Double-crossed at Cactus Flats: An Up2U Western Adventure
wasn’t sure that Bull had a right to the silver claim But if it wasn’t for Bull where would Archer be The prospector had kept him safe In addition to all those outlaws the Arizona desert was home to unfriendly Apache warriors Bull knew how to watch for signs of trouble Archer didn’t Six months before Archer had been in school in Oklahoma But on his fourteenth birthday January 29 1882 his father had told him that they were going West They would join the gold rush and soon be rich Now Archer was an orphan His father had died after a long sickness on the trail He was buried back in Texas Archer had made it to Arizona on his own That’s where he met Bull Bull also had the idea of striking it rich And this week Bull and Archer had found success
A SHADOW Archer was hungry They’d been riding all morning without a bite of food Finally they’d reached the top of a hill They could see the mining town of Cactus Flats about a mile away He and Bull stopped their horses Archer patted Shadow’s muzzle Then he looked over his shoulder He was sure someone had been following them That was never a good thing in the desert You’re seeing ghosts boy Bull said with a laugh I’d know in a second if anyone was back there Archer took off his tan cowboy hat and ran a hand through his sweaty brown hair He guessed that the temperature was nearly 100 degrees
All morning it has felt as if someone was after us Archer said I haven’t seen anyone but I think someone wants to do us in Bull nodded Lots of men would want to he said Any prospector would give his right arm to find what we did at our claim And many of them wouldn’t think twice about killing us for it Archer looked back again Can we eat when we get to town he asked Only if you can find a way to eat for free Bull replied I don’t have a dollar in my pocket yet but I’ve got a million in my heart This silver will make us rich How can you be sure Archer asked These hills are studded with gold and silver Why would the mining company pay you to find it for them Bull reached into his pocket and pulled out a round nugget of silver ore He held it up
between the thumb and a finger of his non injured hand Then he closed one eye This is the purest ore I’ve ever seen Bull said With most ore you get a 1,000 worth of silver from a ton Maybe 2,000 if you’re lucky Bull nodded to Archer He put the silver nugget back in his pocket then he smiled I’d stake my life that this here ore is worth 15,000 a ton Maybe more That would buy a lot of food And much much more Archer scanned the desert The dusty hills had a purple tint Mesquite bushes and sage plants dotted the landscape Not far off the adobe buildings of Cactus Flats shined in the sun That spot was empty just three years ago Bull said Nothing but desert Nothing Now
