The hunter, shaking all over with laughter, extended his broad palm as he came up and closed it around the small hand of Little Rifle, who, after exchanging a word or two with him, turned and introduced him to Harry as his Uncle Robsart.
“Glad to see you, younker,” exclaimed the hairy old hunter, as he gave Harry a hearty shake of the hand. “Scared you a little, I s’pose. I see’d you chawin’ antelope, and I thought I’d wake you up a little.”
Little Rifle acquainted the trapper with the principal facts of their meeting and the subsequent adventures. He listened with great interest, especially to their adventure in and escape from the cavern.
“That’s the place I went into, a couple of years ago,” Old Ruff said, “and come mighty nigh getting lost the same as you. But, I didn’t see nothin’ of that hole in the top, nor didn’t diskiver any signs of them other chaps being in thar. You didn’t get a fair look at them?”
“No; luckily they didn’t get a fair look at us. They cleared out before we came out to look around, and we didn’t stay to make their acquaintance.”
“What do you s’pose they war doing underground?” asked Old Ruff, in a significant tone.
The lads replied that they had not the remotest idea.
“Thar’s gold in that cavern, boys, and that’s what them chaps war in thar for. I don’t s’pose they own any more of Oregon than we do, and sometime I’ll go into that big cellar and take a look around ag’in. Mebbe I might git my claws onto some of the yaller stuff. Afore you go back to the fort, Harry, we’ll take a look ’round, and see what chance thar is for a spec; but if it happens that we don’t get the time to do it, why you can come down ag’in from the fort and we’ll fix it then, sure. If there’s gold thar you shall have your chance in, lad.”
Harry now became aware of something which he could not understand, and which caused him no little uneasiness. He found that Old Ruff was covertly watching him, as though he held some kind of a suspicion, regarding his presence so far away from the fort. Once or twice, when he hastily raised his eyes, he saw the keen orbs of the trapper fixed upon him, with a sharp, penetrating glance.
More than once, Harry was tempted to ask the meaning of this; but he noted that Old Ruff took particular pains to conceal his surveillance, and this made him fearful of offending him.