The Silver Canyon | Page 3

in penetrating into new lands, and the Indians may
not prove our enemies after all."
"Ha, ha, ha! Haw, haw, haw, haw!" laughed Joses hoarsely. "You wait
and see, master. They stampeded your cattle when you had any. Now
look out or they'll stampede you."
"Well, we'll risk it," said the other. "Now let's be ready for any danger
that comes. Saddle the horses, and tether them close to the waggon. I
will have the first watch to-night; you take the second, Joses; and you,
Bart, take the third. Get to sleep early, my lads, for I want to be off
before sunrise in the morning."
The men nodded their willingness to obey orders, and soon after all
were hushed in sleep, the ever-wakeful stars only looking down upon
one erect figure, and that was the form of Dr Lascelles, as he stood near
the faintly glowing fire, leaning upon his rifle, and listening intently for
the faintest sound of danger that might be on its way to work them
harm.
CHAPTER TWO.
WHAT WENT BEFORE.
As Dr Lascelles stood watching there, his thoughts naturally went back

to the events of the past day, the sixth since they had bidden good-bye
to civilisation and started upon their expedition. He thought of the
remonstrance offered by his men to their proceeding farther; then of the
satisfactory way in which the difficulty had been settled; and later on of
the troubles brought up by his man's remarks. He recalled the weary
years he had spent upon his cattle farm, in which he had invested after
the death of his wife in England; how he had come out to New Mexico,
and settled down to form a cattle-breeding establishment with his
young daughter Maude for companion.
Then he thought of how everything had gone wrong, not only with him,
but with his neighbours, one of the nearest being killed by an onslaught
of a savage tribe of Indians, the news being brought to him by the son
of the slaughtered man. The result had been that the Doctor had
determined to flee at once; but the day was put off, and as no more
troubles presented themselves just then, he once more settled down.
Young Bart became by degrees almost as it were a son, and the fight
was continued till herd after herd had been swept away by the Indians;
and at last Dr Lascelles, the clever physician who had wearied of
England and his practice after his terrible loss, and who had come out
to the West to seek rest and make money for his child, found himself a
beggar, and obliged to begin life again.
Earlier in life he had been a great lover of geology, and was something
of a metallurgist; and though he had of late devoted himself to the wild,
rough life of a western cattle farmer, he had now and then spent a few
hours in exploring the mountainous parts of the country near: so that
when he had once more to look the world in the face, and decide
whether he should settle down as some more successful cattle-breeder's
man, the idea occurred to him that his knowledge of geology might
prove useful in this painful strait.
He jumped at the idea.
Of course: why not? Scores of men had made discoveries of gold, silver,
and other valuable metals, and the result had been fortune. Why should
not he do something of the kind?

He mentioned the idea to young Bartholomew Woodlaw, who jumped
at the prospect, but looked grave directly after.
"I should like it, Mr Lascelles," he said, "but there is Maude."
"What of her?" said the Doctor.
"How could we take her into the wilds?"
"It would be safer to take her into the deserts and mountains, than to
leave her here," said the Doctor bitterly. "I should at least always have
her under my eye."
He went out and told his men, who were hanging about the old ranche
although there was no work for them to do.
One minute they were looking dull and gloomy, the next they were
waving their hats and blankets in the air, and the result of it all was that
in less than a month Dr Lascelles had well stored a waggon with the
wreck of his fortune, purchased a small tent for his daughter's use, and,
all well-armed, the little party had started off into the wilds of New
Mexico, bound for the mountain region, where the Doctor hoped to
make some discovery of mineral treasure sufficient to recompense him
for all his risk, as well as for the losses of the past.
They were, then, six days out when there was what had seemed to be a
sort of mutiny among his men--a trouble that