jim had gone but a short distance, when, still fascinated by his great terror, he reined up his horses and looked back at the moonlit lake and the little island in its center. could he believe his eyes? yes; it was moving. he saw it slowly float toward the wood, until, unable to control his excessive fear, he once more gave the rein to his animal, and did not pause until he was far beyond sight of the lake and its enchanted island.
the negro rode a considerable distance, when, as objects around him began to wear a singular look, he drew his animals down to a walk, and, on the edge of a rocky grove of small trees, came to a dead halt.
“dis yere looks strange! i disremember dese trees; ise afeerd mr. tubbs is off de track, an’ how is he gwine to git on agin, am de question.”
the country through which he was journeying, was a broad valley, interspersed with streams and canons, trees and open spaces, and huge boulders piled promiscuously here and there, and in some places so thickly strewn as to become almost impassable. there were acres where one could gallop as free as upon the beaten road, and then, for the same distance, it was the utmost that a horseman could do to pick his way along.
in the hurried manner in which jim had made headway across the desolate tract, it was not to be supposed that he entertained a very vivid recollection of the landmarks; but he had quite a memory of places, and after he had rested his animal for a few moments, he became certain that he was lost. under these circumstances, his only resource was to fall back on general principles, and take the course[45] which he believed would eventually lead him to the neighborhood of the cave.
by carefully studying the position of the moon, he believed he was going too much to the south, and, turning to the right, he followed this course at a slow walk, watching carefully for some landmarks which could be recognized. discovering none, and it being well on toward midnight, he checked his horses, with the intention of waiting until morning.
jim was pretty tired, and, tying the horses together, he lay down on the ground beside a rock, and in a few moments was asleep. he was undisturbed until daylight, when he was awakened in a manner which brought a howl of terror from him.
some crushing weight descended upon his foot, and, starting up, he gazed about him for the cause. it proved nothing less than the baggage mule so frequently referred to, which, in journeying straight forward in the path which he had been started upon, had thus come directly upon the sleeping african.
“what!” he shouted, placing himself directly in front of the animal, and checking him in the same manner that a wall of rock would have done. “dat ’ere is queer!” he laughed, “dat i put myself right afore you. shouldn’t wonder now if you was on de right track; leastways we’ll try you.”
the mule was fired up, and, as it moved on again, the negro followed on the back of his own horse. to his great surprise and gratification, he had gone but a short distance when he caught sight of a small clump of trees which he recognized as a point passed by him shortly after he had started in pursuit of the mohave and his prey.
he was highly pleased at this, and pressing on until he had reached the grove, became convinced that he was on the right track, and would rejoin his friends in the course of an hour. beyond this spot all was familiar, and he advanced without hesitation or misgiving. reaching the point where their animals had been tethered, he drove them in[46] among the trees, and, first securing them, started out in quest of his friends.
jim had walked but a few yards, when it suddenly occurred to him, as he recalled the previous night’s experience, that there might be danger in advancing so openly to the cave. it was a very easy matter for a party of aborigines to conceal themselves along the banks, and rush upon and secure him before he could help himself.
it struck him, too, as he approached the cave, that an unnatural stillness reigned around it. the sun was now up, and it was high time that his friends were bestirring themselves. a vague fear took possession of the african, as he halted some rods away, and looked furtively about him. everything was so quiet—nothing moving except the stream, and that made scarcely a ripple as it glided over its sandy bed.
jim was standing in this apprehensive state when a slight noise in the rear startled him. turning his alarmed gaze, he expected to behold a whole troop of painted red men about to swoop down upon him; but, in the place of that, recognized the smiling face of young edwin inwood.
“bress me, but you scart dis chile dat time!” said jim, his teeth fairly chattering at the remembrance of his shock.
“i threw a stone to let you know i was near; i didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“it wasn’t de stone dat scart me, it was de thought dat i tink it was sumfin’ else. whar’s george?”
“inside the cave.”
“had breakfast?”
“no; we were just going to prepare it. here he comes!”
at this moment, george inwood made his appearance above ground, and he greeted the negro with great gladness. the latter soon gave an account of his pursuit and capture of the horses, and his safe return with them.
“you have done very well, jim, especially when we remember that you had no gun with you. there are few men who would have dared to do so, even when fully armed.”
“but, dat ain’t all,” added the colored man, as he heaved a great sigh, “i seen de most awfulest ting you ever heard tell on.”
in answer to their anxious inquiry, he gave what has already been given by us, winding up with the declaration:
“an’ when i looked back de last time, what do you ’spose i seen? why, i seen dat island rise up, flap its wings, an’ fly away!”
“there, jim, that’s a little too much,” laughed the elder inwood.
“when it flapped its wings, didn’t it also crow?” asked edwin, whose interest in the narrative was turned into equally intense amusement at this culmination.
“you folks can laugh,” retorted jim, indignantly, “but wait till you see what i did, an’ de shivers will run all ober you.”
“it may be possible that it was a mirage,” said george, somewhat impressed by the earnest manner of his sable friend.
“a mirage by moonlight?” inquired edwin.
“such things have been heard of, i believe, although very rarely.”
“what’s a mirage?” demanded jim.
by great perseverance, george succeeded in giving jim a sort of an idea of what he meant, although, in all probability, he would have regarded the mirage itself equally mysterious and wonderful as the bodily exit of a bona fide island before his eyes.
“all i got to say is, you jes’ go an’ see it, an’ den you’ll stop laughing at dem as what undertakes to explanify it to you.”
“perhaps we shall have the opportunity, as i have concluded to leave these quarters.”
“what fur?”
“in the first place, our safety demands it. the indians have found out we are here, and they will hover about and watch us, until some time they will pounce down upon us before we know it.”
“what ob dat? didn’t they do it last ebening?”
“yes; and providentially we were able to drive them off; but you can see that if a hundred of them should come down here, they could keep us in the cave until we died of thirst or starvation, or were compelled to surrender, and our end in each case would be the same.”
“but we hadn’t orter leave de gold jus’ as we ’gin to find it.”
“we shall leave a very small quantity of it behind. the supply has about run out. you remember that we had a small lot yesterday. the reason was that we had gathered about all there was, and so you see there is nothing to keep us here, while we have every inducement to draw us away.”
as this was undoubtedly the case, there was no gainsaying the argument of inwood, and it was decided to move their quarters without further delay. breakfast was prepared, during which edwin took his station and kept a sharp watch for straggling indians. none were discovered, and he descended and joined them in the morning meal. their baggage was piled on the mule, the five tiny sacks which contained the yellow dust, were taken in charge by george, and while it was yet early in the day, they took up the line of march.
very appropriately, jim led the way, he riding his nag with all the dignity of a conqueror at the head of his army. inwood was not so particularly anxious to see the enchanted island, as he was to make sure that no mohaves were following or watching them. the most vigilant scrutiny failed to detect any of the dreaded creatures, and our friends finally ventured to believe that with due prudence they could reach a place of safety.
it was past noon, when jim, who was riding a short distance in advance, ascended a small elevation, and then suddenly made a signal for his companions to hurry alongside of him. the next moment the three were side by side.
“dere!” said jim, pointing off to the east, “is de lake an’ de island.”
the beautiful, circular sheet of water lay a half mile away, and right in the center was an island about fifty feet in length, and half that distance in breadth. it was covered with young trees and dense vegetation, and in the bright sunlight had a cool, fresh appearance, which made it still more pleasant than when viewed under the witching rays of the moon.
george inwood produced a small spy-glass from his pocket, and scanned it long and narrowly. there was something about this little island, aside from the marvellous stories related of it by jim, which awakened his curiosity. while apparently still and devoid of life, he saw signs which convinced him that more than one person was upon it.
in among the leaves he could detect a fluttering, tremulous motion, and around the edge of the island were ripples which must have been caused by human hands, as the surface of the lake in every other portion was as smooth as a mirror. he thought he heard once or twice a plashing sound, which came either from the island itself, or from directly behind it. he decided to say nothing of his suspicions until he had learned more of it, what certainly wore a singular look, to say the least.
he was on the point of lowering his glass, when a slight movement among the bushes on the eastern shore of the lake caught his eye, and he immediately directed his gaze toward that point.
the naked vision would have discovered nothing, but by the aid of the lens he discovered a man standing on the very edge of the wood, and scrutinizing the party. at first glance, he took him to be an indian, but a continued examination satisfied inwood that the stranger was a white man, dressed and painted as a red man. what gave this impression was the fact that his outfit was not complete, being deficient about his head. this, instead of being bare, with the long, wiry black hair stained and ornamented with eagle feathers, (as is the custom of the mohaves and apaches) was surmounted by a slouched hat which entirely concealed the short hair.
the painted white man gazed long and intently upon the party, from which fact inwood judged that he was displeased at their appearance and anxious to keep himself invisible. this, united with the curious facts noted regarding the appearance of the island, furnished food for speculation, and inwood lowered his glass and placed it away with the conviction that there was some mystery connected with this lake and the tiny island resting in the center, which, perhaps, it might be well for him to attempt to fathom.
“what you tink ob him?” inquired jim, much wondering at the continued silence of inwood.
“it is the finest scene i have ever looked upon. nothing could be more beautiful than the lake, and the island, and the green shores which surround, and the white mountain peaks away in the distance.”
“wait till you see it fly away—den i guess you tink it beautifuller yet.”
“i am afraid i shall have to wait a good while,” said inwood.
“shall we go on?” inquired edwin.
“i rather like the appearance of the country around here, and i think we are as likely to find gold as in any other place. we will hunt up some good spot, take up our quarters, and go to prospecting. the best plan, i think, is for us to turn square around and start back again.”
“what dat for?”
edwin, too, looked an inquiry, but george said he had a good reason, and accordingly it was done.