Left to himself, Rodney could think soberly of his
plight. He could not foresee whether his captivity
would be brief or prolonged.
After a time the spirit of curiosity seized him.
He felt tempted to explore the cavern in which he
was confined. He took a lamp, and followed in
a direction opposite to that taken by his captors.
The cave he found was divided into several irregularly
shaped chambers. He walked slowly, holding up
the lamp to examine the walls of the cavern.
In one passage he stopped short, for something attracted
his attention—something the sight of which
made his heart beat quicker and filled him with excitement.
RODNEY’S DISCOVERY.
There was a good reason for Rodney’s excitement.
The walls of the subterranean passage revealed distinct
and rich indications of gold. There was a time,
and that not long before, when they would have revealed
nothing to Rodney, but since his residence at Oreville
he had more than once visited the mines and made himself
familiar with surface indications of mineral deposit.
He stopped short and scanned attentively the walls
of the passage.
“If I am not mistaken,” he said to himself,
“this will make one of the richest mines in
Montana. But after all what good will it do me?
Here am I a prisoner, unable to leave the cave, or
communicate with my friends. If Mr. Pettigrew
knew what I do he would feel justified in paying the
ransom these men want.”
Rodney wondered how these rich deposits had failed
to attract the attention of his captors, but he soon
settled upon the conclusion that they had no knowledge
of mines or mining, and were ignorant of the riches
that were almost in their grasp.
“Shall I enlighten them?” he asked himself.
It was a question which he could not immediately answer.
He resolved to be guided by circumstances.
In order not to excite suspicion he retraced his steps
to the apartment used by his captors as a common sitting
room—carefully fixing in his mind the location
of the gold ore.
We must now follow the messenger who had gone to Oreville
with a letter from Rodney’s captors.
As instructed, he left his horse, or rather Rodney’s,
tethered at some distance from the settlement and
proceeded on foot to the Miners’ Rest.
His strange appearance excited attention and curiosity.
Both these feelings would have been magnified had
it been known on what errand he came.
“Where can I find Mr. Jefferson Pettigrew?”
he asked of a man whom he saw on the veranda.
“At the Griffin Mine,” answered the other,
removing the pipe from his mouth.
“Where is that?”
“Over yonder. Are you a miner?”
“No. I know nothing about mines.”
“Then why do you want to see Jefferson?
I thought you might want a chance to work in the mine.”
