CHAPTER VIII
ACCUSED OF MURDER
There were no laggards in the camp on the west side of the SacramentoRiver the next morning. Long before sun-up a line of wagons and animalsand men stood waiting at the ferry, ready to be carried across theriver; and among the first of these were our anxious young friends,Thure and Bud. They had pushed on ahead of their fellow travelers of theday before, the little company of Oregon gold-seekers, who had beendelayed in getting into the line on account of their wagons, and werefortunate enough to get near the ferry; and, just as the first rays ofthe morning's sun looked down on the novel and interesting scene, theyled their animals on board the ferry-boat.
The boat was jammed with men and wagons and horses and mules and oxen.The men were all talking excitedly of the mines, the animals werefrightened and restless--indeed, all living beings seemed to breathe inexcitement and restlessness and anxiety out of the very air, with everybreath they drew into their bodies.
"Glory be!" commented Bud, as his eyes looked over the motley gatheringof men that crowded every available spot on the boat, "but this is aqueer-looking lot of men to see in the wilds of California! Looks likeevery nation in the world was represented right here in this one boatload and sounds like the confusion of tongues at the tower of Babel.There sure has got to be a lot of gold, if everybody gets a share!" andhis face clouded. "Say, but this boat is slow!" and he turned hisimpatient eyes toward the shore, where, in the garish light of day, thecity of canvas seemed real enough, but not a whit less wonderful, onlyin an entirely different way, than had the magic city of light the nightbefore.
A forest of masts grew from a multitude of boats strung along the riverfront, and stood out in striking contrast against the leaved branches ofthe trees on the shore. The boats were moored to strong trunks and hugesinewy roots; and the larger number of them turned out "to grass," thatis, leased as shops and dwelling houses. Signboards and figure-headsfrom the boats were set up along the shore, facing the levee; and backof them, up the gentle slopes of the hills lying between the Sacramentoand the American Rivers, for the town was built at the junction of thesetwo rivers, ran the streets of this novel city, lined with theirodd-looking canvas houses and tents. Great forest-trees, some of themsix feet in diameter, towered here and there above the houses and thestreets, their huge column-like trunks and outspreading boughs, clothedwith green leaves, adding the needed touch of romanticism to completethe unique picturesqueness of the scene. Everywhere was bustle andexcitement. Men were hurrying in and out of the doors of the shops andof the saloons and up and down the streets. Drivers were shouting andcursing at their horses, mules, or oxen; whips were cracking; and wheelswere rumbling and creaking. Parties of miners here and there, with loudshouts of farewell, were starting off for the mines, loaded down withpickaxes and shovels, with gold-pans and frying-pans, and otherequipments of the rude camp-life they were preparing to live. Sun-up,everybody up, seemed to be the motto of all Sacramento City.
Into the midst of this wild hurly-burly Thure and Bud plunged directlyfrom the ferry-boat. At first they hardly knew what to do withthemselves and horses. Never had they been in a scene of such excitementand confusion before. It fairly made their heads whirl; but, boy-like,they enjoyed every bit of it, as, with their keen young eyes glancing inevery direction, they rode, holding their frightened pack-horses closeto their sides, slowly up what seemed to be the main street of the city.
"Say," and Bud pointed to a large sign on the front of one of the fewframe buildings, which read "City Hotel," "that looks like a place toeat. Let's tie our horses outside and go in and get our breakfast. I'mas hungry as a bear; and--and--well we can talk over what we had betterdo next while we are eating. Glory be, I did not suppose Sacramento Citywas like this!" and he grinned.
The boys had been in too much of a hurry to get across the river to stopto prepare their own breakfast that morning, consequently Thure at oncewelcomed Bud's suggestion; and, jumping off their horses, the two ladstied their animals to near-by trees and walked into the City Hotel,bravely trying to look and act as if they were accustomed to living athotels all their lives, although, to tell the truth, neither boy hadeven seen a hotel before for ten years.
They found the dining-room and seats at one of the tables without muchdifficulty; and after some little study of the bill-of-fare, duringwhich they forgot to look at the prices, they gave their order to thewaiter--God save the mark! no, to the steward; for there the word"waiter," was never used, it not being considered a sufficientlyrespectable calling for a man who a few months before might have been alawyer, a doctor, a merchant, or even a minister. The food was soon setbefore them; and, as they ate, they talked over the situation.
"The first thing for us to do," declared Thure, "is to find some minersbound for Hangtown, and then make arrangements to go with them; and theonly way to do this is to start out and ask everyone who looks as if hewas going to the diggings, if he is going to Hangtown, or knows ofanyone who is. I reckon it won't take us long to find someone; and, ifpossible, we want to get on our way to-day."
Bud promptly sanctioned this plan; and, accordingly, it was agreed that,as soon as they finished their breakfast, they would start out to findsomeone bound for Hangtown.
"I'll pay the bill," magnanimously announced Thure, when the last morselof food and the last swallow of coffee had vanished down their throats,and he turned to the smiling steward.
The steward wrote for a minute or so on a little pad of paper; and then,tearing off a sheet, handed it to Thure. It was the bill for theirbreakfast and read:
4 fried eggs $6.00 1 leg of mutton (with potatoes) 2.25 1 leg of veal (with potatoes) 2.25 2 cups of coffee (with milk) 1.50 Bread (with butter) for two 2.00 2 pieces of pie 1.50 ------ Total $15.50
"Great Moses!" and Thure stared in the utmost astonishment at the pieceof paper he held in his hand, "does this mean that we are to pay FifteenDollars and a Half for what we have just eaten?"
"Yes," smiled the steward, who had evidently been a lawyer before hebecame a steward, "fifteen dollars and fifty cents is all. Eggs andbutter came down a little to-day; and we always give our patrons thebenefit of a fall in prices at once. You will see that your bill iscorrect by glancing at the prices on the bill-of-fare."
Thure transferred his stare, for a moment, to the face of the smilingsteward; and then, picking up the bill-of-fare, he saw that the priceswere correct, and paid the bill.
"I see that you have already found your goldmine," he remarked, as hehanded the cashier the money.
"And without digging in mud and gravel for the gold," the cashierreplied, with a grin and a wink. "But, there is not as much gold in itas you might think. Now, how much do you suppose those eggs cost me adozen?" and he pointed to the egg item on the bill-of-fare.
"Never sold any," smiled back Thure. "We always gave them away."
"Huh! I'll take a car load at that price. Now, them identical eggs thatyou ate this morning cost me at the rate of Thirteen Dollars andSeventy-five cents a dozen, wholesale! I reckon you are new to thediggings, or you would know that prices on everything have gone soaringup like skyrockets," and the cashier, who happened also to be theproprietor, threw up both hands despairingly toward the ceiling. "Say,what do you suppose I have to pay the fellow who washes the dishes?Seventy-five Dollars a week and keep! And the cook, Mother of men! hegets One Hundred and Eighty-five Dollars a week! Got to pay it, orthey'll go to the diggings."
"Excuse me," broke in Bud, who at this moment suddenly thought that noone would be apt to know more about the goings and the comings of theminers, than the hotelkeeper, himself. "But, do you happen to know ofany miners in town who are going to Hangtown? We expect to find our dadsthere; and want to get away from here as soon as we can."
"Now," and the broad forehead wrinkled, "let m
e think. Sure!" and thewrinkles vanished. "Yankee Tom and his company were to start forHangtown this morning; and, I reckon, if you hustle, you can yet get tothem before they start. You see--"
"Where'll we find them?" broke in Thure eagerly. He was too anxious tobe off to care to listen longer to the talkative landlord.
"See that big sycamore over yonder?" and the landlord pointed throughthe open door to where a giant tree lifted its head far above itssurroundings.
"Yes."
"Well, Yankee Tom's camp is under that tree. Just head for that tree,and you will sure hit his camp, if he is still there; but you'd betterhustle," and the landlord turned to attend to other guests.
Thure and Bud at once hurried out to where they had left their horses;and were soon mounted and hastening toward the big tree. Their route,for a short distance, lay through a very busy street, with shops of allkinds and innumerable gambling--and drinking-hells on both sides. Greatcrowds of men were hurrying in and out of these places; and the streetwas so jammed with wagons and horses and mules and oxen and men thatThure and Bud found considerable difficulty in making their way throughit.
"No more hotel eating for me," declared Thure, with a grimace, as theymade their way as speedily as possible through this crowded street. "ADollar and a Half for an Egg! But won't mother's eyes open when shehears that?"
"Well, eggs are not the only things that are high. Just look at thatsign there," and Bud pointed to a large sign in front of one of thestores, on which the storekeeper had recorded the day's bargains. Thesign read:
THE BEST AND THE CHEAPEST PLACE
TO BUY YOUR OUTFITS A FEW OF TO-DAY'S SPECIAL BARGAINS THAT CANT BE BEAT ANYWHERE IN THE CITY
Best flour ten pounds for only $15.00 Rice, five pounds for only 5.00 Potatoes, a heaped-up bushel, only 35.00 Good butter only 2.00 per pound Barley only 1.00 per quart Best white beans only 6.50 Candles only 1.00 each. Best Salaratus only 14.50 per pound Hip boots, warranted waterproof 100.00 Pair of pantaloons, good quality 36.00 Sugar--good--only 2.00 per pound Coffee, five pounds for 9.00 Good picks, shovels, tin-pans at only 57.00 each.
"Whew!" and Thure drew in a long breath, when he had finished readingthe sign. "It's lucky we brought our outfits along with us, or we'd bebankrupt before we could get out of Sacramento City. Well, those pricescertainly prove that the gold is here. Nobody could live if it wasn't.And, when you stop to think that most of the stuff has to be broughtthousands of miles and then packed for some two hundred miles more intoa roadless wilderness, the prices don't look so high--Well, what's therumpus now?" and Thure whirled partly around on his horse to look backto where a huge red-headed man had suddenly jumped up on top of a barrelin front of one of the stores, and was yelling something, just what hecould not understand, and pointing excitedly in his direction.
A sound, like a growl from the throats of a hundred angry wolves, wentup from the surrounding crowd, and a great wave, headed by thered-headed man, rolled threateningly toward the two wondering boys.
"What--what can be the trouble?" and Bud turned an anxious face toThure. "They look mad; and they are coming straight toward us! What canhave happened? Who are they after?" and he looked confusedly around.
"Pull them off their horses!"
"Hang them!"
"The murderers!"
The air was now filled with these and similar dreadful cries and mencame running toward them from all directions; and, before the two boyscould fairly realize what was happening, they found themselves thecenter of a seething crowd of excited and angry men, while a hundredarmed hands were lifted threateningly toward them.
"God in heaven, they are after us!" and Thure, too utterly astounded forthe moment to realize the terrible nature of their situation, staredwildly into the surrounding angry faces. "What--what--"
But, before he could put his stammering dumbfounded query, strong handsseized and jerked him roughly from his horse, while other hands at thesame moment jerked Bud off his horse. One of the men who seized andpulled Thure from his horse was the big red-headed man, who had jumpedup on top of the barrel and who had led the rush against the two boys.The moment Thure looked into his face he started back in horror. The manhad a broken nose!
At this moment and before either boy had collected his startled witssufficiently to even offer a protest or to demand what this rough layingon of hands meant, a big man drove, like a sharpened wedge, through thecrowd, and halted, with a hand tightly gripping the coat collar of eachterrified lad.
"What is the trouble?" he demanded authoritatively. "What have the youngmen done?"
"The sheriff!" yelled someone in the crowd. "It's Turner, the sheriff!"
"Yes, it's Turner, the sheriff," and the man tightened his grips onThure's and Bud's collars. "Hands off. They are my prisoners now," andhe turned a bit impatiently to the men, whose hands still had hold ofthe boys. "Well, what have they done?"
"Murder!" "Murder!" yelled a dozen voices from the crowd.
"Why, they are little more than boys!" and the sheriff turned his eyesin astonished horror on Thure and Bud. "Who accuses them?"
"Me an' my pard do," and the big red-headed man with a broken nose, whohad let go of Thure the moment the sheriff had him safely by the collar,stepped up in front of Turner. "We accuses them of murderin' an' robbin'John Stackpole, an old miner, who was on his way tew San Francisco fromth' diggin's; an' what's more, we saw 'em do it with our own eyes; an'are ready tew swear tew th' same afore any judge an' jury. Ain't weSpike?" and he turned to a small man, with a pockmarked face, who wasstanding close to Bud.
"True as preachin'," declared the small man. "With my own eyes I saw 'emknock th' miner off his hoss with their guns, an' then jump on him, an'run a knife through his heart, an' jerk off his gold-belt, an'--"
"You lie!" and the hard fist of Bud's sturdy right arm landed squarelyon the chin of the man, with such force that he was knocked backward,senseless, into the arms of a man standing behind him. "You andBrokennose killed him yourselves. We--"
"Shut up!" and the sheriff whirled Bud violently around in front of him."Now, young man, another move like that and I will put you in irons.Here, Dave," and he turned to a roughly dressed miner standing near,"just pull their teeth, while I hold them. They're beginning to looksome rambunctuous."
And, indeed, Thure and Bud did look "rambunctuous"; for by now both boyswere beginning to get an inkling of the game that was being played onthem by the two scoundrels. But, what could they do? Everything hadhappened so suddenly and unexpectedly, that they were in the hands ofthe sheriff before either of them had recovered his wits sufficiently toeven open his mouth in protest or defense.
"Quiet, quiet," cautioned the roughly dressed miner, whom the sheriffhad summoned to his aid, in a low voice, as he swiftly pulled the boys'knives and pistols from their belts. "Don't let your tempers git tewbuckin'. You're a sight better off in th' hands of th' sheriff, who willsee that you git a fair trial, than you would be in the hands of themob, who sometimes string a feller up first an' try him afterwards."
Thure and Bud promptly saw the wisdom of this counsel and allowed theminer to disarm them without protest.
"Now, Dave, I'll make you my deputy until this little matter is settled.Bring along the animals and I'll see that these two young--" The sheriffpaused and looked curiously into the faces of Thure and Bud. "I'll behanged, if you look much like murderers!" he declared frankly."Howsomever, I am not the judge; and you can't always tell whether ornot a dog has got fleas by his looks."
"We are innocent, absolutely innocent," began Thure excitedly. "We didnot kill the old miner. We--"
"Save your talk," broke in the sheriff good-naturedly, glancing sharplyinto the boy's face, "for the trial. I'll see that you get a fair
trial;and that's all that I can do. Now, you two men that make this accusationof murder against the prisoners, come along," and he glanced keenly atthe two men.
Brokennose still stood near Thure; and the one called Spike hadrecovered sufficiently from his contact with Bud's fist to stand glaringat Bud, with an ugly scowl on his pock-marked face.
"Where are you goin' tew take 'em?" he demanded. "This ain't no jailcase. We wants them tried immejiate. Thar ain't no need of lawyers an'jedges tew mix things up. We seed 'em kill th' miner, an' are willin'tew swear tew it, an' that otter be enough tew have 'em danglin' bytheir necks inside of half an hour."
"They'll dangle, when they've been proven guilty, according to the lawsof this city; and not before," answered the sheriff dryly. "We'd give adog a fair trial in this town before we'd hang him. Come, you can tellyour stories to the alcalde," and, still keeping a tight grip on thecollars of Thure and Bud, he started down the street toward the officeof the alcalde, before whom all criminal cases were tried, followed byDave, the miner, with the horses of the boys, their two accusers, andthe crowd, which had made no move to dispute the authority of thesheriff, although a little growling had been done. They knew that theywould not have long to wait. California justice in those days in themining towns and camps was sudden.
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