5 What We Found

The boy played his part with skill. He slouched along, skipping stones now and then at some object, and then thrusting his hands in his pockets and whistling. But he never lost sight of his man. At first we staid so far behind him that Spanish Pete was lost to our view, but for the sake of caution we moved up two or three times to see the Spaniard still stalking on ahead. Thus we formed a kind of chain of observation, and as we were at one end of the chain and the Spaniard was at the other, we felt safe from further scrutiny from him.

The Spaniard’s course still led near the edge of the bay, and soon we passed out of the town. He must have noticed the boy whistling and skipping stones but the sight of a ragamuffin was not likely to attract attention. He stopped and looked back two or three times, as if he wished to see whether Pike was following him. The advantage of having the boy as a proxy was evident.

For an hour we walked steadily on.

“What do you think of it?” I asked Pike.

“The chase is gittin’ hot,” he replied. “No doubt uv it. That feller wouldn’t walk out here jest fur his health. They’ve got a camp out here somewhars an’ that Spaniard is leadin’ us to it. I hope the boy won’t lose him.”

“No danger!” I said, “that youngster is too smart for any thing of that kind.”

We were in the country now, in a quite lonely region, too, and the boy was walking so fast that it was an effort to keep in sight of him, for he skimmed over the ground like an antelope. By and by he stopped near the brow of a little hill and beckoned to us. While he waited we hurried up.

“Thar’s your friend in the cove down thar,” he said, “an’ he’s got company, too. I guess this is his stoppin’ place.”

Standing behind some trees, which offered good concealment, we looked over the brow of the hill. Below us was a little cove or inlet of the bay, almost concealed by a dense and overhanging foliage. At the verge of the water we saw Spanish Pete, Halftrigger and a third man whom neither of us had ever seen before. This third man had nothing special in his appearance. He was just such a thug as we could find loafing around any of the San Francisco dives. But he was a big, strong fellow, and his weapons were not concealed. We looked eagerly for Pedro, but he was not there. Tied to a bush was a boat with a large sail. The boat seemed to have room enough in it for a dozen persons.

“What luck!” whispered Pike to me. “They mean to go down the coast in that boat. Wa’al they kin go, but they won’t take Pedro with ’em ef we kin help it, an’ I think we kin.”

“I guess the trail’s ended for me here, ain’t it, pards?” asked the boy. “Is my job over?”

“Yes,” said Pike, “and you’ve earned your money, too, sonny.”

“All right,” said the boy, “I don’t know what your lead is, but luck to you, pards.”

He waved his hand nonchalantly, walked back in the direction of the town and we never saw him again.

Halftrigger and his fiends were making up packages and stowing them in the boat. They were so much engrossed in their occupation and evidently had so little fear of observation that they talked quite freely and in unguarded voices. We were not near enough to hear all they said, but we caught enough to learn that the departure would be made that night, and that Pedro and two others would join them in the cove.

“An’ then,” we heard Halftrigger say exultantly, “we’ll be off after the gold, an’ that hunter fellow an’ his gang can suck thar thumbs an’ cry, ef they want ter.”

Then in his glee he sang his favorite pirate song.

“Pedro ud like ter go off with that hunter’s gang ef I’d let him,” said Halftrigger in a louder voice than usual; “but he won’t get the chance. We need Pedro in this little job we’ve got on hand don’t we, Pete? Sooner than let him get away I’d give him a few inches of this.”

He held up a formidable dirk as he spoke, and laughed with real enjoyment. The Spaniard laughed, too, and said:

“He’ll not get away from you.”

“Not now,” added Halftrigger, “but when he’s taken us to that mine of his things will change. We won’t need Pedro half so bad then as we do now, eh, Pete?”

Then all three of the men laughed hideously. I saw that Pedro’s rescue would be for his own sake as well as ours.

It was now within an hour of sunset, and Pike, leaning over to me, whispered:

“I’ll stay here an’ watch ’em, Joe, while you go back after the rest uv the boys. You kin lead ’em straight to the place, kaint you?”

I nodded nay head.

“An’ tell ’em to come purvided,” said Pike, “fur thar’s no tellin’ what’ll happen to-night. Halftrigger ain’t got no scruples about bloodlettin’, an’ the others with him look jest ez bad. Now, be off with you, an’ don’t bother erbout me. I kin take keer uv myself. You’ll fin’ me here when you come back.”

Fortunately I found the remainder of our party at the room, and my news set them on edge with excitement. We made our preparations in two minutes, and then we started; back to the cove. It was dusk when we left the house, but I had no difficulty in finding the way. We trudged along, silent but watchful, and soon drew near the cove.

As we cautiously climbed the hill overlooking the water we heard the sound of voices, and I discovered Halftrigger’s among them. I had feared that Pedro and the others might arrive, and that the whole party would depart before my return, but the voices reassured me. As we approached the brow of the hill Pike’s sibilant whisper greeted us:

“It’s all right,” he said, stepping from the shadow of a tree trunk. “Pedro an’ the others haven’t come yet.”

Pike took his natural place as commander of our party, and we disposed ourselves about the hill. The darkness and the thick foliage afforded effective concealment, and we had no fear of premature discovery. The moon came out, and its bright light fell on the party below us in the cove. While lying in the shadow ourselves we could watch all their movements with ease. They finished their arrangements and sat down in the boat to wait for the others. Some time passed thus, and Halftrigger began to grow impatient.

“I wonder what’s keepin’ the lazy dogs,” he said, with a look of anger on his sinister face.

“They will be here very soon,” said Spanish Pete.

Halftrigger growled, but made no intelligible reply.

Another half hour passed and Halftrigger was in a ferocious temper.

“Them fellers need shakin’ up,” he said, rising, “an’ I’ll do it fur ’em. I’m goin’ to meet ’em and hurry ’em along.”

The other two offered no objection, and Halftrigger, stepping heavily, as if he would like to crush the laggards under his feet, came up the hill in our direction.

“What shall we do?” I whispered to Pike who was crouched within two feet of me.

“Let him pass,” he replied. “We ain’t got no reason fur stoppin’ him now, fur he’ll be back soon with the rest uv his crowd.”

Halftrigger passed very near us, the moonlight falling on his evil face and deepening its repulsive look. We heard him for some time tearing along through the undergrowth. Then there was silence on the hill and in the cove, for Spanish Pete and the other ruffian ceased to talk. In about three-quarters of an hour we heard footsteps in the direction whence Halftrigger had gone. Pike put his ear to the earth and said:

“Thar’s a lot uv ’em. That’s putty sure to be Halftrigger, with Pedro and the rest uv the gang.”

I was nervous with excitement, and I asked Pike what was to be our plan of operations.

“We’ll hev to wait an’ see.” He merely replied.

The noise of footsteps approached, and presently we could discern a number of figures. The size and swinging gait showed that the first was Halftrigger. Behind him came a little man, who was soon near enough for us to see the face of Pedro. The others, five or six of them, were hulking fellows. One looked like a sailor and all were well armed.

“Come along, Pedro,” said Halftrigger, taking the Manila man by the arm. “You’re in the han’s o’your best fr’en’s, an’ we’re goin’ to give you a nice little sail fur the benefit o’ yer health. You’ve been kinder feeble and pinin’ lately, an’ we think too much o’ you ter let yer waste away.”

Then he laughed a creepy laugh, and I could see the Manila man pull back, though Halftrigger brought him up again with a jerk.

“Now, boys,” said Pike, in a low tone to his command, “when I rise up you follow, an’ wait my orders.”

The men were nearly on us when Pike rose from the bush, and we did likewise. The gigantic form of the frontiersman towered directly in front of Halftrigger, and he started back with an exclamation, in which surprise and anger struggled for the mastery. He looked around and glowered at us, but we stood still, awaiting Pike’s orders.

“What are you doin’ here?” he asked, in a voice thick with passion.

“We’ve come for our friend, who you’ve got thar,” said Pike calmly, pointing to Pedro.

The Manila man’s joy at our appearance was unbounded, and he would have rushed over and joined us, but Halftrigger put his hand on his arm and held him so tightly that his face was contorted with pain.

“Why are you puttin’ your nose into what’s none o’ your business?” demanded Halftrigger.

“I’m not goin’ to talk long,” said Pike. “But we want Pedro, thar, and he’d ruther go with us, ez you know, and you’re trying ter kidnap him.”

“Seems ter me you’re talkin’ ’nuff, anyway,” rejoined Halftrigger. “You’ve got a big ’nuff gift o’ gab to be a sea lawyer. S’pose I don’t give Pedro up, what then? I’ve got more men than you’ve got.”

“All right,” said Pike. “Ef you want to make trouble erbout it an’ use pistols an’ sech like unpleasant tools, do it, but I guess you’ll fin’ that my crowd is better at them things than your’n is.”

Halftrigger looked us over, but he saw that we had the advantage. We stood facing him and were ready. Two of his men were on the other side of the hill, and with divided forces he was taken at a great disadvantage. It seemed that a violent discussion of the matter could end in but one way.

Then in the moonlight I saw Halftrigger’s expression change. His face relaxed, and at last he burst into a laugh.

“Wa’al, lads,” he said in a hearty tone, “you’ve beat me this time. I’m willin’ to acknowledge when I’m beat, an’ I like a good enemy. None o’ your half-an’-half sort o’ fellers fur me. I’ve done my best to carcumvent ye, but it wuzn’t ez good ez your best, an’ I failed. I don’t bear malice, let’s shake an’ furgit all.”

He held out his hand, and before I knew what I was doing. I was shaking it heartily.

“Go along with yer friends, Pedro,” he said, giving the Manila man a push in our direction. “I ain’t got no more claim on ye. My title to yer services is no good an’ I give ye up.”

There was even a kindly ring in Halftrigger’s voice. Pedro hastily came over and ranged himself behind us.

“Ye’ll find me ez fair ez a friend ez I wuz ez an enemy,” continued Halftrigger, “an’ in departin’ I’d like to say I wish ye luck. The gold’s your’n an’ I hope Pedro ’ll take ye to it straight an’ shore. Come on, lads.”

He beckoned to his followers, and they strode down the hill towards the boat. I was so astonished at the man’s change of manner that I could think of nothing to say.

“Don’t trust him,” Sam whispered to Pike; “he’s a pirate still, an’ when we start fur that gold we’ve got to watch fur Halftrigger an’ his gang.”

Halftrigger reached the boat and said something to the others waiting there. Then they got into the boat, and as they hoisted the sail Halftrigger called to us in a cheerful voice:

“Luck to you, lads; an’ to you, Pedro, ’specially!”

The strong breeze blowing over the water filled the sail and the boat sheered off. Halftrigger was standing up like a commander among his men. The moonlight was bright and we could see every movement he made. He was intently watching us as we stood on the brow of the hill.

Suddenly Halftrigger bent over and took something from the bottom of the boat. When he straightened up again he held a rifle in his hand. In a loud voice he shouted:

“That’s fur you, Pedro!”;

He raised the rifle as quick as a flash and fired; Pedro gasped and sank to the ground. His face looked ghastly in the moonlight.

I think that every one of us uttered some exclamation of horror at the treacherous deed, and then we rushed to Pedro’s aid. Blood was coming from his mouth, and the last summons was already written too plainly on his face.

After he had taken one look at Pedro Pike drew a pistol and, running forward, fired, at Halftrigger. But the boat was sailing rapidly and the distance was now too great. The bullet splashed in the water and fell twenty feet short of the mark. Halftrigger held up his empty rifle and waved it derisively at us. Pike ground out a curse, but he could do nothing.

We propped Pedro up against a tree, but the bullet had gone through his chest, and he had but a few minutes to live. Though, in his death agony, he looked gratefully at us.

“Go, find the gold,” he gasped, pointing off in the direction in which the hidden mine lay. “Halftrigger has description of place, too. But it was all mine; and I give it to you.”

“How did Halftrigger obtain that description?” I asked in surprise.

“He—he frightened me,” gasped the dying man. “Said he would kill me if I didn’t tell him, and I—I told. Go, you get to the mine first. I, who found it, give the gold to you.”

Then Pedro’s head fell over and he died as easily as a little child, the moonbeams filtering through the leaves and throwing a silver light over his dead face.

“Poor fellow!” said Pike, looking down sadly at him, “he didn’t hev backbone ’nuff fur Californy, but he meant right.”

Out on the bay the boat containing the murderer and his fellow-ruffians had dwindled to a speck and was soon out of sight.

“We ought to dispose of the body,” said Henry.

“Yes; an’ ez soon ez we do that,” said Pike, “we’ll start fur the mine. It’s our’n now. Pedro left it to us, an’ we’ll beat Halftrigger thar or somethin’ ’ll break.”

There was no dissenting voice. The gold fever bubbled as vigorously as ever in our veins.

Two of us went back to the town and obtained picks from our miner’s packs, and with these we dug a grave and gave Pedro decent burial on the very hill where he had fallen. We covered the fresh earth with leaves and shrubs, and it was daylight when we reached the town again.

But we did not stop for rest and sleep that day. As soon as we could put our packs on our mules we were off for the hidden mine.

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