University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VIII.
IN THE WINDY CITY.

FIVE days later the automobile travelers were in Chicago. No serious accidents had occurred on the road, and they finished the first part of their trip in good shape. All the boys thought of was whether they would be allowed to proceed farther West.

Andy Rush was obliged to leave them, for he had promised to visit a relative of his mother. He did not relish being separated from his chums.

"Tough!" he exclaimed. "Wish I could go along--bully fun--shoot Indians--lasso the cowboys--kill the buffalos--ride a wild bull--break a bucking mustang--chase over the prairies--lots of sport--whoop!"

"We'd like to have you come," said Jerry, "but your folks said you could go no farther, and we have agreed to leave you here and take Mr. Nestor. So we have to keep our word."

Andy agreed that this was right, but the galvanic youth certainly did hate to part from his friends. The three chums put up at the Grand Hotel, and

Mr. Wakefield, after some parting words of advice, left them, as he had some business to transact. He said he did not expect to see them again before he returned to Cresville, and wished them all sorts of good luck.

"What's the first thing to do?" asked Bob, when the boys found themselves alone in their hotel rooms.

"Wire home that we are safe and ask if we can go farther West," suggested Jerry. "But don't say anything about the miner. He may not show up, and they'll laugh at us if they find that we have been fooled."

The wires were soon busy with messages from each of the three boys.

A day of anxious waiting ensued. Then, on the second afternoon the bellboy brought three yellow envelopes to their rooms. With trembling fingers the boys tore the missives open.

"Hurrah! I can go!" cried Jerry.

"So can I!" exclaimed Ned.

"Me, too!" put in Bob.

The boys executed an impromptu war-dance in their delight.

"Ho for the West and the gold mines!" cried Ned, trying to hug Jerry and Chunky at the same time and finding it was too much of a contract.

There came a knock on the door.

"I guess that's some one to tell us to stop our noise," remarked Jerry. "I thought you chaps were cutting up too rough."

"As if he didn't make as much of the row as any of us!" exclaimed Ned.

Bob opened the door. A well-dressed man, with iron-gray moustache and hair, entered.

"Here I be!" he announced, "an' I see you boys are right on deck!"

"I guess you've made a mistake," said Jerry, gently.

"Ain't this the Grand Hotel, where I was to meet the boys that befriended old Jim Nestor?" the man asked.

Then the boys saw it was their friend, the miner. But he had so changed in appearance, with a new suit of clothes, and with his hair and whiskers trimmed, that they did not recognize him. They greeted him heartily.

"I got well quicker than I expected," went on Nestor, "an' I couldn't stand New York any longer. Mr. Wakefield left me a tidy sum. He grub-staked me, so to speak, an' I come West. Got a quick train an' made Chicago 'most as soon as you boys did in your auto wagon."

"We're glad to see you," remarked Jerry.

"No more than I am to see you," put in the miner. "Now let's git right down to business.

That's my way. No beatin' around the bush for Jim Nestor.

"I told your friend, Mr. Wakefield, that I'd put you boys up against a good big proposition. Now I'm goin' to do it. Can you go as far as Arizona in that wagon of yours?"

"Farther if need be," replied Ned.

"Good! Now will your folks let you go?"

For answer the boys held out their telegrams.

"Good, again I see it's all right. Now I want you boys to know I ain't so poor as I looked to be when you found me. I'm rich, that's what I am, only I can't git at my money.

"The long and short of it is that I discovered down in the southern part of Arizona a rich gold mine. It assays high. In fact, if you saw the gold I had in the hut, you saw some of the yellow stuff that came from my mine. It's a lost mine."

"A lost mine?" exclaimed Bob, blankly. "Then what good is it?"

"It was lost, but I found it again," explained Nestor. "There's millions in it. It's up in the mountains, about a hundred miles from Tucson. The gold is there, but it's hard to reach.

"Now what I want to know is, can you boys go there, or near there, in your choo-choo cart? If you can, and we are successful, there's a chance for us all to make our fortunes, for I'll give you boys

a share apiece for what you did for me when I was in trouble."

"I guess we can go," said Jerry.

"It'll be a hard trip, full of trouble an' some danger," warned the miner.

"We'll risk it," said Ned.

"When can you start?" asked Nestor.

"Let's go right now!" exclaimed Bob, with such earnestness that the other laughed.

"To-morrow or next day will do," said Nestor. "I have a few things to attend to. I'll meet you here, say day after to-morrow."

At the agreed time Nestor was on hand. In the meantime the auto had been thoroughly overhauled, put in shape for a long, hard trip, and extra supplies purchased. It was a bright, sunny day when the start from Chicago was made.

"Let her go!" exclaimed Nestor, as he climbed into the rear seat with Bob.

Jerry, who was steering, threw in the gear clutches and the machine moved off on its long and what was destined to be eventful trip.

"Hold on!" cried Nestor, suddenly.

"What's the matter?" asked Jerry, stopping the car.

"Have you boys got guns?"

"Guns?" repeated Jerry, somewhat in bewilderment.

"Well, revolvers, then," went on the miner.

In answer, Ned rather sheepishly took from his valise three new double-action revolvers of excellent make.

"I thought we might need 'em," he said, "but I was afraid you'd laugh at me and say it was foolish."

"It's all right!" exclaimed Nestor. "I was going to tell you to git some. You see, you don't always need a gun in Arizona, but when you do, as the man in the story said about Texas, you need it mighty bad an' mighty sudden. So it's a prime thing you have 'em. I've got mine," and he showed two big .45 calibre ones.

Well armed, as well as otherwise provided for, the little expedition started off again, the automobile wending in and out through the busy Chicago streets.

"We'll make as straight a course as we can for Tucson," said Nestor. "I know the roads pretty well, 'cause I traveled 'em in a stage years ago, when Chicago was only a village."

The machine was puffing along at a fair rate of speed and had almost reached the outskirts of the city when a policeman, mounted on a motor-cycle, dashed up.

"I'll have to take you in," he announced.

"What for?" asked Ned.

"Riding too fast in the city limits."

"But we were going slow," objected Jerry. "If

you know anything about automobiles you can see the lever is only on the first-speed notch, and that only goes ten miles an hour at best."

"Can't help it," replied the officer. "I timed you and you went too fast."

"Dog-gone his hide, let me git my gun out an' I'll show him who he's a-holdin' up!" exclaimed Nestor, in a whisper.

"No, no!" expostulated Ned, who overheard the miner's threat. "This isn't out West. Don't pull any guns!"

"Well," put in Jerry, speaking to the officer, "if you think we were violating the law I suppose we'll have to go back with you. Shall I turn around and accompany you?" he asked, politely.

"That's what you better do. I don't want no fuss, but if you want trouble I'll make it for you."

The other boys wondered at Jerry's easy compliance with what they knew was an unreasonable and unjust command. The steersman started the machine slowly ahead, and, as the road was wide, began to turn in a circle, to head back to Chicago.

But when the auto was half way around, and pointed in the direction of the Windy City, Jerry did not continue on the way the officer expected. Instead, the boy widened his circle, made a complete revolution and then, throwing in the second speed, dashed away down the road, leaving the

discomfited motor-policeman to rage over the trick that had been played on him.

"I wasn't going to submit to arrest when I knew we were not guilty," said Jerry.

In a little while Chicago was left behind, and the auto dashed along a pleasant country road and was making good time toward the West.

Suddenly there came a puffing from behind that told of another machine coming. It passed the boys, who had slowed down a bit, and as it went by the occupants of the Cresville machine had a good view of those in the other car.

"Did you see them?" cried Jerry, in amazement.

"Who?" asked Bob, who had not given much heed to the other auto.

"Noddy Nixon was in that machine, and with him were Jack Pender and Bill Berry!"