“Did you ever strike luck in our own country?” asked Hockley, who was as interested as anybody in the conversation.
“Yes, twice. Once I was in the Cripple Creek district and found a nugget worth two thousand dollars. Another time I was up on Lone Man’s Ledge and located the Daisy Mine with a fellow named Bargess. The Daisy proved to be a splendid payer and we took out ten thousand dollars’ worth of dust in less than two weeks. Both Bargess and me were delighted I can tell you. I went down to town to prove up the claim and while I was gone what did Bargess do but gather all the gold in sight and run away to Mexico with it.”
“But he had to leave the mine,” said Darry.
“He did, but it never paid as well as it had at the start, and I stopped working it six weeks later. I wish I could find Bargess.”
“You never heard of him afterward?”
“Never a word, excepting that somebody had once seen him in Mexico at a town called La Dardado. If I should run across him I think there would be some warm work the next few minutes,” added the old miner, pointedly.
The accommodations on the steamer, while not elegant, were yet sufficient for comfort, and the days passed swiftly enough to the boys. Mark and Darry were studying Spanish, for they felt that a knowledge of the language would be of great use to them. Frank and Sam also studied a little. Hockley was too lazy to occupy himself in any manner. Seeking a shady corner of the deck he would stretch out at full length and sleep from one hour’s end to the next.
“He certainly believes in taking it easy,” said Sam to Darry, as they happened to pass the youth. “Of one thing you can be sure, he’ll never kill himself by overwork.”
“I don’t suppose he’ll have to, if his father is as rich as he pretends. But the heat has got something to do with his laziness. It’s terrific.”
“Well, we can’t expect anything different for we are within seven or eight degrees of the equator. If it wasn’t for the nights I don’t see how any of us could stand it.”