The Cave of Gold

by Everett McNeil

  CHAPTER X

  THE MISSING BUTTON

  "You may step forward and be sworn," and the alcalde turned his shrewdeyes on the pockmarked face of the small man.

  The man stepped quickly forward; but, just before he reached the barrel,a sudden gleam shot into his eyes, which at that moment happened to bebent on the ground and looking at the spot where Thure and Ugger had hadtheir brief but vigorous struggle. The next instant his foot apparentlycaught in a root that protruded above the ground; and he stumbled andfell violently downward, both outstretched hands clutching at theground. As he jumped hastily to his feet, his face very red and hismouth flowing with apologies to the alcalde for his clumsiness, heglanced downward swiftly into one of his hands, and then, with anotherquick gleam of cunning triumph in his eyes, he quickly slipped the handinto one of his pockets, and, taking his place in front of the barrel,faced the alcalde.

  "What is your name and present business?" the alcalde asked, when he hadsworn the witness, in the same manner Ugger had been sworn, to tell thetruth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

  "Spikenard Quinley," the man answered, shifting his eyes quickly fromthe face of the alcalde to the two big revolvers on top of the barrel;"but most of my friends jest call me Spike, for short. I'm bound for th'diggin's, 'long with my pard, Bill Ugger, him who jest testified."

  "Tell the jury all that you know about the case now before it; and makeyour testimony as brief as possible, please," and the alcalde settledback on his rude seat and fixed his eyes on the face of the witness.

  Quinley did not prove to be as dramatic a witness as Ugger had been; buthe told a seemingly straightforward and honest story of how he and hispartner had witnessed the killing of the man supposed to be JohnStackpole, that differed only in the manner of its telling from the onealready told by Ugger, and, consequently, need not be repeated here. He,also, was very positive that the two men, who had jumped up from theprostrate body of the man and had held them up with their rifles, werethe two prisoners; and right here he introduced a bit of newcorroborative evidence in a most effective and dramatic manner.

  He had completed his testimony and had been dismissed by the alcalde andhad started away from the court-barrel, when he suddenly stopped, as ifhe had unexpectedly remembered something that might have a bearing onthe case, and turned to the alcalde.

  "Excuse me, y'ur honor," he said, as he thrust a hand into one of hispockets, the same pocket into which he had thrust the same hand a momentafter his tumble over the root, "but I've jest reckerlected that I'vesumthin' right here in my pocket that might help tew identify theprisoners as the murderers, an' ag'in it might not--not that me and Billneeds any more identifin', but, naterly, you, not seem' 'em kill th'man, ain't so sart'in an' wants all th' proof that you can git tew showthat you shore have got the right party; an' so, if y'ur honor don'tobject, I've got a leetle sumthin' more that I'd like tew introduce astestimony, that might, an' ag'in it might not, help tew make th'identity of th' prisoners more shore," and he paused, still keeping hishand in his pocket.

  "This court is always ready to hear any testimony that has any bearingon the case before it," the alcalde said. "Take your place again on thewitness stand," and he nodded toward the barrel.

  Quinley at once returned to his place in front of the barrel.

  "Now, remembering that you are still under oath to tell God's truth, youmay introduce your evidence," and the alcalde half-arose from his seatin his anxiety to see what this new evidence might be.

  "Of course, I'm none shore that it belongs tew either of th' prisoners,"Quinley began. "It might have come from th' clothes of th' murdered man,an' ag'in it might have come from th' clothes of th' prisoners, an'ag'in th' prisoners might not have on th' same clothes tew-day that theydid when they killed th' man, an' so it might prove nuthin'; but, rightwhar th' grass was tread up th' worst on th' spot whar we saw th' mankilled, I found this--" and the hand came out of the pocket and wasextended toward the alcalde, holding on its palm a button. "Now I'dplumb forgot all about th' findin' of this button, not settin' any storeon it, when, jest as I was a-leavin' th' witness stand, th' thoughtpopped intew my head, that, if th' prisoners happened tew have on th'same clothes they had on when they murdered the man an' th' button camefrom their clothes, then I had in my pocket important evidence, 'causeth' button is a peekuler lookin' button, an', I reckon, thar must bemore buttons like it on th' clothes whar it come from. I asks that th'clothes of th' prisoners be examined tew see if either on 'em hasbuttons on like this," and he handed the button to the alcalde.

  The alcalde took the button and sat for a moment staring at it as it layon the palm of his hand--a small thing, but it might help to weave therope that would hang two human beings!

  "Git a-goin'," shouted someone impatiently from the surrounding crowd,"an' see if either of th' prisoners has got any buttons on his clotheslike that you're a-holdin' in y'ur hand. If he has, I reckon, thar won'tbe any need of takin' any more testimonies."

  A dozen voices shouted their approval of this statement. Evidently thesympathies of the crowd were being fast turned from Thure and Bud.

  The alcalde arose slowly to his feet.

  "This court," he said sternly, "is here to see that the prisoners aregiven a fair trial, guilty or not guilty; and judgment shall not bepronounced until the case has been fairly tried and their innocence ortheir guilt fully established. This cannot be done until the prisonersthemselves have been heard in their own defense. Let us hear no moretalk of mob judgment and mob execution. The court will pronouncejudgment, and the court will see that its judgment is promptly executed,to the full satisfaction of every honest law-abiding man in the city."He paused for a moment, while his keen eyes sternly searched the facesof the surrounding crowd. There was no response to his words andchallenging glance.

  "This button," he continued quietly, holding up the button that Quinleyhad handed him where all could see it, "the witness swears was picked upby himself from the ground, where the struggle between the murdered manand his murderers took place, and is presumed to have come either fromthe clothing of the murdered man or from the clothing of his murderers;and the witness asks that the clothing of the two prisoners be examinedto see if like buttons can be found on their clothing. The contentionsof the witness, regarding the value of this button as evidence in thecase before us, are just. Therefore his request is granted and theprisoners are ordered to be examined. Young man," and he turned to Bud,"you will please come forward; and allow the gentlemen of the jury tocompare this button with the buttons on your clothing," and he handedthe button he held in his hand to the foreman of the jury.

  The production of this button by Quinley was a surprise to Thure andBud. If it should prove to have come from the clothing of one of them,it certainly would look suspicious; but, how could it have come fromtheir clothes, at least from the clothes they now had on, since neitherof them were now wearing the same garments that they had worn on the dayof the hunt, when they had found the murdered miner? Consequently theintroducing of the button as evidence by Quinley had caused both of themmore surprise than it had uneasiness, surprise that Quinley should careto introduce such meaningless evidence as he must know the button to be,since the examination of their clothing could only prove that the buttonbelonged to neither of them. The episode of Quinley's stumble, in theexcitement of the trial, had passed from both of their minds, as,doubtless, it had from the minds of all the others; but, even if theyhad remembered it, they would not have thought of connecting it in anyway with the finding of the button. Hence Bud, at the summons of thealcalde, had stepped forward promptly and confidently.

  "We find two buttons missing from the prisoner's coat," announced theforeman of the jury, when the examination of Bud had been completed."But, since the button offered in evidence bears no resemblance indesign or size to the buttons remaining on the coat, we declare that sofar as this prisoner is concerned the button in question provesnothing."

  "You may return to your place
by the side of the sheriff," and thealcalde gave an almost audible sigh of relief, while something very nearlike a cheer came from the crowd. It was hard to look into those twoyoung clear-eyed faces and believe that they masked the hearts ofmurderers.

  Bud hurried back to his place by the side of the sheriff, with the firstsmile on his lips that had so far brightened his face during the trial.

  "Now," and the alcalde turned to Thure, "let the jury compare the buttonwith the buttons on your clothing," and the anxious look came back onhis face.

  Thure, with the same promptness and confidence that Bud had displayed,advanced and submitted to the examination; but, hardly had he reachedthe foreman of the jury, when the excited actions of the jurymen toldall that an important discovery of some kind had been made; and theirreport was awaited with almost breathless interest.

  "We find," began the foreman, speaking slowly, after every man on thejury had carefully compared the button Quinley had handed to the alcaldewith the buttons on Thure's coat, "one button missing from theprisoner's coat." He paused a moment, and then continued, raising hisvoice a little: "We also find that the button handed to the alcalde bythe witness, Spikenard Quinley, and said to have been found by him onthe spot of ground where the struggle took place between the murderedman and his murderers, to be exactly similar in design, size, and shapeto the remaining buttons on the prisoner's coat, and that it appears tobe the missing button."

  "But--but," stammered Thure, his face white and tense with excitement,"that button, if it came from my clothes, could not have been found onthe ground where the miner was murdered. Why, I did not even have on thesame clothes that day that I have on now--"

  "What!" and the alcalde jumped to his feet, his face white and stern,while again that deep-throated growl went up from the crowd, "What doyou mean by 'that day?' Do you realize that your expression amountsalmost to a confession of guilt?"

  "No," and Thure turned firmly to the alcalde. By a desperate effort hehad recovered his self-control. "It means, if that button was found onthe spot where the miner was murdered, that it did not come from myclothes; for I did not have on the same clothes on the day we found thewounded miner that I have on now. The button, if it came from myclothes, and I confess that it looks as if it did, must have been got bythat man in some other way," and Thure's eyes flashed wrathfully in thedirection of Quinley, who grinned and touched his neck suggestively.

  A hoarse laugh, that had no sound of mirth in it, came from thesurrounding crowd, at this improbable explanation of Thure, anexplanation that strengthened rather than weakened their belief in thetestimony of Quinley; but a look of relief, as well as of surprise, cameon the face of the alcalde.

  "Ah, I forgot. We have not yet heard your story. You say that you foundthe miner, John Stackpole, found him wounded?" he asked eagerly. "Thenhe is still alive?"

  "Yes, we found him," Thure answered slowly, "found him in the hands ofhis murderers, but not in time to save him. He died before we could gethim home."

  "Died! And in your hands!" and again the alcalde's face grew stern, andagain that hoarse unbelieving laugh came from the crowd. "Young man, doyou realize that you are telling a very improbable-sounding story? But,"and the alcalde resumed his judicial gravity of countenance, "I amforgetting that you are not on the witness stand. The button, it appearsthen, came from the prisoner's coat," and he turned to the foreman ofthe jury.

  "It does," answered the foreman gravely.

  "The prisoner may return to his place by the side of the sheriff. Now,"and the alcalde's eyes searched the surrounding faces, "is there anyoneelse present who has any testimony to give against the prisoners now ontrial before this court for the murder of John Stackpole?" and hepaused, to give anyone who wished to do so time to come forward.

  "I reckon the testimony is plenty sufficient as it now stands," and ahuge brutal-looking man pushed his way through the crowd and faced thealcalde. "Haven't two reputable witnesses sworn that they saw theprisoners kill the man? Didn't one of them find a buttom that has beenproven to belong to the coat of one of the prisoners on the very spotwhere the man was killed? And what can be offered in disproof of allthis? Nothing but the word of the prisoners themselves, who certainlywould lie to save their necks, if they would kill a man to get his gold.I move," and he whirled about and faced the crowd, now muttering andgrowling like a huge beast, "that the jury be instructed to render theirverdict now, so that we can hang them two young devils and get about ourbusiness. All in favor--"

  "Wait!" The alcalde's voice rang out clear and imperative; and, as hespoke, he stepped out in front of the barrel, one of the big revolversheld in each hand. "Before you put your motion I have a few words tosay; and, after I have said my few words, you can put your motion; andwe will see whether the men of Sacramento City stand for law and justiceor for mob brutality."

  "Hear! Hear!" shouted a number of voices. "The alcalde shall be heard!"

  "Men," continued the alcalde, his voice ringing with intenseearnestness, "I stand not here to plead for mercy in behalf of these twoyoung men, although their youth might almost justify such a plea. I amhere to demand justice. If this court, after fair trial shall find themguilty of the brutal murder charged against them, then, in the name ofthe same justice that I now invoke to protect them, they must hang; for,in a community situated as we are, self-protection compels us to dealwith murderers with stern and relentless hands. But--Hear my words!--theprisoners have not yet been proven guilty before this court. They havenot yet had fair trial. They have not yet even been heard in their owndefense. When I took my oath of office to serve you as alcalde, thatoath, the oath you yourselves compelled me to swear, bound me to seethat every prisoner brought before me had fair and speedy trial. I meantto keep that oath then; and, by the Eternal Andrew Jackson! I mean tokeep it now, if need be with my life. Now, you can put your motion,"and, with a couple of quick strides, the alcalde placed himself by theside of the sheriff, near the two prisoners, the two big revolvers heldready for instant use. He knew that the only way to check mob violencewas to stop it before it gathered momentum.

  "Give the prisoners justice!" "They shall have justice!" "Hurrah, forthe alcalde!" shouted a hundred voices; and stern-faced men pushedthemselves through the crowd from every direction and formed a cordonaround the prisoners and the court.

  "Go on with the trial. We will see that the court is sustained," and aman stepped out from the surrounding cordon and bowed to the alcalde.

  The mutterings and growlings suddenly ceased. The huge brutal-lookingman slunk back into the crowd, his motion unput.

  In the midst of these exciting moments, when the attention of all wasconcentrated on the alcalde, Bud suddenly felt a hand thrust somethinginto his hand from behind. He turned quickly. Bill Ugger stood not fourfeet behind him.

  "Read," and Ugger moved a couple of steps back and to one side.

  Bud glanced down at his hand and saw that he held a bit of folded paper.Hastily, yet cautiously, he unfolded it and read these words scrawled onit with a lead pencil:

  Me and Spike kan yit save you. Give up the miners map and promis to tell nobudy of the kave of gold and we wil git you free. Refuse and we wil let you hang and then git the map off yur ded bodies we wil git the map anyway so whats the use of given up yur lives. Weve got things fixed so that you kant eskape the rope unles we save you so you've got to give us the map or hang. Make yur own choice taint our funrel.

  If you agrees nod yur hed 2 times to Spike and you wil be free in less than 10 minits.

  Bud read these words through slowly; and then, moving up close to Thure,he passed the paper to him.

  "Read it," he said, fixing his eyes anxiously on his comrade's face.

  By this time both boys saw plainly how strong was the web of evidencethat the two villains had so cunningly succeeded in throwing aroundthem; and how completely they appeared to have them in their power. Andwhat could they do or say to disprove their testimony? Their own tale,l
ooked at in the light of the evidence of the two men, would seemimprobable, would sound like a tale made up to fit the occasion. Andthey could not bring forward a single witness to prove its truthfulness!No wonder the unfortunate boys were tempted to give up the skin map; forwhat is gold, when weighed in the balance against life?

  Thure read the note; and then turned to Bud, his face white and hisheart throbbing with anxiety.

  "What shall our answer be?" he asked in a whisper. "I hate like sin togive up the skin map to them two scoundrels; but, I reckon, our fathersand mothers would rather have our lives than the gold. But," and hisface brightened a little, "we have not yet given our testimony. I reckonwe had better wait until we see how the alcalde and the jury take ourstories before giving up the map."

  "Yes," agreed Bud, his own face brightening at the thought of puttingoff the surrender a little longer, "we will wait and see what effect ourtestimony has. But, I guess you are right, if it comes to hanging," andhe shuddered, "or giving up the map, we'll have to give up the map. Butwe won't give up until we've got to," and his face hardened. "Who'd athought them two scoundrels could get us in such a terrible fix!" and heglared wrathfully in the direction of the two men, who now stood closetogether regarding Thure and Bud with furtive but anxious eyes.

  "Now to give them two skunks their answer," and Thure, holding the paperout where the two men could see it, deliberately tore it to pieces and,turning his back scornfully to them, gave his attention to the doings ofthe court.