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diff --git a/28115.txt b/28115.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c0405d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/28115.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10460 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Great Sioux Trail, by Joseph Altsheler + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Great Sioux Trail + A Story of Mountain and Plain + +Author: Joseph Altsheler + +Illustrator: Charles L. Wrenn + +Release Date: February 18, 2009 [EBook #28115] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL *** + + + + +Produced by D. Alexander, Barbara Kosker and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + + + THE GREAT + SIOUX TRAIL + + _A STORY OF MOUNTAIN AND PLAIN_ + + BY + + JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + AUTHOR OF + "THE RULERS OF THE LAKES," + "THE SHADOW OF THE NORTH," ETC. + + + [Illustration] + + + ILLUSTRATED BY + CHARLES L. WRENN + + + + + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + NEW YORK LONDON + 1918 + + + + + Copyright, 1918, by + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY + + Printed in the United States of America + + + + + THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL + + + + + By JOSEPH A. ALTSHELER + + THE CIVIL WAR SERIES + + The Guns of Bull Run + The Guns of Shiloh + The Scouts of Stonewall + The Sword of Antietam + The Star of Gettysburg + The Rock of Chickamaugua + The Shades of the Wilderness + The Tree of Appomattox + + + THE WORLD WAR SERIES + + The Guns of Europe + The Forest of Swords + The Hosts of the Air + + + THE YOUNG TRAILERS SERIES + + The Young Trailers + The Forest Runners + The Keepers of the Trail + The Eyes of the Woods + The Free Rangers + The Riflemen of the Ohio + The Scouts of the Valley + The Border Watch + + + THE TEXAN SERIES + + The Texan Star + The Texan Scouts + The Texan Triumph + + + THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR SERIES + + The Hunters of the Hills + The Shadow of the North + The Rulers of the Lakes + + + BOOKS NOT IN SERIES + + The Great Sioux Trail + Apache Gold + The Quest of the Four + The Last of the Chiefs + In Circling Camps + A Soldier of Manhattan + The Sun of Saratoga + A Herald of the West + The Wilderness Road + My Captive + + ---------- + + D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK + + + + +[Illustration: A stroke of a great paw and the rifle was dashed from the +hands of the old chief. [PAGE 288.]] + + + + +FOREWORD + + +"The Great Sioux Trail" is the first of a group of romances concerned +with the opening of the Great West just after the Civil War, and having +a solid historical basis. They will be connected by the presence of +leading characters in all the volumes, but every one will be in itself a +complete story. + + + + + CONTENTS + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I THE SIOUX WARNING 1 + + II THE NARROW ESCAPE 25 + + III THE LITTLE GIANT 53 + + IV THE FLIGHT 84 + + V THE WHITE DOME 111 + + VI THE OUTLAW 134 + + VII THE BEAVER HUNTER 157 + + VIII THE MOUNTAIN RAM 177 + + IX THE BUFFALO MARCH 199 + + X THE WAR CLUB'S FALL 229 + + XI THE YOUNG SLAVE 246 + + XII THE CAPTIVE'S RISE 266 + + XIII THE REWARD OF MERIT 290 + + XIV THE DREADFUL NIGHT 315 + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + A stroke of a great paw and the rifle was dashed + from the hands of the old chief _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + + The rifle sprang to his shoulder, a jet of flame leaped + from the muzzle 48 + + The body of a warrior shot downward, striking on + the ledges 190 + + "If he ever looks upon a white face again it will be + the face of one who is a friend of the Sioux" 256 + + + + +THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE SIOUX WARNING + + +The scene cast a singular spell, uncanny and exciting, over young +Clarke. The sweep of plains on one side, and on the other the dim +outline of mountains behind which a blood-red sun was sinking, gave it a +setting at once majestic and full of menace. The horizon, as the +twilight spread over its whole surface, suggested the wilderness, the +unknown and many dangers. + +The drama passing before his eyes deepened and intensified his feeling +that he was surrounded by the unusual. The fire burned low, the creeping +dusk reached the edge of the thin forest to the right, and soon, with +the dying of the flames, it would envelop the figures of both Sioux and +soldiers. Will's gaze had roved from one to another, but now it remained +fixed upon the chief, who was speaking with all the fire, passion and +eloquence so often characteristic of the great Indian leaders. He was +too far away to hear the words, as only the officers of the troop were +allowed at the conference, but he knew they were heavy with import, and +the pulses in his temples beat hard and fast. + +"Who is the Indian chief?" he said to Boyd, the scout and hunter, who +stood by his side. "He seems to be a man." + +"He is," replied Boyd with emphasis. "He's a man, and a great man, too. +That's Red Cloud, the war chief of the Ogalala Sioux, Mahpeyalute, they +call him in their language, one of the bravest warriors that ever lived, +and a thinker, as well. If he'd been born white he'd be governor of a +big state by this time, and later on he might become president of 'em +all." + +"I've heard of him. He's one of our most dangerous enemies." + +"So he is, Will. It's because he thinks we're going to spread over the +Sioux country--in which he's right--and not because he hates us as men. +I've known him in more peaceful times, and we've done each other good +turns, but under that black hair of his beats a brain that can look far +ahead and plan. He means to close to us the main trail through the Sioux +country, and the Sioux range running halfway across the continent, and +halfway from Canada to Mexico. Mountain and plain alike are theirs." + +"I can't keep from having a certain sympathy with him, Jim. It's but +natural that they should want to keep the forests and the great buffalo +ranges." + +"I share their feelings, too, though white I am, and to the white people +I belong. I hate to think of the continent ploughed into fields +everywhere, and with a house always in sight. Anyhow, it won't happen in +my time, because in the west here there are so many mountains and the +Sioux and Cheyennes are so warlike that the plough will have a hard time +getting in." + +"And the country is so vast, too. But watch Red Cloud. He points to the +west! Now he drops his hand, doubles his fist and stretches his arm +across the way. What does it mean, Jim?" + +"It's a gesture telling Captain Kenyon that the road is barred to +soldiers, settlers, hunters, all of us. Far to the south we may still +follow the gold trails to California, but here at the edge of this +mighty wilderness we must turn back. The nations of the Dakota, whom we +call the Sioux, have said so." + +Mahpeyalute lowered his arm, which he had thrust as a barrier across the +way, but his fist remained clenched, and raising it he shook it again. +The sun had sunk over the dim mountains in the north and the burning red +there was fading. All the thin forest was clothed now in dusk, and the +figure of the chief himself grew dimmer. Yet the twilight enlarged him +and lent to him new aspects of power and menace. As he made his gesture +of defiance, young Clarke, despite his courage, felt the blood grow +chill in his veins. It seemed at the moment in this dark wilderness that +the great Indian leader had the power to make good his threats and close +the way forever to the white race. + +The other Indians, ten in number, stood with their arms folded, and they +neither stirred nor spoke. But they listened with supreme attention to +every word of their redoubtable champion, the great Mahpeyalute. Will +knew that the Sioux were subdivided into nations or tribes, and he +surmised that the silent ones were their leaders, although he knew well +enough that Red Cloud was an Ogalala, and that the Ogalalas were merely +one of the Tetons who, federated with the others, made up the mighty +Sioux nation. But the chief, by the force of courage and intellect, had +raised himself from a minor place to the very headship. + +Red Cloud was about fifty years old, and, while at times he wore the +white man's apparel, at least in part, he was now clothed wholly in +Indian attire. A blanket of dark red was looped about his shoulders, and +he carried it with as much grace as a Roman patrician ever wore the +toga. His leggings and moccasins of fine tanned deerskin were decorated +beautifully with beads, and a magnificent war bonnet of feathers, +colored brilliantly, surmounted his thick, black hair. + +He was truly a leader of wild and barbaric splendor in surroundings that +fitted him. But it was not his tall, powerful figure nor his dress that +held Will's gaze. It was his strong face, fierce, proud and menacing, +like the sculptured relief of some old Assyrian king, and in very truth, +with high cheek bones and broad brow, he might have been the +reincarnation of some old Asiatic conqueror. + +The young officer seemed nervous and doubtful. He switched the tops of +his riding boots with a small whip, and then looked into the fierce eyes +of the chief, as if to see that he really meant what he said. Kenyon was +fresh from the battlefields of the great civil war, where he had been +mentioned specially in orders more than once for courage and +intelligence, but here he felt himself in the presence of an alarming +puzzle. His mission was to be both diplomat and warrior. He was not sure +where the duties of diplomat ceased and those of warrior began. + +Meanwhile his protagonist, the Indian chief, had no doubt at all about +his own intentions and was stating them with a clearness that could not +be mistaken. Captain Kenyon continued to switch his boot uneasily and to +take a nervous step back and forth, his figure outlined against the +fire. Young Clarke felt a certain sympathy for him, placed without +experience in a situation so delicate and so full of peril. + +The Ogalala stopped talking and looked straight at the officer, standing +erect and waiting, as if he expected a quick answer, and only the kind +of answer, too, that he wished. Meanwhile there was silence, save for an +occasional crackle of burning wood. + +Both young Clarke and the hunter, Boyd, felt with all the intensity of +conviction that it was a moment charged with fate. The white people had +come from the Atlantic to the great plains, but the mighty Sioux nation +now barred the way to the whole Northwest, it was not a barrier to be +passed easily. Will, as he said, understood, too, the feelings of +Mahpeyalute. Had he been an Ogalala like the chief he would have felt +as the Ogalala felt. Yet, whatever happened, he and Boyd meant to go on, +because they had a mission that was calling them all the time. + +The Captain at last said a few words, and Red Cloud, who had been +motionless while he waited, took from under his blanket a pipe with a +long curved stem. Will was surprised. He knew something of Indian +custom, but he had not thought that the fierce Ogalala chief would +propose to smoke a pipe of peace at a time like the present. Nor was any +such thought in the mind of Red Cloud. Instead, he suddenly struck the +stem of the pipe across the trunk of a sapling, breaking it in two, and +as the bowl fell upon the ground he put his foot upon it, shattering it. +Then, raising his hand in a salute to Captain Kenyon, he turned upon his +heel and walked away, all the other Indians following him without a +word. At the edge of the thin forest they mounted their ponies and rode +out of sight in the darkness. + +Captain Kenyon stood by the fire, gazing thoughtfully into the dying +coals, while the troopers, directed by the sergeants, were spreading the +blankets for the night. Toward the north, where the foothills showed +dimly, a wolf howled. The lone, sinister note seemed to arouse the +officer, who gave some orders to the men and then turned to meet the +hunter and the lad. + +"I've no doubt you surmised what the Indian meant," he said to Boyd. + +"I fancy he was telling you all the trails through the Northwest were +closed to the white people," said the hunter. + +"Yes, that was it, and his warning applied to hunters, scouts and +gold-seekers as well as settlers. He told me that the Sioux would not +have their hunting grounds invaded, and the buffalo herds on which they +live destroyed." + +"What he told you, Captain, is in the heart of every warrior of their +nation. The Northern Cheyennes, a numerous and warlike tribe, feel the +same way, also. The army detachments are too few and too scattered to +hold back the white people, and a great and terrible war is coming." + +"At least," said Captain Kenyon, "I must do my duty as far as I may. I +can't permit you and your young friend, Mr. Clarke, to go into the Sioux +country. The Indian chief, Red Cloud, showed himself to be a fierce and +resolute man and you would soon lose your lives." + +Will's face fell, but the hunter merely shrugged his great shoulders. + +"But you'll permit us to pass the night in your camp, Captain?" he said. + +"Of course. Gladly. You're welcome to what we have. I'd not drive +anybody away from company and fire." + +"We thank you, Captain Kenyon," said Will warmly. "It's a genuine +pleasure to us to be the guests of the army when we're surrounded by +such a wilderness." + +Their horses were tethered nearby with those of the troop, and securing +their blankets from their packs they spread them on dead leaves near the +fire. + +"You'll take breakfast with us in the morning," said Captain Kenyon +hospitably, "and then I'll decide which way to go, and what task we're +to undertake. I wish you'd join us as scout, hunter and guide, Mr. Boyd. +We need wisdom like yours, and Mr. Clarke could help us, too." + +"I've been independent too long," replied the hunter lightly. "I've +wandered mountain and plain so many years at my own free will that I +couldn't let myself be bound now by military rules. But I thank you for +the compliment, just the same, Captain Kenyon." + +He and Will Clarke lay down side by side with their feet to the fire, +their blankets folded about them rather closely, as the air, when the +night advanced and the coals died completely, was sure to grow cold. +Will was troubled, as he was extremely anxious to go on at once, but he +reflected that Jim Boyd was one of the greatest of all frontiersmen and +he would be almost sure to find a way. Summoning his will, he dismissed +anxiety from his mind and lay quite still, seeking sleep. + +The camp was now quiet and the fire was sinking rapidly. Sentinels +walked on every side, but Will could not see them from where he lay. A +light wind blowing down from the mountains moaned through the thin +forest. Clouds came up from the west, blotting out the horizon and +making the sky a curving dome of blackness. Young William Clarke felt +that it was good to have comrades in the immense desolation, and it +strengthened his spirit to see the soldiers rolled in their blankets, +their feet to the dying coals. + +Yet his trouble about the future came back. He and Boyd were in truth +and reality prisoners. Captain Kenyon was friendly and kind, but he +would not let them go on, because the Sioux and Cheyennes had barred all +the trails and the formidable Red Cloud had given a warning that could +not be ignored. Making another effort, he dismissed the thought a second +time and just as the last coals were fading into the common blackness he +fell asleep. + +He was awakened late in the night by a hand pushing gently but +insistently against his shoulder. He was about to sit up abruptly, but +the voice of Boyd whispered in his ear: + +"Be very careful! Make no noise! Release yourself from your blanket and +then do what I say!" + +The hand fell away from his shoulder, and, moving his head a little, +Clarke looked carefully over the camp. The coals where the fire had been +were cold and dead, and no light shone there. The figures of the +sleeping soldiers were dim in the dusk, but evidently they slept +soundly, as not one of them stirred. He heard the regular breathing of +those nearest to him, and the light step of the sentinel just beyond a +clump of dwarf pines. + +"Sit up now," whispered Boyd, "and when the sentinel passes a little +farther away we'll creep from the camp. Be sure you don't step on a +stick or trip over anything. Keep close behind me. The night's as black +as pitch, and it's our one chance to escape from friends who are too +hospitable." + +Will saw the hunter slowly rise to a stooping position, and he did +likewise. Then when the sound of the sentinel's step was lost at the far +end of his beat, Boyd walked swiftly away from the camp and Will +followed on his trail. The lad glanced back once, and saw that the dim +figures by the dead fire did not stir. Weary and with the soothing wind +blowing over them, they slept heavily. It was evident that the two who +would go their own way had nothing to fear from them. There was now no +bar to their departure, save the unhappy chance of being seen by the +sentinel. + +A rod from the camp and Boyd lay flat upon the ground, Will, without the +need of instruction, imitating him at once. The sentinel was coming +back, but like his commander he was a soldier of the civil war, used to +open battlefields, and he did not see the two shadows in the dusk. He +reached the end of his beat and turning went back again, disappearing +once more beyond the stunted pines. + +"Now's our time," whispered Boyd, and rising he walked away swiftly but +silently, Will close behind him. Three hundred yards, and they stopped +by the trunk of a mountain oak. + +"We're clear of the soldiers now," said the hunter, "but we must have +our horses. Without 'em and the supplies they carry we'd be lost. I +don't mean anything against you, Will. You're a likely lad and you learn +as fast as the best of 'em, but it's for me to cut out the horses and +bring 'em here. Do you think you can wait patiently at this place till I +come with 'em?" + +"No, Jim, I can't wait patiently, but I can wait impatiently. I'll make +myself keep still." + +"That's good enough. On occasion I can be as good a horse thief as the +best Sioux or Crow or Cheyenne that ever lived, only it's our own horses +that I'm going to steal. They've a guard, of course, but I'll slip past +him. Now use all your patience, Will." + +"I will," said the lad, as he leaned against the trunk of the oak. Then +he became suddenly aware that he no longer either saw or heard Boyd. The +hunter had vanished as completely and as silently as if he had melted +into the air, but Will knew that he was going toward the thin forest, +where the horses grazed or rested at the end of their lariats. + +All at once he felt terribly alone. He heard nothing now but the moaning +of the wind that came down from the far mountains. The camp was gone, +Boyd was gone, the horses were invisible, and he was the only human +being in the gigantic and unknown Northwest. The air felt distinctly +colder and he shivered a little. It was not fear, it was merely the +feeling that he was cut off from the race like a shipwrecked sailor on a +desert island. He took himself metaphorically by the shoulders and gave +his body a good shake. Boyd would be coming back soon with the horses, +and then he would have the best of comradeship. + +But the hunter was a long time in returning, a half hour that seemed to +Will a full two hours, but at last, when he had almost given him up, he +heard a tread approaching. He had experience enough to know that the +sound was made by hoofs, and that Boyd was successful. He realized now, +so great was his confidence in the hunter's skill, that failure had not +entered his mind. + +The sound came nearer, and it was made by more than one horse. Then the +figure of the hunter appeared in the darkness and behind him came four +horses, the two that they rode, and the extra animals for the packs. + +"Splendidly done!" exclaimed the lad. "But I knew you could do it!" + +"It was about as delicate a job as I ever handled," said Boyd, with a +certain amount of pride in his tone, "but by waiting until I had a good +chance I was able to cut 'em out. It was patience that did it. I tell +you, lad, patience is about the greatest quality a man can have. It's +the best of all winners." + +"I suppose that's the reason, Jim, it's so hard to exercise it at times. +Although I had nothing to do and took none of the risk, it seemed to me +you were gone several hours." + +Boyd laughed a little. + +"It proves what I told you," he said, "but we want to get away from here +as quick as we can now. You lead two of the horses, I'll lead the other +two, and we won't mount for a while yet. I don't think they can hear us +at the camp, but we won't give 'em a chance to do so if we can help it." + +He trod a course straight into the west, the ground, fortunately, being +soft and the hoofs of the horses making but little sound. Although the +darkness hung as thick and close as ever, the skillful woodsman found +the way instinctively, and neither stumbled nor trod upon the fallen +brushwood. Young Clarke, just behind him, followed in his tracks, also +stepping lightly and he knew enough not to ask any questions, confident +that Boyd would take them wherever they wished to go. + +It was a full two hours before the hunter stopped and then they stood on +a low hill covered but thinly with the dwarfed trees of that region. The +night was lightening a little, a pallid moon and sparse stars creeping +out in the heavens. By the faint light young Clarke saw only a wild and +rugged country, low hills about them and in the north the blur that he +knew to be mountains. + +"We can stand up straight now and talk in our natural voices," said +Boyd, in a clear, full tone, "and right glad I am, too. I hate to steal +away from friends, as if you were running from the law. That Captain +Kenyon is a fine fellow, though he and his men don't know much about +this wild country." + +"Isn't this about the same direction that Red Cloud and his warriors +took?" asked Will. + +"Not far from it, but we won't run into 'em. They're miles and miles +ahead. There's a big Sioux village two or three days' journey farther +on, and it's a certainty that their ponies are headed straight for it." + +"And we won't keep going for the same village?" + +The big hunter laughed infectiously. + +"Not if we know what is good for us," he replied, "and we think we do. +Our trail leads far to the north of the Sioux town, and, when we start +again, we'll make an abrupt change in our course. There's enough +moonlight now for you to see the face of your watch, and tell me the +time, Will." + +"Half-past one, Jim." + +"And four or five hours until morning. We'll move on again. There's a +chance that some pursuing soldier might find us here, one chance in a +thousand, so to speak, but slim as it is it is well to guard against it. +Mount your horse. There's no reason now why we shouldn't ride." + +Will sprang gladly into the saddle, leading his pack-animal by the +lariat, and once more followed Boyd, who rode down the hill into a wide +and shallow valley, containing a scattered forest of good growth. Boyd's +horse raised his head suddenly and neighed. + +"What does that mean?" asked Will, startled. "Sioux?" + +"No," replied the hunter. "I know this good and faithful brute so well +that he and I can almost talk together. I've learned the meaning of +every neigh he utters and the one you have just heard indicates that he +has smelled water. In this part of the world water is something that you +must have on your mind most of the time, and his announcement is +welcome." + +"If there's a stream, do we camp by it?" + +"We certainly do. We won't turn aside from the luck that fortune puts in +our way. We're absolutely safe from the soldiers now. They can't trail +us in the night, and we've come many miles." + +They descended a long slope and came into the valley, finding the grass +there abundant, and, flowing down the centre, a fine brook of clear cold +water, from which horses and horsemen drank eagerly. Then they unsaddled +and prepared for rest and food. + +"Is there no danger here from the Sioux?" asked Will. + +"I think not," replied the hunter. "I've failed to find a pony track, +and I'm quite sure I saw a buck among the trees over there. If the +Indians had passed this way there would have been no deer to meet our +eyes, and you and I, Will, my lad, will take without fear the rest we +need so much." + +"I see that the brook widens and deepens into a pool a little farther +on, and as I'm caked with dust and dirt I think I'll take a bath." + +"Go ahead. I've never heard that a man was less brave or less enduring +because he liked to keep clean. You'll feel a lot better when it's +done." + +Will took off his clothes and sprang into the pool which had a fine, +sandy bottom. The chill at once struck into his marrow. He had not +dreamed that it was so cold. The hunter laughed when he saw him +shivering. + +"That water comes down from the high mountains," he said, "and a few +degrees more of cold would turn it into ice. But splash, Will! Splash! +and you'll feel fine!" + +Young Clarke obeyed and leaped and splashed with great energy, until his +circulation grew vigorous and warm. When he emerged upon the bank his +whole body was glowing and he felt a wonderful exhilaration, both +physical and mental. He ran up and down the bank until he was dry, and +then resumed his clothing. + +"You look so happy now that I'll try it myself," said Boyd, and he was +soon in the water, puffing and blowing like a big boy. When he had +resumed his deerskins it was almost day. A faint line of silver showed +in the east, and above them the sky was gray with the coming dawn. + +"I'll light a little fire and make coffee," said Boyd, "but the rest of +the breakfast must be cold. Still, a cup of coffee on a chill morning +puts life into a man." + +Will, with the zeal characteristic of him, was already gathering dead +brushwood, and Boyd soon boiled the grateful brown liquid, of which they +drank not one cup but two each, helping out the breakfast with crackers +and strips of dried beef. Then the pot and the cups were returned to the +packs and the hunter carefully put out the fire. + +"It's a good thing we loaded those horses well," he said, "because we'll +need everything we have. Now you roll up in your blanket, Will, and get +the rest of your sleep." + +"And you feel sure there is no danger? I don't want to leave all the +responsibility to you. I'd like to do what I can." + +"Don't bother yourself about it. The range of the Sioux is farther west +mostly, and it's not likely we could find a better place than this for +our own little private camp." + +The coming of a bright, crisp day removed from Will the feeling of +desolation that the wilderness had created in his mind. Apprehension and +loneliness disappeared with the blackness of the night. He was with one +of the best scouts and hunters in the West, and the sun was rising upon +a valley of uncommon beauty. All about him the trees grew tall and +large, without undergrowth, the effect being that of a great park, with +grass thick and green, upon which the horses were grazing in deep +content. The waters of the brook sang a little song as they hurried over +the gravel, and the note of everything was so strongly of peace that the +lad, wearied by their flight and mental strain, fell asleep in a few +minutes. + +It was full noon when he awoke, and, somewhat ashamed of himself, he +sprang up, ready to apologize, but the hunter waved a deprecatory hand. + +"You didn't rest too long," said Boyd. "You needed it. As for me, I'm +seasoned and hard, adapted by years of practice to the life I lead. It's +nothing to me to pass a night without sleep, and to catch up later on. +While you were lying there in your blanket I scouted the valley +thoroughly, leaving the horses to watch over you. It's about two miles +long and a mile broad. At the lower end the brook flows into a narrow +chasm." + +"What did you find in the valley itself, Jim?" + +"Track of bear, deer, wolf and panther, but no sign of human being, +white or red. It's certain that we're the only people in it, but if we +need game we can find it. It's a good sign, showing that this part of +the country has not been hunted over by the Indians." + +"Before long we'll have to replenish our food supply with game." + +"Yes, that's certain. We want to draw as little on our flour and coffee +as we can. We can do without 'em, but when you don't have 'em you miss +'em terribly." + +The stores had been heaped at the foot of a tree, while the pack horses, +selected for their size and strength, nibbled at the rich grass. Will +contemplated the little mound of supplies with much satisfaction. They +had not started upon the path of peril without due preparation. + +Each carried a breech-loading, repeating rifle of the very latest make, +a weapon yet but little known on the border. In the packs were two more +rifles of the same kind, two double-barreled, breech-loading shotguns, +thousands of cartridges, several revolvers, two strong axes, medicines, +extra blankets, and, in truth, everything needed by a little army of two +on the march. Boyd, a man of vast experience in the wilderness, had +selected the outfit and he was proud of its completeness. + +"Don't you think, Jim," said young Clarke, "that you might take a little +sleep this afternoon? You've just said that we've nothing to dread in +the valley, and I can watch while you build yourself up." + +Boyd gave him a quick but keen glance. He saw that the lad's pride was +at stake, and that he was anxious to be trusted with an important task. +Looking at his alert face, and knowing his active intellect, the hunter +knew that he would learn swiftly the ways of the wilderness. + +"A good idea," he said in tones seemingly careless. "I'll change my mind +and take a nap. Wake me up if you see strange signs or think anything is +going to happen." + +Without further word he spread his blanket on the leaves and in a minute +or two was off to slumberland. Will, full of pride, put his fine +breech-loader over his shoulder and began his watch. The horses, having +eaten their fill, were lying down in the grass, and his own nuzzled his +hand as he stroked their noses. + +He walked some distance among the trees, and he was impressed more and +more by the resemblance of the valley to a great park, a park hitherto +untrodden by man. Although he was not lonely or depressed now he felt +very remote from civilization. The cities of the East, so far as his +mind was concerned, were now on the other side of the world. The +unknown, vast and interminable, had closed about him. + +Yet he felt a momentary exultation. Boyd and he would find a path +through every peril. His walk brought him back to the edge of the brook, +where for a little space thick bushes grew, and he heard a snarling +growl, followed by a rush that could be made only by a heavy body. He +started violently, the pulses beat hard in his temples and he promptly +presented his rifle. Then he laughed at himself. He caught a glimpse of +a long, yellowish body and he knew it was a mountain lion, much more +alarmed than he, and fleeing with all speed to the hills. + +He must be steadier of nerve and he gave himself a stern rebuke. Farther +down the valley the brook widened again into a deep pool, and in the +water, as clear as silver, he saw fine mountain trout, darting here and +there. If they stayed a day or two in the valley he would come and catch +several of the big fellows, as they were well provided with fishing +tackle, which Boyd said would be a great resource, saving much +ammunition. + +He went farther, and then climbed the hill which enclosed the valley on +that side, obtaining from its crest a northern view of rolling plains, +with the dim blue outline of the high mountains far beyond. He surmised +that the group of hills in which they now lay was of limited area, and +that when they continued their journey they must take once more to the +plains, where they would be exposed to the view of roving Sioux. His +heart throbbed as he looked over that great open expanse, and realized +anew the danger. The pocket in the hills in which they lay was surely a +safe and comfortable place, and one need be in no hurry to abandon it. + +When he went back to the camp Boyd was just awakening, and as he looked +at Will his eyes twinkled. + +"Well, what did you find?" he asked. "Anything besides tracks of +animals?" + +"I found an animal himself," replied the lad. "I scared him up in the +bushes at the brook's edge. It was a mountain lion and he ran away, just +as I felt like doing at first." + +The hunter laughed with genuine pleasure. + +"I'm glad you kept down the feeling and didn't run," he said. "You'll +get over such tremors in time. Everybody feels 'em, no matter how brave, +unless he has a lot of experience. Now, since you've been scouting +about, what do you think we ought to do?" + +"I looked from a hill and saw open plains, extending maybe forty or +fifty miles. Red Cloud and his men may have gone that way and I'm in +favor of giving 'em a good start. Suppose we stay here another night and +day and let 'em reach the mountains." + +"Seems a good plan to me." + +"Besides, there's some fish in a pool farther down that I want to +catch." + +"That settles it. We stay. Everything else must stand aside when a real +fisherman wants to show what he can do." + +Will took the fishing tackle from his pack, and returned in a short time +with three splendid trout. It was now nearly sunset and Boyd thought it +safe to build a fire after dark and cook the catch. + +"I think there's no doubt that Red Cloud and his warriors are now a full +day's journey ahead," he said, "but, as a wandering Indian might come +into the valley, we'll take no more chances than we can help." + +A low fire of dead sticks was lighted in a gulch, well screened by +bushes, and the fish were broiled, proving very welcome, as they were +the first warm food Will and Boyd had tasted since their flight from the +troops. The hunter made coffee again, and they were well satisfied with +their supper. + +"It's a good idea to help ourselves out with as much fish and game as we +can," he said, "and it's likely that we can find plenty of it up here. +The horses, too, have had all the grass they want and we'll tether 'em +for the night, though there's not one chance in a thousand that they'll +wander from the valley. Animals have instinct, and if there's no +powerful enemy near they always stay where food and water are to be had. +I tell you what, Will, if a man could only have all his own senses +coupled with those of a deer or a wolf, what a mighty scout and hunter +he could be. Suppose you could smell a trail like a wolf, and then think +about it like a man! Maybe men did have those powers a hundred thousand +years ago." + +"Maybe they did, Jim, but they didn't have rifles and all the modern +weapons and tools that help us so much." + +"You're right, Will. You can't have everything, all at the same time, +and just now you and me are not so bad off, lying here comfortable and +easy in our own particular valley, having just finished some fine trout +that would have cost us four or five dollars in a fine New York +restaurant, but for which we paid nothing." + +"You don't have any fear that the troops will come after us and make us +go back?" + +"You can clear your mind of that trouble and keep it cleared. We're in +the Indian country, and Captain Kenyon has orders to make no invasion. +So he can't pursue. Missing us he'll just have to give us up as a bad +job." + +"Then we'll have only the Indians to guard against, and your opinion, +Jim, that they're far ahead, seems mighty good to me. Perhaps we ought +to stay three or four days here." + +The hunter laughed. + +"I see you're falling in love with the valley," he said, "but maybe +you're right. It will depend on circumstances. To-morrow we'll get out +those big field glasses of yours, go to the highest hill, and examine +all the country." + +"Suppose it should rain, Jim. Then we wouldn't think so much of our fine +valley." + +"Right you are, Will. But lucky for us, it doesn't rain much up here at +this time of the year, and we can call ourselves safe on that score. +Full night is at hand, and there isn't a cloud in the heavens. We'll +both sleep, and build up our nerves and strength." + +"Don't we need to keep a watch?" + +"Not now, I think, at least not either of our two selves. That horse of +mine, that I ride, Selim, is a sentinel of the first class. He's been +with me so much and I've trained him so long that he's sure to give an +alarm if anything alarming comes, though he'll pay no attention to small +game, or even to a deer." + +Selim was at the end of a long lariat about fifty feet away, and having +eaten for a long time and having rested fully he had taken position as +if he realized thoroughly his duties as watcher of the little camp. He +was a powerful bay with brilliant, alert eyes that young Clarke saw +shining through the dusk, and he walked slowly back and forth within the +range allowed by his tether. + +"Didn't I tell you?" said Boyd, with delight. "Look at him now, taking +up his duties as a man. That horse can do everything but talk, and for +that reason, while he does many wise things, he never says a foolish +one. Doesn't he fill you chock full of confidence, Will?" + +"He certainly does, Jim. I know he'll be a much better sentinel than I +could make of myself. I'll go to sleep, sure that we'll be well +protected." + +Although the hunter found sleep soon, Will, who did not need it so +badly, lay awake long and he was interested in watching Selim, who was +justifying his master's praise. The horse, for all the world like a +vigilant sentinel, walked back and forth, and whenever his head was +turned toward the little camp the lad saw the great eyes shining. + +"Good Selim!" he said to himself. "Good and watchful Selim!" + +In all the immensity and loneliness of the wilderness he felt himself +drawn to the animals, at least to those that were not beasts of prey. It +was true not only of Selim but of the other horses that they could do +everything but talk, and they were the best friends of Boyd and himself. + +His trust in the sentinel now absolute, he followed Boyd into peaceful +oblivion, and he did not come out of it until dawn. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE NARROW ESCAPE + + +When he awoke a sun of great brilliancy was shining, and over him arched +the high skies of the great west. The air was thin and cool, easy to +breathe and uplifting, and in the bracing morning he did not feel the +loneliness and immensity of the wilderness. Boyd had already built a +little fire among the bushes, and was warming some strips of dried beef +over the flames. + +"Here's your breakfast, Will," he said. "Beef, a few crackers, and +water. Coffee would taste mighty good, but we can't afford to be taking +it every morning, or we'd soon use up all we have. This is one of the +mornings we skip it." + +"I can stand it if you can," said Will cheerfully, "and it seems to me +we ought to be saving our other stores, too. You'll have to kill a deer +or a buffalo soon, Jim." + +"Not until we leave the valley. Now fall on, and when we finish the beef +we'll take another look at that map of yours." + +They ate quickly and when they were done Will produced from an inside +pocket of his waistcoat, where he always carried it, the map which was +his most precious possession. It was on parchment, with all the lines +very distinct, and the two bent over it and studied it, as they had done +so often before. + +It showed the Mississippi, flowing almost due south from Minnesota, and +the Missouri, which was in reality the upper Mississippi, thrusting its +mighty arm far out into the unknown wilderness of the Northwest. It +showed its formation by the meeting of the Jefferson, the Madison and +the Gallatin, but these three rivers themselves were indicated by vague +and faint traces. Extensive dark spaces meant high mountains. + +"My father served in the northwest before the great Civil War," said +Will, telling it for the fiftieth time, "and he was a man of inquiring +mind. If he was in a country he always wished to know all about it that +was to be known, particularly if it happened to be a wild region. He had +the mind of a geographer and explorer, and the vast plains and huge +mountains up here fascinated him. If there was a chance to make a great +journey to treat with the Indians or to fight them he always took it." + +"And he'd been in California in '49," said Boyd, saying, like Will, what +he had said fifty times before. "It was there I first met him, and a +fine, upstanding young officer he was." + +The lad sighed, and for a moment or two his sorrow was so deep that it +gave him an actual thrill of physical pain. + +"That's so, Jim. I've often heard him speak of the first time he saw +you," he resumed. "He was tempted to resign and hunt gold in California +with the crowd, and he did have some experience in the mines and +workings there, but he concluded, at last, to remain in the army, and +was finally sent into the Northwest with his command to deal with the +Indians." + +"And it was on the longest of his journeys into the mountains that he +found it!" + +"Yes. He noticed in a wild place among the ridges that the earth and +rock formations were like those of California where the richest gold +finds were made. He was alone at the time, though the rest of his +command was only a few miles away, but he picked among the rocks and saw +enough to prove that it was a mother lode, a great gold seam that would +make many men millionaires. It was his intention to resign from the +army, get permission from the Sioux to come in, organize a company, and +work what he meant to be the Clarke mine. But you know what happened, +Jim." + +"Aye, Will, I do. By the time he got back to civilization the Civil War +broke like a storm, and he went east to fight for his country." + +"He could do no less, and he never thought of doing anything else. +Bearing in mind the risks of war, he drew this map which he carried on +his person and which when he was dying he sent by you to me." + +"Aye, Will, he died in my arms at the Wilderness before the Bloody +Angle. It was a glorious death. He was one of the bravest men I ever +saw. He gave me the map, told me to be sure to reach you when the war +was over, and then help you to find the great mine." + +Water came again into Will's eyes. Though the wounds of youth heal fast, +the hurt made by the death of his heroic father had not yet healed. The +hunter respected his emotion and was silent while he waited. + +"If we find the great mother lode and take out the treasure, part of it +is to be yours, of course," said the boy. + +"You can pay me for my work and let it go at that. Your father found the +lode and the map telling the way to it, drawn by him, is yours now." + +"But we are partners. I could never get through these mountains and past +the Indian tribes without you. We're partners and there'll be plenty for +all, if we ever get it. Say right now, Jim, that you share and share +alike with me, or I won't be easy in my mind." + +"Well, then, if you will have it that way. I suppose from all your brave +father, the Captain, said, there's so much of it we needn't trouble +ourselves about the shares if we ever get there. It would be better if +we had another trusty friend or two." + +"Maybe we'll pick 'em up before we're through with this job, which is +going to last a long time. I think we're still on the right trail, Jim. +This line leads straight west by north from the Mississippi river far +into western Montana, where it strikes a narrow but deep mountain +stream, which it crosses. Then it goes over a ridge, leads by a lake +which must be several miles long, goes over another ridge, crosses +another stream, and then winding many ways, as if penetrating a maze, +comes to a creek, with high mountains rising on either side of it. But +the mine is there, Jim, and we've got to follow all these lines, if we +ever reach it." + +"We'll follow 'em, Will, don't you worry about that. Gold draws men +anywhere. Through blizzards, over mountains, across deserts, right into +the face of the warlike Indian tribes, and the danger of death can't +break the spell. Haven't I seen 'em going to California, men, women and +children pressing on in the face of every peril that any army ever +faced, and it's not likely, Will, that you and me will turn back, when +women and children wouldn't." + +"No, Jim, we couldn't do that. We're in this hunt to stay, and I for one +have the best of reasons for risking everything to carry it to a +successful end." + +"And I'm with you because the Northwest is my natural stamping ground, +because I wouldn't mind being rich either, and because I like you, Will. +You're a good and brave boy, and if you can have the advantage of my +teaching and training for about fifty years you'll make a first rate +man." + +"Thanks for the endorsement," laughed Will, "and so we stick together +'till everything is over." + +"That's it." + +The boy continued to look at the map. + +"We've got a long journey over plains," he said, "but it seems to me +that when we pass 'em we'll enter mountains without ending. All the west +side of the map is covered with the black outlines that mean ridges and +peaks." + +"It's right, too. I've been in that region. There are mountains, +mountains everywhere, and then more mountains, not the puny mountains +they have east of the Missip, a mile, or at best, a mile and a half +high, but crests shooting up so far that they hit right against the +stars, and dozens and dozens of 'em, with snow fields and glaciers, and +ice cold lakes here and there in the valleys. It's a grand country, a +wonderful country, Will, and there's no end to it. The old fur hunters +knew about it, but they've always kept it as secret as they could, +because they didn't want other people to learn about the beaver in +there." + +"But we're going to visit it," exclaimed young Clarke with enthusiasm, +"and we're going to find something the fur hunters have never found. I +feel, Jim, that we're going to stand where my father stood and get out +the gold." + +"I've feelings of that kind, too, but we've got to prop up feeling with +a power of work and patience and danger, and it's likely too, Will, that +it will be a long time before we reach the end of the line on that map." + +Young Clarke folded up the parchment again and put it back in the inside +pocket of his waistcoat, the hunter watching him and remarking: + +"Be sure it's in your pocket tight and fast, Will. We couldn't afford to +lose it. Maybe it would be a good idea to make a copy of it." + +"I could draw every line on it from memory." + +"That being the case we don't exactly need a duplicate, and, as you're a +young fellow, Will, and ought to work, you can take the horses down to +the brook and let 'em drink." + +The lad was willing enough to do the task and the horses drank eagerly +and long of the pure stream that had its source in melting snows. All +four had been selected for size, power and endurance, and they were in +splendid condition, the rich and abundant grass of the valley restoring +promptly the waste of travel. + +Boyd's great horse, Selim, rubbed his nose in the most friendly manner +against Will's arm, and the lad returned his advances by stroking it. + +"I've heard the truth about you," he said. "You can do everything but +talk, and you'll be a most valuable ally of ours on this expedition." + +The horse whinnied gently as if he understood and Will, leading the four +back to the rich grass, tethered them at the ends of their long lariats. + +"Now, suppose you get out your big glasses," said the hunter, "and we'll +go to the top of the hill for a look. The day is well advanced, the sky +is brilliant and in the thin, clear atmosphere of the great plateau +we'll be able to see a tremendous distance." + +Will was proud of his glasses, an unusually fine and powerful pair, and +from the loftiest crest they obtained a splendid view over the rolling +plain. The hunter at his request took the first look. Will watched him +as he slowly moved the glasses from side to side, until they finally +rested on a point at the right edge of the plain. + +"Your gaze is fixed at last," the boy said. "What do you see?" + +"I wasn't sure at first, but I've made 'em out now." + +"Something living then?" + +"Buffaloes. They're miles and miles away, but they've been lying down +and rolling and scratching themselves until they make the wallows you +see all over the plains. It's not a big band, two or three hundred, +perhaps. Well, they don't mean anything to us, except a possible supply +of provisions later on. No wonder the Indians hate to see the buffaloes +driven back, because the big beasts are breakfast, dinner and supper on +the hoof to them." + +"And maybe to us, too, Jim. I've an idea that we'll live a lot on the +buffalo." + +"More'n likely. Well, we could do worse." + +"What are you looking at now, Jim? I see that you've shifted your +objective." + +"Yes, I've caught some moving black dots to the left of the herd. +They're obscured a little by a swell, but they look to me like horsemen, +Sioux probably." + +"If so then they must be hunters, taking advantage of the swell to +attack the buffalo herd." + +"Good, sound reasoning. You're learning to think as a scout and hunter. +Yes, they're Sioux, and they're aiming for the herd. Now they've thrown +out flankers, and they're galloping their ponies to the attack. There'll +be plenty of good buffalo meat in some Sioux village before long." + +"That means little to us, because after the hunt the warriors will pass +on. What do you see elsewhere on the plain, Jim?" + +"I can make out a trace of water. It's one of the little, shallow, sandy +rivers, a long distance from here, but the presence of water is probably +the reason why game is grazing in the neighborhood." + +"You don't see any more Indians?" + +"No, Will. To the west the horizon comes plumb in that direction are a +long way off, which agrees with your map. But in the north the glasses +have brought the ridges and peaks a sight nearer. They're all covered +with forest, except the crests of some of the higher peaks, which are +white with snow. I'm thinking, too, that in the woods at the bottom of +one of the slopes I can see a trace of smoke rising. Here you, Will, +you've uncommon keen eyes of your own. Take the glasses and look! There, +where the mountains seem to part and make a pass! Is that smoke or is it +just mist?" + +Young Clarke looked a long time. He had already learned from Boyd not to +advance an opinion until he had something with which to buttress it, and +he kept his glasses glued upon the great cleft in the mountains, where +the trees grew so thick and high. At last he saw a column of grayish +vapor rising against the green leaves, and, following it with the +glasses to its base, he thought he was able to trace the outlines of +tepees. Another and longer look and, being quite sure, he said: + +"There's an Indian village in the pass, Jim." + +"That's what I thought, but I wanted you to say so, too. Now my last +doubt is taken away. They're mountain Sioux, of course. I had an idea +that we could go through that way and then curve to the west, but since +the village is there, maybe it will be better to strike out straight +across the plains." + +"Perhaps those buffalo hunters will come in here to jerk their meat. +They know of the valley, of course. Have you thought of that, Jim?" + +"Yes, I have, and it troubles me. It seems to me that dangers we didn't +expect are gathering, and that we're about to be surrounded. Maybe we'd +better put the packs on the horses, and be ready to start to-night. What +do you think?" + +"You know what's best, Jim." + +"Not always. We're full partners, now, and in all councils of war, +though there are but two of us, both must speak." + +"Then I'm for getting ready to leave to-night, as soon as it's dark. I +suppose it's just chance, but enemies are converging on us. It's a fine +valley, one that I could stay in a long time, but we'd better leave it." + +"As the two who make up the council are agreed that settles it. When the +full dark comes we'll go." + +Boyd, who resumed the glasses, turned them back on the buffalo hunters, +saw them chase the game toward the valley, and then bring down a +half-dozen. + +"They're nearer now to us than they are to the mountains," he said, "and +they're sure to bring the meat in here, where they can hang it on the +trees, or find plenty of firewood. If we had any doubts before, Will, +we've got an order now to go and not be slow about our going." + +They watched the Indians a long time, and saw them cleaning and cutting +up the slain buffaloes. Then they retreated to the depths of the valley, +put the packs on the horses, and made ready for flight at the first +coming of dusk. Luckily the night gave promise of being dark, and, when +the sun had set and its last afterglow was gone they mounted, and, each +followed by his packhorse, rode for the western edge of the rim. There +they halted and took a last glance at a retreat in which their stay had +been so brief but so welcome. + +"A fine little valley," said Boyd. "It must have been hunted out years +ago, but if it's left alone a few years longer the beaver will return +and build along that brook. Those pools will just suit 'em. If we don't +find the gold we may turn to looking for beaver skins. There are worse +trades." + +"At least it provides a lot of fresh air," said Will. + +"And you see heaps and heaps of splendid country, all kinds, mountains, +rivers, lakes, valleys, plains. Fur hunters can't complain of the lack +of scenery." + +"Which course will we take, Jim?" + +"I think we'd better ride due west. That Indian village shuts us off +from the mountains. It's true we may meet 'em on the plains, but likely +we can escape 'em, and then when we've gone far enough we'll turn north +and seek the ranges, where the cover is good. Now, hark to that, will +you!" + +From a point to the northward rose a long, quavering shout, shrill in +its texture, and piercing the night like a call. A quiver ran along the +lad's spine. + +"A Sioux made that cry!" he exclaimed. + +"Beyond a doubt," replied Boyd, "but why he did so I can't tell. Wait." + +They sat, silent, on their horses, and in a minute or two the cry was +repeated, but farther toward the east. Will could have mistaken the note +for the howl of a wolf, it contained so much animal quality, but since +the nature of the first had been told to him he knew that the second was +a reply to it. + +"It's signals," said Boyd with conviction. "They're talking to one +another, though I don't know what they're saying. But it means the +sooner we get out of the valley the better for this white army of two." + +"There's nothing to keep us from starting now." + +"That's true. Because, if they find us here, all knowledge of the mine +for which we are looking is likely to perish with us. I don't suppose +the Sioux have made any formal declaration of war, but the warning of +Red Cloud is enough. They wouldn't hesitate to put out of the way two +wandering fellows like ourselves." + +As they talked they rode slowly toward the west, the sound of their +horses' hoofs deadened on the turf, and both watching among the trees +for any hostile appearance. Young Clarke was rapidly learning the ways +of the wilderness, from experience, and also because he had in Boyd a +teacher not excelled anywhere in the West. The calls, the long, dying +cries, came again and again, showing the Sioux were steadily approaching +the valley, but the two were leaving it at an equal pace. + +Will clutched the reins in his left hand and held the splendid repeating +rifle across the saddle bow with the other. The pack horse, unled, but +obedient to his training, followed close after. Boyd, just ahead of him, +proceeded in the same manner, and now they began to descend the slope +that ended in the open plain. In ten more minutes they would leave the +cover of the last tree. Before them rolled the bare country, swell on +swell, touched but faintly by the moon, yet keen eyes such as those of +the Sioux could trace the figures of horses and men on it for a +considerable distance. + +Will felt little shivers as they were about to leave the final row of +trees. He could not help it, knowing that they were going to give up +shelter for those open spaces which, dusky though they were, were yet +revealing. + +"It's likely, in any event, that we'll be followed, isn't it?" he said. +"If the Sioux search the valley, and they will, they're sure to find our +traces. Then they'll come over the rim of the hills on our tracks." + +"Well reasoned, Will," said the hunter. "You'll learn to be a great +scout and trailer, if you live long enough. That's just what they'll do, +and they'll hang on to our trail with a patience that a white man seldom +shows, because time means little to the Indian. As I said before, when +we're far out on the plains we must make an abrupt turn toward the +north, and lose ourselves among the ranges. For a long time to come the +mountains will be our best friends. I love mountains anyway, Will. They +mean shelter in a wild country. They mean trees, for which the eyes +often ache. They mean grass on the slopes, and cool running water. The +great plains are fine, and they lift you up, but you can have too much +of 'em." + +They rode now into the open country and in its dusky moonlight Will +could not at first restrain the feeling that in reality it was as bright +as day. A few hundred yards and both gazed back at the circle of hills +enclosing the valley, hills and forest alike looking like a great black +blur upon the face of the earth. But from the depths of that circling +island came a long, piercing note, instinct with anger and menace. + +"Now that was plain talk," said Boyd. "It said that they had found our +trail, that they knew we were white, that they wanted our scalps, and +that they meant to follow us until they got 'em." + +"Which being the case," said Will defiantly, "we have to say to them in +reply, though our syllables are unuttered, that we're not afraid, that +they may follow, but they will not take us, that our scalps are the only +scalps we have and we like 'em, that we mean to keep 'em squarely on top +of our heads, where they belong, and, numerous and powerful though the +Sioux nation may be, and brave and skillful though its warriors are, +they won't be able to keep us from finding our mine." + +"That's the talk, Will, my boy. It sounds like Red Cloud, the great +Ogalala, Mahpeyalute himself. Fling 'em your glove, as the knights did +in the old time, but while you're flinging it we'll have to do something +besides talking. We must act. Trailers like the Sioux can follow us even +in the night over the plains, and the more ground we gain in the +beginning the better." + +He urged his horses into a long, easy gallop and Will promptly followed +at the same gait. The night darkened somewhat, at which they rejoiced, +and then lightened again, at which they were sad, but they continued the +long, swinging pace, which the horses could maintain for hours. + +"Try your glasses again, Will," said the hunter. "They will cut through +the dark a long way, and maybe they can tell if the Sioux are now in the +plain." + +Young Clarke slowed his pace, and bending in the saddle took a long +look. + +"I see nothing," he said. "Do you want to try 'em too, Jim?" + +"No. Your eyes are of the best, and your news is good. It's likely that +we've got a lead of seven or eight miles at least. Two or three miles +more and we'd better turn for the mountains. Our horses are a lot bigger +than those of the Sioux, but their ponies, though not much to look at, +are made out of steel. They'd follow for days, and if we stuck to the +plains they'd be sure to run us down at last." + +"And we'd have little chance against a big Sioux band?" + +"That's the ugly truth, and it's bound to be the mountains for us. I see +a line on the prairie, Will. What do your glasses tell us about it?" + +Young Clarke turned his gaze to the front, and after a single glance +said: + +"Water. It's one of those shallow prairie streams, I suppose, a foot of +sand, and an inch of water on top." + +"If there's not too much alkali in it it'll be mighty welcome to the +horses. Ah, Selim smells it now!" + +His great mount raised his head and neighed. Boyd smoothed his long, +silky mane. + +"Yes, old friend," he said, as if he were talking to a man, "I'm quite +sure it won't have much alkali, you're going to have a nice, big drink, +so are your friends, and then, ho! for the mountains!" + +The stream was just what Will predicted it would be, a foot of sand and +an inch of water, but it was only slightly brackish, and both horses and +horsemen drank freely from it, took a rest and then drank as freely +again. Another half hour and the two remounted. + +"Now, Will," said Boyd, "the ridges are our target, and we'll shoot as +straight at 'em as our horses can go, though we'll make the pace slow +for the present. Nothing to be gained by tiring out our mounts before +the race begins." + +"And so you look for a real chase?" + +"Surely. Those Sioux on their ponies will hang on like grim death and +mighty glad I'll be when the trees on the first slopes reach out their +boughs to hide us. About midnight now, isn't it, Will?" + +The lad was able to see the face of his watch and announced that it was +midnight and a half hour more. + +"That's good," said Boyd, "because the darkest part of the night is now +coming, and maybe some clouds floating up from the south will help us. +Yes, I think I notice a change already. Three stars that I counted a +little while ago have gone away." + +"And about five million are left." + +"Still, every little counts. Maybe in an hour or so two or three more +will go away." + +"You're certainly an optimist, Jim. You draw hope from very little +things." + +"It pays. Hope not only makes you stronger, it also makes you happier. +There, didn't I tell you? I said that two or three stars might go away, +but it's far better than two or three. All the skirmishers have left +and now troops and battalions are departing, too. Maybe whole armies +will leave before long, and give us an entirely black sky." + +It grew visibly darker, although many of the stars remained twinkling in +their places, but they were much encouraged, nevertheless, and trusting +in the aid of the night, still saved the strength of their horses. + +"It will make it a little harder for the Sioux to trail us," said Boyd, +"and if, by any chance they should get near enough for a shot, the odds +are about twenty to one they can't hit us. Suppose we stop here, give +the horses another short rest, and you search the blackness back there +with your glasses again." + +Will was able to discern nothing but the sombre crests of the swells, +and Boyd, dismounting, put his ear to the ground. + +"I hear something moving," he said at last, and then, after a short +pause, "it's the beat of hoofs." + +"Can they be so near as that?" asked Will in alarm. + +"At first I thought it was the Sioux, but now I'm sure it's running +buffalo. I wonder why they're stampeding at this time of the night. +Maybe a hunting party of Northern Cheyennes has wandered in here and +knows nothing about the presence of the Sioux." + +"That won't help us, since the Sioux and Northern Cheyennes are allies." + +"No, it won't. If the Cheyennes meet the Sioux they'll join 'em in the +pursuit of us. It's a new danger and I don't like it." + +Boyd remounted and they rode on slowly. Presently he stopped, and Will, +of course, stopped too. + +"Listen, boy," he said, "and you'll hear the thunder of the buffalo. +It's a big herd and they're running our way. I'm as sure as I sit here +in this saddle that they're being driven by hunters." + +Will heard a low, rolling sound like that of distant thunder. It was +approaching rapidly, too, and it seemed to his heightened imagination +that it was bearing straight down upon them. + +"If they are Cheyennes we may be in the middle of 'em soon," he said. + +"If we sit still here," said Boyd, "but that's just what we won't do. +We'll gallop ahead until we come to a deep dip between the swells." + +"And then?" + +"Dismount, keep low, and let the storm drive by." + +They did not have much time to spare, as the rumbling sound was growing +fast beneath the tread of the flying herd, and they urged their horses +into a gallop until they came to a dip, which they thought was deep +enough to hide them. Here they dismounted and holding the lariats, +watched as the thunder of the running herd increased, until they saw its +van of lowered heads, short, curved horns and great, shaggy manes, and +then the dark mass stretching back out of sight. + +"There are tens of thousands of 'em," said the hunter. "They'll be some +time in going by, and then, I think, we'll see the Indians hanging on +the rear." + +The multitude drove on for a period somewhat longer than Boyd had +predicted, and then Will saw naked horsemen crouched low on ponies, some +firing with rifles and others with bows and arrows. + +"They're Cheyennes, as I thought," said Boyd, "and they're enjoying a +mighty killing. There'll be huge feasts for days and days in their +lodges. They're so intent on it, too, that there isn't one chance in a +thousand they'll see us." + +"But I'm glad I see them," said Will. "It's a wonderful sight. I never +thought I'd look upon its like, the chase of the buffalo herd under a +midnight moon. It makes my blood leap." + +"And mine, too, though I've seen it before. This wild country with its +vast plains and its high mountains takes hold of you, Will. It grips you +with fetters of steel. Maybe, when you find the gold you won't want to +go back to civilization." + +"If we find it, it will be easy enough to decide what we wish to do. But +the whole herd is disappearing in the moonlight in the west, and I can +barely make out the last of the Indian hunters who are following 'em. I +can see, though, a lot of beasts running low." + +"The wolves. They're always hanging on the rear of a herd, hoping to cut +out calves or buffaloes weak from old age. Now they're expecting to reap +a little from the harvest made by the hunters. There, they've gone too, +though for a long time you'll hear the herd thundering away to the west. +But we don't mind the sound of a danger when the danger itself has +passed. We'll mount and start again on our particular little excursion +to the mountains, where we hope the fresh, cool air will help two +fellows like ourselves, in failing health, no strength, no appetite, no +anything." + +The big hunter laughed aloud in pleasure. + +"That herd was a help to us," he said. "It passed to the south of us, +and so cut across our trail. If the Sioux are pursuing, as we think they +are, it'll take 'em a long time to find our traces again. We'll take +advantage of it, as our horses are thoroughly rested, and make some +speed." + +They swung into an easy gallop, and went on without further talk for a +long time. When two or three hours had passed Will raised his glasses +and gazed into the north. + +"I think I see there a blur which is not of the night itself," he +announced. "It may be the loom of the mountains that we're so anxious to +reach." + +"But a long way off yet," said the hunter. "Day will come hours before +we can strike the first slopes, and we may have the Sioux hanging on our +trail." + +As a faint, gray light in the east told of the coming dawn, they came to +another of the shallow streams of the plains and both horses and +horsemen drank again. Will and Boyd also ate a little food. + +"Now turn your glasses to the south and tell me what you see," said the +hunter. + +Will gazed and then lowered the glasses, a look of alarm on his face. + +"I know from your eyes what you've seen without your telling me," said +Boyd. "The Sioux are there. In some way they've picked up our trail and +are coming. It's a mighty good thing that we've saved our horses. +They're in splendid trim now for a long run, and we'll need every ounce +of their speed and courage." + +He did not seek to disguise the full measure of the danger from Will, +who, he knew, would summon his utmost courage to meet it. The lad looked +again through the glasses, and was able now to see a full score of men +coming on their ponies. The dawn had just spread to the south and +against its red and gold they were shown sharply, a long line of black +figures on the crest of a swell. + +"Take a look, Jim," said young Clarke, handing him the glasses. "You'll +be able to tell more about 'em than I can." + +Boyd studied the picture carefully--it was in reality a picture to +him--and after due deliberation, said: + +"They are thirty-two, because I've counted 'em. They're comparatively +fresh, because their ponies are running straight and true. They're +Sioux, as I know from the style of their war bonnets, and they're after +us, as I know from the way they're riding." + +"But look the other way, Jim, and see how much nearer the mountains have +come!" + +"Aye, lad! They stand up like a fort, and if we reach 'em in time we may +stave off our pursuers. They're coming fast, and they're spreading out +in a long line now. That helps 'em, because it's impossible for +fugitives to run exactly straight, and every time we deviate from the +true course some part of their line gains on us." + +"I see a huge, rocky outcrop on the mountain side. Suppose we always +ride for that." + +"Something to steer by, so to speak. A good idea. We won't push the +horses hard at first, because it will be a long time before they come +within rifle shot of us. Then maybe we'll show 'em a spurt that'll +count." + +But it was hard for Will not to use the utmost speed at once, as every +time he looked back he saw that the Sioux were gaining, their figures +and those of their horses, horse and rider seemingly one, always +standing out black and clear against the rosy dawn. But he knew that +Boyd was right, and he tried hard to calm the heavy beating of his +pulses. + +The whole horizon was now lighted by a brilliant sun and the earth was +bathed in its beams. Flight and pursuit went on, unabated, and the +hunter and the boy began to increase the speed of their horses, as they +saw that the Sioux were gaining. They had been riding straight as they +could toward the stony outcrop, but in spite of everything they curved a +little now and then, and some portion of the following line drew closer. +But they were yet a full two miles away, and the mountains were drawing +much nearer. Trees on the slopes detached themselves from the general +mass, and became separate and individual. Once Will thought he caught a +flash of water from a mountain torrent, and it increased the +desirability of those slopes and ridges. How sheltered and protecting +they looked! Surely Boyd and he could evade the Sioux in there! + +"We'll make it easily," said Boyd, and then he added with sudden +violence. "No, we won't! Look, there on your right, Will!" + +Four warriors on swift ponies suddenly emerged from a swell scarcely a +quarter of a mile away, and uttered a shout of triumph. Perhaps they +were stray hunters drawn by the spectacle of the pursuit, but it was +obvious that, in any event, they meant to co-operate with the pursuers. + +"They're Sioux, too," said Boyd. "Now, steady, Will. It's a new and +pressing danger, of course, but it may help us, too." + +"How so?" + +"I think I can give 'em a healthy lesson. We all learn by experience, +and they'll take notice, if I make a good example. They're bearing down +on our flank. You lead, Will, and keep straight for our rock. The four +will soon be within range, as this repeating rifle of mine is a beauty, +and it carries mighty far. The old muzzle loader is just a pistol by the +side of it. Come on, my fine fellows! The nearer you are the better! I +learned long ago to shoot from a running horse, and that's more than +many Sioux can do." + +The four Sioux on the right, bent low, were urging their ponies forward +at their utmost speed. From the band behind came a tremendous yell, +which, despite the distance, reached Boyd and young Clarke, and, +apparently, they had full warrant in thus giving utterance to their +feeling of triumph. The sudden appearance of the warriors coming down +the dip was like the closing of a trap and it seemed that all chance of +escape was cut off from the two who rode so desperately for the +mountains. + +The hunter shut his teeth tightly and smiled in ironic fashion. Whenever +he was highly pleased he grew rather talkative, and now he had much to +say for a man whose life was about to turn on a hair. + +"If the four on the ponies off there knew the peril into which they were +riding they wouldn't ride so hard," he said. "But the Sioux are not yet +acquainted with the full merits of a long range repeating rifle, nor do +they understand how well I can shoot. I'm as good a marksman as there is +in the West, if I do say it myself, and lest you may think me a boaster, +Will, I'll soon prove it." + +He dropped the reins on the neck of Selim, who, though unguided, ran on +straight and true, and grasped the splendid rifle with both hands. Will +ceased to think of the band behind them and began to watch the hunter, +who, though still smiling, had become one of the most dangerous of human +beings. + +"Yes, my four friends, you're overhauling us fast," murmured the hunter, +"and I'm glad of it, because then I don't have to do so much waiting, +and, when there's ugly work at hand, one likes to get it over. Ah, I +think they're near enough now!" + +The rifle sprang to his shoulder, a jet of flame leaped from the muzzle, +and, with the sharp crack, the foremost Sioux rolled to the ground and +lay still, his frightened pony galloping off at an angle. The hunter +quickly pulled the trigger again and the second Sioux also was smitten +by sudden death. The other two turned, but one of them was wounded by +the terrible marksman, and the pony of the fourth was slain, his rider +hiding behind the body. A dismal wail came from the Sioux far back. The +hunter lowered his great weapon, and one hand resumed the bridle rein. + +[Illustration: The rifle sprang to his shoulder, a jet of flame leaped +from the muzzle.] + +"A rifle like mine is worth more than its weight in gold," he said. +"It's worth its weight in diamonds, rubies, emeralds and all the other +precious jewels at a time like this. I can say, too, that's about the +best shooting I ever did, and I think it'll save us. Even the band +behind, thirty or so in number, won't want to ride full tilt into rifles +like ours." + +"The first slopes are not more than three or four miles away now," said +young Clarke, "and no matter how hard they push they can't overtake us +before we reach the trees. But Jim, how are we to ride through those +high mountains, and, if we abandon the horses, we might as well give up +our quest." + +"I chose these horses myself, Will," said Boyd, "and I knew what I was +about. I trained Selim, and, of course, he's the best, but the others +are real prize packages, too. Why, they can walk up the side of a cliff. +They can climb trees, and they can jump chasms fifty feet wide." + +"Come down to earth, Jim. Stay somewhere in the neighborhood of truth." + +"Well, maybe I do draw a rather long bow, but horses learn to be +mountain climbers, and ours are the very best of that kind. They'll take +us up through the ridges, never fear. The Sioux will follow, for a +while, at least, but in the deep forest you see up there we'll shake 'em +off." + +"Hear 'em shouting now! What are they up to?" + +"Making a last rush to overtake us, while we're yet in the plain. But it +is too late, my gay scalp hunters!" + +The mountains were now drawing near very fast, and with the heavy +forest along their slopes they seemed to Will to come forward of +themselves to welcome them. He became suddenly aware that his body ached +from the long gallop, and that the dust raised by the beating hoofs was +caked thickly on his face. His lips were dry and burning, and he longed +for water. + +"In five more minutes we'll be on the first slope," said Boyd, "and as +we'll soon be hidden in the forest I think I'll say farewell to our +pursuers." + +"I don't understand you, Jim." + +"I'm going to say only one word, and it'll be short and sharp." + +He turned suddenly in his saddle, raised the repeating rifle and fired +once at the band. + +He had elevated the sight for a very long shot, regarding it as a mere +chance, but the bullet struck a pony and a few moments of confusion in +the band followed. Now Boyd and young Clarke made their horses use the +reserves of strength they had saved so prudently, and with a fine spurt +soon gained the shelter of the woods, in which they disappeared from the +sight of the pursuing horde. + +They found themselves among oaks, aspens, pines, cedars, and birch, and +they rode on a turf that was thick, soft and springy. But Selim neighed +his approval and Boyd pulled down to a walk. A little farther on both +dismounted at his suggestion. + +"It'll limber us up and at the same time help the horses," he said. +"Knowing what kind of rifles we carry and how we can shoot, the Sioux +won't be in any hurry to ride into the forest directly after us. We've +a big advantage now in being able to see without being seen. As we +needn't hurry, suppose we stop and take another look with those glasses +of yours, Will. I never thought they'd prove so useful when you insisted +on bringing 'em." + +Will obeyed at once. + +"They're a mile or so away," he said, "and they've stopped. They're +gathered in a semi-circle around one man who seems to be a chief, and I +suppose he's talking to 'em." + +"Likely! Most likely. I can read their minds. They're a little bit +bashful about riding on our trail, when we have the cover of the forest. +Repeating rifles don't encourage you to get acquainted with those who +don't want to know you. I can tell you what they'll do." + +"What, Jim?" + +"The band will split into about two equal parts. One will ride to the +right and the other to the left. Then, knowing that we can't meet both +with the rifles, they'll cautiously enter the mountains and try to pick +up our trail. Am I right or am I wrong?" + +"Right, O, true prophet! They've divided and already they're riding off +in opposite directions. And what's the best thing for us to do?" + +"We'll lead the horses up this valley. I see through leaves a little +mountain stream, and we'll drink there all the water we want. Then we'll +push on deeper and deeper into the mountains, and when we think we're +clear out of their reach we'll push on." + +They drank plentifully at the brook, and even took the time to bathe +their hands and faces. Then they mounted and rode up the slopes, the +pack horses following. + +"Didn't I tell you they were first class mountain climbers?" said Boyd +with pride. "Why, mules themselves couldn't beat 'em at it." + +When twilight came they were high on the slopes under the cover of the +forest, pushing forward with unabated zeal. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE LITTLE GIANT + + +Boyd rode in front, Will was just behind, and then came the two heavily +laden pack horses, following their masters with a faith that nothing +could shake. The hunter seemed to have an instinct for choosing the +right way, or else his eyes, like those of an owl, were able to pierce +the dark. He avoided chasms and cliffs, chose the best places on the +slopes, and wherever he wound he always led deeper and deeper into the +vast maze of high mountains. + +Will looked back toward the plains, but he could see no trace of them +now, and he did not believe that the Sioux, however skilled they might +be, could follow their trail up the ridges in the dark. Meanwhile the +stars came out, and a half moon rode in a medium sky. The boy's eyes, +grown used to the night, were now able to see quite clearly, and he +noticed that the region into which they were riding was steadily growing +wilder. Now and then they passed so close to the edge of chasms that he +shivered a little, as he looked down into the dark wells. Then they +passed up ravines where the lofty cliffs, clothed in stunted pine and +cedar, rose high above them, and far in the north he caught the +occasional glimpses of white crests on which the snow lay deep. + +Boyd became quite cheerful, and, for a while, hummed a little air under +his breath. When he ceased singing he said: + +"I don't know where we're going, Will, but I do know that we're going +away from the Sioux. They'll try to trail us tomorrow when the light +comes, and they may be able to do it, but we'll be moving on again, and, +however patient trailers may be, a trail that lengthens forever will +wear out the most patient trailer of them all." + +"Isn't that a creek down there?" asked Will, pointing to a silver flash +in the dusk. + +"So it is, and while these mountain streams usually have rough beds, +scattered with boulders, we'll ride up it as far as we can. It may be a +great help in hiding our trail." + +They rode down the slope and urged the horses into the water, although +the good beasts showed reluctance, fearful of the bowlders and the rough +footing, but, when they were in, the two riders allowed them to pick the +way, and thus they advanced slowly and with extreme caution a distance +of five full miles. They heard a roaring and approached a fine fall of +about thirty feet, over which the creek tumbled, sending up much white +foam. + +"This watery road is now blocked, that's quite sure," said Boyd. "But +we've been able to use it a much greater distance than I thought, and it +may throw off the Sioux entirely." + +They emerged from the water and the horses climbed a steep slope to the +crest of a ridge, where they stood panting. Boyd and young Clarke +slipped from the saddles and stood by. The half moon and clusters of +stars still made in the sky a partial light, enabling them to see that +they stood upon a sort of broad shelf, sprinkled with large trees +without undergrowth, but well covered with long grass. The only way of +approach from the south was the rocky brook, along the bed of which they +had come. What lay to the north they did not know, but the shelf seemed +to narrow there. + +"A large part of the night is spent," said Boyd, "and as it's not +possible for the Sioux to overtake us before dawn I vote we camp here, +because we're pretty well worn out, and the horses are dead tired. What +does the other half of the army say?" + +"It says this place was just made for us," replied Will, "and we +shouldn't go forward another inch tonight." + +"Then we'll unsaddle, tether the horses and take to our blankets, +though, if you say so, we will first draw a little on the commissariat." + +"No. I'm too tired to eat. I'd rather go to sleep." + +"The two halves of the army are in agreement. So will I." + +The horses fell to cropping the rich grass, but their riders, seeking +the softest place they could find, folded themselves in their blankets +and soon slumbered as soundly as if they were in the softest beds +civilization could furnish. + +Will awoke before dawn, and instantly remembered where he was. But while +all had been strife and strain and anxiety before he slept, he felt now +an immense peace, the great peace of the mountains. The horses having +eaten their fill were lying down. The murmurs of the swift brook below +came up to his ears, and with it the sound of a faint breeze playing in +just a whisper among the leaves. Far above him soared peaks and ridges, +so many and high that they seemed to prop up the eternal blue. + +Will realized that he loved the mountains. Why shouldn't he? They had +given him refuge when he needed it most, saving him and Boyd from +dreadful torture and certain death. Somewhere in the heart of them lay +the great treasure that he meant to find, and they possessed a majesty +that appealed not merely to his sense of beauty, but to a spiritual +feeling that was in truth an uplift to the soul. + +He was awake scarcely a minute, but all the events of the last few days +passed in a swift panorama before his mind--the warning of Red Cloud, +the silent departure by night from the camp of the troops, the pursuit +by the Sioux, and the escape into the high ranges. Rapidly as it passed +it was almost as vivid as if it were happening again, and then he was +asleep once more. + +When he awoke the dawn was an hour old, and Boyd was kindling a low fire +down by the edge of the stream. + +"We'll draw on the coffee once more this morning," he said. "After all +that we've passed through we're entitled to two cups of it apiece. I'll +make bread and warm some of the dried beef, too. Suppose, while I'm +doing it you climb to the crest over there, and use those glasses of +yours for all they're worth." + +It was a stiff climb to the summit, but once there Will had a tremendous +view in all directions. Far to the south he was able to catch through +the powerful lenses the dim line of the plains, but on all other sides +were mountains, and yet more mountains. In the north they seemed very +high, but far to the west was a mighty rounded peak, robed at the top in +white, towering over every other. The narrow valley and the ridges were +heavy with forest, but the glasses could find no sign of human life. + +He descended with his report, and found the coffee, the bread and the +meat ready, and while he had been too tired to eat the night before he +had a tremendous appetite now. When breakfast was over they sat by the +stream and considered the future. Boyd was quite sure the Sioux were +still following, and that they would eventually strike the trail, though +they might be two or three days in doing so. He was of the opinion that +they should go farther into the high ranges. + +"And what becomes of our quest?" asked Will. + +"You know, lad," responded the hunter, whimsically, "that the longest +way round is sometimes the shortest way through, and those that are in +too great a hurry often fall over their own feet. If you are careful +about your health and don't get shot you ought to live sixty or seventy +years yet, because you are surely a robust youngster, and so you're +richer in time than in anything else. I am, too, and for these reasons +we can afford to go into the very heart of the high mountains, where +we'll be well hidden, and bide until the danger of the Sioux pursuit has +passed." + +"A long speech, Jim, but probably a true one. Do we start right away?" + +"Aye, lad, the sooner the better. Both the horses and ourselves are fed +and refreshed. We don't know what this shelf leads to, but we can soon +find out." + +They resaddled, but did not mount, letting the well-trained horses +follow, and proceeded along the shelf, until they entered a narrow pass, +where they were compelled to go in single file, the hunter leading the +way. Far below him Will heard the creek roaring as it foamed forward in +rapids, and he was glad that the horses were, what Boyd had declared +them to be, trained mountain climbers, walking on with even step, +although he felt an instinctive desire to keep as far as he could from +the cliff's edge, and lean against the slope on the other side. But +Boyd, made familiar with such trails by his years of experience in the +mountains, whistled gaily. + +"Everything comes our way," he said. "If we were at the head of a trail +like this we could hold it against the entire Sioux nation, if we had +cartridges enough." + +"I hope it won't go on forever," said Will. "It makes me feel a little +dizzy." + +"It won't. It's opening out now. The level land is widening on either +side of the creek and that means another valley not much farther on." + +But it was a good four miles before they emerged into a dip, covering +perhaps two square miles, covered heavily with forest and with a +beautiful little blue lake at the corner. Will uttered a cry of pleasure +at the sight of the level land, the great trees green with foliage, and +the gem of a lake. + +"We couldn't have found a finer place for a camp," he said. "We're the +children of luck." + +But the wise hunter shook his head. + +"When the morning's cold we hate to pull ourselves out of comfortable +beds," he said, "and for mountaineers such as we've become I'll admit +that this valley looks like the Garden of Eden, but here we do not +bide." + +"Why not?" + +"Because it's too good for us to live in. The Sioux, of course, know of +it, and what draws us draws them, too. For a long time the finer a spot +becomes the more dangerous it is for us. No, we'll ride on past this +happy valley straight into the mountains." + +"But at least let me take a little swim in that blue lake." + +"Well, there's no harm in that, provided you're quick about it. When you +come out I'll take one myself." + +Will undressed in a couple of minutes and sprang into the water, which +he found extremely cold, but he swam joyously for five minutes or so, +when he emerged and was followed by Boyd. When they were in the saddle +again both felt that their strength had been renewed and Will waved one +hand in farewell to the little blue lake. + +"Good-bye, Friend Lake," he said. "You're not large, but you're very +beautiful, and some day I hope to come back and bathe in you again." + +"The great ranges of mountains which run all about over the western part +of the continent are full of such pleasant valleys and cool little +lakes," said the hunter. "Often the lakes are far up the slopes, many +thousands of feet above the sea, and sometimes you don't see 'em until +you break right through the trees and bushes and come square up against +the water. If we keep on, as I intend we shall, it's likely that we'll +see a lot of 'em." + +The lad's eyes kindled. + +"That being so," he said, "I don't mind turning aside a while from our +real hunt, because then we'll be explorers. It will be glorious to find +new lakes and streams." + +"Yes, it'll make the waiting easier, provided, of course, that we don't +have rain and storms. Rain can turn a wilderness paradise in fifteen +minutes into a regular place for the condemned. We've almost as much to +fear now from the sky as we have from the Indians on the ground. When +you see a little cloud up there you can begin to worry." + +"But I don't see any, and so I refuse to worry yet." + +They reached the farther edge of the valley and began to climb a slope, +which, easier at first, soon became rather stiff. But the horses once +more justified the hunter's praise and pressed forward nobly. He and +Will dismounted again, and they let Selim lead where he would. + +"All horses have wilderness sense," said Boyd, "and Selim, having both +an educated sense and a wild sense, is sure to pick out the best way." + +His confidence was not misplaced, as the horse instinctively chose the +easiest path, and, before the twilight came, they reached the crest of a +lofty ridge, from which they saw a sea of mountains in all directions, a +scene so majestic that it made Will draw a sharp breath. + +"I think we'd better go down the slope until it becomes too dark for us +to see a way," said Boyd, "because we're up so high now that the night +is sure to be biting cold here on the very top of the ridge." + +In an hour they found a glen sheltered well by high trees all about and +with a pool of icy cold water at the edge. It was a replica on a small +scale of the valley and lake they had left behind, and glad enough they +were to find it. They drank of the pool, and the horses followed them +there with eagerness. Then, eating only cold food, they made ready for +the night. + +"Get an extra pair of blankets from your pack, Will," said Boyd. "You +don't yet know how cold the night can be on these mountains, at any time +of the year." + +The hunter's advice was good, as Will the next morning, despite two +blankets beneath him and two above him, felt cold, and when he sprang up +he pounded his chest vigorously to make the circulation brisk. Boyd +laughed. + +"I'm about as cold as you are," he said, "and, in view of the winter +into which we've suddenly dropped, we'll have hot coffee and hot food +for breakfast. I don't think we risk anything by building a fire here. +What's the matter with our horses?" + +They had tethered the horses in the night, and all four of them suddenly +began to rear and stamp in terror. + +"There's a scout watching us!" exclaimed Will. + +"A scout?" said Boyd, startled. + +"Yes! See him standing on the big rock, far off there to the right." + +The hunter looked and then drew a breath of relief. + +"Old Ephraim!" he said. + +A gigantic grizzly bear was upreared on a great rocky outcrop about +three hundred yards away, and the opalescent light of the morning +magnified him in the boy's eyes, until he was the largest beast in the +world. Monstrous and sinister he stood there, unmoving, gazing at the +strange creatures in the little camp. He seemed to Will a symbol of this +vast and primeval new world into which he had come. Remembering his +glasses he took them and brought the great grizzly almost before his +eyes. + +"He appears to be showing anger and a certain curiosity because we're +here," he said. "I don't think he understands us, but he resents our +invasion of his territory." + +"Well, we're not going to explain who we are. If he don't meddle with us +we won't meddle with him." + +The grizzly did not stay long, retreating from the rock, then +disappearing in the underbrush. Will had qualms now and then lest he +should break through the bushes and appear in their little glen, but +Boyd knew him better. He was content to leave alone those who left him +alone. + +The breakfast with its hot coffee and hot food was very grateful, and +continuing the descent of the slope they passed through other narrow +passes and over other ridges, but all the while ascending gradually, the +world about them growing in majesty and beauty. Four days and a large +part of four nights they traveled thus after leaving the little valley +with the blue lake, and the bright air was growing steadily colder as +they rose. Boyd talked a little now of stopping, but he did not yet see +a place that fulfilled all his ideas of a good and safe camp, though he +said they would soon find it. + +"How far do you think we've come into the mountains?" asked Will. + +"About a hundred miles, more or less," replied the hunter. + +"Seems to me more like a thousand, chiefly more. If the Sioux find us +here they'll have to be the finest mountain climbers and ravine crossers +the world has ever seen. Just what are you looking for, Jim?" + +"Four things, wood, water, grass and shelter. We've got to have 'em, +both for ourselves and the horses, and we've got to find 'em soon, +because, d'you see, Will, we've been wonderfully favored by Providence. +The rains and storms have held off longer than they usually do in the +high mountains, but we can't expect 'em to hold off forever just for our +sakes. Besides, the hoofs of the horses are getting sore, and it's time +to give 'em a long rest." + +They were now far up the high slopes, but not beyond the timber range. +The air was thin and cold, and at night they always used two pairs of +blankets, spreading the under pair on thick beds of dry leaves. In the +morning the pools would be frozen over, but toward noon the ice under +the slanting rays of the sun would melt. The march itself, and the air +laden with odors of pine and spruce, and cedar and balsam, was healthful +and invigorating. Will felt his chest expand. He knew that his lung +power, already good, was increasing remarkably and that his muscles were +both growing and hardening. + +Another day and crossing a ridge so sharp that they were barely able to +pull the horses over it, they came to a valley set close around by high +mountains, a valley about three miles long and a mile wide, one-third of +its surface covered by a lake, usually silver in color, but varying with +the sky above it. Another third of the valley was open and heavy in +grass, the remainder being in forest with little undergrowth. + +"Here," said Boyd, "we'll find the four things we need, wood, water, +grass and shelter, and since it's practically impossible for the +original band of Sioux to trail us into this cleft, here we will stay +until such time as we wish to resume our great hunt. What say you?" + +"Seems to me, Jim, that we're coming home. This valley has been waiting +for us a great many years, but the true tenants have arrived at last." + +"That's the right spirit. Hark to Selim, now! He, too, approves." + +The great horse, probably moved by the sight of grass and water, raised +his head and neighed. + +"If we had felt any doubts the horses would have settled it for us," +said Will. "I understand their language and they say in the most correct +English that here we are to bide and rest, as long as we wish. The +presence of the lake indicates a running stream, an entrance and exit, +so to speak. I think, Jim, it's about the most beautiful valley I ever +saw." + +They descended the last slope, and came to the creek that drained the +lake, a fine, clear, cold current, flowing swiftly over a rocky bottom. +After letting the horses drink they forded it, and rode on into the +valley. Will noticed something white on the opposite slope, and +examining it through his glasses saw that it was a foaming cascade. + +"It's the stream that feeds the lake," he said. "It rushes down from the +higher mountains, and here we have a beautiful waterfall. Nature has +neglected nothing in preparing our happy valley, providing not only +comfort and security but scenic beauty as well." + +The hunter looked a moment or two at the waterfall, and the tremendous +mountains about them with a careful eye. + +"What is it, Jim?" asked Will. + +"I'm looking for tracks." + +"What tracks? You said we wouldn't find any Sioux in here." + +"Not the footprints of the Sioux." + +"It's not in the range of the Crows, Blackfeet or Assiniboines. Surely +you don't expect them." + +"I don't expect Crows, Blackfeet or Assiniboines." + +"Then what do you expect?" + +"Wild animals." + +"Why bother about wild animals? Armed as we are we've nothing to fear +from them." + +"Nothing to fear, but a lot to hope. I think we're likely to stay here +quite a spell, and we'll need 'em in our business. Remember that for the +present, Will, we're wild men, and we'll have to live as wild men have +lived since the world began. We want their meat and their skins." + +"The meat I understand, because I'd like to bite into a juicy piece of +it now, but we're not fur hunters." + +"No, but we need the skins of big animals, and we need 'em right away. +This weather can't last forever. We're bound to have a storm sometime +soon. We must first make a wickiup. It's quite simple. The Sioux always +do it. A Sioux warrior never sleeps in the open if he can help it, and +as they've lived this sort of life for more hundreds of years than +anybody knows they ought to know something about it." + +"But I don't see that cloud you told me several days ago to watch for." + +"It will come. It's bound to come. Now here's the lake ahead of us. +Isn't it a beauty? I told you we'd find a lot of these fine little lakes +all along the slopes of the ridges, but this seems to be the gem of them +all. See how the water breaks into waves and looks like melted silver! +And the banks sloping and firm, covered with thick green turf, run right +down to the water's edge, like a gentleman's park." + +"It's all that you claim for it," said Will, making a wide, sweeping +gesture, "and, bright new lake, I christen thee Lake Boyd!" + +"The lake accepts the name," said the hunter with a pleased smile, and +then he added, also making a wide, sweeping gesture: + +"Green and sheltered valley, I christen thee Clarke Valley." + +"I, too, accept the compliment," said Will. + +"The far side of the valley is much the steeper," said the hunter, "and +I think it would be a good idea for us to build the wickiup over there. +It would be sheltered thoroughly on one side at least by the lofty +cliffs." + +"Going back a moment to the search you were making a little while ago, +have you noticed the footprints of any wild animals?" + +"Aye, Will, my lad, so I have. I've seen tracks of elk, buffalo and +bear, and of many smaller beasts." + +"Then, that burden off your mind, we might as well locate the site of +our house." + +"Correct. I think I see it now in an open space under the shelter of the +cliff." + +They had ridden across the valley, and both marked a slight elevation +under the shadow of the cliff, a glen forty or fifty yards across, +protected by thick forest both to east and west, and by thin forest on +the south, from which point they were approaching. + +"It's the building site that's been reserved for us five hundred years, +maybe," said the hunter. "The mountain and the trees will shelter us +from most of the big winds, and if any of the trees should blow down +their falling bodies would not reach us here in the center of the open +space. There is grass everywhere for the horses, and water, both lake +and running, for all of us." + +They unsaddled the riding horses, took the packs off the others and +turned them loose. All four neighed gratefully, and set to work on the +grass. + +"They've done a tremendous lot of mountain climbing, and they've carried +heavy burdens," said Boyd, "and they're entitled to a long rest, long +enough to heal up their sore feet and fill out their sides again. Now, +Will, you'll make a great hunter some day, but suppose, for the present, +you guard the packs while I look for an elk and maybe a bear. Two of +them would furnish more meat than we could use in a long time, but we +need their skins." + +"I'm content to wait," said Will, who was saddle-tired. + +He sat down on the thick, soft grass by the side of the packs, and his +physical system, keyed up so long, suffered a collapse, complete but not +unpleasant. Every nerve relaxed and he sank back against his pack, +content to be idle as long as Boyd was away. But while his body was weak +then, his mind was content. Clarke Valley, which had been named after +him, was surely wonderful. It was green and fresh everywhere and Boyd +Lake was molten silver. Not far away the cataract showed white against +the mountainside, and its roar came in a pleasant murmur to his ears. + +He heard a distant shot, but it did not disturb him. He knew it was +Boyd, shooting something, probably the elk he wished. After a while he +heard another report, and he put that down as the bear. His surmise was +correct in both instances. + +Boyd, with his help, skinned both the bear and the elk, and they hung +great quantities of the flesh of both in the trees to dry. Boyd +carefully scraped the skins with his hunting knife, and they, too, were +hung out to dry. While they were hanging there Will also shot a bear, +and his hairy covering was added to the others. + +A few days later Boyd built the wickiup, called by the Sioux tipiowinja. +Taking one of the sharp axes he quickly cut a number of slender, green +poles, the larger ends of which he sharpened well and thrust deep into +the ground, until he had made with them a complete circle. The smaller +ends were bent toward a common center and fastened tightly with withes +of skin. The space between was thatched with brush, and the whole was +covered with the skins of elk and bear, which Boyd stitched together +closely and firmly. Then they cut out a small doorway, which they could +enter by stooping. The floor was of poles, made smooth and soft with a +covering of dead leaves. + +It was rude and primitive, but Will saw at once that in need it would +protect both their stores and themselves. + +"I learned that from the Sioux long ago," said Boyd, not without some +admiration of his handiwork. "It's close and hot, and after we've put +the stores in we'll have to tuck ourselves away in the last space left. +But it will feel mighty good in a storm." + +The second night after the wickiup was finished his words came true. A +great storm gathered in the southwest, the first that Will had seen in +the high mountains, and it was a tremendous and terrifying manifestation +of nature. + +The mountains fairly shook with the explosions of thunder, and the play +of lightning was dazzling on the ridges. When thunder and lightning +subsided somewhat, the hunter and the lad crept into the wickiup and +listened to the roaring of the rain as it came. Will, curled against the +side upon his pack, heard the fierce wind moaning as if the gods +themselves were in pain, and the rain beating in gust after gust. The +stout poles bent a little before both wind and rain, but their +elasticity merely added to their power of resistance, as the wickiup, so +simple in its structure and yet so serviceable, stood fast, and Boyd had +put on its skin covering so well that not a single drop of water +entered. + +In civilization he might have found the wickiup too close to be +supportable, but in that raging wilderness, raging then at least, it was +snug beyond compare. He had a thought or two for the horses, but he knew +they would find shelter in the forest. Boyd, who was curled on the other +side of the wickiup, was already asleep, but the lad's sense of safety +and shelter was so great that he lay awake, and listened to the +shrieking of the elements, separated from him only by poles and a +bearskin. The power of contrast was so great that he had never felt +more comfortable in his life, and after listening awhile he, too, fell +asleep, sleeping soundly until day, when the storm had passed, leaving +the air crisper and fresher, and the earth washed afresh and clean. + +They found the horses already grazing, and their bear and elk steaks, +which they had fastened securely, safe on the boughs. The valley itself, +so keen and penetrating was the odor of balsam and pine, seemed redolent +with perfume, and the lake itself had taken on a new and brighter tint +of silver. + +"Boyd Lake and Clarke Valley are putting on their best in our honor," +said Will. + +Then they ate a huge breakfast, mostly of elk and bear meat, and +afterward considered the situation. Will had the natural impatience of +youth, but Boyd was all for staying on a couple of weeks at least. They +might not find another such secure place, one that furnished its own +food, and nothing would be lost while much could be gained by waiting. +It was easy enough to persuade the lad, who was, on the whole, rather +glad to be convinced, and then they turned their thoughts toward the +improvement of a camp which had some of the elements of permanency. + +"We could, of course, build a good, strong cabin," said Boyd, "and with +our stout axes it would not take long to do it, but I don't think we'll +need the protection of logs. The wickiup ought to serve. We may not have +another storm while we're here, but showers are pretty sure to come." + +To provide against contingencies they strengthened the wickiup with +another layer of poles, and Boyd spread over the leaves on the floor the +skin of a huge grizzly bear that he killed on one of the slopes. They +felt now that it was secure against any blizzard that might sweep +through the mountains, and that within its shelter they could keep warm +and dry in the very worst of times. But they did not sleep in it again +for a full week, no rain falling at night during that period. Instead +they spread their blankets under the trees. + +"It's odd, and I don't pretend to account for it," said Boyd, "but it's +only progressive white men who understand the value of fresh air. As I +told you, the Sioux never sleep outside, when they can help it. Neither +do the other Indians. In the day they live outdoors, but at night they +like to seal themselves up in a box, so to speak." + +"Rushing from extreme to extreme." + +"Maybe, but as for me, I want no better bed than the soft boughs of +balsam, with blankets and the unlimited blue sky, provided, of course, +that it isn't raining or hailing or sleeting or snowing. It's powerful +healthy. Since we've come into Clarke Valley I can see, Will, that +you've grown about two inches in height and that you're at least six +inches bigger around the chest." + +"You're a pretty big exaggerator!" laughed Will, "but I certainly do +feel bigger and stronger than I was when I arrived here. If the Sioux +will only let us bide in peace awhile I think I may keep on growing. +Tell me more about the Sioux, Jim. They're a tremendous league, and I +suppose you know as much about 'em as any white man in this part of the +world." + +"I've been in their country long enough to learn a lot, and there's a +lot to learn. The Sioux are to the West what the Iroquois were to the +East, that is, so far as their power is concerned, though their range of +territory is far larger than that of the Iroquois ever was. They roam +over an extent of mountain and plain, hundreds and hundreds of miles +either way. I've heard that they can put thirty thousand warriors in the +field, though I don't know whether it's true or not, but I do know that +they are more numerous and warlike than any other Indian nation in the +West, and that they have leaders who are really big men, men who think +as well as fight. There's Mahpeyalute, whom you saw and whom we call Red +Cloud, and Tatanka Yotanka, whom we call Sitting Bull, and Gray Wolf and +War Eagle and lots of others. + +"Besides, the Sioux, or, in their own language, the Dakotas, are a great +nation made up of smaller nations, all of the same warlike stock. There +is the tribe of the Mendewakaton, which means Spirit Lake Village, then +you have the Wahpekute or Leaf Shooters; the Wahpeton, the Leaf Village; +the Sisseton, the Swamp Village; the Yankton, the End Village, the +Yanktonnais, the Upper End Village, and the Teton, the Prairie Village. +The Teton tribe, which is very formidable, is subdivided into the +Ogalala, the Brule, and the Hunkpapa. Red Cloud, as I've told you +before, is an Ogalala. And that's a long enough lesson for you for one +day. Now, like a good boy, go catch some fish." + +Will had discovered very early that Lake Boyd, which was quite deep, +contained fine lake trout and also other fish almost as good to the +taste. As their packs included strong fishing tackle it was not +difficult to obtain all the fish they wanted, and the task generally +fell to the lad. Now, at Boyd's suggestion, he fulfilled it once more +with the usual success. + +Game of all kinds, large and small, was abundant, the valley being +fairly overrun with it. Boyd said that it had come in through the narrow +passes, and its numbers indicated that no hunters had been there in a +long time. Will even found a small herd of about a dozen buffaloes +grazing at the south end of the valley, but the next day they +disappeared, evidently alarmed by the invasion of human beings. But the +deer continued numerous and there were both bears and mountain lions +along the slopes. + +Will, who had a certain turn for solitude, being of a thoughtful, +serious nature, ceased to find the waiting in the valley irksome. He +began to think less of the treasure for which he had come so far and +through such dangers. They _had_ found a happy valley, and he did not +care how long they stayed in it, all nature being so propitious. He had +never before breathed an air so fine, and always it was redolent with +the odor of pine and balsam. He began to feel that Boyd had not +exaggerated much when he talked about his increase in height and chest +expansion. + +Both he and the hunter bathed every morning in Lake Boyd. At first Will +could not endure its cold water more than five minutes, but at the end +of ten days he was able to splash and swim in it as long as he liked. + +Their days were not all passed in idleness, as they replenished their +stores by jerking the meat of both bear and deer. At the end of two +weeks the hunter began to talk of departure, and he and Will walked +toward the western end of the valley, where the creek issued in a narrow +pass, the only road by which they could leave. + +"It's likely to be a mighty rough path," said Boyd, "but our horses are +still mountain climbers and we'll be sure to make it." + +They went a little nearer and listened to the music of the singing +waters, as the creek rushed through the cleft. It was a fine, soothing +note, but presently another rose above it, clear and melodious. + +It was a whistle, and it had such a penetrating quality that Will, at +first, thought it was a bird. Then he knew it sprang from the throat of +a man, hidden by the bushes and coming up the pass. Nearer and nearer it +came and mellower and mellower it grew. He had never before heard anyone +whistle so beautifully. It was like a song, but it was evident that +someone was entering their happy valley, and in that wilderness who +could come but an enemy? Nearer and nearer the whistler drew and the +musical note of the whistling and its echoes filled all the pass. + +"Wouldn't it be better for us to draw back a little where we can remain +hidden among the brakes?" said Will. + +"Yes, do it," replied the hunter, "just for precaution against any +possible mistake, but I don't think we really need to do so. In all the +world there's not another such whistler! It's bound to be Giant Tom, +Giant Tom his very self, and none other!" + +"Giant Tom! Giant Tom! Whom do you mean?" exclaimed Will. + +"Just wait a minute and you'll see." + +The whistler was now very near, though hidden from sight by the bushes, +and he was trilling forth old airs of home that made the pulses in the +lad's throat beat hard. + +"It's Giant Tom. There's no other such in the world," repeated Boyd more +to himself than to Will. "In another minute you'll see him. You can hear +him now brushing past the bushes. Ah, there he is! God bless him!" + +The figure of an extraordinary man now came into view. He was not more +than five feet tall, nor was he particularly broad for his height. He +was just the opposite of a giant in size, but there was something about +him that suggested the power of a giant. He had a wonderfully quick and +light step, and it was Will's first impression that he was made of +steel, instead of flesh and blood. His face, shaven smoothly, told +little of his age. He was dressed in weather-beaten brown, rifle on +shoulder, and two mules, loaded with the usual packs and miner's tools, +followed him in single file and with sure step. + +Will's heart warmed at once to the little man who continued to whistle +forth a volume of clear song, and whose face was perhaps the happiest he +had ever seen. Boyd stepped suddenly from the shielding brushwood and +extended his hand. + +"Tom Bent," he said, "put 'er there!" + +"Thar she is," said Giant Tom, placing his palm squarely in Boyd's. + +"My young friend, Mr. William Clarke," said the hunter, nodding at the +lad, "and this is Mr. Thomas Bent, better known to me and others as +Giant Tom." + +"Glad to meet you, William," said the little man, and ever afterward he +called the boy William. "Anybody that I find with Jim, here, has got on +'im the stamp an' seal o' high approval. I don't ask your name, whar you +come from or why you're here, or whar you're goin', but I take you fur a +frien' o' Jim's, an' so just 'bout all right. Now put 'er thar." + +He grinned a wide grin and extended a wide palm, into which Will put his +to have it enclosed at once in a grasp so mighty that he was convinced +his first impression about the man being made of steel was correct. He +uttered an exclamation and Giant Tom dropped his hand at once. + +"I never do that to a feller more than once," he said, "an' it's always +the first time I meet him. Even then I don't do it 'less I'm sure he's +all right, an' I'm goin' to like 'im. It's jest my way o' puttin' a +stamp on 'im to show that he's passed Tom Bent's ordeal, an' is good fur +the best the world has to offer. Now, William, you're one o' us." + +He smiled so engagingly that Will was compelled to laugh, and he felt, +too, that he had a new and powerful friend. + +"That's right, laugh," said Giant Tom. "You take it the way a feller +orter, an' you an' me are goin' to be mighty good pards. An' that bein' +settled I want to know from you, Jim Boyd, what are you doin' in my +valley." + +"Your valley, Giant! Why, you never saw it before," said the hunter. + +"What's that got to do with it? I wuz comin' here an' any place that I'm +goin' to come to out here in the wilderness is mine, o' course." + +"Coming here, I suppose, to hunt for gold! And you've been hunting for +it for fifteen years, you've trod along thousands and thousands of miles +and never found a speck of it yet." + +The little man laughed joyously. + +"That's true," he said. "I've worked years an' years an' I never yet had +a particle o' luck. But a dry spell, no matter how long, is always broke +some time or other by a rain, an' when my luck does come, it's goin' to +bust all over my face. Gold will just rain on me. I'll stand in it +knee-deep an' then shoulder deep, an' then right up to my mouth." + +"You haven't changed a bit," said Boyd, grinning also. "You're the same +Giant Tom, a real giant in strength and courage, that I've met off and +on through the years. It's been a long time since I first saw you." + +"It was in Californy in '49. I was only fourteen then, but I went out +with my uncle in the first rush. Seventeen years I've hunted the yellow +stuff, in the streams, in the mountains, all up an' down the coast, in +the British territories, an' way back in the Rockies, but I've yet to +see its color. Uncle Pete found some, and when he died he left what +money he had to me. 'Jest you take it an' keep on huntin', Tom, my boy,' +he said. 'Now an' then I think I've seen traces o' impatience in you. +When you'd been lookin' only six or seven years, an' found nothin', I +heard you speak in a tone of disapp'intment, once. Don't you do it +ag'in. That ain't the way things are won. It takes sperrit an' patience +to be victor'us. Hang on to the job you've set fur yourse'f, an' thirty +or forty years from now you'll be shore to reap a full reward, though it +might come sooner.' An' here I am, fresh, strong, only a little past +thirty, and I kin afford to hunt an' wait for my pay 'bout thirty years +more. I've never forgot what Uncle Pete told me just afore he died. A +mighty smart man was Uncle Pete, an' he had my future in mind. Don't you +think so, young William?" + +"Of course," replied Will, looking at him in wonder and admiration. "I +don't think a man of your cheerful and patient temperament could +possibly fail." + +"And maybe his reward will come much sooner than he thinks," said the +hunter, glancing at the lad. + +Will understood what Boyd meant, and he was much taken with the idea. +The Little Giant seemed to be sent by Providence, but he said nothing, +waiting until such time as the hunter thought fit to broach the subject. + +"How long have you been here?" asked the Little Giant, looking at the +valley with approving eyes. + +"Quite a little while," replied Boyd. "It belonged to us two until a few +minutes ago, but now it belongs to us three. We've been needing a third +man badly, and while I didn't know it, you must have been in my mind +all the time." + +"An' what do you happen to need me fur, Jim Boyd?" + +"We'll let that wait awhile, at least, until we introduce you to our +home." + +"All right. Patience is my strong suit. Do you mean to say you've got a +home here?" + +"Certainly." + +"Then I'll be your guest until you take me into the pardnership you're +talkin' 'bout. Do you know that you two are the first faces o' human +bein's that I've seen in two months, an' it gives me a kind o' pleasure +to look at you, Jim Boyd, an' young William." + +"Come on then to our camp." + +He whistled to his two mules, strong, patient animals, and then he +whistled on his own account the gayest and most extraordinary variation +that Will had ever heard, a medley of airs, clear, pure and birdlike, +that would have made the feet of any young man dance to the music. It +expressed cheerfulness, hope and the sheer joy of living. + +"You could go on the stage and earn fine pay with that whistling of +yours," said Will, when he finished. + +"Others have told me so, too," said the Little Giant, "but I'll never do +it. Do you think I'd forget what Uncle Pete said to me on his dyin' bed, +an' get out o' patience? What's a matter o' twenty or thirty years? I'll +keep on lookin' an' in the end I'll find plenty o' gold as a matter o' +course. Then I won't have to whistle fur a livin'. I'll hire others to +whistle fur me." + +"He's got another accomplishment, Will, one that he never brags about," +said the hunter. + +"What is it?" + +"I told you once that I was as good a rifle shot as there was in the +West, over a range of a million and a half square miles of mountain and +plain, but I forgot, for a moment, about one exception. That exception +is Giant Tom, here. He has one of the fine repeating rifles like ours, +and whether with that or a muzzle loader he's quicker and surer than any +other." + +The face of Giant Tom turned red through his tan. + +"See here, Jim Boyd, I'm a modest man, I'm no boaster, don't be telling +wild tales about me to young William. I don't know him yet so well as I +do you, an' I vally his good opinion." + +"What I say is true every word of it. If his bullet would only carry +that far he'd pick off a deer at five miles every time, and you needn't +deny it, Giant Tom." + +"Well, mebbe thar is some truth in what you say. When the Lord sawed me +off a foot, so I'd hev to look up in the faces o' men whenever I talked +to 'em, He looked at me an' He felt sorry fur the little feller He'd +created. I'll have to make it up to him somehow, He said to Hisself, an' +to he'p me along He give me muscles o' steel, not your cast steel, but +your wrought steel that never breaks, then He put a mockin' bird in my +throat, an' give me eyes like an eagle's an' nerves o' the steadiest. +Last, He give me patience, the knowin' how to wait years an' years fur +what I want, an' lookin' back to it now I think He more than made up fur +the foot He sawed off. Leastways I ain't seen yet the man I want to +change with, not even with you, Jim Boyd, tall as you think you are, nor +with you, young William, for all your red cheeks an' your youth an' your +heart full o' hope, though it ain't any fuller than mine." + +"Long but mighty interesting," said Boyd. "Now, you can see our wickiup, +over there in the open. We use it only when it rains. We'll help you +take the packs off your mules and they can go grazing for themselves +with our horses. You are not saying much about it, but I imagine that +you and the mules, too, are pretty nearly worn out." + +"Them's good mules, mighty good mules, but them an' me, I don't mind +tellin' it to you, Jim Boyd, won't fight ag'inst restin' an' eatin' +awhile." + +"I'll light the fire and warm food for you," said Will. "It's a pleasure +for me to do it. Sit down on the log and before you know it I'll have +ready for you the finest lake trout into which you ever put your teeth." + +"Young William, I accept your invite." + +Will quickly had his fire going, and he served not only trout, but bear +steaks and hot coffee to the Little Giant, who ate with a tremendous +appetite. + +"I've got provisions of my own in my packs," he said, "but sometimes the +other feller's feed tastes a heap better than your own, an' this that +you're offerin' me is, I take it, the cream o' the mountains, young +William. A couple more o' them trout, if you don't mind, four or five +more pounds o' that bear meat, an' a gallon o' coffee, if you've got it +to spare. With them I think I kin make out. How are my mules gettin' on, +Jim?" + +"First rate. They've already introduced themselves to the horses, which +have given their names, pedigrees and the stories of their lives. The +mules also have furnished their histories, and, everybody being +satisfied with everybody else's social station and past, they're now +grazing together in perfect friendship, all six of 'em, just beyond that +belt of woodland. And that being the case, I'll now give you the history +of Will and myself, and I'll tell you about the biggest thing that we +expect from the future." + +"Go ahead," said the Little Giant, settling himself into a comfortable +position. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE FLIGHT + + +Boyd had no mean powers as a narrator. He did not speak at first of +their own immediate search, but alluded to the great belief that gold +was scattered all through the West, although it seldom had a trace or +trail leading to it. Then he spoke of Clarke's father, and what he had +discovered, returning soon afterward to the civil war, in which he had +fallen. + +The Little Giant's eyes brightened with the flame of pursuit as the +hunter talked. He who had sought gold for so many years without finding +a particle of it was seeing it now, in pockets, and in almost solid +ledges, beyond anything he had ever dreamed. But when Boyd told of the +officer's death on the battlefield he sighed deeply and his face +clouded. + +"That's always the way," he said. "Jest when you've got it, it slips +through your fingers, though I will say to you, young William, that it's +not the lost gold only I'm mournin' 'bout. I'm sorry, too, for the death +of your brave father." + +"But, knowing the uncertainties of war, he took thought for the future," +said Boyd. "He drew a map showing where his great mine is, and it's now +in the possession of his son, Will, who sits before you." + +The shadow left the face of the Little Giant, and his eyes glistened as +Will produced the precious map, spreading it before him. After examining +it carefully, he said: + +"Ef you fight off many thousand Sioux, run through fifty or a hundred +mountain blizzards, starve a dozen times, freeze twenty times an' stick +to it three or four years you'll git that thar gold." + +Then the Little Giant sighed, and his face clouded again--it had perhaps +been years since his face had clouded twice in one day. + +"You fellers are in great luck. I wish you well." + +"We wish ourselves well," said Boyd, watching him closely. + +A sudden thought seemed to occur to the Little Giant and his face +brightened greatly. + +"Do you two fellers want a hired man?" he asked. + +"What kind of a hired man?" said Boyd. + +"A likely feller, not very tall, but strong an' with a willin' heart, +handy with spade an' shovel, understandin' hosses an' mules, an' able to +whistle fur you gay an' lively tunes in the evenin', when you're all +tired out from the day's work in the richest mine in the world." + +"No, we don't want any hired man." + +"Not even the kind I'm tellin' you 'bout?" + +"Not even that, nor any other." + +"An' both o' you hev got your minds plum' made up 'bout it?" + +"Plumb made up." + +The Little Giant's face fell for the third time in one day, an absolute +record for him. + +"I reckon thar ain't no more to say," he said. + +Boyd was still watching him closely, but now his look was one of +sympathy. + +"We don't want any hired man," he said. "We've no use for hired men, but +we do want something." + +"What's that, Jim Boyd?" + +"We want a partner." + +"Why, each of you has got one. You hev young William and young William +hez you." + +"Well, young William and me have talked about this some, not much, but +we came straight to the point. For such a big hunt as ours, through +dangers piled on dangers, we need a third man, one that's got a strong +heart and a cheerful soul, one that can shoot straighter than anybody +else in the world, one whose picture, if I could take it, would be the +exact picture of you, Tom Bent." + +"But I ain't done nothin' to come in as a pardner." + +"Neither did I, but Will took me in as a guide, hunter and fighting man. +Don't you understand, Giant, that to get the Clarke gold we'll have to +pay the price? We'll have to fight and fight, and we'll have to risk our +lives a thousand times apiece. Why, in a case like this, you're worth a +cool hundred thousand dollars." + +"Then I come in fur a tenth--ef we git it." + +"You come in for the same share as the rest, share and share alike, but +I will say this to you, Little Giant, that we expect you to do the most +tremendous fighting the world has ever seen, we expect you to wipe out +whole bands of Sioux and Blackfeet by yourself while Will and me stand +by and rest, and, after it's all over, we expect you to sit down and +whistle an hour or two, until you soothe us to sleep." + +"Then, on them conditions I come in as a full pardner," said Giant Tom, +and he grinned with pleasure, the most amazing grin that Will had ever +seen. It spread slowly across his face, until the great crack seemed to +reach almost to each ear, revealing a splendid set of powerful white +teeth, without a flaw. Above the chasm two large blue eyes glistened and +glowed with delight. It was all so infectious, so contagious that both +Will and Boyd grinned in return. They were not only securing for a +perilous quest a man who was beyond compare, but they were also giving +the most exquisite mental pleasure to a likable human being. + +"It shorely does look," said the Little Giant, "ez ef my luck wuz goin' +to hev a turn. At any rate, I'll be with you boys, in the best company +I've had fur years." + +"You and the mules rest a day," said Boyd, "and then we'll be off. We'll +keep to the mountains for a while, and then we'll curve back to the +plains, where we'll take up the line laid down on the map, and where the +going is easier. Maybe we can dodge the Sioux." + +The Little Giant made his bed under one of the trees, and he slept very +soundly that night, eating prodigiously in the morning. The three were +discussing the advisability of leaving at once or of waiting until the +dusk for departure, when Will, happening to look toward the east, saw +what he took at first to be a tiny cloud in the clear blue sky. He +carried his glasses over his shoulders, and he raised them at once. The +hunter and the Little Giant had noticed his act. + +"What is it, Will?" asked Boyd anxiously. + +"Smoke! A big puff of it!" + +"And it came from the top of that mountain to the east of the valley." + +"It rose straight and fast, as if it had been sent up by some human +agency." + +"And so it was. It's a signal!" + +"Indians!" + +"Yes, Will." + +"What does it mean?" + +"It means 'Attention, watch!' They've got a code almost as complete as +that of our armies when they use the signal flags. Look at that other +crest off to the north. Maybe an answer will come from it." + +"There _is_ an answer. I can see it rising now from the very place you +indicate, Jim. What does the answer signify?" + +"I can see it now with the naked eye. It merely says to the first, 'I've +seen you, I'm waiting. Go ahead.' Look back to the other crest." + +"Two smokes are now going up there." + +"They say 'Come.' It's two bands wanting to meet. Now, the other place." + +"Three smokes there." + +"Three means, 'We come.'" + +"Now back to the other." + +"Four smokes." + +"Which says in good, plain English, 'We are following the enemy.' That +settles it. They've found out, some way or other, that we're here, and +the two bands mean to meet and capture or destroy us. They never +suspected that we could read their writing against the sky. We don't +wait until tonight. We leave as soon as we can get our packs on our +horses and mules." + +"I'd like to make a suggestion first," said the Little Giant with some +diffidence. + +"What is it?" asked Boyd. + +"Suppose we stay an' have a crack at 'em before we go, jest kinder to +temper their zeal a little. I'd like to show young William that I kin +really shoot, an' sorter live up to the braggin' you've been doin'." + +"No, you ferocious little man-killer. We can't think of it. We'd have a +hundred Sioux warriors on our heels in no time. Now hustle, you two! +Pack faster than you ever packed before, and we'll start inside of two +hours. Do you see any more smokes, Will?" + +"No, the sky is now without a blemish." + +"Which means they've talked enough and now they're traveling straight +toward our valley. It's lucky they've got such rough country to cross +before they reach us." + +Inside the two hours they were headed for the western end of the valley, +the Little Giant riding one of his mules, the other following. The +wickiup was abandoned, but they brought much of the jerked meat with +them, thinking wisely of their commissariat. + +It was with genuine regret that Will looked back from his saddle upon +Clarke Valley and Boyd Lake, shimmering and beautiful now in the +opalescent sunshine. They had found peace and plenty there. It was a +good place in which to live, if wild men would let one alone, and, +loving solitude at times, he could have stayed there several weeks +longer in perfect content. He caught the last gleam of the lake as they +entered the pass. It had the deep sheen of melted silver, as the waters +moved before the slow wind, and he sighed a little when a curve of the +cliff cut it wholly from view. + +"Never mind, young William," said the Little Giant, "you'll see other +lakes and other valleys as fine, an' this wouldn't look so beautiful, +after all, tomorrow, filled with ragin' Sioux huntin' our ha'r right +whar it grows, squar' on top o' our heads." + +Young Clarke laughed and threw off his melancholy. + +"You're right," he said briskly. "The lake wouldn't look very beautiful +if a half dozen Sioux were shooting at me. You came through this pass, +now tell us what kind of a place it is." + +"We ride along by the creek, an' sometimes the ledge is jest wide enough +fur the horses an' mules. We go on that way four or five miles, provided +we don't fall down the cliff into the creek an' bust ourselves apart. +Then, ag'in, purvided we're still livin', we come out into a valley, +narrow but steep, the water rushin' down it in rapids like somethin' +mad. Then we keep on down the valley with our hosses lookin' ez ef they +wuz walkin' on their heads, an' in four or five miles more, purvided, o' +course, once more that we ain't been busted apart by falls, we come out +into some woods. These woods are cut by gulleys an' ravines an' they +have stony outcrops, but they'll look good by the side o' what you hev +passed through." + +"Encouraging, Giant!" laughed Will. "But hard as all this will be for us +to pass over, it will be just as hard for the Sioux, our pursuers." + +"Young William," said the Little Giant approvingly, "I like to hear you +talk that way. It shows that you hev all the makin's o' them opty-mists, +the bunch o' people to which I belong. I never heard that word till +three or four years ago, when I wuz listenin' to a preacher in a minin' +camp, an' it kinder appealed to me. So I reckoned I would try to live up +to it an' make o' myself a real opty-mist. I been workin' hard at it +ever sence, an' I think I'm qualifyin'." + +"You're right at the head of the class, that's where you are, Giant," +said Boyd heartily. "You've already earned a thousand dollars out of the +mine that we're going to find, you with your whistling and cheerfulness +bracing us up so that we're ready to meet anything." + +"What's the use o' bein' an opty-mist ef you don't optymize?" asked the +Little Giant, coining a word for himself. "Now, ain't this a nice, +narrow pass? You kin see the water in the creek down thar, 'bout two +hundred feet below, a-rushin' an' a-roarin' over the stones, an' then +you look up an' see the cliff risin' five or six hundred feet over your +head, an' here you are betwixt an' between, on a shelf less'n three feet +broad, jest givin' room enough fur the horses an' mules an' ourselves, +all so trim an' cosy, everythin' fittin' close an' tight in its place." + +"It's a lot too close and tight for me, Giant!" exclaimed Will. "I've a +terrible fear that I'll go tumbling off the path and into the creek two +hundred feet below." + +"Oh, no, you won't, young William. The people who fall off cliffs are +mighty few compared with them that git skeered 'bout it. Ef you feel +a-tall dizzy, jest ketch holt o' the tail o' that rear mule o' mine. He +won't kick, an' he won't mind it, a-tall, a-tall. Instead o' that it'll +give him a kind o' home-like feelin', bein' ez I've hung on to his tail +myself so many times when we wuz goin' along paths not more'n three +inches wide in the mountain side. You won't bother or upset him. The +biggest cannon that wuz ever forged couldn't blast him out o' the path." + +Thus encouraged, young Clarke seized the tail of the mule, which plodded +unconcernedly on, and for the rest of the distance along the dizzying +heights he felt secure. Nevertheless his relief was great when they +emerged into the rough valley of which the Little Giant had spoken, and +yet more when, still pressing on, they came to the rocky and hilly +forest. Here they were all exhausted, animals and human beings alike, +and they stopped a long time in the shade of the trees. + +At that point there was no sign of the valley from which they had fled, +unless one could infer its existence from the creek that flowed by. +Looking back, Will saw nothing but a mass of forest and mountain, and +then looking back a second time he saw rings of smoke rising from points +which he knew must be in their valley. He examined and counted them +through his glasses and described them to the hunter and the Little +Giant. + +"The Sioux have come down and invaded our pleasant home," said Boyd. +"There's no doubt about it, and I can make a good guess that they're mad +clean through, because they found us gone. They may be signaling now to +another band to come up, and then they'll give chase. You've got to +know, Will, that nothing will make the Sioux pursue like the prospect of +scalps, white scalps. A Sioux warrior would be perfectly willing to go +on a month's trail if he found a white scalp at the end of it." + +"They'll naturally think that we'll turn off toward the south so as to +hit the plains ez soon ez we kin," said the Little Giant. + +"And for that reason, you think we should turn to the north instead, and +go deeper into the mountains?" said Boyd. + +"'Pears sound reasonin' to me." + +"Then we'll do it." + +"But we don't go fur, leastways not today. It wouldn't be more'n two or +three hours till night anyhow, an' see them clouds in thar to the south, +all thickenin' up. We're going to hev rain on the mountains, an' I think +we'd better make another wickiup, ez one o' them terrible sleets may +come on." + +Boyd and Will agreed with him and a mile farther they found a place that +they considered suitable, an opening in which they would not be exposed +to any tree blown down by a blizzard, but with a heavy growth of short +pines near by, among which the horses and mules might find shelter. +Then the three worked with amazing speed, and by the time the full dark +had come the wickiup was done, the skins that they had brought with them +being stretched tightly over the poles. Then, munching their cold food, +they crawled in and coiled themselves about the walls, wrapped deep in +their blankets. Contrary to the Indian custom, they left the low door +open for air, and just when Will felt himself well disposed for the +night he heard the first patter of the sleet. + +It was almost pitch dark in the wickiup, but, through the opening, he +could see the hail beating upon the earth in streams of white. The old +feeling of comfort and security in face of the wildest that the +wilderness had to offer returned to him. When they reached Clarke Valley +and built their wickiup he had one powerful friend, but now when the +Sioux were once more in pursuit, he had two. The Little Giant had made +upon him an ineffaceable impression of courage, skill and loyalty that +would stand any test. + +"The hail's goin' to drive all through the night," Giant Tom called out +in the darkness. + +"Right you are," said the hunter, "and the Sioux won't think of trying +that pass on such a night. They're back in the valley, in wickiups of +their own." + +"Might it not stop them entirely?" asked Will. + +"No, young William, it won't," said the Little Giant. "They'll come +through the pass tomorrow, knowin' thar's only one way by which we kin +go, an' then try to pick up our trail when the sleet melts. But tonight, +at least, nobody's goin' to find us." + +They slept late the next morning, and when they crawled out of the +wickiup they found the sleet packed about an inch deep on the ground. +The horses and mules, protected by the pines, had not suffered much, +and, in order that their trail might be hidden by the melting sleet, +they packed and departed before breakfast, choosing a northwesterly +direction. They picked the best ground, but it was all rough. +Nevertheless the three were cheerful, and the Little Giant whistled like +a nightingale. + +"Ef I remember right," he said, "we'll soon be descendin', droppin' down +fast so to speak, an' then the weather will grow a heap warmer. The +sun's out now, though, an' by noon anyway all the sleet will be gone, +which will help us a lot." + +They had been walking most of the time, allowing their animals to +follow, which both horses and mules did, not only through long training +but because they had become used to the companionship of men. The three +might have abandoned them, escaping pursuit in the almost inaccessible +mazes of the mountains, but no such thought entered their minds. The +horses and mules not only carried their supplies, chief among which +being the ammunition, but also the tools with which to work the mine, +and then, in Will's mind at least, they and more of them would be needed +to bring back to civilization the tons of gold. + +They were now in a fairly level, though narrow, valley, and all three of +them were riding. Once more they saw far behind them smoke signals +rising, and Boyd felt sure that the Sioux somehow had blundered upon +the trail anew. Then he and the Little Giant spoke together earnestly. + +"The longest way 'roun' is sometimes the shortest way through," said +Giant Tom. "It's no plains for us, not fur many days to come. I'm +thinkin' that what we've got to do is to keep on goin' deeper an' deeper +into the mountains, an' higher an' higher, too, plum' up among them +glaciers, whar the Sioux won't keer to foller. Then, when we winter a +while thar we kin turn back toward the plains an' our search." + +"Looks like good reasoning to me," said Boyd. "As I told the boy here, +once, we're richer in time than anything else. We must make for the +heights. What say you, Will?" + +"I'm learning patience," replied the lad. "It's better to wait than to +spill all the beans at once. Let's head straight for the glaciers." + +Will felt that there was something terrible about the Sioux pursuit. He +was beginning to realize to the full the power of Indian tenacity, and +he was anxious to shake off the warriors, no matter how high they had to +go. He knew nothing of the region about them, but he had heard that +mountains in many portions of the West rose to a height of nearly three +miles. He could well believe it, as he looked north and south to +tremendous peaks with white domes, standing like vast, silent sentinels +in the sky. They were majestic to him, but not terrifying, because they +held out the promise of safety. + +"If the worst came to the worst, could we live up there on one of those +slopes, a while?" he asked. + +"Do you mean by that could we find game enough?" said Boyd. + +"Game and shelter both." + +"We could. Like as not the mountain deer are plentiful. And there's a +kind of buffalo called the wood bison, even bigger than the regular +buffalo of the plains, not often found south of Canada, but to be met +with now and then in our country. We might run across one of them, and +he'd supply meat enough to feed an army. Besides, there are bears and +deer and smaller game. Oh, we'd make out, wouldn't we, Tom?" + +"We shorely would," replied the Little Giant, "but between you an' me +an' the gate post, Jim, I think I see somethin' movin' on the slope +acrost thar to the right. Young William, take your glasses an' study +that spot whar the bushes are so thick." + +"I can just barely make out the figures of men among the bushes," +announced Will, after a good look. + +"Then they're Indians," said Boyd with emphasis. "You wouldn't find +white men lurking here in the undergrowth. It's a fresh band, hunters +maybe, but dangerous just the same. We'd better push on for all we're +worth." + +They urged forward the horses and mules, seeking cover in the deep +forest along the slope, but without success, as a faint yell soon told +them. At the suggestion of Boyd, they stopped and examined the ground. +The way was steadily growing steeper and more difficult, and the +warriors, who were on foot could make greater speed than the fugitives. + +"Lend me your glasses a minute, young William," said the Little Giant. + +But he did not turn the lenses upon the Indians. Instead, he looked +upward. + +"Thar's a narrow pass not fur ahead," he said. "I think we'd better draw +into it an' make a stand. The pass is deep, an' they can't assail us on +either flank. It will have to be a straight-away attack." + +"That's lucky, mighty lucky," said Boyd with heartfelt thankfulness. +"Will, you push on with the animals, and maybe if you look back you'll +see that what I told you about Giant Tom's sharpshooting is true." + +Will hurried the horses and mules ahead, following a shallow dip that +was the outlet of the deep pass they were seeking. Behind them he heard +again the yells of the Indian warriors, hopeful now of an unexpected +triumph. He saw their figures emerging from cover and he judged that +they were at least twenty in number. He saw also that the Little Giant +had stopped and was looking at the pursuers with a speculative eye, +while his repeating rifle lay easily in the hollow of his arm. Then he +urged the animals on and presently he looked back a second time. + +He was just in time to see the breech of the rifle leap to the Little +Giant's shoulder. "Leap" was the only word to describe it, his action +was so swift and so little time did he waste in taking aim. It all +passed in an instant, as he pulled the trigger, and the foremost Indian +far down the slope threw up his arms, falling backward without a cry. In +another instant he pulled the trigger again and another Indian fell +beside the first. The whole band stopped, uttered a tremendous cry of +rage, and then darted into the undergrowth for cover. + +"Two," said Boyd. "Didn't I tell you, Will, that he was a wonder with +the rifle?" + +"I had to do it. I call you both to witness that I had to do it," said +the Little Giant in a melancholy voice. "I'm a hunter o' gold an' not +properly a killer o' men, even o' savage men. An' yet I find no gold, +but I do kill. Sometimes I'm sorry that I happened to be born jest a +natcherly good shot. I reckon we'd better whoop up our speed ez much ez +we kin now, 'cause after that lesson they'll hang back a while afore +follerin'." + +"That's good generalship," said Boyd. + +Will was already urging forward the animals, which, frightened by the +shots, were making speed of their own accord toward the pass. The hunter +and the Little Giant followed at a more leisurely gait, with their +rifles ready to beat off pursuit. Some shots were fired from the bushes, +but they fell short, and the two laughed in disdain. + +"They'll have to do a lot better than that, won't they, Giant?" said the +hunter. + +"A powerful sight better, but they'll hope to slip up on us in the dark. +It hurts my feelin's to hev to shoot any more of 'em, or to shoot +anybody, but I'm afeard I'll hev to do it, Jim Boyd, afore we git +through with this here piece o' business." + +"In that case, Giant, just let your feelings go and shoot your best." + +Will still led on, and, though his heart beat as hard as ever, it was +more from the exertion of climbing than from apprehension. He had seen +the two wonderful shots of the Little Giant, he knew what a wonderful +marksman Boyd was also, and he felt since they were within the shelter +of the pass, their three rifles might keep off any number of Sioux. + +The shallow gully up which they were travelling now narrowed rapidly, +and soon they were deep in the looming shadow of the pass, which seemed +to end blindly farther on. But for the present it was a Heaven-sent +refuge. At one point, where it widened somewhat, the horses and mules +could stand, and there was even a little grass for them. A rill of water +from the high rocks was a protection against what they had to fear most +of all, thirst, and the three human beings in turn drank freely from it, +letting the animals follow. + +Boyd deftly tethered the horses and mules to bushes that grew at the +foot of the cliff in the wide space, and then he joined the other two, +who, lying almost flat, were watching at the entrance to the pass. The +rocks there also gave them fine protection, and they felt they had +reached a fort which would test all the ingenuity, patience and courage +of the Sioux. + +Will drew back behind a stony upthrust, sat up and used his glasses, +searching everywhere among the rocks and bushes down the pass. + +"What do you see, Young William?" asked the Little Giant. + +"Nothing yet, Tom, except the bushes, the stones and the slopes of the +mountains far across the valley." + +"Nor you won't see nothin' fur some time. Took to cover, they hev. An' I +don't blame 'em, either. We wouldn't be anxious ourselves to walk up +ag'inst the mouths o' rifles that don't miss, an' Indians, bein' smart +people, don't risk their lives when thar's nothin' to be gained." + +"Then how are they going to get at us?" + +"Not straight-away, but by means o' tricks." + +"What tricks?" + +"I don't know. Ef they wuz so plain ez all that they wouldn't be tricks. +We'll hev to be patient." + +All three of them drew back into the mouth of the pass, where they found +abundant shelter behind the stony outcrops, while the Sioux, who lay +hidden in the undergrowth farther down the slope, would be compelled to +advance over open ground, if they made a rush. Young Clarke's confidence +grew. That wonderful sharpshooting feat of the Little Giant was still in +his mind. In such a position and with such marksmen as Boyd and Bent, +they could not be overwhelmed. + +"Take them glasses o' yourn, young William," said the Little Giant, "an' +see ef you can pick out any o' the Sioux down the slope." + +Will was able to trace three or four warriors lying down among the short +cedars, apparently waiting with illimitable patience for any good idea +that might suggest itself. The others, though out of sight, were +certainly near and he was wondering what plan might occur to them. + +"Do you think it likely that they know the pass?" he asked Boyd. + +"Hardly," replied the hunter. "They are mountain Sioux, but on the whole +they prefer the plains." + +"Maybe they think then that they can wait, or at least hold us until we +are overcome by thirst!" + +"No, the little stream of water breaks a way down the slope somewhere, +and when they find it they'll know that it comes from the pass. I think +they'll attack, but just how and when is more'n I can say. Now, Will, +will you go back where the animals are and cook us a good supper, +including coffee? When you're besieged it's best to keep yourself well +fed and strong. I saw plenty of dead wood there, tumbled from the cliffs +above." + +Young Clarke, knowing that he was not needed now at the mouth of the +pass, was more than glad to undertake the task, since waiting was hard +work. + +He found the horses and mules lying down, and they regarded him with +large, contemplative eyes as he lighted the fire and began to cook +supper. The animals were on the best of terms, constituting a happy +family, and the eyes with which they regarded Will seemed to him to be +the eyes of wisdom. + +"Shall we get safely out of this?" he asked, addressing himself to the +animal circle. + +Either it was fact, or his imagination was uncommonly lively, as he saw +six large heads nod slowly and with dignity, but with emphasis. + +"All of us?" + +The six heads again moved slowly and with dignity. + +"And with you, our faithful four-footed friends, and with the packs that +are so needful to us?" + +The six heads nodded a little faster, but with the same dignity. Will +was just putting the coffee on to boil when he asked the last question +and received the last answer, and he stopped for a moment to stare at +the six animals, which were still regarding him with their large, +contemplative eyes. Could he refuse to believe what he thought he saw? +If fancy were not fact it often became fact a little later. Those were +certainly honest beasts and he knew by experience that they were +truthful, too, because he had never yet caught them in a lie. Animals +did not know how to lie, wherein they were different from human beings, +and while human beings were not prophets, at least in modern times, +animals, for all he knew, might be, and he certainly intended to believe +that the six, for the present, enjoyed the prophetic afflatus. + +"I accept the omens as you give them," he said aloud. "From this moment +I dismiss from my mind all doubt concerning the present affair." + +Then he found himself believing his own words. The omens continued to be +favorable. The coffee boiled with uncommon readiness and the strips of +venison that he fried over the coals gave forth an aroma of unparalleled +richness. Filling two large tin cups with the brown fluid he carried +them to the watchers at the mouth of the pass, who drained them, each at +a single draught. + +"Best you ever made, Will," said Boyd. + +"Ez good ez anybody ever made, young William," said the Little Giant. + +"Now I'll bring you strips of venison and crackers," said Will, much +pleased, "and after you've eaten them you can have another cup of coffee +apiece." + +His little task, his success at it, and the praise of his comrades +cheered him wonderfully. When he had taken them the second cups of +coffee and had also served himself, he put out the coals, picked up his +rifle and rejoined the others. The first faint breath of the twilight +was appearing over the mountains. The great ridges and peaks were +growing dim and afar the wind of night was moaning. + +"It'll be dark soon," said the Little Giant, "an' then we'll hev to +watch with all our eyes an' all our ears. Onless the Sioux attack under +kiver o' the night they won't attack at all." + +"They'll come. Don't you worry about that, Tom," said Boyd. "The Sioux +are as brave fighters as any that tread the earth, and they want our +scalps bad, particularly yours. If I was an Indian and loved scalps as +they do, I'd never rest until I got yours. The hair is so thick and it +stands up so much, I'd give it a place of honor in my tepee, and +whenever my warrior friends came in for a sociable evening's talk I'd +tell 'em how I defeated you in battle and took your scalp, which is the +king scalp." + +"It's a comply-ment you make me to call my scalp the king scalp, but no +Indian will ever take it. Do you see something stirring down thar 'mong +the little cedars? Young William, them glasses o' yourn a minute or +two." + +He made a careful study with the glasses, and, when he handed them back, +he announced: + +"They're movin' 'mong the cedars. I made out at least a half dozen thar. +Ez soon ez it's good an' dark they're goin' to try to creep up on us. +Well, let 'em. We kin see pretty nigh ez good in the dark ez in the +light, can't we, Jim Boyd?" + +"I reckon we can see good enough, Giant, to draw a bead on anything that +comes creeping, creeping after our hair." + +Again Will felt pride that he was associated with two such formidable +champions of the wild, but he did not let pride keep him from selecting +a good high stony outcrop behind which he lay with his rifle ready and +his revolver loose in his belt. Now and then, however, he held his rifle +in only one hand and used the glasses so valuable to him, and which he +was beginning to prize so highly. + +Much time passed, however, and it passed slowly. Young Clarke realized +that the other name for the Sioux was patience, but it was hard on his +nerves, nevertheless. He wanted to talk, he longed to ask questions of +the two borderers, but his will kept him from doing so. He was resolved +not to appear nervous or garrulous at such a time. + +The night deepened. The twilight had passed long since. Many of the +stars did not come out and heavy waves of dusk rolled up the valley. The +slopes of the opposite mountain became invisible, nor did Will see the +dwarf cedars in which his glasses told him a portion of the Sioux band +had lain hidden. + +The time was so long that his muscles felt stiff and sore, and he +stretched arms and legs vigorously to restore the circulation. Moreover +the elevation was so great that it was growing quite cold in the pass, +and he became eager for the warriors to attack if they were going to +attack at all. But he remembered the saying that patience was only +another name for Sioux and steeled his heart to endure. + +The three were lying close together, all behind rocky upthrusts, and +after a space that seemed a thousand years or so to Will the Little +Giant edged toward him and whispered: + +"Young William, you wouldn't mind lendin' me them glasses o' yourn once +more?" + +"As often as you like, Giant." + +"Hand 'em over, then. Even ef it's night they've got a way o' cuttin' +through the dark, an' I feel it's 'bout time now fur the Sioux to be +comin'. They like to jump on an unsuspectin' foe 'bout midnight." + +He took an unusually long look and handed the glasses back to Will. Then +he whispered to both the lad and the hunter: + +"I could make 'em out snakin' theirselves up the pass nigh flat on the +rock." + +"They hope to get so near in the dark that they can spring up and rush +us." + +"I reckon that's jest 'bout thar game, but them glasses o' young +William's hev done give them away already. The Sioux hev fixed +everythin' mighty careful, an' jest one thing that chance hez give us, +young William's glasses, is goin' to upset 'em. Take a look, Jim." + +"I can see 'em, so many dark spots moving, always moving up the pass +and making no noise at all. Now, Will, you look, and after that we'll +make ready with the rifles." + +Will through the glasses saw them quite plainly now, more than a score +of dark figures, advancing slowly but quite steadily. He threw the +glasses over his shoulder and took up his rifle with both hands. + +"Not yet, young William," said the Little Giant. "We don't want to waste +any bullets, and so we'll wait until Jim gives the word. Ev'ry army +needs a leader. Thar ain't but three in this army, but it hez to hev a +leader jest the same and Jim Boyd is the man." + +Will waited motionless, but he could not keep his heart from beating +hard, as the Sioux, ruthless and bold, came forward silently to the +attack. He did not have the infinite wilderness experience of the older +two which had hardened them to every form of danger, and his imagination +was alive and leaping. The dusky forms which he could now faintly see +with the naked eye were increased by fancy threefold and four, and his +eager finger slipped to the trigger of his rifle. He was sure they ought +to fire now. The Sioux were certainly near enough! If they came any +closer before meeting the bullets of the defense they would have a good +chance to spring up and make a victorious rush. But the word to fire did +not come. He glanced at their leader, and Boyd was still calmly +watching. + +The three lay very close together, and Will heard the hunter whisper to +the Little Giant: + +"How much nearer do you think I ought to let 'em come, Tom?" + +"'Bout ten feet more, I reckon, Jim. Then though it's night, thar would +be no chance fur a feller to miss, onless he shet his eyes, an' we want +all our bullets to hit. Indians, even the bravest, don't like to rush +riflemen that are ez good ez a batt'ry. Ef we strike 'em mighty hard the +first time they'll fall back on tricks an' waitin'." + +"Good sound reasoning, Tom. You hear, Will. Be sure you don't miss." + +"I won't," replied the lad. Nevertheless those ten minutes, every one of +them, had a way of spinning themselves out in such an extraordinary +manner that his nerves began to jump again, and it required a great +effort of the will to keep them quiet. The black shadows were +approaching. They had passed over a stretch of rough ground that he had +marked four or five minutes before, and the outlines of the figures were +growing more distinct. He chose one on the extreme right for his aim. He +could not yet see his features, of course, but he was quite certain that +they were ugly and that the man was a warrior wicked beyond belief. +Before he could fire upon anyone from ambush it was necessary for him to +believe the man at whom he aimed to be utterly depraved, and the +situation created at once such a belief in his mind. + +He kept his eye steadily upon the ugly and wicked warrior, and as he +watched for his chance and awaited the word from Boyd all scruples about +firing disappeared from his mind. It was that warrior's life or his, and +the law of self-preservation controlled. Nearer and yet nearer they came +and the time had grown interminable when the hunter suddenly said in a +low voice: + +"Fire!" + +Young Clarke pulled the trigger with a sure aim. He saw the hideous +warrior draw himself into a bunch that sprang convulsively upward, but +which, when it fell, lay back, outspread and quiet. Then he fired at a +second figure, but he was not sure that he hit. The hunter and the +Little Giant were already sending in their third and fourth bullets, +with deadly aim, Will was sure, and the Sioux, after one mighty yell, +wrenched from them by rage, surprise and fear, were fleeing down the +pass under the fierce hail from the repeating rifles. + +In a half minute all the shadows, save those outlined darkly on the +ground, were gone, and there was complete and utter silence, while the +light smoke from the rifles drifted about aimlessly, there being no +wind. The three did not speak, but slipping in fresh cartridges +continued to gaze down the pass. Then Will heard a wild, shrill scream +behind him that made him leap a foot from the ground, and that set all +his nerves trembling. The next moment he was laughing at himself. One of +the horses had neighed in terror at the firing, and there are few things +more terrifying than the terrified shriek of a horse. + +"Maybe you'd better go back and see 'em, Will," said Boyd. "They may +need quieting. I've noticed that you've a gentle hand with horses, and +that they like you." + +"And mules too," said the Little Giant. "Mine hev already taken a fancy +for young William. But mules are much abused critters. You treat 'em +well an' they'll treat you well, which is true of all tame animals." + +Young Clarke suspected that they were sending him back to steady his own +nerves as well as those of the animals after such a fierce encounter, +but if so he was glad they had the thought. He was willing enough to go. + +"Nothing will happen while you're gone," said Boyd cheerfully. "The +Sioux, of course, would try to rush us again if they knew you were away, +but they won't know it." + +Will crawled until he came to a curve of the cliff that would hide him +from any hidden Indian marksman, and then he rose to his feet, glad that +he was able to stand upright. He found the horses and mules walking +about uneasily at the ends of their lariats, but a few consoling strokes +from him upon their manes quieted all of them, and, if they found +comfort in his presence, he also found comfort in theirs. + +Then he kneeled and drank at the rill, as if he had been parching in a +desert for days. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE WHITE DOME + + +The tide of cool water restored Will's nerves. After drinking he bathed +his face in it, and then poured it over his neck. Good as he knew water +to be he had never known that it could be so very good. It was in truth +the wine of life. He shook out his thick hair, wet from the rill, and +said triumphantly and aloud to the animals: + +"We beat 'em back, Jim Boyd, the Little Giant and me, and we can do it +again. We beat back a whole band of the Sioux nation, and we defy 'em to +come on again. And you predicted it, all six of you! And you predict +that we'll do it a second time, don't you?" + +He was in a state of great spiritual exaltation, seeing things that +others might not have seen, and he distinctly saw the six wise heads of +the brutes, dumb but knowing so much, nod in affirmation. + +"I accept the omen!" he said, some old scrap of Latin translation coming +into his mind, "and await the future with absolute confidence!" + +The horses and mules, stirred at first by the shots, and then not +caring, perhaps, to rest, began to graze. All sign of alarm was gone +from them and Will's heart resumed its normal beat. He listened +attentively, but no sound came from the pass where his comrades, those +deadly sharpshooters, watched. Far overhead the cliffs towered, and over +them a sky darkly blue. He looked at it a little while, and then went +back to the pass. + +He had left his glasses with them, and they had not been able to +discover anything suspicious. + +"They won't come again into the mouth of the pass," said Boyd with +confidence. "That rush cost 'em too much. They'll spend a long time +thinking up some sort of trick, and that being the case you go now, +Giant, and have a drink at the stream, and pour water over your head and +face as Will has done." + +"So I will, Jim. I'm noticing that young William has a lot o' sense, an' +after I've 'tended to myself fine I'll come back, an' you kin do ez much +fur yourself. A good bathin' o' your face won't hurt your beauty, Jim." + +He was gone a half hour, not hurrying back, because he felt there was no +need to do so. Meanwhile Will lay behind his rock and watched the dusky +pass. Wisps of vapor and thin clouds were floating across the heavens, +hiding some of the stars, and the light was not as good as it had been +earlier in the night, but constant use and habit enable one to see +through the shadows, and he also had the glasses to fall back upon. But +even with their aid he could discern nothing save the stony steep. + +"They won't come again, not that way, as I told you before," said Boyd, +when young Clarke put down his glasses after the tenth searching look. +"When they made the rush they expected to have a warrior or two hit, but +they didn't know the greatest marksman in all the world, the Little +Giant, was here waiting for 'em, and if I do say it myself, I'm as good +with the rifle as anybody in the west, except Tom, and you're 'way above +the average too, Will. No, they've had enough of charging, but I wish to +heaven I knew what wicked trick they're thinking out now." + +The Little Giant returned, bathed, refreshed and joyous. + +"Your turn now, Jim," he said, "an' you soak your head an' face good in +the water. Don't dodge it because you think thar ain't plenty o' water, +'cause thar is. It keeps on a-runnin' an' a-runnin', an' it never runs +out. Stay ez long ez you want to, 'cause young William an' me kin hold +the pass ag'inst all the confederated tribes o' the Sioux nation, an' +the Crows an' the Cheyennes an' the Blackfeet throwed in." + +Boyd departed and presently he too returned, strengthened anew for any +task. + +"Now, Will," he said, "you being the youngest, and it's only because +you're the youngest, you'd better go back there where the horses and +mules are. They've got over their fright and are taking their rest +again. They appear to like you, to look upon you as a kind of comrade, +and I think it's about time you took a bit of rest with them." + +"But don't hev a nightmare an' kick one o' my mules," said the Little +Giant, "'cause the best tempered mule in the world is likely to kick +back ag'in." + +Will smiled. He knew their raillery was meant to cheer him up, because +of his inexperience, and their desperate situation. He recognized, too, +that it would be better for him to sleep if he could, as they were more +than sufficient to guard the pass. + +"All right," he said. "I obey orders." + +"Good night to you," said the hunter. + +"Good night," said the Little Giant, "an' remember not to kick one o' my +mules in your sleep." + +"I won't," replied Will, cheerfully, as he went around the curve of the +wall. + +He found the horses and mules at rest, and everything very quiet and +peaceful in the alcove. The rill murmured a little in its stony bed, +and, far overhead, he heard the wind sighing among the trees on the +mountain. He chose a place close to the wall, spread two blankets there, +on which he expected to lie, and prepared to cover himself with two +more. He realized now that he was tired to the bone, but it was not a +nervous weariness and sleep would cure it almost at once. + +He was arranging the two blankets that were to cover him, when he heard +a rumbling noise far over his head. At first he thought it was distant +thunder echoing along the ridges, but the wisps of cloud were too light +and thin to indicate any storm. He saw the horses and mules rise in +alarm, and then not one but several of them gave out shrill and terrible +neighs of terror, a volume of frightened sound that made young Clarke's +heart stand still for a moment. + +The sound which was not that of thunder, but of something rolling and +crashing, increased with terrific rapidity, stopped abruptly for a +moment or two and then a huge dark object shooting down in front of his +eyes, struck the ground with mighty impact. It seemed to him that the +earth trembled. He sprang back several feet and all the horses and +mules, rearing in alarm, crouched against the cliff. + +A great bowlder lay partly buried. It had rolled from the edge of the +cliff high above, and he divined at once that the Sioux had made it +roll. They had climbed the stony mountains enclosing the defile, and +were opening a bombardment, necessarily at random, but nevertheless +terrible in its nature. While he hesitated, not knowing what to do, a +second bowlder thundered, bounded and crashed into the chasm. But it +struck much farther away. + +The Little Giant came running at the sound, leaving Boyd on guard at the +mouth of the pass, and as he arrived a third rock struck, though, like +the second, at a distance, and he knew without any words from Will, what +the Sioux were now trying to do. As he looked up, a fourth crashed down, +and it fell very near. + +"So that's thar trick?" exclaimed the Little Giant. "Simple ez you +please, but ez dang'rous ez a batt'ry o' cannon. Look out, young +William, thar's another." + +It struck so close to Will that he felt the shock and ran back to the +shelter of the overhanging cliff, where, driven by instinct, the horses +and mules were already crowding. Nor did the Little Giant, brave as he +was, hesitate to follow him. + +"When you're shot at out o' the sky," he said, "the best thing to do is +to go into hidin'. One ain't wholly under cover here, but it ud be a +long chance ef any o' them rocks got us." + +"What about Jim, watching at the mouth of the pass?" + +"He won't stir until he hears from me. He'll set thar, unmoved, with his +rifle ready, waitin' fur the Sioux jest ez ef he expected them to come. +I'll slip back an' tell him to keep on waitin', also what's goin' on in +here." + +"Skip fast then! Look out! That barely missed you! They're sending the +rocks down in showers now." + +The Little Giant, as agile as a greyhound, vanished around the curve, +and Will instinctively crowded himself closely and more closely against +the stone wall while the dangerous bombardment went on. The animals, +their instinct still guiding them, were doing the same, and Boyd's brave +Selim, which was next to him, reached out his head and nuzzled Will's +hand, as if he found strength and protection in the presence of the +human being, who knew so much more about some things than he or his +comrades did. Will responded at once. + +"I don't think they can get us here, Selim, old boy," he said. "The +projection of the wall is slight, but it sends every rock out toward the +center. Now, if you and your comrades will only be intelligent you'll +keep safe." + +He arranged them in a row along the wall, where none would interfere +with the protection of another, and standing with Selim's nose in his +hand, watched the great rocks strike. Luckily at that particular point +the bottom of the defile was soft earth and they sank into it, but +farther up they fell with a crash on a stony floor, and when they did +not split to pieces they bounded and rebounded like ricochetting cannon +balls. + +The Little Giant returned presently, but as yet no damage had been done, +although the bombardment was going on as furiously as ever. + +"They'll keep it up awhile," he said, as he huddled against the wall by +the side of Will. "I knowed they would be up to some trick, but I didn't +think 'bout them bowlders that lay thick on the mounting. They hev got +'nuff ammunition o' that kind to last a year, but arter a while thar +arms will grow tired, an' then they'll grow tired too, o' not knowin' +whether they hit or not. It wears out the best man in the world to keep +on workin' forever an' forever without knowin' whether he's +accomplishin' anything or not. All we've got to do is to hug the wall +an' set tight." + +"Wouldn't it be well, Giant, when the bombardment lets up, to gather +together our own little army and take to flight up the pass?" + +"An' whar would we fetch up?" + +"It's not likely to be a box canyon. I've read that they abound more in +the southern mountains, and are not met with very often here. And even +if the pass itself didn't take us out we might find a cross canyon or a +slope that we could climb." + +"Sounds good, young William. We'll git the hosses an' mules ready, packs +on 'em, and bridles in thar mouths, an' ez soon ez the arms an' sperrits +o' the Sioux git tired, I'll hot foot after Jim, an' then we'll gallop +up the pass." + +The Little Giant's psychology was correct. In a half hour the +bombardment began to decrease in violence, and in ten more minutes it +ceased entirely. Then, according to plan, he ran to the mouth of the +pass and returned with the hunter, who had promptly accepted their plan. +Coaxing forth the reluctant animals, which were still in fear, they set +off up the great defile, passing among the bowlders, some of great size, +which had been tumbled down in search of their heads. + +"Thar's one consolation," said the Little Giant, philosophically, "ef +any o' them big rocks had hit our heads we wouldn't hev been troubled +with wounds. My skull's hard, but it would hev been shattered like an +eggshell." + +"They may begin again," said Boyd, "but by then we ought to be far +away." + +It was a venture largely at random, but the three were agreed that it +must be made. The Sioux undoubtedly would resume the bombardment later +on, and they might also receive reinforcements sufficient to resume the +attack at the mouth of the pass, or at least to keep up there a distant +fire that would prove troublesome. Every motive prompted to farther +flight, and they pushed on as fast as they could, although the bottom of +the defile became rough, sown with bowlders and dangerous to the +fugitives. + +They made no attempt to ride, but led the horses and mules at the ends +of their lariats, all the animals becoming exceedingly wary at the bad +footing. + +"It's a blind canyon after all!" suddenly exclaimed the Little Giant in +deep disgust. "The stream comes down that mountain wall thar, droppin' +from ledge to ledge, an' here we are headed off." + +"Then there's nothing to do," said the hunter, "but choose a good place +among the rocks and fight for our lives when they come." + +Will looked up at the steep and lofty slopes on either side. The one on +the right seemed less steep and lofty than the other, and upon it hung a +short growth of pine and cedar, characteristic of the region. His +spirit, which danger had made bold and venturesome, seized upon an idea. + +"Why not go up the slope on the right?" he asked. + +"It's like the side of a house, only many times as high," said Boyd in +amazement. + +"But it isn't," said the lad. "It merely looks so in the dark. We can +climb it." + +"Of course we could, but we'd have to abandon the horses and mules and +all our packs and stores, and then where would we be?" + +"But we won't have to leave 'em. They can climb too. You know how you +boasted of our horses, and the Giant's horses are mules which can go +anywhere." + +"I believe the boy's right," said the Little Giant. "By our pullin' on +the lariats an' thar takin' advantage o' ev'ry footgrip, they might do +it. Leastways we kin try it." + +"It's a desperate chance," said the hunter, "but I think with you, Tom, +that it's worth trying. Now, boys, make fast the packs to the last +strap, and up we go." + +"Bein' as my hosses are mules," said the Little Giant, "I'll lead the +way, an' you foller, each feller pullin' on two lariats." + +He started up the slope, whistling gayly but low to his mules, and, +after some hesitation, they attacked the ascent, Tom still whistling to +them in his most cheerful and engaging manner. There was a sound of +scrambling feet, and small stones rolled down, but not the mules, which +disappeared from sight among the cedars. + +"Thunderation! I wouldn't have thought it!" exclaimed the hunter, "but I +believe you're right, Will! The mules are climbing the wall. Now, we'll +see if the horses can do it!" + +"Let me start with 'em!" + +"All right! But pull hard on the lariat, whenever you feel one of 'em +slipping." + +Will attacked the steep wall with vigor, but he had to pull very hard +indeed on the lariats before he could make the horses try it. Finally +they made the effort, and, though slipping and sliding at times, they +crept up the slope. Behind him he heard Boyd, coming with the last two +and speaking in encouraging tones to Selim. + +The lariats were a great help, and if Will had not hung on to them so +hard his horses would have fallen. But he was right in his judgment that +the face of the wall was not so steep as it looked. Moreover there were +little shelves and gullies, and the tough clumps of cedar were a +wonderful aid. The horses justified their reputation as climbers, and, +although Will's heart was in his mouth more than once, and his hands and +wrists were cut and bleeding by the pull on the lariats, they did not +fall. Always he heard in front of him the low and cheerful whistling of +the Little Giant, to his mules, which, sure-footed, went on almost +without a slip. + +At last they drew out upon the crest of the slope and the three human +beings and the six animals stood there trembling violently from +exertion, the perspiration pouring from them. + +"My legs are shaking under me," said the hunter. "I'd never have +believed that it could have been done, and I know it couldn't, but here +we are, anyhow." + +"It wuz young William who thought of it, and who dared to speak of it," +said the Little Giant, "an' so it's his win." + +"Right you are, Giant," said the hunter heartily. "When I looked at that +cliff it stood up straight as a wall to me. It was like most other +things, it wasn't as hard when you attacked it as you thought it was, +but I still don't see how we ever got the animals up, and if I didn't +see 'em standing here I wouldn't believe it." + +Will, holding to a cedar, looked into the gulf from which they had +climbed. As more of the stars had gone away he could not now see the +bottom. The great defile had all the aspects of a vast and bottomless +abyss, and he felt that their emergence from it was a marvel, a miracle +in which they had been assisted by some greater power. He was assailed +by a weakness and, trembling, he drew back from the ledge. But neither +the hunter nor the Little Giant had seen his momentary collapse and he +was glad, pardonable though it was. + +"The ground back o' the cliff seems to be pretty well covered with +forest," said the Little Giant, "an' I reckon we'd better stay here a +spell 'til everybody, men an' animals, git rested up a bit." + +"You never spoke truer words, Tom Bent," said Boyd. "I can make out a +fairly level stretch of ground just ahead, and I'll lead the way to it." + +They crouched there. "Crouch" is the only word that describes it, as the +horses and mules themselves sank down through weariness, and their +masters, too, were glad enough to lie on the earth and wait for their +strength to come back. Will's senses, despite his exhaustion, were +nevertheless acute. He heard a heavy, lumbering form shuffling through a +thicket, and he knew that it was an alarmed bear moving from the +vicinity of the intruders. He heard also the light tread of small +animals. + +"I judge from these sounds," said Boyd, "that we must be on a sort of +plateau of some extent. If it was just a knife edge ridge between two +chasms you wouldn't find so many animals here. Maybe we'd better lay by +until day, or until it's light enough to see. In the dark we might +tumble into some place a thousand feet deep." + +"What about the Sioux who were on the heights throwing down the rocks?" +asked Will. "Mightn't they come along the cliff and find us here?" + +"No. The way may be so cut by dips and ravines that it's all but +impassable. The chances are a thousand to one in favor of it, as this is +one of the roughest countries in the world." + +"A thousand to one is good enough for me," said Will, stretching himself +luxuriously on the ground. Presently he saw Boyd and Bent wrapping +themselves in the blankets and he promptly imitated them, as a cold wind +was beginning to blow down from the northwest, a wind that cut, and, at +such a time, a lack of protection from the weather might be fatal. + +The warmth from the blankets pervaded his frame, and with the heat came +the restoration of his nerves. There was also a buoyancy caused by the +escape from the Sioux, and, for the time being at least, he felt a +certain freedom from care. His comrades and the animals did not stir, +and, while not thinking of sleep, he fell asleep just the same. + +He was awakened by a long, fierce shout, much like the howl of hungry +wolves, and full of rage and disappointment. He sat up on his blankets, +and was amazed to hear the two men laughing softly. + +"It's them thar Sioux, Will," said the Little Giant. "They've found out +at last that thar was no outlet at the end o' the pass, an' they've come +up it to the end, jest to run ag'inst a blank wall, an' to find that +we've plum' vanished, flew away, hosses an' mules an' all." + +"But won't they find our trail up the cliff?" + +"No, they won't dream o' sech a thing, but in case they do dream o' it +we'll all three creep to the edge an' set thar with our repeatin' +rifles. A fine time they'd hev climbin' up thar in the face o' three +sharpshooters armed with sech weapons ez ours." + +Will saw at once that their position was well nigh impregnable, at least +against foes in the defile, and he crept with the others to the edge, +not forgetting his invaluable glasses. A lot of the stars had come back +and with the aid of the powerful lenses, he was able to penetrate the +depths of the pass, seeing there at least a score of Sioux in a group, +apparently taking counsel with one another. He could not discern their +faces, and, of course, their words were inaudible at the distance, but +their gestures expressed perplexity. Their savage minds might well +believe that witchcraft had been at work, and he hoped that they had +some such idea. The climbing of the cliff by the animals was an +achievement bordering so closely upon the impossible that even if they +saw traces of the hoofs on the lower slopes they would think the spirits +of the air had come down to help the fugitives. + +"What are they doing, young William?" asked the Little Giant. + +"Nothing that I can see except to talk as if puzzled." + +"I almost wish they would strike our trail and start up the cliff. We +could pick off every one of 'em before they reached the top." + +"I'd rather they went back." + +"That's what they're likely to do, young William. Even if they saw our +trail going up the cliff, they won't follow it. They've had a taste of +our marksmanship, an' they know it would be certain death. It looks to +me ez if they wuz goin' to drift back down the trail." + +"You judge right, Tom. There they go. I wish I could read the expression +on their faces. They must be wild with rage. They're moving a little +faster now, and the sooner they disappear from my sight the better." + +He handed the glasses to the Little Giant, who, after taking a look, +passed them to Boyd. The hunter had the last glimpse of them as they +turned a curve and were hidden by the rocky wall. + +"That settles 'em, for the time, anyway," he said, "and now I think we'd +better see what kind of a country we've come into. You stay here with +the animals, Will, they like you and it's easy for you to keep 'em +quiet, while Giant and me scout about and see the lay of the land." + +Will promptly accepted his part of the task. The horses and mules, +alarmed perhaps by such a wild and lonely situation, and tremulous, too, +from memories of that frightful climb up the cliff, crowded close about +him, while he stroked their noses and manes, and felt himself their +protector. + +The hunter and the Little Giant vanished without noise, and Will waited +a full hour before either returned. But he was not lonesome. The horses +and mules rubbed their noses against him, and in the dark and the +wilderness they made evident their feeling that he was the one who would +guard them. + +The noise of a light footstep sounded and the hunter, who had gone +south, stood before him. + +"It's good news I bring," said Boyd. "We're cut off to the south by a +cliff that no one can climb, and it seems to run away toward the west +for countless miles. The Sioux can't reach us from that direction. Ah, +here is Tom! What has he to say?" + +"What I hev to say is always important," replied the Little Giant, "but +this time its importance is speshul. A couple o' miles to the north a +great transverse pass runs out o' the main one, an' cuts off toward the +west. It's deep an' steep an' I reckon it bars the way thar." + +"That being the case, we're on a peninsula," said Boyd, "and this +peninsula rises in the west toward very high mountains. I can see a +white dome off in that direction." + +"All these facts now bein' diskivered," said the Little Giant, "I think +we've shook off them Sioux fur good, though thar ain't no tellin' when +we'll run afoul another bunch. But we'll take the good things the moment +hez give us, an' look fur what we need, wood, water an' grass." + +"Wood we have all about us," said Will. "Water is bound to be plentiful +in these forested mountains, and we may strike grass by daylight." + +They began an advance, making it very cautious, owing to the extremely +rough nature of the country, and all their caution was needed, as they +had to cross several ravines, and the ground was so broken that a +misstep at any time might have proved serious. In this manner they made +several miles and the general trend of the ground was a rapid ascent. +Toward dawn they came to a brook flowing very fast, and they found its +waters almost as cold as ice. Will judged it to be a glacial stream +issuing from the great white dome, now plainly visible, though far +ahead. + +A short distance beyond the stream they found an open space with grass +for the animals, and very glad, too, they were to reach it, as they were +shaken by their immense exertions and the hard trail in the dark. + +"This valley jest had to be here," said the Little Giant, "'cause we +couldn't hev stood goin' on any more. The hosses an' mules theirselves +are too tired to eat, but they will begin croppin' afore long." + +"And it's so cold up here I think we'd better light a fire and have warm +food," said Boyd. "We can smother the smoke, and anyway it will pay us +to run the risk." + +It was a task soon done, and long before breakfast was finished the +horses and mules were peacefully grazing. Will then took his rifle and +examined the country himself in some detail, going as far as the great +precipice on the south. It was not a gulch or ravine, but the ground +dropped down suddenly three or four hundred feet. Beyond that the forest +extended as before. + +The view to the west was magnificent and majestic beyond description. +Up, up rose the slope, cliff on cliff and the imperial white dome +beyond! That way, too, apparently, they had to go, as they were cut off +by the precipices on all other sides, and at the moment Will felt no +particular sorrow because of it. The gold had taken a second place in +his mind, and with these two wise and brave comrades of his he would +penetrate the great mysteries of the west. The southward turn into the +plains, following the diagram of the map, could wait. + +When he returned to the camp he found the animals still grazing and his +comrades sitting by the fire, which had now burned down to a bed of +coals. + +"I don't see anything for us to do except to go straight on toward the +great snow mountain," he said. + +"That's about the same conclusion that Tom and I have come to," said +Boyd. "We're likely to get up pretty high, where it's winter all the +year 'round, but it's better than running into the hands of the Sioux, +or any of the mountain tribes. I vote, though, that this army of three +spend the rest of the day here, and since storms gather at any time on +these uplands, we'd better build another wickiup." + +"An' make brush shelters for the animals, too," said the Little Giant. + +The wickiup was built and they arranged crude, but nevertheless +excellent, protection for the horses, a precaution that was soon +justified, as it began to rain the following night, and they had +alternating rain, snow and sleet for two days and two nights. The +animals were able to dig enough grass from under the snow for +sustenance, but most of the time they spent in the shelter devised for +them. When the fair weather returned and the snow melted, they left the +second wickiup, resuming the ascent of the mighty slopes. They were all +restored by their rest, and despite the elevation and the wildness they +were able to find plenty of forage for the animals. + +"We've got to be mighty partic'ler with them hosses an' mules," said the +Little Giant, "'cause even ef we should reach the mine without 'em we're +bound to hev 'em to pack out the gold fur us. I expect we'll hev to +ketch an' train 'bout twenty wild hosses, too, ez we'll need 'em fur all +the gold that I'm countin' on findin'. Didn't you say thar was that +much, young William?" + +"I didn't give the exact amount," replied the lad, "nor do I suppose +anyone can tell from surface indications how much gold there is in a +mine, but from the word my father brought we'll need the twenty wild +horses and more." + +"O' course we will. I knowed it afore you said it. I've hunted gold +fifteen to twenty years without findin' a speck, an' so it stands to +reason that when I do find it I'll find a mountain of it." + +Although the slope rose steadily, the ground, for the present, was not +much cut up, and they were able to ride in comfort. Much of the country +was beautiful and parklike. While far below there were endless brown +plains, here were great forests, without much undergrowth, and cold, +clear streams, running down from the vast snowy dome that always loomed +ahead, and that never seemed to come any nearer. + +"How high would you say that peak wuz, young William?" asked the Little +Giant. "You're an eddicated lad, an' I reckon you know 'bout these +things." + +"You give me too much credit," laughed Will in reply. "One has to have +instruments with which to calculate the height of mountains, and I +couldn't do it even if I had the instruments, but I should say from what +I've heard about the country and the tales of explorers that the peak +we're looking at is about 14,000 feet high." + +"I've seen it once before, though from the south," said Boyd, "and I've +also met an exploring geographer kind of fellow who had seen it and who +told me it rose close on to three miles above the sea. Different Indian +tribes have different names for it, but I don't remember any of 'em." + +"I think I'll call it the White Dome," said Will, examining it for the +hundredth time through his glasses. "From here it looks like a round +mountain, though it may have another shape, of course, on the other +three sides. It's a fine mountain and as it's the first time I ever saw +it I'm going to call it my peak. The forest is heavy and green clear up +to the snow line, and beyond that I think I see a vast glacier." + +Two days later they made another stop in a sheltered valley through +which ran a mountain torrent. The hunter and the Little Giant shot two +mule deer and a mountain sheep, and they considered the addition to +their larder very welcome, as they had been making large inroads on +their stores. The weather, too, had grown so cold that they kept a fire +burning both day and night. Far over their heads they heard a bitter +wind of the mountains blowing, and when Will climbed out of the valley +and turned his glasses toward the White Dome he could not see the peak, +it was wrapped around so thoroughly by mists and vapors and falling +snow. + +They built the fire large and high on the second night, and as they sat +around it they held a serious consultation. They feared incessant storms +and blizzards if they rose to still higher levels, and attempted to pass +around on the lofty slopes of the peak. It would, perhaps, be wiser to +follow the torrent, and enter the plains below, braving the dangers of +the Sioux. + +"What good will the gold be to us if we're all froze to death under +fifty feet o' snow?" asked the Little Giant. + +"None at all," replied the hunter, "and it wouldn't be any good to us, +either, if we was to slip down a precipice a thousand feet and fall on +the rocks below." + +Will shivered. + +"I believe I'd rather be frozen to death in Tom's way," he said. + +"Then I vote that in the morning, if the wind dies, we turn down the +gorge and hunt the plains. What say you, Will?" + +"It seems the wise thing to do." + +"And you, Giant?" + +"Me votin' last, the vote is unany-mous, an' I reckon ef we wuz to put +it to the four hosses an' two mules they'd vote jest ez we're votin'. +Tomorrow mornin', bright an' early, we start on our farewell journey +from the mountings." + +They had saved and tanned the skins of three black bears they had slain, +and with big needles and pack thread they had turned them into crude +overcoats with the hair inside. Now when they put them on they found +them serviceable but heavy. At any rate, wrapped in furs they ceased to +shiver, though the wind of the mountains was still exceedingly bitter. + +Fortunately the gorge down which the stream flowed was wide, and, the +descent not being too rapid, they were able to follow it a long time, +though the pace was very slow. At points where the gorge narrowed, they +took to the water, and were compelled to lead the animals with great +care, lest they slip on the bowlders that were thick in the bed of the +stream. + +When night came they were far down the mountain and there had been no +accident, but they were wet to the waist, and as quickly as they could +they kindled a big and roaring fire in the lee of a cliff, careless +whether or not it was seen by enemies. Then they roasted themselves +before it, until every thread of clothing they wore was dry, ate heavily +of their food and drank two or three cups of coffee apiece. + +Only then did Will feel warmed thoroughly. The older men found a fairly +level place with sparse grass for the horses, and then they put out +their fire. They told the lad there was no need to keep a watch, and, +wrapped in his bear overcoat and blankets, he slept in the shadow of the +cliff. But the hunter had seen a trace which he believed to be a human +footprint. When the Little Giant knelt in the dusk and looked at it he +was of the same opinion. + +"It's too faint, Jim," he said, "fur us to tell whether it wuz made by a +white man or a red man." + +"We don't care to meet either. If it's a white man it may be an outlaw, +horse thief or murderer, and that's not the kind of people we want to +join us on this gold hunt. If it's Indians, they're enemies, no matter +to what tribe they belong." + +"An' then, whichever it is, our repeatin' rifles are our best friends." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE OUTLAW + + +When Will awoke the next morning he did not open his eyes at once. The +air was very cold, but he felt so snug in his bearskin and blankets that +he had an immense temptation to turn on his other side and sleep a +little more. Then, hearing the hum of voices he opened his eyes wide and +sat up, seeing, to his great surprise, that the little party in the camp +now numbered four instead of three. + +He stared at the addition, who proved to be a man about thirty, tall and +well built, with dark hair and dark eyes. He, too, carried a fine +repeating rifle, but his dress was incongruous and striking. He wore a +felt hat, broad of brim, with a heavy gilt cord around the crown. A +jacket of dark red velvet with broad brass buttons enclosed his strong +shoulders and body, but his costume was finished off with trousers, +leggings and moccasins of tanned deerskin. Will saw the butt of a pistol +and the hilt of a knife peeping from under the velvet jacket. + +A strange costume, he thought, and, when he looked at the man more +closely, his face also looked strange. It was that of a civilized human +being, of a man who had come from the old, settled eastern regions, and +yet it was not. The eyes, set rather close together, now and then showed +green in the early dawn. Will judged that he was one who had become +habituated to the wilderness, and, as he sat in a graceful attitude on a +great stone, he certainly showed no signs that his surroundings +oppressed him. + +"Mr. Martin Felton, Will," said the hunter. "Mr. Felton, this is Mr. +William Clarke, who is traveling with us." + +Will stood up, the last trace of sleep gone from his eyes, and gazed at +Felton. Perhaps this was a new comrade, turning their band to four, and +strengthening it greatly. But when he glanced at the hunter and the +Little Giant he did not see any great warmth of welcome in their eyes. + +"Traveling, young sir!" said Felton in a lightly ironic tone. "You seem +to prefer paths of peril. I would not say that this is exactly a safe +region for tourists." + +Now Will was quite sure he would be no addition to their party. He liked +neither his tone nor his manner. + +"It's true there is plenty of danger," he replied. "But, as I take it, +there is no more for me than there is for you." + +"The lad has put it very well, Mr. Felton," said the hunter. "However +much we may be seeing the sights in these regions, our risks are no +greater than yours are." + +Felton, seeming not to notice him, continued, looking directly at Will: + +"You're right to ask the question, but I can say in answer that your +dangers are greater than mine. I have no trouble with the Sioux. I don't +think any Indian warrior within a thousand miles of us wants my scalp." + +"It was our information that they had declared war upon all white people +who entered this country. How does it happen that you're immune?" + +Felton smiled, and, in the lad's opinion, it was not a pleasant smile. + +"I've been among the Sioux when they were not at war with us," he +replied. "I've done them some good deeds. I've set a broken bone or two +for them--I've a little surgical skill--and Mahpeyalute, whom we call +Red Cloud, has assured me that no harm will ever be done to me. For that +reason I'm wandering among these mountains and on the plains. I noticed +on one of your horses picks, shovels and other mining implements, and I +thought you might combine gold hunting with sight seeing. I'm something +of a gold hunter myself and it occurred to me that we could combine +forces. I've heard vaguely about a huge gold lead much farther west, and +we four might make a strong party, able to reach it despite the Indian +troubles." + +The lad's heart beat the note of alarm and of hostility. Was it possible +that this man knew anything of his father's great mine? He had to +exchange only a few sentences with him to understand that he was not +wanted as a fourth partner in the venture. + +"Mr. Bent looks for gold casually," he replied, "but our main object is +hunting and exploration. I doubt whether we'd want to take on anything +else, though we thank you for your offer, Mr. Felton." + +Felton did not seem at all disconcerted. He made upon Will the +impression of persistency and of great strength, although the strength +might be for evil. + +"And so you don't think four are better than three," he said. + +"That was not what I implied," replied Will. "What I meant to say was +that our party was made up. Isn't that the way you feel about it, Mr. +Boyd?" + +"My feelings to a T," replied the hunter. + +"And yours, Mr. Bent?" + +"You express my state o' mind to perfection, young William. Mr. Felton +is the finest gentleman we hev met in the mountings since we met that +band o' Sioux, but when a band is made up it's made up." + +"Very well, gentlemen," said Felton, no anger showing in his tone. "I +will not force myself upon anybody, but I'm no egotist, even if I do say +you're the losers. My knowledge of the region and my friendship with the +Sioux would be of great advantage to you, would be of so much advantage, +in fact, that it would make me worth more than a fourth share in all the +gold we might find. But, as I said, I will not stay where I'm not +wanted. Good day!" + +He strode away among the bushes, and for some distance they saw him +descending the side of the mountain, to disappear at last in a forest of +ash. Then the hunter and the Little Giant looked at each other +significantly. + +"We saw a footprint of his last night, Will," said Boyd, "but he came +himself this morning, just at dawn. We can't quite make him out. Why +does he talk of a great mine for which we're looking? Do you think your +father ever mentioned it to anyone else?" + +"Not that I ever heard. It must be only a guess, based on the sight of +the Little Giant's tools. Did you ever see or hear of this man before?" + +"No, but I know he's no friend of ours. There are renegades and +desperadoes in these mountains, who make friends with the Indians, and I +judge he's one of that kind. I'm mighty sorry we've run across him. He +may have a band of his own somewhere, or he may go straight to the Sioux +with news of us." + +"He suspects us of a great gold hunt, so great that we are ready to risk +anything for it. He showed it." + +"So he did, and in my opinion the band, that he almost certainly has, +will undertake to follow us." + +"I didn't like him the first minute I saw him," said the Little Giant. +"The reason why I cannot tell, but I do not like thee, Mr. Felton. +Haven't I heard a rhyme like that somewhere, young William?" + +"Almost like it, Giant, and just like you, the first moment I laid eyes +on him, I disliked him. I think he's a danger, a big danger, and so do +both of you. I can tell it by the way you act. Now, what do you think we +ought to do?" + +"We're not to go down into the plains, that's sure," replied Boyd, +"because then we'd run into Felton and his gang and maybe a band of +Sioux also. There's only one thing open to us." + +"Go back up the mountain?" + +"That and nothing else. Felton will expect us to come on down, but we'll +fool him by going the other way. There's always hiding in rough country +and under the cover of great forests. In my opinion, we've both Indians +and white men now to fight. We must meet their cunning united, and the +nearer we get to Will's White Dome the safer we'll be." + +"An' it's not so bad, after all!" exclaimed the Little Giant. "We'll go +back and climb and climb till neither reds nor whites kin foller us." + +"We'll have to go well above the snow line, and camp there awhile," said +Boyd. "And if we were snowed in for a few weeks it wouldn't hurt, +provided we find a well protected hollow. Then we'd be sure to shake off +all pursuit." + +"Come on, then," said Will, with enthusiasm. "It's the White Dome that +offers us safety." + +"The White Dome it is!" said the Little Giant, with energy. + +They put back the packs and saddles and turned once more into the depths +of the mountains, riding whenever it was possible, but when the way grew +steep, leading the animals at the ends of the lariats. Will was rather +glad, for many reasons, that they had abandoned the journey into the +plains, as the gold mine, for the present at least, seemed scarcely a +reality, and the vast peaks and ridges were far more interesting than +the brown swells below, besides being safer. Moreover, the great White +Dome loomed before him continually, and he had a certain pride in the +thought that they would pass over its towering shoulder. + +"I've been thinkin' mighty hard," said the Little Giant. + +"Does it make your head ache much?" asked the hunter. + +"Not in this case. It hurts sometimes, when I try to think forward, but +not when I try to think back an' remember things. Then I've got +somethin' to go on. I'm tryin' to rec'lect whether I ever met a feller +who wuz ez unpleasant to my feelin's ez that thar Felton." + +"I know I never did," said Will, with emphasis. + +"Me neither," said the hunter. "I don't like men who wear velvet jackets +with big brass buttons on 'em. Now I think the way is going to be pretty +steep for a long distance, and I guess we'll have to walk. Lucky these +horses and mules of ours are having so much experience in climbing +mountains. They go up 'em like goats now." + +Despite the skill of men and beasts as climbers they could not ascend at +any great rate, although Will noticed that both his comrades were eager +to get on. He fancied that the image of Felton was in their minds, just +as it was in his, and the farther they advanced the more sinister became +the memory of the velvet-coated intruder. + +They passed out upon a great projecting, bald rock, where they paused +for many long breaths, and Will, through his glasses, was able to see +the brown plains far below, sweeping away in swell on swell until they +died under a dim horizon. But the distance was so great that he could +make out nothing on their surface. + +Night found them on a ridge, where there was enough grass for the +horses, and trees still grew, though much dwarfed and stunted. They kept +close in the lee of the trees and did not build any fire, although it +was very cold, so cold that the bearskin coats again formed a welcome +addition to the blankets. Boyd said it would be best for them to keep +watch, although little danger was anticipated. Still, they could not be +too cautious, and Will, who insisted on mounting guard in his turn, was +permitted to do so. The Little Giant kept the first watch and Will the +second, beginning about midnight. Giant Tom, who awakened him for it, +went almost instantly to sleep himself, and the lad was left alone. + +He lay upon a rather wide shelf, with his two comrades only a few feet +away, while the horses and mules were back of them, having withdrawn as +much as they could into the stubbly pines and cedars in order to protect +themselves from the cold wind. Will heard one of them stir now and then, +or draw a deep breath like a sigh, but it merely formed an under note in +the steady whistling of the wind, which at that height seemed to have an +edge of ice, making him shiver in all his wrappings. Nevertheless, he +watched as well as one might under such circumstances, feeling himself +but a mote on the side of a great mountain in all the immensity of the +wilderness. + +Surely the hunter was right when he said there was little danger. He did +not know from what point in so much blackness and loneliness could +danger be apprehended, but he believed, nevertheless, that danger was +near. The whistling of the bitter wind seemed to him sinister and +threatening, and yet a wind was only a wind. It must be circumstances +going before that had given it that threat. He knew the mind could be so +prepared by events that it became a sensitive plate, receiving upon its +surface impressions that were, in reality, warnings. + +Stronger and shriller grew the wind, and stronger and shriller was its +warning. He had been lying upon his side with his rifle thrust forward, +and now he sat up. Some unknown sense within him had taken cognizance of +a threatening note. Listening intently he heard only the wind, but the +wind itself seemed always to bear a menace on its front. + +He rose to his knees, and used all his powers of eye and ear. The +animals did not stir, and the hunter and the Little Giant slept in deep +peace. Yet Will's own pulses were beating hard. He began to denounce +himself as one who took alarm because of the darkness and desolation, +but it did not make his pulses grow quiet. + +Still keeping his rifle ready for instant use, he crawled noiselessly +toward the edge of the ledge, which was not more than twenty feet away. +Half the distance, and he stopped suddenly, because his ears had +distinctly brought to him a light sound, as if a pebble had fallen. Will +was not a son of the wilderness by birth, but he was fast becoming one +of its adopted children, making its ways second nature, and, when the +light note of the falling pebble was registered upon his ear, he +flattened himself upon the ground, thrusting forward a little the muzzle +of his rifle. It is doubtful if the keen eyes of a trailing Indian could +have seen him there in the dark as he waited patiently until such time +as a second pebble might fall. + +The second sound did not come, but the sensitive plate that was his mind +registered an impression. Something new and strange appeared upon its +surface, and he felt that it was a hostile figure. At last it detached +itself from the general dusk, darker and almost formless, and resolved +itself into a head, that is a part of a head, from the eyes up. The +eyes, set a little near together, were staring intently at the camp, +trying to separate it into details, and Will, unseen himself, was able +to recognize the eyes and forehead of Felton. He could also trace the +glittering gold band around the crown of the wide-brimmed hat that +surmounted the head, and, if he had felt any doubts before, the yellow +cord would have convinced him that it was the sinister intruder of the +morning. + +He saw one hand steal up over the ledge. The other, holding a revolver, +followed in an instant, and then the lad, knowing in his heart that +treacherous and black murder was intended, threw up his own rifle and +pulled the trigger. He fired practically at random, doubting that the +bullet would hit, but there was the sound of an oath, of scraping feet +and a thud, while the gorges and ravines of the mountain sent back the +crack of the rifle in many echoes. + +The hunter and the Little Giant were awake in a flash, but they did not +spring to their feet. They were far too alert and experienced to expose +themselves in such a manner, but they crawled forward, fully armed, and +lay beside Will. + +"What was it?" whispered Boyd. + +"It was the man of the morning, Felton. He was about to pull himself up +on the cliff. He had a pistol in one hand and he meant to murder us." + +"I didn't see him, but I haven't the slightest doubt you are right. And +of course he had men as black-hearted as himself with him. He wouldn't +have dared such a thing alone. Don't you see it that way, Giant?" + +"Thar's no other way to see it, Jim. Felton is the leader of a band, a +heap wuss than the Sioux, but young William, here, has been smart 'nough +to block his game." + +"That is, it's blocked for the time. He's down there with his band, +waiting for another chance at us. Now, Will, you slip back and see that +the horses and mules are secure, that they can't break their lariats, +when they get scared at the shooting that's going to happen mighty soon. +Keep down on your hands and knees. Don't give 'em a chance to send a +bullet at you in the dark." + +The lad obeyed orders and found the animals now fairly quiet. They had +stamped and reared somewhat at the sound of his shot, but their alarm +had soon subsided. He went among them, stroking their noses and manes, +showing all the power over animals that the hunter and the Little Giant +had soon detected in him, and they signified their gladness at his +presence. While he stroked them he whispered to them gently, speaking +words of courage in their ears, but at the same time, he did not neglect +to see that the lariats were fastened securely. + +Then, confident that the animals would not fall into a panic no matter +what happened, he went back and found that Boyd and Bent were creeping +toward the edge of the cliff. Lying almost flat, he joined them, and the +hunter explained their plan of battle. + +"I take it that they're all on foot," he said, "and even so they can +come only by the path we followed. It's too steep everywhere else for +them to make a rush upon men armed as we are." + +"An' we, hid here on the ledge, may get a chance to pick 'em off," said +the Little Giant. "Look, the night's beginnin' to favor us. More stars +are comin' out, an' it's lighter all along the mountain. Lend me them +glasses o' yourn, young William." + +Will passed them to him, and the man, who was now at the edge of the +ledge, made a very minute examination of the slopes. Then he handed the +glasses back to the lad, and pushed his rifle a little farther forward. +Will, in the increasing light, caught a glimpse of his face, and he was +startled by its look of deadly hate. + +"You've seen one of them?" he said. + +"Yes," replied the Little Giant. "He's a-layin' among the rocks on the +other side o' that deep ravine, too fur away fur any ordinary bullet, +but ef thar's one thing I'm proud of it's my rifle shootin'. I hate to +do it, but they've come here to murder us an' we've got to teach 'em +it's dang'rous business." + +Will, putting the glasses to his own eyes, was able to pick out the man +whom the Little Giant had seen. It was not Felton, but a fellow in +deerskins who crouched in fancied security in a sort of shallow alcove +of the cliff. Will regarded him as one already dead, and his opinion was +only a moment or two before fact, as the Little Giant pulled the trigger +of his great repeating rifle, the mountain burst into many echoes, and +the brigand, rolling from his alcove, fell like a stone into the depths +of the chasm. Will, listening in awe, heard his body strike far below. +Then came a terrible silence, in which his heart beat heavily. + +"It was a great shot, Giant," whispered Boyd, at length, "but you make +no other kind. It wasn't Felton, was it?" + +"No." + +"I didn't think it would be. After Will gave the alarm I knew he'd keep +well out of sight. His kind when they're leaders always do. You've given +'em a hint, Giant, that they can't pass this way, the kind of hint that +means most with brigands." + +"But two hints will be better than one, Jim," said Tom. "I'm thinkin' +they're still down thar 'mong the rocks, hopin' to pick us off when we +ain't watchin'. But we'll be watchin' all the time. In an hour mebbe +we'll get a chance to tell 'em a second time they can't pass, an' then I +think we'd better light out afore day." + +"So do I. Will, take your glasses and keep searching among the rocks." + +The lad, who saw that he could now serve best as the eyes of the little +army of three, picked out every crag and hollow with the glasses, but he +did not find any human beings. A half hour later several shots were +fired from distant points by concealed marksmen, and Will heard the +bullets chipping on the stones, although none of them struck near. +Evidently the rifles had been discharged almost at random. Meanwhile, +the number of stars in the heavens increased and new peaks and ridges +swam into the light. + +Will began another minute examination with the glasses, and he finally +became convinced that he saw a human figure outstretched on a small +shelf. As he looked longer the details became more clear. It was +undoubtedly a man seeking a shot at them. He called the attention of the +Little Giant, who took the glasses himself, gazed a while and then +resumed his rifle. Will saw that look of menace come over his face again +and he also regarded the man on the shelf as already dead. + +The Little Giant pulled the trigger and Will, watching through the +glasses, saw the outlaw quiver convulsively and then lie quite still. +The shelf had become his grave. The lad shivered a little. His lot truly +was cast among wild and terrible scenes. + +"I'm thinking the double hint will be enough," said Boyd. "If Felton is +the man I took him to be when I saw him in the morning, he won't care to +risk his skin too much. Nor can any leader of desperadoes keep on +bringing up his men against shooting like yours, Giant. And I want to +say again, Tom, that you're certainly the greatest marksman in the +world. You're so great that there's no occasion to be modest about it. +It's evident to anybody that you're the best on all this round globe." + +The Little Giant said nothing, but in the dim light Will saw his face +flush with gratification. + +"The stars are still gathering," said the lad, "and every minute there +is more light on the mountains. Suppose we take advantage of Tom's +double hint and make at once for the higher ridges." + +"We can do so," said Boyd. "It's not so dark now that we can't see the +way, and if they still have any notion of besieging us we may be hours +ahead before they discover our absence. Will, you talk a little to the +animals and loose the lariats, while Giant and I watch here. Then we'll +join you and make the start." + +Will was among the horses and mules in an instant, stroking them, +whispering to them, and soothing them. He was also half through with the +task of replacing the packs when Boyd and Bent came. The rest done, they +started up the steep natural trail, fortunately hidden at that point +from any watchers below. Boyd led, picking the way, Will was among the +animals and the Little Giant, with the rifle that never missed, covered +the rear. + +Higher and higher they went, and, when day broke, they were once more in +the scrub pines and cedars, with a cold wind blowing and nipping at +their ears and noses. But Boyd, who went far back on the trail, could +discover no sign of Felton's band, and they concluded to make camp. + +"We've all been tried enough for one night," said Boyd. "Men, horses +and mules alike need fresh breath and new nerves." + +But before they could find a suitable place it began to rain, not a +sweeping storm, but the cold, penetrating drizzle of great heights. Now +their bearskin coats protected them in part, but the animals shivered, +and the way became so slippery that they had to advance on those heights +with exceeding caution and slowness. The rain soon turned to snow, and +then back to rain again, but the happy temperament of the Little Giant +was able to extract consolation from it. + +"Snow and rain together will hide what trace of a trail we may leave," +he said. "Ef this keeps up, Felton and his gang will never be able to +find us again." + +Despite the great dangers of the advance they pushed on upward until +they came to a region that Will believed must be above the clouds. At +least, it was free there from both rain and snow, and below him he saw +such vast areas of mists and vapors that the top of the ridge seemed to +swim in the air. It was now about noon, and, at last, finding a nearly +level place, they sank down upon it, exhausted. + +Nevertheless, the Little Giant was cheerful. + +"I'm clean furgittin' all 'bout that gold," he said, "my time now bein' +devoted mostly to foot races, tryin' to beat out Indians, outlaws an' +all sorts o' desprit characters, in which I hev been successful so fur. +My real trade jest now is that o' runner an' mounting climber, an' I +expect to git a gold medal fur the same." + +He began to whistle in the most wonderful, birdlike fashion, a clear, +sweet volume of sound, one popular air of the time following another, +every one delivered in such perfect fashion that Will forgot the wet and +the cold in the pleasure of listening. + +"Now," said Boyd, "there's nothing for it but to start a fire, even +though it may show where we are. But we have an advantage in being above +the clouds and mists. Then, if the outlaws come we can see 'em coming, +though I think our trail is wholly lost to 'em." + +Skilled as the two men were in building fires, they had a hard task now, +as the wood, besides being scarce, was thoroughly soaked with wet, but +they persisted, using flint and steel in order to save their matches. +Just when a little blaze began to show signs of living and growing, +Will, in his search for fallen and dead wood, turned into a narrow way +that led among lofty rocks. It was wet and slippery and he followed it a +full hundred yards, but seeing that it was going to end in a deep recess +or cavern he turned back. He had just started the other way when he +heard a fierce growling sound behind him and the beat of heavy feet. +Whirling about he saw an enormous beast charging down upon him. It would +scarcely be correct to say that he saw, instead he had a blurred vision +of a huge, shaggy form, red eyes, a vast red mouth, armed with teeth of +amazing length and thickness, and claws of glistening steel, huge and +formidable. Everything was magnified, exaggerated and infinitely +terrible. + +The lad knew that it was a grizzly bear, roused from its lair, and +charging directly upon him. He shouted an alarm, fired once, twice and +thrice with the repeating rifle, but the bear came on as fiercely as +ever. He felt, or imagined he felt, its hot breath upon him, and leaping +aside he scrambled up the rocks for dear life. The bear ran on, and +settling himself in place he fired at it twice more. The hunter and the +Little Giant, who appeared at the head of the pass, also gave it two +bullets apiece, and then the monster toppled over not far from their +fire, and after panting a little, lay still. + +The Little Giant surveyed the great beast with wonder. + +"The biggest I ever saw," he said, "an' it took nine bullets to bring +him down, provided you hit him ev'ry time you fired, young William. Ef +this is what you're goin' to bring on us whenever you leave the camp I +'low you'd better stick close to the fire." + +"He came out of a cavern at the end of the little ravine," said the lad. +"Of course, when I went visiting up that way I didn't know he had a home +there." + +"It 'pears that he did have a home thar, an' that he was at home, too. +Now, I 'low you'd better talk a little to your friends, the hosses and +mules. They're pow-ful stirred up over the stranger you've brought 'mong +us. Hear 'em neighin' an' chargin'." + +Will went among the animals, but it took him a long time to soothe them. +To them the grizzly bear smell was so strong and it was so strongly +suffused with danger that they still panted and moved uneasily after he +left them. + +"Now, what are you goin' to do with him?" asked the Little Giant, +looking at the huge form. "We ain't b'ar huntin' on this trip, but it +'pears a shame to leave a skin like that fur the wolves to t'ar to +pieces. We may need it later." + +"We don't have to leave it," said Boyd. "A big bearskin weighs a lot, +but one of the horses will be able to carry it." + +He and the Little Giant, using their strong hunting knives, took off the +great skin with amazing dexterity, and then hung it on a stout bough to +dry. As they turned away from their task and left the body of the bear, +they heard the rush of feet and long, slinking forms appeared in the +narrow pass where the denuded body of the monster lay. + +"The mountain wolves," said the Little Giant. "It's not likely that +they've had such a feast in a long time. I'd like to send a bullet among +'em, but it's no use. Besides, they're actin' 'cordin' to their lights. +The Lord made 'em eaters o' other creeturs, an' eat they must to live." + +Will heard the fierce snarling and growling as the wolves fought for +places at the body of the bear, and, although he knew as the Little +Giant had said, that they were only obeying the call of nature, he could +not repress a shudder at the eagerness and ferocity in their voices. +Once, he climbed a high rock and looked down at them. They were mountain +wolves of the largest and most dangerous kind, some reaching a length of +seven feet. He watched them with a sort of fascinated awe, and long +after he left the rock he still heard the growling. When it ceased he +went back to his perch again and saw only the great skeleton of the +bear, picked clean, and the last wolf gone. + +That afternoon the two men took down the vast skin of the grizzly and +scraped it with their hunting knives, working on it a long time, and +also admiring the length and luxuriance of the hair. + +"It shows that this big fellow lived high upon the mountains where +there's lots of cold," said Boyd. "Why, this is really fur, not hair. +Maybe he never saw a human being before, and being king of all his range +he couldn't have dreamed that he would have been killed by something +flying through the air, and that his body would find a scattered grave +in the stomachs of wolves." + +"Ef the worst comes to the worst, an' it grows too awful cold," said the +Little Giant, "this will make a splendid sleeping robe, big enough fur +all three of us at the same time." + +They kept their fire going all day and all night, and they also +maintained a continuous watch, the three taking turns. More snow fell +and then melted, and they were glad that it was so, as they felt that +the trail was now hidden completely. They also kept down the blaze from +their fire, a great bed of coals now having formed, and, as they were in +a bowl, the glow from it could not be seen more than ten or fifteen +yards away. + +At dawn they set out again under cloudy skies with a raw, cold wind +always blowing, and advanced slowly, owing to the steep and dangerous +nature of the way. Once more they replenished their larder with mountain +sheep and mule deer, and packed upon the horses all they could carry. +The hunter and the Little Giant agreed now that the sky was ominous, and +they had more to fear from it than from pursuit by either Indians or +Felton's outlaws. + +"I tell you, Jim, an' you too, young William," said the Little Giant, +"that we'd better do what would have been done by the big grizzly that's +now runnin' in the stomachs o' mounting wolves." + +"What's that?" asked Will. + +"Hole up! When you can't do anythin' else hole up an' wait 'til the +skies clear." + +"That would be simple," said Boyd, "if only we three human beings had to +hole up, but while we might drive the horses and mules into a cave +shelter they'd have nothing to eat." + +"What you want to do, Jim Boyd, is to cultivate hope. I won't say you're +a grouchy man, 'cause you ain't, but mighty few men are hopeful enough. +Now, I want you to hope that we'll not only find a cave shelter for the +beasts, but water an' grass fur 'em." + +"Well, I hope it." + +"That bein' the case, I want to tell you that I've been ahead a little, +an' the ground begins to slope off fast. I think we'll soon strike a +canyon or valley a few miles deep, more or less. That canyon or valley +will hev water in it, an' bein' so sheltered it's bound to hev grass, +too. What more could you ask? Thar we'll stay till times grow better." + +"You've arranged it all mighty well in your mind." + +"An' that bein' the case, let's go on, an' see ef I hevn't arranged it +right." + +The Little Giant soon proved that he had read the mountain signs aright, +as they came to a great descent, the steep walls enclosing a valley of +vast depth. Far down Will was able to see the glimmer of a little lake +and the green of grass. + +"It's our home for a spell," said Boyd. "You were right, Giant. You're +the only prophet I've ever known." + +"You'd do a heap better, Jim Boyd, ef you'd pay more attention. I told +you awhile ago to cheer up an' you cheered, then I told you we'd find a +nice home-like valley, an' here it is, a couple o' thousan' feet deep, +an' with water an' grass, ez young William's glasses tell us, an' with +cave shelter, too, ez my feelin's ez a prophet tell me." + +The hunter laughed, and the Little Giant burst into a flood of cheerful, +whistling song. In his optimistic mind all affairs were already arranged +to the satisfaction of everybody. Nevertheless, it took them a long time +to find a way by which the horses could descend, and it required their +utmost skill to prevent falls. When they finally stood upon the floor of +the valley, animals and human beings alike were weak from nervous +strain, and the Little Giant, wiping his perspiring brow, said: + +"We're here, but lookin' back I kin hardly see how we ever got here." + +"But being here," said Boyd, "we'll now scout around and find the fine +house that you as a prophet have promised to us." + +The three, agreeing, began at once the task. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE BEAVER HUNTER + + +It was perhaps fortunate for the explorers and fur hunters that the +great mountains of northwestern America abounded in swift, clear streams +and little lakes, many of the lakes being set at a great height in tiny +valleys, enclosed by forests and lofty cliffs. There was no dying of +thirst, and about the water they always found the beaver. Wood, too, was +sure to be plentiful and, in the fierce cold of the northwestern winters +they needed much of it. If the valleys were not visited for a long +period, and often the Indians themselves did not come to them in years, +elk and other game, large and small, made a home there. + +It was into one of these most striking nooks that the three had now +come. They had been in a valley of the same type before, but this was +far deeper and far bolder. There were several acres of good grass, on +which the horses and mules might find forage, even under the snow, and +the lake, two or three acres in extent, was sure to contain fish good +for eating. + +But the two men examined with the most care the rocky, western cliff, +weathered and honeycombed by the storms of a thousand centuries. As +they had expected, they found great cave-like openings at its base, and +after much hunting they decided upon one running back about fifty feet, +with a width half as great, and a roof varying from seven to twenty feet +in height. The floor, fairly level, sloped rather sharply toward the +doorway, which would protect them against floods from melting snows. The +interior could be fitted up in a considerable degree of comfort with the +material from their packs and furs they might take. + +They found about fifty yards away another, though shallower, cavern +which Will, with his gift for dealing with animals, could induce the +horses and mules to use in bad weather. He proved his competency for the +task a few hours after their arrival by leading them into it, tolling +them on with wisps of fresh grass. + +"That settles it so far as they are concerned," said Boyd, "and we had +to think of them first. If we're snowed in here it's of the last +importance to us to save our animals." + +"An' we're goin' to be snowed in, I think," said the Little Giant, +looking at the sombre heavens. "How high up did you say we wuz here, +young William, ten miles above the level o' the sea?" + +"Not ten miles, but we're certainly high, high enough for it to be +winter here any time it feels like it. Now I'm going to rake and scrape +as many old dead leaves as I can find into the new stone stable. The +floor is pretty rough in places, and we don't want any of our beasts to +break a leg there." + +"All right, you set to work on it," said Boyd, "and Giant and me will +labor on our own house." + +Will toiled all the day on the new stable, and he enjoyed the homely +work. Sometimes he filled in the deeper places in the floor with chunks +of dead wood and then heaped the leaves on top. When it was finished it +was all in such condition that the animals could occupy it without +danger, and he also set up a thick hedge of boughs about the entrance, +allowing only four or five feet for the doorway. Even if the snow should +be driving hard in that direction the animals would yet be protected. +Then he led them inside and barred them there for the night. + +He was so much absorbed in his own task that he paid small heed to that +of the men, but he was enthusiastic when he took a little rest. They had +unpacked everything, and had put all the extra weapons and ammunition on +shelves in the stone. They had made three wooden stools and they had +smoothed a good place for cooking near the entrance, whence the smoke +could pass out. They had also cut great quantities of firewood which +they had stored along the sides of the cavern. + +About nightfall the hunter shot an elk on the northern slope, and all +three worked far into the night at the task of cleaning and cutting up +the body, resolving to save every edible part for needs which might be +long. All of it was stored in the cavern or on the boughs of trees, and +leaving the horses to graze at their leisure on the grassy acres they +lay down on their blankets in the cavern and slept the sleep of the +little death, that is the sleep of exhaustion, without a dream or a +waking moment. + +Will did not awake until the sun of dawn was shining in the cavern, +although it was at its best a somewhat obscure sun, and the dawn itself +was full of chill. When he went outside he found that heavy clouds were +floating above the mountains and masses of vapor hung low over the +valley, almost hiding the forest, which was thickest at the northern end +and the lake which cuddled against the western side. + +"I look for a mighty storm, maybe a great snow," said Boyd. "All the +signs are here, but it may hang about for several days before coming, +and the more time is left before it hits the better for us. It was big +luck for us to find so deep a valley just when we did. Now, Will, +suppose you take the beasts out to pasture and by the time you get back +Giant and me will have breakfast ready." + +Will found the horses and mules quite comfortable in the new stable and +they welcomed him with neighs and whinnies and other sounds, the best of +which their vocal cords were capable. The friendship that he had +established with them was wonderful. As the Little Giant truly said, he +could have been a brilliant success as an animal trainer. Perhaps they +divined the great sympathy and kindness he felt for them, or he had a +way of showing it given to only a few mortals. Whatever it may have +been, they began to rub their noses against him, the big horse, Selim, +finally thrusting his head under his arm, while the mules proudly +marched on either side of him as he led the way down to the pasture. + +"Ain't it wonderful," said the Little Giant, who saw them from the mouth +of the cavern where he and Boyd were cooking, "the way the boy has with +animals? My mules like me, but I know they'd leave me any minute at a +whistle from young William, an' follow him wherever he went." + +"Same way with that horse of mine, Selim. He'd throw me over right away +for Will. He's a good lad, with a clean soul and a pure heart, and maybe +the animals, having gifts that we don't have, to make up for gifts that +we have and they haven't, can look straight into 'em. Do you think, +Giant, that Felton could have had a line on our mine?" + +"What's your drift, Jim?" + +"Could he have been out here somewhere when the Captain, Will's father, +found it, and have got some hint about its discovery? Maybe he guesses +that Will's got a map, and that's what he's after. He wouldn't have +followed us at such terrible risks, unless he had a mighty big motive." + +"That's good reasonin', Jim, an' I think thar's somethin' in your +notion. Ef it's so, Felton will hang on to the chase o' us ez long ez +he's livin', an' fur the present, with Sioux on one side o' us an' +outlaws on the other, I'm mighty glad we're hid away here in so deep a +cut in the mountings." + +"So am I, Giant. I think that coffee is boiling now. Call the lad." + +"Young William! Young William!" cried the Little Giant. "Don't you dare +to keep breakfus' waitin' the fust mornin' we've moved into our new +home." + +After breakfast Will and Bent worked on the cavern, while Boyd went +hunting on the slopes. They cut many poles and made a palisade at the +entrance to the great hollow, leaving a doorway only about two feet +wide, over which they could hang the big bearskin in case heavy wind, +rain or snow came. Then they packed the whole floor of the cavern with +dry leaves, making a kind of matting, over which they intended to spread +furs or skins as they obtained them. + +"Caves are cold when left to theirselves," said the Little Giant, "an' +it's lucky thar's a good nateral place fur our fire jest beside the +door. We'll have lots o' meat in here, too, 'cause Jim's a fine hunter +an' the valley is full o' game. Thar must be a lot o' grizzly bears +roun' in these mountings, too, Young William. Wouldn't it be funny ef we +went out some day an' come back to find our new house occupied by a +whole family o' fightin' grizzlies, every one o' them with iron claws, +ten inches long?" + +"No, it wouldn't be funny, Giant, it would be tragic." + +"Ef you jest knew it, Young William, we're mighty well off. Many a +trappin' outfit hez been froze in in the mountings, in quarters not half +so good ez ours." + +Boyd shot another elk and smaller deer, and on the next day secured more +game, which they cured, concluding now that they had enough to last them +indefinitely. Will and the Little Giant, meanwhile, had been working on +the house, and Boyd, his hunting over, joined them. The cured skins of +the animals were put over the leaf thatch of the floor as they had +planned, and as they procured them they intended to hang more on the +walls, for the sake of dryness and warmth. + +Although the clouds threatened continuously the storm still held off. +They expected every morning to wake up and find the snow drifting, but +the sun always showed, although dim and obscured by vapors. Will still +led the horses and mules down to the grass every morning, and, every +night, led them back to the new stone stable. The valley began to wear +the aspect of home, of a home by no means uncomfortable, but on the +sixth night there Will was awakened by something cold and wet striking +upon his face. He went to the door, looked out and saw that the snow +they had been expecting so long had come at last. It was thick, driving +hard, and for the first time he hung in place the great bearskin, +securing it tightly with the fastenings they had arranged and then went +back to sleep. + +He was the first to awake the next morning, and pushing aside the +bearskin, he looked out to see snow still falling and apparently a good +six inches in depth already. + +"Wake up, Jim, and you, too, Giant!" he called. "Here's our storm at +last, and lucky it is that we're holed up so well." + +Boyd joined him. The snow was so dense that they could not see across +the valley, but it was not driving now, merely floating down lazily and +persistently. + +"That means it will come for a long time," said Boyd. "Snow clouds are +like men. If they begin to pour out their energy in vast quantities +they're soon exhausted, but if they work in deliberate fashion they do +much more. I take it that this snow won't stop today, nor maybe tonight, +nor the next day either." + +"We can stand it," said Will. "We're well housed up and we're safe from +invasion. If you and Tom will get breakfast I'll feed the horses and +mules." + +They had employed a large part of the time cutting the thick grass with +their hunting knives, and it was now stored in the stable in a +considerable quantity, out of the reach of the longest neck among the +horses and mules. They were responsive as usual when he came among them, +and nuzzled him, because they liked him and because they knew he was the +provider of food, that is, he was in effect a god to them. + +Will talked to the animals and gave to every one his portion of hay, +watching them with pleasure as they ate it, and returned thanks in their +own way. When he made his way back through the snow, breakfast was ready +and, although they were sparing with the coffee and bread, every one +could have all the meat he wished. + +"Now, there'll be nothing for us to do but sit around the house," said +Boyd, the breakfast over. + +"Which means that I kin put in a lot o' my spare time readin'," said the +Little Giant. "Young William, bring me my Shakespeare! What, you say I +furgot to put it in my pack! Well, then bring me my copy o' the +Declaration o' Independence. I always like them words in it, 'Give me +lib'ty or give me death!' '_Sic semper tyrannis!_'" + +"'Give me liberty or give me death' is not in the Declaration of +Independence, Giant. Those words were used by Patrick Henry in an +address." + +"Well, they ought to hev been thar, an' ef Patrick Henry hadn't been so +fresh an' used 'em first they would a-been. But you can't go back on +'_sic semper tyrannis!_'" + +"They couldn't possibly be in the declaration, Giant, because they're +Latin." + +"I reckon the signers o' the Declaration wuz good enough to write Latin +an' talk it, too, ef they wanted to." + +"They were used eighteen or nineteen hundred years ago by a Roman." + +"I guess that's one advantage o' livin' early. You kin git the fust +chance at what's best. Anyway, they did say a lot o' rousin' things in +the Declaration, though I don't remember exactly what they wuz. But I +see I won't hev no chance to git on with my lit'ry pursuits, so I think +I'll jest do chores about the house inside." + +He went to work in the best of spirits. Will had seldom seen a happier +man. He fixed shelves in the stone, arranged the materials from their +packs, and all the time he whistled airs, until the cavern seemed to be +filled with the singing of nightingales, mocking birds and skylarks. +Will and Boyd began to help him, though Will stopped at times to look +out. + +On every occasion he reported that the snow was still drifting down in a +steady, thick, white stream, and that he could not see more than thirty +or forty yards from the door. About eleven o'clock in the morning, when +he pulled the bearskin aside for perhaps the sixth time, he heard a +sound which at first he took to be the distant moan of the wind through +a gorge. But he had not heard it on his previous visits, although the +wind had been blowing all the morning, and he stood there a little +while, listening. As he did not hear it again just yet, he thought his +fancy had deceived him, but in a minute or so the sound came once more. +It was a weird note, carrying far, but he seemed to detect a human +quality in it. And yet what human being could be out there in that lone +mountain valley in the wild snow storm? It seemed impossible, but when +he heard it a third time the human quality seemed stronger. He beckoned +to the hunter and Little Giant. + +"Come here," he said, "and tell me if my imagination is playing tricks +with me. It seems to me that I've heard a human voice in the storm." + +The two came to the doorway and, standing beside him, listened. Once +more Will discerned that note and he turned an inquiring face to them. + +"There!" he exclaimed. "Did you hear it? It sounded to me like a man's +voice!" + +Neither Boyd nor Bent replied until the call came once more and then +Boyd said: + +"It's not your imagination, Will. It's a man out there in the snow, and +he's shouting for help. Why he should expect anybody to come to his aid +in a place like this is more'n I can understand." + +"He's drawin' nearer," said the Little Giant. "I kin make out the word +'hello' said over an' over ag'in. Maybe Felton's band has wandered on a +long chase into our valley, an' it's some o' them lost from the others +in the storm, callin' to em." + +"Like as not," said the hunter. "The snow has covered up most of the +traces and trails we've left, and anyway they couldn't rush this cavern +in the face of our rifles." + +"It's no member of Felton's gang," said Will, with great emphasis. + +"How do you know that?" asked Boyd in surprise. + +"I can scarcely tell. Instinct, I suppose. It doesn't sound like the +voice of an outlaw, though I don't know how I know that, either. Hark, +he's coming much nearer! I've an idea the man's alone." + +"In the storm," said the Little Giant, "he's likely to pass by the +cavern, same ez ef it wuzn't here." + +"But we mustn't let him do that," exclaimed Will. "I tell you it's a +friend coming! a man we want! Besides, it's no Indian! It's a white +man's voice, and we couldn't let him wander around and perish in a +wilderness storm!" + +The hunter and the Little Giant glanced at each other. + +"A feller that kin talk with hosses an' mules, an' hev the toughest mule +eat out o' his hand the fust time he ever saw him may be able to tell +more about a voice in the wilderness than we kin," said the Little +Giant. + +"I don't believe you're wrong," said the hunter with equal conviction. + +Will threw aside the bearskin and dashed out. The two men followed, +their rifles under their fur coats, where they were protected from the +storm. The voice could now be heard very plainly calling, and Boyd and +Bent were quite sure also that it was not one of Felton's band. It +truly sounded like the voice of an honest man crying aloud in the +wilderness. + +Will still led the way and, as he approached, he gave a long, clear +shout, to which the owner of the voice replied instantly, not a hundred +yards away. Then the three pressed forward and they saw the figure of a +man, exaggerated and gigantic in the falling snow. Behind him stood +three horses, loaded heavily but drooping and apparently almost frozen. +He gave a cry of joy when the three drew near, and said: + +"I called upon the Lord when all seemed lost, but I did not call in +vain." + +He was tall, clothed wholly in deerskin, and with a fur cap upon his +head. His figure was one of great strength, but it was bent somewhat now +with weariness. The Little Giant uttered an exclamation. + +"By all that's wonderful, it's Steve Brady!" he said. "Steve Brady, the +seeker after the lost beaver horde!" + +The man extended a hand, clothed in a deerskin gauntlet. + +"And it's you, Tom Bent, the Little Giant," he said. "I surely did not +dream that when you and I met again it would be in such a place as this. +Providence moves in a mysterious way its wonders to perform, and it's a +good thing for us it does, or I'd have frozen or starved to death in +this valley. That quotation may not be strictly correct, but I mean +well." + +The Little Giant seized his hand and shook it violently. It was evident +that the stranger was one whom he admired and liked. + +"Ef we'd knowed it wuz you callin', Steve Brady," he said, "we'd hev +come sooner. But hev you found that huge beaver colony you say is +somewhar in the northwestern mountings, the biggest colony the world hez +ever knowed?" + +"I have not, Tom Bent. 'Search and ye shall find' says the Book, and I +have searched years and years, but I have never found. If I had found, +you would not see me here in this valley, a frozen man with three frozen +horses, and I ask you, Tom Bent, if you have ever yet discovered a +particle of the gold for which you've been looking all the years since +you were a boy." + +"Not a speck, Steve, not a speck of it. If I had I wouldn't be here. I'd +be in old St. Looey, the grandest city in the world, stoppin' in the +finest room at the Planters' House, an' tilted back in a rockin' chair +pickin' my teeth with a gold tooth pick, after hevin' et a dinner that +cost a hull five dollars. But you come into our house, Steve, an' warm +up an' eat hot food, while Young William, here, takes your hosses to the +stable, an' quite a good hoss boy is young William, too." + +"House! Fire! Food! Stable! What do you mean?" + +"Jest what I say. These are my friends, Thomas Boyd and William Clarke, +young William. Boys, this is Stephen Brady, who has been a fur hunter +all his life but who hasn't been findin' much o' late. Come on, Steve." + +Will took the three horses and led them to the stable, into which he +pushed them without much trouble, and where they received a fair +welcome. He also threw them a quantity of the hay, and then he ran back +to the house, where Boyd and Bent were rapidly fanning the coals into a +blaze and were warming food. Brady's outer garments were steaming before +the fire, and he was sitting on a stone outcrop, a look of solemn +satisfaction on his face. + +"It is truly a habitation in the wilderness," he said, "and friends the +best and bravest in the world. It is more, far more, than I, a lone fur +hunter, had a right to expect. Truly it is more than any humble mortal +such as I had a right to hope for. But as the sun stood still over +Gibeon, and as the moon stood still over the vale of Ajalon at the +command of Joshua, so the wilderness and the storm opened at the command +of the Lord, and disclosed to me those who would save me." + +There was nothing of the unctuously pious about his tone and manner, +instead it was sternly enthusiastic, full of courage and devotion. He +made to Will a mental picture of one of Cromwell's Ironsides, or of the +early New England Puritans, and his Biblical language and allusions +heightened the impression. The lad felt instinctively that he was a +strong man, great in the strength of body, mind and spirit. + +"Take another slice o' the elk steak, Steve," said the hospitable Little +Giant, who was broiling them over coals. "You've et only six, an' a man +o' your build an' hunger ought to eat at least twelve. We've got plenty +of it, you won't exhaust the supply, never fear. An' take another cup o' +coffee; it will warm your insides right down to your toes. I'm mighty +glad to see you, an' young William's mighty glad to see you." + +"You couldn't have been as glad to see me as I was to see you," said +Brady with a solemn smile. "Truly it seems that one may be saved when +apparently his last hour has come, if he will only hope and persist. It +may be that you will yet find your gold, Thomas Bent, that you, James +Boyd and William Clarke, will find whatever you seek, though I know not +what it is, nor ask to know, and that I, too, will find some day the +great beaver colony of which I have dreamed, a colony ten times as large +as any other ever seen even in these mountains." + +Boyd and Bent exchanged glances, but said nothing. It was evident that +they had the same thought and Will's quick and active mind leaped up +too. In their great quest they needed at least another man, a man +honest, brave and resourceful, and such a man in the emergency was +beyond price. But for the present they said nothing. + +"Thar's one thing I'd like fur you to explain to me, Steve," said the +Little Giant, who was enjoying the hospitality he gave, "why wuz you +callin' so much through the storm? Wuz it jest a faint hope, one chance +in a million that trappers might be here in the valley?" + +"No, Thomas, it was not a hope. A sign was vouchsafed to me. When I knew +the storm was coming I started for this valley, which I visited once, +years ago, and, although the snow caught me before I could reach it, I +managed, owing to my former knowledge, to get down the slope without +losing any of my horses. Then in the valley I saw saplings cut freshly +by the axe, cut so recently in truth that I knew the wielders of the +steel must still be here, and in all likelihood were white men. Strong +in that faith I called aloud and you answered, but I did not dream that +one whom I knew long ago, and one, moreover, whom I knew to be honest +and true, was here. It is a lesson to us that hope should never be +wholly lost." + +All were silent for a little space, feeling deeply the truth of the +man's words and manner, and then, when Brady finished his last elk steak +and his last cup of coffee, Boyd said: + +"I think, Mr. Brady, that you've had a terrible time and that you need +sleep. You can roll in dry blankets in the corner there, and we'll +arrange your packs for you. Will reports that your animals have made +friends with ours, as you and we have surely made friends, and there's +nothing left for you now but to take a big sleep." + +"That I'll surely do," said Brady, smiling a solemn smile, "but first +promise me one thing." + +"What is that?" + +"Don't call me Mr. Brady. It doesn't sound right coming from men of my +own age. To you I'm Steve, just as I am to our friend Thomas." + +"All right, Steve, but into the blankets with you. Even a fur hunter can +catch pneumonia, if he's just bent on doing it." + +Brady rolled himself in the blankets and soon slept. The hunter, the +Little Giant and Will drew to the other side of the cavern, and before a +word was spoken every one of the three was conscious of what was in the +minds of the others. Will was the first to speak. + +"He's the man," he said. + +"We shorely need him," said the Little Giant. + +"I don't think we could do better," said Boyd. + +"It's luck, big luck, that we found him or he found us," continued the +Little Giant. "When these solemn, prayin' men are real, they're real all +over. He's as brave as a lion, he'll hang on like a grizzly bear, an' +he's as honest as they ever make 'em. He's a fightin' man from start to +finish. From what you say thar must be more'n a million in that mine, +an' in huntin' fur it an' keepin' it after we find it, Steve Brady is +wuth at least a quarter o' a million to us." + +"All of that," said the hunter. "But the mine really belongs to Will, +here, and it's for him to bring in a new partner." + +"It belongs to us all now," said the lad, "though I'll admit I was the +original owner. I think Mr. Brady will just round out our band. I'm for +offering him a full partnership." + +"Then you do the talkin'," said the Little Giant. "It's right that it +should come from you." + +When Brady awoke many hours later three very serious faces confronted +him, and his acute mind saw at once that he was about to receive a +communication of weight. + +"It looks like a committee," he said with solemn importance. "Who is the +spokesman?" + +"I am," replied Will, "and what we have to say to you is really of +importance, of vast importance. Mr. Bent has been looking many years +for gold, but has never yet found a grain of it. Now he has given up his +independent search, and is joining with Mr. Boyd and me in a far bigger +hunt. You've been looking eight or ten years, you say, for the gigantic +beaver colony, but have never found it. Now we want you to give up that +hunt for the time, and join us, because we need you much." + +"Your words have an earnest sound, young man, and I know that you and +your comrades are honest, but I do not take your full meaning." + +"It is this," said Will, and he produced from his secret pocket the +precious map. "My father, who was a captain in the army, found a great +mine of gold, but before he could work it, or even make any preparations +to do so, he was called for the Civil War, in which he fell. But he left +this map that tells me how to reach it somewhere in the vast +northwestern mountains. To locate it and get out the treasure I need +fighting men, the best fighting men the world can furnish, wilderness +fighters, patient, enduring and full of knowledge. I have two such in +Mr. Boyd and Mr. Bent, but we need just one more, and we have agreed +that you should be the fourth, if you will favor us by entering into the +partnership. It is full of danger, as you know. We have already had a +fight with the Sioux, and another with a band of outlaws, led by Martin +Felton." + +A spark leaped up in the stern eye of Stephen Brady. + +"I am a fur hunter," he said, "though there is little prospect of +success for me now, owing to the Indian wars, but I have spent all my +manhood years among dangers. Perhaps I should feel lonely if they were +absent, and you may dismiss that idea." + +"I thought so. Will you enter into full partnership with us in this +great enterprise? Mr. Bent has appraised your full value as a fighting +man in this crisis at a quarter of a million dollars, and we know that +the mine contains at least a million. I beg you not to refuse. We need +your strong arm and great heart. You will be conferring the favor upon +us." + +"And the vast beaver colony that I'm going to find some day?" + +"It can wait. It will be there after we get out the gold." + +"And you are in full agreement with this, James Boyd?" + +"I am." + +"And you are in full agreement with this, too, Thomas Bent?" + +"I am." + +"Then I accept. A quarter of a million dollars is a great sum. I +scarcely thought there was so much money in the world, but one may do +much with it. I am already forming certain plans in my mind. Will you +let me take another and thorough look at your map, William?" + +He studied it long and attentively, and then as he handed it back to the +owner, he said: + +"It will be a long journey, as you have said, full of dangers, but I +think I am not boasting when I say we be four who know how to meet +hardship and peril. I make the prediction that after unparalleled +dangers we will find the mine. Yet a quarter of a million is too vast a +sum for my services. I could not accept such an amount. Make it about +ten thousand dollars." + +Will laughed. + +"You must bear in mind, Mr. Brady," he said, "that we haven't all this +gold yet, and it will be a long time before we do get it. We're all to +be comrades and full partners, and you must be on exactly the same terms +as the others. We've probably saved your life, and we demand, therefore, +that you accept. Standing squarely on our rights, we'll take no +refusal." + +The stern eyes of Brady gleamed. + +"Since you give me no choice, I accept," he said. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE MOUNTAIN RAM + + +It snowed for two days and two nights without ceasing, and then turned +so cold that the snow froze over, a covering like glass forming upon it. +Will broke a way to the stable, where he talked to the animals and fed +them with the hay which had been cut with forethought. With the help of +the others he also opened a path down to a little stream flowing into +the lake, where the horses and mules were able to obtain water, spending +the rest of the time in the cavern. + +The men usually had a small fire and they passed the time while they +were snowed in in jerking more meat, repairing their clothes and doing a +hundred other things that would be of service later on. Brady stored his +traps in a remote corner of the cavern, hiding them so artfully that it +was not likely anyone save the four would ever find them. + +"I shall have no further use for them for a long time," he said, "but +after we reach our gold I mean to return here and get them." + +Will, who noticed his grammatical and good English, rather unusual on +the border, asked him how he came to be a fur hunter. + +"Drift," he replied. "You would not think it, but it was my original +intention to become a schoolmaster. An excursion into the west made me +fall in love with the forest, the mountains, solitude and independence. +I've always taken enough furs for a good living, and I'm absolutely my +own master. Moreover, I'm an explorer and it gives me a keen pleasure to +find a new river or a new mountain. And this northwest is filled with +wonders. After we find the gold and my beaver colony, I'm going to write +a book of a thousand pages about the wonders I've seen." + +"I never saw anybody that wrote a book," said the Little Giant with the +respect of the unlettered for the lettered, "an' I confess I ain't much +of a hand at readin' 'em, but when I'm rich ez I expect to be a year or +two from now, an' I build my fine house in St. Looey, I mean to have a +room full of 'em, in fine leather an' morocco bindin's." + +"Will you read them?" asked Will. + +"Me read 'em! O' course not!" replied the Little Giant. "I'll hire a man +to read 'em, an' he kin keep busy on them books while I'm away on my +long huntin' trips." + +"But that won't be you reading 'em." + +"What diff'unce does that make? All a book asks is to be read by +somebody, en' ef it's read by my reader 'stead o' me it's jest the +same." + +The days confirmed them in their choice of Brady as the fourth partner +in the great hunt. Despite his rather stern and solemn manner he was at +heart a man of most cheerful and optimistic temperament. He had, too, a +vast fund of experience and he knew much of the wilderness that was +unknown to others. + +"What do you think of our plan of going straight ahead as soon as we can +travel, and passing over the left shoulder of the White Dome?" asked +Boyd. + +"It's wisest," replied Brady thoughtfully. "I've heard something of this +Felton, with whom you had such a sanguinary encounter, and I'm inclined +to think from all you tell me that he has had a hint about the mine. He +has affiliated with the Indians and he can command a large band of his +own, white men, mostly murderous refugees from the border, and the worst +type of half breeds. It's better for us to keep as long as we can in the +depths of the mountains despite all the difficulties of travel there." + +On the fifth day it turned much warmer and rained heavily, and so +violent were the changes in the high mountains that there was a +tremendous manifestation of thunder and lightning. They watched the +display of electricity with awe from the door of the cavern, and Will +saw the great sword blades of light strike more than once on the rocks +of the topmost peaks. + +"I think," said Brady devoutly, "that we have been watched over. Where +else in the mountains could we have found such a refuge for our animals +and ourselves?" + +"Nowhere," said the Little Giant, cheerfully, "an' I want to say that +I'm enjoyin' myself right here. We four hev got more o' time than +anythin' else, an' I ain't goin' to stir from our nice, comf'table home +'til the travelin's good." + +The others were in full agreement with him, and, in truth, delay was +absolutely necessary as a march now would have been accompanied by new +and great dangers, snow slides, avalanches, and the best of the paths +slippery with mud and water. When the rain ceased, although a warm sun +that followed it hastened the melting of the snow, Will released the +animals from the stable and with pleasure saw them run about among the +trees, where the snow had melted and sprigs of hardy grass were again +showing green against the earth. After they had drunk at the lake and +galloped up and down awhile, they began to nibble the grass, while Will +walked among them and stroked their manes or noses, and was as pleased +as they were. Brady's three horses were already as firm friends of his +as the earlier animals. + +"Did you ever notice that boy's ways with hosses an' mules?" said the +Little Giant to Brady. "He's shorely a wonder. I think he's got some +kind o' talk that we don't understand but which they do. My critters and +Boyd's would quit us at any time fur him, an' so will yours." + +"I perceive it is true, my friend, and so far as my horses are concerned +I don't grudge him his power. Now that the snow has gone and the +greenness is returning this valley truly looks like the land of Canaan. +And it is well for us to be outside again. People who live the lives +that we do flourish best in the open air." + +The warm days lasted and all the snow melted, save where it lay +perpetually on the crest of the White Dome. Often they heard it +thundering in masses down the slopes. The whole earth was soaked with +water, and swift streams ran in every gulch and ravine and canyon. Will, +although he was impatient to be up and away, recognized now how +thoroughly necessary it was to wait. The mountains in such a condition +were impassable, and the valley was safe, too, because for the time +nobody could come there either. + +Big game wandered down again and Brady shot another large grizzly bear, +the skin of which they saved and tanned, thinking it might prove in time +as useful as the first. Another deer was added to their larder, and they +also shot a number of wild fowl. But as the hills began to dry their +minds returned with increasing strength to the great mine, hidden among +far-away peaks. All were eager to be off, and it was only the patience +coming from experience that delayed the start. + +The valley dried out rapidly. The snow, deep as it had been, did not +seem to have done any harm to the grass, which reappeared fresher and +stronger than ever, forming a perfect harvest for the horses and mules. +Then the time for departure came and they began to pack, having added +considerably to their stores of skins and cured meats. + +Brady also had been exceedingly well equipped for a long journey, and +the temporary abandonment of his traps gave them a chance to add further +to their food supplies. All four of them, in addition to their food, +carried extra weapons, including revolvers, rifles, and a fine +double-barreled shotgun for every one. The two caverns, the one for the +men and the other for the horses, they left almost as they had fitted +them up. + +"We may come here ag'in," said the Little Giant. "It's true that +Felton's men an' the Sioux also may come, but I don't think it's ez +likely, 'cause the Sioux are mostly plains warriors, an' them that ain't +are goin' down thar anyhow to fight, while the outlaws likely are ridin' +to the west huntin' fur us." + +"Anyway," said Stephen Brady, in his deep, bass voice, "we'll trust to +Providence. It's amazing how events happen in your favor when you really +trust." + +Although eager to be on their way, they felt regret at leaving the +valley. It had given them a snug home and shelter during the storm, and +the melting of the snow had acted like a gigantic irrigation scheme, +making it greener and fresher than before. As they climbed the western +slope it looked more than ever a gem in its mountain setting. Will saw +far beneath him the blue of lake and the green of grass, and he waved +his hand in a good-bye, but not a good-bye forever. + +"I expect to sleep there again some day," he said. + +"It's a fine home," said Brady, "but we'll find other lakes and other +valleys. As I have told you before, I have trapped for years through +these regions, and they contain many such places." + +They pressed forward three more days and three more nights toward the +left shoulder of the White Dome, which now rose before them clear and +dazzlingly bright against the shining blue of the sky. The air was +steadily growing colder, owing to their increasing elevation, but they +had no more storms of rain, sleet or snow. They were not above the +timber line, and the vegetation, although dwarfed, was abundant. There +was also plenty of game, and in order to save their supplies they shot a +deer or two. On the third day Will through his glasses saw a smoke, much +lower down on their left, and he and the Little Giant, descending a +considerable distance to discover what it meant, were able to discern a +deep valley, perhaps ten miles long and two miles broad, filled with +fine pastures and noble forest, and with a large Indian village in the +centre. Smoke was rising from at least a hundred tall tepees, and +several hundred horses were grazing on the meadows. + +"Tell me what you can about them," said the lad, handing the glasses to +the Little Giant. + +"I think they're Teton Sioux," said Bent, "an' ez well ez I kin make out +they're livin' a life o' plenty. I kin see game hangin' up everywhar to +be cured. Sometimes, young William, I envy the Indians. When the +weather's right, an' the village is in a good place an' thar's plenty to +eat you never see any happier fellers. The day's work an' huntin' over, +they skylark 'roun' like boys havin' fun with all sorts o' little +things. You wouldn't think they wuz the same men who could enjoy +roastin' an enemy alive. Then, they ain't troubled a bit 'bout the +future, either. Termorrer kin take care o' itself. I s'pose that's what +downs 'em, an' gives all the land some day to the white man. Though I +hev to fight the Indian, I've a lot o' sympathy with him, too." + +"I feel the same way about it," said Will. "Maybe we won't have any more +trouble with them." + +The Little Giant shook his head. + +"We may dodge 'em in the mountains, though that ain't shore," he said, +"but when we go down into the plains, ez we've got to do sooner or +later, the fur will fly. I'm mighty glad we picked up Steve Brady, +'cause fur all his solemn ways he's a pow'ful good fightin' man. Now, I +think we'd better git back up the slope, 'cause warriors from that +village may be huntin' 'long here an', however much we may sympathize +with the Indians we're boun' to lose a hull lot o' that sympathy when +they come at us, burnin' fur our scalps." + +"Correct," laughed Will, and as fast as they could climb they rejoined +the others, telling what they had seen. Brady showed some apprehension +over their report. + +"I've noticed that mountain sheep and goats are numerous through here, +and while Indians live mostly on the buffalo, yet they have many daring +hunters in the mountains, looking for goats and sheep, and maybe in the +ravines for the smaller bears, the meat of which they love." + +"And you think we may be seen by some such hunters?" said Will. + +"Perhaps so, and in order to avoid such bad luck I suggest that we seek +still greater height." + +They agreed upon it, though the Little Giant grumbled at the hard luck +that compelled them to scale the tops of high mountains, and they began +at once a perilous ascent, which would not have been possible for the +horses had they not been trained by long experience. They also entered a +domain of bad weather, being troubled much by rain, heavy winds and +occasional snows, and at night it was so cold that they invariably built +a fire in some ravine or deep gully. + +Will calculated that they were at least ten thousand feet above the sea +level, and that the White Dome, which was now straight ahead, must be +between three and four thousand feet higher. They reckoned that they +could circle the peak on the left at their present height, and they made +good progress, as there seemed to be fewer ravines and canyons close to +the dome. + +Nevertheless, as they approached they came to a dip much deeper than +usual, but it was worth the descent into it, as they found there in the +sheltered spaces plenty of grass for the horses, and they were quite +willing to rest also, as every nerve and muscle was racked by the +mountain climbing. Still holding that time was their most abundant +possession, the hunter suggested that they spend a full day and night in +the dip, and all the others welcomed the idea. + +Will, being younger than the others, had more physical elasticity, and a +few hours restored him perfectly. Then he decided to take his rifle and +go up the dip looking for a mountain sheep, and the others being quite +willing, he was soon making his way through the short bushes toward the +north. He prided himself on having become a good hunter and trailer, and +even here in the heart of the high mountains he neglected no precaution. + +The dip extended about two miles into the north and then it began to +rise rapidly, ending at last in huge, craggy rocks, towering a thousand +feet overhead, and Will considered himself in great luck when he saw a +splendid ram standing upon one of these stony pinnacles. + +The sheep, sharply outlined against the rock and the clear sky, looked +at least double his real size, and Will, anxious to procure fresh game, +and feeling some of the hunter's ambition, resolved to stalk him. The +animal reminded him of a lookout, and perhaps he was, as he stood on his +dizzy perch, gazing over the vast range of valley, and the White Dome +that now seemed so near. + +The lad reached the first rocky slope and began slowly to creep in a +diagonal line that took him upward and also toward the sheep. It was +difficult work to keep one's footing and carry one's rifle also, but his +pride was up and he clung to his task, until his muscles began to ache +and the perspiration came out on his face. He was in fear lest the sheep +would go away, but the great ram stood there, immovable, his head +haughtily erect, a monarch of his tribe, and Will became thoroughly +convinced that he was a watchman. + +His repeating rifle carried a long distance, but he did not want to make +an uncertain shot, and he continued his laborious task of climbing which +yielded such slow results. The sheep took no notice of him, still gazing +over valley and ranges and at the White Dome. If he saw him, the lad was +evidently in his eyes a speck in a vast world and not worth notice. +Will felt a sort of chagrin that he was not considered more dangerous, +and, patting his rifle, he resolved to make the ram realize that a real +hunter was after him. + +He crawled painfully and cautiously around a big rock and something +whirring by his ear rang sharply on the stone. He saw to his amazement a +long feathered arrow dropping away from the target on which it had +struck in vain, and then roll down the side of the mountain. + +He knew, too, that the arrow had passed within a few inches of his ear, +aimed with deadly purpose, and for a moment or two his blood was cold +within his veins. Instantly he turned aside and flattened himself +against a stony upthrust. As he did so he heard the ring on the rock +again and a second feathered arrow tumbled into the void. + +His first emotion was thankfulness. He lay in a shallow hollow now and +it was not easy for any arrow to reach him there. He was unharmed as +yet, and he had the great repeating rifle which should be a competent +answer to arrows. Some loose stones were lying in the hollow, and he +cautiously built them into a low parapet, which increased his +protection. Then, peeping over the stones, he tried to discover the +location of his enemy or enemies, if they should be plural, but he saw +only the valley below with its touch of sheltered green, the vast rocky +sides about it, and over all the towering summit of the White Dome. +There was nothing, save the flight of the feathered arrows, to indicate +that a human being was near. Far out on the jutting crag the mountain +sheep still stood, a magnificent ram, showing no consciousness of +danger or, if conscious of it, defying it. Will suddenly lost all desire +to take his life, due, perhaps, to his own resentment at the effort of +somebody to take his own. + +He believed that the arrows had come from above, but whether from a +point directly overhead or to the right or to the left he had no way of +telling. It was a hidden foe that he had to combat, and this ignorance +was the worst feature of his position. He did not know which way to +turn, he did not know which road led to escape, but must lie in his +narrow groove until the enemy attacked. + +He had learned from his comrades, experienced in the wilderness and in +Indian warfare, that perhaps the greatest of all qualities in such +surroundings was patience, and if it had not been for such knowledge he +might have risked a third arrow long ago, but, as it was, he kept +perfectly still, flattening himself against the cliff, sheltered by the +edge of the natural bowl and the little terrace of stones he had built. +He might have fired his rifle to attract the attention of his comrades, +but he judged that they were at the camp and would not hear his shot. He +would fight it out himself, especially as he believed that he was +menaced by but a single Indian, a warrior who perhaps had been stalking +the mountain sheep also, when he had beheld the creeping lad. + +Great as was the strength of the youth's will and patience, he began to +twist his body a little in the stony bowl and seek here and there for a +sight of his besieger. He could make out stony outcrops and projections +above him, every one of which might shelter a warrior, and he was about +to give up the quest when a third arrow whistled, struck upon the ledge +that he had built and, instead of falling into the chasm, rebounded into +the bowl wherein he lay. + +The barb had been broken by the rock against which it struck so hard, +though the shaft, long, polished and feathered, showed that it had been +made by an artist. But he did not know enough about arrows to tell +whether it was that of a Sioux or of a warrior belonging to some other +tribe. Looking at it a little while, he threw it into the chasm, and +settled back to more waiting. + +The day was now well advanced and a brilliant sun in the slope of the +heavens began to pour fiery shafts upon the side of the cliff. Will had +usually found it cold at such a height, but now the beams struck +directly upon him and his face was soon covered with perspiration. He +was assailed also by a fierce, burning thirst, and a great anger lay +hold of him. It was a terrible joke that he should be held there in the +hole of the cliff by an invisible warrior who used only arrows against +him, perhaps because he feared a shot from a rifle would bring the white +lad's comrades. + +If the Indian would not use a rifle because of the report, then the case +was the reverse with Will. He had thought that the men were too far away +to hear, but perhaps the warrior was right, and raising the repeating +rifle he sent a bullet into the void. The sharp report came back in many +echoes, but he heard no reply from the valley. A second shot, and still +no answer. It was evident that the three were too distant to hear, and, +for the present, he thought it wise to waste no more bullets. + +The power of the sun increased, seeming to concentrate its rays in the +little hollow in which Will lay. His face was scorched and his burning +thirst was almost intolerable. Yet he reflected that the heat must be at +the zenith. Soon the sun would decline, and then would come night, under +the cover of which he might escape. + +He heard a heavy, rolling sound and a great rock crashed into the valley +below. Will shuddered and crowded himself back for every inch of shelter +he could obtain. A second rock rolled down, but did not come so near, +then a third bounded directly over his head, followed quickly by another +in almost the same place. + +It was a hideous bombardment, but he realized that so long as he kept +close in his little den he was safe. It also told him that his opponent +was directly above him, and when the volleys of rocks ceased he might +get a shot. + +The missiles poured down for several minutes and then ceased abruptly. +Evidently the warrior had realized the futility of his avalanche and +must now be seeking some other mode of attack. It caused Will chagrin +that he had not seen him once during all the long attack, but he noticed +with relief that the sun would soon set beyond the great White Dome. The +snow on the Dome itself was tinged now with fire, but it looked cool +even at the distance, and assuaged a little his heat and thirst. He +knew that bye and bye the long shadows would fall, and then the grateful +cold of the night would come. + +[Illustration: The body of a warrior shot downward, striking on the +ledges.] + +He moved a little, flexed his muscles, grown stiff by his cramped +position, and as he did so he caught a glimpse of a figure on the south +face of the wall. But it was so fleeting he was not sure. If he had only +brought his glasses with him he might have decided, but he was without +them, and he concluded finally that it was merely an optical illusion. +He and the Indian had the mountain walls to themselves, and the warrior +could not have moved around to that point. + +In spite of his decision his eyes at length wandered again to that side +of the wall, and a second time he thought he caught a glimpse of a human +figure creeping among the rocks, but much nearer now. Then he realized +that it was no illusion. He had, in very truth, seen a man, and as he +still looked a rifle was thrust over a ledge, a puff of fire leaping +from its muzzle. From a point above him came a cry that he knew to be a +death yell, and the body of a warrior shot downward, striking on the +ledges until it bounded clear of them and crashed into the valley below. + +Then the figure of the man who had fired the shot stepped upon a rocky +shelf, held aloft the weapon with which he had dealt sudden and terrible +death, and cried in a tremendous voice: + +"Come forth, young William! Your besieger will besiege no more! Ef I do +say it myself, I've never made a better shot." + +It was the Little Giant. Never had the sight of him been more welcome, +and raising himself stiffly to his feet and moving his own rifle about +his head, Will shouted in reply: + +"It was not only your greatest shot, but the greatest shot ever made by +anybody." + +"Stay whar you are," cried Bent. "You're too stiff an' sore to risk +climbin' jest yet. I'll be with you soon." + +But it was almost dark before the Little Giant crept around the face of +the cliff and reached the hollow in which the lad lay. Then he told him +that he had seen some of the rocks falling and as he was carrying Will's +glasses he was able to pick out the warrior at the top of the cliff. The +successful shot followed and the siege was over. + +Night had now come and it was an extremely delicate task to find their +way back to the valley, but they made the trip at last without mishap. +Once again on level ground Will was forced to sit down and rest until a +sudden faintness passed. The Little Giant regarded him with sympathy. + +"You had a pretty tough time, young William, thar's no denyin' that," he +said. "It's hard to be cooped up in a hole in a mountainside, with an +enemy shootin' at you an' sendin' avalanches down on you, an' you never +seein' him a-tall." + +"I never saw him once until he plunged from the cliff with your bullet +through him." + +"Wa'al, it's all over now, an' we'll go back to the camp. The boys had +been worryin' 'bout you some, and I concluded I'd come out an' look fur +you, an' ef it hadn't been fur my concludin' so I guess you'd been +settin' thar in that holler a month from now, an' the Indian would hev +been settin' in a holler above you. At least I hev saved you from a long +waitin' spell." + +"You have," said Will with heartfelt emphasis, "and again I thank you." + +"Come on, then. I kin see the fire shinin' through the trees an' Jim an' +Steve cookin' our supper." + +Will hurried along, but his knees grew weak again and objects swam +before his eyes. He had not yet recovered his strength fully after +passing through the tremendous test of mental and physical endurance, +when he lay so long in that little hollow in the side of the mountain. +The Little Giant was about to thrust out a hand and help sustain him, +but he did not do so, remembering that it would hurt the lad's pride. +The gold hunter, uneducated, spending his life in the wilds, had +nevertheless a delicacy of feeling worthy of the finest flower of +civilization. + +Will was near to the fire now and the pleasant aroma of broiling venison +came to him. Boyd and Brady were moving about the flames, engaged in +pleasant homely tasks, and all his strength returned. Once more his head +was steady and his muscles strong. + +"I made a long stay," he called cheerfully to them, "too long, I fear, +nor do I bring a mountain sheep back with me." + +The sharp eyes of the hunter and the trapper saw at once in his pallid +face and exaggerated manner that something unusual had happened, but +they pretended to take no notice. + +"Did you see any sheep?" asked Boyd. + +"Yes," replied the lad, "I had a splendid view of a grand ram, standing +high on a jutting stone over the great valley." + +"What became of him?" + +"I don't know. I became so busy with something else that I forgot all +about him, and he must have gone away in the twilight. An Indian in a +niche above me began firing arrows at me, and I had to stick close in a +little hollow in the stone so he couldn't reach me. If the Little Giant +hadn't come along, and made another of his wonderful shots I suppose I'd +be staying there for a week to come." + +"Tom can shoot a little," said Boyd, divining the whole story from the +lad's few sentences, "and he also has a way of shooting at the right +time. Now, you sit down here, Will, and eat these steaks I'm broiling, +and I'll give you a cup of coffee, too, just one cup though, because +we're sparing our coffee as much as we can now." + +Will ate and drank with a great appetite, and then he told more fully of +his adventure with the foe whom he had never seen until the Little +Giant's bullet sent him spinning into the void. + +"He'd have got you," said Brady thoughtfully, "if Tom hadn't come +along." + +"You know we wuz worried 'bout him stayin' so long," said the Little +Giant, "an' so I went out to look fur him. It wuz lucky that I took his +glasses along, or I might never hev seen him or the Sioux. I don't want +to brag, but that wuz one o' my happy thoughts." + +"You had nothing to do with taking the glasses, Tom Bent," said Brady +seriously. + +"Why, it wuz my own idee!" + +"Not at all. The idea was in your head but it was not put there by your +own mind. It was put there by the Infinite, and it was put there because +Will's time had not yet come. You were merely an instrument, Tom Bent." + +"Mebbe I wuz. I'm not takin' any credit to myself fur deep thinkin' an' +I 'low you know more 'bout these things than I do, Steve Brady, since +you've had your mind on 'em so much an' so long. An' ef I wuz used ez an +instrument to save Will, I'm proud that it wuz so." + +Will, who was lying on the turf propped up by his elbow before the fire, +looked up at the skies, which were now a clear silver, in which +countless stars appeared to hang, lower and larger than he had ever seen +them before. It was a beautiful sky, and whether it was merely fate or +chance that had sent the Little Giant to his aid he felt with the poet +that God was in his heaven, and, for the time at least, all was right +with his world. + +"You got a good sight of the Indian, did you, Tom?" asked Boyd. + +"I saw him plain through the glasses. He wuz a Sioux. I couldn't make no +mistake. Like ez not he wuz a hunter from the village we saw on the +slope below, an' whar one hunter is another may not be fur away." + +"Thinking as you do," said Boyd, "and thinking as I do the same way you +do, I think we'd better put out our fire and shift to another part of +the valley." + +"That's a lot of 'thinks,'" said Brady, "but it seems to me that you're +both right, and I've no doubt such thoughts are put into our minds to +save our lives. Perhaps it would be best for us to start up the slopes +at once, but if our time is coming tonight it will come and no flight of +ours will alter it." + +Nevertheless they took the precaution to stamp out the last coal, and +then moved silently with the animals to another part of the dip. While +they were tethering their horses and mules there in a little glade all +the animals began to tremble violently and it required Will's utmost +efforts to soothe them. The acute ears of Brady detected a low growling +on their right, not far from the base of the cliff. + +"Come, Tom," he said to the Little Giant. "You and I will see what it +is, and be sure you're ready with that rifle of yours. You ought to +shoot beautifully in this clear moonlight." + +They disappeared among the bushes, but returned in a few minutes, +although the growling had become louder and was continuous. Both men had +lost a little of their ruddiness. + +"What was it?" asked Will. + +"It wuz your friend, the Sioux warrior who held you in the cliff so +long," replied the Little Giant, shuddering. "Half a dozen big mountain +wolves are quarrelin' 'bout the right place to bury him in. But, anyway, +he's bein' buried, an' mighty fast too." + +Will shuddered also, and over and over again. In fact, his nervous +system had been so shaken that it would not recover its full force for a +day, and the others, trained to see all things, noticed it. + +"You soothe them animals ag'in, young William," said the Little Giant, +"an' we'll spread the blankets fur our beds here in the bushes." + +Bent again showed supreme judgment, as in quieting the fears of the +horses and mules for the second time Will found that renewed strength +flowed back into his own nervous system, and when he returned to the +fireless camp his hand and voice were once more quite steady. + +"There is your bed, William," said Brady. "You lie on one blanket, put +the other over you, and also one of the bearskins. It's likely to be a +dry and cold night, but anyway, whether it rains or snows, it will rain +or snow on the just and the unjust, and blankets and bearskin should +keep you dry. That growling in the bushes, too, has ceased, and our +friend, the Sioux, who sought your life, has found a dreadful grave." + +Will shuddered once more, but when he crept between the blankets his +nerves were soothed rapidly and he soon fell asleep. + +The three men kept watch and watch through the night, and they saw no +Indian foe. Once Boyd heard a rustling in the bushes, and he made out +the figure of a huge mountain wolf that stood staring at them for a +moment. The horses and mules began to stir uneasily, and, picking up a +stone, the hunter threw it with such good aim that the wolf, struck +smartly on the body, ran away. + +The animals relapsed into quiet, and nothing more stirred in the bushes, +until the leaves began to move under the light breeze that came at +dawn. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE BUFFALO MARCH + + +Drawn by an impulse that he tried to check but could not, Will went in +the morning to the point in the bushes whence the growling had come the +night before, finding there nothing but the bones of the Sioux, from +which every trace of flesh had been removed. He shuddered once more. He, +instead of the warrior, might have been the victim. His eyes, trained +now to look upon the earth as a book and to read what might be printed +there, saw clearly the tracks of the wolves among the grass and leaves. +After finishing what they had come to do they had gone away some +distance and had gathered together in a close group, as if they had +meditated an attack, possibly upon the horses and mules. + +Will knew how great and fierce the mountain wolves of the north were, +and he was glad to note that, after their council, they had gone on and +perhaps had left the valley. At least, he was able to follow their +tracks as far as the lower rocks, where they disappeared. When he +returned to the little camp he told what he had seen. + +"We're in no danger of a surprise from the big wolves," said Brady. +"They'd have killed and eaten some of the horses and mules if we hadn't +been here, but wolves are smart, real smart. Like as not they saw Thomas +shoot the Sioux, and they knew that the long stick he carried, from +which fire spouted, slaying the warrior, was like the long sticks all of +us carry, and that to attack us here was death for them. Oh, I know I'm +guessing a lot, but I've observed 'em a long time and I'm convinced +wolves can reason that far." + +"All animals are smarter than we think they are," said the Little Giant. +"I've lived among 'em a heap, an' know a lot o' their ways. Only they've +a diff'rent set o' intellectooals from ours. What we're smart in they +ain't, an' what they're smart in we ain't. Now, ef I had joined to what +I am myself the strength o' a grizzly bear, the cunnin' o' a wolf an' +the fleetness o' an antelope I reckon I'd be 'bout the best man that +ever trod 'roun' on this planet." + +"I've one thing to suggest before we start," said Will, "and I think +it's important." + +"What is it?" asked Boyd. + +"That we make copies of the map. We may become separated for long +periods--everything indicates that we will--I might fall into the hands +of Felton, who seems to have a hint about the mine, and, if I saw such a +thing about to occur, I would destroy the map, and then you would have +the copies. Each of you faced by a similar misfortune could make away +with his copy, and if the worst came to the worst I could re-draw it +from memory." + +"Good idee! Good idee!" exclaimed the Little Giant with enthusiasm. +"I've been tellin' Jim an' Steve that though they mightn't think it, you +had the beginnin's o' intelleck in that head o' yours." + +"Thank you," said Will, and they all laughed. + +"It's a good thought," said Boyd, "and we'd better do it at once." + +Will carried in his pack some pens and a small bottle of indelible ink, +and with these they drew with the greatest care three more maps on fine +deerskin, small but very clear, and then every man stored one in a +secure place about his person. + +"Now, remember," said Boyd, "if any one of us is in danger of capture he +must get rid of his map." + +Then, their breakfast over, they began the ascent of the slope, leading +toward the White Dome, finding it easier than they had thought. As +always, difficulties decreased when they faced them boldly, and even the +animals, refreshed by their stay in the valley, showed renewed vigor, +climbing like goats. The Little Giant whistled merrily, mostly battle +songs of the late war which was still so fresh in the minds of all men. + +"I notice that you whistle songs of both sides," said Brady. "Musically, +at least, you have no feeling about our great Civil War." + +"Nor any other way, either," rejoined the Little Giant. "I may hev hed +my feelin's once, though I ain't sayin' now what they wuz, but fur me +the war is all over, done fit clean out. They say six or seven hundred +thousand men wuz lost in it, an' now that it's over it's got to stop +right thar. I'm lookin' to the future, I am, to the quarter of a million +in gold that's comin' to me, an' the gorgeous ways in which I'm goin' +to spend it. Young William, see that big mountain ram standin' out on +the side o' the peak over thar. I believe he's the same feller that you +tried to stalk yesterday, an' that he's laughin' at you. He's a good +mile away, but I kin see the twinkle in his eye, an' ez shore ez I stan' +here he lifted his left foot to his nose an' twisted it 'bout in a +gesture which among us boys allers meant fight. Do you stan' his dare, +young William, or are you goin' to climb over thar whar he is an' hev it +out with him?" + +"I'll let him alone," laughed William, looking at the splendid ram, +outlined so sharply in the clear mountain light. "I meant to do him +harm, but I'm glad I didn't. Maybe that Indian was engaged in the same +task, when he saw me and changed his hunting." + +Then he shuddered once more at the growling he had heard and what he had +seen in the bushes the next morning, but his feeling of horror did not +last long, because they were now climbing well upon the shoulder of the +White Dome and the spectacle, magnificent and inspiring, claimed all +their attention. + +The last bushes and dwarfed vegetation disappeared. Before them rose +terrace on terrace, slope on slope of rock, golden or red in the sun, +and beyond them the great snow fields and the glaciers. Over it all +towered the White Dome, round and pure, the finest mountain Will had +ever seen. He never again saw anything that made a more deep and solemn +impression upon him. Far above all the strife and trouble of the world +swam the white peak. + +Meanwhile the Little Giant continued to whistle merrily. He was not +awed, and he was not solemn. Prone to see the best in everything, he +enjoyed the magnificent panorama outspread before them, and also drew +from it arguments most favorable for their quest. + +"We're absolutely safe from the warriors," he said. "We're above the +timber line, and they'd never come up here huntin'. An Indian doesn't do +anythin' more than he has to. He ain't goin' to wear hisself out +climbin' to the top o' a mounting ten miles high in order to hev a look +at the scenery. We won't be troubled by no warriors 'til we go down the +shoulder o' your White Dome on the other side." + +He resumed his clear, musical whistling, pouring out in a most wonderful +manner the strains of "Dixie," changing impartially to "Yankee Doodle," +shifting back to "The Bonnie Blue Flag," and then, with the same lack of +prejudice, careering into "Marching Through Georgia." + +The horses and mules that they were now leading felt the uplifting +influence, raised their heads and marched forward more sturdily. + +"What makes you so happy?" asked Will. + +"The kindness o' natur' what gave me that kind o' a disposition," +replied the Little Giant, "an' added to it the feelin' that all the time +I'm drawin' closer to my gold. What did you say my share would be, young +William, a matter o' a million or a half million?" + +"A quarter of a million." + +"Seems to me it wuz a half million, but somehow it grows ez we go +'long. When you git rich, even in the mind, you keep on gittin' richer." + +Then he began to whistle a gallant battle stave with extraordinary +richness and variety of tone, and when he had finished Will asked: + +"What was that song, Tom? It's a new one to me." + +"It's new to most people," replied the Little Giant, "but it's old jest +the same. It wuz writ 'way back in the last war with England, an' I'll +quote you the first two verses, words an' grammar both correct: + + "Britannia's gallant streamers + Float proudly o'er the tide, + And fairly wave Columbia's stripes + In battle side by side, + And ne'er did bolder seamen meet + Where ocean surges pour + O'er the tide now they ride + While the bell'wing thunders roar + While the cannon's fire is flashing fast + And the bell'wing thunders roar. + + "When Yankee meets the Briton + Whose blood congenial flows, + By Heaven created to be friends + By fortune reckoned foes: + Hard then must be the battle fray + E'er well the fight is o'er, + Now they ride, side by side, + While the bell'wing thunders roar, + While the cannon's fire is flashing fast + And the bell'wing thunders roar. + +"That's a lot more verses, young William, an' it's all 'bout them great +naval duels o' the war o' 1812, an' you'll notice that whoever writ 'em +had no ill feelin' in his natur', an' give heaps o' credit to the +British. It does seem that we an' the British ought to be friends, bein' +so close kin, actin' so much alike, an' havin' institutions just the +same, 'cept that whar they hev a king we hev a president. Yet here we +are quarrelin' with 'em a lot, though not more than they quarrel with +us." + +"The trouble lies in the fact that we speak the same language," said +Will. "Every word of abuse spoken by one is understood by the other. +Now, if the French or the Spanish or the Russians denounce us we never +hear anything about it, don't know even that it's been done." + +"That's good ez fur ez it goes," said the Little Giant. "I've seen a lot +o' English that don't speak any English, a-tall, fellers that come out +o' the minin' regions in England an' some from London, too, that talked +a lingo soundin' ez much like English ez Sioux does, but it doesn't +alter the fact that them an' us ought to be friends. An' I reckon we +will be now, 'cause I hear they're claimin' that our Washington wuz an +Englishman, the same immortal George that they would hev hung in the +Revolution along with his little hatchet, too, ef they could hev caught +him." + +Will laughed with relish. + +"In a way Washington was an Englishman," he said. "That is, he was of +pure English stock, transplanted to another land. The Athenians were +Greeks, the most famous of the Greeks, but they were not the oldest of +the Greeks by any means. They were a colony from Asia Minor, just as we +were a colony from England." + +"I don't know much 'bout the Greeks, young William, my lad, but ef the +English kin lay claim to Washington ez one o' their sons, 'cause he wuz +of pure English blood, then me an' most o' the Americans kin lay jest ez +good a claim to Shakespeare 'cause, we bein' o' pure British blood, he +wuz one o' our ancestors." + +"Your claim is perfectly good, Giant. By and by, both Washington and +Shakespeare will belong to the whole English-speaking world." + +"Its proudest ornyments, so to speak. Now, that bein' settled, I'd like +to go back to a p'int that troubles me." + +"If I can help call on me." + +"It's 'bout that song I wuz jest singin'. At the last line o' each verse +it says: 'An' the bell'wing thunders roar.' I've thought it over a heap +o' times, but I've never rightly made out what a bell'wing thunder is. +Thar ain't nothin' 'bout thunder that reminds me o' bells. Now what is +it, young William?" + +Will began to laugh. + +"What do you find so funny?" asked the Little Giant suspiciously. + +"Nothing at all! Nothing at all!" replied Will hastily. "'Bell'wing' is +bellowing. The writer meant the bellowing thunders, and it's cut off to +bell'wing for the sake of rhyme and metre, a poetical liberty, so to +speak. You see, poets have liberties denied to other people." + +"Wa'al, I reckon they need a few. All that I ever seed did. But I'm +mighty glad the p'int hez been settled. It's been botherin' me fur +years. Thank you, young William." + +"I think now," said Boyd, "that we'd better be looking for a camp." + +"Among all these canyons and valleys," said Will, "it shouldn't be hard +to find a suitable place." + +Canyons were too abundant for easy traveling, and finding a fairly level +though narrow place in one of the deepest, they pitched camp there, +building a fire with wood which they had added to their packs for this +purpose, and feeding to the animals grass which they had cut on the +lower slopes. With the warm food and the fire it was not so bad, +although the wind began to whistle fiercely far above their heads. The +animals hovered near the fire for warmth, looking to the human beings +who guided them for protection. + +"I think we shall pass the highest point of our journey tomorrow," said +Brady, "and then for the descent along the shoulder of the White Dome. +Truly the stars have fought for us and I cannot believe that, after +having escaped so many perils, we will succumb to others to come." + +"O' course we won't," said the Little Giant cheerfully, "an' all the +dangers we've passed through will make our gold all the more to us. +Things ain't much to you 'less you earn 'em. When I git my million, +which is to be my share o' that mine, I'll feel like I earned it." + +"A quarter of a million, Tom," laughed Will. "You're getting avaricious +as we go on. You raised it to a half million and now you make it a +million." + +"It does look ez ef my fancy grew more heated the nearer we come to the +gold. I do hev big expectations fur a feller that never found a speck of +it. How that wind does howl! Do you think, young William, that a glacier +is comin' right squar' down on us?" + +"No, Tom. Glaciers, like tortoises, move slowly. We'll have time to get +out of the way of any glacier. It's easy to outrun the fastest one on +the globe." + +"I've heard tell that the earth was mostly covered with 'em once. Is +that so?" + +"They say there was an Ice Age fifty thousand or so years ago, when +everything that lived had to huddle along the equator. I don't vouch for +it. I'm merely telling what the scholars tell." + +"I'll take your word for it, young William, an' all the same I'm glad I +didn't live then. Think o' bein' froze to death all your life. Ez it is +I'm ez cold ez I keer to be, layin' here right now in this canyon." + +"If we were not hunting for gold," said Brady, "I'd try to climb to the +top of this mountain. I take it to be close on to fourteen thousand feet +in height and I often feel the ambition of the explorer. Perhaps that's +why I've been willing to search so long and in vain for the great beaver +horde. I find so many interesting things by the way, lakes, rivers, +mountains, valleys, game, hot springs, noble forests and many other +things that help to make up a splendid world. It's worth while for a man +like me, without any ties, just to wander up and down the face of the +earth." + +"Do you know anything about the country beyond the White Dome?" asked +Will. + +"Very little, except that it slopes down rapidly to a much lower range +of mountains, mostly forested, then to hills, forested also, and after +that we have the great plains again." + +"Now you've talked enough, young William," said the Little Giant. "It's +time for you to sleep, but ez this is goin' to be a mighty cold night up +here, fifteen or twenty miles 'bove the clouds, I reckon we'd better git +blankets, an' wrap up the hosses an' mules too." + +Having enough to go around they tied one blanket around the body of +every animal, and Will was the most proficient in the task. + +"It's 'cause they help him an' they don't help us," said the Little +Giant. "Seein' that you've got such a touch with animals we're goin' to +use you the next time we meet a grizzly bear. 'Stead o' wastin' bullets +on him an' runnin' the chance o' some o' us gittin' hurt, we'll jest +send you forrard to talk to him an' say, 'Ephraim! Old Eph, kindly move +out o' the path. You're obstructin' some good men an' scarin' some good +hosses an' mules.' Then he'll go right away." + +Despite their jesting they pitched the camp for that critical night with +the greatest care, making sure that they had the most sheltered place in +the canyon, and ranging the horses and mules almost by the side of +them. More clothing was brought from the packs and every man was +wrapped up like a mummy, the fur coats they had made for themselves +proving the best protection. Although the manifold wrappings kept Will's +blood warm in his veins, the night itself and their situation created +upon his mind the effect of intense cold. + +The wind rose all the time, as if it were determined to blow away the +side of the mountain, and it howled and shrieked over their heads in all +the keys of terror. None of them could sleep for a long time. + +"It's real skeery," said the Little Giant. "Mebbe nobody hez ever been +up here so high before, an' this old giant of a mountain don't like our +settin' here on his neck. I've seen a lot o' the big peaks in the +Rockies, w'arin' thar white hats o' snow, an' they allers 'pear to me to +be alive, lookin' down so solemn an' sometimes so threatenin'. Hark to +that, will you! I know it wuz jest the screamin' o' the wind, but it +sounded to me like the howlin' o' a thousand demons. Are you shore, +young William, that thar ain't imps an' critters o' that kind on the +tops o' high mountings, waitin' fur innocent fellers like us?" + +Will slept at last, but the mind that can remain troubled and uneasy +through sleep awoke him several times in the course of the night, and +always he heard the fierce, threatening blasts shrieking and howling +over the mountain. His eyes yet heavy with sleep, it seemed to him in +spite of himself that there must be something in the Little Giant's +suggestion that imps and demons on the great peaks resented their +presence. He knew that it could not be true, but he felt as if it were, +and once he rose all swathed in many garments and stroked the noses of +the horses and mules, which were moving uneasily and showing other signs +of alarm. + +Dawn came, clear, with the wind not so high, but icily cold. They fed +the last of the little store of hay to the animals, ate cold food +themselves, and then crept out of the canyon, leading their horses and +mules with the most extreme care, a care that nevertheless would have +been in vain had not all the beasts been trained to mountain climbing. +It was a most perilous day, but the next night found them so far down on +the western slope of the White Dome that they had reached the timber +line again. + +The trees were dwarfed and scraggly, but they were trees just the same, +affording shelter from wind and cold, and fuel for a fire, which the +travelers built, providing themselves once more with warm food and +coffee as sizzling hot as they could stand it. The animals found a +little solace for their hunger by chewing on the tenderest parts of the +bushes. + +After the meal they built the fire higher, deciding that they would +watch by turns and keep it going through the night. As the wind was not +so threatening and the glow of the coals was cheerful they slept well, +in their turns, and all felt fresh and vigorous when they renewed the +journey the next morning. They descended rapidly now among the lower +ranges of the mountains and came into heavy forests and grassy openings +where the animals ate their fill. Game also was abundant, and they +treated themselves to fresh deer meat, the product this time of Brady's +rifle. They were all enveloped by a great sense of luxury and rest, and +still having the feeling that time was their most abundant commodity, +they lingered among the hills and in the timber, where there were clear, +cold lakelets and brooks and creeks that later lost themselves on the +plains. + +It gave Will a great mental stimulus after so many dangers and such +tremendous hardships, the survival of which without a wound seemed +incredible. He looked back at the vast peak of the White Dome, solemn +and majestic, piercing the sky, and it seemed to him at times that it +had been a living thing and that it had watched over them in their +gigantic flight. + +Despite the increased danger there from Indian raids they lingered +longer than they had intended among the pleasant hills. The animals, +which had been much worn in the passage of the great mountains, and two +that became lame in the descent recovered entirely. The Little Giant and +the hunter scouted in wide circles, and, seeing no sign of Indian bands, +most of their apprehension on that score disappeared, leaving to them a +certain sense of luxury as they delayed among the trees, and in the +pleasant hills. Will caught some fine trout in one of the larger brooks, +and Brady cooked them with extraordinary culinary skill. The lad had +never tasted anything finer. + +"Come here, young William," said the Little Giant, "an' stand up by the +side o' me. No, you haven't grown a foot in height, since I met you, so +many days since, but you've grown jest the same. Your chest is bigger, +too, an' you eat twice ez much ez you did. I hope that what's inside +your head hez done growed too." + +"Thomas Bent," said Brady, "you should not talk in such a manner about +what's inside his head to the one who is the real leader of this +expedition, as the mine is his. He might be insulted, cast you off, and +let you go eat corn husks with the prodigal son." + +"No, he won't," replied the Little Giant, confidently. "Will, hevin' +done tuk me in ez pardner, would never want to put me out ag'in, nor +thar ain't no corn husks nor no prodigal son. Besides, he likes fur me +to compliment him on his growth. You're older than I am, Steve Brady, +but I want to tell you that the man or woman wuz never born who didn't +like a little well-placed flattery now an' then, though what I've been +sayin' to young William ain't flattery." + +"In that matter I'm agreeing with you, Thomas Bent. You're dipping from +a well of truth, when you're saying all men are accessible to +flattery--and all women too, though perhaps more so." + +"Mebbe women are more so an' mebbe men are more so. I reckon it depends +on whether a man or woman is tellin' it." + +"Which is as near as we'll ever come to a decision," said Brady, "but of +one thing I'm sure." + +"What's that, Steve?" + +"We've dallied long enough with the flesh pots of Egypt. If William will +take his glasses he can see the land of Canaan outspread far below us. +It is there that we must go." + +"An' that thar land o' Canaan," said the Little Giant, "is rid over by +Sioux warriors, ready to shoot us with rifles or stick us through with +lances. I'd hate to die hangin' on a Sioux lance. Sech a death makes me +shiver. Ef I've got to die a violent death, give me a good, honest +bullet ev'ry time. You hevn't seen the Sioux at work with lances, hev +you, young William?" + +"No, Tom." + +"Well, I hev. They fight with 'em, o' course, an' they hev a whole code +o' signals with 'em, too. In battle everybody must obey the head chief, +who gives the orders to the sub-chiefs, who then direct their men +accordin'. Often thar ain't a chance to tell by words an' then they use +the lances fur signallin'. In a Sioux army, an', fur the matter o' that, +in any Indian army, the hoss Indians is divided into two columns, the +right an' the left. When the battle comes on, the head war chief rides +to the top o' a ridge or hill, gen'ally 'bout half a mile 'way from the +scrap. The columns on the right an' the left are led by the under +chiefs. + +"Then the big chief begins to tell 'em things with his lance. He ain't +goin' to fight with that lance, an' fur other purposes he hez fastened +on it near the blade a big piece o' dressed skin a yard squar' an' +painted black. Now he stretches the lance straight out in front o' him +an' waves it, which means fur both columns to attack all at once an' +right away, lickety-split. Ef he stretches the lance out to his right +and waves it forward it means fur the right column alone to jump inter +the middle o' things, the same movement on the left applyin' to the left +column, an' thar's a lot more which I could tell you 'bout lance +signallin' which I hope you won't hev to see." + +"We will not disguise from ourselves," said Brady, in his usual grave +tone, "that we must confront peril when we descend into the plains, yet +descend we must, because these mountains and hills won't go on with us. +It will be a long time before we strike another high range. On the +plains we've got to think of Indians, and then we've got to look out for +water, too." + +"Our march often makes me think of Xenophon, whom I studied in the high +school," said Will. + +"What's Xenophon?" asked the Little Giant suspiciously. "I ain't heard +o' no sich country." + +"Xenophon is not a country. Xenophon was a man, and a good deal of a +man. He led a lot of Greeks, along with a lot of Persians, to help a +Persian overthrow his brother and seize the throne of the Persian +empire. In the battle the Greeks were victorious wherever they were +fighting, but the Persian whom they were supporting was killed, and +having no more business there they concluded to go away." + +"Lost their paymaster, eh?" + +"Well, I suppose you could put it that way. Anyway they resolved to go +back to their homes in Greece, across mountains, rivers and deserts. +Xenophon, who led them, wrote the account of it." + +"Then I'll bet that Xenophon looms up pretty big in the tellin' o' it." + +"No, he was a modest man, Tom. But what I remember best about the story, +they were always marching so many parasangs, so many days' journey to a +well of water. It gets to be a sort of fascination with you. You are +always wondering how many parasangs they'll march before they come to +water. And sometimes you've a kind of horrible fear that there won't be +any water to come to, and it keeps you keyed up." + +"Same ez ef you wuz in that sort o' condition yourself." + +"Something like it." + +"Well, mebbe we will be, an' jest you remember, young William, since +them Greeks allers come to water, else Xenophon who led them never would +hev lived fur the tellin' o' it, that we'll allers come to water, too, +even of we do hev to wait a week or two fur it. Cur'us how long you kin +live after your tongue hez baked, your throat hez turned to an oven, an' +your lips hev curled up with the heat." + +"I imagine, Tom," said Boyd, "we're not going to suffer like that." + +"I jest wanted to let young William know the worst fust an' he kin +fortify himself accordin'." + +"I'm prepared to suffer what the rest of you suffer," said the lad. + +"The right spirit," said Brady, heartily. "We'll be Davids and +Jonathans, cleaving the one unto the other, and now, as we're about to +emerge from the last bit of forest I suggest that we fill all our water +bottles from this brook among the trees. Thomas has talked so feelingly +about thirst that I want to provide against it. We will not strike here +the deserts that are to be found in the far south, but we may well have +long periods without water free from alkali." + +They had many leather water bottles, their packs having been prepared +with all the skill of experience and sound judgment, and they filled all +of them at the brook, which was pure and cold, flowing down from the +mountains. At one of the deeper pools which had a fine bottom of gravel +they bathed thoroughly, and afterward let the horses and mules wade into +the water and take plunges they seemed to enjoy greatly. + +"An' now," said the Little Giant, taking off his hat and looking back, +"good-bye trees, good-bye hills, good-bye, high mountains, good-bye all +clear, cold streams like this, an' good-bye, you grand White Dome. Say +them words after me, young William, 'cause when we git out on the great +plains we're likely to miss these friends o' ourn." + +He spoke with evident feeling, and Will, taking off his hat, said the +words after him, though with more regard to grammar. + +"And now, after leading them most of the way," said Boyd, "we'll ride on +the backs of our horses." + +The four mounted, and, while they regretted the woods and the running +water they were about to leave behind them, they were glad to ride once +more, and they felt the freedom and exhilaration that would come with +the swift, easy motion of their horses. The pack animals, knowing the +hands that fed and protected them, would follow with certainty close +behind them, and Will, in particular, could lead them as if he had been +training them for years. + +The vast sweep of the plains into which they now emerged showed great +natural beauty, that is, to those who loved freedom and space, and the +winds came untarnished a thousand miles. Before them stretched the +country, not flat, but in swell on swell, tinted a delicate green, and +with wild flowers growing in the tufts of grass. + +"I've roamed over 'em for years," said Brady, "and after a while they +take a mighty grip on you. It may be all the stronger for me, because +I'm somewhat solitary by nature." + +"You're shorely not troubled by neighbors out here," said the Little +Giant. "I've passed three or four months at a time in the mountings +without a soul to speak to but myself. The great West suits a man, who +don't want to talk, clean down to the groun'." + +Will, the reins lying upon the pommel of his saddle, was surveying the +horizon with the powerful glasses which he was so proud to possess, and +far in the southeast he noticed a dim blur which did not seem to be a +natural part of the plain. It grew as he watched it, assuming the shape +of a cloud that moved westward along one side of a triangle, while the +four were riding along the other side. If they did not veer from their +course they would meet, in time, and the cloud, seemingly of dust, was, +therefore, a matter of living interest. + +"What are you looking at so long?" asked Boyd. + +"A cloud of dust that grows and grows and grows." + +"Where?" + +"In the southeast." + +"I can't see it and I have pretty keen eyes." + +"The naked eye won't reach so far, but the dust cloud is there just the +same. It's moving in a course almost parallel with us and it grows every +second I look at it. It may be the dust kicked up by a band of Sioux +horsemen. Take a look, Jim, and tell us what you make of it." + +Boyd looked through the glasses, at first with apprehension that soon +changed to satisfaction. + +"The cloud of dust is growing fast, just as you told us, Will," he said, +"and, while it did look for a moment or two like Indian horsemen, it +isn't. It's a buffalo herd, and the tail of it runs off into the +southeast, clean down under the horizon. Buffaloes move in two kinds of +herds, the giant herds, and the little ones. This is a giant, and no +mistake. In a few minutes you'll be able to see 'em, plain, with your +own eyes." + +"I kin see thar dust cloud now," exclaimed the Little Giant. "Looks ez +ef they wuz cuttin' 'cross our right o' way." + +They rode forward at ease and gradually a mighty cloud of dust, many +miles in length and of great width, emerged from the plain, moving +steadily toward the northwest. Will, with his glasses, now saw the +myriads of black forms that trampled up the dusty typhoons, and was even +able to discern the fierce wolves hanging on the flanks in the hope of +pulling down a calf or a decrepit old bull. + +"They must number millions," he said. + +"Like ez not they do," said the Little Giant. "You kin tell tales 'bout +the big herds o' bufflers on the plains that nobody will b'lieve, but +they're true jest the same. Once at the Platte I saw a herd crossin' fur +five days, an' it stretched up an' down the river ez fur ez the eye +could see." + +"How do they all live? Where do they find enough grass to eat?" asked +Will. + +"I dunno, but bunch grass is pow'ful fillin' an' fattenin', an' when a +country runs fifteen or eighteen hundred miles each way, thar's a lot o' +grass in it. The Sioux, the Cheyennes, the Pawnees an' all the plains +Indians live on the buffler." + +"And in my opinion," said Brady, "the buffalo must have been increasing +until the white man came with firearms. Their increase was greater than +the toll taken by Indians with bows and arrows and by the wolves. No +wonder the Indians fight so hard to retain the plains and the buffalo. +With an unlimited meat supply on the hoof, and with limited needs, they +undoubtedly lived a happy, nomadic life. If your health is good and your +wants are few it's not hard to be happy. The Biblical people were +nomadic for a long time, and some of the world's greatest men and women +moved with herds and lived in tents. My mind often reverts to those old +days and the simplicity of life." + +"I've allers thought thar wuz somethin' o' the old Bible 'bout you, +Steve," said the Little Giant. "You ain't no prophet. Nobody is +nowadays, but you talk like them fightin' an' prayin' old fellers, an' +you wander 'roun' the West jest ez they wandered 'bout the land o' +Canaan, but shore that you will git to your journey's end at last. An' I +know, too, Steve, that when you come to a fight you're jest ez fierce +an' terrible ez old Joshua hisself ever wuz, an' ef I ain't mistook it +wuz him that wuz called the sword o' the Lord. Ain't I right, young +William?" + +"I'm not sure," replied the lad, "but if you'll read the Book of Joshua +you'll find his sword was a great and terrible weapon indeed." + +"What do you think we'd better do, Boyd," asked Brady. "If we keep going +we'll find the herd crossing our path, and it will be no use fur us to +try to break through it." + +"We can move on until we come close up," replied the hunter, "and then +wait for the herd to go by. Maybe we might strike a clump of trees in +which we could camp. Pick out the country with your glasses, Will, and +see if you can find any trees on our side of the moving buffalo line." + +Will, after much searching, was able to identify the tops of some trees +standing in a dip where, sheltered from the winds that blew unceasingly, +they had been able to obtain good size. + +"We'll ride fur 'em," said Boyd. "There may be a pool of water in the +dip, too." + +"But won't the buffaloes stop and drink it up?" asked Will. + +"No, they're bearing straight ahead, looking neither to the right nor to +the left, going I've no idea where." + +"Two million hearts that beat as one," said Will. + +They reached the dip in due time, finding it a shallow depression of a +half acre, well grown with substantial cottonwoods and containing, as +they had surmised, a pool of good water, perhaps twenty feet each way, +and two feet deep. Here the animals drank freely, enabling them to save +the store they carried for more stringent times, and then all rested +among the trees, while myriads of buffaloes thundered by. + +Hour after hour they marched past, not a single one stopping for the +water and deep grass they must have smelled so near. At times, they were +half hidden by the vast cloud of dust in which they moved, and which was +of their own making, and at other times the wind of the plains blew it +away, revealing the lowered heads and huge black forms, pressing on with +some sort of instinct to their unknown destination. + +Will watched them a long time and the tremendous sight at last laid a +spell upon him. Apparently they had no leaders. What power moved them +out of a vast and unknown region into another region, alike vast and +unknown? Leaderless though they were, they advanced like the columns of +an army and with a single purpose. He climbed into a fork of one of the +cottonwoods and used his glasses once more. + +First he looked into the northwest, where they were going, and he could +not now see the head of the shaggy army or of the dust column that hung +above it, as both had passed long since under the horizon. And looking +into the southeast he could not see, either, the end of the coming army +or of its dust cloud. It emerged continually from under the rim of the +horizon, and there was such an effect of steadiness and permanency that +it seemed to the lad as if that vast column, black and wide, would be +coming on forever. + +Then he caught a glimpse of something glinting through the dust and from +the other side of the herd a full two miles away. Only good eyes and the +most powerful glasses of the time could have detected it at such a +moment, but he saw it twice, and then thrice and once more. Then, +waiting for the dust to lift a little, he discerned a brilliant ray of +sunlight striking on the head of a lance. Looking further and +searchingly he was able to note the figures of Indians on their ponies, +armed with lances, and cutting out from the herd as many of its choicest +members as they wanted, which were always the young and fat cows. + +He descended the tree hastily and related what he had seen to the +others, who, however, were not stirred greatly by the narration. + +"The buffaloes are a river, two miles wide, flowing between us and the +savage hunters," said Boyd, "and not having trees to climb and glasses +to look through they won't see us." + +"Besides, they're taking meat for their village, wherever it may be," +said Brady, "and they're not dreaming that white men whose heads can +furnish nice scalps are near." + +Will shivered a little, and clapped one hand to his hair, which was +uncommonly thick and fine. + +"Your scalp is thar, right an' tight, young William," said the Little +Giant, "but ef the Sioux got up close to you, you'd hev to hold it on +with both han's 'stead o' one. Hev any o' you fellers noticed that all +of us hev pow'ful thick, strong hair that would make splendid scalps fit +to hang in the tepees o' the head chiefs theirselves? It's remarkyble +how fine they are, speshully on the heads o' old men like Jim an' +Steve." + +"Thomas Bent, you irreverent and chunky imp," said Brady, "I, the oldest +of this party, am but thirty-eight. I have not yet reached the full +prime of my physical powers, and if I should be put to it I could +administer to you the thrashing you need." + +"And I'm only thirty-six," said Boyd, "and I've licked Tom often and +often, though sometimes, when he's feeling right peart, I'd have to use +both hands to do it. But I don't have any feeling against him when I do +the job. It's just to improve his language and manners. These boys of +thirty-two or three are so pesky full of life and friskiness that you +have to treat 'em as you would young lions. Before we met you in the +mountains, Steve, I generally gave him his thrashing in the morning +before breakfast." + +He reached a large palm for the Little Giant, who leaped lightly away +and laughed. + +"Lend me your glasses, young William," he said. "I'd like to climb one +o' the cotton woods myself an' take a look at the Indian hunters. O' +course you're a bright boy, young William, an' Jim an' Steve are so old +they're boun' to hev some intelligence forced upon 'em, but ez fur me +brightness an' intelligence come nateral, an' though mighty modest 'bout +it, I reckon I'm a kind o' Napoleon o' the West. They say our figgers +are tremenjeously alike, though, o' course, I'm thicker an' much +stronger than he wuz, an' perhaps a lot brighter in some ways." + +"Go on, you supreme egotist," said Brady in his usual solemn tones, +"climb the tree, where I cannot hear your voice, and stay there a long +time." + +The Little Giant was more serious than he pretended to be. He was fully +aware that they had lost at least seventy-five per cent of their +security when they descended from the high mountains. On the plains it +was difficult to fortify against attack, and he did not like the +appearance of the Indians, even as hunters on the far side of the +buffalo herd. Hence, when he had made himself comfortable in one of the +highest forks of a cottonwood, his examination through the glasses was +long and critical. He saw, just as Will had seen, the herd coming +forever from under the southeastern rim of the horizon and disappearing +forever under the northwestern rim. Then he caught glimpses of the +hunters still pursuing and cutting out the fat young cows, but instead +of being parallel with the little party in the dip they had now passed +far beyond it. Then he descended the tree and spoke what he thought. + +"Jim Boyd, hunter, Steve Brady, trapper, an' young William," he said, +"I'm of the opinion that we'd better stay here at least one day an' +night. The river o' buffaloes will be flowin' by at least that long, but +ef we wuz to go on an' they wuz to pass us, we might meet the warriors +with no river in between, an' we ain't looking fur that." + +"Good advice," said Brady. "When the conquerors went down into the land +of Canaan they used every chance that nature or circumstance offered +them, and why shouldn't we, even though three thousand years or so have +elapsed? We will build no fire, but repose calmly in our little clump of +trees." + +"Good judgment," said Boyd. + +"Pleases me," said Will. + +All day long and all that night the herd, as wide and dense as ever, was +passing. They might have slain enough to feed a great army, but they did +not fire a shot. The sight, whether by daylight or moonlight, did not +lose its romance and majesty for the lad. It was a black sea, flowing +and living, one of the greatest spectacles of the mighty western +wilderness, and it was given to him to look upon it. + +He grew so used to it by and by that he had no thought of its turning +from its course or of its throwing out stragglers like little, diverging +currents. It would go on in a vast flood, straight into the unknown, +wherever it intended to go. + +The horses and mules themselves, though at first uneasy, soon grew used +to the passage of the living river, and, since no harm came from it, +evidently concluded that none would come. Will walked among them more +than once and stroked their manes and then their noses, which they +rubbed confidingly against him. + +The moon shining that night was very bright, and, the heavens being +starred in such brilliant splendor, they saw almost as well as by day. +Will, to whom the romantic and majestic appealed with supreme force, +began to find a certain enjoyment, or rather a mental uplift, in his +extraordinary position. Before him was the great, black and living +river, flowing steadily from the unknown into the unknown, to north and +to south the rolling plains stretched away to infinity, and behind him, +piercing the skies, rose the misty White Dome, a vast peak; now +friendly, that seemed to watch over these faithful comrades of his and +himself. + +None of them slept until late, and they divided the remainder of the +night into watches of two hours apiece, Will's running from two until +four in the morning. It was Brady whom he succeeded and it required some +effort of the will for him to leap at once from his warm blankets and +take the place of sentinel in the night, which was now cold, as usual on +the plains. But, while averse to bloodshed, he had drilled himself into +soldiership in action, always prompt, accurate and thorough, and in less +than a minute he was walking up and down, rifle on shoulder, eyes open +to everything that was to be seen and ears ready for everything that was +to be heard. Stephen Brady, the philosopher, looked at him with +approval. + +"A prompt and obedient lad is sure to be a good and useful man," he +said. "You're as big as a man now, but you haven't the years and the +experience. I like you, William, and you are entitled to your share of +the Land of Canaan, which, in these later days, may be interpreted +variously as the treasures of the spirit and the soul. And now, +good-night." + +He wrapped himself in his blankets and, sound of body and conscience, he +slept at once. Will, walking back and forth, alert, eager, found that +nothing had changed while he was in slumber. The buffalo herd flowed on, +its speed and its flood the same, while the White Dome towered far into +the sky, almost above them, serene, majestic and protecting. It seemed +to Will that all the omens were good, that, great though the dangers and +hardships might be, they would triumph surely in the end. And the +feeling of victory and confidence was still strong upon him when his +watch of two hours was finished and he, too, in his turn, slept again. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE WAR CLUB'S FALL + + +When Will awoke in the cold dawn he found the herd still passing, though +it showed signs of diminution in both breadth and density. After +breakfast he climbed the cottonwood again, and took another long and +searching look through the glasses. + +"I can't yet see the end of the advancing herd under the rim of the +horizon," he announced when he descended, "but, as you can tell from the +ground, it's thinning out." + +"Which means thar'll no longer be a river cutting us off from the hoss +Indians on the south," said the Little Giant, "an' which means, too, +that it's time fur us to light out from here an' foller the trail." + +Curving considerably toward the north for fear of the Indian hunters, +who were likely to be where the buffaloes were, they rode at a good pace +over the plain, the pack horses and mules following readily without +leading. Their curve finally took them so far toward the north that the +swells of the plain hid the buffalo herd--only Will's glasses disclosing +traces of the dust cloud--and the thunder of its passage no longer +reached their ears. + +Near sundown they came to a low ridge covered with bushes, and deciding +that it was an excellent place for a camp they rode into the thick of it +until sure also from the presence of tree growth that they would find +water not far away. Will was the first to dismount and as he went over +the crest and down the slope in search of a stream or pool, he uttered a +cry of horror. + +He had come upon a sight, alas! too familiar at that time upon the +plains. Scattered about a little grassy opening were seven or eight +human skeletons, picked so clean by the wolves that they were white and +glistening. But the lad knew that wolves had not caused their deaths. +Bullet, arrow and lance had done the work. He shuddered again and again, +but he was too much of the mountain ranger and plainsman now to turn +aside because of horror. + +He concluded that the skeletons represented perhaps two families, +surprised and slaughtered by the Sioux. Several of them were small, +evidently those of children, and he arrived at the number two because he +saw in the bushes near by two of the great wagons of the emigrant camp, +overturned and sacked. Just beyond was a small, clear stream which +obviously had caused the victims to stop there. + +Will walked back slowly and gravely to his comrades. + +"Did you find water, young William?" asked the Little Giant jovially. + +"I did," replied the lad briefly. + +"Then why does that gloom set upon your brow?" + +"Because I found something else, too." + +"What else do we need? Water fur ourselves an' the animals is all we +want." + +"But I found something else, I tell you, Tom Bent, and it was not a +sight pleasant to see." + +The Little Giant noticed the shudder in the lad's tones, and he asked +more seriously: + +"Signs of hostile bands comin', young William?" + +"No, not that, but signs where they have passed, skeletons of those whom +they have slain, just beyond the bushes there, picked clean, white and +glistening. Come with me and see!" + +The others, who heard, went also, and the men looked reflectively at the +scene. + +"I've seen its like often," said Boyd. "The emigrants push on, straight +into the Indian country. Neither hardships, nor troops, nor the Indians +themselves can stop 'em. Wherever a party is cut off, two come to take +its place. I guess this group was surprised, and killed without a chance +to fight back." + +"How do you know that?" asked Will. + +"'Cause the wagons are turned over. That shows that the horses were +still hitched to 'em, when the firin' from ambush began, and in their +frightened struggles tipped 'em on one side. Suppose we go through 'em." + +"What for, Jim?" + +"This must have been done at least a couple of months ago. The +weather-beaten canvas covers and the general condition of the wagons +show that. War not being then an open matter the Indians might have +hurried away without making a thorough overhauling. Then, too, it might +have been done by wandering Piegans or Blackfeet or Northern Cheyennes, +who, knowing they were on Sioux territory, were anxious to get away with +their spoil as quickly as they could." + +"Good sound reasonin', Jim," said the Little Giant, "an' we'll shorely +take a good look through them wagons." + +The wagons, as usual with those crossing the plains, contained many +little boxes and lockers and secret places, needful on such long +journeys, and they searched minutely through every square inch of the +interior space. The Indians had not been so bad at the sack themselves, +but they found several things of value, some medicines in a small +locker, two saws, several gimlets and other tools, and under a false +bottom in one of the wagons, which the sharp eye of the Little Giant +detected, a great mat filled with coffee, containing at least one +hundred pounds. + +They could have discovered nothing that would have pleased them more, +since coffee was always precious to the frontiersman, and together they +uttered a shout of triumph. Then they divided it among their own sacks +and continued the search looking for more false bottoms. They were +rewarded in only a single instance and in that they found an excellent +pocket compass, which they assigned to Bent. + +Their gleanings finished, they made camp and passed a peaceful night, +resuming the journey early the next morning. They would have buried the +bones of the slain, as they had spades and picks for mining work, but +they felt they should not linger, as they were now in country infested +by the Sioux and it was not well to remain long in one place. Hence, +they rode away under an early sun, and soon the memory of the slaughter +by the little stream faded from their minds. Events were too great and +pressing for them to dwell long upon anything detached from their own +lives. + +On the second day afterward they curved back toward the south and struck +the great buffalo trail. But the herd, which did have an end after all, +had now passed, and they saw only stragglers. As the trail led into the +northwest and their own trail must be more nearly west, they crossed it +and did not stop until half the night had gone, as they knew the Indians +were most to be dreaded near the herd or in its path. + +When they camped now Will could no longer see the White Dome, which had +followed them so long, watching over them like a great and majestic +friend. He missed that lofty white signal in the sky, feeling as if a +good omen had gone, and that the signs would not now be so favorable. +But the depression was only momentary. He had cultivated too strong and +courageous a will ever to allow himself to be depressed long. + +At noon they were far from the hills and out on the open plains, which +spread swell on swell before them, seemingly to infinity, with only a +lone tree here and there, and at rare intervals a sluggish stream an +inch or two deep and dangerous with quicksands. The water of these +little creeks was not good, touched at times with alkali, but they made +the horses and mules drink it, saving the pure supply they carried for +a period of greater need. + +Will used his glasses almost continually, watching for a possible enemy +or anything else that might appear upon the plain, and he saw occasional +groups of the buffalo, a dozen or so, at which he expressed surprise. + +"And why are you surprised, young William?" asked Brady. "Don't you know +enough of this mighty West not to be surprised at anything?" + +"I saw so many millions in that herd going into the northwest," replied +the lad, "that I thought it must have included all the buffaloes in the +world. Yet here are more, scattered in little groups." + +"And there are other herds millions strong far down in the south, and +still others just as strong, Montana way. It may be in this great hunt +of ours that we can live on the buffalo, just as the Indians do." + +They slept that night on the open plain, warm in their blankets and +lulled by the eternal winds, and the next morning they were off again at +the first upshoot of dawn. It now grew very warm, the sun's rays coming +down vertically, while the plain itself seemed to act as a burnished +shield, reflecting them and doubling the heat. Careful of their animals, +they gave them a long rest at noon, and then resumed the march at a slow +pace. Before sundown Will saw through his glasses a long line of trees, +apparently cottonwoods, running almost due north and south. + +"Means a creek," said the Little Giant, "a creek mebbe a leetle bigger +than them make-believe creeks we've crossed. I like the plains. They +kinder git hold o' you with thar sweep an' thar freedom, but I ain't +braggin' any 'bout thar water courses. I've seen some o' the maps in +which the rivers cut big an' black an' bold an' long 'cross the plains, +same ez ef they wuz ragin' an' t'arin' Ohios an' Missips, an' then I've +seen the rivers tharselves, more sand than water. An' I love fine, clear +streams, runnin' fast, but you hev to go into the mountains to git 'em, +whar, ez you've seen, Will, thar are lots o' sparklin' leetle ones, +clean full o' pure water, silver, or blue, or gold, or gray, 'cordin' to +the way the sun shines. But I say ag'in when braggin' o' the great +plains I keep dark 'bout the rivers an' lakes." + +The cottonwoods were six or seven miles away, and when they reached them +they found all of the Little Giant's predictions to be true. The stream, +a full foot in depth, flowed between banks higher than usual, and its +waters, cold and sweet, were entirely devoid of alkali. Following it +some distance, they found sloping banks free from the danger of +quicksand, and crossed to the other side, where they made a camp among +the cottonwoods. + +Will, weary from the long ride, went to sleep as soon as dusk came, but +he was awakened somewhere near the middle of the night by the hand of +Boyd on his shoulder. + +"What is it?" he asked, sitting up and not yet wholly awake. + +"Quiet!" whispered Boyd. "Reach for your rifle, and then don't stir. The +Sioux are out on the plain to the west, in front of us. Tom, who was on +watch, heard 'em, and then he saw 'em. There's a band of at least fifty +on their ponies. We think they know we're here. Likely they heard our +animals moving about." + +The lad's heart contracted. It seemed a hideous irony of fate that, +after having escaped so many dangers by their skill and courage, blind +chance should bring such a great menace against them here upon the +plains. He drew himself from his blankets, and propping himself upon his +elbows pushed forward his repeating rifle. Then he changed his mind, put +down his rifle again, and brought to his eyes the precious glasses, with +which he seldom parted. + +He was able to see through the cottonwoods and in the moonlight the +Sioux band, about a third of a mile away, gathered in a group on the +crest of a swell, strong warriors, heavily painted, nearly all of them +wearing splendid war bonnets. They were sitting on their ponies and two, +whom Will took to be chiefs, were talking together. + +"What do you make out, young William?" asked the Little Giant. + +"A conference, I suppose." + +"Then they know beyond a doubt that we're here," said Boyd. "They must +have heard the stamp of a horse or a mule. It's bad luck, but we've had +so much of the good that we've got to look for a little of the bad. What +more do you see through those glasses of yours, Will?" + +"Ten men from the band have gone to the right, and ten have gone to the +left. All are bent low on their ponies, and they are moving slowly. +Some carry lances and some rifles." + +"That settles it. They're sure we're here and they mean to take us. What +about those who are left in the center?" + +"They've come a little nearer, but not much." + +"Waiting for the two wings to close in before they attack. That's your +crafty Indian. They never waste their own lives if they can help it, nor +does an Indian consider it any disgrace to run when the running is of +profit. I don't know but what they're right. Can you still see the two +wings, Will?" + +"The one on the left is hid by a swell, but the other on the right is +bearing in toward the creek." + +"Then we'd better make our field of battle and fortify as fast as we +can." + +The horses and mules were tethered in the lowest ground they could find +among the cottonwoods near the edge of the creek, where the four hoped +they would escape the bullets. Then they built in all haste a circular +breastwork of fallen wood and of their own packs. + +"Thar's one satisfaction 'bout it," said the Little Giant grimly. "Ef +we're besieged here a long time we'll hev water only a few feet away. +Many a man on the plains could hev held his own ag'inst the painted imps +ef he could hev reached water. What do you see now, young William?" + +"Both horns of their crescent. They're on top of the swells, but have +come almost to the cottonwoods. Do you look for 'em to cross the +creek?" + +"Sooner or later they will, an' we'll have to guard from all directions, +but I reckon the attack jest now will come straight in front an' 'long +the stream on the flanks." + +"And the hardest push will be on the flanks?" + +"Yes, that would be good strategy. They mean, while the warriors in +front are keeping us busy, to press in from both sides. What do you see +now, young William?" + +"The forces on the flanks have passed out of sight among the +cottonwoods, and the one in front is still advancing slowly. The +warriors there seem to be armed chiefly with bows and arrows." + +"Meant mostly to draw our attention. The rifles are carried by the men +on the flanks. B'ars out what we said 'bout thar plan. These warriors, +like some others we met, hev got to learn a lot 'bout the new an' +pow'ful repeatin' rifles. Do you think, Jim, them in front hev now rid +within range?" + +"In a minute or two they'll be within your range, Giant." + +"Then do you think I'd better?" + +"Yes. They've made their semi-circle for attack. Tell 'em in mighty +plain language they oughtn't to do such a thing without consulting us." + +"Give 'em a hint, so to speak, Jim?" + +"That's what I mean." + +The Little Giant levelled his rifle at the approaching horsemen. The +moonlight was silvery and brilliant, giving him fine chance for aim, and +not in vain had his friend, Boyd, called him the greatest shot in the +West. The rifle cracked, there was a little spit of fire in the +moonlight, and the foremost Indian fell from his pony. The band uttered +a single shout of rage, but did not charge. Instead, the warriors drew +back hastily. + +"That settles it," said Brady. "It's just a feint in front, but they +didn't dream we could reach 'em at such long range. We've got to do our +main watching now among the cottonwoods, up and down the stream. Of +course, they'll dismount there, and try to creep up on us. Will, you +keep an eye on those warriors out there and we'll take care of the +cottonwoods, but everybody stay down as close as possible. We're only +four and we can't afford the loss of a single man." + +Will was lying almost flat, and he could put away the glasses, fastening +them securely over his shoulder, as the warriors in front were plainly +visible now to the naked eye. They were beyond the range of the deadly +repeating rifles, but the moonlight was so intense that he saw them +distinctly, even imagining that he could discern their features, and his +fancy certainly did not diminish the horror and repulsion they inspired. + +They rode slowly back and forth, shaking long lances or waving heavy war +clubs, and suddenly they burst into a series of yells that made the +lad's blood run cold. At length he distinguished the word, "winihinca" +shouted over and over again. Boyd, lying beside him, was laughing low. + +"What does 'winihinca' mean, and why do you laugh?" asked Will. + +"'Winihinca' is the Sioux word for women," replied the hunter, "and +they're trying to taunt us because we're lying in hiding. It will take +more than a taunt or two to draw us out of these cottonwoods. They can +shout 'winihinca' all night if they wish." + +But the warriors riding back and forth in the moonlight on the crest of +the low swell were good shouters. Yellers, Will would have called them. +Their throats and lungs seemed to be as tough as the inside of a bear's +hide, and also they threw into their work a zest and flavor that showed +they were enjoying it. Presently their yelling changed its key note, and +Will discerned the word, "wamdadan." Again the hunter lying by his side +laughed low. + +"What does 'wamdadan' mean?" he asked. "Just now we were 'winihinca' and +now we are 'wamdadan.'" + +"We've gone down in the scale," replied Boyd. "In fact, we've sunk +pretty far. A little while ago we were women, but now we are worms. +'Wamdadan' means worm. We're 'wamdadans' because we won't come out of +our burrows and stand up straight and tall, where the Sioux can shoot us +to pieces at their leisure." + +"I intend to remain a 'wamdadan' as long as I can," said Will. "If lying +close to the earth, burrowing into it in fact, makes you a worm then a +worm am I for the present." + +"No, you're not. You were for a while, but they've changed their cry +now. Listen closely! Can't you make out a new word?" + +"Now that you call my attention to it, I do. It sounds like 'canwanka.'" + +"'Canwanka' it is. That's the new name they're calling us and it's not +complimentary. 'Canwanka' means coward. First we were women, then worms +and now cowards, because we won't give up the aid of our fortifications +and allow ourselves to be overpowered by the Sioux numbers. Do you hear +anything among the cottonwoods on the creek, Giant?" + +"Nothing yet, Jim. They keep up such an infernal yelling out thar in +front that it will drown out any light sound." + +"Doubtless that's what it's for." + +"I think so, too. You don't hev to see them imps among the cottonwoods +to know what they're up to. They hev dismounted on both wings, an' +they're creepin' forward from the north an' from the south close to the +banks o' the creek, hopin' to ketch us nappin'." + +The Little Giant was facing the south and suddenly his figure became +taut. + +"See something?" whispered Boyd. + +"I think so, but I ain't quite sure yet. Yes, it's the head o' a +warrior, stickin' up 'bout a foot from the ground, an' he'll be the fust +to go." + +Will was startled by the sharp crack of a rifle almost at his elbow, and +he heard the Little Giant's sigh of satisfaction. + +"Straight an' true," muttered the terrible marksman. + +Then the rifle of Brady, who faced the south, spoke also and his aim +was no less deadly. Boyd, meanwhile, held his fire, as the advancing +bands among the cottonwoods sank from view. But the band in front in the +open uttered a tremendous shout and galloped about wildly. Will, +watching them cautiously, thought one of the riders in his curvetings +had come within range, and, taking good aim, he fired. The rider fell to +the ground, and his pony ran away over the plain. + +"Good shot, Will," said Boyd approvingly. "And it speaks all the better +for you because you were watching for your chance and were ready when it +came." + +After such a hint the shouting band drew back and shouted less. Then the +four listened with all their ears for any sound that might pass among +the cottonwoods, though they felt that the attack would not come again +there for a long time, as the first result had been so deadly. Will took +advantage of the interlude, and, creeping past the barrier they had +built, went among the horses and mules, soothing them with low voice and +stroke of hand. They pressed against him, pushed their noses into his +palm, and showed a confidence in him that did not fail to move the lad +despite the terrible nature of their situation. + +"Good lads!" he whispered when he left them and crawled back within the +barricade. + +"How're they behavin'?" asked the Little Giant. + +"Fine," responded Will. "Human beings couldn't do better. They're +standing well under fire, when they're not able to fire back." + +"Which gives more credit to them than to us, because we can and do fire +back." + +"Will," said Boyd, "you resume your watch of that band in front while we +devote all our attention to the cottonwoods. It's a good thing we've got +this creek with the high banks back of us. Now, we're in for a long +wait. When warriors are besieging, they always try to wear out the +patience of those they besiege and tempt 'em into some rash act." + +"Those in front are riding beyond the swell and out of sight," said +Will. + +The Little Giant laughed with the most intense satisfaction. + +"They're skeered o' our rifles," he said. "We've got lightnin' that +strikes at pretty long range, an' they ain't so shore that it ain't a +lot longer than it is." + +Will had learned the philosophy of making himself comfortable whenever +he could, and lying with his hand on one arm he watched the cottonwoods, +trusting meanwhile more to ear than to eye. Since the Indians in front, +disappearing over the swell, had ceased to shout, the night became +quiet. The wind was light and the cottonwoods did not catch enough of it +to give back a song, while the creek was too sluggish to murmur as it +flowed. His comrades also were moveless, although he knew that they were +watching. + +He looked up at the heavens, and the moon and the stars were so bright +that they seemed to be surcharged with silver. The whole world, in such +misty glow, was supremely beautiful, and it was hard to realize, as he +lay there in silence and peace, that they were surrounded by savage +foes, seeking their lives, men who, whatever their primitive virtues, +knew little of mercy. He understood and respected the wish of the Sioux +and the other tribes to preserve for themselves the great buffalo ranges +and the mountains, but he was not able to feel very friendly toward them +when they lay in the cottonwoods not far away, seeking his scalp and his +life, or, if taken alive, to subject him to all the hideous tortures +that primeval man has invented. The distant view of the Indian as a +wronged individual often came into violent contact with another view of +him near at hand, seeking to inflict a death with hideous pain. + +The night did not darken as it wore on, still starred brilliantly and +lighted by a full, silver moon, which seemed to Will on these lone +plains of the great West to have a size and splendor that he had never +noticed in the East. He and the Little Giant now faced the north, while +Boyd and Brady, of the Biblical voice and speech, looked toward the +south. All of them, when they gazed that way, could see the plain from +which the force, intending to attract their attention by shouting and +yelling, had retreated. But they knew the danger was still to be +apprehended from the cottonwoods, and despite the long stillness they +never ceased to watch with every faculty they could bring to bear. + +The dip in which the horses and mules stood was only a short distance +from the little fortification and unless the Sioux in attacking came +very near their bullets were likely to pass over the heads of the +animals. The four, resolved not to abandon the horses and mules under +any circumstances, nevertheless felt rather easy on that score. + +About three o'clock in the morning some shots were fired from the +cottonwoods in the south, but they flew wild and the four did not reply. + +"They came from a distance," said Boyd. "They're probably intended to +provoke our fire and tell just where we're lying." + +After a while more shots were fired, now from the north, but as they +were obviously intended for the same purpose the four still remained +quiet. A little later Will heard a movement, a stamping of hoofs among +the animals, indicating alarm, and once more he crawled out of the +breastwork to soothe them. + +The horses and mules responded as always to his whispered words of +encouragement and strokings of manes and noses, and he was about to +return when his attention was attracted by a slight noise in the bushes +on the farther side of the animals. Every motive of frontier caution and +thoroughness inclined him to see what it was. It might be and most +probably was a coyote hiding there in fear, but that did not prevent him +from stooping low and entering the bushes. + +The growth of scrub, watered by seepage from the stream, was rather +dense, and he pushed his way in gently, lest a rustling of twigs and +leaves reach the Sioux, lurking among the cottonwoods. He did not hear +the noise again, and he went a little farther. Then he heard a sound by +his side almost as light as that of a leaf that falls, and he whirled +about, but it was too late. A war club descended upon his head and he +fell unconscious to the ground. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE YOUNG SLAVE + + +Will's first sign of returning consciousness was a frightful headache, +and he did not open his eyes, but, instead, moved his hand toward the +pain as one is tempted to bite down on a sore tooth. It was in the top +of his head, and his fingers touched a bandage. Without thinking he +pulled at it, and the pain, so far from being confined to one spot, shot +through his whole body. Then he lay still, with his eyes yet shut, and +the agony decreased until it was confined to a dull throbbing in the +original spot. + +He tried to gather together his scattered and wandering faculties and +cooerdinate them to such an extent that he could produce thought. It +required a severe effort, and made his head ache worse than ever, but he +persisted until he remembered that he had been creeping through bushes +in search of a sound, or the cause of a sound. But memory stopped there +and presently faded quite away. Another effort and he lifted his mind +back on the track. Then he remembered the slight sound in the bushes +near him, the shadow of a figure and a stunning blow. Beyond that his +memory despite all his whipping and driving, would not go, because there +was nothing on which to build. + +He opened his eyes which were heavy-lidded and painful for the time, and +saw the figures of Indians that seemed to be standing far above him. +Then he knew that he was lying flat upon his back, and that his sick +brain was exaggerating their height, because they truly appeared to him +in the guise of giants. He tried to move his feet but found that they +were bound tightly together, and the effort gave him much pain. Then he +was in truth a captive, the captive of those who cared little for his +sufferings. It was true they had bound up his head, but Indians often +gave temporary relief to the wounds of their prisoners in order that +they might have more strength to make the torture long. + +His vision cleared gradually, and he saw that he was lying on a small +grassy knoll. A fire was burning a little distance to his left, and +besides the warriors who stood up others were lying down, or sitting in +Turkish fashion, gnawing the meat off buffalo bones that they roasted at +the fire. The whole scene was wild and barbaric to the last degree and +Will shuddered at the fate which he was sure awaited him. + +Beyond the Indians he saw trees, but they were not cottonwoods. Instead +he noted oak and pine and aspen and he knew he was not lying where he +had fallen, or in any region very near it. Straining his eyes he saw a +dim line of foothills and forest. He must have been brought there on a +pony and dreadful thoughts about his comrades assailed him. Since the +Sioux had come away with him as a prisoner they might have fallen in a +general massacre. In truth, that was the most likely theory, by far, +and he shuddered violently again and again. + +Those three had been true and loyal friends of his, the finest of +comrades, hearts of steel, and yet as gentle and kindly as women. +Hardships and dangers in common had bound the four together, and the +difference in years did not matter. It seemed that he had known them and +been associated with them always. He could hear now the joyous whistling +of the Little Giant, the terse, intelligent talk of Boyd, and the firm +Biblical allusions of the beaver hunter. They could not be dead! It +could not be so! And yet in his heart he believed that it _was_ so. + +He turned painfully on his side, groaned, shut his eyes, and opened them +again to see a tall warrior standing over him, gazing down at him with a +cynical look. He was instantly ashamed that he had groaned and said in +apology: + +"It was pain of the spirit and not of the body that caused me to make +lament." + +"It must be so," replied the warrior in English, "because you have come +back to the world much quicker than we believed possible. The vital +forces in you are strong." + +He spoke like an educated Indian, but his face, his manner and his whole +appearance were those of the typical wild man. + +"I see that I'm at least alive," said Will with a faint touch of humor, +"though I can scarcely describe my condition as cheerful. Who are you?" + +"I am Heraka, a Sioux chief. Heraka in your language means the Elk, and +I am proud of the name." + +Will looked again at him, and much more closely now, because, despite +his condition, he was impressed by the manner and appearance. Heraka was +a man of middle years, of uncommon height and of a broad, full +countenance, the width between the eyes being great. It was a +countenance at once dignified, serene and penetrating. He wore +brilliantly embroidered moccasins, leggings and waist band, and a long +green blanket, harmonizing with the foliage at that period of the year, +hung from his shoulders. He carried a rifle and there were other weapons +in his belt. + +Will felt with increasing force that he was in the presence of a great +Sioux chief. The Sioux, who were to the West what the Iroquois were to +the East, sometimes produced men of high intellectual rank, their +development being hampered by time and place. The famous chief, Gall, +who planned Custer's defeat, and who led the forces upon the field, had +the head of a Jupiter, and Will felt now as he stared up at Heraka that +he had never beheld a more imposing figure. The gaze of the man that met +his own was stern and denunciatory. The lad felt that he was about to be +charged with a great crime, and that the charge would be true. + +"Why have you come here?" asked the stern warrior. + +In spite of himself, in spite of his terrible situation, the youth's +sense of humor sparkled up a moment. + +"I don't know why I came here," he replied, "nor do I know how, nor do I +know where I am." + +The chief's gaze flickered a moment, but he replied with little +modification of his sternness: + +"You were brought here on the back of a pony. You are miles from where +you were taken, and you are the prisoner of these warriors of the Dakota +whom I lead." + +Will knew well enough that the Sioux called themselves in their own +language the Dakota, and that the chief would take a pride in so naming +them to him. + +"The Dakotas are a great nation," he said. + +Heraka nodded, not as if it were a compliment, but as a mere statement +of fact. Will considered. Would it be wise to ask about his friends? +Might he not in doing so give some hint that could be used against them? +The fierce gaze of the chief seemed actually to penetrate his physical +body and read his mind. + +"You are thinking of those who were with you," he said. + +"My thoughts had turned to them." + +"Call them back. It is a waste." + +"Why do you say that, Heraka?" + +"Because they are all dead. Their scalps are drying at the belts of the +warriors. You alone live as we had to strike you down in silence before +we slew the others." + +Will shuddered over and over again. He was sick at both heart and brain. +Could it be true? Could those men be dead? The wise Boyd, the cheerful +Little Giant, and the grave and kindly Brady? Once more he looked Heraka +straight in the eye, but the gaze of the chief did not waver. + +"I have hope, though but a little hope," he said, "that it pleases the +chief to test me. He would see whether I can bear such news." + +"If the belief helps you then Heraka will not try again to make you see +the truth. What is your name?" + +"Clarke, William Clarke." + +"Why have you come to the land of the Dakotas?" + +"Not to take it. Not to kill the buffalo. Not to drive away any of your +people." + +"But you are captured upon it. The great chief, Mahpeyalute, warned the +American captain and the soldiers that they must not let the white +people come any farther." + +"That is true. I was there, and I heard Red Cloud give the warning." + +"And yet you came against the threat of Mahpeyalute." + +"Mine was an errand of a nature almost sacred. I tell you again there +was no harm in it to your country and your people." + +"Many times have the white people told to the Dakotas things that were +lies." + +"It is true, but the sins of others are not mine." + +Will spoke with all his heart in his words. Despite the terrible +disaster that had befallen, even if the chief's words were true, and all +his friends were dead, he wished, nevertheless, to live. He was young, +strong, of great vitality, and nothing could crush the love of life in +him. + +"What do you intend to do with me?" he asked. + +Heraka smiled, but the smile contained nothing of gentleness or mercy, +rather it was amusement at the anxiety of one who was wholly in his +power. + +"Your fate shall not be known to you until it comes," he said. + +Will felt a chill running down his spine. It was the primal instinct to +torture and slay the enemy and the Sioux lived up to it. It was keen +torture already to hear that his fate would surely come, but not to know +how or where or when was worse. But it appeared that it was not to come +at once, and with that thought he felt the thrill of hope. His was +unquenchable youth and the vital spark in him flamed up. + +"Would you mind untying my ankles?" he said. "You can save your torture +for later on." + +Heraka signed to a warrior, who cut the thongs and Will, sitting up, +rubbed them carefully until the blood flowed back in its natural +channels. Meanwhile he observed the band and counted sixteen warriors, +all but Heraka seeming to be the wildest of wild Indians, most of them +entirely naked save for moccasins and the breech cloth. They carried +muzzle-loading rifles, bows and arrows hung from the bushes and lances +leaned against the trees. Beyond the bushes he caught glimpses of their +ponies grazing, and these glimpses were sufficient to show him that they +had many extra animals for the packs. When he saw them better, then he +would know whether his friends were really dead, because if they were +their packs and the animals would be there, too. But the chief, Heraka, +broke in upon the thought--he seemed able to read Will's mind. + +"This is but part of the force that besieged you," he said. "There were +three bands joined. The others with the spoil have gone west, leaving as +our share the prisoner. A living captive is worth more than two scalps." + +Will tried to remember all he had ever heard or read about the necessity +of stoicism when in the hands of savage races and by a supreme effort of +the will he was able to put a little of it into practice. Pretending to +indifference, he asked if he might have something to eat, and received +roasted meat of the buffalo. He had a good appetite, despite his +weakness and headache, and when he had eaten in abundance and had drunk +a gourd of water they gave him he felt better. + +"I thank you for binding up my wounded head," he said to Heraka. "I +don't know your motive in doing so, but I thank you just the same." + +The Dakota chief smiled grimly. + +"We do not wish you to die yet," he said, speaking his English in the +precise, measured manner of one to whom it is a foreign language. +"Inmutanka, the Panther, bound it up, and he is one of the best healers +we have." + +"Then I thank also Inmutanka, or the Panther, whichever he prefers to be +called. I can't see the top of my head, but I know he made a good job of +it." + +Inmutanka proved to be an elderly but robust Sioux warrior, and however +he may have been when torture was going forward he wore just then a +bland smile, although not much else. With wonderfully light and skilful +hands he took off Will's bandage and replaced it with another. Will +never knew what it was made of, but it seemed to be lined with leaves +steeped in the juices of herbs. + +The Indians had some simple remedies of great power, and he felt the +effect of the new bandage at once. His headache began to abate rapidly, +and with the departure of pain his views of life became much more +cheerful. + +"I never saw you before, Dr. Inmutanka," he said, "but I know you're one +of the finest physicians in all the West. Whatever school you graduated +from should give you all the degrees it has to give. Again, I thank +you." + +The Indian seemed not to understand a word he said, but no one could +mistake the sincerity of the lad's tone. Inmutanka, otherwise the +Panther, smiled, and the smile was not cruel, nor yet cynical. He +stepped back a little, regarded his handiwork with satisfaction, and +then merged himself into the band. + +"That's a good Sioux! I know he is!" said Will warmly to Heraka. +"Hereafter Dr. Inmutanka shall be my personal and private physician." + +Heraka's face was touched by a faint smile. It was the first mild +emotion he had shown and Will rejoiced to see it. He found himself +wishing to please this wild chief, not in any desire to seek favor, but +he felt that, in its way, the approval of Heraka was approval worth +having. + +"You eat, you drink, you feel strong again," said Heraka. + +"Yes, that's it." + +"Then we go. We are mountain Sioux. We have a village deep in the high +mountains that white men can never find. We will take you there, where +you will await your fate, never knowing what it is nor when it will +come." + +Will was shaken once more by a terrible shudder. This constant harping +upon the mysterious but fearful end that was sure to overtake him was +having its effect. Heraka had reckoned right when he began the torture +of the mind. The chief spoke sharply to the warriors and putting out the +fire they gathered up their weapons and the horses. Will was mounted on +one of the ponies and his ankles were tied together beneath the animal's +body, but loosely only, enough to prevent a sudden flight though not +enough to cause pain. There was no saddle, but as he was used to riding +bare-backed he could endure it indefinitely. + +Then the chief did a surprising thing, binding a piece of soft deerskin +over Will's eyes so tightly that not a ray of light entered. + +"Why do you do that, Heraka?" asked the lad. + +"That you may not see which way you go, nor what is by the path as you +ride. Soon, with your eyes covered you will lose the sense of direction +and you will not be able to tell whether you go north or south or east +or west." + +He spoke sharply to the warriors and the group set off. The direction at +first was toward the north, as Will well knew, but the band presently +made many curves and changes of course, and, as Heraka had truly said, +he ceased to have any idea of the course they were taking. He saw +nothing, but he heard all around him the footfalls of the ponies, and, +now and then, the word of one warrior to another. He might have raised +his hands to tear loose the bandage over his eyes, but he knew that the +Sioux would interfere at once, and he would only bring upon himself some +greater pain. + +Will felt that a warrior was riding on either side of him and presently +he was aware also that the one on the right had moved up more swiftly, +giving way to somebody else. A sort of mental telepathy told him that +the first warrior had been replaced by a stronger and more dominant one. +Instinct said that it was Heraka, and he was not mistaken. The chief +rode on in silence for at least ten minutes and then he asked: + +"Which way do you ride, Wayaka (captive)? Is it north, or south, or is +it east or west?" + +"I don't know," confessed Will. "I tried to keep the sense of direction, +but we twisted and turned so much I've lost it." + +"I knew that it would be so. Wayaka will ride many hundreds of miles, he +knows not whither. And whether he is to die soon or late he will see his +own people again never more. If he ever looks upon a white face again it +will be the face of one who is a friend of the Sioux and not of his own +race, or the face of a captive like himself." + +[Illustration: "If he ever looks upon a white face again it will be the +face of one who is a friend of the Sioux."] + +Will shuddered. The threat coming from a man like Heraka, who spoke in a +tone at once charged with malice and power, was full of evil portent. +Had an ordinary Indian threatened him thus he might not have been +affected so deeply, but with the decree of Heraka he seemed to vanish +completely from the face of the earth, or, at least, from his world and +all those that knew him. His will, however, was still strong. He felt +instinctively that Heraka was looking at him, and he would show no sign +of flinching or of weakness. He straightened himself up on the pony, +threw back his shoulders and replied defiantly: + +"I have a star that protects me, Heraka. Nearly every man has a star, +but mine is a most powerful one, and it will save me. Even now, though I +cannot see and I do not know whether it is daylight or twilight, I know +that my star, invisible though it may be in the heavens, is watching +over me." + +He spoke purposely in the lofty and somewhat allegorical style, used +sometimes by the higher class of Indians, and he could not see its +effect. But Heraka, strong though his mind was, felt a touch of +superstitious awe, and looking up at the heavens, all blue though they +were, almost believed that he saw in them a star looking down at Wayaka, +the prisoner. + +"Wayaka may have a star," he said, "but it will be of no avail, because +the stars of the Sioux, being so much the stronger, will overcome it." + +"We shall see," replied the lad. Yet, despite all his brave bearing, his +heart was faint within him. Heraka did not speak to him again, and by +the same sort of mental telepathy he felt, after a while, that the chief +had dropped away from his side, and had been replaced by the original +warrior. + +Although eyes were denied to him, for the present, all his other +faculties became heightened as a consequence, and he began to use them. +He was sure that they were still traveling on the plains, so much dust +rose, and now and then he coughed to clear it from his throat. But they +were not advancing into the deeps of the great plains, because twice +they crossed shallow streams, and on each occasion all the ponies were +allowed to stop and drink. + +Will knew that his own pony at the second stream drank eagerly, in fact, +gulped down the water. Such zest in drinking showed that the creek was +not alkaline, and hence he inferred that they could not be very far from +hills, and perhaps from forest. He surmised that they were going either +west or north. A growing coolness, by and by, indicated to him that +twilight was coming. Upon the vast western plateau the nights were +nearly always cold, whatever the day may have been. + +Yet they went on another hour, and then he heard the voice of Heraka, +raised in a tone of command, followed by a halt. An Indian unbound his +feet and said something to him in Sioux, which he did not understand, +but he knew what the action signified, and he swung off the pony. He was +so stiff from the long ride that he fell to the ground, but he sprang up +instantly when he heard a sneering laugh from one of the Indians. + +"Bear in mind, Heraka," he said, "that I cannot see and so it was not so +easy for me to balance myself. Even you, O chief, might have fallen." + +"It is true," said Heraka. "Inmutanka, take the bandage from his eyes." + +They were welcome words to Will, who had endured all the tortures of +blindness without being blind. He felt the hands of the elderly Indian +plucking at the bandage, and then it was drawn aside. + +"Thank you, Dr. Inmutanka," he said, but for a few moments a dark veil +was before his eyes. Then it drifted aside, and he saw that it was +night, a night in which the figures around him appeared dimly. Heraka +stood a few feet away, gazing at him maliciously, but during that long +and terrible ride, the prisoner had taken several resolutions, and first +of them was to appear always bold and hardy among the Indians. He +stretched his arms and legs to restore the circulation, and also took a +few steps back and forth. + +He saw that they were in a small open space, surrounded by low bushes +and he surmised that there was a pool just beyond the bushes as he heard +the ponies drinking and gurgling their satisfaction. + +"The ride has been long and hard," he said to Heraka, "and I am now +ready to eat and drink. Bid some warrior bring me food and water." + +Then he sat down and rejoiced in the use of his eyes. Had they been +faced by a dazzling light when the bandage was taken off he might not +have been able to see for a little while, but the darkness was tender +and soothing. Gradually he was able to see all the warriors at work +making a camp, and Heraka, as if the captive's command had appealed to +his sense of humor, had one man bring him an abundance of water in a +gourd, and then, when a fire was lighted and deer and buffalo meat were +broiled, he ate with the rest as much as he liked. + +After supper Inmutanka replaced with a fresh one the bandage upon his +head, from which the pain had now departed. Will was really grateful. + +"I want to tell you, Dr. Inmutanka," he said, "that there are worse +physicians than you, where I come from." + +The old Sioux understood his tone and smiled. Then all the Indians, most +of them reclining on the earth, relapsed into silence. Will felt a +curious kind of peace. A prisoner with an unknown and perhaps a terrible +fate close at hand, the present alone, nevertheless, concerned him. +After so much hardship his body was comfortable. They had not rebound +him, and they had even allowed him to walk once to the bushes, from +which he could see beyond the clear pool at which the Indians had filled +their gourds and from which the ponies drank. + +One of these ponies, Heraka's own, was standing near, and Will with a +pang saw bound to it his own fine repeating rifle, belt of cartridges +and the leather case containing his field glasses. Heraka's look +followed his and in the light of the fire the smile of the chief was so +malicious that the great pulse in Will's throat beat hard with anger. + +"They were yours once," said Heraka, "the great rifle that fires many +times without reloading, the cartridges to fit, and the strong glasses +that bring the far near. Now they are mine." + +"They are yours for the present. I admit that," said the lad, "but I +shall get them back again. Meanwhile, if you're willing, I'll go to +sleep." + +He thought it best to assume a perfect coolness, even if he did not feel +it, and Heraka said that he might sleep, although they bound his arms +and ankles again, loosely, however, so that he suffered no pain and but +little inconvenience. He fell asleep almost at once, and did not awake +until old Inmutanka aroused him at dawn. + +After breakfast he was put on the pony again, blindfolded, and they rode +all day long in a direction of which he was ignorant, but, as he +believed, over low hills, and, as he knew, among bushes, because they +often reached out and pulled at his legs. Nevertheless his sense of an +infinite distance being created between him and his own world increased. +All this traveling through the dark was like widening a gulf. It had not +distance only, but depth, and the weight it pressed upon him was +cumulative, making him feel that he had been riding in invisible regions +for weeks, instead of two days. + +Being deprived of his eyes for the time being, the other four primal +senses again became more acute. He heard a wind blowing but it was not +the free wind of the plains that meets no obstacle. Instead, it brought +back to him a song that was made by the moving air playing softly upon +leaf and bough. Hence, he inferred that they were still ascending, and +had come into better watered regions where the bushes had grown to the +height of trees now in full leaf. + +Once they crossed a rather deep creek, and deliberately letting his foot +drop down into it, he found the water quite cold, which was proof to him +that they were going back toward the ridges, and that this current was +chill, because it flowed from great heights, perhaps from a glacier. +They made no stop at noon, merely eating a little pemmican, Will's share +being handed to him by Inmutanka. He ate it as he rode along still +blindfolded. + +The ponies, wiry and strong though they were, soon began to go much more +slowly, and the captive was sure that the ascent was growing steeper. He +was confirmed in this by the fact that the wind, although it was +mid-afternoon, the hottest part of the day, had quite a touch of +coolness. They must have been ascending steadily ever since they began +the march. + +He soon noticed another fact. The ears that had grown uncommonly acute +discerned fewer hoofbeats about him. He was firm in the belief that the +band had divided and to determine whether the chief was still with them, +he said: + +"Heraka, we're climbing the mountains. I know it by the wind among the +leaves and the cool air." + +"Wayaka is learning to see even though his eyes are shut," said the +voice of the chief on his right. + +"And a part of your force has left us. I count the hoofbeats, and +they're not as many as they were before." + +"You are right, the mind of Wayaka grows. Some day--if you live--you +will know enough to be a warrior." + +Will pondered these words and their bearing on his fate, and, being able +to make nothing of them, he abandoned the subjective for the objective, +seeking again with the four unsuppressed senses to observe the country +through which they were passing. + +The next night was much like the one that had gone before. They did not +stop until after twilight, and the darkness was heavier than usual. The +camp was made in a forest, and the wind, now quite chill, rustled among +the trees. Although the bandage was removed, Will could not see far in +the darkness, but he was confident that high mountains were straight +ahead. + +A small brook furnished water for men and ponies, and the Indians built +a big fire. They were now but eight in number. Inmutanka removed the +last bandage from Will's head, which could now take care of itself, and +as the Sioux permitted him to share on equal terms with themselves, he +ate with a great appetite. Heraka regarded him intently. + +"Do you know where you are, Wayaka?" he asked. + +"No," replied Will, carelessly, "I don't. Neither am I disturbed about +it. You say that I shall never see my own people, but that is more than +you or I or anyone else can possibly know." + +A flicker of admiration appeared in the eyes of Heraka, but his voice +was even and cold as he said: + +"It is well that you have a light heart, because to-morrow will be as +to-day to you, and the next day will be the same, and the next and many +more." + +The Sioux chief spoke the truth. They rode on for days, Will blindfolded +in the day, his eyes free at night. He thought of himself as the Man in +the Deerskin Mask, but much of the apprehension that must overtake the +boldest at such a moment began to disappear, being replaced by an +intense curiosity, all the greater because everything was shut from his +eyes save in the dusk. + +But he knew they were in high mountains, because the cold was great, and +now and then he felt flurries of snow on his face, and at night he saw +the loom of lofty peaks. But they did not treat him unkindly. Old +Inmutanka threw a heavy fur robe over his shoulders, and when they +camped they always built big fires, before which he slept, wrapped in +blankets like the others. + +Heraka said but little. Will heard him now and then giving a brief order +to the warriors, but he scarcely ever spoke to the lad directly. Once in +their mountain camp when the night was clear Will saw a vast panorama of +ridges and peaks white with snow, and he realized with a sudden and +overwhelming sinking of the heart that he was in very truth and fact +lost to his world, and as the Sioux chief had threatened, he might never +again look upon a white face save his own. It was a terrifying thought. +Sometimes when he awoke in the night the cold chill that he felt was not +from the air. His arms were always bound when he lay down between the +blankets and, once or twice, he tried to pull them free, but he knew +while he was making it that the effort was vain and, even were it +successful and the thongs were loosened, he could not escape. + +At the end of about a week they descended rapidly. The air grew warmer, +the snow flurries no longer struck him in the face and the odors of +forest, heavy and green, came to his nostrils. One morning they did not +put the bandage upon his face and he looked forth upon a wild world of +hills and woods and knew it not, nor did he know what barrier of time +and space shut him from his own people. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE CAPTIVE'S RISE + + +Will did not know just how long they had been traveling, having lost +count of the days, but he knew they had come an immense distance, +perhaps a thousand miles, maybe more, because the hardy Indian ponies +always went at a good pace, and he felt that the distance between him +and every white settlement must be vast. + +The sun at first hurt the eyes that had been bandaged so long in +daylight, but as the optic nerves grew less sensitive and they could +take in all the splendor of the world, he had never before seen it so +beautiful. He was like one really and truly blind for years who had +suddenly recovered his sight. Everything was magnified, made more vivid, +more intense, and his joy, captive though he was, was so keen that he +could not keep from showing it. + +"You find it pleasant to live," said Heraka. + +"Yes," replied the lad frankly, "I don't mind admitting to you that I +like living. And I like seeing, too, in the bright sunshine, when I've +been so long without it. You warned me, Heraka, that I would not know my +fate, nor whence nor when it might come, but instinct tells me that +it's not coming yet, and as one who can see again I mean to enjoy the +bright days." + +"Wayaka is but a youth. If he were older he would fear more." + +"But I'm not older. This, I suppose, is where we mean to stay awhile?" + +"It is. It is one of our hidden valleys. Beyond the stretch of forest is +a Sioux village, and there you will stay until your fate befalls you." + +"I imagine, Heraka, that you did not come here merely to escort me. So +great a chief would not take so long a ride for one so insignificant as +I am. You must have had another motive." + +"Though Wayaka is a youth he is also keen. It is part of a great plan, +of which I will tell you nothing, save that the Sioux are a mighty +nation, their lands extending hundreds of miles in every direction, and +they gather all their forces to push back the whites." + +"Then your long journey must be diplomatic. You travel to the farthest +outskirt in order to gather your utmost forces for the conflict." + +Heraka smiled rather grimly. + +"Wayaka may be right," he said. "He is a youth of understanding, but in +the village beyond the wood you are to stay until you leave it, but you +will not know in what manner or when you will depart from it." + +Will inferred that his departure might be for the happy hunting grounds +rather than for some other place, but it could not depress him. He was +too much suffused with joy over his release from his long blindness and +with the splendor of the new world about him to feel sadness. For a +while nothing can weigh down the blind who see again. It was surely the +finest valley in the world into which they had come! + +Heraka gave the word and he and his men rode forward toward the strip of +wood that he had indicated. All the ponies, although strong and wiry, +were thin and worn by their long journey, and some of the Indians, +despite their great endurance, showed signs of weariness. Little as they +displayed emotion, their own eyes had lighted up at sight of the +pleasant place into which they had come. + +Will could not tell the length of the valley owing to its curving +nature, but he surmised that it might possibly be twenty miles, with a +general average width of perhaps two or three. All around it were high +mountains, and on the distant and loftier ones the snow line seemed to +come further down than on those he had seen with his comrades. Quick to +observe and to draw conclusions the fact was another proof to him that +they had been traveling mostly north. The trees in the valley were +chiefly of the coniferous type, fir, pine and spruce. Despite the warmth +of the air all things wore for him a northern aspect, but he made no +comment to Heraka. + +They reached the strip of wood, and one of the warriors uttered a long +cry that was answered instantly from a point not far ahead. Then young +Indian lads came running, welcoming them with shouts of joy, and, with +this escort, they rode into the village, which was well placed in a +grassy opening in the very center of the forest. + +Will saw an irregular collection of about a hundred tepees, all conical, +most of them made from the skin of the buffalo, though in some cases the +hides of bear and elk had been used. All were supported on a framework +of poles stripped of their bark. The poles were about twenty feet in +length, fastened in a circle at the bottom and leaning toward a common +center, where they crossed at a height of twelve or thirteen feet. The +diameter of the tepees at the bottom was anywhere from fifteen to twenty +feet, and hence they were somewhat larger than the usual Sioux lodges. + +All the tepees had an uncommon air of solidity, as if the poles that +made their framework were large, strong, and thrust deep in the earth. +The covering skins were sewed together with rawhide strings as tight and +secure as the work of any sailor. One seam reaching about six feet from +the ground was left open and this was the doorway, over which a buffalo +hide or other skin could be lashed in wintry or stormy weather. + +At present all the tepees were open, and Will saw many squaws and +children about. Just beyond the village and at the edge of the forest +ran a considerable creek, evidently fed by the melting snows on the high +mountains, and, on extensive meadows of high grass beyond the creek, +grazed a great herd of ponies, fat and in good condition. Will decided +at once that it was a village of security and abundance. The mountains +must be filled with game, and the creek was deep enough for large fish. + +He had been left unbound as they descended into the valley and, deciding +that he must follow a policy of boldness, he leaped off the pony when +they entered the village, just as if he were coming back home. But the +old squaws and the children did not give him peace. They crowded around +him, uttering cries that he knew must be taunts or jeers. Then they +began to push and pull him and to snatch at his hair. Finally an old +squaw thrust a splinter clean through his coat and into his arm. The +pain was exquisite, but, turning, he took her chin firmly in one hand +and with the other slapped her cheeks so severely that she would have +fallen to the ground if it had not been for the detaining grasp on her +chin. + +The crowd, with the instinct for the rough that dwells in all primitive +breasts, roared with laughter, and Will knew that his bold act had +brought him a certain measure of public favor. Heraka with a sharp word +or two sent all the women and children flying, and then said in tones of +great gravity to Will: + +"Here you are to remain a prisoner, the prisoner of all the village, +until we choose your fate. You will stay in a tepee with Inmutanka, but +everybody will watch you, the men, the women, the girls and the boys. +Nothing that you do can escape their notice, and you will not have the +slightest chance of flight." + +"If I am to be anybody's guest," said Will, "I'd choose to be old Dr. +Inmutanka's. He has a soul in his body." + +"You are not a guest, you are a slave," said Heraka. + +Will did not appreciate the full significance of his words then, because +Inmutanka was showing the way to one of the smaller tepees and he +entered it, finding it clean and commodious. The ground was covered +with bark, over which furs and skins were spread and there was a place +in the center for a fire, the smoke to ascend through a triangular +opening in the top, where it was regulated by a wing worked from the +outside. + +Inmutanka, who undoubtedly had a kind heart, pointed to a heap of +buffalo robes in the corner, and Will threw himself upon them. All the +enormous exhaustion of such a tremendous journey suddenly became +cumulative and he slept until Inmutanka awoke him a full fifteen hours +later. Then he discovered that the old Indian really knew a little +English, though he had hidden the fact before. + +"You eat," he said, and gave him fish, venison and some bread of Indian +corn, which Will ate with the huge appetite of the young and strong. + +"Now you work," said Inmutanka, when he had finished. + +Will stared at him, and then he remembered Heraka's words of the day +before that he was a slave. He was assailed by a sickening sensation but +he pulled himself together bravely, and, having become a wise youth, he +resolved that he would not make his fate worse by vain resistance. + +"All right," he said, "what am I to do?" + +"You be pony herd now." + +"Well, that isn't so bad." + +Inmutanka led the way across the creek, or rather river, and Will saw +that the herd on the meadows was quite large, numbering at least a +thousand ponies, and also many large American horses, captured or +stolen. They grazed at will on the deep grass, but small Indian boys +carrying sticks watched them continually. + +"You take your place here with boys," said Inmutanka, "and see that +ponies don't run up and down valley." + +He gave him a stick and left him with the little Sioux lads. Will +considered the task extremely light, certainly not one that had a savor +of slavery, but he soon found that he was surrounded by pests. The +Indian boys began to torment him, slipping up behind him, pulling his +hair and then darting away again, throwing stones or clods of earth at +him, and seeking to drive ponies upon him. + +Will's heart was suffused with anger. They were younger and smaller than +he, but they had an infinite power to vex or cause pain. Nevertheless he +clung to his resolution. He refused to show anger, and while it was by +no means his disposition to turn one cheek when the other was smitten, +he exhibited a patience of which he had not believed himself capable. He +also showed a power that they did not possess. When some of the younger +and friskier ponies sought to break away from the main herd and race up +the river he soothed them by voice and touch and turned them back in +such an amazing manner that the Indian boys brought some of the older +warriors to observe his magic with horses. + +Will saw the men watching, but he pretended not to notice. Nevertheless +he felt that fate, after playing him so many bad tricks, was now doing +him a good turn. He would exploit his power with animals to the utmost. +Indians were always impressed with an unusual display of ability of any +kind, and they felt that its possessor was endowed with magic. He walked +freely among the ponies, which would have turned their heels on the +Indian lads, and stroked their manes and noses. + +The warriors went away without saying anything. The Indian boys returned +to the village shortly after noon, but their place was taken by a fresh +band, while Will remained on duty. Nor was he allowed to leave until +long after twilight, when, surprised to find how weary he was, he +dragged his feet to the tepee of Inmutanka, where he had venison, +pemmican and water. + +"Not so bad," he said to the old Indian. "I believe I'm a good herd for +ponies, though I'd rather do it riding than walking." + +"To-morrow you scrape hides with squaws," said Inmutanka. + +Will was disappointed, but he recalled that after the threat of Heraka +he should not expect to get off with such an easy task as the continual +herding of ponies. Scraping hides would be terribly wearying and it +would be a humiliation to put him with the old squaws. Nevertheless his +heart was light. The fate of the white captive too often was speedy and +horrible torture and death. He felt that the longer they were delayed, +less was the likelihood that he would ever have to suffer them at all. + +He was awakened at dawn, and as soon as he had eaten he was put to his +task. Fresh buffalo hides were stretched tightly and staked upon the +ground, the inner side up, and he and a dozen old squaws began the labor +of scraping from them the last particles of flesh with small knives of +bone. + +He cut his hands, his back ached, the perspiration streamed from his +face, and the squaws, far more expert than he, jeered at him +continually. Warriors also passed and uttered contemptuous words in an +unknown language. But Will, clinging to his resolution, pretended to +take no notice. Long before the day was over every bone in him was +aching and his hands were bleeding, but he made no complaint. When he +returned to the tepee Inmutanka put a lotion on his hands. + +"It good for you, but must not tell," he said. + +"I wouldn't dream of telling," said Will fervently. "God bless you, +Inmutanka. If there's any finer doctor than you anywhere in the world I +never heard of him." + +But he had to go back to the task of scraping the skins early in the +morning, and for a week he labored at it, until he thought his back +would never straighten out again. He recalled that first day with the +pony herd. The labor there was heaven compared with that which he was +now doing. Perhaps he had been wrong to show his power with animals: If +he had pretended to be awkward and ignorant with horses they might have +kept him there. + +He made no sign, nor did he give any hint to Inmutanka that he would +like a change. He judged, too, that he had inspired a certain degree of +respect and liking in the old Indian who put such effective ointment on +his hands every night that at the end of a week all the cuts and bruises +were healed. Moreover, he had learned how to use the bone scrapers with +a sufficient degree of skill not to cut himself. + +But he was still a daily subject of derision for the warriors, women and +children. It was the little Indian boys who annoyed him most, often +trying to thrust splinters into his arms or legs, although he invariably +pushed them away. He never struck any of them, however, and he saw that +his forbearance was beginning to win from the warriors, at least, a +certain degree of toleration. + +When the scraping of the skins was finished he was set to work with some +of the old men making lances. These were formidable weapons, at least +twelve feet long, an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, ending in a +two-edged blade made of flint, elk horn or bone, and five or six inches +in length. The wood, constituting the body of the lance, had to be +scraped down with great care, and the prisoner toiled over them for many +days. + +Then he began to make shields from the hide that grew on the neck of the +buffalo, where it was thickest. When it was denuded of hair the hide was +a full quarter of an inch through. Then it was cut in a circle two or +two and a half feet in diameter and two of the circles were joined +together, making a thickness of a full half inch. Dried thoroughly the +shield became almost as hard as iron, and the bullet of the +old-fashioned rifle would not penetrate it. + +He also helped to make bows, the favorite wood being of osage orange, +although pine, oak, elm, elder and many other kinds were used, and he +was one of the toilers, too, at the making of arrows. Mounted on his +wiry pony with his strong shield, his long lance, his powerful bow and +quiver of arrows, the Sioux was a formidable warrior, and Will +understood how he had won the overlordship of such a vast area. + +A month, in which he was subjected to the most unremitting toil, passed, +yet his spirit and body triumphed over it, and both grew stronger. He +felt now as if he could endure anything and he knew that he would be +called upon to endure much. + +His youth and his plastic nature caused him to imitate to a certain +extent, and almost unconsciously, the manners and customs of those +around him. He became stoical, he pretended to an indifference which +often he did not feel, and he never spoke of the friends who had +disappeared so suddenly from his life, even to old Inmutanka. The +"doctor," as Will called him, was improving his English by practice, and +Will in return was learning Sioux fast both from Inmutanka and from the +people in the village. He knew the names of many animals. The buffalo +was Pteha, the bear was Warankxi, the badger, Roka; the deer, Tarinca; +the wolf, Xunktokeca. + +One can get along with a surprisingly small vocabulary, and one also +learns fast when he is surrounded by people who do not speak his own +language. In six weeks Will had quite a smattering of the Sioux tongue. +He still lived in the lodge of Inmutanka, who was invariably kind and +helpful, and Will soon had a genuine liking for the good old doctor. It +pleased him to wait upon Inmutanka as if he were a son. + +It was, on the whole, well for the lad that he was compelled to work, +because after the day's labors were over and he had eaten his supper, he +fell asleep from exhaustion, and slept without dreams. Thus he was not +able to think as much as he would have done about his present condition, +the great quest that he had been compelled to abandon, and those whom he +had lost. Yet he could not believe, despite what Heraka had said, that +Boyd, Brady and the Little Giant were lost. But he had many bitter +moments. Often the humiliations were almost greater than he could bear, +and it seemed that his quest was over forever. + +These thoughts came most at night, but renewed courage would always +reappear in the morning. He was too young, too strong, to feel permanent +despair, and his body was growing so tough and enduring that, in his +belief, if a time to escape ever came, he would be equal to it. But it +was obvious that no such time was at hand. There were several hundred +pairs of eyes in the village and he knew that every pair above five +years of age watched him. Nothing that he did escaped their attention. +Somebody was always near him, and, if he attempted flight, the alarm +would be given before he went ten yards, and the whole village would +come swarming upon him. So he wisely made no such trial, and seemed to +settle down into a sort of content. + +He saw no more then of Heraka, who had evidently gone away to the great +war with the white men, but he saw a good deal of the chief of the +village, an old man named Xingudan, which in Sioux meant the Fox. +Xingudan's face was seamed with years, though his tall figure was not +bent, and Will soon learned that his name had been earned. Xingudan, +though he seldom went on the war path now, was full of craft and guile +and cunning. The village under his rule was orderly and more far-seeing +than Indians usually are. + +The Sioux began to strengthen their lodges and to accumulate stores of +pemmican. The maize in several small, sheltered fields farther down the +valley was gathered carefully. The boys brought in bushels of nuts, and +Will admired the industry and ability of Xingudan. It was evident that +winter was coming, although the touch as yet was only that of autumn. + +It was a magnificent autumn that the lad witnessed. The foliage in the +mountains glowed in the deepest and most intense colors that he had ever +seen, reds, yellows, browns and shades between. Far up on the slopes he +saw great splotches of color blazing in scarlet, and far beyond them in +the north the white crests of dim and towering mountains. He was +strengthened in his belief that he was far to the north of the fighting +line, although his conclusion was based only upon his own observations. +No Indian, not even a child, had ever spoken to him a word to indicate +where he was. He inferred that silence upon that point had been enjoined +and that old Xingudan would punish severely any infraction of the law. +Even Inmutanka, so kind in other respects, would never give forth a +word of information. + +As the autumn deepened, the lad's mind underwent another strange change, +or perhaps it was not so strange at all. Youth must adapt itself, and he +began to feel a certain sympathy and friendliness with the young Sioux +of his own age. He also began to see wild life at its best, that is, +under the circumstances most favorable to happiness. + +The village was full of food, the hunting had never been better, and the +forest had yielded an uncommon quantity of fruits and nuts. All the +primitive wants were satisfied, and there was no sickness. After dark +the youths of the village roamed about, playing and skylarking like so +many white lads of their own age, but the girls as soon as the twilight +came remained close in the lodges. Will saw a kind of happiness he had +never looked upon before, a happiness that was wholly of the moment, +untroubled by any thoughts of the future, and therefore without alloy. +He saw that the primitive man when his stomach was full, and the shelter +was good could have absolute physical joy. Strangely enough he found +himself taking an interest in these pleasures, and by and by he began to +share in them to a minor degree. + +The river afforded a fine stretch of water, and the Indians had large +canoes which they now used freely for purposes of sport. These boats +were made of strong rawhide, generally about thirty feet long, although +one was a full fifty feet, and they also had several boats shaped like +huge bowls, made with a frame of wicker and covering it, the strongest +buffalo hide, sewed together with unbreakable rawhide strings. They +called these round boats watta tatankaha, which Will learnt meant in +English bull boats. Just such boats as these were used on the Tigris, +and the Euphrates, the oldest of rivers known to civilized man. + +The first sign of relenting toward the captive lad was when he was +allowed to withdraw from the hard work of strengthening a lodge to take +a place alone in one of the bull boats and navigate it with a paddle +down the river, at a place where it had a depth past fording. The stream +was swift here and, despite his knowledge of ordinary curves, the round +craft overturned with him before he had gone twenty feet, amid shouts of +laughter from the Sioux gathered on either bank. + +The water flowing down from the mountains was very cold, but Will +scorned to cry for help. He was a powerful swimmer and he struck out +boldly for the round boat, which was floating ahead. He had held on to +the paddle all the while and, by a desperate struggle, he managed to +right his craft and pull himself into it again. He was so much immersed +in his physical struggle that he did not know the Indian children were +pelting him with sticks and clods of earth, and were shouting in +amusement and derision. But the warriors were grave and silent. + +Another struggle and the round boat overturned again. But he held on to +the paddle and recovered it a second time. A new and desperate contest +between him and the boat followed, but in the end he was victor and +paddled it both down and up-stream in a fairly steady manner. Then he +brought it into the landing where he was received in a respectful +silence. + +In his struggles to succeed Will had taken little notice of the coldness +of the waters, but when he went back to the lodge he had a severe chill, +followed by a high fever. Then old Inmutanka proved himself the doctor +that Will called him by using a remedy that either killed or cured. + +Inmutanka gave the lad a sweat bath. He made a heap of stones and built +a big fire upon them, feeding it until their heat was very great. Then +he scraped away the fuel and put up a framework made of poles, covered +with layers of skins. These layers were six or seven feet above the +stones. Will was placed in a skin hammock under the layers and suspended +about two feet above the hot stones. Water was then poured on these, +until a dense steam arose. When Inmutanka thought that Will had stood it +as long as he could, he withdrew him from the hot steam bath, although +medicine men sometimes left their patients in too long, allowing them to +be scalded to death. + +In Will's case it was cure, not kill. The fever quickly disappeared from +his system and though it left him very weak he recovered so rapidly that +in a few days he was as strong as ever, in fact, stronger, because all +the impurities had been steamed out of his system, and the new blood +generated was better than the old. He learned, too, from Inmutanka that +he had won respect in the village by his courage and tenacity, and that +many were in favor of lightening his labors, although the Fox was as +stern as ever. + +Will was still compelled to realize that he was a slave; that he, a +white lad, the heir of untold centuries of civilization and culture, was +the slave of a people who, despite all their courage and other virtues, +were savages. They stood where, in many respects, his ancestors had +stood ten or twenty thousand years ago. Again and again, the thought was +so bitter that he felt like making a run for freedom and ending it all +on the Indian spear. But the thought would change, and with it came the +hope that some day or other the moment of escape would appear, and there +was a lurking feeling, too, that his present life was not wholly +unpleasant, or, at least, there were compensations. + +An increased strength came with the rapid recovery from his illness. +Beyond any question he had grown in both height and breadth since he had +been in the mountains, and his muscles were as hard as iron. Not one of +the Indian youths could exert as much direct strength as he, or endure +as much. + +His patience, which was now largely the result of calculation and will, +began to have its visible effect upon the people. There is nothing that +an Indian admires more than stoicism. The fortitude that can endure pain +without a groan is to him the highest of attributes. Will had never +complained, no matter how great his hardships or labors, and gradually +they began to look upon him as one of their own. His face was tanned +heavily by continuous exposure to all kinds of weather, his original +garments were worn out, and he was now clad wholly in deerskins. A +casual observer would have passed him at any time as a tall Indian +youth. + +One day as a mark of favor he was put back as a guard upon the herd of +ponies, now considerably increased in numbers, probably by raids upon +other tribes, and full of life, as they had done little all the autumn +but crop the rich grass of the valley. Will found himself busy keeping +them within bounds, but his old, happy touch soon returned, and the +Indians, to their renewed amazement, soon saw the animals obeying him +instinctively. + +"It is magic," said old Xingudan. + +"Then it is good magic," said Inmutanka, "and Wayaka is a good lad. He +does not know it yet, but he is beginning to like our life. Think of +that, O, Xingudan." + +"You were ever of soft heart, O, Inmutanka," said Xingudan, as he turned +away. + +Will's tasks were as long as ever, but they changed greatly in +character. He was no longer compelled to work with the women and +children, save when the tending of the herds brought him into contact +with the boys, but there he was now an acknowledged chief. A distemper +appeared among the ponies and the Sioux were greatly alarmed, but Will, +with some simple remedies he had learned in the East, stopped it quickly +and with the loss of but two or three ponies. Old Xingudan gave him no +thanks save a brief, "It is well," but the lad knew that he had done +them a great service and that they were not wholly ungrateful. + +He had proof of it a little later, when he was allowed to take part in +the trapping and snaring of wild beasts, although he was always +accompanied by three or four Indian youths, and was never permitted to +have any weapon. + +But he showed zeal, and he enjoyed the freedom, although it was only +that of the valley and the slopes. He learned to set traps with the best +of them, and became an adept in the taking and curing of game. All the +while the autumn was deepening and wild life was becoming more +endurable. The foliage on slopes and in the valley that had burned in +fiery hues, now began to fade into yellow and brown. The winds out of +the north grew fierce and cutting, and on the vast and distant peaks the +snow line came down farther and farther. + +"Waniyetu (winter) will soon be here," said old Inmutanka. + +"The village is in good condition to meet it," said Will. + +"Better than most villages of our people," said Inmutanka. "The white +man presses back the red man because the red man thinks only of today, +while the white man thinks of tomorrow too. The white man is not any +braver than the red man, often he is not as brave, and he is not as +cunning, but when the Indian's stomach is full his head goes to sleep. +While the plains are covered with the buffalo in the summer, sometimes +our people starve to death in the winter." + +"I suppose, doctor," said Will, "that one can't have everything. If he +is anxious about the future he can't enjoy the present." + +The old Sioux shook his head and remained dissatisfied. + +"The buffalo is our life," he said, "or, at least, the life of the Sioux +tribes that ride the Great Plains. Manitou sends the buffalo to us. +Buffaloes, in numbers past all human counting, are born by the will of +Manitou under the ground and in the winter. When the spring winds begin +to blow they come from beneath the earth through great caves and they +begin their march northward. If the Sioux and the other Indian nations +were to displease Manitou he might not send the buffalo herds out +through the great caves, and then we should perish." + +Will afterward discovered that this was a common belief among the +Indians of the plains. Some old men claimed to have seen these caves far +down in Texas, and it was quite common for the ancients of the tribes to +aver that their fathers or grandfathers had seen them. Most of them +held, too, to the consoling belief that however great the slaughter of +buffaloes by white man and red, Manitou would continue to send them in +such vast numbers that the supply could never be exhausted, although a +few such as Inmutanka had a fear to the contrary. + +Inmutanka, as became his nature, was provident. The lodge that he and +Will inhabited was well stored with pemmican, with nuts and a good store +of shelled corn. It also held many dried herbs and to Will's eyes, now +long unused to civilization, it was a comfortable and cheerful place. A +fire was nearly always kept burning in the centre, and he managed to +improve the little vent and wind vane at the top in such a manner that +the smoke was carried off well, and his eyes did not suffer from it. + +Then a fierce, cold rain came, blown by bitter winds and stripping the +last leaf from the trees. At Will's own suggestion, vast brush shelters +had been thrown up near the slopes. Crude and partial though they were, +they gave the great pony herd much protection, and when old Xingudan +inspected them carefully he looked at Will and said briefly: "It is +good." + +Will felt that he had taken another step into favor, and it was soon +proved by a lightening of his labors and an increase in his share of the +general amusements. Life was continually growing more tolerable. The +black periods were becoming shorter and the bright periods were growing +longer. The evenings had now grown so cold that the young Sioux spent +them mostly in the lodges, Will devoting a large part of his time to +learning the language from Inmutanka, who was a willing teacher. As he +had much leisure and the Sioux vocabulary was limited he could soon talk +it fluently. + +All the while the winter deepened and Will, seeing that he would have no +possible chance of escape for many months, resigned himself to his +captivity. The fierce rain that lasted two days, was followed by snow, +but the Indians still hunted and brought in much game, particularly +several fine elk of the great size found only in the far northwest. They +stood as tall as a horse, and Will judged that they weighed more than a +thousand pounds apiece. + +Then deeper snow came and he could hear it thundering in avalanches on +the distant slopes. He was quite sure now that they were even farther +north than he had at first supposed, and that probably they would be +snowed in all the winter in the valley, a condition to which the Indians +were indifferent, as they had good shelter and plenty of food. They +began to make snowshoes, but Will judged that they would be used for +hunting rather than for travel. There was no reason on earth that he +knew why the village should move, or any of its people abandon it. + +The warriors spent a part of their time making lances, bows, arrows and +shields, sometimes working in a cave-like opening in the slope a little +distance from the village. Will did his share of this work and grew +exceedingly skilful. One very cold morning he and several others were +toiling hard at the task under the critical eye of old Xingudan, who sat +on a ledge wrapped in a pair of heavy blankets, Will's fine repeating +rifle lying across his knees. + +Two of the warriors were sent back to the village for more materials, +the others were dispatched on different tasks until finally only Will +was left at work, with Xingudan watching. The Fox had seen many winters +and summers, and his wilderness wisdom was great, but he was an Indian +and a Sioux to the bone. He had noted the steady march of the white man +toward the west, and even if the buffalo continued to come forever in +countless numbers out of the vast caves in the south, they might come, +in time, for the white man only and not for the red. + +He regarded Will with a yellow and evil eye. Wayaka was a good lad--he +had proved it more than once--but he was a representative of the +conquering and hated race. Heraka had said that his fate, the most +terrible that could be devised, must come some day, but Wayaka was not +to know the hour of its coming; no sign that it was at hand must be +given. + +Xingudan went over again the words of Heraka, who was higher in rank +than he, and he pursed his lips thoughtfully, trying to decide what he +would do. Then he heard a woof and a snort, and a sudden lurch of a +heavy body. He sprang to his feet in alarm. While he was thinking and +inattentive, Rota (the grizzly bear), not yet gone into his winter +sleep, vast and hungry, was upon him. + +Xingudan was no coward, but he was not so agile as a younger man. He +sprang to his feet and hastily leveling the repeating rifle fired once, +twice. The Indian is not a good marksman, least of all when in great +haste. One of the bullets flew wild, the other struck him in the +shoulder, and to Rota that was merely the thrust of a needle, stinging +but not dangerous. A stroke of a great paw and the rifle was dashed from +the hands of the old chief. Then he upreared himself in his mighty and +terrible height, one of the most powerful and ferocious beasts, when +wounded, that the world has ever known. + +Will had seen the rush of the grizzly and the defense of the chief. He +snatched up a great spear, a weapon full ten feet long and with a point +and blade as keen as a razor. He thrust it past Xingudan and, with all +his might, full into the chest of the upreared bear. Strength and a +prodigious effort driven on by nervous force sped the blow, and the +bear, huge as he was, was fairly impaled. But Will still hung to the +lance and continued to push. + +Terrific roars of pain and anger came from the throat of the bear. A +bloody foam gushed from his mouth and he fell heavily, wrenching the +spear from the boy's grasp and breaking the shaft as he fell. His great +sides heaved, but presently he lay quite still, and Will, quivering from +his immense nervous effort, knew that he was dead. + +Old Xingudan, who had been half stunned, rose to his feet, steadied +himself, and said with great dignity: + +"You have saved my life, Wayaka. It was a great deed to slay Rota with +only capa (a spear) and the beast, too, is one of the most monstrous +that has ever come into this valley. You are no longer Wayaka, but you +shall be known as Waditaka (The Brave), nor shall I forget to be +grateful." + +Will steadied himself and sat down on a rock, because he was somewhat +dizzy after such a frightful encounter. But he was glad that it had +occurred. He had no doubt that Xingudan had spoken with the utmost +sincerity, and now the ruler of the village was his staunch friend. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE REWARD OF MERIT + + +While he was yet dizzy and the motes were flying in millions before his +eyes, he heard shouts, and warriors came running, attracted by the sound +of the shots. They cried out in amazement and delight at the monstrous +grizzly lying slain upon the ground, and then turned to Xingudan to +compliment him upon his achievement. But the old warrior spoke tersely: + +"It was not I," said he, "it was Wayaka, who has now become Waditaka, +who slew the great grizzly with a spear. Rarely has such a deed been +done. The life of your chief, Xingudan, has been saved by a slave." + +Will, who now understood Sioux well, heard every word and his heart +began to beat. The motes ceased to dance before his eyes and the blood +flowed back into his veins. It was a strange thing, but he had begun to +acquire a liking for these Indians, savage and wild though they were, +and, as he judged, so far removed from the white people that they came +into contact with them but seldom. Perhaps a lucky chance, a valiant +impulse, was about to put him on their social plane, that is, he might +be raised from the condition of a slave to that of a freeman, free, at +least, to go about the village as he pleased, and not to do the work of +a menial. + +Several of the young warriors turned to him and spoke their approval. +The trace of a liking that had appeared in him had found a response in +them. Friendship replies to friendship, and Will, who six months ago +would have laughed at the endorsement of blanketed wild men, now felt a +thrill of pleasure. But Xingudan as yet said little more. He pointed to +the great bear and said: + +"The skin belongs to Waditaka and Inmutanka. The flesh will be divided +among the people." + +Will and the old warrior, with the help of some of the young men, +removed the monstrous hide. He did not care for any of the flesh, +although he knew that the people would use large portions of it. Then he +and Inmutanka scraped it carefully, and, when it was well cured until it +was soft and flexible, they put it in their lodge, where it spread so +far over the bark floor that they were compelled to roll it back partly, +to keep it out of the fire in the centre. It was the finest trophy in +the village, and many came to admire it. + +"Rota was the largest that any of us has ever seen," said Inmutanka, +"but the farther north we go the larger grow the great bears. Far up +near the frozen seas it is said they are so large that they are almost +as heavy as a buffalo. It is true, too, of Ta (the moose). Word comes +out of the far north that he has been found there having the weight of +at least three of our ponies." + +Will did not doubt what Inmutanka said, but his interest in his words +was due chiefly to the inferences he drew from them. Inmutanka spoke of +the immensity of the bear because they were in the far north, and it was +only another confirmation of his belief that the great march after he +was taken captive had been made almost due north. They must be in some +valley in the vast range of mountains that ran in an unbroken chain from +the Arctic to the Antarctic, more than ten thousand miles. Perhaps they +had gone much beyond the American line, and this was the last outlying +village of the Sioux. + +But he did not bother himself about it now, knowing that he could do +nothing until next spring, as the snow fell heavily and almost +continuously. It was three or four feet deep about the lodges and he +knew that it lay in unmeasured depths in the passes. All the world was +gleaming white, but the crests of the mountains were seldom visible, +owing to the driving storms. + +Plenty and cheerfulness prevailed in the village. Will had an idea that +he was seeing savage life under the most favorable conditions. It was +too true that the Indian coming in contact with the white man generally +learned his vices and not his virtues, and too often forgot his own +virtues also, until he became wholly bad. But this village, save for its +firearms and metal tomahawks, was in much the same condition that other +Indian villages must have been four or five hundred years earlier. + +Old Xingudan ruled with the alternate severity and forbearance of a +patriarch, and now he showed his kindly side to Will, treating him +almost as one of their own young warriors. The "almost" was soon turned +to a fact, as old Inmutanka formally adopted Will as his son with the +ceremonies customary on such occasions, and he knew therefore that his +struggle had been achieved at last, that he had now attained a plane of +social equality with the Indians of the village. + +Whatever it may have seemed six months before, it was no small triumph +now. His task was chiefly in the making of arms, along with the other +warriors, and he soon become the equal of any of them. He also practiced +with them the throwing of the tomahawk at trees, in which he acquired +wonderful dexterity. But his best work was done among the ponies. Often +in jest he called himself the horse doctor of the camp. He had studied +their ailments and he knew how to cure them, but above all was his +extraordinary gift of reaching into the horse nature, a power, derived +he knew not whence or how, of conveying to them the sympathy for them in +his nature. They responded as human beings do to such a feeling, and, +with a word and a sign, he could lead a whole herd from one field to +another. + +This power of his impressed the Sioux even more than his slaying of the +monstrous grizzly bear with only a spear. It was a gift direct from +Manitou, and they were proud that an adopted warrior of their village +should have such a mysterious strength. Will knew now that he was no +longer in danger of torture by fire or otherwise. Old Xingudan would not +do it. Heraka, who was his superior chief, might return and command it, +but Xingudan and the whole village would disobey. Moreover, he was now +the adopted son of Inmutanka, a young Sioux warrior with all the rights +of a Sioux, and the law forbade them to torture him or put him to death. +And Indian laws were often better obeyed than white man's laws. + +Xingudan kept his repeating rifle, his revolver and his field glasses, +but a bow and arrows were permitted to him, and he learned to use them +as well as any of the Indians. The valley and the slopes that were not +too high and steep, afforded an extensive hunting range, despite the +deep snow, and Will brought down with a lucky arrow a fine elk that made +for him a position yet better in the village, as he and Inmutanka, his +father, were entitled to the body, but instead divided at least half of +it among the older and weaker men and women. + +Despite the favor into which he had come, Will could learn nothing of +his location or of the progress of the war between the great Sioux +nation and the whites. Yet of the latter he had a hint. Just before the +winter closed in on them finally, a young warrior, evidently a runner +because he bore all the signs of having travelled far and fast, arrived +in the valley. He was taken into the lodge of Xingudan and he departed +the next morning with five of the young warriors of the village, the +best men they had. When Will referred to their absence he received +either no answer or an ambiguous one. Inmutanka himself would say +nothing about them, but Will made a shrewd surmise that the runner had +come for help in the great war and that the last and uttermost village +would be stripped in the attempt to turn back the white tide. + +His growing appreciation of wild life caused him to have an increasing +feeling of sympathy for the Sioux. The white flood would engulf them +some day. He knew that just as well as he knew that he was in the +valley, but as for himself, he had no wish to see the buffalo disappear +from the plains. If his own personal desires were consulted the west +would remain a wilderness and a land of romance. It was pleasant to +think that there was an immense region in which one could always +discover a towering peak, a noble river or a splendid lake. + +Adopted now into the tribe, and far from the battle line, he might have +drifted on indefinitely with the Indians, but there was the memory of +his white comrades, whom he could not believe dead, and also the mission +upon which he had started, the hunt for the great mine which his father +had found. The reasons why he should continue the search were +overwhelming, and despite the kindness of Inmutanka and the others he +meant to escape from them whenever he could. + +The winter shut down fierce and hard. Will had never before known cold +so intense and continuous. In the valley itself the snow lay deep and +its surface was frozen hard, but the Indians moved over it easily on +their snowshoes, the use of which Will learned with much pain and +tribulation. The river was covered with ice of great thickness, but the +Indians cut holes in it and caught many excellent fish, which added a +pleasant variety to their diet. + +One of their hardest struggles was to keep alive the herd of ponies. At +the suggestion of Will and of Xingudan, who was a wise man beyond his +race, much forage had been cut for them before the winter fell, and in +the alcoves of the mountains where the snow was thin they were +continually seeking grass, which grew despite everything. Will led in +the work of saving the herd, and gradually he directed almost his whole +time to it. He insisted upon gathering anything they could eat, even +twigs, and Indian ponies are very tough. The young boys, the old men and +the old women helped him and were directed by him. + +Scarcely any young warriors were left in the village and Will's strength +and intelligence fitted him for leadership. The weaker people began to +rely upon him and, as he learned the ways of the wild and fused them +with the ways of civilization, he became a great source of strength in +the village. He wore a beautiful deerskin suit which several of the old +women had made for him in gratitude for large supplies of food that he +had given to them, and he had a splendid overcoat which Inmutanka and he +had made of a buffalo robe. + +The lodge of Inmutanka and Waditaka, who had once been known as Wayaka, +became the most attractive in the village. Will lined the fire hole in +the centre with stones, and in the roof he made a sort of flue which +caused the vent to draw so much better that they were not troubled by +smoke. He reinforced the bark floor with more bark, over which the great +bear robe was spread on one side of the fire, while the other side was +covered with the skins of smaller bears, wolves and wildcats. Many small +articles of decoration or adornment hung about the walls. Inmutanka had +been in the habit of shutting the door tightly at night, but as Will +insisted upon leaving it open partly, no matter how bitter the weather, +they always had plenty of fresh air and suffered from no colds. Will, +too, insisted upon the utmost cleanliness and neatness, qualities in +which the Indian does not always excel, and his example raised the tone +of the village. + +A period of very great cold came. Will reckoned that the mercury must be +at least forty degrees below zero, and, for a week, the people scarcely +stirred from their lodges. Then occurred the terrible invasion of the +mountain wolves, the like of which the oldest man could not recall. Will +and Inmutanka were awakened at dawn by a distant but ferocious whining. + +"Wolves," said Inmutanka, "and they are hungry, but they will not attack +a village." + +He turned over in his warm buffalo robes and prepared to go to sleep +again, but the whining grew louder and more ferocious, increasing to +such an extent that Inmutanka became alarmed and went to the door. When +he pulled back the flap yet farther the howling seemed very near and +inexpressibly fierce. + +"It is a great pack," said the old Sioux. "I have never before heard so +many wolves howl together, and their voices are so big and fierce that +they must be those of the great wolves of the northern mountains." + +"They're going to attack the village," said Will. "I can tell that by +the way they're coming on." + +"It is so," said Inmutanka. "They run on the snow, which is frozen so +deep that it can bear their weight." + +Will threw on rapidly his deerskin suit, his buffalo overcoat and took +down his bow and quiver of arrows. Inmutanka meanwhile beat heavily on a +war drum, and in the bitter cold and darkness all who were able to fight +poured out of the lodges, Xingudan at their head, carrying Will's rifle +and revolver. + +Several of the Indian women brought torches and held them aloft, casting +vivid lines of red upon the frozen snow. From the great corral came +frightened neighs and whinnies from the ponies, that knew a terrible foe +was at hand. It was probably the ponies that would have been attacked +first, but it was not in the character of the Sioux to stay in their +lodges and let their animals be devoured. Valiantly, they had rushed +forth to meet the most formidable wolf pack that had ever come out of +the north, and by the light of the torches Will presently saw the great, +gaunt, shadowy forms and the fiery eyes of the huge wolves which, driven +by hunger, had boldly attacked a village. + +It was impossible for him to estimate even their approximate numbers, +but he believed they could not be less than several hundred. They +hovered a while at the north side of the village, and then old Xingudan +opened fire with the repeating rifle. Howling savagely, the wolves made +their rush. The Indians who had rifles fired as fast as they could, but +the bows, much more numerous, did the deadlier work. Will, remembering +to keep his nerves steady, and standing by the side of his foster +father, Inmutanka, sent arrow after arrow, generally at the throats of +the wolves, and he rarely missed. + +But the great pack, evidently driven by the fiercest hunger, did not +give way for bullet or arrows. Huge slavering beasts, they pressed on +continually. Two or three of the older men were pulled down and devoured +before the very eyes of the people, and Will, who was rapidly shooting +away his last arrows, felt himself seized by an immense horror. If the +savage brutes should break through their line they would all be killed +and eaten. Save for a rifle or two, time had turned back ten or twenty +thousand years, when men fought continually with the great flesh-eaters +for a place on earth. + +Seized by an idea, he rushed to the center of the village where a great +fire was burning, and snatched up a torch, calling to others to do +likewise. It was the old squaws who were the quickest witted and they +obeyed him at once. Twenty women held aloft the flaming wood, and they +rushed directly in the faces of the wolves, which gave back as they had +not given back before either rifle or arrow. Then the arrows sang in +swarms, and the pack, fierce though its hunger might be, was unable to +withstand more and fled. + +Xingudan urged forward a pursuit. Will had exhausted his arrows, but an +old warrior loaned him a long lance, and with it he slew two of the +brutes which were now panic stricken. Yet the chief, like a good +general, still pressed the fleeing horde, although the wolves turned +once and another old man was killed. Inmutanka himself came very near +losing his life, as a monster whirled and sprang for him, but Will +received the throat of the wolf on the point of the lance, and although +he was borne to the earth, the raging brute was killed instantly. + +When the wintry dawn came, none of the great pack was left alive near +the village. At least half were slain, and the others had scrambled away +in some fashion among the mountains. + +The village had escaped a great danger, but it rejoiced in victory. The +old men, or what was left of them, were buried decently and then there +was an immense taking of wolf-skins, the fine pelts of the huge northern +beasts, which would long adorn the lodges of the Sioux, and Will again +received approval for his quick and timely attack with fire. Xingudan +knew in his heart that the village might have been overpowered and +devoured had it not been for the wit and courage of Waditaka. But he +merely said "Waditaka has done well." Will, however, knew that the four +words meant much and that the liberty of the village was his. He was a +sharer of all things save one--that, however, being much--namely, the +knowledge of their location, which was kept from him as thoroughly as in +the beginning. + +But for a day or two he did not have much time to think of the question, +as the whole village was busily engaged in skinning the slaughtered +wolves and dressing the hides. Never before had so many been obtained at +once by a single Indian village, and they secured every one, scraping +them carefully and then drying them on high platforms or the boughs of +trees. Often at night they heard a distant growling and they knew that a +few wolves, still hiding in the valley, came out at night to devour the +bodies of their dead comrades. + +Will, lying between the furs in the strong lodge, would hear sometimes +the sound of these faint growls, but they troubled him not at all. He +would draw the buffalo robes more closely about him, as the child in the +farmhouse pulls up the covers when he hears the patter of rain on the +roof, and feels an immense sense of comfort. The compulsion of the life +he was leading was fast sending him back to the primitive. He would have +read had there been anything to read, but, despite the limited world of +the valley in which he now lived, his daily activities were very great. + +There was the pony herd, of which he was the chief guardian. Food must +be found for it, though the hardy animals could and did do a great deal +for themselves under the most adverse conditions. They ate twigs, they +dug under the snow with their sharp hoofs for grass that yet lived in +sheltered nooks, and Will and the Indians, by persistent seeking, were +able to add to their supplies. They also had to break the ice on the +river that they might drink, and, under the severe and continuous cold, +the ice was now a foot thick. + +Will also helped with the fishing through holes in the ice, and acquired +all the Indian skill. The fish formed a most welcome addition to their +diet of dried meat and the occasional bread made from Indian corn. He +helped, too, with the continual strengthening of the lodges, because all +the old Indians foresaw the fiercest winter in a generation. + +As Will reverted farther and farther into the primitive he retained a +virtue which is the product of civilization. He was respectful and +helpful to the very old and weak. The percentage of such in the village +was much larger than usual, as nearly all the warriors had gone to the +war. He invariably took food to the weazened old squaws and the decrepit +old men, who presented him with another suit of beautifully decorated +deerskin, and a coat of the softest and finest buffalo robe that he had +ever seen. + +"Waditaka big favorite," said Inmutanka when Will showed him the buffalo +overcoat. "By and by all old squaws marry him." + +"What?" exclaimed Will in horror. + +"Of course," said Inmutanka, grinning slyly. "He make old squaws many +presents. Leave venison, buffalo meat, bear meat at doors of their +lodges. They marry him in the spring." + +But Will caught the twinkle in Inmutanka's eyes. + +"If they propose," he said, "I'll offer good old Dr. Inmutanka in my +place. He's nearer their age, and with his medical skill he'll be able +to take care of them." + +"Inmutanka never had a wife. He always what you call in your language +bachelor. Too late to change now." + +"But since you've raised this question I'll insist," said Will +formidably. "You've been a bachelor too long, and you a great medical +man too. Men are scarce in this village, and you must have at least a +dozen wives." + +"You stop, I stop," said Inmutanka in a tone of entreaty. + +"Very good, honored foster-father. It's a closed subject forever. I +don't think I'd care to have a dozen stepmothers just now." + +The cold remained intense. Everything was frozen up, but game, +nevertheless, still wandered into the valley and the warriors +continually hunted it. All their bullets, never in great supply, had +been fired away in the battle with the wolves, and they relied now upon +bow and arrow. Two of the old warriors, attacking a fierce grizzly with +these weapons, were slain by it, and though a party led by Xingudan, +with Will as one of his lieutenants, killed the monster, there was +mourning in the village for several days. Then it ceased abruptly. The +dead were the dead. They had gone to the happy hunting grounds, where in +time all must go, and it was foolish and unmanly to mourn so long. Will +did not believe that the primitive retain grief as the civilized do. It +was a provision to protect those among whom life was so uncertain. + +A few days later a warrior of the Sioux nation arrived in the valley, +suffering from a wound and on the point of death from cold and +starvation. He was put in one of the warmest lodges, his wounds were +dressed carefully and when he had revived sufficiently he asked for the +old chief, Xingudan. + +"I was hurt in battle with the white men many, many days' journey away," +he said, "and the great chief Heraka, knowing I would not be fit for +march and fight for a long time, sent me here to recover and he also +sent with me a message for you." + +"What was the message, Roka (Badger)?" + +"It was in regard to the white youth, Wayaka, our prisoner." + +"Wayaka has become Waditaka, owing to his great bravery. With only a +spear he fought and slew a monstrous grizzly bear that would have killed +me the next instant. When we drove off the huge pack of giant mountain +wolves his service was the greatest." + +"Even so, Xingudan. Those are brave deeds, but they cannot alter the +command I brought from Heraka." + +"What was the command, Roka?" + +"That Waditaka be burned to death with slow fire at the stake, and that +other tortures of which we know be inflicted upon him. We lost many +warriors in battle with the whites and the soul of Heraka was bitter." + +Old Xingudan leaned his chin on his hand and looked very thoughtfully at +the fire that blazed in the centre of the lodge. + +"The command of Heraka is unjust," he said. + +"I cannot help that, as you know, Xingudan." + +"I do not blame you, but there is something of which Heraka is +ignorant." + +"What is it?" + +"Waditaka is now the adopted son of the wise and good Inmutanka." + +"But the orders of Heraka are strict and stern." + +"The rite of adoption is sacred. Until Waditaka himself chooses to +change he is a Sioux and must be treated as a Sioux." + +"The consent of Heraka was not secured for the adoption." + +"It was impossible to reach him. The laws of the Sioux have not been +violated. Waditaka is a brave young warrior. The fire shall not touch +him. A winter great and terrible is upon us and it may be before it is +over that we shall need him much. He is a brave young warrior and few of +them are left now in the village. I am old, Roka, and the old as they +draw near to Manitou and all the gods and spirits that people the air, +hear many whispers of the future. A voice coming from afar tells low in +my ear that before the snow and ice have gone Waditaka, who was born +white but who is now a Sioux, the adopted son of Inmutanka, will save us +all." + +"And does Xingudan see that?" + +"Yes, Roka, I see it." + +The wounded warrior raised himself on his pallet and a look of awe +appeared on his face. + +"If thou readest the future aright, Xingudan," he said, "it would be +well to save this lad and brave the anger of Heraka, if he be so bold as +to defy the law of adoption." + +"I am old and my bones are old, but even though he is a chief above me I +do not fear Heraka. Waditaka shall not burn. I have said it." + +"I have but delivered my message, Xingudan. Now I will sleep, as my +wound is sore. I have traveled far and the cold is great." + +Will little knew how his fate had been discussed in the lodge, and how +his good humor, his acceptance of conditions and his zeal to help had +saved him from a lingering and horrible death. Old Xingudan, taciturn +though he was and severe of manner, was his firm friend and would defend +him against Heraka, or the great war chief, Red Cloud, himself. Will was +not only by formal rite of adoption a Sioux, but in the present crisis +he was, on the whole, the most valuable young warrior in a village where +young warriors were so scarce, owing to the distant war with the whites. + +"You have delivered your message, Roka," said Xingudan, finally, "and +you have no right to deliver it to anybody but me. Therefore your duty +is done. Do not mention it again while you are with us." + +"I obey, O Xingudan," said Roka. "Here I am under your command, and now +I will exert all my energies to get well of my wound." + +Will, meanwhile, relapsed farther and farther into the primitive, all +the conditions of extreme wildness exerting upon him a powerful +influence. They no longer had bullets and gunpowder or cartridges, but +must fight with bow and arrow, lance and war club. It was necessary, +too, to defend themselves, as the tremendous cold was driving into the +valley more beasts of prey, ravening with hunger. + +And yet the primitive state of the youth and those around him was not +ignoble. Just as the people of a village twenty thousand years before +may have been drawn together by common dangers and the needs of mutual +help, so were these. The women worked diligently on the wolf skins, +making heavier and warmer clothing, the food supply was placed under the +dictatorship of Xingudan, who saw that nothing was wasted. Will, with +the superior foresight of the white man's brain, was really at the back +of this measure. + +To the most active and vigorous men was assigned the task of hunting the +great wild beasts which now wandered into the valley, driven by cold and +fierce, growing hunger. + +The wolves were but the forerunners. Mountain lions of uncommon size and +ferocity appeared. An old woman was struck down in the night and +devoured, and in broad daylight a child standing at the brink of the +river was killed and carried away. Then the grizzly bears or other +bears, huge beyond any that they had ever seen before, appeared. A group +came in the night and attacked the pony herd, slaying and partly +devouring at least a dozen. All in the village were awakened by the +stamping of the horses and in the bitter cold and darkness the brave +children of the wild rushed to the rescue, the women snatching torches +and hurrying with them to furnish light by which their men could fight. + +The battle that ensued was fully as terrible as that with the wolves. +The bears, although far fewer than the wolves had been, were the +greatest of all the American carnivora, and they resented savagely the +attempt to drive them from their food, turning with foaming mouths upon +their assailants, who could not meet them now with bullets, but who +fought with the weapons of an earlier time. + +Will plied the bow and arrow, and, when the arrows were exhausted, used +a long lance. He and Xingudan were really the leaders, marshalling their +hosts with such skill and effect that they gradually drove the bears +away from the ponies, leaving the animals to be quieted by the women and +old men, while the warriors fought the bears. Among these men was Roka, +now recovered from his wound, and using a great bow with deadly +accuracy. He and Will at length drew up side by side, and the stout +Indian planted an arrow deep in the side of a bear. Yet the wound was +not fatal, and the animal, first biting at the arrow, then charged. Will +struck with the lance so fiercely that it entered the animal's heart +and, wrenched from his hands, was broken as the great beast fell. + +"Behold!" shouted Xingudan in Roka's ear, "he has saved your life even +as he saved mine!" + +Not one of the bears escaped, but two of the men lost their lives in the +terrible combat, and the strength of the village was reduced yet +further. The two men, however, had perished nobly and the people felt +triumphant. Will examined the bears by the numerous torchlights. He and +Xingudan and Inmutanka agreed that they were not the true grizzly of the +Montana or Idaho mountains, but, like the first one, much larger beasts +coming out of the far north. Will judged that the largest of them all +weighed a full three-quarters of a ton or more, and a most terrific +creature he was, with great hooked claws as hard as steel and nearly a +foot in length. + +"One blow of those would destroy the stoutest warrior, Waditaka," said +Xingudan. + +"Our bows and arrows and lances have saved us," said Will. "I think +they've been driven out of the Arctic by the great cold, and have +migrated south in search of food." + +"Then they smelled the horses and attacked them." + +"Truly so, Xingudan, and they or other wild beasts will come again. The +ponies are our weakest point. The great meat-eating animals will always +attack them." + +"But we must keep our ponies, Waditaka. We will need them in the spring +to hunt the buffalo." + +"Of course, Xingudan, we must save the ponies." + +"How, O Waditaka?" + +The youth felt a thrill. The chief was appealing to him to show the way +and he felt that he must do it. He had already the germ of an idea. + +"I think I shall have a plan tomorrow, O Xingudan," he said. + +When Will departed for their lodge with Inmutanka, Xingudan said to +Roka: + +"What think you now, Roka, of Waditaka, once Wayaka, a captive youth, +but now Waditaka, the brave young Sioux warrior, the adopted son of +Inmutanka, who is the greatest curer of sickness among us?" + +"He was as brave as any, as well as the most skillful of all those who +fought against the great beasts," replied Roka, "and you spoke truly, +Xingudan, when you said the village needed him. I make no demand that +the command of Heraka be carried out. But can we keep him, Xingudan? +Will he not go back to his own people when the chance comes?" + +"That I know not, Roka, but it will be many a day before he has a chance +to return to them. The distance is great, as you know, and we concealed +from him the way we came. The knowledge of the region in which this +village stands is hidden from him." + +Will's idea, as he had promised, was developed the next day. The corral +for the ponies, with one side of it against the overhanging cliff, was +strengthened greatly with stakes and brush, and at night fires were +lighted all about it, tended by relays. He knew that wild beasts dreaded +nothing so much as fire, and if any of them appeared the guards were to +beat the alarm on the war drum. There were enough people in the village +to make it easy for the watchers, and the fires would keep them warm. + +Xingudan expressed his full approval of the plan, and the watch was set +that very night, Will, at his own request, being put in charge of it. +Heavily wrapped in his buffalo coat over his deerskin suit, with two +pairs of moccasins on his feet, a fur cap on his head and thick ear +muffs, he walked from fire to fire and saw that they were well fed. +There was no need to spare the wood, the valley having a great supply of +timber. + +His assistants were small boys, old men and old women. The intelligence, +activity and strength of these ancient squaws always surprised William. +They were terribly weazened and withered, and far from beautiful to +look upon, but once having arrived at that condition they seemed able to +live forever, and to take a healthy interest in life as they went along. +Owing to the lack of men in the village their importance had increased +also, and they liked it. Under Will's eye they worked with remarkable +zeal, and a band of living light surrounded the entire corral. Other +lights blazed at points about the village, as they intended to make +everything safe. + +Will was chief of the watch, until about three o'clock in the morning. +Often he went among the ponies and soothed them with voice and touch, +for they were generally restless. Out of the darkness, well beyond the +light of the flames, came growls and the noises of fierce combat. They +had skinned all the bears, and also had taken away all the eatable +portions of their bodies, but other beasts had come for what was left. +The Indians distinguished the voices of bear, mountain lion and wolf. +From the slopes also came fierce whines, and the old squaws, shuddering, +built the fires yet higher. + +"Son of Inmutanka," said Xingudan at last to Will, "go to your lodge and +sleep. You have proved anew that you are a man and worthy to belong to +the great Dakota nation. The fires will be kept burning all through the +night and see you, Inmutanka, that no one awakens him. Let his sleep go +of its own accord to its full measure." + +A year earlier Will would have been so much excited that sleep would +have been impossible to him, but the primitive life he was leading had +hardened all his nerves so thoroughly that he slumbered at once between +the buffalo robes. + +Old Inmutanka did not awaken him when the dawn came, although most of +the people were already at work, curing the meat of the bears and +scraping and drying the huge hides. They were also putting more brush +and stakes around the great corral for the ponies, and many were already +saying it was Waditaka who had saved their horses for them the night +before. But the day had all the intense cold of extreme winter in the +great mountains of North America. The mercury was a full forty degrees +below zero, and the Indians who worked with the spoils had only chin, +eyes and mouth exposed. Among them came old Inmutanka, very erect and +strong despite his years, and full of honest pride. He thumped himself +twice upon the chest, and then said in a loud, clear voice: + +"Does anyone here wish to question the merit of my son, Waditaka? Is he +not as brave as the bravest, and does he not think further ahead than +any other warrior in the village?" + +Then up spoke old Xingudan and he was sincere. + +"Your words are as true as if they had been spoken by Manitou himself," +he said. "The youth, Waditaka, the son of Inmutanka, was the greatest +warrior of us all when the bears came, and his deeds stand first." + +Then up spoke the messenger, Roka, also. + +"It is true," he said. "I witnessed with my own eyes the great deeds of +Waditaka. Our chief, Xingudan, must be proud to have such a brave and +wise young warrior in his village." + +The two talked later on about the matter and Roka fully agreed with +Xingudan that the command of Heraka should be disregarded. Red Cloud, +the great Mahpeyalute, would support them in it and, in any event, it +was quite sure that the village itself would not allow it. + +Will did not awake until the afternoon, and then he yawned and stretched +himself a minute or two between the warm covers before he opened his +eyes. He saw a low fire of big coals burning in the centre of the lodge, +neutralizing the intensely cold air that came in where the door of the +lodge was left open for a foot or more. + +He surmised from the angle of the sun's rays that the day was far +advanced. Pemmican, strips of venison and some corn cakes lay by the +edge of the fire and he knew that good old Inmutanka had left them there +for him. He began to feel hungry. He would rise in a few minutes and +warm the bread and meat by the fire, but he first listened to a chant +that came from the outside, low at first, though swelling gradually. His +attention was specially attracted, because he caught the sound of his +own name in a recurring note. At length he made out the song, something +like this: + + Lo, in the night the great bears came + Our horses they would crush and devour. + Mighty were they in their size and strength + And hunger fierce and terrible drove them on. + Bullets we had none, only the edge of steel and bone, + But the fires of Waditaka filled their souls with fear, + Waditaka, the wise, the brave son of Inmutanka, + Without him our herd would have been lost, and we, too. + + Waditaka, the valiant and wise, showed us the way. + Young, but his arrow sings true, his lance strikes deep, + Waditaka, the thoughtful, the bold, the son of Inmutanka, + Proud we are that he belongs to us and fights for us. + +Young Clarke lay back between the buffalo covers. The song, crude though +it was, and without rhyme or metre in the Indian fashion, gave him a +strange and deep thrill. It was in just such manner that the Greeks +chanted the praises of some hero who had saved them from great disaster, +or who had done a mighty deed against dragons. From his early reading +came visions of Hercules and Theseus, of Perseus and Bellerophon. But he +did not put himself with such champions. He was merely serving a +primitive little village, carried by its primitive state farther back +than that world in which the more or less legendary Greek heroes lived. + +But it was pleasant, wonderfully pleasant, to hear the chant. This was +his world and to know, for a time at least, that he was first among the +people, was very grateful to young ears. Listening a while he rose, +dressed, warmed his food, and ate it with the appetite of a young lion. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE DREADFUL NIGHT + + +When Will came out of the lodge he witnessed such a scene as one might +have looked upon ten thousand years ago. The cold was bitter, but there +were many fires. Vast icicles hung from the slopes of the mountains, +glittering in the sun like gigantic spears. The trees were sheathed in +ice, and, when the wind shook the boughs, pieces fell like silver mail. +It was an icy world, narrow and enclosed, but it was a cheerful world +just the same. + +The squaws were pounding the bear meat, much as the white housewife +would pound a steak, but with more vigor. Grizzly or any other kind of +big bear was exceedingly tough, even after treatment, but, in the last +resort, the Indians would eat it, and, despite their great stores of +ordinary food, Xingudan feared they would not last through the long and +bitter winter now promised. + +The huge skins which had all the quality of fur were welcome. Will +believed the bears were not grizzlies, and later, when he heard of the +mighty Alaskan bears, he was sure of it. Great portions of the animals +could not be used, and, as Xingudan knew that the odor would draw the +fierce carnivora at night, he ordered it all carried to a point far up +the valley and dumped there. Then the night was filled with howlings as +the big wolves came down again and fought and ate. + +Will listened with many a shudder as, heavily clothed and armed, he +helped to keep the guard about the village and the corral, and, as he +listened, he reverted by another great stage back into the primitive. He +was with his friends, those who had fought beside him, those who cared +for him, and those who looked upon him as a leader. For the present, at +least, he was content. His hours were full of useful labor, of +excitement, and of rewards. He knew that another of the great bearskins +would be placed in the lodge that belonged to himself and Inmutanka, and +that the best of the food would always be theirs if they were willing to +take it. + +The most difficult of their tasks was to procure enough food for the +ponies, and they were continually turning up the snow in secluded +alcoves in search of it. Once the weather moderated considerably for a +week, and the snow melting in vast volume freshened all the grass and +foliage. Heavy and continuous rains for several days renewed much +vegetation, apparently dead in this secluded valley, and the ponies, +which were permitted to graze freely in the course of the day, although +they were driven back to the corral at night, regained much of their +lost flesh. The Indians also used this interval to gather and store much +forage for them. + +With the cessation of the rain however, the fierce cold returned. +Everything froze up tight and fast again, and once more at night they +heard the fierce howlings of the wild beasts. The fires around the +corral were renewed and were never permitted to die, and it was +necessary also to keep them burning continually about the village. A +wolf stole in between the lodges, killed and carried off a little child. +He was trailed by Will, Roka, now his fast friend, and a young warrior +named Pehansan, the Crane, because of his extreme height and thinness. +But Pehansan's figure, despite its slenderness, was so tough that he +seemed able to endure anything, and on this expedition he was the +leader. They tracked the wolf up the mountain side, slew it with arrows +and recovered the body of the child, to which they gave proper burial, +thus making sure of the immortality of its soul. + +The danger from the wild beasts remained. It was the theory of the old +and wise Xingudan that the pony herd drew them. The fierce winter made +the hunting bad, but the word had been passed on by wolves, mountain +lions and bears that a certain valley was filled with fine, toothsome +horses, little able to protect themselves, and all of the fierce +meat-eaters were coming to claim their share. + +"We shall have to fight them until the spring," said the wise old chief, +"and since we have neither cartridges nor powder and lead, we must make +hundreds and hundreds of arrows." + +This was hard and tedious labor, but nearly all in the village, who were +able, devoted most of their time to it. They used various kinds of +wood, scraping the shafts until they were perfectly round, and making on +every one three fine grooves which kept them from warping. The arrows +were of two different kinds, those for hunting and those for war. The +barb of the war arrow was short, and it was not fastened very tightly to +the shaft. When it struck the enemy, it would become detached and remain +in the wound, while the shaft fell away. A cruel device, but not worse +than has since been shown by highly civilized people in a universal war. + +The head of the hunting arrow was longer, more tapering and it was +fastened securely. The people of the village made these in much greater +numbers than the war arrows, as they certainly expected no fighting with +men before the spring, and then they would procure ammunition for their +rifles. The Sioux were not good marksmen at long range, but they shot +their arrows with amazing swiftness. Will noted that a man holding a +dozen arrows in his left hand could fire them all in as many seconds, +and they could be discharged with such power that at very close range +one would pass entirely through the body of a buffalo. + +While Will did not learn to shoot the arrows as fast as the Indians, he +was soon a better marksman at long range than anybody else in the +village. Then Xingudan gave him the most beautiful bow he had ever seen. +It was made of pieces of elkhorn that had been wrapped minutely and as +tightly as possible with the fresh intestines of a deer. When the +intestines dried the bow became to all purposes a single piece of +powerful horn, yet with the flexibility and elasticity that one horn did +not have. It was unbreakable, it did not suffer from weather, and it had +among the Sioux the same value that a jewel of great price has among +white people. Will knew that old Xingudan considered it a full +equivalent for his repeating rifle, revolver and field glasses that the +old chief kept in his lodge. + +Will and the Crane, otherwise Pehansan, formed a warm friendship, and he +found a similar friend in Roka, the stalwart warrior who had come with +the order for his death by torture. Soon after he received the gift of +the great bow the three decided on a hunting expedition toward the upper +end of the valley, all traveling on snowshoes. + +"Beware of the wild beasts, my son," said Inmutanka. + +"We have heard nothing of them for a week past," said Will. + +"The greater reason to expect them, because the word has been sent over +a thousand miles of snow fields that we are here to be eaten. I know you +are brave, watchful and quick, but take many arrows and see that Roka +and Pehansan do the same." + +Will was gay and light of heart, but he obeyed the injunction of +Inmutanka and filled the quiver. He saw that Roka and Pehansan had an +abundance, also, and the three, wrapped in furs, departed on their +snowshoes. The Indians had not gone much toward the upper end of the +valley. The slopes were less precipitous there and the forest heavier, +giving better hiding for the great wild beasts, and hence making them +much more dangerous. But with his magnificent new bow on his shoulder +and his stout comrades beside him Will was not afraid. + +The cold was less intense than it had been for some time and the +exercise of walking with the snowshoes gave them plenty of warmth. The +snow itself, which had now begun to soften at the surface, lay to a +depth of about three feet, hiding the river save where the Indians had +cut holes through ice and snow to capture fish. + +Pehansan, an inveterate hunter who would willingly have passed a +thousand years of good life in such pursuits, had an idea that elk might +be found in some of the secluded alcoves to the north. His mind was full +of such thoughts, but Will, exhilarated by motion, was looking at the +mountain tops which, like vast white pillars, were supporting a sky of +glittering blue. He swept his hand in a wide gesture. + +"It's a fit place up there for Manitou to live," he said. + +"Beyond the blue the hunting grounds go on forever," said Pehansan. + +"I can understand and appreciate your belief," said Will in his +enthusiasm. "Think of it, Pehansan, to be strong and young forever and +forever; never to know wounds or weariness; to hunt the game over +thousands and tens of thousands of miles; to find buffaloes and bears +and elk and moose twice, yes, three times as big as any here on earth; +to discover and cross rivers and lakes and seas and always to come back +safe! To sleep well every night and to wake every morning as keen for +the chase as ever! to have your friends with you always, and to strive +with them in the hunt in generous emulation! Aye, Pehansan, that would +be the life!" + +"Some day I shall find the life of which you speak so well, Waditaka! A +happy death on the battlefield and lo! I have it!" + +"Think you that the snow is now too soft to bear the weight of the +wolves?" asked Roka, breaking into plain prose. + +"Not yet," replied Pehansan, the mighty hunter, "but it may be soon. +Hark to their howling on the slopes among the dwarf trees!" + +Will heard a long, weird moaning sound, but he only laughed. It was the +voice of the great wolves, but they and the bears had been defeated so +often that he did not fear them. He swung the magnificent bow jauntily +and was more than willing to put it to deadly use. + +As the bird flies, the valley might have had a length of twenty miles, +but following its curves it was nearer forty, and as the three had no +reason for haste they took their time, traveling over the river bed, +because it was free from obstruction. At noon they ate pemmican, and, +after a rest of a half hour, pushed on again. The valley at this point +was not more than two miles wide, and Pehansan had his eyes set on a +deep gorge to the left, where the cedars and pines sheltered from the +winds seemed to have grown to an uncommon size. + +"May find elk in here, where snow is not deep. Best place to look. Don't +you think?" he said. + +"I agree with you," replied Will. + +"Pehansan speaks well," said Roka. + +Then they left the river bed and, bearing away toward the west, +approached the gorge which Will could now see was very deep, and with a +comparatively easy slope. He had an idea that many of the great +carnivora came into the valley by this road, but he did not speak of it +to the other two. + +About an hour after noon they came to the edge of the forest and +Pehansan, searching in the snow, found large tracks which were evidently +those of hoofs. + +"Elk?" said Will, "and a big one, too, I suppose." + +"No," replied Pehansan, "not elk. Something bigger." + +"What can it be? Moose, then?" + +"No, not moose. Bigger still!" + +"I give it up. What is it?" + +"A mountain buffalo, a bigger beast than those we find in the great +herds on the plains, which you know, Waditaka, are very big, too." + +"Then this giant is ours. He has come in here for food and shelter, and +we ought not to have much trouble in finding him. Lead on, Pehansan, and +I'll get a chance to use this grand bow sooner than I had thought." + +The tracks were deep sunken in the snow, but he was not yet expert +enough to tell their probable age. + +"How old would you say they are, Pehansan?" he asked. + +"Made to-day," replied the Indian, bending his glowing eyes upon the +trail. "Two, three hour ago. He not far away." + +"Then he's ours. A big mountain buffalo fresh on the hoof will be +welcome in the village." + +"Be careful about the snowshoes," said Roka. "The buffalo will be among +the trees and bushes and when we wound him he will charge. The snowshoes +must not become entangled." + +Will knew that it was excellent advice and he resolved to be exceedingly +cautious. He could walk well on the snowshoes though he was not as +expert as the Indians, but he held himself steady and made no noise +among the bushes as they advanced, Pehansan leading, with Roka next. + +"Very near now," whispered Pehansan, looking at the deep tracks, his +eyes still glowing. It was a great triumph to kill a mountain buffalo, +above all at such a time, and it was he, Pehansan, who led the way. If +the other two shared in the triumph so much the better. There was no +jealous streak in the Crane. + +Pehansan knew also that the quest was not without danger. Wounded, the +buffalo could become very dangerous and on snowshoes, among the thick +bushes, it would be difficult for the hunters to evade the crashing +charges of that mighty beast. + +He came to a wide and deep depression in the snow. + +"He lie down here and rest a while," he said. "Just beyond he dig in the +snow for bunches of the sweet grass that grow here in summer and that +keep alive under the snow." + +"Then he is not a half hour away," said Roka. + +"Not more than that," said Pehansan. "We barely creep now." + +Will began to feel excitement. He had killed big buffaloes before, but +then he had his repeating rifle, now he was to meet a monster of the +mountains only with the bow and arrow. Even in that moment he remembered +that man did not always have the bow and arrow. His primitive ancestors +were compelled to face not only buffaloes but the fierce carnivora with +the stone axe and nothing more. + +The great trail rapidly grew fresher. Among the pines and cedars, the +snow was not more than a foot deep and the three hunters had much +difficulty in making their way noiselessly where the brush was so dense. +But the footprints were monstrous. The great hoofs had crushed down +through the snow, and had even bitten into the earth. Will had a curious +idea that it might not be a mountain buffalo, large as they grew, but +some primordial beast, a survivor of a prehistoric time, a mammoth or +mastodon, the pictures of which he recalled in his youthful geography. +If America itself had so long passed unknown to the white man, why could +not these vast animals also be still living, hidden in the secluded +valleys of the great Northwest? + +Pehansan paused and turned upon the other two eyes that glowed from +internal fires. He, too, had been impressed by the enormous size of the +hoof prints, the largest that he had ever seen, but there was no fear, +nor even apprehension in his valiant soul. + +"It is the king of them all," he said. "Pteha (the buffalo) in these +mountains has grown to twice the usual size, and attacked by cold and +hunger he has the temper of the grizzly bear. He is but a little +distance away, and we need rifles to go against him, but we do not turn +back! Do we, Roka? Do we, Waditaka?" + +"We do not," whispered Roka. + +"Not thinking of such a thing," whispered Will. + +They pushed their way farther, crossed a small ravine and, resting a +moment or two on the other side, heard a puffing, a low sound but of +great volume. + +"Pteha," whispered Pehansan. + +"Among the cedars, scarce fifty yards away," said Roka. "Now suppose we +separate and approach from three points. It will give us a better chance +to plant our arrows in him, and he cannot charge more than one at a +time." + +"Good tactics, Roka," whispered Will. + +Roka, as the oldest, took the center, Pehansan turned to the right and +Will to the left. The white youth held his great elkhorn bow ready and +the quiver of arrows was over his shoulder, but, after the Sioux +fashion, he carried five or six also in his left hand that he might fire +them as quickly as one pulls the trigger of a repeating rifle. The +figures of Roka and Pehansan were hidden from him almost instantly by +the bushes and he went forward slowly, picking his dangerous way on the +snowshoes, his heart beating hard. He still had the feeling that he was +creeping upon a mammoth or mastodon, and the low puffing and blowing +increased in volume, indicating very clearly that it came from mighty +lungs. + +The feeling that he had been thrown back into a distant past grew upon +Will. He was in the deep snow, armed only with bow and arrows, around +him were the huge, frozen mountains, desolate and awful in their +majesty, and before him, only a few yards away, was the great beast, the +puffings and blowings of which filled his ears. He fingered the elkhorn +bow and then recalled his steadiness and courage. A few steps farther +and he caught a glimpse of a vast hairy back. Evidently the animal was +lying down and it would give the hunters an advantage, as they could +fire at least one arrow apiece before it rose to its feet. + +Another long, sliding step on the snowshoes and he saw more clearly the +beast, on its side in a great hollow it had made for itself in the snow. +But as he looked the huge bull lurched upward and charged toward the +right, from which point Pehansan was coming. Evidently a shift of the +wind had brought it the odor of the Crane, and it attacked at once with +all the ferocity of a mad elephant. + +Will had a clear view of a vast body, great humped shoulders, and sharp, +crooked horns. But now that the danger had come his pulses ceased to +leap and hand and heart were steady. The arrow sang from the bow and +buried itself deep in the great bull's neck. Another and another +followed until a full dozen were gone, every one sunk to the feather in +the animal's body. Roka and Pehansan were firing at the same time, +sending in arrows with powerful arms and at such close range that not +one missed. They stood out all over his body and he streamed with +blood. + +But the bull did not fall. No arrow had yet touched a vital spot. +Bellowing with pain and rage, he whirled, and catching sight of Will, +who was only a few yards away, charged. Pehansan and Roka uttered +warning shouts, and the youth, who in his enthusiasm had gone too near, +made a convulsive leap to one side. Had he been on hard ground and in +his moccasins he might easily have escaped that maddened rush, but the +long and delicate snowshoes caught in a bush, and he fell at full length +on his side. Then it was the very completeness of his fall that saved +him. The infuriated beast charged directly over him, trampling on the +point of one snowshoe and breaking it, but missing the foot. Will was +conscious of a huge black shape passing above him and of blood dripping +down on his body, but he was not hurt and he remembered to cling to his +bow. + +The raging bull, feeling that he had missed his prey, turned and was +about to charge again. Will would not have been missed by him a second +time. The youth would have been cut to pieces as he struggled for his +balance, but Pehansan did a deed worthy of the bravest of the brave. Far +more agile on the snowshoes than Will, he thrust himself in front of the +animal, waved his bow and shouted to attract his attention. The bull, +uttering a mighty bellow, charged, but the brave Crane half leaped, half +glided aside, and his arrows thudded in the great rough neck as the +beast rushed by. + +When the monster turned again, Will, although he was compelled to lean +against a bush for support, had drawn a fresh sheaf of arrows from the +quiver, and he sent them home in a stream. Roka from another point was +doing the same and Pehansan from a third place was discharging a volley. +The great beast, encircled by stinging death, threw up his head, uttered +a tremendous bellow of agony and despair and crashed to the earth, where +he breathed out his life. + +Will, trembling from his exertions and limping from the broken snowshoe +approached cautiously, still viewing that huge, hairy form with wonder +and some apprehension. Nor were Roka and Pehansan free from the same +nervous strain and awe. + +"What is it?" asked Will, "a mammoth or a mastodon?" + +"Don't know mammoth and don't know mastodon," replied Pehansan, shaking +his head, "but do know it is the biggest of all animals my eyes have +ever seen." + +"It is a woods or mountain buffalo that has far outgrown its kind, just +as there are giants among men," said Roka. + +"If this were a man and he bore the same relation to his species he +would be thirteen or fourteen feet tall," said Will, his voice still +shaking a little. "Why, he'd make most elephants ashamed to be so puny +and small." + +"He, too, like the bears, came out of the far North," said Pehansan. +"Maybe there is not another in the world like him." + +"That hide of his is thick with arrows," said Will, "but in so big a +skin I don't think the arrow holes will amount to much. We ought to have +it. We must carry so grand a trophy back to the village to-night." + +Roka shook his head. + +"Not to-night," he said. "We three be strong, but we cannot move the +body of this mighty beast, and so we cannot take off the skin." + +"I will go to the village and bring many people," said Pehansan. + +Again the wise Roka shook his head. + +"No," he said, "we three will stay by the bull. You are fast on your +snowshoes, Pehansan, and you can shoot your arrows swift, hard and true, +but you would never reach the village, which is many miles from here. +The fierce wild animals would devour you. We must clear the snow away as +fast as we can and build fires all about us. The beasts have already +scented the dead bull, and will come to eat him and us." + +The shadows of the twilight were falling already, and they heard the +faint howls of the meat-eaters on the slopes. Will and his comrades, +taking off their snowshoes, worked with frantic energy, clearing away +the snow with their mittened hands, bringing vast quantities of the dead +wood, lighting several fires in a circle about the bull, and keeping +themselves, with the surplus wood, inside the circle. Then, while Will +fed the fires, Roka and Pehansan carefully cut the arrows out of the +body. + +"We may need them all before morning," said Roka. + +"It is so, if the growling be a true sign," said Pehansan. + +The two warriors partly skinned the body and cut off great chunks of +meat, which they broiled over the fires, and all three ate. Meanwhile, +Will, bow and arrows ready, watched the bushes beyond the circle of +flame. If his situation had been nearly primitive in the day it was +wholly primitive at night. The mighty bull buffalo was to him truly a +mammoth, and beyond the circle of fire, which they dreaded most of all +things, the fierce carnivora were waiting to devour the hunters and +their giant prize alike. When a pair of green eyes came unusually near +Will fired an arrow at a point midway between them, and a terrific +howling and shrieking followed. + +"It was one of the great wolves, I think," said Roka, "and your arrow +sped true. The others are devouring him now. Listen, you can hear his +big bones cracking!" + +Will shuddered and threw more wood on the fires. What a blessed thing +fire was! It saved them from the freezing night and it saved them from +the teeth of the wild beasts, which he knew were gathering in a great +circle, mad with hunger. The flames leaped higher, and he caught +glimpses of dusky figures hovering among the bushes, wolves, bears and +he knew not what, because imagination was very lively within him then +and he had traveled back to a primordial time. + +The night became very dark and the snow hardened again under the cold +that came with it. Will, crouched by one of the fires with his bow and +arrows ever ready in his hands, heard the sounds of heavy bodies, either +sinking into the snow or crushing their way through it. The wind rose +and cut like a knife. Despite his heavy buffalo robe overcoat he moved a +little closer to the fire, and Pehansan and Roka almost unconsciously +did the same. They were all sitting, and the great body of the slain +bull towered above them. The sound of the wind, as it swept through the +gorges, was ferocious like the growling of the beasts with which it +mingled. + +"The spirits of evil are abroad to-night," said Roka. "The air is full +of them and they rush to destroy us, but Manitou has given us the fire +with which to defend us." + +A long yell like that of a cat, but many times louder, came from a point +beyond and above them, where a tree of good size grew about fifty yards +away. Roka seized a piece of burning wood and held it aloft. + +"It's a monstrous mountain lion stretched along a bough," he said. "Look +closely, Waditaka, and you will see. At a long distance you are the best +bowman of us all. Can you not reach him with an arrow from your great +elkhorn bow?" + +"I think so," replied Will, concentrating his gaze until he could make +out clearly the outlines of the giant cat. "He's a monster of his kind. +All the animals in this region seem to be about twice the size of +ordinary types." + +"But if the arrow touches the heart the big as well as the little will +fall." + +"True, Roka, and while you hold that torch aloft I can mark the spot on +his yellowish hide beneath which his heart lies. Steady, now, don't let +the light waver and I think I can reach the place." + +He fitted the arrow to the string, bent the great bow and let fly. The +arrow sang a moment through the air, and then it stood out, buried to +the feathers in the body of the lion. The wounded beast uttered a scream +so fierce that all three shuddered and drew a little closer together, +and then launched itself through the air like a projectile. It struck in +the snow somewhere, disappeared from their sight, and they heard +terrible sounds of growling and fighting. + +"Your arrow went straight to its heart," said Roka. "The spring was its +last convulsion of the muscles and now the other beasts are fighting +over its body as they eat it." + +"I don't care how soon this night is over," said Will. "All the +meat-eating wild beasts in the mountains must be gathering about us." + +"It is not a time for sleep," said Roka gravely. "While Manitou has +given us the fire to serve as a wall around us, he tells us also that we +must watch every minute of the night with the bows and arrows always in +our hands, or we die." + +"Aye," said Pehansan, "there is one that comes too near now!" + +He sent an arrow slithering at a bulky figure dimly outlined not more +than ten yards away. At so short a distance a Sioux could shoot an arrow +with tremendous force, and there followed at once a roar of pain, a rush +of heavy feet, and a wild threshing among the bushes. + +"I know not what beast it was," said Pehansan proudly, "but like the +other it will soon find a grave in the stomachs of the great wolves." + +They did not see any more figures for an hour or two, but a dreadful +howling came from the great beasts, from every point in the complete +circle about them. The three watched closely, eager to speed more +arrows, but evidently the carnivora had taken temporary alarm and would +not come too near lest the flying death reach them again. Roka cut fresh +pieces from the buffalo and roasted them over one of the fires. + +"Eat," he said to his comrades. "It is as wearing to watch and wait as +it is to march and fight. Eat, even if you are not hungry, that your +strength may be preserved." + +Will, who at any other time would have found the meat of the bull too +tough before pounding, ate, and he ate, too, with an appetite, Roka and +Pehansan joining with vigor. + +The odor of the cooking steak penetrated the darkness about them and +they heard the fierce growling of bears and the screaming of great cats. +Will was growing so much used to these terrible noises, he felt so much +confidence in their ring of fire that he laughed, and his laugh had a +light trace of mockery. + +"Wouldn't they be glad to get at us?" he said, "and wouldn't they like +to sink their teeth in the giant bull here? Why, there's enough of him +to feed a whole gang of 'em!" + +"But he'll feed our people down in the village," said Pehansan, who was +also in good spirits. "Still the wild beasts are coming nearer. It is +great luck that we have so much wood for the fires." + +He and Will built the fires higher, while Roka sent two or three arrows +at the green or yellow eyes in the dark. The roars or fierce yells +showed that he had hit, and they heard the sound of heavy bodies being +threshed about in the dusk. + +"We are not eaten but some of our enemies are," said Will. "It would be +a good plan, wouldn't it, to slay them whenever we can in order that +they may be food for one another?" + +"It is wisely spoken," said Roka. "We will shoot whenever we see a +target, but we will never neglect the fires because they are more +important even than the arrows." + +All through that dark, primordial night, in which they were carried +back, in effect, at least ten thousand years, they never relaxed the +watch for a moment. Now and then they sent arrows into the dusk, +sometimes missing and sometimes hitting, and the growling of the bears +and wolves and the screaming of the great cats was almost continuous. +The darkness seemed eternal, but at length, with infinite joy, they saw +the first pale streak of dawn over the eastern mountains. + +"Now the fierce animals will withdraw farther into the forest," said +Roka. "Beyond the reach of our arrows they will be, but they will not +depart wholly." + +"Someone must go to the village for help," said Will, "help not only for +us, but to take away two or three tons of this good meat. Why, the bull +looks even bigger this morning than he did last night. One of my +snowshoes is broken, but, if Pehansan will lend me his, I'll make the +trip." + +"You will not," said Roka. "Despite your skill with the bow and arrow +you would be devoured before you had gone a mile. The fierce beasts +would be in waiting for you and you would no longer have a ring of fire +to protect you." + +"Then what are we to do, Roka? We can't stay here forever within the +ring of fire, living on steaks cut from the bull." + +"Waditaka has become a great young warrior and he thinks much. Few as +young as he is think as much as he does." + +"I don't grasp your meaning, Roka." + +"Perhaps it would be better to say that no one thinks of everything." + +"I'm still astray." + +"We'll call the people of the village to us." + +"If you had the voice of old Stentor himself, of whom you never heard, +you couldn't reach the village, which you know is more than twenty miles +away." + +"We will not call with our voices, Waditaka. Behold how clear the +morning comes! It is the light of bright winter and there is no light +brighter. The sun is rising over the mountains in a circle of burning +gold and all the heavens are filled with its rays." + +"You're a poet, Roka. The spell has fallen upon you." + +"Against the shining blaze of the sky the smallest object will show, and +a large object will be seen at a vast distance. Bring our blankets, +Pehansan, and we will spread them over the little fire here." + +Will laughed at himself. + +"The smoke signals!" he exclaimed. "How simple the plan and how foolish +I was not to think of it!" + +"As I told you," said Roka, "one young warrior, no matter how wise, +cannot think of everything. We will talk not with our mouths but with +the blankets." + +In this case the signals were quite simple. Pehansan passed the blanket +twice rapidly over the fire, allowing two great coils of smoke to ascend +high in the air, and then dissipate themselves there. After five minutes +he sent up the two smoky circles again. The signal meant "Come." + +"We will soon see the answer," said Roka, "because they are anxious +about us and will be looking for a sign." + +All three gazed in the direction of the village, the only point from +which the reply could be sent, and presently a circle of smoke, then +two, then three, rose there. Pehansan, in order to be sure, sent up the +two circles again, and the three promptly replied. + +"It is enough," said Roka joyfully. "Now they will come in great force +on their snowshoes, and we will be saved with our huge prize." + +They waited in the utmost confidence and at times Pehansan sent up the +two rings again to guide the relief band. But the people from the +village had a long distance to travel, and it was noon when they saw the +dark figures among the undergrowth and hailed them with joyous cries. At +least thirty had come, a few young warriors--there were few in the +village--but mostly old men, and the dauntless, wiry old squaws. + +They exclaimed in wonder and admiration over the mighty beast the three +had killed, and among the bushes about the campfire they found great +skeletons, all eaten clean by the huge mountain wolves. + +"Truly you were saved by fire," said old Xingudan, who had himself +headed the relieving party. + +With so many to lift and pull they were able to remove the entire robe +from the giant buffalo, the finest skin that many of them had ever seen. +It was so vast that it was a cause of great wonder and admiration. + +"It belongs," said Xingudan, "to Waditaka, Pehansan and Roka, the three +brave warriors who slew the buffalo." + +"The three live in different lodges and they will have to pass it one to +another for use," said Inmutanka. + +Will glanced at Roka, who understood him, and then he glanced at +Pehansan, who also understood him. + +"It is the wish of the three of us," said the youth, "that this great +skin be accepted by the brave and wise Xingudan, whose knowledge and +skill have kept the village unhurt and happy under conditions that might +well have overcome any man." + +A look of gratification, swift but deep, passed over the face of +Xingudan, but he declined the magnificent offer. Nevertheless the three +insisted, and old Inmutanka observed wisely that the skin should go only +in the lodge of the head chief. At last Xingudan accepted, and Will, +although he had not made the offer for that purpose, had a friend for +life. + +The band began to cut up the vast body, which, when the flesh was well +pounded and softened by the squaws, would alone feed the village for +quite a period. The task could not be finished that day, but they built +such a ring of great fires for the night that the fierce carnivora did +not dare to come near. The next day they reached the village with the +great bull, carried in many sections. + +Will's nerves had been attuned so highly during the terrible siege that +he collapsed to a certain extent after his return to the village, but he +suffered no loss of prestige because of it, as everybody believed that +he and his comrades had been besieged by evil spirits, and Pehansan and +Roka as well were compelled to take a long rest. He remained in the +lodge a whole day, and Inmutanka brought him the tenderest of food and +the juices of medicinal herbs to drink, telling him it was said on every +side that the prophecy had come true, and his craft and skill had saved +the village in the terrible winter. + +The second day he was in the village, where the women and old men were +pounding and drying the flesh of the buffalo, but only the most skilful +were permitted to scrape the vast skin, which, when it was finally +cured, would make such an ornament as was never before seen in the lodge +of a Sioux chief. But Will, Pehansan and Roka were not allowed to have a +share in any work for a long time. They were three heroes who had fought +with demons and who had triumphed, and for a space they were looked upon +as demi-gods. + +Nevertheless, they had their full share in the hunt. The wise old +Xingudan, backed by the equally wise old Inmutanka, forbade any +expeditions far from the village unless they were made in great force, +and their judgment was soon proved by the fact that many bears, wolves +and mountain lions of the greatest size were slain. Numerous fires, +however, made the region immediately about the lodges safe, and as the +river flowed almost at their feet the women could break the thick ice +and catch fish, without fear of the wild beasts. + +It was during this interval that Will began to think again very much of +the faithful white friends whom he had lost, the redoubtable scout, the +whistling and cheerful Little Giant, and the brave and serious Brady. +Heraka had told him that they were dead, but he could not believe it. He +began to feel that he would see them again, and that they would renew +the great quest. He had preserved the map with care, but he had not +looked at it for a long time. Yet he remembered the lines upon it as +well as ever. As he had reflected before, if it were destroyed, he could +easily reproduce it from memory. + +Then his three lost friends became vague again. The months that had +passed since his capture seemed years, and he was so far away from all +the paths of civilization that it was like being on another planet. He +had never yet learned exactly where he was, but he knew it must be in +the high mountains of the far north, and therefore toward the Pacific +coast. + +Then all these memories and mental questions faded, as the life of the +village became absorbing again. Frightened herds of elk and moose, +evidently chased by the great carnivora or in search of food, came into +the valley and the Indians killed as many as they needed. They might +have killed more, but Xingudan forbade them. + +"Let them take shelter here," he said, "and grow more numerous. It is +not to the interest of our people that the big deer should decrease in +numbers, and if we are wise we will let live that which we do not need +to eat." + +They saw the wisdom of Xingudan's words and obeyed him. Perhaps there +was not another Indian village in all North America which had greater +plenty than Xingudan's in that winter, so long and terrible, in the +northern mountains. Big game was abundant, and fish could always be +obtained through holes in the thick ice that invariably covered the +river. Their greatest difficulty was in keeping the horses, but they met +the emergency. Not only did the horses dig under the snow with their +sharp feet, but the Indians themselves, with Will at their head, +uncovered or brought much forage for them. + +Will understood why such sedulous care was bestowed upon the ponies, +which could be of little use among the great mountains. When spring was +fully come they would go eastward out of the mountains, and upon the +vast plains, where they would hunt the buffalo. Then he must escape. +Although he was an adopted Sioux, the son of Inmutanka, and had adapted +himself to the life of the village, where he was not unhappy, he felt at +times the call of his own people. + +The call was especially strong when he was alone in the lodge, and the +snow was driving heavily outside. Then the faces of the scout, the +Little Giant and the beaver hunter appeared very clearly before him. His +place was with them, if they were still alive, and in the spring, when +the doors of ice that closed the valley were opened, he would go, if he +could. + +But the spring was long in coming. Xingudan himself could not recall +when it had ever before been so late. But come at last it did, with +mighty rains, the sliding of avalanches, the breaking up of the ice, +floods in the river and countless torrents. When the waters subsided and +the slopes were clear of snow Xingudan talked of moving. The lodges were +struck and the whole village passed out of the valley. The tall youth, +dressed like the others and almost as brown as they, who had been known +among white people as Will Clarke, but whom the Indians called Waditaka, +wondered what the spring was going to bring to him, and he awaited the +future with intense curiosity and eagerness. + + + + +-------------------------------------------------------+ + | Transcriber's Note: | + | | + | Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the | + | original document have been preserved. | + | | + | Typographical errors corrected in the text: | + | | + | Page 14 hutner changed to hunter | + | Page 55 commisariat changed to commissariat | + | Page 166 wondered changed to wandered | + | Page 181 double-barrelled changed to double-barreled | + | Page 191 which added after "weapon with" | + | Page 266 Wll changed to Will | + | Page 325 Pahansan changed to Pehansan | + +-------------------------------------------------------+ + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Great Sioux Trail, by Joseph Altsheler + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL *** + +***** This file should be named 28115.txt or 28115.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/1/1/28115/ + +Produced by D. 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