

E-text prepared by D Alexander and the Project Gutenberg Online
Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images
generously made available by Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org)



Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
      file which includes the original illustrations.
      See 32253-h.htm or 32253-h.zip:
      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32253/32253-h/32253-h.htm)
      or
      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32253/32253-h.zip)


      Images of the original pages are available through
      Internet Archive. See
      http://www.archive.org/details/frontierboysinsi00roosrich





THE FRONTIER BOYS IN THE SIERRAS

Or

The Lost Mine

by

CAPT. WYN ROOSEVELT

Illustrated by S. Schneider







New York
A. L. Chatterton Company
Publishers




+-------------------------------------+
|                                     |
| By the same Author                  |
|                                     |
| FRONTIER BOYS ON THE OVERLAND TRAIL |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN COLORADO           |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN THE ROCKIES        |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON   |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN MEXICO             |
| FRONTIER BOYS ON THE COAST          |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN HAWAII             |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN THE SIERRAS        |
| FRONTIER BOYS IN THE SADDLE         |
|                                     |
+-------------------------------------+

Copyright 1909
Chatterton-Peck Co.




[Illustration: "THE MEXICAN HAD GOT ALMOST WITHIN STRIKING
DISTANCE."--P. 179.]




CONTENTS


 CHAPTER                                               PAGE

      I. IN THE CHANNEL                                  9
     II. FAREWELL TO HAWAII                             17
    III. JEEMS' STORY                                   25
     IV. THE LOST MINE                                  33
      V. WORKING THE SHIP                               41
     VI. DANGEROUS WORK                                 49
    VII. WHAT THEY SAW                                  57
   VIII. A RACE                                         66
     IX. THE ENGINEER                                   75
      X. THE RUSSIAN                                    85
     XI. A CONSPIRACY                                   94
    XII. THE GREEN GHOSTS                              103
   XIII. TOM'S BAD LUCK                                112
    XIV. THE TRIAL                                     121
     XV. "THE MARIA CROTHERS"                          130
    XVI. AN EXCITING CHARGE                            140
   XVII. A CHASE                                       148
  XVIII. THE DIAGRAM                                   157
    XIX. THE CAMP IN THE VALLEY                        167
     XX. A SURPRISE                                    176
    XXI. THE GREASER                                   185
   XXII. HAIL                                          192
  XXIII. A HOLIDAY                                     202
   XXIV. BIG GUS AND HIS GANG                          209
    XXV. A NEW FORT                                    215
   XXVI. A NIGHT ATTACK                                222
  XXVII. THE RETREAT                                   229
 XXVIII. A NEW START                                   237
   XXIX. THE SEARCH                                    244
    XXX. THE LOST MINE AGAIN                           251




 The Frontier Boys in the
 Sierras




CHAPTER I

IN THE CHANNEL


"By Jove, Jim!" exclaimed Jo Darlington, "but this sea is something
fierce! For one I will be mighty glad when we get clear of the
Hawaiian channels and out into the open."

"It is lively going," yelled Jim, above the roar of the wind, as he
and his brother Jo were standing together on the bridge of their ship,
"but I guess the _Sea Eagle_ will weather it, if we don't run into
another vessel in the dark. How about it, Captain?"

The captain, who was the rather bent figure of an old man, was clothed
in a heavy woolen jacket, buttoned across his chest. He stopped and
regarded Jim fixedly in the semi-light on the bridge.

"What's that, Skipper?" he roared hoarsely, "weather this? Why, this
ain't no sea, and the _Sea Eagle_ is a staunch boat. Why, lad, you
must be joking."

"I was," replied Jim, laughing. "I just want to reassure brother
Jo,--that was all."

"Somebody ought to go and cheer up Tom and Jeems Howell," remarked Jo,
in order to give himself some sea standing in the eyes of Captain
Kerns. "They are as sick as puppies down in the cabin."

"Don't blame 'em much," cried Jim, "this motion would upset a shark's
liver."

If you have read "The Frontier Boys in Hawaii," you will be well
acquainted with these conversationalists on the good sea-going yacht,
the _Sea Eagle_, but if not, you will have to be introduced, "Mr.
Reader, this is Skipper James Darlington."

"Happy to make your acquaintance, hope you are a good sailor?"

"Mr. Reader, allow me to present Captain Kerns."

Captain Kerns merely grunts, and, kind Mr. Reader, you must overlook
his lack of formality, because the captain is an old salt and his
manners are a little briny.

In way of further explanation, I may say that the Frontier Boys are
just returning from a trip to Hawaii in which they have explored the
wonderful crater of Haleapala on the Island of Maui, and their ship
the _Sea Eagle_, whose capture is another story, is pointing her prow
eastward through the rough channel that separates Hawaii and Maui.

They are en route to the coast of California, and as soon as they
land they have planned to make an exploring expedition into the
wilds of The Sierra Nevadas, in search of a lost mine, rumors of which
have come to their ears. Besides the three Frontier Boys and their
comrade Juarez, there is their friend Jeems Howell, a shepherd and
philosopher, from a small island off the coast of California; Captain
Kerns, a retired ship's master who was persuaded to come along merely
to supervise; Jim, the oldest of the three brothers, being the acting
commander, though generally referred to as skipper. And besides these,
there is old Pete, an ancient mariner, the engineer, and a sturdy boy
below who does a good deal of the stoking.

Besides these _dramatis personae_, there is a general chorus of
Mermen and Mermaids, sharks, porpoises, sea serpents _et al._; as Jo
Darlington would say, it was the sharks that _et all_. But this is no
reflection upon the appetites of the boys, which was invariably good,
if we may except Tom Darlington and Jeems Howell just at the present
moment.

Now, on with the voyage: as the principals have been introduced and
are ready, they can come to close grips with the ocean and all its
dangers, so that the referee, being the writer, has made his exit
through the ropes, allowing a free field and no favor. It is a tough
beginning as far as sea way goes. The hour is close upon midnight in
mid-channel, and that is no dream even on so staunch a little craft as
the _Sea Eagle_.

"That time she lapped the starboard boat into the water," yelled Jim.
"Hold steady now, lads."

Then up rose the ship on the other roll to larboard; over, over, over
she went; would she never stop? Then with a straining of all her
timbers, that had all the effort of severe muscular tension, she did
stop, then back she rolled on the other tack which was equally as
sharp, the brass balls on top of her masts pointing from star to star,
describing, it seemed, almost a semi-circle.

To make it more interesting the _Sea Eagle_ would then dip under a
huge wave and the water would swish and roll aft along the main deck.
The wind whistled and hummed through the taut ropes, and altogether it
was a lively night, even if the sturdy old captain did discount its
terrors. Occasionally Jim and Jo would slide across the bridge and
bring up against the side; but as a rule they kept their sea legs in
good shape.

"Hold on, Juarez," cried Jim, as he saw a dark form emerge from the
companionway, "here comes a big wave."

But with the roar of the sea and the wind Juarez did not hear the
warning, and had just started across the deck when under went the _Sea
Eagle_, and a tremendous wave swept aft, submerging the bulwarks. It
caught Juarez off his feet and swirled him toward the side. He would
not have lived a minute in those rearing, plunging seas.

As he was swept over, he caught frantically at an iron stanchion and
barely gripped it, and before he could make an effort to help himself
he was submerged in the water, the sea tugging at him as though it
were an hungry animal. Hardy as Juarez was, he could not help but feel
a thrill of terror; it seemed as if the waves desperately clutched at
him.

Jim was filled with horror when he saw Juarez apparently carried
overboard. He shook off the captain's grip; the latter thought that
Jim was going to spring over after his friend, which act he knew would
result in two lives being thrown away. So he leaped to the main deck.
Then he saw Juarez struggling to get aboard before the next wave
came. He sprang to his help and with a powerful pull yanked him in.

They braced themselves against the attack of a second wave that swept
the deck and then they were "high and dry" on the bridge, drenched to
the skin, but entirely safe, and none the worse for their impromptu
bath.

"That was a close call, Juarez," said Jo sympathetically.

"Another call like that and I won't be tu hum," replied Juarez with a
grin.

"Next time take a look for'ard, lad," said the captain, who had joined
the group in the shelter of the deck house; "we could never have
picked you up on a dark night like this." Then he went back to his
station on the bridge. The hardy old sailor would never have dreamed
of making much ado about any accident no matter how serious. If the
party came through alive, that was sufficient to show that it was not
very bad. The Frontier Boys, too, had absorbed a good deal of that
philosophy in the course of many dangers which they had so fortunately
outlived.

When daylight came, the _Sea Eagle_ had battered her way through the
rough channel, its waters tortured by rapid currents and terrific
cross seas, and was now pitching along the windward coast of the big
Island of Hawaii, with its twin volcanic summits nearly fourteen
thousand feet in height. It was not smooth going yet by any means, but
better than during the night.

"Get up, Tom, and look at the scenery." It was Jim's cheerful voice,
addressed to Tom, who lay pale and rather wan in his bunk.

"I've got no use for scenery," growled Tom, "unless I can get close
enough to it to put my foot on it. I want something solid."

"How would a beefsteak do, Tom?" It was Jo, who was looking over Jim's
shoulder. At the mention of food, Tom seemed endowed with sudden
energy and reached down, and grabbing up a shoe, hurled it at the two
in the doorway. They ducked and the missile barely grazed the beard of
the old captain, who was coming aft, and then it went overboard.

"By Thundas!" he exclaimed, opening his eyes wide with surprise, "who
kicked that?"

"Tom threw it, sir," said Jim with a burst of laughter he could not
control, at sight of the captain's astonished visage, "but he meant it
for us, because we were guying him."

"I'll forgive him on account of his intentions," grinned the captain.
"I only wish he had swatted you."

Tom was much relieved to hear this expression of opinion on the part
of the captain, of whom he stood in considerable awe. From fright to
relief was such a revulsion of feeling that Tom forgot to be sea-sick,
and he began to mend from that moment, so that he was able to be
present for duty when breakfast was served.

"I thought you were sick abed," remarked Jim, opening his eyes with
surprise.

"I was," replied Tom, "until I threw up that shoe, now I feel fine and
fit to eat a square meal."




CHAPTER II

FAREWELL TO HAWAII


Jeems Howell was the only one of the hardy Frontier group who was
unable to be present at breakfast that fine morning.

"How are you feeling, Jeems," inquired Jo, looking in upon the
sufferer a little later. "Don't you think that you could eat a little
something if you were propped up with pillows?"

"No, no, lad," said Jeems sadly. "I feel that I ain't long for this
world."

"I don't know what you call it then," remarked the incorrigible Jo,
"you are six feet four and that seems to me to be pretty long for this
world or any other."

Jeems laughed so heartily at this that he too began forthwith to
recuperate. Then he got out on the land side of the deck and, though
the sun was of a sufficient warmth to satisfy the most exacting, he
kept a heavy shawl wrapped around his shoulders.

"Durned old woman," growled the captain when he caught sight of the
figure seated between the cabin and the rail. "He ought to be for'ard
scrubbing deck."

However, Skipper Jim was more lenient, and only laughed at the
captain's severity, for he knew that the old fellow's bark was much
worse than his bite. In fact, no work was being done aboard ship that
morning, for all hands were given a chance for a long last look at
Hawaii. Never again were they to behold a more beautiful scene than
the panorama that traveled steadily along with the _Sea Eagle_ that
morning.

The soft radiance flooded the deeply azure sea, and the tropic island
of vivid and varied green. The four boys stood leaning lazily on the
ship's rail, gazing in silence at the view that was passing before
them. Their sombreros shaded their eyes, but the glare from the water
shone upon their faces of healthy bronze, and they did not seem to
mind it in the least. The old captain sat upon the bridge in his old
armchair, with his old comrade, the tortoise-shell cat, dozing and
blinking at his feet, a true picture of furry felicity.

So the crew of the _Sea Eagle_ passed in review this coast of Hawaii,
with black precipices, that rose in a continuous line of palisades
from out the sea, with no white beach shelving down. The great green
surges, with the force of the Pacific behind them, rolled against
the perpendicular walls, the dark surfaces of which were veined at
frequent intervals by the silvery lines of the waterfalls, or graced
by the vines which fell in straight lines, or were looped in varied
shapes.

Beyond these cliffs there rose the splendid <DW72>s, with here and
there groves of royal palms and slender cocoa trees, fit temples for
the gods of ancient Hawaii who were supposed to dwell in streams and
groves and mountains. Still higher up the mountain side grew the
forests of creamy koa, inlaid among the dark-leaved kukui.

At times the skirts of the clouds, heavy with moisture, dragged along
the lower <DW72>s, and a soft gloom would diffuse itself over the
landscape. Then the sun would roll the mists aside for the moment, and
the light would fall upon tropical vales, hills and mountain <DW72>s,
with all the vividness of the early spring and yet with the full, rich
splendor of summer.

No wonder the Frontier Boys were silent as they gazed upon this scene
of varied and unusual beauty, so different from the wild and barren
grandeur of the mountain ranges in their own country, and the arid
deserts they had traveled over.

"I'd hate to fall overboard here," exclaimed Tom, "it looks all-fired
deep."

"The captain says that along these island coasts," remarked Juarez,
"is some of the deepest seas in the world."

"Say, Jeems," cried Juarez to the invalid, "wade out here and see how
deep it is."

"If you really want to know I'll tell you," responded Jeems, the
philosopher. "Off this coast it's between five and seven thousand
feet."

"Whew!" whistled Jim, "over a mile, how is that for down?"

"It makes me shiver to think of it," exclaimed Tom.

"Hello, boys!" cried Jeems, "there is a big fire over on the other
side of the Island."

"I should say!" commented Jim earnestly. "Look at that smoke rolling
up."

"It must be a forest fire," put in Jo. "Reminds me of our Colorado
experiences."

"I tell you what, boys, let's make a landing and take a look at it,"
cried Juarez. "There's a fine harbor ahead of us!"

Old Captain Kerns was taking a deep interest in the conversation, as
was evident, as he looked down from the quarter deck at the boys.

"What's that you lads were saying, about a big fire somewheres?" he
inquired. "I hope it hain't aboard ship."

"No, no, Captain," replied Jim reassuringly, "we meant that big smoke
over on the other side of the island. Juarez wants to make a landing,
so as we can see it to better advantage. We don't want to miss any
excitement."

"You lads are always so eager," replied the captain. "Why don't you
wait until you get back here sometime?"

"It will be burned out long before we get back," said Jo.

"Well," said the captain slowly, "that smoke has been there for nigh
onto a thousand years, and is liable to be there for some time yet.
That's the volcano of Kiluaea."

How the captain roared then; for an instant the boys were dumfounded,
then they gave themselves up to hilarious mirth.

"That's certainly one on us boys," cried Jim. "We can't tell a volcano
when we see it. We ought to have stayed on the old