then?" It would give you a good boost towards your home on high,
anyway.

So I climbed fast, and stuck my head out the top without
looking--and then I froze solid enough. There, about
fifty feet away, climbing up the hill on mighty tired hosses, was
a dozen of the ugliest Chiricahuas you ever don't want to meet,
and in addition a Mexican renegade named Maria, who was worse
than any of 'em. I see at once their bosses was tired out, and
they had a notion of camping at my water hole, not knowing
nothing about the Ole Virginia mine.

For two bits I'd have let go all holts and dropped backwards,
trusting to my thick head for easy lighting. Then I heard a
little fizz and sputter from below. At that my hair riz right up
so I could feel the breeze blow under my bat. For about six
seconds I stood there like an imbecile, grinning amiably. Then
one of the Chiricahuas made a sort of grunt, and I sabed that
they'd seen the original exhibit your Uncle Jim was making of
himself.

Then that fuse gave another sputter and one of the Apaches said
"Un dah." That means "white man." It was harder to turn my head
than if I'd had a stiff neck; but I managed to do it, and I see
that my ore dump wasn't more than ten foot away. I mighty near
overjumped it; and the next I knew I was on one side of it and
those Apaches on the other. Probably I flew; leastways I don't
seem to remember jumping.

That didn't seem to do me much good. The renegades were grinning