The Cave of Gold
Page 15
CHAPTER XII
HAMMER JONES
The jurymen at once gathered about the foreman; but the consultation wasbrief. In less than ten minutes the foreman signified that the verdictwas ready.
"Sheriff," the alcalde's lips were tight-drawn and his face whitened ashe spoke, "bring the prisoners forward to hear the verdict of the jury."
The jury now stood together in line, on the right of the alcalde. Theforeman stood a pace in front of this line.
The sheriff led Thure and Bud directly up in front of the line andwithin a couple of paces of the foreman; and there he halted theprisoners to await the giving of the verdict.
For a minute there was absolute silence, as the prisoners stood thusbefore the jury. The surrounding crowd forgot to breathe. It seemed, fora moment, as if the alcalde could not ask the fateful questions; but, atlast, his tight-drawn lips parted.
"Gentlemen of the jury, are you ready to render your verdict?" he asked.
"We are ready," answered the foreman.
"Gentlemen of the jury, you may state your verdict."
The foreman's eyes faltered and turned from the faces of the prisoners.
"Guilty of the crime as charged," he said, and closed his lips tightly,and turned his head away.
The great crowd breathed again; and an ominous, deep-toned, shudderingmurmur arose from its depths, as all eyes turned toward the alcalde. Itnow became his duty to sentence the prisoners; and, in accordance withthe verdict just rendered, he could pronounce but one sentence--hanging.
For a full minute the alcalde stood straight and silent. He realized toits full the awful irrevocableness of the sentence he was about topronounce, and a shuddering horror shook his soul. Never before had hefelt like this when pronouncing a similar sentence. The sight of thosetwo, white, staring, boyish faces had unmanned him--yet he must do hisduty.
"Thure Conroyal, Bud Randolph--" His voice was clear and firm and theeyes he turned on the prisoners stern and steady--"a just and impartialjury have found you guilty of the horrible crime of murder; and it nowbecomes my awful duty to pronounce your sentence. Stand forth andreceive your sentence."
As Thure and Bud turned their white faces toward the alcalde and steppedforth to receive their sentence, a man, almost a giant in size, who hadjust pushed himself through the crowd to the inner edge of the circle,uttered an exclamation of surprise and horror; and, the next instant, hehad flung the men still standing between him and the open space aroundthe alcalde and the prisoners violently to one side, and, almost in abound, had reached the side of the alcalde.
"Great God in heaven, alcalde!" he roared. "What does this mean?" and hestared from the face of the alcalde to the faces of the two boys, intowhose dulled eyes had suddenly leaped a great light at the sight of thebig man.
"Murder and hanging," answered the alcalde sternly. "The prisoners havehad a fair trial; the jury have pronounced them guilty; and I am aboutto sentence them to be hanged."
"Murder! Hanged!" and the utter, unbelieving astonishment on the face ofthe big man was good to see.
"It's a lie, a lie! We never killed the man! Oh, Ham, we never killedthe man! You, surely, will believe us!" and Thure and Bud both, withfaces white with excitement and hope, sprang eagerly to the side of thebig fellow.
"Shut up! Stand back!" and he pushed the boys away. "See here," and heswung around in front of the alcalde, "you know me; an' you know I'dnever try tew save th' neck of no criminal. But I know them boys, knowtheir dads an' mas; an' I know they never committed no murder. Who seen'em dew it? Whar are th' witnesses?" and his eyes glared around thecircle of tense faces.
"There they stand, Ham," and the alcalde pointed to the three witnesses,who at the sudden appearance of Hammer Jones, the big friend of the twoboys, had involuntarily come together, as if for mutual defense; "andeach one of the three swore positively that he saw the boys kill theman."
"Huh!" and, almost in a stride, Hammer Jones stood directly in front ofBill Ugger; and, the instant his eyes looked closely into the face ofthe man, his own face went white with wrath.
"Hello, Greaser Smith!" and the great hand fell on the shrinkingshoulder and gripped the coat collar tightly. "So you're one of th'skunks that's a-tryin' tew git them tew boys hanged, be you? Rekerlectthat time down in Sante Fe, when you was a-goin' tew skin a niggeralive, an' wanted tew kill tew boys for interferin'? Still up tew yurboyish tricks, I see. Wal, I've still got th' same big foot that kickedyou intew th' mudpuddle; an' th' same big fist that smashed that nose ofyourn when you was a-tryin' tew kiss a Mexican gal against her will. An'now you're a-tryin' tew have tew innocent boys hanged for a murder thatyou probably did yurself," and Ham's eyes flamed. "You cowardly skunk!"and, suddenly letting go of the coat collar, he took a quick stepbackward, and swung up his great fist with all the strength of hispowerful right arm, striking the man squarely under the chin. The forceof the blow lifted Ugger, alias Greaser Smith, off his feet and hurledhim to the ground as senseless as a log.
"Now, we'll have a look at th' other witnesses," and Ham turned to thecringing Quinley.
"Never seed you afore," he declared, as he looked into the pock-markedface of the trembling man, whose terrified eyes were fixed on the hugefist that had so summarily dealt with his big partner. "Wal, you are alikely lookin' cuss tew be th' side partner of Greaser Smith. I reckonyou tew pull tewgether like tew mules. I'll have sumthin' special tewsay tew you 'bout this case, when I see who t'other witness is," and heturned to the man with the broken arm, who had been looking excitedlyaround, as if he were searching for an opening in the crowd throughwhich to escape and who now stood with his back toward Hammer Jones.
"Here, you," and Ham caught him by the shoulder and whirled him around,"jest give me a sight of yur mug--wal, I'll be durned, if 'tain'tSkoonly!" and Ham's eyes widened with surprise and the angry glint inthem deepened, while the man under the grip of his big hand shook as ifhe had an ague fit. "Here's matter for the alcalde. Come," and hestarted toward the alcalde, dragging the man along with him.
So sudden had been Ham's appearance and so swift and unexpected were hisactions, that, at first, the great surrounding crowd had stood andstared at him in astonishment, making no move; but, by now, they werebeginning to wake up to the fact that here was a man evidently bent ondefeating the ends of justice; and an angry growl, the growl of a mob, asound once heard that is never forgotten, rolled out from its midst. Butthere were many men in that crowd who knew Hammer Jones, who had huntedand trapped and fought Indians with him, who had seen him risk his lifefearlessly to save a comrade's life, and who never yet had known him todo a dishonorable deed; and these men knew, that, if Hammer Jones saidthat the prisoners were innocent, he had good reasons for saying it, andthey were ready to see that he had a chance to prove his statement; andcries of: "Hurrah for Ham Jones!" "Give him a chance to prove what hesays!" "Hear! Hear! Hear! Ham Jones!" "He shall be heard!" mingled withyells of: "String him up along with the boys!" "Bust his head!" "He'strying to rescue the murderers!" and like cries of rage at thisunexpected interference.
But, before these two opposing forces could come to a clash, a tallspare man, whose deep-set eyes, keen and piercing as a hawk's, shone outof a weather-bronzed face, pushed himself hurriedly through the crowdthat was beginning to seethe around the open court-room beneath thegreat evergreen oak, and hastened to the side of the alcalde.
"What is the trouble?" he demanded in a quiet authoritative tone ofvoice.
The alcalde welcomed him with a glad smile of recognition; and, asbriefly as possible, told him what had occurred.
The man turned quickly and the keen eyes glanced, with a violent startof recognition, for a moment into the faces of the two boys.
"My God, alcalde!" and he whirled about in front of the surprisedalcalde, "you were about to make a terrible mistake! I know these boyswell; and I know they never murdered a man.
"Men! Men! Hear me!" and he leaped lightly up on top of the barrel thatstood in front of the alcalde,
his singularly clear and penetratingvoice reaching every ear in the crowd. "Men! Men! Hear me! A terriblemistake has--"
"It's Fremont!" shouted someone. "Hurrah for Colonel Fremont! The manwho licked the Mexicans! The man who won California for us! Hurrah forColonel Fremont!"
The name acted like magic in quieting the fast-growing turbulence of thecrowd. There was not a man present who had not heard of the dauntlessyoung explorer, the bold soldier, the recent conqueror of California, towhom more than to any other one man they owed the fact that thegold-diggings were in the territory of the United States; and all wishedto see this remarkable man, all were ready to hear what he had to say.As suddenly as it had begun, the violence of the crowd ceased and alleyes were turned toward Fremont.
"Go ahead, Colonel!" shouted a rough voice. "Thar's enough of y'ur oldmen here tew see that you git a fair hearin'."
"Thank you, gentlemen," and Fremont bowed. "The alcalde tells me," hecontinued, after a moment's pause, "that you have tried those two boys,"and he pointed to Thure and Bud, "for murder, have found them guilty,and were about to hang them. I know these two young men, your prisoners,well. I know their fathers, their brothers, have known them for years;and so sure am I that you have made a terrible mistake, that I am ready,personally, to stand accountable for them until their innocence has beenproven to your complete satisfaction."
"But, three men swore that they saw the prisoners kill the man,Colonel!" called someone from the crowd. "This has been no mob trial;but a regular court trial by jury; and the jury found them guilty,unanimous."
"Where are those witnesses? Let us have a look at them?" demandedFremont.
"Here's one on 'em, Colonel," and the huge frame of Hammer Jones loomedup in front of Fremont, with the trembling Skoonly still in the grip ofhis right hand. "I swun, but I am glad tew see you right now," andquickly shifting Skoonly to his left hand, he extended his right toFremont.
"Ham, Hammer Jones!" and Fremont gripped the extended hand with gladcordiality. "It's like old times to see your face again. But this is notime for idle talk," and his fine face hardened. "So that is one of thewitnesses against Thure and Bud," and his piercing eyes lookedsearchingly into the face of Skoonly. "What did he swear to?" andFremont turned quickly to the alcalde.
"He swore," answered the alcalde, "that he saw the prisoners kill theman three days ago in the Sacramento Valley--"
"Three days ago!" snorted Ham wrathfully. "He saw th' prisoners kill aman three days ago in th' Sacermento Valley! Not unless he's got adouble-barreled long-shot gun ahind him that can shoot his body cleanfrom Hangtown tew th' Sacermento Valley in less time than I could take achaw of ter-backer; for three days ago I seen this identickle man,Skoonly, run out of Hangtown for tryin' tew steal th' gold-dust of asick miner. S'cuse me for interrupting" and Ham turned his eyes, stillglinting with his honest wrath, to the alcalde.
"What!" and the alcalde's eyes brightened and his whole face lightened,as if a great load had been suddenly lifted off his soul. "You saw thisman run out of Hangtown three days ago! The very time that he swore hewas on his way from San Francisco to the diggings! The very day that heswore he saw the prisoners kill the miner in the Sacramento Valley!"
"Right. He sart'in was in Hangtown three days ago. I reckon I otterknow, seein' I was one on 'em tew help run him out. Ay, Skoonly," andHam jerked the cringing man around in front of the alcalde. "Now, whatmight be th' trouble with that arm?" and he glared down at the bandagedarm of Skoonly, who had submitted to all these indignities, almostwithout a protest. He knew Hammer Jones.
"He said," answered the alcalde, "that his horse threw him and broke hisarm a little while before he saw the murder committed and that that waswhy he had not gone to the help of the miner."
"Huh!" and again Ham snorted scornfully, then a sudden gleam came intohis eyes, and he turned quickly to the alcalde. "Supposing" he grinned,"you have that broken arm investigated. 'Twouldn't s'prise me none tewfind it a durned good arm yit."
"Good!" and the alcalde smiled. "Skoonly can't object, because it willbe a strong point in his favor, if we find the arm really broken."
"But I do object," protested Skoonly emphatically, his face becominglivid. "Th' pain'll be sumthin' awful; an' doc said that it mustn't betaken out of the splints for a month on no account."
"Objection overruled," declared the alcalde, who had been watching theman's face. "Here," and he turned to the foreman of the jury, "thisappears like a proper point for you to investigate. I'll turn him overto you. Be careful and not hurt the arm any more than you are compelledto," and he smiled.
The crowd, which by this time had formed a close and deeply interestedcircle around the dramatic characters in the little drama that was herebeing enacted, watched with tense and grim faces, the foreman, aided bya couple of his fellow jurymen, slowly unwind the bandages fromSkoonly's arm. If they had been fooled, if they had been led by falsetestimony almost to hang two innocent men, nay, boys, their wrathagainst the false accusers would be sudden and terrible.
Skoonly yelled and squirmed, when they began unwinding the bandages fromhis arm, as if the action caused him the most intense pain, and beggedthem to stop, while his face grew so white that even Ham himself beganto fear that the arm, at least, bore no false testimony; but theunwinding went steadily on.
And, lo and behold! when the last bandage was off, there lay the arm,sound of bone, and without even a bruise or discoloration along itswhole length!
"Wal, I'll be durned! Jest as I thought! The cur! An' that is th' kindof evidence you was a-go-in' tew hang them boys on!" and Ham's angryeyes swept the circle of surrounding faces.
A murmur, that swiftly swelled into a roar of hundreds of angry voices,broke from the surrounding crowd, when Ham's testimony and the result ofthe examination of Skoonly's bandaged arm became known.
"A rope! Get a rope! Hang him!" yelled a hoarse voice; and the cry wastaken up by hundreds of voices; and the jam of enraged men pressedcloser and closer to the cowering man, whose face grew livid with fear,as he glared wildly around, seeking some means of escape. But there wasnone; and despair and a great dread, the dread of a sudden and frightfuldeath, took possession of his soul.
"Save me! Save me!" he yelled, throwing himself at Fremont's feet. "Idid not mean tew git th' boys hanged. They, Bill an' Spike, told me'twas jest tew scare them. They was a-tryin' tew frighten th' boys intewdoin' sumthin' for them--Oh-h-h, don't let them git me! Save me!" and heclutched Fremont's legs with both his quivering hands, as the roar ofthe crowd became louder and more threatening.
"Quick," and Fremont bent over him, "will you tell all, all that youknow of this horrible affair, if we will save your neck?"
"Yes! Yes!" eagerly agreed the terror-stricken man. "I'll tellever'thing! Afore God I'll tell ever'thing! It's Bill an' Spike who isresponsible, not me. It's them you want."
"Men," and Fremont again leaped up on top of the barrel, both handsoutstretched for silence. "Listen, men, listen!"
For a minute the roar of the crowd continued, and then swiftly subsided,as all eyes caught sight of the tall figure of Fremont standing on thebarrel top.
"Make your words few and to the point, Colonel. This is no time forspeech-making," warned a voice from the crowd. "We want to get hold ofthe skunk who was willing to falsely swear away the lives of two boys."
"My words will be few and to the point," Fremont began, his clearpenetrating voice reaching every ear in the crowd. "Skoonly will confesseverything, if you will spare his neck. He appears to have been but thetool of the other two men; and we will need his testimony to make out acase against them and to prove to the satisfaction of all, the innocenceof the two boys. Under these circumstances, it would seem to be best toallow him to go free, providing he makes a clean breast of everything heknows concerning this case."
"And further providin'," supplemented Ham, "that he be warned neverag'in tew show his cowardly face in Sacermento City or any minin'-campin Calaforny, under penalty of instant hangin'."
Growlingly, like a hungry dog driven from a bone, the crowd at lengthagreed to this disposal of Skoonly; and the wretched man, with muchfaltering and many terrified glances around the enclosing circle of grimfaces, told how, for a thousand dollars in gold-dust, he had agreed tohelp Quinley and Ugger out with his testimony, if they needed it; how heand the two scoundrels had planned out the whole thing the night beforeand were on the lookout for the boys that morning; how he had remainedin a near-by saloon, with his manufactured broken arm all ready, waitingfor a summons from the two men; and how, at last, the summons had comeand he had given in his testimony, according to agreement. He declaredthat the two men had told him that they only wished to frighten the twoboys into giving up something, he did not know what, that reallybelonged to them, and had assured him there would be no danger ofgetting the boys hanged, that they would be sure to yield before it gotto that point. About the murder of the miner he knew nothing, exceptthat Spike Quinley and Bill Ugger had told him that they had killed theman themselves, and had showed him the money-belt, still heavy withgold-dust, that they had taken from him--
"Great guns!" broke in Ham excitedly, at this moment, "if we ain't plumforgot them tew villains," and he made a mad break through the crowd inthe direction of the spot where he had left Quinley and Ugger.
In an instant the wildest excitement prevailed; and hundreds of men wererushing about excitedly, looking for the two scoundrels. But Quinley andUgger were wise in their wickedness, and seeing, with fear-enlightenedeyes, the results of the advent of Hammer Jones and Colonel Fremont, hadtaken advantage of the excitement attending the examination of Skoonly,to disappear so suddenly and completely, that, although Sacramento Citywas searched all that day and that night, as with a fine-toothed comb,not a sign nor hair of either man could be found; and the enraged crowdhad to be satisfied with giving Skoonly the promised "hoss-licken," andrunning him out of town the next morning, with a warning never to showhis cowardly face on their streets again, unless he was looking for thejob of dancing the hangman's hornpipe at the end of a rope.
The excitement and the confusion and the swift scattering of the crowd,attending the search for the two scoundrels, of course ended the trialof Thure Conroyal and Bud Randolph for the murder of John Stackpole; andthey stood free and worthy men in the sight of all people once more--andwith the skin map still in their possession.
"Great Moses! but I was glad to see you, Ham!" declared Thure, as hegripped his big friend's hand, after some of the excitement had quieteddown.
"Glad! Glad is no name for my feelings, when I saw your great body loomup by the side of the alcalde," and Bud gripped his other hand.
"I reckon you was some pleased tew see me," grinned back Ham, "both onyou," and the hearty grip of his big hands made both boys wince.
"Colonel, Colonel Fremont!" and Thure broke away from Ham's hand to rushup to Fremont, who was talking with the alcalde. "I--we can never thankyou enough for coming so splendidly to our help."
"Then do not try," smiled back Fremont. "My boy," and he gripped Thure'shand, as his face sobered, "I have not forgotten a certain night, somethree years ago, near the shores of Lake Klamath, when an Indian stoodwith bow bended and arrow aimed at my breast; nor the skill andquickness of the boy, whose bullet struck and killed the Indian beforehis fingers could loose the arrow.[2] I fancy that I have not yetdischarged my full debt to that boy."
[Footnote 2: A full account of this incident, the saving of Fremont'slife by Thure, is given in the preceding book of this series, _Fightingwith Fremont_.]
"That--that was nothing," stammered Thure, his face flushing withpleasure to think that Fremont still remembered the incident. "Butthis--Think of the terrible death you helped save us from!" and Thureshuddered.
"Yes, it was terrible," and Fremont's eyes rested kindly on the face ofthe boy, "but, think no more about it now," he added quickly, as he sawhow swiftly the color had fled from his face at the thought of thedreadful peril he had just escaped. "Come," and he turned briskly toHam, "I wish you, and the two boys, and the alcalde, if he will do usthe honor, to dine with me. I have an hour at my disposal before I mustleave the city; and I know of no better way of spending it than in yourcompany. Besides, I am hungry, and I am sure you are, also, after allthis excitement, now happily over. So, fall in," and he smiled, as hegave the once familiar command.
The alcalde begged to be excused, on account of other matters thatdemanded his immediate attention; but Ham and the two boys, withanswering-smiles on their faces, "fell in"; and, under the command ofFremont, charged down on the City Hotel, where their generous hostentertained them lavishly on the costly viands of that expensivehostelry, while he and Ham talked of old times, of the perils andhardships and joys they had shared on those wonderful exploringexpeditions that had brought a world-wide fame to the then younglieutenant, and the two delighted boys listened, until it became timefor Colonel Fremont to go.
"Our dads will never forget what you have done for us, Colonel," Thuresaid, as he grasped Fremont's hand in farewell.
"I may soon put them to the test," smiled back Fremont, "by giving theman opportunity to vote for me, when we get our state govermentorganized."
"You sure can count on all our votes," declared Thure eagerly; "that is,as soon as Bud and I are old enough to vote."
"Thank you," laughed Fremont, and added quickly, his face sobering. "Andit is an honor to any man to receive the votes of men like your fathersand Ham here and you two boys, even in prospect, an honor, that, believeme, I appreciate," and the light in his forceful eyes deepened, as if hewere seeing visions of the future. "But, I must be off. Remember me toyour fathers and to all the others," and he sprang lightly on to theback of his horse, near which he had been standing during these words,and galloped off down the street toward the ferry.