Ronicky Doones Treasure | Page 2

the south front
of the structure and into what had once been the mow. Stale scents of
moldy straw still lingered in it.
Once inside, there was barely sufficient light to show the wanderer the
dim outlines of the barn, and it was even more imposing in dimensions
from within than from without. To the roof was a dizzy rise. A broad
space extended on either side to the supporting walls. Half a regiment
might bivouac here. Most important of all, the north gable was almost
entirely blocked. That end of the building, though fallen, had not yet
crumbled to the ground, and the broken roof formed a sort of enormous
apron extending against the wind.
As soon as he had discovered this, the wanderer began at once to make
systematic preparations for spending the night. He first rode the mare
back into the open air to a rain rivulet, where she was allowed to drink.
Then he returned, dismounted, gathered some fragments of wood, and
lighted a fire.
The first leap of the yellow light transfigured the gloomy place. It
started a shudder and dance of great shadows among the network of
rafters above and in the corners of the building; it also showed the mare,
from which the traveler now removed the saddle and rubbed her down
-- a bit of work of which most of the other riders of the Rocky
Mountains would not have thought. He dried her as well as he could,
and, before paying the slightest attention to his own wants, he produced
from his saddle bags a mixture of chopped hay and crushed barley, a

provision for his horse which he carried with him wherever he went.
His glance wandered affectionately over her, for truly she was a
beautiful creature.
In color she was a rich bay. Her stature was rather less than the average,
for she was not more than fifteen hands and three inches in height; but
what she lacked in height she made up in the exquisite nicety of her
proportions. At first glance she looked rather too fine for hard mountain
work, but a little closer examination showed ample girth at the cinches,
nobly sloped shoulders, and quarters to match. In fact, she could have
carried a heavyweight, and the bulk of her owner was a trifle for her
strength.
He proved a slenderly made fellow as he turned away from the mare
and threw more wood on the fire -- a man of medium height and in no
way imposing physically. His carriage alone struck the eye. He was
erect as a whipstock, bore his head high and proudly, and moved with a
light, quick step, as though he had been forced to act quickly so often
that the habit had formed and hardened on him. That alert and jaunty
carriage would in itself have won him some respect, even if his name
had not been Ronicky Doone, whose fame in the more southerly ranges
was already a notable thing. Horse-breaker, mischief-maker, adventurer
by instinct, and fighter for sheer love of battle, he carried on his young
body enough scars to have decked out half a dozen hardy warriors of
the mountains, but the scars were all he had gained. The quarrels he
fought had been the quarrels of others; and, since he was a champion of
lost causes, the rewards of his actions went to others.
Now he rolled down his blanket beside the fire, which he had built for
the sake of warmth and good cheer rather than for cooking. His fare
consisted of hard crackers and was finished off with a draft of cold
water from his canteen; then he was ready for sleep.
He found shelter at the north end of the mow. Here a great section of
the disintegrating roof had fallen and stood end up, walling away a
little room half a dozen paces in length and something more than half
of that in width. By the vague light cast from the fire, which was
rapidly blackening under the downpour of the rain, he took up his new

abode for the night, and Lou followed him into it, unbidden.
He was wakened, after how long an interval he could not guess, by the
sound of Lou getting to her feet, and a moment later he heard voices
sounding in the big mow of the barn. Other travelers had taken refuge
from the storm, it seemed. Ronicky Doone, glad of a chance to
exchange words with men, rose hastily and walked to the entrance his
quarters.
As he did so, a match was lighted, revealing two men standing beside
their horses in the center of the great inclosure.
"A fine place for a meeting," said he who held the match. "How come
we got to