gold. Not far from the mine she was buried, and a stone carved with the story of her death still marks the place where she was laid to rest.
THE END.
* * *
WESTERN STORY LIBRARY
For Everyone Who Likes Adventure.
"Ted Strong's Contract" is the title of the next volume in the Western Story Library, No. 43, a story of wild adventure in the far West written by Edward C. Taylor.
Ted Strong and his band of bronco-busters have most exciting adventures in this line of attractive, big books, and f
urnish the reader with an almost unlimited number of thrills.
If you like a really good Western cowboy story, then this line is made expressly for you.
* * *
***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TED STRONG IN MONTANA***
******* This file should be named 19951-h.txt or 19951-h.zip *******
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/9/5/19951
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://www.gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
> Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
Ted Strong in Montana Page 28