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Readers of the Circle C books really seem to like Andi’s bossy older brother Chad. It’s fun

to go back and imagine what life on the Circle C ranch was like before Andi was born.

Andi is not the only Carter family member who occasionally finds herself in serious

scrapes. Big brother Chad had his own share of mishaps when he wasn’t much older than

his youngest sister. Sometimes his stubbornness and poor choices endangered others. The

good news? Chad grew up fast when he figured out his actions put his younger siblings in

danger. This story is one that sticks in Andi’s mind the most.

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Young Carter Brothers

Chad and the Abandoned Mine

Chapter One

August 1865

“Mother!” Chad said. “I’m twelve years old. I can take care of myself.” He jammed

his hands on his hips. “I don’t see why you won’t let me go.”

“That will be enough.” Father put down the newspaper and glared at his

second son.

Chad quavered a bit. He could sometimes sweet-talk Mother into seeing

things his way, but Father was a tougher nut to crack. “But Father, I’ll be careful.

So careful—”

“You’ve spoken once too often this evening, Son, and about the same subject.

The answer is no. Don’t ask again.” He picked up his paper and went back to

reading.

Chad threw an impatient look at his older brother Justin. Big brother was only

one year older than he was, but he seemed years older just now. Perfect, studious

Justin Thomas Carter. He never did anything wrong.

Justin ducked his head and refused to respond to “the look.” He went back

to his history book. It was clear he wanted no part of this argument.

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Chad huffed and stepped around his younger siblings, who were sprawled

out on the library floor.

Ten-year-old Kate eyed Chad with awe, then went back to rearranging the

furniture in her new doll house. It looked very much like Aunt Rebecca’s Victorian

mansion in San Francisco. A recent birthday present, Kate never failed to squeal

with delight when a messenger brought another set of beautifully carved items to

furnish an entire room of her doll house.

A miniature set of furniture had arrived just this afternoon—a china cabinet,

a small table with four chairs, and a teensy tea set, with a doily for a rug.

“Look at this, Mitch,” Kate said.

Seven-year-old Mitch paid no attention to Kate. Or to his older, pouting

brother. He was busy trying to put together a complicated wooden puzzle one of

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the ranch hands had carved for him.

Chad tripped over two-year-old Melinda, who tumbled to the ground and

set up a wail.

“Chad,” Mother warned.

“Sorry, baby sister.” Chad hiked his baby sister back to her toddling feet.

Then he kept walking.

Or rather stomping out of the library.

Melinda’s wails faded as Chad tore upstairs and slammed the door behind

him. He took a running leap and landed on his bed.

He rolled over onto his back, put his hands behind his head, and stared at the

ceiling. Just across the room, his old saddle sat in a place of honor. He smirked. It

still held the warning: CHAD, AGE 6. KEEP OFF, although he generously let Mitch

use it when he rode Coco, the ranch pony.

But Mitch rarely bothered with a saddle. He and Coco trotted around the

yard bareback.

Besides, Mitch’s new colt, Chasing After the Wind (Chase for short), was his

little brother’s newest interest. Father had thrown him up on Chase’s back just

yesterday, and Mitch had crowed his delight. Then off they went—the three-year-

old colt and the boy.

Chad scratched an itchy spot on his leg and went back to pondering the

hanging lamp in his room. The lamp reminded him that he needed a kerosene

lamp, one he could hold. One that would not go out in the dark.

I can do this, he determined. If Father would only listen for two minutes, he’d agree

I could do it. But he won’t even listen.

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James Carter had not listened long enough to even know where Chad’s

astonishing discovery lay. Not on the valley floor, that’s for sure. No, the discovery

that made tingles race up and down Chad’s arms was located far into the

foothills—but still on Circle C range land.

Chad had made sure of that before he peeked into the wide, dark opening his

horse Sky had almost walked right by the other day. Heart pounding, Chad had

slid from Sky and ducked inside. His hand brushed a wooden beam. He knew

what that meant!

An old gold mine!

Chad had marked the place well and then hightailed it home to tell his

brother. “Justin, you gotta see it!”

Justin had come along the next afternoon, marked it as “too dangerous,” and

told his brother to stay away from it. “Father will skin us alive if we step one foot

in that mine,” he’d warned.

Spoil sport!

Chad blew out a breath and sat up. Wouldn’t his whole family be green as

pea soup when he hauled a sack of gold nuggets home?

“Oh, yes,” Chad said aloud. “I can’t wait to see their faces. I’ll show Father

and Mother that I’m old enough to explore a little ol’ mine. They’re all acting like

a bunch of scaredy-cats.”

Tomorrow was Saturday. As soon as his chores were finished, he’d grab a

lantern and a sack of grub, along with a full canteen, and explore the mine.

“I will be very careful and cautious,” he told himself. “I’m no dummy—

jumping into things. I’ve got sense. If I see even one pebble drop, I’ll get out as fast

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as I can.”

Comforted with that sensible

thought, Chad returned to the

family’s after-supper gathering in the

library. Mother read Robinson Crusoe

every evening, and Chad didn’t want

to miss a single page of the stirring

adventure.

“Chad,” Mother said, smiling.

“You’re just in time.” She picked up

the book and opened it to where she had left off the evening before.

Chad settled down next to Justin on the thick carpet and helped himself to a

handful of popped corn. Then he gave his attention to Mother’s voice. She always

read in such a way that made Chad feel he was really there.

“When we had set sail but a few days,” Mother read, “a squall of wind came

on, and on the fifth night we sprang a leak. All hands were set to the pumps, but

we felt the ship groan in all her planks, and her beams quake from stem to stern;

so that it was soon quite clear there was no hope for her, and that all we could do

was to save our lives . . .”

Chad munched on the popped corn, closed his eyes, and traveled over a

hundred years back in time to a wild sea, a leaky ship, and an unlikely hero.

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Chapter Two

The next day Chad bounded out of bed and pulled on his boots. He gave his face

a quick scrub at the washstand and ran a comb through his thick, black hair.

Mother never let any of the Carter children come to the breakfast table without a

proper grooming.

Chad had tried it once. The result was cold pancakes and eating by himself.

He didn’t like that idea much, so he gave his hair a good combing. He checked to

make sure he’d buttoned up his shirt evenly. Check.

Shirttail tucked in? Check.

He didn’t want anybody—namely Mother, Father, or Luisa—getting after

him this morning for a poor presentation.

His dressing and grooming completed, Chad took the stairs two at a time. He

took the last five stairs in a single leap, landing in the foyer with a loud thump that

shook the vase of flowers on the tall stand next to the staircase.

Oops.

He paused. Nobody came around the corner to scold him. He grinned,

entered the dining room, and found his place. Father asked the blessing and then

recited his usual list of Saturday chores for Justin and Chad.

Chad secretly exalted at the list. Father was sending him out on the range to

find and round up any stray cows that had hidden their new calves in the gullies

of a far corner of the ranch. Hurrah!

“Yes, sir,” Chad said, excusing himself after downing the last of his milk.

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Mother’s eyebrows rose. “You’re in quite the hurry today, Son. I’ve never

seen you so anxious to go after those sneaky cows. Usually you hem and haw and

complain about the scratchy, horrible cracks and gullies you have to tramp

through to find them.”

Chad shrugged. “I want to get the job over with so I can have a little free time

this afternoon. I know a spot where the fishing is—”

“Can I go with you, Chad?” Mitch begged. “I wanna help find those cows

and calves too. I’m getting better

with my lasso.” His blue eyes

pleaded with his big brother.

“I reckon,” Chad agreed.

Short help was better than

no help, and Father had assigned

Justin a chore that took him to

the other side of the vast Circle C

spread.

“But you better do

everything I say and not argue,”

Chad ordered. “And you can’t

start whining about getting too tired, or that you want to go home, or—”

“I promise!” Mitch chirped. As if he’d forgotten something important, he

turned to Father. “May I please work with Chad today?”

“So long as you remember this is not a play day, Mitchell,” Father replied

with a smile. “It’s hard work.” He gave Chad the look then turned back to Mitch.

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“And if you get tired, you have my permission to come along home.”

That settled, Chad and Mitch left the table at a run.

Chad smiled to himself. Mitch was fun to work with, even though he was five

years younger. He knew his little brother looked up to him. Mitch was easy to

convince. He was willing to do anything Chad told him.

And Mitch never, ever tattled on him. Not like Justin.

Chad could never talk Justin into doing anything adventurous. “He’s an ol’

stick in the mud,” he muttered as he scrounged around the tack room for his lasso.

“Thirteen going on thirty.”

Not even Kate, who was two years young than Chad, was as dependable as

little Mitch. Kate got up on her high horse too many times to suit Chad. “Let’s go

this way, Chad,” she’d boss. Or . . . “No, I want to race here.”

Chad loved his sister, but she sometimes drove him crazy.

Now that Mitch had Chase, the two brothers were equals on horseback. Mitch

could ride as well as Chad.

And Chase? Chad shook his head and clomped out of the tack room toward

Sky’s stall. Chase had beat Sky once already. His little brother’s horse was gearing

up to become the fastest thing on four legs.

Hmm, Chad mused. Maybe Mitch will let me ride Chase in the Fourth of July race

this year. This thought propelled him to be extra nice to Mitch in the coming weeks.

Starting with today’s cow-and-calf adventure. And maybe . . .

Chad shook his head. No, I better not.

He would not bring Mitch along on his secret adventure. Instead, Chad

would send him home with the cows and calves they rounded up this morning.

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I’ll explore the old mine on my own.

He grabbed his canteen and the grub sack Mother had

put together for him and Mitch. Then he ducked into a musty

corner of the barn and found a lantern and a gunny sack,

which he tied to his saddle by the leather strings that hung

down.

With his lasso secured over his saddle horn, and Sky

raring to go, Chad mounted up. “Come on, little brother!”

“Whatcha bringing a lantern for?” Mitch asked, climbing

up on Chase.

“You just never mind, ya hear?”

Mitch snapped his mouth shut and slipped his other foot into the stirrup.

“Let’s go!” Chad hollered.

The two boys galloped out of the yard neck and neck. Mitch squealed and

nudged Chase faster. Chad whooped and caught up. “Ready to race?”

“You bet!”

It took less than an hour to gallop then lope then trot into the foothills.

Chad and Mitch cooled their mounts and began the time-consuming work of

flushing out cows who had minds of their own. The gullies and ravines that cut

across this part of the ranch could hide dozens of mama cows who wanted to birth

their calves in secret.

Dumb cows, Chad thought.

He hiked himself up by his stirrups and shaded his eyes against the climbing

sun. Then he pointed. “You take that gully, and I’ll take this one. Push the cows

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out here and we’ll herd them together.” Then he grinned. “Let’s see who finds the

most.”

“Like hide and seek!” Mitch nudged Chase. “I’m gonna find more.”

“Ha!” Chad laughed. “If you do, I’ll give you a nickel. But if I find more, you

have to give me a nickel.”

Mitch bobbed his blond head. “It’s a deal.” Then he was off.

The gully Chad urged Sky into was probably a quarter mile long and yards

and yards wide. The remains of a creek still flowed through it. Sand and rocks

lined the creek bed. The banks on both sides were dense with cottonwoods,

willows, manzanita, and scrub oak.

Slowly, Chad scoured the brush. Suddenly, there! A spot of brown. He

moved Sky as close as he could and yelled. A big brown cow rose to her feet and

began to lumber past him. A day-old calf stayed close to her side. Chad pushed

them out of the gully and into the open area.

“First catch of the day!” He shouted. His yell echoed.

No sooner had Chad boasted than Mitch appeared. A small cow and calf

trotted ahead of him. “Second catch!”

Chad waved and headed back to his draw.

Ornery, sneaky cows, he thought two hours later. They knew every nook and

cranny, and every bush and tree in the draw. By the time Chad had found half a

dozen pairs, sweat was running down the back of his neck.

He met Mitch, who had not found quite as many. Three pairs and six pairs

made nine pairs of cows and calves. Plenty for one seven-year-old boy to drive

back to the home ranch.

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But Chad asked anyway. “You went clear to the end of the draw?’

Mitch nodded. “Yep. There’s no more.”

“So far you owe me a nickel,” Chad reminded him. “I found the most.”

Mitch sighed but nodded.

“Now you’re going to give me a nickel for every cow I find that you missed.”

Mitch perked up. “Yep. And you can give me a nickel for every cow I find in

your draw.”

Chad frowned. Mitch sounded too sure of himself. But he never could resist

a challenge. “You’re on, little brother!”

At the end of an hour, Chad emerged from Mitch’s draw. He smirked and

drove another pair toward the small herd, which was lying around in the sun.

That’s five cents.

Mitch appeared at the same time, driving two pair from Chad’s draw.

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Chad burst out laughing. “I reckon we’re even now.”

That settled, Chad looked over the quickly growing herd. He paused. Father

might not like it if he saw Mitch driving all these cows home by himself. Father

would ask questions. It might be best to find the main herd and push the cows to

join their sisters and the other steers . . . and call it a morning.

That settled, he motioned Mitch to flank the other side of their herd. Together

they roused the sleepy mama cows and their babies into a line. The oldest cow, a

mean-looking gal with sharp horns, immediately took over as point.

It didn’t take long to find a good-sized herd of cattle grazing on the golden

range land between the hills. With a bellow, the point cow headed straight for the

others. The rest of the cows and calves followed along like a string of elephants on

parade.

“Whoosh, that’s over.” Chad looked up. The sun was just reaching its highest

point. “I’m hungry. Why don’t you ride on home, Mitch? If you push Chase, you

can probably make it in time for lunch.”

Mitch frowned. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Nah, I’ve got other plans. I’ll eat what Mother packed to hold us over in case

it took so long we missed lunch.”

Mitch looked up. “I bet I miss lunch no matter how fast I ride.” He looked

wistfully at his brother. “Can’t I come with you?”

Chad groaned inwardly. The last thing he wanted to do was drag Mitch along

to the mine he’d found. But it was a long way home. By the time they returned to

the ranch so he could drop Mitch off, Father would find another set of chores.

No, going home was not a good idea.

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And if I yell at Mitch and make him leave, Chad thought, Father and Mother will

want to know why he came home alone. He sucked in a breath. Dirty darn! I should

never have let Mitch come along with me this morning.

He made his decision. “All right, little brother. Let’s eat. Then, since you don’t

want to go back to the ranch, you’ve gotta promise to keep your mouth shut about

where I’m going.”

Mitch’s sky-blue eyes turned round with excitement. “I get to go on an

adventure with you? Really?”

Chad nodded. His stomach jumped and twisted, but if he wanted to find

gold, this was his best chance. Father would probably think it took him and Mitch

all day to find those stragglers. He could trust Mitch to keep quiet . . . at least until

Chad unveiled his gold find.

“Come on, then,” Chad said. “I’ll take you to my discovery and then we’ll

eat.”

Chapter Three

Chad was surprised to discover how close the old, abandoned mine was to where

he and Mitch had dropped off the cows. It was a miracle he had discovered it in

the first place. Nobody came out to this lonely section of rangeland unless they

were rounding up cattle.

Chad wouldn’t have stumbled onto it either the other day last week, except

he’d been following a pesky coyote. He’d wanted to practice his rifle-shooting

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skills. When he’d seen the dark opening tucked away behind overgrowth, all

thoughts of the coyote fled from his mind.

The next afternoon, Chad had easily found the same spot. He’d even shown

Justin, who no doubt put the location right out of his mind as soon as he told Chad

to stay away from it.

But not Chad! Confidence at his memory and landmark skills rose to prideful

heights. I can find this place any ol’ time!

Mitch, clearly oblivious to anything but the joy of being included in his big

brother’s adventure, clip-clopped behind him on his sorrel gelding. Every time

Chad glanced at Mitch, the little boy grinned back at him.

“You have the best adventures,” he said when Chad asked him about his silly

smile. “Remember the time you told us about that mountain lion you saw?”

Chad nodded. The cat had given him quite a scare. He’d froze in terror, but

Mitch didn’t need to know that part. Thank goodness the cougar had been more

interested in her cub than in going after a half-grown boy.

Chad had unfroze in a hurry and skedaddled home, both spurs in Sky’s side.

“Wish I coulda been there,” Mitch said with a wistful sigh.

“Well, you’re on this adventure,” Chad said. “Come on.” He led the way

through more brush and brought Sky to a sudden stop. “Whoa!”

Mitch pulled Chase to a stop too, and the brothers dismounted.

Mitch wrinkled his forehead. “What’s here that’s an adventure?’

“You’ll see.” Chad led Sky on foot past more undergrowth. He rounded a

large manzanita bush and pointed. “See that dark area between the bushes?”

Mitch nodded.

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“It’s an old mine.”

“Wow!” Mitch sucked in his breath and took two steps toward the darkness.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Chad’s arm flew out and blocked Mitch’s movement.

Mitch scowled but stopped. “Is there gold in there?”

Chad untied the lantern from his saddle. “That’s the adventure, and it’s why

I brought the lantern. I’m going to see if anything got left behind. I’ll pick up some

gold ore. When I get home, I’ll smash it up. Maybe there’s enough gold mixed in

that I can wash it out with a pie pan or a gold pan.”

Mitch didn’t say a word. His huge eyes showed his excitement.

Chad left Sky ground-tied and headed toward the opening. He skirted a

large, shallow depression in the ground and kept going. Mitch followed at Chad’s

heels like a loyal puppy.

Chad set the lantern on the ground. “Let’s pull some of this brush away so

we can get a better look. I peeked inside the other day, but I couldn’t see a thing

without more light.”

Nodding eagerly, Mitch lent his small hands and helped Chad pull some of

the loose branches away. Chad sawed at the thicker brush with his pocket knife. It

took some time, but the reward was worth it. Old beams supported an opening

not much higher than Mitch’s head.

Chad stooped and ducked his head inside. “Looks like it goes down, right

into the hill. But I bet I could stand up once I crawl inside.”

“Bet I could too,” Mitch breathed in excitement.

“Hand me the lantern.”

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Mitch pulled his head out and fetched the lantern, which Chad lit with the

matches he’d stuffed in his pocket. Cautiously, he crawled on his hands and knees

past the low-hanging beams.

Once inside, he held up the lantern. “It’s bigger inside than it looks,” he told

Mitch, whose blond head nearly filled the opening.

“Can I come in, Chad? Please?”

Chad raised the lantern higher. The beams looked solid. It didn’t look like

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there had been any recent cave-ins. Best of all, chunks of scattered ore sparkled in

the lamplight.

“Come on in,” he told Mitch. “But don’t touch the beams. Some might be

loose. I don’t want anything to come down on top of us.”

It occurred to Chad just then that this place might not be entirely safe. How

long had it sat here—abandoned and forgotten? He counted backward in his head.

The gold rush had been over at least fifteen years. Maybe longer.

And whoever heard of a gold mine this far south?

Very strange. Well, maybe that’s why it was abandoned. Maybe nobody

found any gold. But if that was the case, why would miners go to the trouble of

shoring up the mine with timber in the first place?

“Betcha there’s pounds and pounds of gold!” Mitch said, coming to sit next

to Chad. He pointed at the ore. “It sure is sparkly.”

“It might be fool’s gold,” Chad said in his big-brother voice, the one that

meant he knew more than a little bit about gold.

Which, of course, he didn’t.

Mitch let out a disappointed breath. “We won’t know that until we get it

home, will we?”

Mitch was right about that. Chad picked up a chunk of ore and held it close

to the lantern light. Indeed, a small vein of gold-colored minerals ran through the

fist-sized quartz rock. “Could be gold, though.”

He set it down and picked up another piece. This one also had some sparkly

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chunks sticking out from the quartz.

“Listen here, Mitch. We’ll take the ore

home, but we can’t tell a living soul

where we got it.”

Mitch’s eyebrows shot up. “Why

not?”

Because I’m not supposed to be here,

Chad thought with a sudden

thumping of his heart.

“We don’t want claim jumpers

sneaking in and getting all our gold,”

he said aloud. His newest dime novel

talked a lot about gold miners and

claim jumpers. Claim jumpers were loathsome men who stole other miners’ hard

work.

“Ohhhh,” Mitch said thoughtfully. “We can’t even tell Father or Mother? They

wouldn’t jump our claim.”

Especially not Father or Mother.

Chad shook his head. “Nobody, not even Baby Melinda.”

Mitch giggled. “What would Melinda want with a gold mine?”

“We can’t tell Kate either. She’s a blabber mouth.”

“All right. It’s our secret,” Mitch agreed, showing perfect trust in his older

brother.

“When we smash the ore and get to the pure gold, then we’ll tell the whole

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family,” Chad promised. He picked up three more pieces of likely-looking quartz

ore and piled them with the other chunks.

Mitch helped. Then he looked over his shoulder. A wide, dark tunnel sloped

into the darkness behind him. “When we pick up all of this ore, do we go deeper?”

Chad paused. A shiver went up his neck. “No. We better not.”

I have some common sense, he told himself. There was no way he’d let Mitch

step one foot deeper into the dark.

“But I want to see what’s down there,” Mitch pouted. “We have a lantern.

Just one peek?”

“No!” Chad snapped, suddenly frightened. Maybe it was time to gather up

their pile of ore and head home. “Go get the gunny sack. It’s tied to Sky’s saddle.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Because you’re not staying in this dark hole by yourself. I’ll stay, and you

go get that sack. And be quick about it.”

Mitch jumped up at Chad’s bossy command. “All right!” With that he turned

and crawled toward the mine’s opening.

“Hurry up!” Chad yelled when Mitch paused.

Mitch scrambled out and away.

A minute went by. Then two minutes.

When three minutes passed and Mitch had not returned, Chad crawled

toward the opening. He stuck his head out and hollered, “Mitch! Don’t stop for a

snack. Just grab that gunny sack and get back here!”

There was no answer.

Chad let out a disgusted breath and pulled himself out of the mine. The

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afternoon sun made him blink and squint. He put a hand up to shade his eyes.

“Mitch! Where are you?”

He looked around. The horses were on the far side of the bushes and out of

sight. “Mitch!”

His heart skipped a beat. If his brother was playing a trick on him—hiding in

order to jump out at him—Chad would never bring him along on another

adventure. No, not so long as he lived.

His stomach turned over. Kate would play a trick on Chad without a

moment’s thought. But not Mitch. His little brother would never think of doing

anything so mean.

An invisible fist clutched Chad’s belly. He took a few steps toward the horses

then stopped short. What in the world?

The shallow, grassy depression in the ground that he and Mitch had gone

around was no longer shallow. It was no longer grassy.

It was a dark, jagged hole.

Chapter Four

“Mitch!” Full-blown terror swept over Chad. Could his little brother have fallen

into that deep, dark hole? His mouth went dry, and his stomach heaved at the

thought.

No, no, no! Oh please, God. No!

A high-pitched wailing rose from the hole in the ground.

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Mitch! Chad dropped to his hands and knees and crawled closer to the hole.

What was this hole, anyway? It couldn’t be a mine shaft. Not when the mine had

a perfectly good entrance so close by.

Could it be an exploratory hole? Or maybe . . .

Chad swallowed. Maybe it was an air shaft.

He buried his head in his arms and choked back his fear. An air shaft went

deep, sometimes hundreds of feet. “What am I going to do?”

He lifted his head and crawled to the edge. Then he peered down into the

hole. It was only about two feet across.

Definitely an air shaft. The only good thing about this narrow shaft was maybe

Mitch’s fall had been slowed by sliding along the crumbly sides.

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Not a very good thought, but it was the best one Chad had to explain Mitch’s

sobs. If he had plunged straight down, Chad would probably not hear anything.

The wailing grew louder. It rose up from the shaft, the sound of a lost soul

terrified beyond reason.

I have to do something! I have to say something!

Chad swallowed. “Mitch! It’s me. Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

Loud sobs drifted up. They sounded like they came from a long way down.

“Mitch!” Chad yelled. “Stop crying. Tell me if you’re all right.”

“Chad! Come get me!”

Chad could barely make out his little brother’s words.

“It’s dark.” More terrified sobbing. “My arm hurts! My head hurts!” A long,

low wailing. “I’m scared!”

“You’re in the mine’s air shaft,” Chad yelled down the hole. “Are you stuck?

Is the mine down there? Can you walk out toward the entrance?”

“It’s dark,” Mitch sobbed. “It’s cold. I wanna go home!”

“Stop crying!” Chad ordered.

Mitch didn’t obey. His sobs kept on, loud and wailing. “Mama! I want

Mama!”

Chad’s heart slammed against the inside of his chest. It made it hard to

breath. His pounding heart made it difficult to think.

What should I do?

Chad sat back on his heels. At least it sounded like his little brother wasn’t

hurt too badly. The shaft’s narrow sides must have stopped him from plunging to

his death.

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Chad took a deep breath. He couldn’t go down the shaft. It was too deep and

too narrow. He would either land on top of Mitch and smash him, or the sides

would knock loose and drop rocks on his brother’s head.

Either way, they would both be stuck.

Maybe he should take the lantern and venture into the mine. If Mitch had

indeed fallen down an old air shaft, surely if Chad walked far enough, the mine

would meet the shaft.

He shivered. The thought of going so deep into the mine made the hair on

Chad’s neck stand up. He was brave, but not that brave. Another, worse thought

slipped into his tortured mind.

What if the mine splits? How would I know which tunnel to take?

No, he could not rescue his brother by himself.

“I have to go home and get help.”

Chad winced. He would have to

face Father and Mother. They had told

him to stay away from the mine, and he

had disobeyed. He had put Mitch in

terrible danger.

“I have to confess,” he whispered.

“I have to tell Father. Oh, God, I’m so

sorry! Please don’t let Mitch die.”

With the decision to go home set in

his mind, Chad worked quickly. He ran

to Sky and grabbed his lasso. Then he

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went to Chase and took Mitch’s lasso in his other hand. He gathered up the two

canteens and the grub sack.

Then he returned to the shaft. “Mitch!”

The sobbing ceased.

“I’m going to send down our canteens and the grub sack. Then I’m going to

go home and—”

“Noooo!” Mitch wailed. “Don’t leave me alone.”

“I have to.” Chad’ fingers shook as he tied the two ropes together. He added

their lengths in his head. His lasso was close to forty feet long. Mitch’s might be a

little shorter, but not by much. Forty and forty was eighty.

Eighty feet! Was Mitch so far down?

Chad looped one end of the rope through the canteen straps, then he tied the

grub sack to the end. “Here it comes,” he called.

Mitch grew silent.

“Can you see it?” Chad slowly lowered the rope hand over hand.

“I see a tiny light far, far up,” Mitch said. “I see something dark blocking it.”

“That’s the grub sack,” Chad said. When he got to the end of the rope, he

hollered, “Can you reach it? I didn’t tie it very tight.”

Mitch was silent.

“Well?” Chad demanded.

A sudden, hopeful thought seared his mind. If Mitch could untie the grub

sack, then he might be able to grab the rope. Then Chad could pull him up.

His heart leaped. I’m strong. Strong enough to pull a seven-year-old up.

“I can’t reach it,” Mitch said. He started crying again. “My fingers can touch

26

the sack, but that’s all.”

Chad’s leaping heart crashed to his toes. He pulled up the rope and untied

the canteen. “Move out of the way the best you can. I’ll drop everything down.”

When he thought Mitch was safely out of the way, he let the canteen fall. Then

the other one. Finally, he dropped the grub sack.

Clunk . . . clunk . . . thud.

“Did you get the stuff?” Chad called.

“Yes,” came Mitch’s hollow voice. “Can you . . . can you send down the

lantern too? It’s so dark!”

“No,” Chad said. “It will break, and you might get cut.” He leaned over the

hole as close as he could get without falling in. “Now, you stay right where you

are. Don’t step a foot into the mine. I’m going to find Father.”

Mitch started crying.

“Stop it, Mitch! Father has no idea where this mine is. I have to show him. I

have to.”

Mitch begged him to stay, but Chad ignored his brother’s sobs. He couldn’t

stay here. He had to go home and find Father.

Even though he was scared to death to face him.

27

Chapter Five

Choking back tears, Chad mounted Sky and

dug his heels into the buckskin’s sides.

“Faster!” he yelled when Sky slowed

down on the steep hillside. Chad hung on

and urged Sky even faster.

He hoped his gelding would not break

his wind, but right now only Mitch

mattered. Little, scared Mitch, all alone in

the dark. All alone in the vast rangeland of

the Circle C ranch.

And it was all Chad’s fault.

By the time Chad reached the yard, he

had kicked himself all the way around the world and back in his mind. His

conscience battered him. He was scared to face Father, but he was more afraid of

losing his brother. Mitch looked up to Chad as his big brother. His hero.

I failed miserably by disobeying Father! Would God ever forgive him? Would

Father and Mother? I don’t deserve forgiveness!

And if Mitch died, then—

No! Chad dared not even consider such an outcome.

He reined Sky to a skidding stop when he reached the ranch yard. His horse

nearly sat down. Dust billowed up around horse and rider.

28

“Father!” Chad shrieked. “Mother!”

Two ranch hands hurried over. “Whoa, boy,” Sid, their foreman, told him.

“Where’s the fire? Your pa’s in the round pen with Justin.”

Chad fell from Sky and tore around the outbuildings to the large corral.

Father was putting a saddle on Topaz, his newest stallion.

“Father!” Chad yelled. “You’ve got to get some men and come with me. Mitch

fell down an old air shaft.”

Shock replaced Father’s mild expression. He dropped the saddle over the

railing, shouted instructions to have Topaz returned to his paddock, and vaulted

over the corral fence.

He grabbed Chad by the shoulders. His blue eyes were wide with horror.

“What are you talking about, Son?”

Chad couldn’t hold back his terror. It leaked out as hot tears. “The m-mine. I

t-took Mitch. We f-found ore.” He stammered, gulped, and finished in a hurry. “I

sent Mitch for a gunny sack, but he fell into an old air shaft.”

Justin gasped.

Chad threw his shaking arms around Father. “It’s so deep. Mitch is so

scared.” He swallowed his tears and looked up into Father’s white face. “I couldn’t

pull him up. The rope was too short.” He paused. “I’m sorry, Father. I’m so sorry.”

Looking grim, Father untangled Chad’s arms from around his waist and

headed for his horse. “Sid! Round up a couple of men. Mitch is trapped in an air

shaft up in the hills. An old mine.”

He pointed to another ranch hand. “I want a blanket and some lanterns.” He

looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late.”

29

Chad stood off to the side, rooted to the ground. He caught Justin’s horrified

look.

“What have you done, little brother?” Justin whispered.

Chad winced and didn’t answer.

“You, Joey,” Father barked. “Saddle a different horse for Chad. His looks

done in.”

Joey leaped for the barn.

By this time, the rest of the family had gathered. “Jim?” Mother’s eyes were

wide with worry. “What’s happened?”

“Mitch is trapped in an old mine’s air shaft. No time to explain. I would leave

Chad here to tell you about it, but he has to show us the way.”

“J-justin might know the way,” Chad stammered. He wanted nothing more

than to stay on the ranch.

Justin shook his head. “I didn’t pay attention, Chad. I’m sorry.”

He really did sound sorry.

“Oh, Jim, no!” Mother’s voice sounded choked.

Kate burst into tears. “Is Mitch all right?”

“Yes,” Chad said in a shaky voice. “At least he was when I left him.”

“I’d like to go along, Father,” Justin offered.

Father shook his head. “You stay here with your mother. She needs you right

now.”

Justin nodded. He gave Chad a look of sympathy. Your worst fix ever, his dark-

blue eyes said.

Chad reached for the horn of the horse Joey had saddled in record time.

30

Blankets, lanterns, and more rope were loaded onto the horses. Within ten

minutes of Chad’s arrival, the group of four men and one frightened boy galloped

out of the yard.

Chapter Six

Chad and the men rode for nearly an hour and a half into the hills.

Father wouldn’t let them run their horses at a breakneck gallop. Mitch was

trapped, but he wasn’t going anywhere. So long as they made it before dark set in,

they needn’t abuse their mounts.

Chad looked at the sky. The sun was setting in a hurry this late in the summer.

If he didn’t find the mine and the air shaft in another hour, he wouldn’t find it at

all.

“Chad!” Father reined Caesar to a halt and motioned his son to his side.

“Which way?”

Chad bit his lip. His hands shook so much he could barely grip the reins. He

looked around. East? South? Where were the gullies they’d driven the cows from?

Had it only been this morning?

There! Chad’s heart leaped. He and Mitch had ridden east, higher into the

hills. Oh please, God! Don’t let me get turned around. Not now.

To Chad’s joy and relief, God answered his prayer. The brush and rocky hills

opened before him. He pointed. “There, Father. That’s where I found the mine.

And if you look, I think I see Chase. Mitch tied him to the manzanita.”

31

Father let out a long, deep breath. “Good job, Son.”

He didn’t smile, but Chad felt as if he had redeemed himself, if only for a little

while. He knew he was really in for it once they got Mitch out of this mess.

A short time later, Father, Sid, and the two hands pulled their mounts to a

stop and dismounted. Behind them, the sun dipped closer to the western horizon.

Chad threw the reins aside, flew from his horse, and ran to the hole. “Mitch!”

There was no answer.

“Mitch!” Chad screamed into the hole.

Father went down on his hands and knees next to Chad. “Mitchell.” His voice

was strong and calm, nothing like Chad’s panicked tone.

Mitch didn’t answer.

“Maybe he’s asleep,” Chad said. “It’s been an awfully long time.”

He didn’t want to think of the alternative. That Mitch had tried finding his

way out and was lost in the mine. Or that he’d tried to climb up the air shaft and

had fallen and hurt his head. Or worse.

He swallowed and closed his eyes. No! Don’t think that!

Father motioned to one of the men. “Bring the rope, Tom.”

Tom dropped a length of rope that would surely be long enough.

“I’m going down after him,” Father announced. “You men lower me down.

I’ll tie a rope around Mitch and you can haul him up.”

Easier said than done.

Father was too big to fit down the narrow shaft. “If we widen it, the debris

will drop onto Mitch.” He sat back, thinking hard. Then he looked the men over.

None looked small enough to shimmy down the hole.

32

“I’ll do it,” Chad said, swallowing hard. “I’m small enough to fit.”

Father looked Chad up and down. “Yes, I think you’ll fit.” He tied a loop at

the end of the rope and held it up. “This loop is for your foot. Don’t let it slip out,

or you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the hole.”

Chad felt his face pale. “I won’t let it slip, Father. I can do this.”

Father nodded. “Then let’s get to it.”

Chad slipped the loop over his right foot and sat at the edge of the shaft. His

whole body shook. It was dark, narrow, and deep.

Give me strength, God, to rescue my brother. I got him into this. It’s up to me to get

him out.

“All right, Father.” Chad took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

While the ranch hands and his father held the rope, Chad slipped over the

edge. It was a very tight fit. His shoulders scraped the sides. He gripped the rope

with both hands and let the men lower him deeper . . . and deeper . . . into the

narrow shaft.

Slowly, Chad descended. He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself straight

and stiff as a fence post. He tried not the think of what would happen if the air

shaft grew narrower.

“Are you doing all right?” Father asked. His voice was an echo.

“Yes, Father!” Chad opened his eyes and looked up.

Father’s head appeared in the opening. It was somehow comforting to know

that Father and the men had a firm grip on the rope.

Lower, lower, and lower Chad went. His body bumped and scraped. Dirt

from above fell, showering him with pebbles. He cringed and held on tighter.

33

After what seemed like hours, Chad felt his foot hit solid ground. “I’m at the

bottom!” he yelled.

He looked around. It was pitch black. He couldn’t see Mitch. He couldn’t see

the rope. He couldn’t see anything but the pale light from above. The hole looked

the size of a silver dollar.

“Mitch?” Chad whispered. “Where are you?”

Chad stretched out his hands in front of him. He felt nothing but a cold draft.

Like he’d figured, the air shaft ended in the mine, which opened out in front of

him. “Mitch?”

Then, thud! Chad tripped over something soft and squishy. He crashed to the

ground. The palms of his hands scraped over sharp rocks. He winced.

Ouch!

He crawled to the soft something and felt it all over. Warm arms. A head with

soft hair. “Mitch! Wake up!” He shook his brother, but Mitch didn’t respond.

“Please wake up, Mitch!” He pulled the limp body into his arms and laid his

ear close to Mitch’s chest. His heart was beating slow and steady.

Suddenly, Mitch stiffened and woke with a cry of alarm. “No, no, no!”

His terrified shriek pierced Chad’s ears.

“It’s me, Mitch. I’ve come to rescue you,” Chad said, holding the little boy

close. If Mitch thought something from the mine had grabbed him, who knew

where he’d run?

Mitch collapsed into a weeping, shivering heap in Chad’s lap. “I wanna go

home!”

Chad swiped at the warm tears that had suddenly sprung from his eyes.

34

“Father’s here. We’re getting you out.”

Holding his brother’s hand, Chad stood up and led Mitch a few steps, back

to where he hoped the rope hung. He reached out his free hand and felt all around.

It would be horrible to be lost in this blackness.

Then Chad’s hand slapped the rope. “Got it!”

Feeling around the best he could, he reached down and slipped Mitch’s foot

into the loop. “There. Now, hold on tight to the rope, and Father will haul you

up.”

Mitch whimpered. “I can’t. My head hurts. I’m dizzy. I tried to climb out but

then I fell back down and hit my head.”

“It’s all right,” Chad said.

He wracked his brain to think of what to do. They could not go up together.

The shaft was much too narrow for that.

Then he had an idea.

Chad took Mitch’s hands and wrapped them around the rope at chin height.

He unbuckled his brother’s belt and ran it around the rope. He cinched it tight.

“There. How does that feel?”

“It feels nice and tight.”

“Make sure you keep your foot in the loop and hold onto the rope with both

hands. The belt is there to make your feel secure. It can’t really hold you.” He

paused. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes.”

“All right then.” Chad looked up and cupped his hands around his mouth.

“Pull him up!”

35

Chad couldn’t see Mitch rise, but he felt a draft as his brother slipped away.

He counted to one hundred, waiting on pins and needles for the rope to return.

For Father to say something. For anything.

There was nothing. No light. Not talking. No Mitch. No rope.

What was taking so long?

Chad bit his lip to keep his whimpers inside. Why didn’t Father send the rope

back down?

A scary idea pinched his thoughts. Maybe Father was teaching his

disobedient son a hard lesson. Maybe Father would make Chad stay down in the

hole all night long. A horrible lesson for sure!

His stomach turned over, and he felt sick. But it was no less than what Chad

deserved. Give the wicked, disobedient son a taste of what the innocent little son

had endured for many hours.

Chad sucked in a long, deep breath. All right, he told himself. If this is my

punishment, then I’ll face it without complaining. He set his jaw and settled himself in

for a long, horrid night.

Smack!

The end of the rope hit Chad on the head. Then the most beautiful words he

ever heard bellowed down at him. “Do you have the rope, Son?”

“Yes, Father!” He slid the loop over his boot and gave the rope two tugs. “Get

me out of here!”

A faint chuckle was Father’s response.

36

Epilogue

Up, up, up the rope carried Chad. When his head poked through the opening, the

first face he looked for was Mitch’s.

“Are you all right, little brother?”

A pale, filthy-faced Mitch was

wrapped in a blanket. He nodded.

“My head hurts,” he said between

chattering teeth. Behind him, the sun

had set in the distant valley, leaving

gray shadows over the land.

Four lanterns flared into life,

and Chad crawled all the way out of the shaft. Before he could stand up, Father

caught him up in his arms and squeezed him so hard Chad couldn’t suck in a

breath.

“Well done, Son,” Father said, releasing him. “You righted a serious wrong,

and I thank God both of you boys are safe. You’ve saved your mother a mountain

of grief.”

Chad nodded. He didn’t know what to say. He deserved a good licking and

half hoped he’d get one. It would help to have a reason to cry. It would purge the

idea of ever, ever going against Father’s instructions again.

He swallowed. Mitch could have died!

He looked at his brother. Then he looked at Father. “Please, Father. Will you

37

tan my hide good and proper? I deserve a licking.”

Father shook his head. “No, Son. This time your disobedience had serious

life-and-death consequences. It’s better, I think, if you ponder for some time on

what might have happened. That will leave a longer-lasting impression on you

than a warmed backside.”

Father was right about that. Chad’s conscience had whipped him plenty hard

already this afternoon. It stung like fire.

Before he could say anything else, Father wrapped Mitch tighter in the

blanket and lifted him onto Caesar. “Get Chase,” he told Chad. “Let’s go home

and share this ‘all’s well that ends well’ with your mother and the rest of the

family.”

Chad gave his father a broad smile. “Yes, sir!”

One Week Later . . .

Chad put his hands to his ears and

waited for the explosion.

KA-BOOM! Smoke billowed out

from the mine entrance.

Another KA-BOOM, and smoke and

debris shot up out of the old air shaft.

Father and Mitch watched from a

safe distance as the abandoned mine

collapsed in on itself.

38

Chad stood not too far off, pondering. All his grand ideas of finding gold

vanished every time he thought about what had happened the week before, and

what had happened to Mitch.

As much as he wished he could explore the mine and strike it rich, Chad

knew he'd had a close call. By the grace of God neither he nor Mitch had been

seriously injured.

When the dust, rocks, and dirt settled, nothing was left of the dangerous mine

but a pile of old splintered beams, good only for firewood. The air shaft had fallen

in on itself as well. However, the place where the hole had been was still low spot

in the land.

It was unstable too.

Father and the men dug numerous post holes around what remained and

strung four strands of barbed wire. "A calf could fall down this hole, and that

would be tragic," he said.

The Carter family left the mine, and Chad never came within a mile of the

spot for the rest of his life.

*****

Andi never looked for the old mine either. But even if she and Cory had tried to find

it, without specific directions and with years of bushes and trees growing up all around,

the chances of coming across it was slim. Thank goodness!