330
OLD HICKS THE GUIDE.
country had been roused for the purpose of driving us hack from their sacred mountain, and that we should soon have thousands of warriors swarming around our way. Yet Albert would not see this, and seemed to regard these collisions as mere sport; hut this sport became each hour more serious, for the Indians became more numerous and more daring.
The next morning we saw ahead of us, in the misty distance, a tall, conical mountain, which the old man at once assured us was the Gold Mountain. Its crest was sharply and clearly defined through the haze, and it appeared to he some ten miles ofF.
We had come in sight of it round a sudden turn of the valley which here widened considerably, and seemed to end with this bold mountain, which stood as a sentinel, overlooking, with its giant brow, our approach.
The Indians of our two tribes had been growing restless for the last two days, and Hicks seemed to think that they suspected the object of our expedition. This, however, was too late to be remedied. We had looked forward to this contingency from the first, but were not prepared to see them take the alarm so promptly.
Albert was entirely beside himself when he saw thus before him the realization of all his daring dreams of boundless wealth. For myself, I must confess to a feeling of wild and joyous eagerness, which it would be difficult for me to express, and which regarded indifferently all the threatening circumstances by which we were surrounded.
We camped that evening in sight of the Gold Mountain, and never did men awake with a feeling of profounder relief and happier anticipations than we did on the next morning.
Albert lavished courtesies not only upon myself, but as well upo nthe French woman, in spite of her stateliness, and all the rest of the camp. He was entirely running over with amenities, and had forgotten every cause of displeasure.