The Walters Brothers

Bob sold his stock as fast as he could pull it out of the wagon, keeping good records so he could send his dead partner's family his share. Most out here would have just shrugged and kept it all. Chastity was making a good choice landing him. We talked it over our last night together and sent most of the money we made on our investments back with him. He was going to live on Emily's ranch and next spring they was going to the railhead to buy everything he could. Then they were going to make a spring roundup and drive back to us.

Emily managed to find two hands, one her age who decided there wasn't enough gold in the world worth spending another winter at the gold camps. The other was a youngster who'd lost his family and wanted something stable to do. Plus it wasn't two days until he was mooning over the middle daughter something fierce.

We watched them drive away. It was sad, watching them go. Then the thirteen year old came galloping back, leapt off her horse into Zeke's arms and gave him a tremendous kiss! Before he could recover she slid down, grabbed the reins of her horse and mounted at a full gallop, whooping until she was out of sight. I just grinned. "You better hope you're not single when she comes of age. You won't stand a chance."

He rubbed his lips lightly and grinned. "If she can kiss that good now maybe I'll hang around until she does."

We left the town the next day heading for fortune and fame.

Chapter 7

After five weeks of ambling higher and higher into the mountains we still hadn't found a decent spot to file a claim. We stopped at a few likely looking spots, panned and dug for a couple of days and would have very little to show for it. I think we were both getting discouraged when fate took a hand.

We sat our horses, looking at where the trail used to be. It had rained for almost ten days straight a couple of weeks before we entered the country, and a mudslide had completely wiped the trail out.

Zeke sighed. "Well, we ain't going that way. Guess we're turning around."

I was lookin' at a big blue spruce that was lying sideways across the trail. It just didn't look right. I jumped down and walked up to it. The left side was completely blocked with trees and boulders, but the right looked a little softer. I slid under a branch and found myself standing on a trail that went over the ridge. By the looks of it, the only ones using it were wild horses. If a wild horse could travel it, so could we.

We sat down and made coffee while we talked it over. In the end neither of us favored backtrackin', so we eased our animals around the branch. We tried not to disturb things too much because the last thing we were lookin' for right then was company.

It was steep and downright scary in a couple of places but we were over the ridge, lookin' down at a little hanging valley, probably no more than three thousand acres. There was a big stream runnin' right down the center and a few branches fed it along the way. It looked like it had never been touched by human hands.

We found a likely place to camp, against a rock wall that had a little spring gushing out of it. There was also a cave that looked like it would be a decent place to shelter in with a little work, eliminating the need to build a cabin. Just around a bend was a larger cave that looked like a good place for the horses to get in out of the weather.

The first week was spent checking out the valley. There were plenty of deer tracks, some elk, and at least one bear. We didn't see any tracks, but we did spot a few bighorn sheep on the rocks so it looked like we could suppliment our food pretty easily. There was also a small horse herd, maybe sixty, at the far end of the valley. The way we came in seemed the only way in and out, so they would have to go by us if they wanted to leave. We didn't get close not wanting to spook them, but I knew we would be lookin' soon.

After we explored we took out a pan and each of us hit a section of the big creek. I went upstream and he headed down. We met at camp at the end of the day. Zeke was pretty bad disappointed. He'd found color but nothing to brag about. I just grinned and handed him a small pebble.

It looked like any other rock until he rubbed it and a dull yellow gleam appeared. He looked up. "This is the real deal?"

"Yep. I found quite a few flakes too. Wherever the source is, it's up top. We just need to hunt it down. I vote we pan all we can get before the cold weather hits while we scout for the source. Then when it gets too cold to be in the water, we start diggin'."

Zeke allowed as how that would be a fine idea so the next day we started the systematic exploration of the stream. We started at the point I found the pebble and worked our way downstream until gold started gettin' scarce. It took a week, but by the end of that time we had what we estimated to be at least five hundred in dust, flakes, and pebbles. That was damn good money for a weeks' worth of effort, almost two years wages for a cowpoke.

We made sure we rested one day a week, spending the day tending to equipment, hunting, and we made it a point to ride back up on the ridge to check things out. So far we hadn't seen any sign of anything but horses but this was gold country and it didn't pay to get lax. Men were murdered for claims a whole lot less than what ours was worth.

The next two weeks we worked our way upstream. The gold got thicker and chunkier as we progressed, suddenly stopping about a third of the way to the headwaters. We then backtracked until it started again and looked around. By now the valley walls were quite narrow so it didn't take us long to find where we thought the source was. The same rain that had destroyed the trail had caused a new fissure to open on the south wall. It opened a little spring and caused a twenty foot waterfall to form. The nearer we got to the falls the thicker the gold, until one day I picked up a three pound chunk of white quartz that was literally seamed with fissures of gleaming gold.

We carried the rock back to camp and admired it for a bit before Zeke got a hammer out and tapped it. It split into three pieces. One chunk was almost pure gold. Zeke and I just stared at each other. That rock alone netted a pound of gold. We could be sitting on a real bonanza.

We didn't work the next day, studying the gap from all angles and trying to decide where to start digging. In the end we sank a bunch of holes before we found the vein. The quartz seam was two feet wide and who knows how deep, glittering with gold. It kind of took our breath. We were looking at enough gold to buy anything we wanted, the spreads we had dreamed of but knew we couldn't afford.

One side effect was making us nervous as hell. We went from checking for sign once a week to every three days. Deciding the sensible thing to do was keep panning, we worked until the water started freezing. That would be the gold we took back with us to the closest claims office. It we showed up with 'jewelry' rock we'd start a stampede and our little valley would be overrun.

The first snow was coming in a couple of months and we decided it would be a good idea to get out and renew some of our supplies and formally stake our claim. Carefully loading two of the mules we slipped back up the trail, stopping to cover our tracks as best we could. We rode for two weeks, one of us awake at all times, until we hit a camp that hadn't been there when we left.

It was a rough place and by the looks of most wasn't real profitable. I stayed with the mules while Zeke went into the assay office with samples. The man running it got all excited because it was the best stuff he'd ever seen.

"Where'd you get this?"

"That don't matter right now. What's it worth?"

"This is almost pure boy. I'd say you got about six hundred here."

"Good, because we brought a little more."

The man almost fainted when we unloaded everything. After weighing and grading we had eleven thousand dollars worth. There was a Wells Fargo office up the street so new it was still in a tent so we took the written estimate into the office along with the gold.

The banker looked pale when we asked if we could deposit the gold with him. He took the estimate and the gold putting it into a huge safe, one of three in the tent. There were four armed guards, two with shotguns and two with rifles, around the clock. They would let the gold accumulate until they had enough to transport,then call for a convoy of wagons and guards. He filled out our papers. We had him make duplicates and put a set in an envelope addressed to our father's ranch just in case, naming our mother as the owner if some bad luck befell us.

We kept three hundred out for supplies getting the Wells Fargo man to give it to us in paper money, and slept in a bed for the first time in months and ate food we didn't have to cook, drank some beer and had a few shots of bourbon.

Zeke and I had talked it over and we had backtrailed our route until we found a good stream. We panned and got a few flakes and decided this was the spot. We seeded about a hundred yards of the stream with flakes and dust and dug a ten foot shaft into a side hill.

This would be our official claim. We decided early on to buy the whole valley as a homestead, circumventing anyone trying to mine on it.

We noticed there were a few fellas about that seemed pretty interested in us as we registered the claim and the valley. Word of our strike had gotten out but we refused to talk about it. We rode farther back a ways until we found a town with a land office and filed our claim and bought the valley from the government. The manager grinned. "You're gonna ranch in the middle of gold country?"

"That's a mighty likely valley. It's got good water and graze and a couple bottoms that will be good for puttin' in food patches. Them fools can grub in the dirt and freeze their butts off in the winter while we just work our range and sleep in a nice warm cabin. Besides, we'll get more gold for the beef we'll be sellin' than most of them can take out of the ground in a year."

Just to feel better we bought two thousand acres around the valley, to keep neighbors away. He took our money and gave us a deed and just like that we owned a Colorado ranch.

Chapter 8

A week later we were a good ways down the trail. I eased up on Zeke. "Seen 'em yet?"

"Maybe five of them, tryin' to stay out of sight. They don't look too salty."

"The four riders on the ridge do. They look like they mean business."

"Yep, those boys act serious. Maybe we need to let the fools catch up with us get lost in the crowd a bit."

An hour later we found what we wanted, a little draw just off the trail. We eased into it and waited. We heard them for a good while before we saw them, five riders on pretty poor horses with no pack mules. They lost our tracks and drew up confused.

"Where'd they go?"

One youngster was off his horse casting about. "Don't worry. I'll find them directly."

Another snorted and the voice was definitely female. "Gal, you couldn't find your ass with both hands if you had a map and a detailed list of instructions, even if it was on your shoulders."

"Sissy, I'm about tired of your mouth. Think you can do any better?"

She swung down off her horse and we could hear the laughter in her voice. "Couldn't do no worse." The woman cast around for a little while before she found some tracks. "I think they went this way. Hold on and let me look."

We sat and watched her approach. She rounded the brush we were sitting behind and froze. The muzzles of a rifle and a shotgun will make you go still. The youngsters' voice called out. "You see any sign?"

To her credit, she didn't faint or start screaming. Her voice was none too steady though when she answered. "I found them."

They came pounding around the bend, drawing up short when they saw us. None had weapons out and we had them cold.

"Howdy." Zeke said, trying not to laugh.

"How do you do? Please, allow me to introduce myself and my companions. I'm Elsa Monahan. The older gentleman is my Pa, Eion. The two to the right are my brothers Murphy and Gallison. The man on the gray horse is my intended, William Munford. You have us at a disadvantage, sir."

Zeke grinned. "Under normal circumstances I'd be pleased to meet you. However I don't much cotton to people follerin' us. It makes us unsure of their intentions."

Elsa was a tall woman with long auburn hair and green eyes. She had too much character in her face to be beautiful but she was a damned handsome woman with a figure that left no doubt that she was all woman. Her father was a bit shorter with long silver hair and an enormous mustache. Gallison must have been the youngest of the group, standing about 5'5" and if he weighed over a hundred pounds I'd be surprised. His gun looked full growed though and he looked like he'd stand hitched if it got rough. Murphy was almost as tall as Elsa, a little thick around the middle, and had a shifty cast on his face. I had a feeling he'd bear watching.

Munford was the one that got a second look. He was taller than I was and I was almost six feet in socks. He was thick but it didn't look like lard and he had a cold calculating look in his eyes. I think Zeke shared my opinion of him and it was not good. Mr. Munford was slowly easing his horse away, his right hand very near the big Colt in the saddle holster. I spoke up for the first time. "I'm Bradley Walters and this is my brother Zeke. Mr. Munford it appears you have a restless animal there. Why don't you gentle him down some?"

Miss Elsa spoke up. "Willie, do not be foolish! It would not be good if these men believed we mean them harm. I will freely admit we were following you. Word has it you made a pretty big strike. We thought we might follow along and stake claims near you. As you can see," she said, pointing to their wornout clothes, "our ventures thus far have not been too successful."

Zeke spoke. "You hooked up with the riders on the ridge?"

The surprise was evident on their faces, all but Mr. Munford. He just looked uncomfortable.

"I didn't even know there were others in the area."

"How about you Mr. Munford?"

All eyes turned to him and he shifted uncomfortably. "I seen some sign but figgered if they left us alone we wouldn't bother with them."

Elsa's Pa spoke for the first time. "You didn't think that would have been good information to share?"

"It won't be no matter if they leave us alone. If they looked like they were gettin' close I'da told you."

It was pretty plain they were havin' a hard time believin' him. Zeke spoke again. "We'll be ridin' on now. You want to follow it's a free country. Just don't crowd us. We would be very unappreciative if you do. Why don't you turn those mounts around and ride back to the trail. We'll be right behind you."

It galled Munford but the rest didn't have an issue with it. They were armed, but everything was holstered. I was startin' to be a firm believer in shotguns. It took a lot of debate out of situations.

We parted ways on the trail. Zeke told them where we were going which surprised me, and we left them.

"You think that was a good idea, telling them where we'd be?"

He just grinned. "Think about it. Nothin' better'n hidin' in plain sight. This way it'll look more legitimate and when the gold plays out we can pull up stakes and nobody will think a thing about it. We'll idle on over to our valley and get some real work done."

That's why he's the older brother I reckon. I would have never thought about that.

We still had the other riders to contend with. We made sure we didn't skyline ourselves and were wary of traps as we traveled. They were still with us but weren't makin' any moves so we let them be.

We got to our 'fake' claim', set up camp and went to work. We made sure we worked the salted part first to get our gold back.

The Monahans staked out claims farther down the creek. We heard one of the boys whoop and grinned. Good luck to them.

Just for the sake of our cover we worked the stream for three weeks. It pleasantly surprised us to find there really was gold in it. Not like our claim but enough to justify panning it.

It was steadily getting colder and we knew we needed to move before the snows flew in earnest. The riders were still around so one of us made it a point to stop several times a day and scout around. It's how we knew they were coming.

I had slid back into the brush with my shotgun. Zeke was working the creek when they rode in and he didn't stop for a minute. Then he rose and and looked at them.

"Nice claim."

Zeke shrugged at the speaker. "It's all right. Not gettin' rich but still making more than punchin' cows."

"Wouldn't want to sell it would you?"

"Not particularly. Ain't just mine. I got a partner."

It bothered them they couldn't see me. "Where's your partner?"

Zeke grinned. "He's around. The man is kind of notional. He'll just take off for a few hours and then come back and start workin' like he never left. Little hard gettin' used to."

One man started to swing off his horse and Zeke stopped him. "No need to get down. I ain't got time for socializing. You're more than welcome to stake a claim farther on down the creek."

"What if we want this one?"

"You ain't got the money to buy this one."

"Well then mebbe we'll just take it."

Zeke grinned. He was wearin' waders, a new fangled rig that was popular with fishermen back east. They hid his pistols pretty well but were plenty loose to get to if he had to.

"There ain't but four of you. You want to do that, you might want to go get some help."

Boy did that piss the speaker off. He started to talk but Zeke cut him off. "No I don't know who you are. No I ain't seen none of your graveyards. And no I don't give a shit. You want to start somethin' now's the time."

Well there it was, laid out all neat and proper. Two were lookin' mighty pissed. Another was lookin' around trying to figure out where I was. He'd be the one I took out first. The other one looked kind of green around the gills. He'd be the last we'd have to worry about.

I was just about ready to open the ball when the leader grinned. "Plain enough. We'll be ridin' on. Maybe we'll come back, you might just change your mind."

Zeke grinned back. "Do that anytime you have a mind too. We may not even be here when you get back. I think we're about played out here."

You could tell they didn't believe him for a second, but they reined around and trotted off. "Reckon they're gone?" I'd risen up from behind the berm we'd built with tailin's from our shaft. It was hopefully the last place they'd be looking for someone to be, out in the open like it was.

"Naw, they firmly believe we're sittin' on a bonanza. They'll be back."

Truth was we had to leave and soon or we'd not make it before the big snows fell. Neither of us were real sure we'd be able to get in or out once that happened.

Chapter 9

That night we talked to the Monahans. They'd worked hard, all but Murdock, and lucked out. They found a little vein that was about eight feet long and three deep before it petered out to nothing. After that what the netted a day wasn't worth the effort and time they put in to it. Still they'd found about two thousand dollars worth. Many a ranch had been bought for a lot less.

"We'll be headin' out day after tomorrow. Our claim has played out and it ain't worth stayin' the winter for. We're going on to the valley we claimed, hole up there, and start work on the ranch as soon as the weather breaks. My advice to you is to do the same before the weather gets bad. Go on down, bank your gold, and try to find work for the winter. When spring comes take a look around, find you some land with good water and places sheltered from the weather. Build a nice ranch. After that if you still got gold fever come back."