Chapter I: Front Matter

[Cover Illustration]

=B O N A N Z A=

=A STORY OF THE GOLD TRAIL=

=BY=
=WILLIAM MacLEOD RAINE=

=AUTHOR OF=

=A MAN FOUR SQUARE,=
=CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT,=
=TROUBLED WATERS, Etc.=

=G R O S S E T & D U N L A P=
=P U B L I S H E R S N E W Y O R K=

COPYRIGHT, 1921, 1926, BY WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE. ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE
PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y.

The giants with hopes audacious; the giants of iron limb; The giants who journeyed westward when the trails were new and dim; The giants who felled the forests, made pathways o’er the snows, And planted the vine and fig tree where the manzanita grows;

Who swept the mountain gorges, and painted their endless night, With their cabins rudely fashioned and their camp-fires’ ruddy light; Who builded great towns and cities, who swung the Golden Gate, And hewed from the mighty ashlar the form of a sovereign state.

I drink alone in silence to the builders of the West— “Long life to the hearts still beating, and peace to the hearts at rest.”

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Pony Express Rider............................ 1
II. “Hurrah for Washoe!”.............................. 8
III. The Night Ride.................................... 15
IV. Scot McClintock Introduces Himself................ 27
V. Scot Passes the Hat............................... 39
VI. Hugh Sits in...................................... 53
VII. Vicky Tells Secrets............................... 65
VIII. Scot Offers Health Hints.......................... 75
IX. Scot Talks on Mother Love......................... 80
X. Till Tapping...................................... 90
XI. “Twenty-Four Hours to Get Out”.................... 99
XII. “Git Out de Way, Ole Dan Tucker”.................. 106
XIII. The “Stranglers”.................................. 121
XIV. Colonel McClintock Agrees with Vicky.............. 130
XV. Hugh Learns Old Grimes Is Still Dead.............. 139
XVI. In the Pit of Night............................... 150
XVII. A Knife with Fourteen Notches..................... 159
XVIII. Apply to Hugh McClintock.......................... 165
XIX. McClintock Bills the Town......................... 171
XX. “Little Vicky”.................................... 179
XXI. In the Blizzard................................... 187
XXII. A Haven of Refuge................................. 196
XXIII. Two Plus One Makes Three.......................... 208
XXIV. Old Dog Tray Barks................................ 221
XXV. The Killer Strikes................................ 229
XXVI. Hugh Hits the Trail............................... 238
XXVII. Trapped........................................... 244
XXVIII. “As Good as the Wheat”............................ 252
XXIX. Vicky Finds a Way................................. 261
XXX. At Bell’s Camp.................................... 270
XXXI. Hugh Takes the Stump.............................. 277
XXXII. Father Marston Prophesies......................... 283
XXXIII. The Booming of the Forty-Fives.................... 293
XXXIV. The Bald Knob Strike.............................. 298
XXXV. McClintock Reads Tennyson......................... 310
XXXVI. Signed by William Thornton........................ 316
XXXVII. Hugh Explains..................................... 324
XXXVIII. The Battle of Bald Knob........................... 329
XXXIX. Sleuthing......................................... 338
XL. In the Mesh of His Own Net........................ 344
XLI. From the Junipers................................. 350
XLII. Hugh Rides to an Appointment...................... 357
XLIII. The Sacrifice..................................... 363
XLIV. Under the Stars................................... 367

BONANZA

B O N A N Z A