USA > California > A picture of pioneer times in California, illustrated with anecdotes and stores taken from real life > Part 47
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" It would be no sin at all to bury these two curs right here."
Wild and Mack now examined the dust on the road with great care; but not a track leaving the place where the hack had passed was to be found. On pretence of taking a look under Jerry's
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seat, Tom rode up to the hack, and both Jerry and he stooped their heads low down under the seat, as if to see if anything was concealed there. While in this position, Tom whispered him something, to which Jerry answered :
" I was thinking if we may not just as well bury these villains here. Surely the only thing that would ever miss them is the gallows."
Tom answered: " No, no; that won't do." And then, turning around to Wild, he said :
" I tell you we are losing time in fooling with this deuced Irish- man."
" Irish-American, if you please, sir ! I told the Captain there that I had my full papers as an American gentleman."
Wild and Mack now seemed to hesitate as to what it was best to do ; so Tom coolly said :
"If you wish to take a run through the timber there, I will stay here and hold the horses, and take care of this Irish-Amer- ican gentleman, and, if I hear any one fire on you, I will go to Sacramento and give the alarm." .
That was putting the business in a new point of view, alto- gether; but neither Wild nor Mack said a word, and seemed ut- terly at a loss how to act. ยท
" Oh," continued Tom, " you need not be in the least afraid, for I am certain no one is in the timber; so go right in if you wish to fool your time."
"Well," said Wild, "let us ride on; we can stopat Empire Ranch and be sure to overhaul them there, because there they will have to take horses to go over the trail to Downieville."
Just as they were starting, Jerry called out : "Captain, you would'nt have a little flask along, with a little taste of something good in it? I am awful dry from all the talking you forced me to do, when I was trying to hold my tongue all the time, so I was."
" Yes ; let the deuced Irish-American have a pull at the flask," said Tom. Mack reluctantly handed the flask to Tom, who passed it over to Jerry, who said :
" Thank you, Mister ; that is the genteel way of calling my name."
Jerry drank, and, as he handed back the flask, said : " Faith, I tried to act decent, gentlemen, with it; but it was so a kind of oily, that, by the hokey, it all slipped down, Mister."
Tom burst out laughing, but Wild looked savage ; and, grasp-
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ing the flask, flung it at Jerry's head; but, fortunately, he dodged it, and, before he was done laughing, his three companions were nearly out of sight.
Jerry now gave a long, shrill whistle, by putting one of his knuckles between his lips. Becket at once made his appearance, and then Minnie followed.
" Oh, they are gone," said Jerry, bursting out into another fit of laughing, that shook him all over. Becket and Minnie looked at him in half-surprise.
" Oh," said Jerry, " saving your presence, Miss, the devil a drop I left them in the flask. I was going to act a kind of de- cent, but your friend Tom winked at me, and I knew what that meant, so down I let it all slip. Oh, if you could have seen those other two fellows when they saw me turn up the bottom of the flask high in the air to let the last drop go down!"
And again Jerry laughed and laughed, saying:
" You bet they will not want to meet with another Irish-Amer- ican gentleman!"
" Now, Jerry, if that has not made you drunk, just tell us what passed."
" Drunk, Mr. Jim; not a bit of it; it made me feel good, that is all; for I was a kind of down-hearted before to think of those precious scamps putting us about so; but business is business; so here is what your friend Tom whispered to me when our two heads was down low under the seat of the hack; said he: 'Tell Jim not to go to Marysville until to-morrow; then he will have plenty of good company to go with him over the trail to Downie- ville; and tell him I will leave these two scamps at Marysville, and return to Sacramento by the boat to-night.' That is every word he told me to tell you."
Becket now remained in thought for a minute, then said:
" Yes; that is the best to do."
He then explained to Minnie that just ahead of them there was a road that turned off to the house of a Colonel William Eaton, who lived about two miles from the turn; and that this Colonel Eaton was a fine old Kentucky gentleman, with whom he was well acquainted; that he had a most sensible lady for a wife, and one daughter of about Minnie's own age. Becket con- tinued :
" I served a brother of his once, when he was in great need of a friend, and the Colonel has often expressed to me his good
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feeling about it. I know he would be glad to have me take you there, and I know he will not doubt my honor and word in the matter."
" Oh," said Minnie, " it is so terribly mortifying to appear in any family in this way."
" I know, Miss Minnie, it is as you say; but we have to face it now somewhere, and I know of no family I would rather state the case to than that of Colonel Eaton."
" Well, you know best, of course ; and I will do just what you think best."
" I will leave you in the carriage," said Jim," until I have had an interview with the Colonel and his lady; and if there is the least hesitation, I will not urge the matter on them, but come right away."
So Minnie was satisfied, and Jerry put his horses on their fast- est trot, and they were soon at Colonel Eaton's gate. Becket went in, and was received most warmly by both the Colonel and his wife. He sat right down, and gave a short history of Min- nie's troubles on the passage from Panama, and how she was vir- tually abandoned by her escort in San Francisco, and how her unprotected position induced her to adopt the disguise, and what came of her doing so. The wife and daughter could not help shedding tears of sympathy, and even the old Colonel was much excited. So Mrs. Eaton, taking a large shawl in her hand for Minnie to throw over her, went at once with Becket to the carriage. Without waiting for Becket to do so, she drew the door open herself, saying:
" Come, my poor child; I want no introduction. Mr. Becket has told me all about you. Come as you would to your own dear mother."
This warm address, and Mrs. Eaton's kind, motherly voice, and the allusion to her own mother, at once overcame Minnie. Every hour since she left her home had been full of anxiety and constant watching, and for the last fifteen hours every nerve had been strained to its highest pitch of endurance. She was even now waiting anxiously, almost with fear, to hear the result of her friend Becket's appeal for protection for her. Then, unexpected- ly, the voice as of a mother's love, full of tender sweetness, filled her ears, and threw the flood-gates of her heart wide open, before she could command them. In a moment more, her arms are around Mrs. Eaton's neck, and she is sobbing in a fit of uncon- trolled weeping.
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" Oh, calm yourself, my dear child; calm yourself; come, come with me," said Mrs. Eaton, as she threw the shawl over Minnie, and with her arm around her waist moved her gently on towards the house.
" Oh," said Minnie, as she found herself safe in Mrs. Eaton's bedroom, with the mother and daughter standing near her, " I fear you think me nothing but a poor, weak child, but this is the first time I have acted this way since I left home. But, oh, Mrs. Eaton, you looked and talked so kindly, and so like my own dear mother, that I could not hold out!" And Minnie sobbed, and sobbed again. " And, oh, I have had such a terrible night; but, thank God, it is all over, now, and I am safe here with you, thank God ! thank God !"
" Yes, dear; you are perfectly safe; so'try and calm yourself."
" Yes, I know I am safe, and the recollection of last night now hangs about me like that of a hideous dream."
Now Miss Fannie came forward in the sweetest way, and, stooping, kissed Minnie, and said : " My dresses will fit you, I know, for we are just about the same height and size."
" Oh, thank you ; what a tax I will be to you, but how de- lighted I will be to throw off this hideous disguise."
Then Miss Fannie said she was no tax at all, but that it gave her the greatest pleasure to supply her wants ; so she laid a full suit of her clothes in readiness for Minnie, and now mother and daughter again kissed her and left her alone, saying they would return when she was dressed. As soon as the door was closed, Minnie dropped on her knees, and with her whole heart poured out her thanks to God for her deliverance from the horrors of that night. As she commenced to dress, she said : " Why, how nicely every article fits me, just as if it was made for me. Oh, it appears a month since I laid off my own clothes at Mrs. Don- nelly's yesterday. What a terrible mistake I made; but I did not do it intentionally, and God has saved me; but, whatever I did, as I just said to Mrs. Eaton, there appeared to be danger in it ; that is the way I came into the trouble."
Fannie's gentle voice at the door came to announce breakfast, and now, as the two girls appeared in the breakfast-room, arm in arm, every one present came forward to shake hands with Minnie and congratulate her. Oh, that was a proud morning for Jim Becket, and he often afterward declared that it was the happiest of his life. When honest Jerry came forward, Minnie, with glistening eyes, grasped his hand, saying :
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" Jerry, oh, how can I thank you ?"
" No thanks at all, Miss. Isn't it I that should be asking your pardon for the quick, unmannerly way I thrust you into the hack last night, without saying, "By your leave, Miss ?" But, you know, Miss, Tim Finnigan might, by a chance, though, to do him justice, I must say he seldom does make a miss blow, and in that case time might be a little short, you see, Miss, to make po- lite speeches; so I left them off until we had a more convenient time, you see, Miss."
" Oh Jerry, you were very kind and gentle and good to me all the time, and I am proud this morning, Jerry, that I am half Irish myself."
" And am I not proud, too ? for that is just the same I am, ' half-and-half,' you see, Miss; for haven't I got my full papers making me an American citizen, as I told that Sydney thief last night ? But he would call me out of my name; but, oh, didn't I pay him back, Miss, when I got hold of the flask ?"
And now Jerry stood laughing at the recollection.
" How mad he looked when he saw me turning the bottom clear up. I had my eye on him all the time. Oh, you bet that fellow will never want another argument with an Irish-American gentleman like me. He swore so, Miss, that I was glad you did not hear him."
Now all joined in merry laughing, and Minnie's glistening eyes were clear and bright again. Colonel Eaton particularly enjoyed Jerry's humor, and after breakfast made him rehearse for him, and all the farm-hands, the scene of the rescue and of the flask, until all were tired of laughing. Every one did ample justice to Mrs. Eaton's excellent breakfast, which was of the regular farm kind, of broiled chickens and ham and eggs.
After breakfast, Becket had a private talk with Colonel Eaton, in which it was agreed that Minnie should stay where she was until her brother himself should come for her, and that a special messenger should be dispatched forthwith for Walter. This Becket undertook to do as soon as he should get back to Sacra- mento.
Now he and Jerry took their leave, feeling sure of Minnie's safety under Colonel Eaton's hospitable roof. Becket got the messenger; but it turned out afterwards that he was a worthless scamp, and that, contrary to his agreement with Becket, he de- ferred going until the next morning, and that when he did reach Marysville, next evening, he drank and fooled another day away.
CHAPTER XI.
.
THE DRUNKEN MESSENGER-THE FORGED NOTE.
Let us now return to Walter, Hilton and Captain Ward, as they dash over the trail from Downieville towards Marysville. At the crossing of the Yuba River, they met a long pack train heavily packed with goods. Walter's eye caught the sight of two trunks packed on one mule. In an instant he recognized them. They were Minnie's, and directed to the care of Hilton & Wag- ner. The train master conld give no information in respect to them. All he knew was that Adams & Co. had forwarded them. So, wasting no time, Walter and his companions dashed on to " Foster's Bar." Here they stopped to change horses, and to re- fresh themselves.
" Can you get us something to eat while our horses are being saddled, Tom ?" said Hilton to a hotel-keeper, whom he knew well.
" Certainly, Mr. Hilton; there is a gentleman now at dinner, and I think there is enough of grub for you all. Anyway, there is plenty of ham on the table, and venison pie, and you know my old woman is some on venison pie."
" That she is. Well, give us some water to wash, Tom, and a bottle or two of porter, for we have a sea Captain here who will drink one himself." .
" All right, Mr. Hilton; tell Mr. Wagner and the sea Captain to come right in."
So they all washed and drank a glass of porter, and walked into the dining-room. Walter was in such a state of excitement that he went through everything as if in a dream. But the in- stant his eyes rested on the person already at dinner, he rushed forward, exclaiming:
" Oh ! James De Forest, it is you ! Give us your hand, old fellow! How glad I am to see you! Have you any news of my sister, Minnie ?"
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" News ! Any news of your sister Minnie ! You astonish me. For God's sake, is she not with you ? Have you not seen her ?"
" Oh, no; we cannot find her, James; she is detained some- where."
" Great heavens, Walter ! What can it mean ?" Then, sud- denly stopping and placing his hand to his forehead, as if trying to recall something to his mind, he said: "Stop; let me see what was that I heard at the Empire Ranch, as I was getting my horse."
Now all gathered round him anxiously to hear what it was he had heard.
" Oh, yes; I recollect, but it cannot have any reference to Miss Minnie. The stable man was talking to two gambling looking fellows; and one of them asked if he had seen a young girl-a very handsome girl, he said-on her way to Downieville within the last two days; and the stable man replied that none such had passed, except they had done so in the night; and that it was not likely that any one could pass in the night without his knowl- edge. Then the gambler asked if he had observed a boy with a sort of brown overcoat coming there with some persons in a car- riage, or in the stage, or in a buggy. 'No,' the stable man said; ' none such had come there.' Then he demanded of the gam- blers what they were after, before he would answer any more questions. To this, one of the fellows replied: ' Oh, I am try- ing to find my sister, who ran away from her home yesterday.'"
" Did you hear either of the names of those gamblers ?" said Ward.
" Yes; I recollect one called the other Wild, in speaking to him."
" Ah," said Ward, " I thought as much." Now all turned to Ward, asking him if he knew anything of this man.
" Nothing particular, though I remember to have heard of a man of that name, and, if he is the man I am thinking of, he is, sure enough, a rough-looking fellow, as our friend here says, and should be followed up at once, and made to explain about his looking for his sister; for this Wild I have reference to never had a sister."
" Well," said Hilton, " this seems all unaccountable, and we had better dispatch our meal and be off."
Walter said : " Ob, excuse me; I have not introduced my friend, De Forest ; my mind is so preoccupied. James DeFor-
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est, this is my partner, Mr. Hilton, of whom I have often writ- ten you ; and this is my particular friend, Captain Ward." Hil- ton grasped De Forest's hand, and greeted him warmly, and a bright, genial look passed between them, such as always passes on the introduction of two persons favorably known to each other by report. As De Forest took Ward's hand, their eyes met, and for an instant the look was intense on both sides, and then Ward's eyes sank away. De Forest turned back to Walter, and an indescribable, disagreeable sensation passed through him. The meal was dispatched almost in silence, and they were all soon again dashing along the road on their fresh horses, toward the Empire Ranch. It was late at night when they got there. They saw the stable man that De Forest had told them about, but he could give them no further information with regard to Wild and his companion ; but said he believed they were yet in the neighborhood somewhere, though he could not say where. This determined our party to lay over until daylight. Early in the morning, they began to make inquiries, and soon found that the stable man was right as to the fact of Wild and his friend be- ing in the neighborhood late the night before; but, on going to a feed yard, where they understood they put up their horses, they found they had risen early and had left for Marysville, in company with another man.
" Well," said Hilton, " if we ride fast we will overhaul them at Marysville, for they will stop there, undoubtedly, for breakfast."
So on to Marysville they spurred their horses in silence. Ward muttered to himself:
" I must not let myself drop behind, for I must be on hand to save Wild if I can. The fellow may be useful to me yet, and in the scuffle that we are sure to have, I might get a chance to let a stray shot slip, so as to rid myself of this fellow De Forest. He looked at me that time as if he knew me. Can it be that some of our fellows have peached ? But no; that can't be. It was the first time a look ever confused me. No; I outlooked Sir John when he accused me of forging his name; I outlooked the Judge when he sentenced me; I outlooked old Captain Jackson when I entered his service; but that fellow's looks seemed somehow to say, ' I know you,' and as that would be rather inconvenient just now, I turned my eyes away before he could see too much, for I know that sometimes the wolf part of my composition shows itself in my eyes."
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On reaching Marysville, the party found, on inquiring at the principal hotel, that three men had eaten breakfast there, and that after breakfast two of them had ridden off towards Sacra- mento, while one was lying asleep on a lounge in the adjoining room. They at once aroused the sleeper, who seemed to be a worthless sort of a scamp.
" Who are the men with whom you came from Empire Ranch last night, Captain ?" said De Forest, as soon as he got the fel- low's eyes open.
" Well, Colonel, I'll just tell you, if you let us have a little bitters first. My stomach is awful out of order, you see, for I have been up nearly all night."
De Forest threw a half-dollar on the bar, and told the bar- tender to give him whatever he wanted. The loafer deliberately waited for his drink, put the change of the half-dollar in his pocket as the bar-tender laid it down with his glass, then swal- lowing about half the contents, he laid the glass back on the bar, with his right hand yet around it, and, facing about to his im- patient auditors, with his back to the bar, he said :
" Well, you wanted to know who those gentlemen were with whom I came from Empire Ranch last night? Well, you look as if one of you was the Sheriff and the rest his deputies; but, if you are hunting thieves, I guess you are mistaken this time, if you think my company last night were the chaps; for they are all right and none of that sort."
" Tell us who they were; that is all we want of you."
" Well, that is easily done, gentlemen; and I won't disoblige you, because I drank at your expense, just now."
" Go on, go on," said De Forest, " without any more preface."
" Well, let me begin at the beginning, then. You will under- stand me better, Colonel, or Sheriff, or whatever you are."
" Then go on your own way, and tell us, and don't keep us here all day."
The fellow here swallowed the remainder of his drink and de- liberately handed back his glass to the bar-tender and said, looking at De Forest:
" You may as well order the glass filled again, Colonel; I will want it when I get through my story."
De Forest threw out another half-dollar, saying, with the greatest impatience:
"D-n your story! Tell us who those men were that came with you this morning from Empire Ranch!"
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" Well, as I was just saying, I arrived in Sacramento a week ago, more or less, broke, gentlemen; yes, ' strapped ' completely. So I put up at the Golden Eagle Hotel, just as though I had a bag of dust deposited somewhere handy by; but that Callahan that keeps the Eagle is a sharp one, I tell you. So, after I was there two or three days, he came one morning and took me aside in a confidential sort of a way. I knew what was coming, gen- tlemen, for I had often been there before. Oh, yes; save me from a confidential talk with a landlord or a boarding-house keeper, when I am out of luck and short of coin. But, as I was saying, Callahan took me aside and says: 'Look here, Ben;' for my name is Benjam in Shingle, ' supposing you pay up your bill this morning; for the fact is, I want a little money to pay my butcher's bill with, and I am very short, you know.' So I said: ' Mr. Callahan, I want to be honorable with you. It is my way always to act honorable.' ' Of course, Ben, it is,' said Cal- lahan. ' Well, now, just to act honorable with you, Mr. Calla- han, I will mention in confidence, just between ourselves, you know, and you must not let it go any further, that I haven't one d-n dime, or the weight of a York shilling in gold dust, to my name.' Well, gentlemen, if you were to see the sudden change that came in Bill Callahan's face, you could not help laughing; it was so kind of sudden. He put his hand on the back of my neck; yes, right here; it is a sort of stiff yet from the hold he took of it, and rushed me to the door, making long steps, so that his big boot came a sort of heavy against me every step he took. Well, just as we got to the door, who should I see but Jim Becket and an Irish fellow walking with him away from a hack, Jim had just got out of. Well, I knew Jim, for I had often seen him in 'Frisco. I knew he was a high-toned sport, and would help a fellow; so I called to him, and when he came I told him of the little misunderstanding between myself and Bill Callahan; and while he was listening to me, the Irish fellow says: ' And sure, Mr. Becket, he is just the man to take the letter to Mr. Wagner.'"
" And have you such a letter, man ?" broke in Walter, in the most intense excitement.
" No, no; hear me out," he continued, while all now stood round him in breathless attention. " So Jim Becket says, 'Well, Ben, I will tell you what I will do; I will pay your bill here at Callahan's and give you twenty dollars spending money, if you will take a letter for me to a place near Downieville, and deliver 33
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it safely.' 'It's a whack, Jim,' said I; and he went to write the letter, while I went with the Irish fellow for a horse."
" Well, what have you done with the letter ?" demanded Wal- ter and De Forest in one breath.
" Well, if you wait gentlemen, I am just coming to that. After I got the letter, which was directed to ' Walter Wagner, High Canyon, near Downieville,' it was so late in the day that I just put my horse up in another stable, and waited until morning. I then took an early start, and reached Marysville here that even- ing. Just after I had my supper, I fell in with an old comrade, and after that I have not much recollection of what I did, until last night, when I found myself at Empire Ranch in a little game of bean poker with the very chaps that came with me here this morning."
" But the letter ! Tell us where the letter is," said Walter.
" The letter ? Oh, that is all right, as you will hear. I hap- pened to mention to those chaps, as I was playing with them, that I had a letter to carry to one Walter Wagner, and, to my sur- prise, one of the chaps said : ' Why, you have ? Why I am Walter Wagner. Hand me the letter at once.' 'All right,' said I; 'that is just in my hand, for it saves me a long ride; but busi- ness is business,' said I; 'so please write me out a receipt, and I will give you the letter.' So he wrote me this receipt, and I gave him the letter."
Walter took the receipt from Ben's hand, and found it drawn in form, and signed " Walter Wagner." At Hilton's suggestion, Walter laid the receipt away in his pocket-book, saying, as he did so:
" Did the fellow open and read the letter ?"
" Of course he did; and then they both had a conversation to- gether, and I heard one of them say: 'Let us get on our horses; we have her now, sure, if we lose no time.' And with that they both rushed to the stable for their horses. And, as I was now ready to go back to Sacramento, I came as far as here with them."
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