“I can recall the thoughts that passed through my mind when Sanders and Smirker, accompanied by Richard, were taking us down to the lake to throw us in. I remember of falling through the air and sinking in the water, but beyond that all is blank to me. After I was thrown in, an idea suddenly occurred to Richard, and he concluded to make a change in his programme, and save you alive for some future emergency. A time might arrive when an heir to the hidden gold mine—in the existence of which he and his cousin firmly believed—would be a convenient thing to have about. There were a good many ways in which he might be used. So Richard, after seeing his cousin disposed of in some remote place where he would not be likely to be discovered, and giving Sanders some very minute instructions, took you and started off to Missouri.
“In the meantime, old Juan had recovered his consciousness. When he was thrown into the gorge he did not fall to the bottom, but lodged on a leaning tree about four feet below the brink of the cliff. When he came to himself he crawled down to the lake to bathe his wounds, but stopped just before he reached the bank, for he saw Richard and the two outlaws coming down with us. He saw them throw me into the water, and when they went away with you he jumped in and rescued me.
“In the morning those of the servants who had not been molested, and who had slept soundly in spite of all the noise and confusion, awoke to find the rancho almost deserted. The owner and his family had disappeared, and some of their own number were lying dead in their beds. They went at once in search of the commanding officer of the fort, who came up, but could make nothing of our disappearance. At the end of a week or two, as nothing was seen or heard of us, he concluded that we also had been foully dealt with, and thought it high time that some one was put there to attend to things. He asked the servants if they knew whether or not father had any relatives near, and Sanders, who happened to be present, said he had heard him speak of two brothers, Reginald and Richard Mortimer, who were living in San Francisco. The officer decided to send a letter to them, and Sanders agreed to carry it. He made a great show of starting off, but rode only about five miles through the mountains to a miserable little hut where Reginald was waiting for him.
“Two months afterward Uncle Reginald was acknowledged by the officers, the settlers, and the servants as the lawful master of the rancho, and father was languishing in the prison into which he had been thrown, with the assurance that he should never come out of it until he told where his wealth was concealed. He denied all knowledge of the gold mine, but said that he had some money stowed away in a safe place, and that he would die in confinement before he would tell where it was.”
“Why didn’t Silas and Juan go to the commander of the fort and tell him what had happened?” asked Julian.
“I was just coming to that. They met the next morning in our treasure-house, which you visited to-night, to talk the matter over. They had both seen enough to satisfy them that father had been carried away as a prisoner, and they had no difficulty in guessing at the object his captors had in view. If they told the commander of the fort he would send his cavalry scouting about among the mountains, and that would alarm the robbers, and perhaps lead them to murder father. The first thing to be done was to find out where he was confined, and it would be time enough to call in the help of the troops when that had been ascertained. But with all their efforts—and they did everything men could do—they failed to gain the slightest clew to his whereabouts. He had disappeared as completely as though he had never existed at all. They spent years in the search, but until you told them what you had seen to-night they knew no more about the matter than they did when father was first captured.
“About four years ago I thought I was getting old enough and shrewd enough to take a part in the search myself; but Silas and Juan would not permit it. They said that as long as I kept out of sight everybody would believe me dead, but that if I showed my face I would be recognized at once, and Reginald would send some one after me who would make sure work of me. But at last I could endure the inactivity no longer; and once, when Silas was away in the mountains, I came out of the cave in which I had spent the best part of four years of my life, and began to look about to find something to do. Most of father’s servants were gone, and their places were supplied with new ones; but there were some of the old ones left, and among them were Romez, Antoine and Ithuriel. The latter had been promoted by Richard Mortimer, as he called himself, to the position of body-servant; Romez held his old position as hostler, and Antoine was still a herdsman. I lived with the latter for two years, assisting him in his duties, and waiting impatiently for something to turn up. I was careful to keep out of sight of Reginald and Richard, but mingled freely with the rest of the people about the rancho, and even with the soldiers and settlers, and no one knew me. I paid regular nightly visits to old Juan, who lived in the cave where father’s money was hidden, and once while on my way there something happened that suggested to me a plan of action.
“There are two passage-ways that lead to the cellar—one from the house and the other from the outside of the hill. I always went in through the latter, and I went very slowly and cautiously too, for fear of finding some one in there whom I did not care to see. One night I did find some persons there—Reginald and Richard, who were examining the walls of the cellar by the aid of a lantern. Old Juan said they used to spend a good deal of time there looking for the concealed treasure.
“I was so surprised to see them that I did not think of retreat, and after I had time to collect my thoughts I did not feel any inclination to turn back. Although I had often seen the men at a distance, this was the first time since that memorable night that I had ever been so near to them, and I wanted to take a good look at them. Silas and Juan had often told me in the most emphatic language never to attempt to harm one of them, even if I got the opportunity—and knowing that they had father’s welfare at heart, and that they were wiser than myself, I had promised to obey. But I could not resist the temptation to draw my rifle to my shoulder and cover both their heads with the sight—they were standing closely together and squarely in line, so that one bullet would have passed through them both—telling myself the while how easily I could shoot them, and how richly they deserved it. While I stood in this position Reginald turned toward me. Finding that I was discovered, I did not lower my rifle, but kept it at my shoulder, determined that if he offered to molest me I would resist him to the best of my ability. But I soon found that I had nothing to fear. He stood for a moment gazing at me with eyes that seemed almost ready to start from their sockets, and said in a husky voice: