The Search for the Silver City | Page 2

City. 111
CHAPTER XIII.
In the City. 122
CHAPTER XIV.
The Festival. 132
CHAPTER XV.
A Retreat. 142
CHAPTER XVI.
Discovered. 152
CHAPTER XVII.
A Halt. 162
CHAPTER XVIII.
Cave Life. 172
CHAPTER XIX.
A Change of Base. 182
CHAPTER XX.

A Desperate Struggle. 192
CHAPTER XXI.
A Long Halt. 202
CHAPTER XXII.
Jake's Venture. 212
CHAPTER XXIII.
A Hurried Departure. 222
CHAPTER XXIV.
Jake. 231
CHAPTER XXV.
On the Range. 241
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Pursuit. 251
CHAPTER XXVII.
At Bay. 260
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Catastrophe. 270
CHAPTER XXIX.
A Fierce Conflict. 280

CHAPTER XXX.
A Welcome Change. 290
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Sea. 299
CHAPTER XXXII.
A Happy Surprise. 308
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Homeward Bound. 318

THE SEARCH FOR THE SILVER CITY.
CHAPTER I.
THE SEA DREAM.
Three years ago last August, it is unnecessary to specify the exact date,
Teddy Wright was not only a very lonely fellow, but considered
himself abused by circumstances.
During the previous season he had studied very hard at the military
school on the Hudson which he often referred to slightingly as "the
barracks," and as a reward for the flattering reports sent home by his
teachers, had been promised a long vacation in the Adirondacks with a
schoolmate who lived in the northern portion of New York state.
Teddy's parents and sisters intended spending the summer at some one
of the fashionable watering places; but with three long months of
"roughing it" where game could be found in abundance, he had no
desire to accompany them.

"Life in the woods knocks staying at a big hotel on the sea-shore, where
a fellow is obliged to be dressed up all the time," he said when one of
his sisters expressed surprise at his choice. "We shall regularly camp
out, and father has given me a doubled-barreled breech-loader, to say
nothing of his own rod and collection of flies. Jack and I will have the
jolliest kind of a time while you're moonin' on the hot sands trying to
think it is fun."
Teddy went to Jack's home, and, to his sorrow and dismay, found that
young gentleman so ill that there was no hope of his being allowed to
take the long-contemplated trip.
He remained there, however, until perfectly certain of this unpleasant
fact, and then returned home to the house which had been left in charge
of one servant, and, as he expressed it, "just to spite himself," refused to
join the remainder of the family.
Of course this was a most foolish proceeding; but Teddy was in that
frame of mind where a boy of seventeen is prone to foolish deeds, and
there he stayed in a frame of mind very nearly approaching the sulks,
until he received a letter from Neal Emery, another schoolmate, whose
father lived in Bridgeport.
Mr. Emery owned a large factory in that city, and Neal had intended to
spend his vacation at home where he could enjoy the use of a small
sloop-rigged yacht his mother had presented him with the year
previous.
The letter contained a very pressing invitation for Teddy to visit
Bridgeport, since his trip to the Adirondacks had been postponed, and
concluded with the startling announcement:
"Father has just bought the Sea Dream, a beautiful steam yacht of an
hundred feet in length, and I don't know how many tons. He proposes
to cruise around three or four weeks while mother is at Bar Harbor, and
is perfectly willing I should invite you to join us. We will have a jolly
time, and if nothing prevents I want you to come at once. We are to
start Wednesday morning."

The letter had been received Monday afternoon, therefore Teddy had
but little time for preparation.
He first sent a long telegram to his father, repeating the substance of
what Neal had written, and asked permission to enroll himself on the
Sea Dream's passenger list.
Not until late in the evening did he receive a favorable reply; but his
traps, including the gun and fishing tackle, were packed, and on the
first train Tuesday morning he started, all traces of ill-humor having
vanished, for a cruise on a steam yacht promised quite as great pleasure
as had the stay in the woods, with not so much certainty of hard work.
Neal met him at the depot, and after going to the former's home only
long enough to leave the baggage, the two set out to view the yacht
which, in all the bravery of glistening paint and polished metal, lay at
anchor in the harbor.
Although not an expert in matters pertaining to marine architecture,
Teddy could appreciate the beauty of the little craft while she swung
lazily to and fro at her cable as if husbanding strength against the time
when speed and endurance would be required.