The Peril Finders

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

  WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT--

  "Hallo! What's that?" said Chris softly, as he lay on his left sidegazing at an elevation about a couple of feet from his nose; and it wassome time before he could make out that it was a sack, stuffed so fullthat it threatened to burst the coarse stitches down one side.

  His head felt confused and thick. His thinking apparatus would not workproperly, but seemed to be struggling to carry on the narrative of someweary dream in which there had been snakes, heat, thirst, and riding,till his bones seemed to ache and he felt sore all over.

  It was very puzzling, and though he tried to make out where he was, hecould see nothing but that big sack.

  After lying still for some minutes, his reasoning powers began to act,and overcoming the disinclination to move, consequent upon his being sohorribly stiff, he gave himself a wrench and turned right over on hisother side.

  This brought a little illumination, bodily and mental too, for the sunwas beating down upon his face making him raise his hand stiffly toshade his eyes; and there before him lay Ned, flat upon his back, withhis mouth wide open.

  The mist floating in his brain now began to disperse, and rising uponone elbow he could see first one and then another of the party, lyingfast asleep in different attitudes with the packs belonging to theexpedition dotted-about anyhow, just as they had been released from themules' backs.

  Then there were the bearers of the said packs about a couple of hundredyards away, every one with its muzzle near the ground, browsing busilyat some kind of low, scrubby, greyish growth that looked like very dwarfjuniper, while in quite another direction, there they were--all six--forming a group to themselves--the mustangs, their saddles still on andthe reins upon the ground, cropping away at the thin wiry grass thatclothed the sandy earth.

  "Of course; I recollect now," thought Chris. "I went to sleep on mypony, and must have fallen off without waking. Am I hurt?"

  He screwed himself about and raised arms and legs, wincing a little thewhile.

  "Yes, I am hurt," he muttered. "I can hardly move, but I don't thinkanything's broken: it's just as if the mules had been kicking me and theponies walking about on my chest."

  His eyes wandered round again, and he sat up now with a start, theaforesaid eyes dilating and the lids getting so wide that he showed agood deal of white, while it seemed as if all the blood in his body hadrushed to his heart, so horrible were his thoughts. But he could see nosign of rattlesnakes, and the heavy throbbing in his breast calmed down,to give place to a sensation of pleasure, as he breathed in the freshelastic air and let his eyes rest upon a great blue mountain whichtowered up above a clump of a dozen or so on one side and as many morespreading away in a row, their tops looking like the teeth of a giganticsaw. In fact, it was one of the ranges to which the old Spanishsettlers gave the name of Sierras.

  "It is not what I dreamed about," said Chris to himself. "Let me see--yes, that was of looking down into a glorious green valley with asparkling river running through and beautiful park-like prairies on eachside for the mules and ponies to graze in while we hunted and shot thebuffaloes. Of course; I remember it all quite clearly, and about ourgoing to bathe and drink, and--oh, how thirsty I am!"

  "Why, there must be water here, or the animals wouldn't be so contented.Get enough juice out of what they're eating, I suppose," he added,after a few minutes' more thought. "Well, this is a hundred timesbetter than the salt desert, and there must be water in the valleys overyonder. How blue it all looks! That doesn't seem as if there weretrees, because they'd look green. But there must be valleys becausethere are mountains, and--Here, I say, Ned, don't snore like that," hesaid aloud. "Wake up, lazy! It's ever so late."

  His words having no effect, he reached out one foot and gave the boysuch a vigorous push that Ned sat up, staring.

  "Who--Here, you, Chris, why did you kick me like that?" he cried.

  "I didn't kick, only pushed. To wake you up. You can't sleep all day.Oh, I say, what a face you've got!"

  Ned, who had roused up at once, clapped his hands to the part of hisperson alluded to, and retaliated.

  "So have you got a face," he cried. "Why, it looks as if it had got acrust of salt and sand all over it."

  "So it has, I suppose," said Chris, rather gruffly, as he began to pathis cheeks softly, rub his eyes, and then deal very tenderly with hiscracked lips. "Oh dear, shouldn't I like a swim, even if it was only ina water-hole that was half mud!"

  "But I say, Chris, look here. What about the rattlesnakes? Have weleft them all behind?"

  "I hope so. There seems to be no sign of any here."

  "And I say, this is quite a different sort of country. Look at themountains."

  "I have."

  "We must be all right then, now," continued Ned. "I began to thinkyesterday that we were going to tramp along till the heat and thirstwere too much for us, and we had to lie down and die. I say, Ishouldn't have liked that."

  "And you'll never find any one who would. Bother the old gold! Itwould have been horrid. Better have gone on weeding in the plantation."

  "Ever so much; but do you think the place marked in the plan is overyonder?"

  Ned pointed at the beautiful amethystine mountains, but Chris shook hishead.

  "Don't look like the place; but never mind that now. Let's see aboutbreakfast."

  The boys rose as if animated by one spirit, and stood looking round.

  "What about a fire?" said Ned dismally.

  "No wood," replied Chris, with a groan, and his voice made his fatherstart, look sharply round, and spring to his feet.

  "Ah, boys!" he cried. "How long have you been awake?"

  This question, loudly uttered, had the effect of a call to the othersleepers, who rose to their feet to look about in a dazed and wonderingmanner, but with signs of satisfaction dawning upon their countenancesas they grasped the improvement in their position.

  "Yes," said the doctor, after a brief conversation, "the cattle are allright, and will be able to go on after another hour's grazing; but thereis no water, I'm afraid, nearer than the mountains yonder."

  "But there'll be plenty there, doctor," said Griggs confidently, "and Idon't see that we need wait for the animals to graze any more; theyhaven't done much amiss by the state of their portmanteaus. We can haltagain when we like, and the pasture's sure to get better as we go alongtowards the mountain-slopes. Would you mind getting out your glass?"

  This was quickly done, and the American focussed it and stood gazinglong and intently at the distant range.

  "Far as I can make out," he said at last, "there's river and valley andforest yonder, sir."

  "Forests with blue trees, Griggs?" said Chris.

  "Forests with trees that look blue at this distance," replied theAmerican. "That last makes a wonderful difference in the look ofthings. So do sunrise and sunset. Why, you've seen the woods lookorange and scarlet, haven't you?"

  "Yes, of course," said Chris, looking abashed. "I forgot. But, I say,if there were water there, shouldn't we see it glitter?"

  "Not a bit. Don't you know how the rivers in these parts run down inthe canons? Why, I've seen a dozen or two that you didn't know werethere when you were a hundred yards away."

  "And these may be ten miles off," cried Ned.

  "Ten? Yes, quite that," said Griggs dryly.

  "Ah, they're a long way off, Ned, my boy," said Bourne thoughtfully."How far do you make it, Griggs?"

  "Well, sir, I should say it's a hundred miles from here to the highestpart of that peak."

  "A hundred miles!" cried Ned.

  "Yes, and a good sixty to the hills about the foot."

  "Then we shan't get there to-day," said the doctor decisively.

  "If we do half of it, sir, we shan't have done badly," replied Griggs;"but in thirty miles I fancy we shall have reached water, and be in abetter country than we're in now, worse luck."

  "What!" cried C
hris.

  "What I say, squire. We don't want to go dawdling about in prettyplaces. We must go yonder for rest and water, say for a day or two, butthe old prospector's map won't fit in there."

  "How do you know?" said Wilton sharply.

  "Because if there'd been a landmark like that big peak anywhere near thecity he'd have been safe to mark it down."

  "Of course," said the doctor thoughtfully. "Where should you think thatmountain is?"

  "Don't know, sir, and I don't see that it matters to us in what Statethe old temple and its treasure is. All we've got to do is to find thewilderness that hides it away, and we may as well make up our minds thatit'll take all the patience we can store up. But what do you say aboutour start, sir?"

  "As soon as we have had something in the way of breakfast," replied thedoctor. "Unfortunately we can have no coffee. It seems impossible toscrape together enough fuel to make a fire."

  "Not till to-night, sir, but I think we might drink what water we like.The horses and mules will be able to get along without."

  "Yes, we might venture upon a tinful each before starting," said thedoctor.

  That tinful each was the first part of the meal, and declared merrily byboth boys to have quite a rattle-snaky flavour. The solid portion ofthe late breakfast was not appetising.

  "But never mind, squires," cried Griggs cheerily; "we're going to getgame as we go along to-day. It'll be roast birds for dinner if you keepyour eyes open. I don't mean for the game."

  "For what then?" asked Chris.

  "The wood to cook it, my lad. We must carry the axe ready, and if we dohappen to come across a few shrubs they must be loaded on top of thewater-kegs, for the mule that carries them is getting to have a preciouslight load, and he deserves a heavy one for causing us all that troubleyesterday."

  A very short time after they were going straight for the mountain--thegreat peak forming their goal, and the doctor taking its bearings bycompass so as to know their route if mist should hide it, and whendarkness came on.

  To the surprise of all, both ponies and mules stepped briskly and well,the pasture upon which they had been busy having had a wonderfully goodeffect. The hardy beasts seemed now to need no water, and made light oftheir loads, while as the stiffness suffered by the riders passed offwith movement in the warm bracing air, the difficulties and perils ofthe past seemed to die away.

  Griggs proved to be right, too, before they had been two hours on theway, for first one or two, then a covey of the large partridge-likebirds that haunted the open appeared, and as the day went on severalplump additions to their stores fell to the guns.

  But the wood was so far wanting, and it was not until evening wasapproaching that they came upon a scattered patch of trees, which grewfor a long distance in a meandering way, just one here and there, andfrom which a sufficiency for their purpose was obtained; but the pasturewas no more plentiful, and they kept on, till all at once Griggs slappedhis hand down heavily upon his leg.

  "Got it!" he cried.

  "Got what?" exclaimed the doctor, and the boys stared.

  "That idea. Can't you see, doctor? These trees have been all along onour right for quite a time."

  "Yes, that's plain enough," was the reply.

  "And they go right on as far as we can see, wandering in and out, butgetting thicker."

  "Yes, I can see all that, but I confess that I don't see what it has todo with your excitement."

  "Don't you, doctor?" cried Griggs. "Well, it means this: there's been awatercourse here some time or other, and there's enough moistureunderground to keep these little scrubby trees alive."

  "I see. It is possible."

  "As it gets farther from the hills there are fewer trees, but as wefollow it up you can see they are getting thicker, and I believe that ifwe keep on far enough we shall come upon grass and water, perhaps apool."

  "Then we'll keep on," said the doctor, "certainly; and may you prove tobe right."

  Griggs did prove to be right, for when the course of the trees had beenfollowed for about four miles, the party found themselves upon a marshypatch of a vivid green, the trees they had followed ending at the veryedge. Pools of clear water were plentiful, and the banks and swampyground between them and the lakes were rich in deep green succulent andcoarse reeds and grassy patches such as cattle delight in.

  A dry slope some fifty feet above the swamp was soon selected for thetemporary halt--a place which proved to be quite free from reptiles; andhere the mules were unladen, the fire was lit, and the boys joinedeagerly in the culinary preparations, all being eager to help in thepreparation of the evening meal.