Castlemon Harry
The Haunted Mine

CHAPTER XV
HOW A MINE WAS HAUNTED

"Well, boys," said Mr. Fay, when they had reached the street and were walking toward their hotel, "I have somehow taken a great interest in you, and I am anxious to see you come out all right. It is the most remarkable thing I ever heard of. You did not know what was in that box when you bought it, did you?"

"No, sir," replied Julian; "it was all sealed up. The auctioneer said something about a miner having hidden the secret of a gold-mine in it, and I bought it for thirty cents."

"The auctioneer happened to hit the matter right on the head. I will go with you in search of a cheaper boarding-house than the one at which you are now stopping, and you had better remain there until Mr. Gibson hears from those people in St. Louis. That will be two weeks, probably. If, at any time, you grow weary of walking about our city, looking at what little there is worth seeing, come down to the office, and we'll sit there and swap a few lies."

Mr. Fay continued to talk in this way while they were walking along the streets, meanwhile turning several corners, and the longer he talked the more the boys saw the traits of his Western character sticking out all over him. He talked like a gentleman, and then spoiled it all by remarking that they would "swap a few lies" when they came around to his office. He had probably been out West so long that he had become accustomed to Western ways of conversation.

At length Mr. Fay turned off from the sidewalk, ascended the steps that led to the door of a house, saying, as he did so, "Now we will go in here and see what we can do," and rang the door-bell. It was a very different-looking house from the one they had been in the habit of living in when in St. Louis. There were no broken-down doors to be opened before they went in, nor any rickety steps to be climbed, but everything was neat and trim, and kept in perfect order. A motherly-looking old lady answered Mr. Fay's pull at the bell.

"Ah! good-morning, Mrs. Rutherford," was the way in which Mr. Fay greeted her. "Let me introduce Julian Gray and John Sheldon. They are looking around for a cheap boarding-house, – not too cheap, mind you, – and I have called to see if you have any place in which to hang them up for the night."

Mrs. Rutherford was glad to meet Julian and Jack, invited them into the parlor, and asked them if they wanted a room together. The boys replied that they did, and she conducted them upstairs, to show them a room that was vacant. They were gone not more than five minutes, and when they came downstairs again Mrs. Rutherford was putting some bills away in her pocket-book, and the boys acted as though they were well satisfied.

"Well, you have found a place, have you?" said Mr. Fay. "Have you jotted down the street and number?"

No, the boys had not thought of that, and Julian quickly pulled his note-book from his pocket.

"Your city is somewhat larger than we expected to find it," began Julian.

"You don't find many wigwams around here now," answered Mr. Fay. "We keep spreading out all the time. Can you boys find the way back to your hotel?"

Julian and Jack thought they could find it if they were given time enough, but Mr. Fay thought he had better go with them. It was right on the road to his office, and he walked off so rapidly that his young companions were obliged to increase their speed in order to keep up with him. Before they had gone a great way, Julian, who was anxious to learn all he could about their surroundings, asked how far it was to the mountains behind them. Mr. Fay had evidently answered such questions before, for all he said in reply was.

"How far do you think it is?"

"I think two miles would cover the distance," he answered, for he was determined he would guess enough while he was about it.

"How far do you say it is, John?" said Mr. Fay, turning to Jack.

"I would rather be excused from expressing an opinion, but I think we could walk out there in two hours."

"And come back the same day?"

"Why, yes; certainly."

"Now, let me tell you," said Mr. Fay: "If you have made up your minds to go out to the mountains, hire a good, fast walking-horse, and go out one day and come back the next."

"Is it as far as that?" exclaimed the boys, looking at each other with amazement.

"It is all of twelve miles. You must take into consideration that the air is very rare up here, and that things appear nearer than they are. You are 5135 feet above the level of the sea."

"My goodness! I didn't think we were so far out of the world!"

"We have awfully uncertain weather here," continued Mr. Fay, "but still we regard our climate as healthy. Our thermometer sometimes changes as much as forty degrees in twenty-four hours. Since Professor Loomis took charge of the matter, the mercury has changed forty-five times in one day. What sort of a place did you expect to find Denver, anyway?"

"Well, I did not know what sort of a place it was," said Julian. "We thought we should find more wigwams here than houses, and you can't imagine how surprised we were when we found ourselves in a depot full of people."

"Denver used to be full of wigwams, but it is not so now. Until the year 1858 the Indians lived in peace; but in that year gold was discovered by W. G. Russell, a Georgian, on the banks of the river Platte, which is but a little way from here, and that settled the business of the Indians in a hurry. Denver, Black Hawk, Golden City, and many other cities that I can't think of now, were founded in 1859, and a host of immigrants appeared. Since that time we have been spreading out, as I told you, until we have a pretty good-sized city."

"It shows what Western men can do when they once set about it," said Jack. "Now, answer another question while you are about it, if you please. If the mercury changes forty degrees in twenty-four hours, working in the mines must be dangerous business."

"That depends upon where you are working," said Mr. Fay. "If you are at work in a placer-mine, you stand a good chance of leaving your bones up there for somebody to bring home; but if you are working under the ground, it does not make any difference. Are you thinking of going out to Dutch Flat to try your hand at it? I don't know where that is, but you can find plenty of men here who can tell you."

"I have not said anything to Julian about it, but I think that would be one of the best things we could do. You see, we are not settled in that property yet."

"I see," said Mr. Fay. "Gibson may get word from those fellows in St. Louis that you are impostors, and that you stole that box instead of buying it at a sale of 'old horse.' That would be rough on you."

The boys did not know how to take this remark. They looked at Mr. Fay, but he was walking along as usual, with his hands in his pockets, bowing right and left to the many persons he met on the streets, and did not seem to think anything of it. Perhaps it was his ordinary style of talking.

"I am not at all afraid of that," remarked Jack. "If he finds us impostors, we are willing to go to jail."

Mr. Fay threw back his head and laughed heartily.

"I have no idea of anything of the kind," said he, as soon as he could speak. "I was just wondering what you would think of it. But what were you going to say?"

"This property is not settled on us yet," replied Jack, "and we may want something to keep us in grub while we are here. We have a perfect right to work that mine, have we not?"

"If you can find it – yes. Go up there, and if nobody else is working it, pitch in and take fifty thousand dollars more out of it."

"And what will we do if somebody else is working it?"

"You had better give up to them, unless you think you are strong enough to get the better of them. But you need not worry about that. The mine is haunted, and you won't catch any of the miners going around where ghosts are."

"Who do you suppose are haunting it?" asked Julian. "That letter says the writer worked the mine alone, and took lots of money out of it, and never saw a thing to frighten him."

"Perhaps somebody has been murdered up there; I don't know. You won't see anything until you get down in the mine, and then you want to look out. I heard of a mine up at Gold Cove that was haunted in that way. There were a dozen miners tried it, and each one came away without getting anything, although the gold was lying on top of the ground. As often as a miner went below (it was about thirty feet down to the bottom), he was sure to see somebody at work there before him. He was picking with a tool at the bottom of the shaft in order to loosen it up, accompanying every blow he made with a sonorous 'whiz!' which showed that he was an Irishman. Some of the miners retreated to their bucket and signaled to their helper to pull them up, and you couldn't hire them to go into the mine again. Others, with a little more bravery than they had, went up to put their hands on the man, but as fast as they advanced he retreated; and when they got to the end of the shaft, the phantom miner was still ahead, and picking away as fast as ever."

"Then the mine is deserted?"

"Yes, and has been for years. It is one of the richest mines around here, too."

"Why, I should think somebody would shoot him," said Jack.

"Shoot him! He has been shot at more times than anybody could count; but he pays no attention to it. He is a ghost, and he knows you can't hurt him. I never saw it, and, what is more, I don't want to; but I would not go down into that mine for all the gold there is in the hills."

"Did anybody think a murder had been committed somewhere around there?" said Julian.

"I never heard that there was."

"Well, I just wish our mine would be haunted with something like that," said Jack. "I would find out what he was, and what business he had there, or I would know the reason why."

"Well, you may have a chance to try it. Does this look like your hotel? Now I will bid you good-bye, and I will see you again to-morrow, if you come around."

Mr. Fay departed, taking with him the hearty thanks of the boys for all his kindness and courtesy, and then they slowly ascended the steps to the office. They had secured one thing by his attentions to them – a boarding-house at which the money they had in their pockets would keep them safely for a month, if it took Mr. Gibson that long to hear from St. Louis; but, on the whole, Jack wished Mr. Fay had not used his Western phraseology so freely.

"Does he want us to work that mine or not?" asked Jack.

"I don't know. He talked pretty readily, did he not?"

"I wonder if that is the way all Westerners talk? Did he scare you out of going up there to that mine?"

"No, sir," replied Julian, emphatically. "Do you know that I rather like that man? He reminds me of Mr. Wiggins, and talks exactly like him."

"What do you suppose it was that those fellows saw in that mine?"

"I give it up. Some of these Western men are good shots with a revolver, and it seems to me they might have struck the fellow if they had had a fair chance at him."

"But he was a ghost, you know."

"Oh, get out! If they saw him there, you can bet that there was somebody there. Some of the miners had their minds all made up to see something, and of course they saw it."

"But how do you account for that 'whiz!' that he uttered every time he struck with his pick?"

"They never heard any 'whiz!' coming from that man; they only imagined it."

"Do you think their ears could be deceived, as well as their eyes?"

"Jack, I am surprised at you. You are big enough and strong enough to whip any ghost that I ever saw, and yet you are afraid to go down in that mine!"

"Wait until we find it, and then I'll show you whether I am afraid or not. Now, if you will go on and pay our bill and have our trunk brought down, I'll go and get a carriage."

In five minutes this was done, and the boys were soon on their way to their boarding-house.

CHAPTER XVI
GOOD NEWS

For a week after Julian and Jack went to their new boarding-house they had much to occupy their attention – so much, indeed, they did not think of going down to the telegraph office and "swapping a few lies" with the chief operator. Their new home charmed them in every particular. Mr. Fay had not forgotten that he had been a boy in the not so very long ago, and the boarding-house he had chosen for them was such as he would have chosen for himself. The boarders were young men who, like themselves, had come out West to seek their fortunes, and they were all employed in various avocations in the city. Jack noticed one thing, and that was they did not run around of evenings to any extent; or, if they did, they went down to the library, where they spent their time in reading.

"Do you know that that is something that strikes me," said Jack one night when they went upstairs to their room. "We ought to join the Young Men's Christian Association."

"Have you forgotten our mine?" asked Julian.

"No, I have not; but I don't believe in going up there in winter. A thermometer that can change so many times within twenty-four hours is something that I want to keep clear of."

"Well, where is the money to come from?"

"Humph!" said Jack, who had not thought of that before; "that's so. Where is it?"

The first thing the boys thought of, when they got up the next morning, was to take a trip to the mountains. Jack was in favor of walking. It was only twelve miles, and the amount they would have to pay out for a horse would keep one of them a week at their boarding-house. But Julian could not see it in that light.

"I tell you, you have never walked twenty-four miles in a day," remarked the latter. "I have done it many a time, but I am not going to do it now, when there is no need of it."

"You act as though you had that money in your hands already," retorted Jack. "Now, I'll tell you what's a fact: I am going to have the same trouble with you that I had in St. Louis. There won't be any 'old horse' for you to spend your money on, but you will squander it in some other way."

"You will see," said Julian, with a laugh. "Come on, now; I am going to get a saddle-horse – one that can take me out there in an hour."

Jack reluctantly yielded to his companion, who made his way toward a livery-stable which he had seen when they came to their boarding-house. There they engaged a couple of saddle-horses which seemed to know what they were expected to do, for when allowed the rein they put off toward the mountains, and went along at a brisk pace. Jack could not get over grumbling about hiring horses to do what they could do themselves, but Julian did not pay the least attention to it. When they had gone a long distance on the road they met a teamster, and of him Jack inquired how many miles they had yet to travel to reach their destination.

"Them mountains?" asked the man, facing about in his seat. "They are a matter of six miles from here."

"If I had a good start for a run I believe I could jump that far," said Jack.

"Yes, it does look that way," said the man; "but it would be a mighty lengthy jump for you. I guess you are a tenderfoot – ain't you?"

"I never was so far West as this in my life."

The man had evidently heard all that he wanted to hear, for he started his team, smiling and nodding his head as if to say that Jack would learn more about distances on the prairie before he had been there long.

The distance was fully as great as the boys expected to find it; and, when they drew up in front of a little hotel in the foothills, the mountains seemed to be as far off as ever. The proprietor came to the door, bid them good-morning in his cheery way, and asked if there was anything that he could do for them.

"How far off are those peaks from here?" questioned Jack.

"Twenty miles," said the man. "You are not going out there to-day, are you?"

"Why, the folks in Denver told us that the mountains were twelve miles away," said Jack, greatly surprised.

"Well, you are twelve miles from Denver now. These little hills here are the beginning of the mountains."

"I guess you may feed our horses and give us some dinner, and then we will go back," said Julian. "Well, Jack, we've seen the mountains."

"Yes, and laid out six dollars for the horses besides," replied Jack, in disgust. "The next time you want anything to carry you, we will go on foot."

The man laughed heartily as he took charge of their horses, and the boys went into the hotel, where they found a fire on the hearth, and were glad to draw up close to it.

"I declare, I did not know it was so cold," said Julian. "I suppose it is warm enough in St. Louis. How high is that city above the sea-level?"

"I don't know," answered Jack, who could not get over the feeling that those people in Denver had played too much on his credulity. "Twenty miles! I guess we won't go up to the top of those mountains, yet a while, and look for California. I wish those horses were back in the stable where they belong."

"We will have them back there in three hours," answered Julian, "and if you don't want me to hire any more horses, I won't do it."

The boys got back to Denver without any mishap, and after that they were eager to see the city. Jack did not have anything to grumble about during the week that followed, for they went on foot, and there were no horses hired. Finally, after viewing all the fine buildings that were to be seen, they thought of the telegraph operator, and decided to take him in the next day; so on Monday they presented themselves at his office. Mr. Fay was there; and, unlike Mr. Wiggins, he did not seem to have much to do, for he was sitting in an easy-chair, with his feet perched upon the desk in front of him, playing with a paper-cutter. The boy who came forward to attend to their wants seemed to have made up his mind that Mr. Fay was the man they wanted to see, and so he conducted them into his private office.

"Halloo! boys," he cried, taking down his feet and pushing chairs toward them; "you are here yet, are you? Have you been out to look at your gold-mine?"

"No, sir," replied Julian; "we could hardly go out there and come back in a week – could we?"

"No, I don't believe you could. I have been thinking about you," continued Mr. Fay, depositing his feet on the desk once more, "and if you know when you are well off you won't go out there this fall. I was talking with a man who has come in from Dutch Flat, and he says it is getting most too cold up there to suit him. He has made a heap of money, and has come here to spend it. I suppose that is what you will be doing when you get to work out there – make all you want in summer, and come here in winter and spend it."

"No, sir," asserted Julian, emphatically; "we have worked hard for what little money we have, and we know how to take care of it. I thought it would not make any difference to us how cold it was if we were working under the ground; I thought you said something like that."

"Certainly, I said so," affirmed Mr. Fay; "but you will have to take provisions with you to last you six months. If you don't, you will get snowed up in the mountains; the drifts will get so deep that you can't get through them."

"I did not think of that," said Julian.

"Well, you had better think of it, for if you get up there, and get blocked by drifts, my goodness! – you will starve to death!"

"Did you say anything to the man about our claim up there?"

"No, I did not, for I did not know where it was located. I will tell you what you can do, though. He is going back in the spring, and he can assist you in getting everything you need."

"We are very much obliged to you for saying that," responded Jack, who felt that a big load had been removed from his and Julian's shoulders.

"I am only speaking of what I know of the man," remarked Mr. Fay. "Miners are always ready to help one another, and I know he will do that much for you. I will tell you where you can see him. Do you know where Salisbury's hotel is?"

The boys replied that they did not. They had been all over the city, but did not remember having seen any sign of that hostelry.

"Well, I will go with you," said Mr. Fay "Come around about two o'clock and we'll start. By the way, that lawyer has got back."

"What lawyer, and where has he been?"

"I mean Gibson – the lawyer that you employed to do your business for you. He has been to St. Louis."

"Good enough!" exclaimed Jack. "He has found out by this time more than we could tell him."

"I saw him last night just as he got off the train, and he desired me to tell you, if I happened to see you before he did, that he would be glad to see you around at his office as soon as you could get there," said Mr. Fay. "So you can run down there as soon as you please. You know where he hangs out – don't you?"

Yes, the boys were certain they could find his office without any help, and arose and put on their caps. They told Mr. Fay they would be sure to come around at two o'clock, to go with him to call upon the miner who had recently come from Dutch Flat, bade him good-bye, and left the office.

"What do you think of the situation now?" asked Julian, as they hurried along toward the place where the lawyer "hung out." "Are you still sorry that I bid on that 'old horse?'"

"I only hope there will be no hitch in the business," said Jack. "If he should ask us some questions that we could not answer – then what?"

"We will tell him the truth," said Julian. "He can't ask us any questions that we can't answer. Claus and Casper could go in on telling lies, but that way would not suit us."

As the boys had taken particular note of the location of Mr. Gibson's office, they went there as straight as though they had been in Denver all their lives, ran up the stairs to the first floor, and opened the lawyer's door. Mr. Gibson was there, as well as two men whom he was advising on some law-point they had brought to him to clear up. When the boys came in he stopped what he was saying, jumped up, and extended a hand to each of them.

"I was coming around in search of you fellows as soon as I got through with these men," said he. "How have you boys been, out here, so far away from home? Please excuse me for fifteen minutes or so."

The boys took the chairs he offered them, and for a few minutes kept track of what he was saying; but that did not last long. It was about a fence that a neighbor of the two men had built, but which their cattle had broken down, and they were anxious to get out of a lawsuit for the field of wheat their cattle had ruined. They heard the lawyer advise them, honestly, that they must either compromise the matter or get into a lawsuit, in which case they would have to pay full damages; and while he was talking to them he proved that he was a man who could do two things at once. He opened a drawer and took out two photographs, which he compared with the boys, one after the other. It did not take him long to decide upon this business, and then he devoted himself to the question of fences again.

"It is as plain as daylight to me," said he, as he arose to his feet. "Your cattle broke the fence down, went in, and ate up the man's wheat. It was a good, strong, staked-and-ridered fence, too. There are only two ways out of it: Yon can either settle the matter with him, or you can go to law; and if you do that, you will get beaten."

One of the men then asked him how much he charged for his advice, and when he said "Five dollars," the boys cast anxious glances at each other. If he charged that way for advising a man to keep out of law, what price would he demand for taking care of one hundred thousand dollars? Mr. Gibson showed them to the door, bowed them out, and then turned to the boys.

"I ought to have charged that man ten dollars," he declared, with an air of disgust. "He is always in a row; he never comes here to seek advice but that he wants to beat somebody. Do you recognize these pictures?"

"Of course I do," replied Julian. "This is a photograph of me, and that is my signature on the back; the other one is Jack's."

"I have been to St. Louis since you were here," Mr. Gibson went on. "I called upon the men whose addresses you gave me, and found out all about you. I tried my best to find Mr. Haberstro, but could not do it, and so I have concluded that the money is yours."

"Everything?" exclaimed Julian. "The gold-mine and all?"

"Everything belongs to you," answered Mr. Gibson; and one would have thought, from the way in which he announced the fact, that somebody had left the fortune all to Julian. "Of course, if Mr. Haberstro ever turns up you will have to surrender the money; but I don't take any stock in his turning up. Julian, you now have very nearly twenty thousand dollars coming to you."

"But Jack must have half," said Julian, earnestly. "He has stuck to me like a good fellow, and I don't know what I should have done without him."

"Well, then, that makes you worth ten thousand dollars apiece."

Julian drew a long breath and looked at Jack. The latter leaned his elbows on his knees, whirled his cap in his hand, and looked at the floor.