CHAPTER XVII
CORNERED BY A BEAR
The boys passed a dreary, miserable night. There was a heavy dew, andthey were wet, almost as if by a rain. Their fire went out, for in thedarkness they could not find wood enough to keep it going.
How glad they were when morning came! The sun warmed them, and took thestiffness from their limbs.
"Oh, for something to eat!" cried Will.
"Same here," replied Jed. "But, listen! What's that?"
"Sounds like water running. Queer we didn't hear it before."
"We were too excited, I guess. There must be a stream around here, andmaybe there are fish in it."
They found just below where they had spent the night a swift mountainstream foaming along over a rocky bed. Jed and Will had not gotten overthe habit, formed while on the farm, of carrying hooks and lines intheir pockets. It was short work to cut poles, adjust their tackle, and,with bait of worms, dug with their pocket knives, they were soon castingin. The fish of that stream must have been very hungry, for they tookthe bait at once, and soon the lads had several beauties. These theycleaned, and broiled by holding them in front of the fire on sharpsticks.
"They'd be better if we had salt," said Will.
"Use gunpowder," suggested Jed, and they did not find it a badsubstitute, when they had taken some of the black grains from acartridge, for salt-peter is the principal ingredient of some powders,and it is very salty.
"Now suppose we get back to camp," suggested Will, after their simplebreakfast. "I suppose Gabe is back by this time, thinking how foolish wewere to disobey him."
"Well, we did it for the best," said Jed. "He can't blame us."
"Of course not. Do you think we can find the way back?"
Jed did not answer. He was looking about him. They were on a totallyunfamiliar trail, and he did not know which way to go. He admitted asmuch to his brother.
"But we came up the mountain," said Will, "and naturally, to get to campwe ought to go down. That's easy."
"Yes, it's easy enough to go down the slope, but where will we come out?I'm in favor of going up."
"What for?"
"Well, the higher we go the better view we'll have. Then we can size upthe country, and decide which way we'd better travel. No use simplygoing down, for we may come out miles and miles from our camp."
Will agreed in this view, and the boys started up the trail again. Butluck was against them. They did not know it, but they were on one of thewildest mountain ranges in that section of the country. Many travelershad been lost on it, for the trails, made by wild animals, wereconfusing, and there were a number of them.
"We don't seem to be getting anywhere," said Will, at length.
"That's so," admitted Jed. "I'm hungry; aren't you? Those fish weren'tvery filling."
"No, indeed, but I don't see how we're going to get anything to eat."
For several hours more the boys wandered on. They were tired, and theirstomachs craved more food. They saw no game, or they might have providedthemselves with food, and they came across no more streams from whencethey could take fish. They were in a sad plight, for night was comingon, and they were farther than ever from camp--lost in the mountains.
As Jed, who was in the lead, was turning around a big rock, that markeda shift in the trail, he uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"What's the matter?" asked Will eagerly. "See anything to eat?"
"No; but I see a good place to stay to-night. Here's a big cave."
Before them, opening off from the trail, was the mouth of a largecavern. It looked inviting, after their night spent in the open, withthe heavy dews soaking them through.
"That's the stuff!" exclaimed Will. "Now if we only had something toeat!"
"Maybe we will strike another stream around----" began Jed, when hiswords were suddenly interrupted by a whirr of wings.
"Partridges!" exclaimed Will, as a number of birds flew up from thebushes in front of them.
"I don't know whether they're partridges or not," said Jed, "but theylook good to eat. Got any shot cartridges?"
Will had some, and Jed, inserting one in his rifle, which in anemergency would shoot those shells, hurried forward. He was lucky enoughto kill a couple of the birds, and in a short time the two hungry ladswere roasting them over a fire they quickly kindled at the mouth of thecave.
As they intended to spend the night in the cavern they decided toexplore it a bit, and, taking several torches, which they made fromwhite birch bark, that is most excellent for that purpose, they setforward. They found the cave was a large one, and, having selected asecluded place, that was nice and dry, and far enough away from theentrance to insure of their being warm, they stretched out, and went tosleep, for they were utterly tired out with the day's fruitless tramp.
"Hello, it's morning!" suddenly announced Jed, as he awoke and looked athis watch, by the light of a match. "It's seven o'clock. Get up, Will."
"Oh, I'm as stiff as a man with the rheumatism. How are you?"
"Well, I have felt better."
"Morning? Did you say it was morning?" asked Will. "Why, it's as blackas midnight."
"I know it. We're quite a way into the cave. The light doesn't come thisfar. I'll light a torch, and we'll see if we can't get out and shootsome more of those birds. They were fine."
He ignited a roll of the birch bark, and leading the way started towardwhat he thought was the mouth of the cave. But he was soon convincedthat he was mistaken.
"We didn't come in this far," said Will.
"I guess you're right," admitted his brother. "I must have taken awrong turning. Come on back."
They retraced their steps. They came to the place where they had slept,and an investigation showed them several passageways leading from it.
"I didn't imagine there was more than one," said Jed in bewilderment.
"Me either. Say, Jed, we're lost again!"
"Looks like it, and this is a big cave."
There was no doubt about it. Frantically the boys tried passage afterpassage. Some ended at blank walls, and others led so far into theblackness that they were afraid, and turned back. They could not findthe passage by which they had entered.
"Well, we certainly are up against it," sighed Will despondently, as hesat down on a rock, and watched his torch slowly burn. "What can we do?"
"Keep on hunting," replied Jed. "I wish we'd stayed in camp, then wewouldn't have had all this trouble. I wonder where Gabe is?"
"No telling. Maybe he's lost, too. I wish we'd stayed on the farm."
"Oh, don't say that. We'll be all right yet."
"I hope so. What's that?"
Will sprang to his feet. There came a noise from a dark corner of thecave. It sounded like some one shuffling along. Jed raised his torchand peered forward into the blackness. As he did so there came amenacing growl.
"It's a bear! A big bear!" he cried.
At the same moment the savage creature rushed at the two boys, who didnot know which way to run.
Two Boy Gold Miners; Or, Lost in the Mountains Page 17
