Dick in the Desert

by James Otis

  CHAPTER IV.

  AT ANTELOPE SPRING.

  Dick was perplexed by the behavior of these two strangers. He failedutterly to understand why they should have anything of such a privatenature to discuss that it was necessary to move aside from him; for ina few moments they would be alone on the desert, after he had gone hisway.

  The discussion, or conversation, whichever it may have been, did notoccupy many moments; but brief as was the time, Dick had turned tocontinue his journey at the instant when the men rejoined him.

  "What do you allow you ought to get for that rifle?" Parsons askedabruptly.

  "That's what I don't know. You see, I didn't buy it new, but tradedfor her before we left home. It seems to me she ought to be a bargainat--at--ten dollars."

  "An' if you get the cash you're goin' to blow it right in for what thedoctor can tell you, an' sich stuff as he thinks your old man oughtto have eh?"

  "That's what I'll do if it costs as much."

  "S'posen it don't? Allow that you've got five dollars left, what then?"

  "I'll buy flour, an' bacon, an' somethin' for mother an' Margie withthe balance."

  "Do you mean to tell me your father was sich a tenderfoot as to comedown through this way without any outfit?" Robinson asked sternly.

  "He had plenty at the time we started; but you see we struck bad luckall the way along, and when we pulled into Buffalo Meadows we hadcooked the last pound of flour. There wasn't even a bit of meat in thecamp when he got shot. I knocked over a deer last night, an' that willkeep 'em goin' till I get back."

  "An' a kid like you is supportin' a family, eh?" Parsons asked in akindly tone.

  "I don't know what kind of a fist I'm goin' to make of it; but that'swhat I'll try to do till daddy gets on his feet again. Say, how longdo you s'pose it'll take a man to get well when one leg is knockedendways with a bullet plum through the bone of it?"

  "It'll be quite a bit, I'm thinkin'--too long for you to stay inBuffalo Meadows at this time of the year. Two months ought to do it,eh, Parsons?"

  "Well, yes; he won't get 'round any quicker than that."

  "I don't know as it makes much difference if he can't walk a greatdeal, 'cause after the horses have had plenty of grass for a couple ofweeks we'll pull across this place; an' once on the other side Isha'n't worry but what I can take 'em through all right."

  "Look here, my son," Robinson said, as he laid his hand on the lad'sshoulder. "You've got plenty of sand, that's a fact. I allow thereain't a kid within a thousand miles of here that would tackle thecontract you've taken this mornin'. If we wasn't bound to theWinnemucca Range, an it wasn't quite so late in the season, we'd helpyou out by goin' down to camp an' straightenin' things a bit; but itcan't be done now. We'll buy your rifle though, an' that's what we'veagreed on. Ten dollars ain't sich a big pile for the gun; but yet it'splenty enough--leastways, it's all we can afford to put out just now."

  "I'll be mighty glad to sell it for that if you need a rifle; an'it'll be better to make the trade now than wait till I get intoAntelope Spring, 'cause there's no dead certainty I'll find anybodythere who'll buy it."

  Parsons took from a buckskin bag a small roll of bills, and when hehad counted out ten dollars there was but little of the originalamount remaining.

  He handed the money to Dick; and the latter, after the briefesthesitation, held the rifle toward him.

  "Sorry to give it up, eh?" Robinson asked.

  "Well, I ain't when it comes to gettin' the money for daddy; if itwasn't for that I'd be. You see, it's the first one I ever owned, an'the way things look now, it'll be a good while before I get another."

  "I'll tell you how we'll fix it, son. My partner an' I ain't needin'an extra rifle just now; an' more than as likely as not--in fact, Imay say it's certain--we'll be up 'round your way before the winterfairly sets in. Now, if you could keep it for us till then, it wouldbe the biggest kind of a favor, 'cause you see we're prospecting an'have got about all the load the burros can tackle."

  "You're--you're--sure you want to buy this gun, eh?"

  "Well, if we wasn't, there wouldn't have been much sense in makin' thetalk."

  "But if you're prospectors, there isn't any show of your gettin''round to Willow Point."

  "Oh, we drift up an' down, here an' there, just as the case may be.There ain't any question about our trailin' all over the State intime, and you shall keep the rifle in good shape till we call for it.So long, my son. It's time for you to be hoofin' it, if you count ongettin' to Antelope Spring this side of to-morrow mornin'."

  As he spoke, Parsons mounted his pony, Robinson following the example;and in another moment the two were on their way once more, leavingDick in a painful state of uncertainty regarding their purpose inpurchasing the gun.

  During two or three minutes the boy stood where they had left him, andthen cried,--

  "Hello there! Hold on a minute, will you?"

  "What's the matter now?" and Parsons looked over his shoulder, butneither he nor his partner reined in their steeds.

  "Are you buyin' this rifle? or are you makin' believe so's to give methe ten dollars?"

  "S'posen we was makin' believe?"

  "Why then I wouldn't take the money, 'cause I ain't out begging."

  "Don't fret yourself, my son. We've bought the gun all right; an' thenext time we meet, you can hand it over. I wish our pile had been biggerso's we could have given twenty, 'cause a kid like you deserves it."

  The horsemen continued on, and by this time were so far away that Dickwould have been unwise had he attempted to overtake them.

  He stood irresolutely an instant as if doubtful of the genuineness ofthis alleged business transaction.

  It was as if the men feared he might attempt to overtake them; fordespite the heavy loads on the burros they urged the beasts forward attheir best pace, and Dick was still revolving the matter in his mindwhen they were a mile or more away.

  "Well, it's no use for me to stand here tryin' to figure out whetherthey've given me this money or really mean to buy the rifle, for I'vegot to strike Antelope Spring between this time an' midnight. Now thatthere are ten dollars in my pocket, I'll be a pretty poor stick if Idon't do it; but the sand-storm came mighty near windin' me up. It wasthe toughest thing I ever saw."

  Then Dick set forward once more, toiling over the loose surface intowhich his feet sank three or four inches at every step; and when hefinally stood on the firm soil east of this waste of shifting sand, itwas two hours past noon.

  As he had reckoned, there were more than thirty miles yet to betraversed; but the distance troubled him little.

  He had in his possession that which would buy such knowledge and suchdrugs as his father might need, and he believed it would be almost asin to rebel even in his thoughts against the labor which must beperformed.

  Now he advanced, whistling cheerily, with a long stride and a swinginggait that should have carried him over the trail at the rate of fourmiles an hour; and not until late in the afternoon did he permithimself to halt, and partake of the broiled venison.

  Then he ate every morsel, and, the meal finished, said aloud with alow laugh of perfect content:--

  "It's lucky I didn't bring any more; for I should eat it to a deadcertainty, an' then I wouldn't be in as good trim for walkin'. Daddyalways says that the less a fellow has in his stomach the easier hecan get over the ground, and the poor old man never struck it truer."

  After this halt of fifteen minutes Dick pressed forward without moredelay until he came upon the settlement, at what time he knew not, butto the best of his belief it was hardly more than an hour past midnight.

  There was no thought in his mind of spending any portion of the moneyfor a bed.

  The earth offered such a resting-place as satisfied him; and since theday his father departed from Willow Point in the hope of finding alocation where he could earn a livelihood with but little labor, Dickhad more often slept upon the ground than elsewhere.

  Now he threw himself
down by the side of a storehouse, or shed, wherehe would be protected from the night wind; and there was hardly morethan time to compose himself for rest before his eyes were closed inslumber.

  No person in Antelope Spring was awake at an earlier hour next morningthan Dick Stevens; for the sun had not yet shown himself when the boyarose to his feet, and looked around as if to say that he was in finecondition.

  "A tramp of forty-five miles ain't to be sneezed at, an' when youthrow in fifteen miles of desert an' a sand-storm to boot, it's what Icall a pretty good day's work; yet I'm feelin' fine as a fiddle," hesaid in a tone of satisfaction, after which he made an apology for atoilet at the stream near-by.

  Dick had no idea in which direction a physician might be found;therefore he halted in front of the first store he saw to wait untilthe proprietor came, half an hour later, to attend to customers.

  It was such a shop as one would naturally expect to find in asettlement among the mountains of Nevada.

  From molasses to perfumery, and from ploughs to fish-hooks, theassortment ran, until one would say all his wants might be suppliedfrom the stock.

  Cheese was what Dick had decided upon for his morning meal; and afterpurchasing two pounds, together with such an amount of crackers as hethought would be necessary, he set about eating breakfast at the sametime that he gained the desired information.

  "I've come from the other side of Smoke Creek Desert," he began,speaking indistinctly because of the fulness of his mouth, "an' wantto find a doctor."

  "Ain't sick, are yer?" the shopkeeper asked with mild curiosity.

  "Daddy shot himself in the leg, an' mother don't know what to do forhim; so I've come up to hire a doctor to tell me, an' buy whatever hesays is needed."

  "A kid like you come across the desert! Where's your pony?"

  "I haven't got any. Daddy's horses are so nearly played out thatthey've got to be left to grass two or three weeks, if we count ondoin' anything with 'em."

  "Did you walk across?" the shopkeeper asked incredulously.

  "That's what I did;" and Dick told of his sufferings during thesand-storm, not in a boastful way, but as if it were his purpose togive the prospectors the praise they deserved.

  When he had concluded, the proprietor plunged his hands deep in hispockets, surveyed the boy from head to foot much as Parsons andRobinson had, saying not a word until Dick's face reddened under theclose scrutiny, when he exclaimed,--

  "Well, I'll be jiggered! A kid of your size--say, how old are you, bub?"

  "Thirteen."

  "Well, a baby of thirteen lightin' out across Smoke Creek Desert, an'all for the sake of helpin' your dad, eh? Do you reckon you can biteout of Dr. Manter's ear all you want to know, an' then go back an' runthe business?"

  "It seems as if he ought to tell me what mother needs to do, an' I canremember every word. Then she said there would have to be somemedicine to stop the fever; an' that's what I'm countin' on buyin', ifhe gives me the name of it."

  "When are you goin' back?"

  "I'm in hopes to get away this noon, an' then I'll be in camp byto-morrow mornin'."

  "Say, sonny, do you want to stuff me with the yarn that you'vetravelled forty-five miles in less'n thirty-six hours, an' count ondoin' the same thing right over agin, which is ninety miles in less'nthree days?"

  "I've done the first half of the journey, an' it couldn't have beenmore'n two hours past midnight when I got here. With such a lay-out asthis for breakfast I'll be in good shape for goin' back; an' it wouldbe a mighty poor boy who couldn't get there between this noon an'to-morrow mornin', 'cause I'll go across the desert after dark, an' itain't likely there'll be another sand-storm."

  "Well, look here, sonny, stand right there for a minute, will you,while I go out? I won't be gone a great while, an' you can finish upyour breakfast."

  "But I want to see the doctor as soon as I can, you know."

  "That'll be all right. I'll make it in my way to help you along so yousha'n't be kept in this town a single hour more'n 's necessary."

  Having said this, and without waiting to learn whether his young andearly customer was willing to do as he had requested, the proprietorof the store hurriedly left the building, and Dick had finished hismeal before he returned.

  The boy was stowing the remainder of the cheese and crackers into hispockets when the shopkeeper, accompanied by two men, who looked as ifthey might have been hunters or miners, entered.

  "Is this the kid?" one of the strangers asked, looking as curiously atthe boy as had the proprietor.

  "That's the one; an' the yarn he tells must be pretty nigh true, 'causehe met Parsons an' Robinson, an' accordin' to his story they bought hisrifle, leavin' it with him till such time as they want to claim it."

  The newcomers questioned Dick so closely regarding the journey and itspurpose that he began to fear something was wrong, and askednervously,--

  "What's the reason I shouldn't have come up here? When a feller'sfather is goin' to die if he can't get a doctor afoul of him, it's acase of hustlin' right sharp."

  "An' accordin' to the account you've given, that's about what you'vebeen doin'," one of the strangers said with an approving nod, whichreassured the boy to such an extent that he answered withouthesitation the further questions which were asked.

  When the curiosity of the men had been satisfied, one of those whomthe landlord had brought in, and who was addressed by his companionsas "Bob Mason," said to Dick, as he laid his hand on the boy'sshoulder,--

  "We'll take care of you, my bold kid, an' see that you get all yourfather needs. If it wasn't that the doctor in this 'ere town is workedmighty hard, I'd make it my business to send him right down to yourcamp. But I reckon, if it's nothin' more'n a bullet through your dad'sleg, he'll pull 'round all right with sich things as you can carryfrom here. Now come on, an' we'll find out what the pill-master thinksof the case."

  Dick was thoroughly surprised that so much interest in his affairsshould be manifested by strangers, and it pleased him that he was tohave assistance in this search for medical knowledge.

  He followed this new friend readily, and in a few moments was standingbefore the doctor, listening to Mr. Mason's highly colored version ofthe journey.

  When he would have corrected the gentleman as to some of the pointswhich had been exaggerated, he was kindly bade to "hold his tongue."

  "I've heard all your yarn, my boy, an' can imagine a good many thingsyou didn't tell. There's precious few of us in this section of thecountry that was ever overtook, while on foot, by the dancin' giants,an' lived to tell the story."

  "I wouldn't be alive if it hadn't been for Mr. Parsons an' Mr.Robinson."

  "What they did don't cut any figger. It's what you went through withthat I'm talkin' about, an' the doctor is bound to hear the wholestory before he gives up what he knows."

  Not until Mr. Mason had concluded the recital after his own fashiondid he give the professional gentleman an opportunity to impart theinformation which Dick had worked so hard to obtain; and then thephysician, after telling him in a general way how the patient shouldbe treated, wrote out in detail instructions for Mrs. Stevens to follow.

  Then from his store of drugs, pills, and nauseous potions he selectedsuch as might be needed in the case, writing on each package fulldirections, at the expense of at least an hour's time; and when he hadfinished, Dick believed that his father would suffer for nothing inthe way of medicine.

  "There, lad," Dr. Manter said as he concluded his labors, and tied inthe smallest possible compass the articles he had set out, "I allowyour mother should be able to do all that is necessary; and unless thebone is so shattered that the leg must be amputated, it is possibleyou will get along as well without a physician as with one."

  "Do you mean there's a chance my poor old man might have to let hisleg be cut off?"

  "If you have described the wound correctly, I should say there wasevery danger. I have written, however, to your mother, so that she maybe able to decide if anything
of the kind is probable, and then youmay be obliged to make another journey up here. At all events, if yourfather's life should be in danger, you may depend upon it I will cometo the camp; although I am free to admit that a ride across SmokeCreek Desert isn't one that I hanker for, although you seem to havemade the journey on foot and thought little of it."

  "That's 'cause I was doin' it on daddy's account. How much is yourprice for this stuff?"

  Mr. Mason instantly plunged his hand in his pocket; and before hecould withdraw it the physician replied,--

  "You have earned all I've given you, lad; and I'd be ashamed to takeeven a dollar from a plucky little shaver like you."

  "But I've got ten dollars, an' can pay my way. If I'd thought theprospectors meant to give me the money instead of buyin' the rifle,I'd got along without it; but they said twice over that they wantedthe gun, an' I believed 'em."

  "No one can accuse you of being a beggar; but if it's the same toyou, I'd rather let this go on account, and some day perhaps, whenyou've struck it rich, come around and we'll have a settlement."

  "Doctor, you're a man, every inch of you!" Mr. Mason said in a loudtone, as he slapped the physician on the shoulder with a force thatcaused him to wince with absolute pain. "You're a man; an' if thepeople in this town don't know it already, they shall find it out fromyours truly. I reckon we can ante up a little something in this 'erematter, so the kid won't go home empty-handed; for I tell you there'snothin' in Antelope Spring too good for him."

  Again Dick looked about him in surprise that such praise should bebestowed for what seemed to him a very simple act. The kindly mannerin which the physician bade him good-by, with the assurance that hewould himself go to Buffalo Meadows if it should become necessary,served to increase the boy's astonishment; and instead of thanking thegentleman, he could only say, because of his bewilderment,--

  "I did it for daddy, sir; an' it would be a mean kind of fellow whowouldn't do as much."

  Then Mr. Mason hurried him away, and despite Dick's protests insistedon leading him from one place to another, until it was as if he hadbeen introduced to every citizen in the settlement.

  He was not called upon to tell his story again, because his conductordid that for him; and the details of the narrative were magnified witheach repetition, until Dick believed it absolutely necessary he shouldcontradict certain portions wherein he was depicted as a hero of thefirst class.

  When Mr. Mason had shown the boy fully around the town, he said by wayof parting,--

  "Now you go down to Mansfield's, an' wait there till I come."

  "Where's Mansfield's?"

  "That's the store where I found you."

  "But I can't wait a great while, Mr. Mason. You know I've got to beback by to-morrow mornin'; an' I ought to be leavin' now, 'cause it'spretty near noon."

  "Don't worry your head about that, my son. You shall get to campbefore sunrise to-morrow mornin', an' without so very much work onyour part, either. Now go down to Mansfield's, an' wait there till Icome. Mind you don't leave this town till I'm back there."

  Mr. Mason hurried away as he ceased speaking; and Dick walked slowlydown the street, debating in his mind whether he must obey this order.