Chapter 22 Chapter Seven Unexpected Trouble

Despite the difficulty of the journey, it took Ben Rado and his companions less than two hours to cover the distance that separates them from the gold volcano.Everyone was silent, immersed in the longing for the destination they were about to reach, and they went as fast as the road conditions allowed them to go.They were attracted to that mountain as they were to a great magnet. It was not yet three o'clock when the team stopped at the foot of the volcano, the Rube River skirted the foot of the mountain from the east, and the waves of the sea lapped at the base of the mountain in the north.

The area is deserted.To the west, as far as the eye could see, there was not a single village of the natives, or a small band of Indians wandering by the sea, beyond the hills, or beyond the mouth of the Mackenzie.There was not a boat on the sea, not a whaling schooner, not a steamer's black smoke.Now, however, is the time for whalers and sealers to cruise the northern seas.Should it be concluded that no one was ahead of Ben Lado and his companions in this remote region, that Jacques Ledin was the only one who pushed the search as far as the mouth of the Mackenzie, and therefore And the only one who discovered a gold volcano?

In any case, if a gold mine exists, it should belong to the first person to possess it.No one owned Gold Volcano before him, no markers marked its extent, no one has the right to intervene in the future, and Canadian officials cannot charge any fees. The scouts encamped less than half a mile from the sea at the foot of the mountain to the east; a grove of birch and aspen separated the foot of the mountain from the Ruburt.There is fresh water and woods here. There, wide green plains stretched west and south, dotted with clumps of woods.According to Sammy Skin, there must have been quite a few beasts out there.

With Bill Steer at the helm, it quickly settled in.A tent was pitched on the edge of the woods.The vehicle was placed in a clearing in the forest.Cattle tied to tripwires graze in nearby meadows.Sentinels were sent at reasonably chosen locations, and access to the camp was monitored for safety, though there seemed to be no danger to worry about, otherwise perhaps a regular visitor to Dominion territory: the bear. Furthermore, no one doubts that it will only take a short time to develop gold volcanoes.Just take out the treasure piled up in the crater, load it on the car, and you can return immediately.No shovel, no pick, and no panning.According to Jacques Ledan, the gold there exists in the form of gold sand or gold nuggets, and the prospectors of Pluton have already done all the preparations.

Ben Rado was only convinced of this after he had climbed the volcano and had located the crater, which Jacques Ledan said was easy to descend into. On this issue, Bill Stern has a valid opinion: "Mr. Ben, when the French showed you the existence of the Gold Volcano, didn't he say it was an extinct volcano?" "Say it, Bill." "You think he made it to the top?" "Yes, he even visited the crater. However, after that, the volcano may re-erupt." "There is no doubt about it," said the scout, "for the mountain is smoking now. I wonder if it is possible to approach the crater under these conditions."

Ben Rado has considered this possibility.This is not an extinct volcano, but a sleeping volcano, which has woken up. "It is indeed possible," he replied, "but there is a good side to this disadvantage. If the gold volcano spews out the gold nuggets in its stomach, wouldn't it be unnecessary for us to dig? We just need to pick at the foot of the mountain. Tomorrow, we'll play it by ear as we head up the hill." The camp was guarded by scouts, and the night was safe and sound, except for a few howling bears in the distance, who dared not approach the Golden Volcano.

At five o'clock in the morning, everyone got up. With the help of his imagination, Sammy Skin admired the Gold Volcano with interest. "Ben, do you know what I'm thinking?" he asked his cousin. "I don't know, Sammy," Ben Rado replied, "but if you tell me, I'll know." "Maybe, Ben. That's it! I'm thinking, if our Uncle Josiah makes a discovery like this, he'll go home and start a new world with the billionaires, and he won't die in Klondike." K...we don't need to come here." "He didn't have that kind of luck, Sammy, that kind of luck befalls his nephews..."

"However, there is at least one nephew who has no such luxury, not even in his dreams!" "Well, Sammy. But, anyway, since we've come all the way to the edge of the Arctic Ocean, we try to get back with a full purse, and what I call a purse is a wagon full of gold. Don't you Will object." "Even so," Sammy agreed, "but let me tell you, I've studied this mountain from every angle, and I keep saying to myself: This one mountain tops all of Australia, California, and Africa combined. But I'm not impressed. It doesn't feel like a safe to me."

"If so, Sammy, the Gold Volcano will be like a bank cash box for your satisfaction." "I don't think there's anything wrong with that, Ben, what matters is that the teller is on duty and ready to open the door for me." "We don't need a teller," Ben Rado said firmly. "We'll pick locks." "Hmm!..." Sammy spat out a word incredulously while observing the smoky summit of the volcano. Despite Sammy Skin's dislike, Gold Volcano was like any other mountain.It is about a thousand feet high and overlooks the coast. The circumference of the mountain base is estimated to be about two kilometers, and its sides are steep hillsides to the ring-shaped summit.Therefore, its shape is that of a cone, more precisely a truncated cone.

The steep hills certainly made the climb difficult.But now that Jacques Ledin had reached the crater, it was not impossible to climb up. The most straight up and down side of the mountain faces the sea, and the sea water beats directly at the foot of the mountain. Therefore, climbing up the volcano from the north slope cannot be considered.There are no stones protruding from the water at the foot of the mountain. Therefore, if this straight side is not composed of black eruptive material, but of chalky or whitish material, it can be called a cliff.The first thing to do is to determine from which side to try to climb the summit of the Gold Volcano.Jacques Ledan had nothing to offer in this regard, so Ben Radeau and Bill Steer left their camp on the corner between the Rube and the eastern slopes and rounded the foot of the mountain in order to conduct a Preliminary inspection.

There seemed to be a short layer of grass growing on the hillside, and on the grass there were clumps of shrubs that would serve as points of support for climbers.However, the upper part has no grass, and has become a black humus, perhaps a layer of fire ash and volcanic cinders.The two explorers found no signs of any recent eruptions from the volcano. When Ben Rado and the scouts returned to camp, they reported the results of their investigation.The mountain on the west side is not too steep, so you should climb from the west side. After a hasty lunch, people are ready to go.On Bill Steer's suggestion, it was decided to bring some groceries.The jug is filled with anisette and whiskey mixed with a certain amount of water.Also bring a pickaxe, wooden stakes, and rope, which may be useful in particularly steep places. The weather was favorable for the attempt.It seems that the weather is fine.The breeze from the north carried a few clouds with it and only dampened the heat of the sun. Neruto did not join the climbers.He guarded the camp with the rest of the men, and he could not leave the camp under any pretext.Even though the area appears to be deserted, one must not let one's guard down. Ben Rado, Sammy Skin, and the scouts set off about eight o'clock, as did Jane, who wanted to join the operation anyway.The four of them went along the south foot of the mountain to the west slope. They walked along the foot of the mountain without finding any trace of the last eruption.When was the last eruption?There is no trace of volcanic material, especially no gold dust which, according to Jacques Ledan, is abundant.It should be inferred like this: all the materials ejected from the volcano were thrown to the side near the sea, sleeping under the deep water of the sea? "What does it matter?" Ben Rado said to Bill Steer, who made the above statement. "There is no doubt that Jacques Le Dan has not erupted since he came, and that is the most important thing. He saw We can also see the gold nuggets." It was nearly 9 o'clock when the four people reached the bottom of the western hillside. The scouts took the lead, and the climbing began.At first, the hillside is relatively gentle, and the feet can be kicked on the grass.Therefore, there is no need to use stakes and ropes.Also, Bill Stern has been on the mountain.A sure instinct guided him, and he was so strong and so familiar with mountaineering that none of his companions could keep up with him. "It's like doing 20 Chilcoot passes," said a breathless Sammy Skin. "It's going to give you chamois legs and calves of steel." However, after climbing one third of the way, the chamois might also feel embarrassed.It is best to have the wings of a vulture or mountain eagle. At this time, the slope is very steep, and you must use your knees, feet, and hands, and hold on to sparse bushes.Soon, stakes and ropes had to be used.The scout walked ahead, nailed the stake in the grass, and then let the rope down, and the people below pulled the rope and climbed to his position.They climbed cautiously, falling would probably kill them. At 11 o'clock, they climbed halfway to the position.Take a break, catch your breath, drink from the jug, and climb up again. There was not a tremor nor a rumble heard on the slopes, though the smoke that hung over the summit of the volcano was evidence of a subterranean force at work.Probably the mountain on this side is too thick. It can be imagined that the chimney of the crater opens to the north, very close to the sea. Keep climbing, it gets harder the higher you go, but you can still climb.Besides, what Jacques Ledan had done, why couldn't the Scout and his companions do it? When they came to the cone that made up the summit, the hands of Ben Rado's watch read 12:13. They were all more or less exhausted, sitting on the quartz stones that surrounded the upper plateau of the volcano, which was about three or four hundred feet in circumference.The open crater is mostly in the center of the highlands, and smoke and yellowish volcanic gases are belching from it. Ben Rado and his companions rested while observing the expansive landscape before walking toward the chimney. To the south were the green plains they had just traversed, and beyond were the rolling hills beyond which Fort MacPherson dominated the surrounding area. To the west, the coast of the Arctic Ocean is a series of sandy beaches, and the interior of the land appears a large area of ​​dark forest, about a mile and a half from the volcano. To the east, at the foot of the Golden Volcano, is the network of the mouth of the Mackenzie River, whose many branches spread out in a wide bay; on the opposite side of the bay are many barren islands and black rocks.Farther on, the coast rose northward, culminating in a plateau: a melancholy giant that blocked the horizon on this side. On the north side of the Golden Volcano, starting from the straight cliff at the bottom that disappears into the sea, the sea has no other boundary, only an endless boundary. At this time, the atmosphere washed by the breeze is completely transparent.The sea is golden under the sunlight. There was no one on the beach.Despite the abundance of marine mammals and various amphibians at the estuary of the Mackenzie River, not a single fisherman, foreign or native, was seen. Not so at sea.Using binoculars, the scout saw patches of white sails and wisps of black smoke against the northern horizon. "These are whaling ships," he said, "coming from the Bering Strait. Three months later, they made their way back. Some anchored at St. Michael's at the mouth of the Yukon, and others in Asia. Petropavlovsk on the coast of Kamchatka, and then send their seafood to the ports on the Pacific coast for sale." "Is there a ship to Vancouver?" asked Sammy Skin. "Some ships go," replied Bill Steer, "but these guys made a mistake, a big mistake, because it was hard to control the crew, and most of the sailors deserted to the Klondike." So true.The nearby gold mines drove the sailors into a frenzy, yet they had just returned from a grueling fishing operation.Also, in order to avoid infectious diseases for the sailors, the captains of the whaling ships tried not to call in the ports of Columbia, and they preferred the ports in Asia. After a much-needed half-hour break, Ben Rado and his companions surveyed the plateau on Gold Volcano.The crater is not in the center of the plateau as they imagined, but in the northeast part.The circumference of the crater is 75 to 80 feet.Carefully paying attention to the wind direction to avoid the choking smoke from the crater, they were able to walk to the very edge of the high platform and look down into the crater. Everything made Jacques Ledin's story more and more true.The slope inside the crater is gentle, and it is not difficult to go down if it is not for the unbreathable gas that prevents people from entering. Gold dust on the ground further corroborates the French claim.But these intangible gold dusts, mingled with mud and volcanic cinders, were of little value compared with the heaps of nuggets sought from far away. "Apparently," said Ben Rado, "Jacques Ledan did not encounter the obstacles we encountered. When he came here, the volcano was completely dormant, and he was able to descend to the bottom of the crater without danger. Once the activity calms down and the smoke clears, we can go down and loot gold like he did." "What if the smoke doesn't clear," Sammy Skinn asked, "what if it doesn't go down?" "Let's just wait, Sammy." "What are we waiting for...?" "Waiting for the eruption to do what we're going to do, to spew out the contents of the gold volcano's belly." Indeed, this is the only option, although it has serious drawbacks.It's the right choice for those who don't care about time and who can withstand the harsh winters of the Mackenzie Estuary like Dawson City.However, if things drag on, and after two and a half months the volcano hasn't extinguished or spewed nuggets of gold, the people will have to leave the camp and retreat south to avoid being trapped there by winter. All 4 of them share this idea, but each takes a different approach based on their unique personalities. Bill Steer chuckled a little mockingly.This was a profound lesson for him.After all these years of fighting off the golden fever contagion, he still got it, and that's what he got!He was healed in a flash and returned to his usual way of thinking.He thought soberly of his failure, and thought that there was no other way out of the prospector's profession. Frowning, Jane Egerton remained motionless on the edge of the crater, her eyes fixed on the swirling clouds of smoke from below.She found that strength and determination were sometimes not enough; she was exasperated at being held back by forces of nature, before which her will was powerless. Sammy Skin was the unluckiest of them all.Live another winter in the capital of the Klondike!He shuddered at the prospect. It was he who answered his cousin: "You're quite right, Ben. But the condition is that there will be an eruption. And yet, is there an eruption? It's all here. Don't you think the volcano is calm? It's not spewing out dust and the tiniest stone. Listen Not a single rumble. It's smoking, no doubt, but silently. I could do that too, I promise! Won't that get you thinking?" Ben Rado made a vague movement. "Let's see and talk," he said. After two hours at the top, they began their descent.An hour is enough to go down the mountain.By 3 p.m., they returned to camp fairly tired but unharmed. While the brothers were alone, Sammy, troubled by his stubborn thoughts, approached the cousin and struck again. "Think about it, Ben," he said, "I'll talk to you seriously. What do we do if the eruption doesn't come? . . . What if it doesn't erupt before winter?" Ben Rado turned his head away and did not answer his question.Sammy didn't have the courage to ask any more.