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15 - Gold Hunters by James Oliver Curwood · Gold Hunters

0:00
Speaker 1: After fifteen the treasure in the pool for a few
0:06
Speaker 1: moments after Rod's words and Mukoki's signal from the cedars,
0:10
Speaker 1: Wabigowan sat as if stunned. It isn't gold, he said,
0:16
Speaker 1: his voice filled with questioning doubt. That's just what it is,
0:21
Speaker 1: declared Rod, his words now rising in the excitement which
0:25
Speaker 1: he was vainly striving to suppress. It's hard, but see
0:30
Speaker 1: how your knife point has scratched it. It weighs a
0:34
Speaker 1: quarter of an ounce. Are there any more nuggets in there?
0:38
Speaker 1: He fell upon his knees beside Wabi, and their two
0:42
Speaker 1: heads were close together, their four eyes eagerly searching the
0:46
Speaker 1: contents of the pan. When Mukoki came up behind them,
0:50
Speaker 1: Rod passed the golden nugget to the old Indian and
0:53
Speaker 1: rose to his feet. That settles it, boys, We've hit
0:57
Speaker 1: the right spot. Let's get we have three cheers for
1:01
Speaker 1: john Ball and the old map, and go to dinner.
1:05
Speaker 1: I agree to dinner, but cut out the cheers, said Wabi.
1:09
Speaker 1: Or else let's give them under our breath. Notice how
1:13
Speaker 1: hollow our voices sound in this chasm. I believe we
1:16
Speaker 1: could hear a shout half a dozen miles away for
1:21
Speaker 1: their camp. Mukoki had chosen a sight in the edge
1:24
Speaker 1: of the cedars, and had spread dinner on a big
1:26
Speaker 1: flat rock about which the three now gathered for inspiration.
1:31
Speaker 1: As Wabi said, the young Indian placed the yellow nugget
1:35
Speaker 1: in the center of the improvised table, and if the
1:38
Speaker 1: enthusiasm with which they hurried through their meal counted for anything,
1:42
Speaker 1: there was great merit in the golden centerpiece. Mukoki joined
1:47
Speaker 1: the young gold seekers when they again returned to the
1:50
Speaker 1: chasm stream, and the quest of the yellow treasure was
1:53
Speaker 1: vigorously renewed in trembling and feverish expectancy. Only those who
1:59
Speaker 1: have lived in this quest and to have pursued that
2:01
Speaker 1: elusive ignis fatuus of all nations the lure of gold,
2:06
Speaker 1: can realize the sensations which stir the blood and heat
2:10
Speaker 1: the brain of the treasure seeker as he dips his
2:13
Speaker 1: pan into the sands of the stream where he believes
2:16
Speaker 1: nature has hidden her wealth. As Roderick drew, a child
2:21
Speaker 1: of that civilization where the dollar is law, as well
2:24
Speaker 1: as might returned to the exciting work which promised him
2:28
Speaker 1: a fortune, he seemed to be in a half dream
2:32
Speaker 1: about him. Everywhere was gold. For no moment did he
2:37
Speaker 1: doubt it. Not for an instant did he fear that
2:40
Speaker 1: there might be no more gold in the sand and
2:42
Speaker 1: gravel from which Wabigowan's nugget had come. Treasure was in
2:47
Speaker 1: the very sand bar under his feet. It was out
2:51
Speaker 1: there among the rocks, where the water beat itself angrily
2:54
Speaker 1: into sputtering froth. It was under the fall and down
2:58
Speaker 1: in the chasm, everywhere everywhere about him. In one month,
3:04
Speaker 1: John Ball and his companions had gathered twenty seven pounds
3:07
Speaker 1: of it, a fortune of nearly seven thousand dollars, and
3:13
Speaker 1: they had gathered it here eagerly. He scooped up a
3:16
Speaker 1: fresh pan of the precious earth. He heard the swish
3:21
Speaker 1: of the water in Wabigowan's and Mukoki's pans, But beyond
3:26
Speaker 1: this there were no sounds made by them. In these
3:30
Speaker 1: first minutes of treasure seeking, no words were spoken. Who
3:34
Speaker 1: would give the first shout of discovery? Five minutes, ten
3:39
Speaker 1: fifteen of them passed, and Rod found no gold. As
3:44
Speaker 1: he emptied his pan, he saw Wabi scooping up fresh dirt.
3:49
Speaker 1: He too had failed. Mukoki had waded out waist deep
3:53
Speaker 1: among the rocks a second and a third pan, and
3:58
Speaker 1: a little chill of disappointment cooled Rod's blood. Perhaps he
4:03
Speaker 1: had chosen an unlucky spot where the gold had not settled.
4:07
Speaker 1: He moved his position and noticed that Wabigowan had done
4:11
Speaker 1: the same a fourth and a fifth pan, and the
4:15
Speaker 1: result was the same. Mukoki had waded across the stream,
4:20
Speaker 1: which was shallow below the fall, and was working on
4:23
Speaker 1: the opposite side a sixth pan, and Rod approached the
4:27
Speaker 1: young Indian. The excitement was gone out of their faces.
4:32
Speaker 1: An hour and a half and no more gold. Guess
4:37
Speaker 1: we haven't hit the right place after all, said Wabi.
4:42
Speaker 1: It must be here, replied Rod. Where there is one nugget,
4:46
Speaker 1: there must be more. Gold is heavy and settles. Perhaps
4:52
Speaker 1: it's deeper down in the river bed. Mukoki came across
4:56
Speaker 1: to join them. Out among the rocks, he had found
4:59
Speaker 1: a fleck of gold no larger than the head of
5:02
Speaker 1: a pin, and this new sign gave them all fresh enthusiasm.
5:07
Speaker 1: Taking off their boots, both Rod and Wabie joined the
5:11
Speaker 1: old pathfinder in mid stream, but each succeeding pan added
5:16
Speaker 1: to the depressing conviction that was slowly replacing their hopes.
5:21
Speaker 1: The shadows in the chasm began growing longer and deeper.
5:25
Speaker 1: Far overhead, the dense canopies of red pine shut out
5:29
Speaker 1: the last sun glow of day, and the gathering gloom
5:32
Speaker 1: between the mountains gave warning that in this mysterious world
5:36
Speaker 1: of the ancient cabin, the dusk of night was not
5:39
Speaker 1: far away. But not until they could no longer see
5:43
Speaker 1: the gleaming mica in their pans did the three cease work.
5:48
Speaker 1: Wet to the waist, Tired and with sadly shattered dreams,
5:52
Speaker 1: they returned to their camp for a short time. Rod's
5:57
Speaker 1: hopes were at their lowest. Ebb Was it possible that
6:01
Speaker 1: there was no more gold, that the three adventurers of
6:04
Speaker 1: long ago had discovered a pocket here and worked it out?
6:08
Speaker 1: The thought had been growing in his head. Now it
6:12
Speaker 1: worried him, But his depression did not last long. The
6:17
Speaker 1: big fire which Mukoki built and the stimulating aroma of
6:21
Speaker 1: strong coffee revived his natural spirits, and both Wabi and
6:26
Speaker 1: he were soon laughing and planning again. As they made
6:29
Speaker 1: their cedar bow shelter supper on the big flat stone,
6:34
Speaker 1: a feast of bare steak, hot stone biscuits, coffee, and
6:39
Speaker 1: that most delectable of all wilderness luxuries, a potato apiece.
6:44
Speaker 1: And the two irrepressible young gold hunters were once more
6:47
Speaker 1: scheming and building their air castles for the following day.
6:52
Speaker 1: Mukoki listened and attended to the clothes drying before the
6:56
Speaker 1: fire now, and then walking out into the gloom of
6:59
Speaker 1: the chasm to look up to where the white rim
7:02
Speaker 1: of the fall burst over the edge of the great
7:04
Speaker 1: rock above them. All that afternoon, Wabi and Rod had
7:09
Speaker 1: forgotten the mad hunter and the strange, smoothly worn tree.
7:14
Speaker 1: Mukoki had not. In the glow of the campfire, the
7:19
Speaker 1: two boys read over again the old account of John
7:22
Speaker 1: Ball and the two Frenchmen. The tiny slip of paper,
7:27
Speaker 1: yellow with age was the connecting link between them and
7:31
Speaker 1: the dim and romantic past, a relic of the grim
7:34
Speaker 1: tragedy which these black and gloomy chasm walls would probably
7:38
Speaker 1: keep forever a secret. Twenty seven pounds, repeated Rod, as
7:45
Speaker 1: if half to himself. That was one month's work. Pretty
7:50
Speaker 1: nearly a pound a day, gasped Wabi. I tell you, Rod,
7:55
Speaker 1: we haven't hit the right spot yet. I wonder why
8:00
Speaker 1: John Ball's share was twice that of his companions. Do
8:04
Speaker 1: you suppose it was because he discovered the gold in
8:07
Speaker 1: the first place, speculated Rod. In all probability, it was
8:13
Speaker 1: that accounts for his murder. The Frenchmen were getting the
8:16
Speaker 1: small end of the deal eighteen hundred and fifty nine,
8:22
Speaker 1: mused Rod. That was forty nine years ago, before the
8:26
Speaker 1: Great Civil War. Say he stopped and looked hard at Wabigoon.
8:34
Speaker 1: Did it ever strike you that John Ball might not
8:36
Speaker 1: have been murdered? Wabee leaned forward with more than usual eagerness.
8:43
Speaker 1: I have had a thought, he began, What that perhaps
8:49
Speaker 1: he was not killed, and that after the two frenchmen
8:52
Speaker 1: died in the knife duel, he returned and got the gold,
8:56
Speaker 1: continued Rod. No, I had no not thought of that,
9:01
Speaker 1: said Wabi. Suddenly he rose to his feet and joined
9:05
Speaker 1: Mukoki out in the gloom of the chasm. Rod was puzzled.
9:11
Speaker 1: Something in his companion's voice, in his face and words
9:15
Speaker 1: disturbed him. What had Wabigowan meant? The young Indian soon
9:20
Speaker 1: rejoined him, but he spoke no more of John Ball.
9:25
Speaker 1: When the two boys went to their blankets, Mukoki still
9:28
Speaker 1: remained awake for a long time. He sat beside the fire,
9:33
Speaker 1: his hands gripping the rifle across his knees, his head
9:37
Speaker 1: slightly bowed in that statue like posture so characteristic of
9:41
Speaker 1: the Indian. For fully an hour he sat motionless, and
9:46
Speaker 1: in his own way, he was deeply absorbed in thought.
9:50
Speaker 1: Soon after their discovery of the first golden bullet, Wabigowan
9:54
Speaker 1: had whispered a few words into his ear, unknown to Rod,
9:59
Speaker 1: and tonight out in the gloom of the chasm, he
10:02
Speaker 1: had repeated those same words. They had set Mukoki's mind working.
10:09
Speaker 1: He was thinking now of something that happened long ago, when,
10:13
Speaker 1: in his reasoning, the wilderness was young, and he was
10:16
Speaker 1: a youth. In those days, his one great treasure was
10:21
Speaker 1: a dog, and one winter he went with his faithful
10:24
Speaker 1: companion far into the hunting regions of the north, a
10:28
Speaker 1: long moon's travel from his village. When he returned months later,
10:34
Speaker 1: he was alone from his lonely hunting shack deep in
10:38
Speaker 1: the solitudes. His comrade had disappeared and had never returned.
10:44
Speaker 1: This all happened before Mukoki met the pretty Indian girl
10:47
Speaker 1: who became his wife, and was afterward killed by the wolves.
10:52
Speaker 1: And he missed the dog as he would have missed
10:54
Speaker 1: a human brother. The Indian's love, even for brutes, is
11:00
Speaker 1: something that lives and more than twenty moons later, two
11:04
Speaker 1: years in the life of a man. He returned once
11:07
Speaker 1: again to the old shack, and there he found Waldea
11:11
Speaker 1: the dog. The animal knew him and bounded about on
11:16
Speaker 1: three legs for joy, and because of the missing leg,
11:20
Speaker 1: Mukoki understood why he had not returned to him two
11:24
Speaker 1: years before. Two years is a long time in the
11:28
Speaker 1: life of a dog, and the gray hairs of suffering
11:32
Speaker 1: and age were freely sprinkled in Waldea's muzzle and along
11:36
Speaker 1: his spine. Mukoki was not thinking of Waldea without a reason.
11:42
Speaker 1: He was thinking of Wabigowan's words. And the mad hunter
11:47
Speaker 1: could not the mad hunter do as Waldea had done.
11:51
Speaker 1: Was it possible that the bad dog man who shot
11:55
Speaker 1: golden bullets and who screamed like a lynx, was the
11:59
Speaker 1: man who had lived there many many years ago, and
12:02
Speaker 1: whom the boys called John Ball. Those were the thoughts
12:07
Speaker 1: that Wabi had set working in his brain. The young
12:11
Speaker 1: Indian had not suggested this to Rod. He had spoken
12:16
Speaker 1: of it to Mukoki only because he knew the old
12:18
Speaker 1: pathfinder might help him to solve the riddle, and so
12:22
Speaker 1: he had started Mukoki upon the trail. The next morning,
12:27
Speaker 1: while the others were finishing their breakfast, Mukoki equipped himself
12:31
Speaker 1: for a journey go down chasm. He explained to Rod
12:38
Speaker 1: fine where get out to plane shoot meat. That day,
12:43
Speaker 1: the gold hunters were more systematic in their work, beginning
12:47
Speaker 1: close to the fall, one on each side of the stream,
12:51
Speaker 1: and panning their way slowly down the chasm. By noon,
12:56
Speaker 1: they had covered two hundred yards, and their only reward
12:59
Speaker 1: was a tiny bit of gold worth no more than
13:02
Speaker 1: a dollar, which Rod had found in his pan. By
13:07
Speaker 1: the time darkness again compelled them to stop, they had
13:10
Speaker 1: prospected a quarter of a mile downstream without discovering other
13:15
Speaker 1: signs of John Ball's treasure. In spite of their failure,
13:19
Speaker 1: they were less discouraged than the previous evening, for this failure,
13:23
Speaker 1: in a way, was having a sedative and healthful effect.
13:28
Speaker 1: It convinced them that there was a hard and perhaps
13:31
Speaker 1: long task ahead of them, and that they could not
13:34
Speaker 1: expect to find their treasure winnowed in yellow piles for them.
13:39
Speaker 1: Early in the evening, Mukoki returned, laden with caribou meat
13:43
Speaker 1: and with the news that the first break in the
13:46
Speaker 1: chasm walls was fully five miles below. The adventurers now
13:51
Speaker 1: regretted that they had chopped down the stub, for it
13:55
Speaker 1: was decided that the next work should be in the
13:57
Speaker 1: stream above the fall, which would necessity a ten mile
14:01
Speaker 1: tramp five miles to the break and five miles back.
14:06
Speaker 1: When the journey was begun at dawn the following morning.
14:10
Speaker 1: Several days' supplies were taken along, and also a stout rope,
14:14
Speaker 1: by means of which the gold hunters could lower themselves
14:17
Speaker 1: back into their old camp. When their work above was completed,
14:23
Speaker 1: Rod noticed that the rocks in the stream seemed much
14:26
Speaker 1: larger than when he had first seen them, and he
14:29
Speaker 1: mentioned the fact to Wabigowan. The floods are going down rapidly,
14:34
Speaker 1: explained the young Indian. All of the snow is melted
14:38
Speaker 1: from the sides of the mountains, and there are no
14:41
Speaker 1: lakes to feed this chasm stream. Within a week there
14:45
Speaker 1: won't be more than a few inches of water below
14:47
Speaker 1: the fall, and that is when we shall find the gold,
14:52
Speaker 1: declared Rod, with his old enthusiasm. I tell you we
14:56
Speaker 1: haven't gone deep enough. This gold has been he for
15:00
Speaker 1: centuries and centuries, and it is probably settled several feet
15:05
Speaker 1: below the surface of the river bed. Ball and the
15:08
Speaker 1: Frenchman found twenty seven pounds in June when the creek
15:12
Speaker 1: was practically dry. Did you ever read about the discoveries
15:16
Speaker 1: of gold in Alaska and the Yukon a little when
15:21
Speaker 1: I was going to school with you? Well, the richest
15:25
Speaker 1: fines were nearly always from three to a dozen feet
15:28
Speaker 1: under the surface. And when a prospector found signs in
15:32
Speaker 1: surface panning, he knew there was rich dirt below. We'll
15:37
Speaker 1: find our gold in this chasm and near the fall.
15:42
Speaker 1: Rod's confidence was the chief thing that kept up the
15:44
Speaker 1: spirits of the treasure seekers during the next few days,
15:48
Speaker 1: for not the first sign of gold was discovered above
15:51
Speaker 1: the fall. Yard by yard, the prospectors worked up the
15:56
Speaker 1: chasm until they washed its sands for more than a mile,
16:01
Speaker 1: and with the passing of each day, as Wabigawan had predicted,
16:05
Speaker 1: the stream became more and more shallow, until they could
16:09
Speaker 1: wade across it without wetting themselves above their knees. At
16:14
Speaker 1: the close of the fourth day, the three lowered themselves
16:17
Speaker 1: over the face of the rock into the second chasm.
16:21
Speaker 1: So convinced was Rod in his belief that the gold
16:24
Speaker 1: was hidden deep down under the creek bed, that he
16:27
Speaker 1: dug a four foot hole by torchlight, and that night,
16:31
Speaker 1: after supper washed out several pans of dirt in the
16:35
Speaker 1: glow of the camp fire, he still found no signs
16:39
Speaker 1: of gold. The next day's exertions left no room for doubt.
16:46
Speaker 1: Beyond two or three tiny flecks of gold, the three
16:49
Speaker 1: adventurers found nothing of value in the deeper sand and
16:53
Speaker 1: gravel of the stream. That night, absolute dejection settled on
16:58
Speaker 1: the camp. Both Rod and Wabigowan made vain efforts to
17:03
Speaker 1: liven up their drooping spirits. Only Mukoki, to whom gold
17:08
Speaker 1: carried but a fleeting and elusive value, was himself, and
17:12
Speaker 1: even his hopefulness was dampened by the gloom of his companions.
17:18
Speaker 1: Rod could see but one explanation of their failure. Somewhere
17:22
Speaker 1: near the cataract, John Ball and the Frenchman had found
17:26
Speaker 1: a rich pocket of gold, and they had worked it out,
17:29
Speaker 1: probably before the fatal tragedy in the old cabin. But
17:34
Speaker 1: how about the mad hunter and his golden bullets? Insisted Wabi,
17:39
Speaker 1: in another effort to brighten their prospects. The bullets weighed
17:43
Speaker 1: an ounce each, and I'll stake my life. They came
17:47
Speaker 1: from this chasm. He knows where the gold is. If
17:50
Speaker 1: we don't come back soon, grunted Mukoki, watch him find gold.
17:59
Speaker 1: That's what we'll do, cried the young Indian, jumping suddenly
18:03
Speaker 1: to his feet and toppling Rod backward off the rock
18:06
Speaker 1: upon which he was sitting. Come cheer up, Rod. The
18:11
Speaker 1: gold is here somewhere, and we're going to find it.
18:15
Speaker 1: I'm heartily ashamed of you, you whom I thought would
18:19
Speaker 1: never get discouraged. Rod was laughing when he recovered from
18:24
Speaker 1: the playful mauling, which Wabi administered before he could regain
18:28
Speaker 1: his feet. That's right, I deserve another licking. We've got
18:33
Speaker 1: all the spring and summer before us, and if we
18:36
Speaker 1: don't find the gold by the time snowflies, we'll come
18:40
Speaker 1: back and try it again next year. What do you say,
18:45
Speaker 1: and bring men a taki with us, added Wabi, jumping
18:49
Speaker 1: into the air and kicking his heels together. How will
18:52
Speaker 1: you like that, Rod? He nudged his comrade in the ribs,
18:57
Speaker 1: and in another moment both were puffing and laughing in
19:00
Speaker 1: one of their good natured wrestling bouts, in which the
19:04
Speaker 1: catlike agility of the young Indian always won for him
19:07
Speaker 1: in the end. In spite of momentary times like this,
19:12
Speaker 1: when the natural buoyancy and enthusiasm of the young adventurers
19:16
Speaker 1: rose above their discouragement, the week that followed added to
19:20
Speaker 1: their general depression. For miles the chasm was explored, and
19:26
Speaker 1: at the end of the week they had found less
19:28
Speaker 1: than an ounce of gold. If their pans had given
19:32
Speaker 1: them no returns at all, their disappointment would have been
19:35
Speaker 1: less for then, as Wabi said, they could have given
19:40
Speaker 1: up the ghost with good grace. But the few precious
19:44
Speaker 1: yellow grains which they found now and then lured them on,
19:49
Speaker 1: as these same grains have lured other hundreds and thousands
19:52
Speaker 1: since the dawn of civilization. Day after day they persisted
19:58
Speaker 1: in their efforts. After night about their campfire, they inspired
20:02
Speaker 1: each other with new hope and made new plans. The
20:07
Speaker 1: spring sun grew stronger, the poplar buds burst into tiny leaf,
20:12
Speaker 1: and out beyond the walls of the chasm. The first
20:16
Speaker 1: promises of summer came in the sweetly scented winds of
20:19
Speaker 1: the south, redolent with the breath of balsam and pine
20:23
Speaker 1: and the thousand growing things of the plains. But at
20:27
Speaker 1: last the search came to an end. For three days,
20:31
Speaker 1: not even a grain of gold had been found around
20:35
Speaker 1: the big Rock where they were eating dinner. Rod and
20:38
Speaker 1: his friends came to a final conclusion. The following morning
20:43
Speaker 1: they would break camp, and, leaving their canoe behind, for
20:47
Speaker 1: the creek was now too shallow for even birch bark navigation,
20:51
Speaker 1: they would continue their exploration of the chasm in search
20:54
Speaker 1: of other adventures. The whole summer was ahead of them,
20:59
Speaker 1: and though they had failed and discovering a treasure where
21:02
Speaker 1: John Ball and the Frenchman had succeeded, they might find
21:05
Speaker 1: one farther on. At least the trip deeper into the
21:09
Speaker 1: unexplored wilderness would be filled with excitement. Mukoki rose to
21:15
Speaker 1: his feet, leaving Rod and Wabi still discussing their plans.
21:20
Speaker 1: Suddenly he turned toward them, and a startled cry fell
21:23
Speaker 1: from his lips, while with one long arm he pointed
21:27
Speaker 1: beyond the fall into the upper chasm. Listen him him.
21:35
Speaker 1: The old warrior's face twitched with excitement, and for a
21:39
Speaker 1: full half minute, he stood motionless, his arm still extended,
21:44
Speaker 1: his black eyes staring steadily at Rod and Wabigouan, who
21:48
Speaker 1: sat as silent as the rocks about them. Then there
21:52
Speaker 1: came to them, from a great distance, a quavering, thrilling sound,
21:57
Speaker 1: a sound that filled them again with the old horror
22:00
Speaker 1: of the upper Chasm, the cry of the Mad Hunter.
22:05
Speaker 1: At that distant cry, Wabigouan sprang to his feet, his
22:09
Speaker 1: eyes leaping fire, his bronze cheeks whitening in an excitement
22:14
Speaker 1: even greater than that of Mukoki. Muki, I told you,
22:19
Speaker 1: he cried, I told you. The young Indian's body quivered,
22:24
Speaker 1: his hands were clenched, and when he turned upon Rod,
22:28
Speaker 1: the white youth was startled by the look in his face.
22:33
Speaker 1: Rod john Ball is coming back to his gold. Hardly
22:38
Speaker 1: had he spoken the words. When the tenseness left his
22:41
Speaker 1: body and his hands dropped to his side. The words
22:46
Speaker 1: shot from him before he could control himself enough to
22:48
Speaker 1: hold them back. In another moment, he was sorry the
22:53
Speaker 1: thought that john Ball and the Mad Hunter were the
22:56
Speaker 1: same person. He had kept to himself until, for reasons
22:59
Speaker 1: of his own, he had let Mukoki into his secret.
23:03
Speaker 1: While the idea had taken larger and larger growth in
23:06
Speaker 1: his mind. He knew that from every logical point of view,
23:10
Speaker 1: the thing was impossible, and that constraint which came of
23:14
Speaker 1: the Indian blood in him held him from discussing it
23:17
Speaker 1: with Rod. But now the words were out. A quick
23:22
Speaker 1: flush replaced the whiteness that had come into his face.
23:26
Speaker 1: In another instant, he was leaning eagerly toward Rod, his
23:31
Speaker 1: eyes kindling into fire again. He had not expected the
23:35
Speaker 1: change that he now saw come over the white Youth.
23:39
Speaker 1: I have been thinking that for a long time, he continued,
23:44
Speaker 1: ever since we found the footprints in the sand. There's
23:47
Speaker 1: just one proof that we need, just one, and listen.
23:53
Speaker 1: Rod fairly hissed the word as he held up a
23:56
Speaker 1: warning hand. This time the cry of the mad hunter
24:00
Speaker 1: came to them more distinctly. He was approaching through the
24:04
Speaker 1: upper chasm. The White Youth rose to his feet, his
24:08
Speaker 1: eyes steadily fixed upon Wabigowans. His face was deathly pale.
24:15
Speaker 1: John Ball, he repeated, as if he had just heard
24:19
Speaker 1: what the other had said. John Ball, what seemed to
24:24
Speaker 1: him to be the only truth, swept upon him like
24:27
Speaker 1: a flood, and for a score of seconds in every
24:31
Speaker 1: one of which he could hear, his heart thumping excitedly,
24:35
Speaker 1: he stood like one stunned john Ball. John Ball returned
24:41
Speaker 1: to life to find their gold, for them, to tell
24:44
Speaker 1: them of the tragedy and mystery of those days long
24:48
Speaker 1: dead and gone. Like powder touched by a spark of fire,
24:53
Speaker 1: his imagination leaped at Wabi's thrilling suggestion. Mukoki set to work. Hide,
25:01
Speaker 1: he exclaimed, Hide these, these, these, he pointed about him,
25:07
Speaker 1: at all the things in camp. Both of the boys understood,
25:13
Speaker 1: he must see no signs of our presence. From the
25:15
Speaker 1: top of the fall, cried Wabi, gathering an armful of
25:19
Speaker 1: camp utensils. Hide them back among the cedars. Mukoki hurried
25:25
Speaker 1: to the cedar bowshelter and began tearing it down. For
25:30
Speaker 1: five minutes. The adventurers worked on the run. Once during
25:34
Speaker 1: that time they heard the madman's wailing cry, and hardly
25:38
Speaker 1: had they finished and concealed themselves in the gloom of
25:41
Speaker 1: the old cabin when it came again, this time from
25:45
Speaker 1: not more than a rifle shots distance beyond the cataract.
25:50
Speaker 1: It was not a scream that now fell from the
25:52
Speaker 1: mad hunter's lips, but a low wail, and in it
25:56
Speaker 1: there was something that drove the old horror from the
25:59
Speaker 1: three wildly eating hearts and filled them with a measureless,
26:02
Speaker 1: nameless pity. What change had come over the madman? The
26:08
Speaker 1: cry was repeated every few seconds, now, each time nearer
26:13
Speaker 1: than before, And in it there was a questioning, appealing
26:17
Speaker 1: note that seemed to end in sobbing despair, a something
26:22
Speaker 1: that gripped at Rod's heart and filled him with a great,
26:26
Speaker 1: half mastering impulse to answer it, to run out and
26:29
Speaker 1: stretch his hands forth in greeting to the strange wild
26:33
Speaker 1: creature coming down the chasm. Then as he looked, something
26:38
Speaker 1: ran out upon the edge of the great rock beside
26:40
Speaker 1: the cataract, and he clutched at his own breast to
26:44
Speaker 1: hold back what he thought must burst forth in words,
26:48
Speaker 1: for he knew as surely as he knew that Wabi
26:51
Speaker 1: was at his side, that he was looking upon John Ball.
26:56
Speaker 1: For a moment, the strange creature crouched where the stub
26:59
Speaker 1: had been, and when he saw that it was gone,
27:02
Speaker 1: he stood erect, and a quavering, pitiful cry echoed softly
27:07
Speaker 1: through the chasm. And as he stood there motionless, the
27:11
Speaker 1: watcher saw that the mad hunter was an old man,
27:15
Speaker 1: tall and thin, but as straight as a sapling, and
27:19
Speaker 1: that his head and breast were hidden in shaggy beard
27:22
Speaker 1: and hair. In his hands he carried a gun, the
27:27
Speaker 1: gun that had fired the golden bullets, and even at
27:31
Speaker 1: that distance, those who were peering from the gloom of
27:34
Speaker 1: the cabin saw that it was a long barreled weapon,
27:37
Speaker 1: similar to those they had found in the other old cabin,
27:41
Speaker 1: along with the skeletons of the Frenchman who had died
27:44
Speaker 1: in the fatal knife duel. In breathless suspense, the three waited,
27:50
Speaker 1: not a muscle of their bodies moving again. The old
27:54
Speaker 1: man leaned over the edge of the rock, and his
27:57
Speaker 1: voice came to them in a moaning, sobbing appeal, And
28:01
Speaker 1: after a little he stretched out his arms, still crying softly,
28:06
Speaker 1: as if beseeching help from some one below. The spectacle
28:11
Speaker 1: gripped at Rod's soul, A hot film came into his eyes,
28:16
Speaker 1: and there was an odd little tremble in his throat.
28:19
Speaker 1: The Indians were looking with dark, staring eyes to them
28:24
Speaker 1: this was another unusual incident of the wilderness, but to Rod,
28:29
Speaker 1: it was the white man's soul crying out to his own.
28:34
Speaker 1: The old man's outstretched arm seemed reaching to him. The
28:38
Speaker 1: sobbing voice, filled with its pathos, its despair, its hopeless loneliness,
28:44
Speaker 1: seemed a supplication for him to come forth, to reach
28:47
Speaker 1: up his own arms, to respond to this lost soul
28:51
Speaker 1: of the Solitudes. With a little cry, Rod darted between
28:56
Speaker 1: his companions. He threw off his cap and lifted his
29:00
Speaker 1: white face to the startled creature on the rock. And
29:04
Speaker 1: as he advanced, step by step, reaching out his hands
29:07
Speaker 1: in friendship, he called softly a name, john Ball, john Ball,
29:15
Speaker 1: john Ball. In an instant, the mad hunter had straightened himself,
29:21
Speaker 1: half turned to flee. John Ball, Hello, john Ball, john Ball.
29:30
Speaker 1: In his earnestness, Rod was almost sobbing the name. He
29:35
Speaker 1: forgot everything now, everything but that lonely figure on the rock,
29:39
Speaker 1: and he drew nearer and nearer, gently calling the name,
29:43
Speaker 1: until the mad hunter dropped on his knees and crumpled
29:47
Speaker 1: in his long beard and gray link skin, looked down
29:51
Speaker 1: upon Rod and sent back a low, moaning, answering cry,
29:57
Speaker 1: john Ball, John Ball, is that you? Rod stopped with
30:03
Speaker 1: the madman forty feet above him, and something seemed choking
30:07
Speaker 1: back the very breath in him when he saw the
30:10
Speaker 1: strange look that had come into the old man's eyes.
30:15
Speaker 1: John Ball, the wild eyes above shifted for a moment.
30:21
Speaker 1: They caught a glimpse of two heads thrust from the
30:23
Speaker 1: door of the old cabin, and the madman sprang to
30:27
Speaker 1: his feet for a breath. He stood on the edge
30:31
Speaker 1: of the rock. Then with a cry, he leaped, with
30:34
Speaker 1: the fierce agility of an animal, far out into the
30:37
Speaker 1: swirl of the cataract. For an instant. He was visible
30:41
Speaker 1: in the downward plunge of the water. Another instant, and
30:45
Speaker 1: with a heavy splash, he disappeared in the deep pool
30:49
Speaker 1: under the fall. Wabi and Mukoki had seen the desperate leap,
30:55
Speaker 1: and the young Indian was beside the pool before Rod
30:57
Speaker 1: had recovered from his horrified astonished For centuries, the water
31:03
Speaker 1: of the Chasm Stream had been tumbling into this pool,
31:06
Speaker 1: wearing it deeper and deeper each year, until the water
31:10
Speaker 1: in it was over a man's head in width, it
31:14
Speaker 1: was not more than a dozen feet. Watch for him,
31:19
Speaker 1: he'll drown if we don't get him out, shouted Wabi.
31:24
Speaker 1: Rod leaped to the edge of the pool, with Mukoki
31:27
Speaker 1: between him and Wabigowan, ready to spring into the cold depths.
31:32
Speaker 1: At the first sign of the old man's gray head
31:34
Speaker 1: or struggling arms. The three stood with every muscle ready
31:39
Speaker 1: for action. A second, two seconds, five seconds passed and
31:45
Speaker 1: there was no sign of him. Rod's heart began to
31:49
Speaker 1: beat with drum like fierceness. Ten seconds a quarter of
31:54
Speaker 1: a minute, he looked at Wabigowan. The young Indian had
31:59
Speaker 1: thrown off his Cariboo skin coat. His eyes as he
32:03
Speaker 1: turned them for a moment toward Rod flashed back. The
32:06
Speaker 1: white youth's fear, I'm going to dive for him. In
32:12
Speaker 1: another instant he had plunged head foremost into the pool.
32:17
Speaker 1: Mukoki's coat fell to the ground. He crouched forward until
32:21
Speaker 1: it seemed he must topple from the stone upon which
32:24
Speaker 1: he stood. Another fifteen seconds and Wabigowan's head appeared above
32:29
Speaker 1: the water, and the old warrior gave a shout, me come.
32:36
Speaker 1: He shot out and disappeared in a huge splash close
32:39
Speaker 1: to Wabi. Rod stood transfixed, filled with a fear that
32:45
Speaker 1: was growing in him. At every breath he drew, he
32:49
Speaker 1: saw the convulsions of the water made by the two
32:51
Speaker 1: Indians who were groping about below the surface. Wabigawan came
32:57
Speaker 1: up again for breath, then Mukoki. It seemed to him
33:01
Speaker 1: that an age had passed, and he felt no hope.
33:05
Speaker 1: John Ball was dead. Not for a moment now did
33:10
Speaker 1: he doubt the identity of the mad hunter. The strange,
33:14
Speaker 1: wistful light that had replaced the glare in the old
33:16
Speaker 1: man's eyes when he heard his own name called to him,
33:20
Speaker 1: had spoken more than words. It was John Ball, and
33:25
Speaker 1: he was dead. For a third time, a fourth, and
33:29
Speaker 1: a fifth Mukoki and Wabigowan came up for air, and
33:33
Speaker 1: the fifth time they dragged themselves out upon the rocks
33:37
Speaker 1: that edged the pool. Mukoki spoke no word, but ran
33:42
Speaker 1: back to the camp and threw a great armful of
33:44
Speaker 1: dry fuel upon the fire. Wabigawan still remained at the
33:50
Speaker 1: edge of the pool, dripping and shivering. His hands were clenched,
33:55
Speaker 1: and Rod could see that they were filled with sand
33:58
Speaker 1: and gravel. Mechanically, the Indian opened his fingers and looked
34:02
Speaker 1: at what he had unconsciously brought up from under the fall.
34:07
Speaker 1: For a moment he stared, Then, with his gasping breath,
34:11
Speaker 1: there came a low thrilling cry. He held out his
34:15
Speaker 1: hands to rod gleaming richly. Among the pebbles which he
34:20
Speaker 1: held was a nugget of pure gold, a nugget so
34:25
Speaker 1: large that rod gave a wild yell, and in that
34:28
Speaker 1: one moment forgot that John Ball, the Mad Hunter, was
34:32
Speaker 1: dead or dying beneath the fall end of Chapter fifteen.
34:40
Speaker 1: Recording by Roger Moline