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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41802 ***
+
+                    _THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES._
+
+                               FRANK
+                         IN THE MOUNTAINS.
+
+                        BY HARRY CASTLEMON,
+
+    AUTHOR OF "THE GUN-BOAT SERIES," "THE GO-AHEAD SERIES," ETC.
+
+
+    PHILADELPHIA:
+    PORTER & COATES.
+
+    CINCINNATI, O.:
+    R. W. CARROLL & CO.
+
+
+    Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by R. W.
+    CARROLL & CO.
+
+    In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States,
+    for the Southern District of Ohio.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+        CHAPTER I. The Foot-race                                5
+
+       CHAPTER II. What Came of It                             20
+
+      CHAPTER III. Frank Learns Something                      34
+
+       CHAPTER IV. The Trapper a Prisoner                      48
+
+        CHAPTER V. Archie Finds a New Uncle                    66
+
+       CHAPTER VI. The Medicine-man                            85
+
+      CHAPTER VII. In the Mountains                           102
+
+     CHAPTER VIII. Frank's Friend the Grizzly                 123
+
+       CHAPTER IX. Adam Brent's Story                         142
+
+        CHAPTER X. Turning out a Panther                      159
+
+       CHAPTER XI. Frank in Search of his Supper              181
+
+      CHAPTER XII. Adam Besieged                              200
+
+     CHAPTER XIII. Dick in a New Character                    219
+
+      CHAPTER XIV. A Ride for Life                            239
+
+       CHAPTER XV. Conclusion                                 257
+
+
+
+
+FRANK IN THE MOUNTAINS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE FOOT-RACE.
+
+
+One sultry afternoon in September, about four weeks after the occurrence
+of the events we have attempted to describe in the second volume of this
+series, Frank and Archie found themselves comfortably settled in new
+quarters, hundreds of miles from the scene of their recent exploits.
+According to arrangement, they accompanied Captain Porter on his
+expedition, and in due time encamped a short distance from an old Indian
+trading-post, in the very heart of the Rocky Mountains.
+
+The journey across the plains, from Fort Yuma on the Colorado to the
+head-waters of the Missouri, was accomplished without danger or
+difficulty. The expedition traveled rapidly, and the only incidents that
+occurred to relieve the monotony of the ride were a buffalo hunt and a
+chase after a drove of wild horses. On these occasions the cousins
+gained hearty applause from the trappers--Frank by his skill with the
+rifle, and Archie by his persevering but unsuccessful efforts to capture
+one of the wild steeds.
+
+Had a stranger been dropped suddenly into the midst of the scenes with
+which the boys were now surrounded, he could scarcely have realized that
+he was miles and miles outside of a fence, and in the heart of a
+wilderness which but a few years before had been in undisputed
+possession of savages. The boys could hardly believe it themselves. If
+the fort, the trappers, and the Indian camp had been removed, Frank and
+Archie could easily have imagined that they were in the midst of a
+thriving farming region, and that they had only to cross to the other
+side of the mountains to find themselves in the streets of a prosperous
+and growing city. The country looked civilized. There were well-filled
+barns, rich fields of grain waiting to be harvested, and a herd of
+cattle standing under the shade of the trees on the banks of the clear
+dancing trout brook, which flowed by within a stone's throw of the
+house. There were wagons moving to and fro, between the barns and the
+fields, flocks of noisy ducks and hens wandering about, and Archie said
+he was every moment expecting to see a company of school-children come
+trooping by, with their dinner-baskets on their arms.
+
+There was one thing that did not look exactly right, and that was the
+farm-house. It was built of sun-dried bricks, its walls were thick, and
+provided with loop-holes, and around it were the ruins of the palisade
+that had once served it as a protection against the Indians.
+
+The farm-house was situated in the center of a delightful valley, which
+was surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains. In one corner of the
+valley, and in plain view of the house, was Fort Stockton, the
+trading-post of which we have spoken. Outside the walls a band of
+Indians, about a hundred in number, was encamped. They had come there to
+dispose of their furs, and were now having a glorious time among
+themselves, being engaged in various sports, such as running, wrestling,
+jumping, riding, and shooting at a mark. In a little grove between the
+house and the fort the trappers belonging to Captain Porter's expedition
+had made their camp, and the Captain himself sat on the porch, smoking
+his long Indian pipe, and conversing with Mr. Brent, the owner of the
+rancho. These gentlemen were old acquaintances and friends, having
+formerly been engaged in the fur trade together; and when the expedition
+made its appearance in the valley, Mr. Brent insisted that the Captain
+and his young friends should make their headquarters at his house, until
+they were ready to resume their journey. The boys willingly accepted the
+invitation--Frank for the reason that there was a well-filled library in
+the house, and Archie because he wanted to be near a new acquaintance he
+had made.
+
+Close beside the stairs which led to the porch, Dick and old Bob lay
+stretched out on their blankets, listening to the yells of the Indians,
+and watching all that was going on in the camp; and, if one might judge
+by their looks and actions, they were not at all pleased with the state
+of affairs. Indeed, they had kept up a constant grumbling ever since
+they came into the valley, and had repeatedly declared that they had
+never expected to see the day that Indians would be permitted to come
+into a white settlement and carry things with so high a hand.
+
+"Times aint as they used to be, Bob," said Dick, knocking the ashes from
+his pipe, and filling up for a fresh smoke. "When me an' ole Bill Lawson
+trapped in this yere valley, years ago, I never thought that I should
+set here, as I do now, an' let a hul tribe of screechin' varlets jump
+about afore my very eyes, without drawin' a bead on some of 'em. This
+country is ruined; I can see that easy enough."
+
+"Dick is growling again," said Archie. "If he could have his own way,
+there wouldn't be an Indian in the world by this time to-morrow."
+
+The cousins occupied an elevated position on the porch, from which they
+could observe the proceedings in the Indian camp. Near them stood the
+son of the owner of the rancho, Adam Brent. He was about Archie's age
+and size, only a little more thick-set and muscular; and with his brown,
+almost copper-colored complexion, dark eyes, and long black hair, might
+easily have passed for an Indian. His dress consisted of a hunting shirt
+of heavy cloth, buckskin leggins and moccasins, and a fur cap, which he
+wore both summer and winter.
+
+Our heroes had made some alterations in their costumes since we last saw
+them. They had worn the Mexican dress while in California, because it
+was particularly adapted to the warm climate; but now they had discarded
+their wide pants for buckskin trowsers and leggins, although they still
+held to their sombreros, light shoes, and jackets.
+
+The boys had spent but three days at Mr. Brent's rancho, but they were
+already famous, for Dick and Bob had never neglected an opportunity to
+relate the story of their adventures and exploits in California. When
+they visited the fort, the officers and soldiers looked at them as
+though they had been some curious wild animals; the trappers belonging
+to the expedition treated them with a great deal of respect; and their
+new acquaintance, Adam Brent, acknowledged that he had been greatly
+mistaken in the opinions he had formed concerning boys from the States.
+They arose still higher in his estimation before he bade them good-by.
+
+When Archie spoke, Bob and Dick raised themselves on their elbows and
+looked at him.
+
+"Yes, little un, I am growlin' agin," said the latter; "an' I reckon
+you'd growl too, if you knowed as much about them Injuns as I do. I'll
+allow that if I could have my way thar wouldn't be as many of 'em by
+this time to-morrow as thar are now, but I wouldn't like to sweep 'em
+out of the world by any onnateral means. I'll tell you what I'd do," he
+added, pointing to the grove in which the trappers were encamped. "Thar
+are twenty fine fellers layin' around under them trees, an' I like 'em,
+'cause they're honest men, an' hate Injuns as bad as I do. I'd say to
+'em: 'Boys, get up an' show them ar' red skins what sort of stuff you're
+made of!' They'd do it in a minit, an' be glad of the chance; an'
+thar'd be a thinnin' out of them Injun's ranks that would do your eyes
+good to look at."
+
+"Perhaps some of you would get thinned out too," said Frank. "Those
+Indians are all well armed."
+
+"I know that; but I, fur one, would be willin' to run the risk. I don't
+like to see 'em playin' about that ar way. When I walk through their
+camp, it is as hard fur me to keep from pitchin' into one of 'em as it
+is for a duck to keep out of the water."
+
+"Let's go down there," said Archie. "I'd like to see what is going on."
+
+Frank replied by picking up his hat; while Adam looked toward his
+father, who shook his head very decidedly. The cousins were a good deal
+surprised at this, and they had been surprised at the same thing more
+than once during their short stay at the rancho. Adam was never allowed
+to go anywhere, unless his father went with him. Mr. Brent kept watch of
+him night and day, and never appeared to be at ease if his son was out
+of his sight. He seemed to be afraid that some mischief would befall him
+unless he kept him constantly under his eye.
+
+"You will have to go without me," said Adam, with some disappointment in
+his tone.
+
+"Don't you get tired of staying about the house all the time?" asked
+Archie. "I'd dry up like a mummy, for want of some jolly exercise to
+stir up my blood."
+
+"I do get very tired of it," replied Adam, "but I can't help it. It
+would be as much as my life is worth to go out of sight of this house.
+If I should go down to that camp, I might never come back again. I'll
+tell you a story before you leave us."
+
+Frank and Archie would have been glad to postpone their visit to the
+camp, and to listen to the story then and there; but Adam left them, and
+entered the house. Dick and Bob accompanied them to the fort, and while
+on the way the boys talked over what Adam had said to them, and
+speculated upon the causes that rendered it necessary for him to be kept
+so close a prisoner; but that was a mystery, and would probably remain
+so until Adam saw fit to enlighten them.
+
+After a few minutes' walk they reached the camp, and seated themselves
+upon a little knoll, under the shade of a spreading oak, to watch the
+games. The principal sport, among the younger members of the tribe,
+seemed to be running foot-races; and, in this, one youthful savage
+excelled all his companions. He was a tall, active fellow, apparently
+about Frank's age, as straight as an arrow, and very muscular. He easily
+distanced every one of his competitors, and finally he stepped up to the
+visitors, and fastening his eyes upon Frank, asked him if he could run.
+
+"I reckon he can," replied Dick, before Frank could speak. "Fur one of
+his years he is about the liveliest feller on his legs I ever seed; an'
+I've met a heap of smart youngsters in my day, I tell you. You haint got
+no business with him. He would go ahead of you like a bird on the wing."
+
+"Ugh!" exclaimed the young Indian.
+
+"It's a fact; an' that aint all he can do, nuther. He can not only beat
+you runnin', but he can out-ride, out-shoot, an' out-jump you; an' he
+can take your measure on the ground as fast as you can get up."
+
+The Indian listened attentively to all the trapper had to say, and then
+turned and surveyed Frank from head to foot. A white boy would have
+thought twice before selecting so formidable an opponent; but the
+Indian, evidently having great confidence in his powers, stepped back,
+and motioned to the young hunter to follow him--an invitation which
+Frank had no desire to accept. He would not have been at all averse to a
+friendly trial of speed and skill with the young warrior, if Dick had
+not been so lavish in his praises; but what if he should be beaten after
+all the complimentary things the trapper had said about him? The Indian
+had shown himself to be a great braggart. Whenever he won a race, he
+announced the fact by a series of hideous yells, that were heard all
+over the camp; and if he should chance to distance Frank, how he would
+crow over him!
+
+"I believe I won't try it, Dick," said the latter.
+
+"What!" exclaimed old Bob, in great amazement. "Are you goin' to set
+thar an' take a banter like that, an' from an Injun, too? I haint been
+fooled in you, have I? Come on, and show the red skins what you can
+do."
+
+"Yes, go Frank," chimed in Archie, "and take some of the conceit out of
+that fellow. I know you can beat him. See how impudent he looks!"
+
+Frank glanced toward the Indian, who stood patiently awaiting a response
+to his challenge, and meeting with a sneering smile, which told him as
+plainly as words that he was believed to be a coward, he sprang to his
+feet, and accompanied by his cousin and the trappers, followed the
+Indian toward the race-course. The latter kept up a loud shouting as he
+walked along, and Frank noticed, with no little uneasiness, that the
+Indians, old and young, abandoned their own sports and fell in behind.
+
+"They 're goin' out to see the race," said Dick. "That boaster is
+tellin' 'em how bad he is goin' to beat you. I reckon he'll be about the
+wust fooled man them Injuns ever seed."
+
+The prospect of a contest between a white boy and one of their own
+number, created quite a commotion among the savages; and by the time
+Frank and his companions reached the race-course, the village had been
+deserted. Among the spectators were the officers of the fort, and four
+white trappers who made their home among the Indians. In these last, if
+Frank had noticed them, he would have recognized old acquaintances, whom
+he had good reason to remember; but as they did not make themselves very
+conspicuous, he did not see them. They did not seem to care much about
+the race, but they appeared to be greatly interested in Dick and Bob,
+and their young friends. They looked at Frank, then held a whispered
+consultation, and one of them left his companions, and, mounting a small
+gray horse, rode off toward the mountains; while the others devoted
+their entire attention to Archie, whom they watched as closely as ever a
+cat watched a mouse. If Frank could have seen that horse, it is possible
+that there would have been an uproar in that camp immediately; and if
+Archie had known what the men were saying about him, and what they were
+intending to do with him, he would have wished himself safe back in
+California again.
+
+When Frank reached the race-course, and looked back at the cloud of
+spectators that hung upon the outskirts of the village, his heart failed
+him; but it was only for a moment. It was too late to think of backing
+out, and with a firm determination to win the race, he began preparing
+for it by throwing off his hat and jacket, and tying his handkerchief
+around his waist. At this moment the principal chief of the band
+appeared upon the ground, and assumed the management of affairs. He was
+a very dignified looking Indian, stood more than six feet in his
+moccasins, wore a profusion of feathers in his hair, a red blanket over
+his shoulders, and was altogether the finest specimen of a savage the
+boys had ever met. Frank was very much interested in him; but before
+many hours had passed over his head, he had reason to wish he had never
+seen him.
+
+"He is my beau ideal of a warrior," whispered Archie. "He looks exactly
+as I imagined all Indians looked before I knew as much about them as I
+do now. Isn't he splendid, Dick?"
+
+"Sartin," replied the trapper. "I'd like to meet him alone in the
+mountains, an' show him how easy I can raise that har of his'n. Now,
+youngsters, if you are all ready, I am. I see that some of the Injuns
+are goin' to run the race too--jest to encourage their man, you
+know--an' I am goin' with you. Do your level best, now."
+
+The race-course was about half a mile long. At the end of it was a tree
+which the runners were to double, terminating the race at the place from
+which they started. This the chief explained to Frank in broken English,
+and, after placing the rival runners side by side, and glancing up and
+down the course to satisfy himself that the way was clear, he raised a
+yell as the signal to start. Before his lips were fairly opened the race
+was begun.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+WHAT CAME OF IT.
+
+
+No sooner had the chief's yell died away than the whole tribe took it
+up; and such a din as that which rung in Frank's ears during the next
+few seconds, he had never heard before. The yells did not express
+delight, but surprise and indignation; for their youthful champion was
+being left behind at the very commencement of the race. Frank took the
+lead at the start. The instant the signal was given, he bounded forward
+like an arrow from a bow, and was well under way before the Indian had
+made a step.
+
+"Whoop!" yelled Dick, his stentorian voice ringing out loud and clear
+above the noise made by the excited savages; "if that wasn't well done
+may I never draw a bead on an Injun agin." The trapper was following
+close at Frank's heels, swinging along with an easy, graceful motion,
+and moving over the ground so lightly that he scarcely seemed to touch
+it. "Don't be in too big a hurry," said he, as Frank continued to
+increase his speed. "Save some of your wind for the finish. Come along,
+thar," he added, looking over his shoulder at the young Indian. "If you
+can't keep up, come here an' I'll tote you."
+
+The savage, however, was not yet beaten. Quickly recovering from his
+surprise, and spurred on by the yells of derision which his friends sent
+after him, he exerted himself to the utmost; and before they reached the
+end of the course, he had overtaken Frank, and was running side by side
+with him; but he could not pass him. Indeed, it was quite as much as he
+could do to keep pace with him; while Frank was running well within
+himself, with plenty of power held in reserve, and ready, at a word from
+the trapper, to put on a fresh burst of speed, and leave his rival far
+in the rear. They reached the tree at the end of the course, swung round
+it like two flashes of light, and sped along the home stretch with
+unabated speed, the Indian beginning to feel the effects of his rapid
+run, and Frank apparently as fresh as when he started.
+
+"He aint half the runner I thought he was," said the trapper, to
+encourage his young friend. "He's blowing his bellows already. I say,
+Injun! I reckon you're a little out of practice, aint you? The next time
+you banter a white feller to race with you, you had better pick out a
+good hoss to carry you. We haint begun to run yet. Let out just the
+least bit, youngster."
+
+Frank "let out" a good deal; and although the Indian made desperate
+attempts to keep pace with him, he quickly left him behind, and finally
+flew past the place where the chief was standing, the winner by fifty
+yards.
+
+"Whoop! Whoop!" shouted Dick, who seemed to be almost beside himself
+with delight. "I say, chief! If you've got any young fellers in camp,
+who think themselves something great at ridin', jumpin', throwin' the
+lasso, an' handlin' the rifle, jest trot 'em out. We've beat you
+runnin', an' now that we have got our blood up, we are ready for a'most
+any thing."
+
+The issue of the race greatly astonished the Indians. Frank, as he
+passed the chief, was welcomed with cheers from the officers of the
+fort, the trappers, and from Archie, who hurried up to him, and shook
+his hand as though he had not met him for months; while the defeated
+runner was greeted with jeers and ridicule. No one, not even Dick,
+seemed more delighted than the chief. He approached the place where
+Frank was standing, patted him on the back, and looked at him with as
+much curiosity and admiration as he would have bestowed upon a steamboat
+or a locomotive, had one suddenly made its appearance in the valley.
+"Good boy!" said he, approvingly. "Ought to be Injun."
+
+"He had oughter be a trapper," said old Bob. "A boy who can run like
+that is wasting his time by living in the States. If you would stay out
+here among the mountains fur a few years, Master Frank, you might get to
+be the leader of a band of trappers, or the captain of a wagon train."
+
+Frank, flushed with excitement and exercise, turned to look for his
+rival. He saw him standing at a little distance from the other members
+of the tribe, leaning against a tree, with his arms folded, and a fierce
+scowl on his face. His defeat, and the reception he had met with from
+his friends, had made him very angry. Now and then some one jeered at
+him, but the majority of the tribe took no notice of him whatever. They
+seemed to think that an Indian who would allow a white boy to run faster
+than he did, was not worth noticing.
+
+"You've give him a big back-set, Frank," said Dick; "an' my advice to
+you is to keep your eyes open as long as we stay in the valley. You've
+made an enemy of that feller, an' I know, by the squint in his eye, that
+he wouldn't think no more of slippin' a ball or arrer into you, than he
+would of eatin' a piece of jerked buffaler. You see these Injuns are
+mighty wild yet; they haint been whipped enough to make 'em tame. They
+seem friendly enough now, but they've no great love fur white folks;
+an', if they thought they could do it without bringin' harm to
+themselves, they would massacree the last one of us afore they are an
+hour older. I don't like the way they act, any how; an', mark what I
+say, youngster, we're goin' to have trouble with 'em. Bars an' buffaler!
+What's up now?"
+
+The trapper was not long in finding out what was up, and neither was
+Frank. The young Indian, smarting under his defeat, and stung by the
+ridicule of his friends, had determined to retrieve his lost reputation.
+If he could not distance the white boy in a foot-race, he could perhaps
+beat him at something else, and so regain some of the laurels that had
+been wrested from him. He resolved to try it; and before Frank knew what
+was going on, the Indian stepped up behind him, and clasping his sinewy
+arms around his body, lifted him from his feet, and attempted to throw
+him to the ground. He took Frank by surprise, and caught him in such a
+manner that his arms were pinned to his side, thus placing him at great
+disadvantage.
+
+"That's a cowardly way of doing business," shouted Archie, indignantly.
+"Why don't you give a fellow a fair chance? If he throws you, Frank, get
+up and try it again, for this won't be a fair test."
+
+"He aint a goin' to be throwed," said the trapper. "That Injun will have
+to eat a heap of dried buffaler meat afore he can get Frank off his
+pins. Show him what you can do, youngster."
+
+The young Indian speedily found that he had got his hands full, and that
+one hundred and sixty pounds of bone and muscle was an exceedingly
+unhandy weight to manage, especially when backed up by such skill and
+courage as Frank possessed. The latter positively refused to be thrown.
+The Indian, although he exerted himself to the utmost, could not force
+him from an upright position, for Frank, like a cat, always fell feet
+foremost. The excitement ran high as the young athletes struggled over
+the ground. Yells of delight and encouragement from the friends of both
+parties arose in deafening chorus, and Indians, officers, and trappers
+pushed and elbowed one another to obtain a position from which they
+could view the contest, which was decided in Frank's favor much more
+easily and quickly than the foot-race. After a few ineffectual attempts,
+he succeeded in freeing his arms; and catching the Indian around the
+body, broke his hold in an instant, and sent him headlong to the ground.
+The ease with which it was done astonished every one who witnessed it,
+and had a very chilling effect upon the ardor of the Indian, who jumped
+to his feet and stole off toward the village, looking exceedingly
+humiliated and crestfallen.
+
+Frank, although he was proud of his victories, as any other boy would
+have been under the same circumstances, was almost sorry that he had
+allowed himself to be persuaded into contesting the Indian's claims to
+superiority. The expression he saw on the face of his rival told him
+that he was almost beside himself with fury; and Frank did not relish
+the thought that any one, even an Indian, whom he never expected to see
+again, should be angry at him for any thing he had done. He would have
+been astonished had he known what was to be the result of this morning's
+work. He was destined to see and know a great deal more of his rival,
+and also of the chief, whose interest in him now seemed to be redoubled;
+and this foot-race and wrestling match were the preludes to more than
+one exciting and disagreeable event that was to happen before he saw
+California again.
+
+"Youngster, I am proud of you," exclaimed Dick, seizing Frank's hand,
+and giving it a grip and a shake that made the boy double up like a
+jack-knife; "but I say agin, that you had better keep a good lookout as
+long as them red skins stay about here. They're mighty onsartin, an'
+thar's no knowin' what they may do. Let's go home."
+
+Frank put on his jacket and hat, and followed the trappers toward the
+house. He found Captain Porter, Mr. Brent, and Adam impatiently awaiting
+his arrival, for they had witnessed the race, and were anxious to know
+all about it. Dick, as usual, acted as spokesman; and Frank afterward
+said that he had not the least idea how swift a runner he was, or what
+an astonishing victory he had won, until he heard the trapper relate the
+particulars. If one might judge by what he said, Frank could beat any
+mustang in Mr. Brent's stables.
+
+The listeners were all as highly elated as the trapper. Adam shook his
+new friend warmly by the hand, and the Captain laughed until he shook
+all over like a big bowl of jelly. Frank was once more a hero, and
+during the next half hour the race formed the chief topic of
+conversation; but even that grew tiresome at last, and the cousins, who
+could not remain long inactive, strolled off toward the camp of the
+trappers. Shortly afterward they emerged from the grove, mounted on
+their horses, and rode toward the mountains.
+
+They had not decided where they were going, or what they would do; but,
+as far as the sport they were likely to meet with was concerned, that
+made little difference. In that wilderness they could not run amiss of
+something to excite and amuse them, let them go in what direction they
+would. If they preferred quiet sport, there was plenty of it to be found
+in the brook that ran through the valley. No city fishermen, with their
+jointed poles and artificial flies, had ever invaded this retired spot;
+and having no enemies except an occasional fishhawk, and a few
+straggling Indians and trappers to contend with, the trout had
+increased and multiplied until the stream fairly swarmed with them. If
+they decided to try their rifles, and engage in some more active and
+exhilerating sport than fishing, there were the mountains, which
+abounded in game of every description. If they felt so inclined they
+might, within less than half an hour, make the acquaintance of a panther
+or two, or renew their intimacy with the grizzlies. Archie did not deny
+that he was afraid of grizzly bears, and, for that reason, he thought it
+best to give them and their haunts a wide berth. He picked out a shady
+spot on the bank of the brook, and said he would stop there and try his
+luck at fishing; while Frank, who had heard that elk were plenty in the
+mountains, thought he would ride farther on and see if he could find
+one. "I shall not go far," said he, "for not being acquainted with the
+country, I might get lost; and I shouldn't like the idea of being
+obliged to stay in the mountains all night."
+
+"Nor I either," replied Archie; "and for that reason I am going to stay
+here, where I know I am safe. Hold on a minute, and see me catch a
+fish."
+
+Archie dismounted from his horse, and after tying the animal to a
+neighboring tree, cut from the thicket a long, slender sapling, which,
+on being stripped of its branches, promised to answer the purpose for
+which it was intended, and to pull out a trout as well as any
+twenty-five-dollar rod. Then he produced a fish-line from his pocket,
+and in a short time his pole was rigged. The bait was dropped carefully
+over the bank, and no sooner had it touched the water than it was seized
+by a ravenous trout, which found itself struggling on the ground in a
+twinkling.
+
+"He is rather larger than those we used to catch about Lawrence, isn't
+he?" said Frank. "Now, if I am fortunate enough to knock over an elk,
+we'll have a supper such as people in the cities do not often enjoy."
+
+Archie, intent upon securing his fish before it floundered back into the
+water, did not reply; and when he looked up again, his cousin was out of
+sight.
+
+Frank urged Roderick into a gallop, and soon had left the valley behind,
+and was threading his way through a thickly-wooded ravine that led into
+the mountains. Here he became more cautious in his movements, and
+allowed his horse to walk leisurely along, while he peered through the
+trees on every side of him, in the hope of meeting with one of the
+numerous elk which every evening descended from the mountains into the
+valley to crop the grass and slake their thirst at the brook. His
+chances for a shot at one of these animals would have been greatly
+increased if he had left his horse behind; but grizzlies were plenty,
+and Frank did not like the idea of encountering one while on foot. On
+this particular evening, however, the mountains seemed to be deserted.
+Not a living animal of any description did he see, during the hour and a
+half that he continued on his course up the ravine; and becoming
+discouraged at last, he turned Roderick about and rode toward the
+rancho.
+
+"I wish I could see just one squirrel," said Frank, who, like all young
+hunters, considered it his duty to empty his gun at something before he
+returned home. "What's that?"
+
+A slight movement in the bushes in advance of him attracted his
+attention; then a twig snapped behind him, and a yell, so sudden and
+appalling that it made Frank's blood run cold, echoed through the
+ravine; and before he could look about him to see what was the matter,
+he was pulled from his saddle and thrown to the ground. In a twinkling
+his rifle was torn from his grasp, his hands bound behind his back, and
+he was helped to his feet to find himself surrounded by a party of
+Indians in war costume.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FRANK LEARNS SOMETHING.
+
+
+Frank was as frightened as a boy could be. Amazed at the suddenness of
+the assault, he gazed in stupid wonder at the savages, winked his eyes
+hard to make sure that he was not dreaming, and looked again. But there
+was no dreaming about it--it was all a reality; and as he stood there
+powerless among his captors, and looked at their glittering weapons, and
+painted, scowling faces, all the stories he had heard the trappers
+relate of their experience among the Indians, came fresh to his memory.
+He recognized one of the savages, and that was the chief. His blanket
+and buckskin hunting shirt were gone, he wore the tomahawk and scalping
+knife in his belt, his face was covered with paint, and altogether he
+looked fierce enough to frighten any boy who had never seen Indians in
+war costume before.
+
+Frank took these things in at a glance; and while he was wondering what
+object the Indians could have in view in capturing him, and what they
+intended to do with him, he was trying hard to summon all his courage to
+his aid, and to appear as unconcerned as possible. If there had been any
+hostile Indians in that part of the country, he could have understood
+the matter; but he had been told that they were all friendly.
+
+"Look here, chief," said he, "I'd like to know what this means. You have
+made a mistake."
+
+The savage paid no more attention to his words than if he had not spoken
+at all. He gave a few orders in his native tongue to his companions, two
+of whom placed Frank on Roderick's back and held him there, while a
+third seized the horse by the bridle, and followed after the chief, who
+led the way down the ravine. How far they went, or in what direction,
+Frank could not have told, for his mind was in too great confusion. He
+was trying to arrive at some satisfactory explanation concerning the
+Indians' conduct. He had expected that the first action on their part
+would be to pull his hair, strike at him with their knives and
+tomahawks, point their guns and arrows at him, and try, by every means
+in their power, to frighten him. That was the way they always served
+their prisoners; but thus far he had no reason to complain of their
+treatment. He wished the chief would explain matters to him, and thus
+relieve him of suspense.
+
+At the end of half an hour, during which time Frank made several
+unsuccessful attempts to induce some of the Indians to talk to him, the
+chief emerged from the ravine, and led the way into a little valley,
+similar to the one in which Mr. Brent's rancho was located. The sight
+that here met Frank's gaze astonished him. The valley was filled with
+lodges, and Frank saw more Indians at the single glance he swept about
+the camp than he had ever seen before in all his life. Children were
+playing about in front of the lodges, the women were engaged in various
+occupations, and the braves, all of whom were in their war-paint,
+smoked their pipes, and lounged in the shade. Frank was greatly relieved
+to find that no one noticed the chief and his party. When he first came
+in sight of the village, he had screwed up all his courage again,
+expecting no very friendly reception. Bob and Dick had told him that
+when they were carried into an Indian camp as prisoners, every man,
+woman, and child turned out to meet them, and to amuse themselves by
+beating them with switches and clubs; but nothing of the kind was
+attempted now. Those who looked at Frank at all, merely took one glance
+at him; and the most of them did not even look up when he passed.
+
+The chief walked straight through the village, and stopped in front of a
+large wigwam that stood a little apart from the others. At a sign from
+him, Frank was pulled from his horse, and after his hands had been
+unbound, a corner of the wigwam, which served as a door, was lifted up,
+and he was pushed under it. Then the door was dropped to its place, and
+Frank heard the Indians moving off with Roderick.
+
+The light was all shut out from the inside of the lodge, and as soon as
+the prisoner's eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he began to look
+about him. The lodge was about fifteen feet in diameter, and was built
+of neatly-dressed skins, supported on a frame-work of saplings. Weapons
+of all kinds were suspended from the walls, the chiefs blanket, bridle,
+spear, and head-dress occupied one corner, and several buffalo robes,
+which doubtless served him for a bed, were piled in another. There was
+no one in the lodge, and Frank, being no longer compelled to wear the
+appearance of unconcern he had assumed while in the presence of the
+Indians, gave full vent to his pent-up feelings. His forced calmness
+forsook him, a feeling of desolation such as he had never before
+experienced came over him, and covering his face with his hands, he
+staggered toward the buffalo robes, and threw himself upon them.
+
+"If I only knew what they intend to do with me," sobbed Frank, "I should
+not feel so badly about it. If they have made up their minds to tie me
+to the stake, or to compel me to run the gauntlet, why don't they tell
+me so, and give me a chance to prepare for it? Can it be possible that
+that race and wrestling match have any thing to do with my capture? The
+Indians seemed friendly enough when I first visited their camp at the
+trading-post, and I'd like to know what they mean by taking me prisoner
+when I wasn't doing any thing to them! What could have induced them to
+change their camp so suddenly, any how? A few hours ago there were not
+more than a hundred in the band; now there must be five times as many,
+and the braves are all in war-paint, too? I can't understand it."
+
+A step outside the lodge, and a rustling among the skins which formed
+the door, aroused Frank, and he once more made a strong effort to
+compose himself. The door was raised, and a face appeared at the
+opening--a dark, scarred, scowling face, which was almost concealed by a
+fur cap and thick bushy whiskers. Frank was thunderstruck. He leaned
+forward to examine the face more closely, and then his heart seemed to
+stop beating, and with a cry of alarm he sprang to his feet. As much as
+he feared the Indians, he feared this man more.
+
+"Ah, my young cub, are you thar?" growled the visitor, as he stepped
+into the lodge.
+
+"_Black Bill!_" exclaimed Frank, in dismay.
+
+"Ay! That's what they call me. 'Member me, don't you? Heered all about
+me, most likely, from ole Bob and Dick Lewis. They didn't tell you
+nothin' good of me, I reckon."
+
+Frank tried to speak, but he seemed to have lost all control over his
+tongue. He had trembled every time he thought of the night he had passed
+in the camp of the outlaws, and he had hoped that he should never meet
+them again; but here he was, face to face with one of them, when he
+least expected it.
+
+"I didn't kalkerlate on seein' you agin," said the outlaw, with a savage
+smile, "an' I aint agoin' to say that I'm glad to see you now, 'cause I
+aint. I hate any body that's a friend to Bob an' Dick, an' if I could
+have my way I'd split your wizzen fur you in a minit. But you b'long to
+the chief, an' I don't reckon he would see harm come to you."
+
+"To the chief!" repeated Frank, drawing a long breath as if a heavy
+load had been removed from his shoulders. It was a great satisfaction to
+him to know that this man could not do as he pleased with him.
+
+"That's what I said," replied the visitor.
+
+"But what does he want to do with me? What is his object in taking me
+prisoner?" asked Frank.
+
+"He's goin' to make an Injun of you."
+
+"What! I--you don't mean----"
+
+"Sartin I do. It's a fact. He's goin' to take you into the tribe an'
+make an Injun of you," said the outlaw, in a louder tone.
+
+"And never let me go home again, but keep me here always?" demanded
+Frank, growing more and more astonished.
+
+"Exactly!"
+
+"Well, he can't do it--he shan't. I don't want to be adopted into the
+tribe, and I won't be, either."
+
+"I don't reckon you can help yourself, can you?" said the outlaw, with a
+grin. "You see, the chief used to have a son just about your age--an' a
+smart, lively young Injun he was, too; but he was killed a little while
+ago in a scrimmage with the Blackfeet, an' the chief wants another.
+You're an amazin' chap fur runnin' an' wrastlin' fur one of your years,
+an' that's the reason he picked you out."
+
+"I don't care if it is; he sha'n't have me. I won't stay here and be his
+son. Why, I never heard of such a thing. Why don't he select some Indian
+boy?"
+
+"That's his business, an' not mine. But if you only knowed it,
+youngster, it's lucky fur you that the chief tuk sich a monstrous fancy
+fur you, 'cause if you had stayed at the fort, you would have been
+massacreed with the rest."
+
+"Massacred!" echoed Frank. "Killed!"
+
+"Yes; killed an' scalped. You'll hear of some fun at that tradin'-post
+afore you are two days older, an' then, if you go down thar, you won't
+see nothin' but the ashes of it. It would have been done last night if
+that ar fur trader had kept away from thar. We had to send off arter
+more help. I don't mind tellin' you this, 'cause 'taint no ways likely
+that you'll ever have a chance to blab it. But I come in here to ax you
+about Adam Brent. Where does he sleep?"
+
+Frank did not reply; indeed, he scarcely heard the question, his mind
+was so busy with what the outlaw had said to him. He knew now where all
+those Indians came from, and why they were there. The information he had
+received almost paralyzed him, and he shuddered when he pictured to
+himself the scenes of horror that would be enacted in that quiet valley,
+if the savages were permitted to carry out their designs. What would
+become of his cousin, of the trappers, of Captain Porter, and of
+himself? Of course his friends would all be included in the massacre,
+and he, having no one to look to for help, would be compelled to drag
+out a miserable existence among those savages. But Frank determined that
+the massacre should not take place. At the risk of his own life he would
+do something to stop it. His courage always increased in proportion to
+the number of obstacles he found in his way, and the danger he was in,
+and now he was thoroughly reckless and determined.
+
+"I axed you do you know where Adam Brent sleeps?" said the outlaw, who
+had grown tired of waiting for an answer to his question.
+
+"He sleeps in the house, of course," replied Frank.
+
+"Wal, I reckon I knowed that much afore you told me; but what part of
+the house?"
+
+"I can't tell. I haven't taken the trouble to inquire into Mr. Brent's
+family matters."
+
+"I'll allow that you tell the truth thar; 'cause if you had axed any
+questions, you would know that Brent is my own brother, an' that Adam is
+my nephew. Aint I a nice lookin' uncle?"
+
+"I don't believe a word of it. What do you want with Adam?
+
+"I reckon that's my business, aint it? I only axed you where he sleeps
+'cause I've got something to say to him to-night, an' I shouldn't care
+to have his father hear me blunderin' about the house. I've got a leetle
+business with ole Bob Kelly, too."
+
+"If you will take my advice you will let him alone," said Frank. "Dick
+Lewis is his chum now."
+
+"That don't make no sort of difference to me. I'm half hoss an' half
+buffaler, with a leetle sprinklin' of catamounts, grizzly bars, an'
+sich like varmints throwed in. I'm one of them kind of fellers as don't
+stand no nonsense from nobody; an' I'm the wust man in a
+rough-an'-tumble this side of the States. I aint afeered of Dick Lewis."
+
+Having said this, the outlaw took his departure, and Frank, who had gone
+through this interview like one in a dream, again seated himself on the
+buffalo robes to think over what he had heard, and to determine upon
+some course of action. He had little imagined that he would ever be
+placed in a situation like this, and he did not wonder now at the hatred
+which Dick and old Bob cherished toward the Indians. Here they were,
+awaiting the arrival of reinforcements, and preparing for a descent on
+the fort; and there were his friends in the valley, all unconscious of
+the danger hanging over them. There had been no Indian depredations in
+that section for a long time, and the officers of the fort and the
+settlers had been lulled into a feeling of security that promised to be
+fatal to them. They did not dream of such a thing as an attack; the
+fortifications had not been kept in a state of defense; and unless they
+were warned of their danger, the success of the Indians would be
+complete.
+
+"Oh, if they only knew what is going on here!" cried Frank, springing to
+his feet, and pacing restlessly up and down the lodge. "If I could see
+them for just one minute, wouldn't these savages meet with a warm
+reception when they make the attack on the fort? But how will they find
+it out unless I carry them the information; and how can I effect my
+escape, surrounded as I am by enemies?"
+
+This thought made Frank almost beside himself. It rendered him
+desperate; and he resolved that if he could see the least chance for
+escape, he would make the attempt at once--that very moment. There was
+not a single instant to be lost, for there was no telling when the
+Indians would be ready to make the attack. He rushed to the door, tore
+it open, and looked out. The first object that met his gaze was a
+warrior standing close beside the lodge, leaning on his spear. He was
+undoubtedly a sentry, and had been placed there to watch the prisoner.
+Frank took one glance at him, and then dropped the door to its place,
+and hurrying to the other side of the lodge pulled up the skins and
+looked under them. He saw now what he had not noticed before--that the
+lodge in which he was confined was in the very center of the village.
+The nearest wigwams were pitched about fifty yards from it, leaving a
+clear space on each side that was devoted to the holding of councils and
+dances. Frank knew that he could never cross that space in broad
+daylight without being discovered and recaptured, and with a look of
+disappointment on his face, he dropped the skins and crawled back to his
+seat on the buffalo robes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE TRAPPER A PRISONER.
+
+
+If Frank was disappointed in one respect, he was greatly encouraged in
+another. He had discovered something that went a long way toward
+strengthening his hopes of escape, and that was that the Indians were
+not watching him very closely. The guard at the door had not noticed him
+when he looked out, and this induced the belief that the chief had
+placed him there simply to keep Frank from roaming about the village,
+and not because he feared that his prisoner might attempt to escape.
+That idea had probably never occurred to him. But the chief did not know
+much about boys, especially such boys as Frank Nelson. He had yet to
+learn that the young hunter possessed a goodly share of courage and
+determination, as well as speed and activity.
+
+Frank lay there on the pile of buffalo robes until dark, and then the
+door opened, and an old Indian woman came in with a small camp-kettle,
+which she placed upon the ground in the middle of the lodge, and went
+out again. The contents of the kettle were smoking hot, and the odor
+that filled the lodge reminded Frank that he had not lost his appetite,
+and that he was as hungry as a wolf, in spite of all the excitements of
+the afternoon. An examination of the kettle showed that it contained
+buffalo meat. Taking his knife from his pocket, Frank seated himself on
+the ground and began his supper. It was not quite as good as some he had
+eaten at his quiet little home on the banks of Glen's Creek, but the
+buffalo meat was nourishing, and when the last vestige of it had
+disappeared, Frank arose to his feet, put his knife into his pocket, and
+declared that he felt better.
+
+"I could run, now, if these Indians would only give me half a chance,"
+said he, to himself. "I may yet show them what I can do, unless they
+station a sentry at the back of this lodge. Now if I only had a drink of
+water!"
+
+As Frank said this he went to the door again, and there was the guard,
+standing in the same position in which he had seen him before, leaning
+on his spear, and gazing off into vacancy. Frank did not believe that he
+had moved a muscle during the last two hours.
+
+"I say, old fellow!" he exclaimed, "is there any water about here?"
+Then, fearing that the savage might not understand him, he made a motion
+with his hand as though he were drinking from a cup.
+
+The guard did not reply, but beckoned to the prisoner to follow him, and
+led the way through the village toward the ravine from which the chief
+and his party had entered the valley. Frank, ever on the alert, exulted
+at this. He knew that the guard was conducting him to a spring, and he
+sincerely hoped that it would prove to be outside the village. In that
+event, one Indian, even though he was armed with a spear, could not
+prevent him from making at least an attempt at escape. If he could get
+but two feet the start of the sentry, he believed that he could elude
+him in the darkness. Unfortunately for the success of these plans,
+however, the spring was not outside the village. It was but a short
+distance from the place where he had been confined, and all around it
+were lodges, beside which stalwart warriors lay upon their blankets,
+smoking their pipes. The least attempt at escape would have brought them
+around him like a cloud of mosquitoes. He must wait until some more
+favorable opportunity.
+
+Frank kneeled down beside the spring, and took a long and refreshing
+drink, and then quietly followed the guard back to his prison. He looked
+into the wigwams as he passed along, and now that he had in some measure
+recovered his usual spirits, he began to be interested in what was going
+on around him; but he did not see any thing to induce him to give up
+home and friends, and turn Indian. The idea was a novel one to him, and
+he could have smiled at it, had it not been for the preparations for
+battle that were every-where visible in the camp--the horses saddled and
+waiting, the weapons hung upon the poles of the lodge, where they could
+be seized at a moment's warning, and the braves in war-paint, ready to
+move at the word. Frank noticed these things, and thought of his
+friends at the fort. If the expected reinforcements arrived in time, the
+savages might make the attack that very night.
+
+When Frank found himself once more inside his prison, he stretched
+himself on the buffalo robes, and waited impatiently for the Indians to
+go to sleep. How wearily the hours dragged by, and how Frank alternated
+between hope and fear, can be imagined better than we can describe it.
+Sometimes he looked upon his escape as an assured thing. When the
+Indians were all asleep, it would be a matter of but little difficulty
+for him to creep out of the lodge, and make his way through the village
+to the ravine. It was easy enough for him to sit there on the buffalo
+robes and think about it, but when he imagined himself _doing_ it, and
+pictured to himself the dangers in his way, his hopes fell again; and
+then, had it not been for the remembrance of what the outlaw had told
+him, he would have been tempted to abandon all thoughts of escape. If it
+would have required all the skill and cunning that Dick and Bob
+possessed to outwit the savages in a case like this, what could an
+inexperienced boy of sixteen do?
+
+Frank thought the Indians did not intend to go to sleep at all that
+night. He heard them moving about until a late hour, and it was midnight
+before the silence that reigned in the camp told him that if he ever
+intended to carry out the plans he had determined upon, the time had
+come to do it. His heart beat fast and furiously as he pulled off his
+shoes, and moved noiselessly across the lodge toward the corner in which
+the chief had deposited his blanket and spear. He was very deliberate in
+his movements, and there was need of all his caution; for the guard
+stood almost within reach of him, and the slightest noise inside the
+lodge would have brought him in there immediately. Frank threw the
+chief's blanket over his shoulders, put on the head-dress, picked up the
+spear, and crept cautiously across the lodge. He threw himself upon his
+hands and knees, and after listening a moment to assure himself that the
+guard had not been alarmed, he lifted up the skins which formed the wall
+of the lodge, and looked out. The camp was as silent as though it had
+been deserted. On every hand he could see the smoldering embers of the
+fires by which the savages had cooked their suppers, but not a living
+being was in sight. Drawing in a long breath he crawled slowly out of
+the lodge, and after lingering a moment to arrange the blanket about his
+shoulders, he grasped the spear firmly in his hand, and stole away into
+the darkness, looking back now and then to make sure that he was keeping
+the lodge between him and the guard. An intervening row of wigwams
+finally shut his prison from his sight, and Frank began to congratulate
+himself on having accomplished the most difficult part of his
+undertaking.
+
+"When the chiefs reinforcements arrive, and he makes the attack on the
+fort, and finds the trappers and soldiers ready to receive him, he will
+wish he had taken a little more pains to watch me," thought Frank, as,
+with a step that would not have awakened a cricket, he made his way
+through the village toward the ravine. "If Dick and Bob had been his
+prisoners he would, no doubt, have kept them bound hand and foot; but
+I'm a boy, and he thought he had nothing to fear from me. I'll teach
+him something."
+
+The tall figure of an Indian glided suddenly across the path in front of
+him, and interrupted his soliloquy. Frank's first impulse was to throw
+down the spear and blanket, and take to his heels; but remembering in
+time that he was personating an Indian, and that every thing depended
+upon his getting out of the village before the guard at the chief's
+wigwam discovered his flight, he straightened up and boldly approached
+the Indian, who merely turned his head and looked at Frank, and then
+disappeared among the lodges. That was another danger passed; and
+commending the forethought that had induced him to use the chief's
+clothing as a disguise, he kept on with increased speed toward the
+mountains, which, to his impatient eye, seemed as far off as when he
+left his prison. But he was gradually nearing them all the while, and
+when the last lodge had been left behind, and was concealed from his
+view by the thick shrubbery and trees that lined the banks of the
+ravine, his fear and trembling vanished, and it was all he could do to
+refrain from giving vent to his jubilant feelings. He sat down on the
+ground to put on his shoes, which he had been thoughtful enough to bring
+with him, then took the blanket under his arm, and never stopping to
+think that there might be Indians in front of him as well as behind, he
+broke into a run and flew down the ravine like the wind.
+
+"I haven't done much to brag of, seeing that I was not very closely
+watched," thought he, "but still I think I have played those savages a
+pretty sharp trick. Now, if I only had Dick's speed and experience!"
+
+If Frank had possessed the trapper's experience, he would have been much
+more cautious in his movements, and might, perhaps, have succeeded in
+reaching the valley in safety. He would have curbed his eagerness which
+proved fatal to his hopes. There was a party of Indians coming up the
+ravine with a prisoner; and their quick ears caught the sound of Frank's
+footsteps long before he came in sight. The prisoner knew who it was
+approaching at that reckless gate, and so did the Indians, who, at a
+sign from their leader, quickly concealed themselves beside the path;
+and when Frank was on the point of passing their ambush, a figure which
+seemed to rise out of the ground clasped him in its strong arms, and he
+was a prisoner again almost before he knew it.
+
+The first Indian who confronted him, as he was lifted to his feet, was
+the chief, who astonished his prisoner by the reception he gave him. He
+seemed somewhat surprised to see him there, but he did not appear to be
+angry. He looked at the blanket and spear, then at Frank, and giving him
+a hearty slap on the back said, approvingly:
+
+"Good boy! Make fine Injun, some day!"
+
+Frank, although his face was very pale, and he was trembling in every
+limb, was not as badly frightened now as when he first found himself in
+the power of the savages. For himself he was not at all concerned, for
+he did not stand in any fear of bodily harm; but there were his friends
+in the valley, whom he was so anxious to warn of their danger! It was of
+them he thought, and not of himself.
+
+"I say, youngster," said a cheery, familiar voice, close at his elbow,
+"you've got a few things to larn yet, haint you? When a feller is in an
+Injun country he can't go tearin' through the woods as you did a minute
+ago. I can't shake hands with you, 'cause I am tied hard and fast."
+
+"Dick Lewis!" cried Frank, in alarm. He was too astonished to speak
+again immediately. The redoubtable trapper was always turning up most
+unexpectedly, and generally, too, at just the moment when his services
+were most needed; but on this occasion he was not in a condition to
+assist his young friend. For the first time in his life Frank was not
+glad to see Dick. He would rather have had him a hundred miles from
+there, for he knew that the treatment the trapper would receive at the
+hands of his savage foes would be very different from his own.
+
+"Well, what are you doing here?" asked Frank, at length.
+
+"I might ask you the same question, I reckon," replied Dick. "What
+business had you to go roamin' off alone in the mountains, arter I had
+told you to keep your eyes open fur these Injuns? I knowed what was up
+the minute Archie come home without you; an' me an' Bob set out to find
+you. Bob's old legs tuk him safe out of danger, but I was ketched. I am
+here 'cause I can't help myself."
+
+"But, Dick, does Captain Porter know that these Indians have suddenly
+turned hostile?"
+
+"Turned!" exclaimed Dick. "They've been hostile ever since they was
+born. Of course he knows it. Come up closer, youngster, so that I can
+whisper to you, an' I'll tell you something."
+
+While this conversation was going on, the prisoners were being conducted
+up the ravine toward the camp. The chief led the way, two Indians, who
+stepped exactly in his tracks, followed close at his heels, Frank and
+Dick, who walked side by side, came next, and two more Indians brought
+up the rear. The savages made no attempt to restrain their prisoners
+from talking, and Frank was glad it was so.
+
+"The Cap'n didn't like the way these Injuns acted this mornin', no
+more'n I did," continued the trapper, in a low tone. "He spoke to the
+major, an' told him that if he knowed when he was well off he would look
+out fur things a leetle; an' the ole feller tuk the hint an' set his
+soldiers to work on the fort. Thar's too many ole trappers down in that
+valley, an' they can't be tuk by surprise."
+
+"You don't know how overjoyed I am to hear that," whispered Frank, who
+now breathed more freely than at any time since he had fallen into the
+hands of the savages. "Then Archie will be safe, won't he?"
+
+"Sartin he will, unless he goes about pokin' his nose into danger like
+he allers does. He's jest spilin' to have his har raised, Archie is, an'
+it was all me an' ole Bob could do to keep him from comin' with us when
+we set out to look fur you. The chief's goin' to make an Injun of you, I
+can see that easy enough."
+
+"That's what Black Bill says."
+
+"Black Bill!" echoed the trapper. "Is he about here? Wal, if I don't
+settle with him ole Bob will, so it's all the same. I kinder thought, by
+the squint in the chief's eye, that it would have been better fur you if
+you had kept away from that camp," he continued. "Injuns don't giner'ly
+take sich a monstrous shine to white boys fur nothing. It won't be long
+afore you'll have a chance to see how the red skins treat their
+prisoners. Mebbe the chief will get up a show fur you to-night."
+
+"A show!" repeated Frank.
+
+"Yes. How would you like to see me tied to the stake, or runnin' the
+gauntlet?"
+
+No one, to have heard the trapper speak these words, would have imagined
+that he had any fears that such would be his fate; but Frank knew that
+he expected nothing else.
+
+"The chief is awful mad at me," continued Dick. "Thar were 'leven men in
+his party, when me an' ole Bob first diskivered 'em, an' now you don't
+see but four, do you? Thar's four more behind us, bringin' up the three
+that me an' Bob rubbed out. I'll have to stand punishment fur that; but
+I don't reckon that burnin' me or slashin' me with tomahawks will bring
+to life all the braves I have sent to the happy huntin' grounds."
+
+A long, mournful yell from the chief interrupted the conversation. Frank
+looked up and saw the village in plain sight. The chief had given that
+yell to warn the camp of his arrival. Dick called it the "death-whoop,"
+and said that one object of it was to inform the warriors that some of
+those, who had gone out on the scout with the chief, had fallen by the
+hands of their enemies. Presently an answer came echoing through the
+woods, then another, and another; and when they emerged from the ravine,
+Frank found the village, which had been so quiet when he left it but a
+few minutes before, alive with men, women, and children, who seemed wild
+with excitement and rage. When their eyes rested on the trapper, they
+gave utterance to savage yells of exultation, and almost before Frank
+was aware of it, he was standing alone, gazing after a crowd of
+struggling, frantic Indians, who were bearing his fellow prisoner toward
+the chief's wigwam. Tomahawks and knives were flourished in the air
+close to Dick's face, arrows and rifles were pointed at his breast,
+spears were thrust at him, and now and then hickory switches in the
+hands of those behind him, fell with stinging force on his head and
+shoulders. Before he was carried out of sight, his face was bleeding
+from more than one wound; but Frank looked in vain for any expression of
+fear. The trapper was apparently as calm and self-possessed as he would
+have been had he at that moment been smoking his pipe on the porch of
+Mr. Brent's rancho. He never winced when the weapons of his savage foes
+passed within an inch of his person--indeed, one would have thought,
+from his manner, that he did not see them all. Never before had Frank
+witnessed such an exhibition of courage and fortitude.
+
+When the trapper had disappeared from his view, Frank, who had stood
+rooted to the ground, horrified by the scene he was witnessing, awoke to
+a sense of his own situation, and began to look about him. Although
+there were Indians on all sides of him, no one seemed to take the least
+notice of him. His hands were tied behind his back, but he could move
+about as he pleased, for his feet were free. Scarcely knowing what he
+was doing, he followed in the direction the crowd had gone; and when he
+arrived at the chief's lodge he found that some unusual event was about
+to take place. The yells were hushed, and most of the Indians were
+gathered in a body on one side of the council ground, in the center of
+which two or three warriors were busy kindling a fire. Upon looking
+around for the trapper, he discovered him at the opposite side of the
+ground, standing with his back to a post, to which he was securely
+bound. Near him stood a couple of armed Indians; and when Frank
+approached his friend, they motioned him angrily to retire.
+
+"Oh, don't I wish that my hands were unbound, and that I could have the
+free use of my knife for just one minute?" groaned Frank, as he
+reluctantly retraced his steps toward the chief's wigwam. "Dick wouldn't
+be in that fix long. He has saved me more than once, and I would risk
+any thing, if I could do as much for him now. Where is Bob, that he
+don't bring the trappers up here and attack these Indians?"
+
+Frank stood off by himself and watched the preparations going on around
+him, and wondered what would be the next torture the savages would
+devise for their prisoner. He could not have been more terrified if he
+had occupied Dick's place, and had been every moment expecting to hear
+the death sentence passed upon him. He did not like the deliberation
+and gravity with which the Indians conducted their proceedings, nor the
+scowls of mingled hatred and triumph which they threw across the
+council-ground toward the helpless trapper. He thought things looked
+exceedingly dark for his friend.
+
+The huge fire that had been kindled by the warriors was well under way
+at last, and a dozen chiefs walked out from among their companions, and
+seated themselves in a circle around it. The first business in order was
+smoking the pipe of peace. The pipe was brought in by an aged warrior,
+who lighted it with a brand from the fire, and was about to present it
+to the principal chief, when the proceedings were interrupted by the
+arrival of a party of four men, who walked up to the fire without
+ceremony, and seated themselves near it. Frank recognized them at a
+glance; and that same glance showed him that they had not come alone.
+They had brought a prisoner with them, and he was standing near the
+trapper, with his hands bound behind his back.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+ARCHIE FINDS A NEW UNCLE.
+
+
+For an hour and a half after Frank left him, Archie walked up and down
+the banks of the brook, pulling out trout of a size and weight that
+astonished him. When nearly two hundred splendid fish had been placed
+upon his string, he put his line into his pocket, leaned his pole
+against a tree where he knew he could find it again if he should happen
+to want it, mounted his horse, and rode slowly toward the rancho,
+keeping a good lookout on every side for his cousin, and wondering what
+had become of him. It was getting late. The sun had sunk below the
+western mountains, the shadows of twilight were creeping through the
+valley, and Archie began to fear that Frank was in a fair way to pass
+the night among the grizzlies. He did not find him at the rancho; Adam
+had not seen him, and neither had Dick, who, upon finding that Archie
+had returned alone, pulled off his sombrero, and scratched his head
+furiously, as he always did when any thing troubled him.
+
+"Where's the boy that fit that ar Greaser?" he asked, with some anxiety
+in his tone.
+
+"I am sure I don't know," was the reply. "He went into the mountains to
+hunt up an elk for supper, and I haven't seen him since."
+
+"The keerless feller!" exclaimed the trapper.
+
+"He'll have to camp out all night if he doesn't come back pretty soon,"
+continued Archie. "Won't he have a glorious time among the bears and
+panthers? I wish I had gone with him, for I know he will be lonesome."
+
+"You can thank your lucky stars that you stayed at home. Thar's a heap
+wusser things in the world than grizzlies an' painters."
+
+The tone in which these words were spoken made Archie uneasy; and when
+Dick drew old Bob and the Captain off on one side, and held a whispered
+consultation with them, he began to be really alarmed. He had never seen
+the trapper act so strangely. Heretofore, when Frank had got into
+trouble, Dick had always said: "I jest know he'll come out all right;"
+but he did not say so now. Archie could see that there was something in
+the wind that he did not understand.
+
+While the Captain and his men were conversing, a trapper galloped up to
+the porch, and hurriedly ascending the steps, communicated in a whisper
+what was plainly a very exciting piece of news, for an expression of
+anxiety overspread the Captain's face, old Bob thumped the floor
+energetically with the butt of his rifle, and Dick once more pulled off
+his sombrero and dug his fingers into his hair. Almost at the same
+moment a second horseman approached from another direction, and he had
+something to tell that increased the excitement. The Captain listened
+attentively to his story, and then gave a few orders in a low tone to
+Dick and Bob, who shouldered their rifles, sprang down the steps, and
+stole off into the darkness like two specters. They had not made many
+steps before Archie was at their heels.
+
+"Now, then, you keerless feller, jest trot right back to the house
+agin," said Dick.
+
+"If you are going out to look for Frank I want to go too," replied
+Archie. "I can keep up with you."
+
+"Go back," repeated the trapper; "you'll only be in the way. Thar's
+goin' to be queer doin's in this yere valley, an' you'll see enough to
+make you glad to stay in the house."
+
+"What's up here, any how?" asked Archie, as he mounted the steps that
+led to the porch where Adam Brent was waiting for him.
+
+"Indians," was the reply.
+
+"Indians!" repeated Archie, who now thought he understood what the
+trapper meant when he said that there were things in the world more to
+be dreaded than bears and panthers. "You surely don't expect trouble
+with them?"
+
+"That's what they say," replied Adam, coolly. "I heard Captain Porter
+tell father that they would be down on us, like a hawk on a Junebug,
+before we see the sun rise again."
+
+"Well, I--I--_Eh!_" stammered Archie, almost paralyzed by the
+information.
+
+"Oh, it's the truth. In the first place, they changed their camp very
+suddenly this afternoon, and without any cause; and since then they
+haven't showed themselves in the valley. That's a bad sign. When you
+know there are Indians about you, and you can't see them, look out for
+them, for they mean mischief. But when they are all around you, and you
+have to watch them closely to keep them from stealing every thing you've
+got, there's nothing to fear. In the next place, one of Captain Porter's
+trappers, who was out hunting this afternoon, said that he crossed the
+trail of a war party, numbering at least five hundred men. Another
+trapper brought the information that there is a large camp of Indians
+about ten miles back in the mountains, and that the braves are all in
+war-paint. Father says it is plain enough to him that they have
+determined upon a general massacre of all the settlers in the country.
+There'll be fun in this valley before morning, and you'll hear sounds
+and see sights you never dreamed of."
+
+Archie was astounded--not only at the news he had heard, but also at the
+free and easy manner in which it was communicated. He was trembling in
+every limb with suppressed excitement and alarm; and here was this new
+friend of his standing with his hands in his pockets, and talking about
+a fight with the Indians--which would be delayed but a few hours at the
+most--with as much apparent indifference and unconcern as if it had been
+some holiday pastime. But then Adam was accustomed to such things. The
+house in which he lived has been used as a fort in days gone by, and
+when trouble was expected with the savages, the settlers, for miles
+around, would flock into it for protection. It had withstood more than
+one siege, and Adam, before he was strong enough to lift a rifle to his
+shoulder, had heard the war-whoop echoing through the valley, and had
+molded bullets and cut patching for the men who were standing at his
+father's side, defending the house against the assaults of the savages.
+Archie could have told of things that would have made Adam's hair stand
+on end. He had ridden in the cars and on steamboats; and he had held the
+helm of the Speedwell in many a race around Strawberry island, when the
+white caps were running, and the wind blowing half a gale. Adam, in
+these situations, would have been as badly frightened as Archie was now.
+
+While the latter was thinking over what he had heard, and wishing that
+his friend could impart to him some of his indifference and courage, Mr.
+Brent, who, with his men, had been engaged in collecting the valuables
+in the house, and loading them into a wagon for transportation to the
+fort, approached, and said to his son:
+
+"Adam, get your rifle and ammunition, and go down to the fort and stay
+there until I come. Archie, you had better go with him."
+
+Archie thought this good advice. If the Indians had really determined on
+making a descent into the valley--and he knew that Mr. Brent had had too
+much experience to be deceived in such matters--the sooner he found a
+place of safety the better it would be for him. He had been considerably
+disappointed because he had not been allowed an opportunity to assist
+the settlers in their fight with Don Carlos and his men, but he had
+never expressed a desire to take part in a battle with the Indians. He
+trembled at the thought; and he was almost afraid to ride through the
+grove with Adam. He held his rifle in readiness for instant use, and so
+nervous and excited was he, that it might have been dangerous for even a
+friendly trapper to approach him unexpectedly. He and Adam reached the
+fort, however, without encountering any of their enemies; and then
+Archie drew a long breath of relief, and began to feel more like
+himself.
+
+Every one of the hundred soldiers comprising the garrison was hard at
+work; and so were the trappers. Some were engaged in repairing the
+palisades, some were covering the roofs of the buildings with earth, to
+prevent the savages from setting them on fire with lighted arrows,
+others were cleaning and loading the weapons, and every thing was done
+without the least noise or confusion. Not a word was spoken above a
+whisper; the men moved about with cautious footsteps, and a person
+standing at a distance of fifty yards from the fort, could not have told
+that there was any one stirring within its walls. One thing that
+surprised Archie was, that among all these men, who had fought the
+Indians more than once, and who knew just what their fate would be if
+the fort proved too weak to resist the attacks of their savage foes,
+there was not one who seemed to be in the least concerned. There were
+some pale faces among them--pale with excitement rather than fear--but
+their manner was quiet and confident, and Archie began to gather
+courage.
+
+His first care was to look up a place of safety for his horse. The
+garrison being composed entirely of cavalrymen, there was plenty of
+stable room in the fort, and Archie soon found an empty stall, in which
+he tied the mustang; and after strapping his revolvers around his waist,
+and filling his pockets with cartridges for his rifle, he went out to
+look about the fortifications. He found Adam in the soldiers' quarters,
+sitting beside a fire, and engaged in running bullets. He kept him
+company for a while, but he was too uneasy and excited to remain long in
+one place, and finally he went out again, and resumed his wanderings
+about the fort. He watched the soldiers at their work, looked at the
+loop-holes, and tried to imagine how he should feel standing at one of
+them when the bullets and arrows were whistling about his ears, and the
+fort was surrounded by hundreds of yelling Indians thirsting for his
+blood, and at last he found his way out of the gate to the prairie where
+Frank had run the foot-race a few hours before. How lonesome the place
+seemed now, and what an unearthly silence brooded over it! Archie felt
+his courage giving away again, and aroused himself with an effort.
+
+"I am getting to be a regular coward," said he, to himself. "If Frank
+were here he would be ashamed of me. I'd like to know where he is, and
+what he is doing. I hope he has made his camp where the Indians will not
+stumble upon it. There's the Captain going back to the house. If it is
+safe there for him, I guess it is safe for me, too."
+
+Archie shouldered his rifle, and hurried off in the direction the
+Captain had gone. He passed through the grove in safety, and when he
+reached the house he found that Mr. Brent and his men were still engaged
+in collecting all the movable property, and hauling it to the fort. The
+former knew that all his stock, barns, and crops would be destroyed, and
+it was his desire to save as much of his household furniture as
+possible.
+
+Archie leaned his rifle in one corner, and worked with the rest until
+the wagon was loaded, and then sat down on the porch to await its return
+from the fort. He wished he had gone with it before many minutes had
+passed over his head, for scarcely had the wagon disappeared when he
+heard a stealthy step behind him, and, upon looking up, he saw three
+trappers standing close at his elbow. Although he was startled by their
+sudden appearance, he was not alarmed, for he thought that he recognized
+them as some of the men belonging to Captain Porter's expedition; but a
+second glance showed him that they were strangers. He sprang to his
+feet, and, boldly confronting the men, waited for them to make known
+their business. They looked at him closely for a moment, and then one of
+them said to his companions:
+
+"That's him, aint it?"
+
+"I reckon it is," replied another. "Now, my cub, no screechin' or
+fussin'. If you make the least noise, you're a goner."
+
+Archie did not hear all this warning, for, while the trapper was
+speaking, he had seized the boy in an iron grasp, and pressed a brawny
+hand over his mouth to stifle his cries for help; another tore his
+revolvers from his waist; the third caught up his feet and held them
+firmly under his arm; and, before Archie could fairly make up his mind
+what was going on, he was being carried rapidly across the valley toward
+the mountains. Astonished and enraged, he struggled furiously for a
+time, but all to no purpose; he was held as firmly as if he had been in
+a vice; and, exhausted at last by his efforts, he lay quietly in the
+grasp of his captors, wondering at this new adventure, and trying in
+vain to find some explanation for it. He was not kept long in ignorance,
+however, for in a few minutes the trappers had carried him across the
+valley, through the willows that skirted the base of the mountains, and
+into a deep, thickly-wooded ravine, and set him down in front of a
+camp-fire, before which stood a tall, fierce-looking man leaning on his
+rifle.
+
+Archie was so bewildered that, for a minute or two, he could not have
+told whether he was awake or dreaming. He swallowed a few times to
+overcome the effect of the choking he had received, rubbed his eyes, and
+looked about him; and all the while the tall trapper stood regarding
+him, with a savage smile on his face, while his three companions seated
+themselves beside the fire, and coolly proceeded to fill their pipes.
+
+"It's him, aint it, Bill?" asked one, at length.
+
+"Yes," replied the person addressed, still looking fixedly at his
+prisoner, and evidently enjoying his bewilderment, "it's him. Seems to
+me you might have a good word to say to your uncle, seein' it's so long
+since we've met one another."
+
+"My uncle!" exclaimed Archie, now for the first time recovering the use
+of his tongue.
+
+"Sartin. You aint agoin' to deny it? You aint agoin' back on me, are
+you? I've been through a heap since I seed you last--I've been chawed
+up by bars an' catamounts, an' been shot at by Injuns an' white fellers,
+an' mebbe I've changed a leetle. I never did brag much on my good looks,
+but I'm your uncle, fur all that."
+
+"You!" almost shouted Archie, gazing in amazement at the trapper's dark,
+scarred face; "you my uncle! Not if I know who I am, and I think I do.
+Do you take me for a lunatic, or are you crazy yourself?"
+
+"Nary one, I reckon. I take you fur my nephew--Adam Brent--an' I know
+what I'm sayin'."
+
+"Well, if Adam has such a looking uncle as you are, I am sorry for him.
+You've made a great mistake. My name is Winters, if it will do you any
+good to know it."
+
+"No, I reckon not," replied the trapper, who seemed to be greatly
+pleased at his prisoner's pluck and independence. "I reckon you're Adam
+Brent."
+
+"I guess I ought to know what my name is, hadn't I?" exclaimed Archie,
+angrily. "Who are you, anyhow, and what business have you to take me
+away from my friends?"
+
+"I'm your uncle--Bill Brent--Black Bill fur short; an' as fur the
+business I have in takin' you prisoner, it's the business every man's
+got to right the wrongs that's been done him. That's what's the matter."
+
+Archie very deliberately seated himself upon the ground, rested his chin
+on his hands, and looked up at the outlaw. "I know you now," said he,
+"and I have no desire for a more intimate acquaintance. Do you remember
+that, one night, in the latter part of June, a fellow about my age
+walked into your camp, and you and your cowardly companions robbed him
+of his horse?"
+
+"I'll allow I haint forgot it," replied the outlaw.
+
+"Well, that fellow was my cousin. He and I were on our way to
+California, with Dick Lewis and Bob Kelly, and an uncle, who looks about
+as much like you as you look like a white man. You've got the wrong buck
+by the horn, if you take me for Adam Brent. He is at the fort, and among
+friends, where he is safe. I left him there not more than an hour ago."
+
+"Now jest look a-here, Adam," said Black Bill; "that story won't go
+down--not by no means. If I hadn't never seed you afore, it might do you
+some good to talk to me in that fashion; but I know you as well as I
+know any of my mates here. I've got you now, an' I'm goin' to hold fast
+to you."
+
+"But what do you intend to do with me?" asked Archie.
+
+"I'm goin' to do jest what I told your father I should do when I got my
+hands on you: I'm goin' to make you jest sich a man as I am."
+
+"You'll have a good time of it, and you can't do it. It is my intention
+to be of some use in the world, and I'd like to see you or any body else
+drag me down as low as you are. But I tell you that I am not Adam Brent,
+and neither am I any relative of his."
+
+"Hold your hosses. I know jest what I am about, an' all your talkin' an'
+fussin' won't do you no 'arthly good whatsomever; so you might jest as
+well shut up. I'm goin' to make a renegade of you. Arter you have been
+with me a few years, you'll larn to hate white folks as bad as I do, an'
+will fight 'em like any Injun, I told your father that I would make him
+sorry for all he's done agin me, an' I'm goin' to keep my word. Jack,
+jest tie his hands behind his back, an' then we'll trot along. I've
+spent the most of my time, durin' the last ten years, hangin' around
+this yere valley, watchin' fur a chance to get hold of you," continued
+the outlaw, while his companion was confining Archie's arms with a thong
+of buckskin, "but the ole man tuk mighty good care to keep you out of my
+sight. The fust time I sot eyes on you, since you was six years old, was
+to-day, at the fort, when them fellers run that race; but I knowed you
+in a minute. I've got you now, an' the next time your father sees you,
+you will be like me--half Injun an' half trapper, an' an enemy of your
+own race."
+
+Archie had learned something during this interview with the outlaw, and
+now thought he could understand why Mr. Brent had been so careful never
+to allow Adam far out of his sight. In years gone by--perhaps when they
+were young men together--he had done something to incur the displeasure
+of this unnatural brother, who had resolved to be revenged upon him by
+dragging his son down as low as he was himself. But the outlaw's plans
+were not working as smoothly as he imagined. He had made a mistake in
+the boy; and Adam, of whom he had been trying to make a prisoner for ten
+years, was still safe under the protection of his father.
+
+"He is barking up the wrong tree, if he only knew it," said Archie to
+himself; "but I don't think I shall trouble myself to tell him so again.
+The way he eyed me the last time I told him I wasn't Adam Brent, makes
+me think that it wouldn't take a great deal to induce him to use his
+bowie on me; and that would be disagreeable. Never mind; I am not afraid
+that I shall long remain a prisoner, while Dick and Bob are alive."
+
+When Archie's arms had been securely bound, two of the outlaws started
+down the ravine in Indian file, and the others, one of whom was Black
+Bill, seized their captive by the shoulders, and assisted him over logs
+and through the bushes in a way that would have called forth from him a
+stubborn resistance, if his arms had been free. The trappers seemed to
+be in great haste; and whenever Archie stumbled in the darkness and
+pitched forward, they did not stop, but hurried on as fast as ever,
+leaving him to regain his feet if he could, or be dragged along the
+ground behind them. He wondered if this was a fair sample of the
+treatment he was to receive as long as he remained in the hands of the
+outlaws. It did not seem to him that he could endure it long, but he did
+endure it until ten miles had been accomplished, and then, to his
+intense amazement and alarm, he suddenly found himself on the outskirts
+of an Indian village. His captors kept straight ahead with him, until
+they arrived at the council ground, and there they left him to take care
+of himself, and went forward to join the circle of chiefs seated around
+the fire.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE MEDICINE-MAN.
+
+
+"You keerless feller! You're here arter all, haint you?"
+
+Archie looked up, and for the first time discovered that he had a
+companion in trouble. It was Dick Lewis, who was standing bound to a
+post by a band of hickory bark, which was drawn tight about his breast
+and arms. It is hard to tell which was the more astonished, the trapper
+or Archie. Numerous questions were asked and answered on both sides, and
+when Archie told of the mistake the outlaws had made, and how he came to
+be taken prisoner, Dick drew a long breath of relief.
+
+"I'll allow that it makes me feel a heap easier to know that you aint in
+no danger of bein' massacreed," said he. "This is a leetle the wust
+scrape I ever seed you in yet; but as long as me an' old Bob are alive,
+you won't want fur friends to help you. Do you see that feller standin'
+over thar?"
+
+Archie looked in the direction in which the trapper nodded his head, and
+was almost ready to drop with astonishment when he saw his cousin
+standing beside the chief's wigwam, bound and helpless like himself. He
+knew now why Frank had not returned to the valley.
+
+"How came he here?" asked Archie.
+
+"Go over thar an' talk to him, an' he'll tell you all about it," replied
+the trapper. "I want plenty of elbow room around here, 'cause when I get
+ready I'm goin' to leave, an' any thing that stands in my way will most
+likely get hurt. You'll hear something break purty soon, an' when I get
+started, jest keep your eye on me if you want to see runnin' as is
+runnin'."
+
+Archie, judging from this that Dick did not want him there, walked
+slowly toward the place where his cousin was standing. As he passed the
+post he took a hasty glance at his friend's bonds, and wondered how he
+intended to escape from them. If he could break that piece of bark, he
+must be possessed of the power of a dozen men, for it was strong enough
+to hold an ox-team. But then Dick's strength was something wonderful,
+and there was no knowing what he might do in an emergency like this.
+
+The cousins did not spend much time in talking over their adventures,
+for they were too deeply interested in what was going on around them.
+The commotion occasioned by the arrival of the outlaws had subsided, and
+the chiefs were ready to proceed with their business. The aged warrior
+again lighted the pipe of peace, which was passed around the circle,
+each chief taking two or three puffs and handing it to his neighbor. The
+most profound silence was maintained in the village during this
+ceremony, which occupied several minutes; and while it was going on, the
+attention of the boys was attracted by a curious-looking object which
+suddenly made its appearance before them. They could not tell what it
+was, either by its size, shape, or movements. Sometimes it went on all
+fours, and then it looked like a bear with a crane's head; then it threw
+itself flat on the ground, and waddled along like an alligator, turning
+its queer looking head and sharp bill about as if seeking something to
+devour; and when it reached the edge of the council-ground, it took the
+form of a ball, and rolled along, as swiftly as if it had been sent from
+a boy's bat, until it reached the fire, when it stopped, and with a loud
+yell jumped to its feet and straightened out. Then the boys saw that it
+was an Indian, dressed in a most fantastic costume, and that he carried
+a tomahawk in one hand and a knife in the other.
+
+"Oh, it's the medicine-man," said Frank.
+
+"Well, he's a delightful looking fellow," observed Archie. "How would
+you like to have him prowling about your bed if you were sick? What is
+he going to do, I wonder?"
+
+[Illustration: THE MEDICINE MAN AND DICK LEWIS.]
+
+The boys were not kept long in doubt on this point, for the medicine-man
+had evidently come there on business of his own, and was not disposed to
+waste any time. He first began tramping in a circle about the place
+where the chiefs were sitting, and then the cousins saw that he carried
+the burden of many years on his shoulders, for he walked with tottering
+steps, and form half bent. But he seemed to have plenty of energy
+left in his old body, for he stamped the ground furiously as he moved
+along, causing the rattles which he wore around his legs to ring out
+musically, and expended a good deal of strength in flourishing his knife
+and tomahawk. Wondering eyes followed all his movements,
+broad-shouldered warriors stepped respectfully aside to let him pass,
+but he did not appear to notice any thing or any body. He moved with his
+eyes fastened upon the ground, and all the while singing a low,
+monotonous song. He made the circuit of the council-ground at least
+twenty times, without once looking up or changing his attitude, and the
+boys began to wonder what object he could have in view in tramping about
+that way; when suddenly, as he was passing the trapper, he raised his
+hatchet, and with one swift blow buried its bright blade in the post,
+almost to the handle and within an inch of Dick's head, and left it
+there, while he continued on his walk around the council-ground.
+
+An exclamation of horror burst from both the boys as they witnessed this
+act of the medicine-man. They thought, when they saw the tomahawk
+descending, that they had seen the trapper alive for the last time; but
+he was still erect and unharmed, although the tomahawk had passed so
+close to his head that a lock of his hair was buried with it in the
+post. A less practiced hand than the medicine-man's would have driven
+the weapon into Dick's brain.
+
+"Oh, don't I wish I was free, and had my breech-loader in my hands!"
+exclaimed Archie, who was so nearly beside himself with rage and alarm
+that he could scarcely speak plainly. "There would be one doctor less in
+this tribe. I'd up-end that old rascal so quick that he wouldn't know
+what hurt him."
+
+Frank did not say any thing, but his compressed lips and flashing eyes
+spoke volumes.
+
+This little by-play on the part of the medicine-man caused infinite
+delight among the Indians on the other side of the council-ground, who
+now began to watch his movements more closely than ever. And it was but
+a beginning. The next time he came around he thrust his knife into the
+post, just above the trapper's shoulder, pulled out the tomahawk, and
+went on. The third time he struck the tomahawk into the post again, if
+possible a little closer to the prisoner's head than before, and pulled
+out the knife. And so he kept on, threatening the trapper first with one
+weapon, and then with the other, to the great amusement of the Indians,
+and the intense horror and indignation of the boys, who, unable to
+endure the sight, turned away their heads, and wished for their rifles.
+During all this time Dick never once flinched so much as a hair's
+breadth. He did not appear to notice the medicine-man at all; but kept
+his eyes fastened upon the chiefs. If the Indians had never seen a brave
+trapper before, they saw one now.
+
+While this was going on on the outer edge of the council-ground, the
+chiefs were busy deciding upon the fate of the prisoner. First one made
+a speech, and then another, and another, until all had spoken, and half
+an hour had been taken up with the deliberations. Then a war-club was
+produced, and after that the Indians did not pay the least attention to
+the medicine-man. They were waiting to hear the decision of the council.
+The principal chief took the war-club, and after striking it upon the
+ground in front of him, handed it to the next warrior; and so the club
+went around the circle, some striking the ground with it, and others
+passing it along in silence. The boys knew that a vote was being taken
+upon some question, but what it was, or how the votes counted, they had
+not the least idea. They soon found out, however, for when the war-club
+had come around to the principal chief again, he jumped to his feet, and
+began shouting some orders in a loud voice; and in an instant the camp
+was in great commotion. The warriors ran about in all directions, and
+deafening whoops and yells arose on every side. Some hurried into the
+woods, and presently returned with their arms filled with dry wood and
+branches, which they deposited in piles at intervals along the ravine,
+below the camp, others lighted them with brands from the fire, which was
+burning on the council-ground, and in a few minutes every object in the
+lower end of the village was as plainly visible as if it had been broad
+daylight. This done, the warriors seized knives, tomahawks, switches,
+clubs, or whatever else came first to their hands, and arranged
+themselves in two parallel lines about six or eight feet apart, and
+extending up and down the ravine. Then the boys began to understand the
+matter. The trapper was to run the gauntlet.
+
+"Oh, why doesn't he wake up and do something?" cried Archie, in great
+excitement. "He told me that I would hear something break pretty soon,
+and if he is going to escape at all, he had better be about it. In a few
+minutes it will be too late."
+
+"Look at the club that first Indian carries on his shoulder," said
+Frank. "One blow with that would kill an iron man. If Dick once gets
+between those lines, he will never come out alive."
+
+"And even if he does he can't get away, for there are a dozen warriors
+standing at the lower end of the ravine waiting to catch him. I wish we
+had stayed in California."
+
+The boys turned to look at the trapper. Was he destitute of nerves
+entirely, that he could stand there and view all these preparations so
+calmly? An ordinary man would have been overcome with fear; but Dick
+was as indifferent as ever.
+
+"If he could only contrive some way to break that bark now, he would be
+all right," said Frank. "Those two guards couldn't stop him, and the
+other warriors are all at the lower end of the village. That old
+medicine-man is getting ready to begin his operations again."
+
+"He's going to throw his hatchet at Dick," gasped Archie.
+
+The medicine-man was standing about twenty feet in front of the trapper,
+swinging his tomahawk around his head, and yelling at the top of his
+lungs. Even as Archie spoke, the weapon left his hand, and flew through
+the air with the speed of a bullet. Both boys turned away their heads
+and held their breath in suspense. They heard the tomahawk strike the
+post, and, when they turned to look at the trapper again, they were not
+a little astonished at the scene presented to their gaze. The
+medicine-man was rolling about on the ground in violent contortions,
+like some huge reptile which had just received its death-blow; the two
+warriors who had been guarding Dick lay motionless beside him; the
+piece of bark with which the trapper had been confined hung down beside
+the post, having been cut by the keen edge of the tomahawk; and
+something, which moved so rapidly that it looked like a flash of light,
+dodged in and out among the lodges for an instant, and then disappeared
+from view. The medicine-man had thrown his tomahawk a little too close
+to the mark that time, for the weapon had cut the trapper's bonds and
+set him at liberty.
+
+For a few seconds the village was as silent as though it had been
+deserted. The warriors stood transfixed, holding their weapons in their
+hands, and gazing at the empty post where their captive had stood but a
+moment before; then yells of rage arose on the air, and the warriors
+swept through the village in a body in hot pursuit of the trapper. The
+cousins could not speak. Dick's escape had been accomplished so suddenly
+and unexpectedly that it bewildered them. They looked at one another in
+silence, gazed after the yelling Indians, who were flying through the
+valley in all directions, and, when at last they recovered the use of
+their tongues, the shouts of delight that broke from them would have
+done credit to any two savages in the band.
+
+"Wasn't that well done?" cried Archie, dancing about like one demented.
+"The minute that bark was cut, he was off like a flash of lightning.
+Wouldn't I give something if I could run like that? They'll never catch
+him, for they are all behind him, and Dick says he never saw the Indian,
+or white man either, that could overtake him, if he has two feet the
+start. He had at least twenty yards the start, this time; so, of course,
+he'll escape easily enough."
+
+"I feel better," said Frank--"not only on Dick's account, but also on
+our own; we stand a chance of being rescued now. Well, what do you
+want?"
+
+This question was addressed to a couple of warriors who at that moment
+approached them. The savages did not take the trouble to reply, but
+grasped the boys by the shoulders, and conducting them around the
+chief's wigwam, beside which they had been standing all this while,
+raised the door and pushed them under it.
+
+"Here we are," said Frank, "and here we are likely to remain for
+awhile."
+
+"But I don't propose to pass the night with my hands bound behind me, if
+I can help it," said Archie. "Don't you believe you can untie them with
+your teeth, Frank? You know that was the way Johnny Harris untied the
+lasso with which I was bound, on the night we made our escape from
+Pierre and his band."
+
+Frank proceeded at once to act upon his cousin's suggestion, and,
+although he found that a thong of buckskin was rather a difficult thing
+to manage with his teeth, he finally succeeded in freeing Archie's
+hands. Then, after the latter had liberated him, the cousins threw
+themselves upon the buffalo robes to talk over their adventures; but
+they were not allowed to remain long to themselves, for, while Frank was
+describing the manner in which he had effected his escape from the
+village, the door of the lodge was raised, and Black Bill's villainous
+face appeared at the opening.
+
+"Adam, are you thar?" he inquired.
+
+"No, Adam isn't here," replied Archie. "The last time I saw him, he was
+at the fort. Winters is here, if you have any thing of importance to say
+to him."
+
+"Wal, I have. Come out here."
+
+"What do you want with me?"
+
+"I am goin' to take you to my lodge, where I know you will be safe."
+
+"Black Bill," said Frank, "you have certainly made a mistake; this
+fellow isn't Adam Brent."
+
+"Who axed you fur any advice?" was the gruff rejoinder. "Jest mind your
+own business, an' speak when you're spoke to."
+
+The tone of the man's voice indicated that he was in very bad humor, and
+Frank, knowing that it would not be safe to irritate him, held his
+peace; and so did Archie, who offered no resistance when the outlaw
+seized him by the collar and pushed him roughly out of the lodge.
+
+Frank's first care, on being left alone, was to examine into his chances
+for escape. That was quickly done, and the conclusion he came to was
+that it would be quite useless to attempt any thing of the kind. He was
+guarded by two sentries now--one standing at the back of the lodge, and
+the other at the door. He could not elude them both, and, with his usual
+happy faculty for accommodating himself to circumstances, Frank decided
+that there was no use in keeping awake all night if he was a prisoner;
+and, stretching himself out on the buffalo robes, he prepared to go to
+sleep. And he did sleep, in spite of all the dangers and excitements of
+the day, but not long. He was awakened by a rustling in the lodge, and
+started up in alarm when he saw a frightful-looking object, which he
+recognized as the medicine-man, crouching at his side. Frank's first
+thought was that he had come in there to torment him as he had tormented
+the trapper; and his second, that he should not do it. He was not bound,
+and he would not submit to any such treatment.
+
+"Look here, old fellow," said he, shaking his fist at the medicine-man:
+"I don't know whether or not you can understand English; but, if you
+can, you had better pay attention to what I say: If you go to
+flourishing that tomahawk and knife about me, I'll break your head."
+
+"Hist!" whispered the intruder, holding up his finger, warningly.
+
+Frank was astonished. He gazed earnestly at the medicine-man, who began
+singing his low, monotonous song, at the same time fumbling with his
+odd-looking mask, which he soon removed, revealing to Frank's view the
+honest countenance of old Bob Kelly. Checking the boy's exclamation of
+astonishment by an emphatic motion of his hand, the trapper, still
+humming his song, proceeded to divest himself of the other articles of
+his disguise; and, as fast as he removed them from his own person, he
+put them upon Frank, who submitted wonderingly to the operation. In a
+few minutes he was rigged out in the medicine-man's dress; and, if he
+had only known it, he looked hideous enough to frighten any body.
+
+"Now, then," said old Bob, in a scarcely-audible whisper, "be off with
+you. Creep under them skins, an' make yourself skeerce about here,
+sudden. Thar aint no danger, if you'll only think so. You're a
+medicine-man now, an' you can go all over the village an' into every
+lodge, an' nobody won't say a word to you. I'll take care of myself."
+
+The old trapper spoke these words hurriedly, and, pulling Frank off the
+buffalo robes, stretched himself upon them. Frank would have lingered to
+ask some instructions concerning the manner in which he ought to conduct
+himself, and what he ought to do if the guard allowed him to pass out of
+the lodge, but Bob motioned him impatiently to be off. Calling all his
+courage to his aid, he lifted the skins at the back of the lodge and
+crawled out. The guard looked down at him, and then turned away his head
+as if he did not care to see him; and Frank, throwing himself upon his
+hands and knees, and imitating as nearly as possible the actions of the
+medicine-man, hurried off into the darkness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+IN THE MOUNTAINS.
+
+
+"Well, this beats me completely. That old medicine-man that Archie and I
+wanted to shoot so badly was Bob Kelly; and, of course, he did not make
+a mistake when he cut that bark with his tomahawk--he did it on purpose.
+Didn't he play his part well? The old fellow must have a steady hand to
+send those weapons so close to Dick without hitting him. Where did he
+get this disguise, I wonder; and how is he going to escape from that
+lodge? This night's work is a little ahead of any thing I ever heard
+of."
+
+Frank was sitting on the ground in a thicket of bushes on the outskirts
+of the village, where he had concealed himself, to obtain a few minutes'
+rest, and to decide what he should do next. He had passed through the
+camp in safety, and without attracting especial attention from any of
+the Indians. He had met several warriors on his way, but his disguise
+was complete, and they, supposing him to be the medicine-man, stepped
+aside to let him pass, and did not trouble themselves to take a second
+look at him. He had been emboldened by his success thus far, and a
+daring project had entered his head. It was to go back to the village,
+and find and liberate Archie.
+
+There were a good many dangers and difficulties to be overcome in
+carrying out this plan. The outlaw had said that it was his intention to
+take Archie to his lodge, where he knew he would be safe; but Frank did
+not know where that lodge was. And suppose, if he succeeded in finding
+it, that Black Bill and his companions should be there guarding their
+prisoner! What would they do to him if they caught him prowling around?
+Frank did not care to enrage them, for he knew what manner of men they
+were; but still he was determined that he would not leave his cousin to
+his fate without making at least an attempt to save him. The village was
+nearly deserted, except by the women and children, and he could
+scarcely encounter more danger there than he would in attempting to find
+his way to the valley. The mountains were filled with Indians, who were
+searching for the trapper, and he could not hope to avoid meeting some
+of them. His disguise would protect him as long as he remained near the
+village, but wouldn't the warriors suspect something if they found him
+making his way toward the fort?
+
+"I'll be in danger, no matter what I do," said Frank, to himself; "and I
+am going to try to find Archie. If he isn't liberated I would just as
+soon be recaptured as not, for I could never live without him. How would
+I feel to go back to our hunting and fishing grounds about Lawrence, and
+know that he was kept a prisoner among these savages? I won't do it. If
+he must stay here, I shall stay with him."
+
+So saying, Frank crawled out of the bushes, and started back toward the
+village. Not knowing how many eyes there might be watching him, he tried
+to imitate the medicine-man's movements--walking with his form half
+bent, and assuming a feeble, tottering step which he was sure would
+pass in the darkness for that of a very old man. He reached the village
+at last--passing the chief's wigwam on the way, where the guards stood
+in blissful ignorance of the fact that the captive they had been set to
+watch had crawled out of his prison under their very noses--and began
+looking about for the outlaw's lodge. How should he know it when he saw
+it? was a question he had asked himself over and over again. There was
+plainly but one way to proceed, and that was to visit every wigwam in
+the village until he found the one of which he was in search. This was
+something that more than one old trapper would have shrunk from
+undertaking; but, relying entirely upon his disguise, and remembering
+what Bob had told him--that he might go all over the village and into
+every lodge without being questioned--Frank resolved to attempt it. If
+he were captured it would be nothing more than what would most likely
+befall him if he tried to reach the fort; and he had the satisfaction of
+knowing that the Indians would not harm him.
+
+The first lodge that Frank looked into was empty. The door had been
+thrown back, and by the flickering light of a fire which was burning in
+the center of the lodge, he was able to take a good survey of its
+interior. There were the skins on which the warriors had been sleeping
+when they were aroused by the chief's "death-whoop," but no one was in
+sight. An Indian woman came in just as he completed his investigations,
+but did not appear to notice him, and he hurried off to visit the next
+lodge. Just as he was about to place his hand upon the door, it was
+raised by some one on the inside, and Frank's heart fairly came up into
+his mouth when one of the outlaws stepped out. He looked savagely at the
+boy for a moment, and then shouldered his rifle and walked away; and
+presently Frank saw him mounted on his horse, and galloping toward the
+ravine.
+
+"This is the place," said our hero, to himself. "Archie is in here; but
+now that I have found him, how am I going to get him out? That's a
+difficulty I did not think of before."
+
+With a trembling hand Frank raised the door and peered under it, half
+expecting that Black Bill or some of his companions would jump out and
+make a prisoner of him; but there was no one in the lodge--no one except
+Archie, who lay in one corner, bound hand and foot. But if his body was
+confined, his tongue was free, and his spirit as undaunted as ever.
+
+"You here!" he exclaimed, when he saw his cousin approaching him. "Clear
+out; I've seen enough of you for one night. If I could use my hands for
+about a minute, I would pay you for what you did to Dick Lewis. Keep
+away from me."
+
+"Silence!" whispered Frank, as he kneeled down beside his cousin, and
+began untying his hands. "Don't say a word."
+
+Archie was as surprised now as Frank had been when old Bob appeared to
+him in the chief's wigwam. He recognized the voice that addressed him,
+but he could hardly bring himself to believe that the hideous-looking
+object bending over him was Frank Nelson. He would have asked a hundred
+questions had not the latter interrupted him.
+
+"We've no time to talk," he whispered, hurriedly, as he assisted his
+cousin to his feet. "I will explain every thing when we are out of
+danger. Now, then, you can never go through the village in that dress."
+
+"I am afraid I can't go through it at all," replied Archie.
+
+"Yes, you can. I don't believe there is a single warrior in the camp
+now, except the two who are guarding the chief's wigwam. They are all
+out looking for Dick. We have little to fear from the women and
+children, for they couldn't stop us if they tried. Is there any clothing
+in here?"
+
+"I believe there is a hunting-shirt and cap in that corner."
+
+"Well, get into them as quickly as possible, and I will go out and see
+if the coast is clear."
+
+Frank, knowing that a medicine-man was expected to do things different
+from any body else, did not go out at the door, but crawled under the
+skins at the back of the lodge. It was well for him that he did so; for
+scarcely had he left Archie, when the door was raised and Black Bill
+came in, and was astonished to see his prisoner, whom he had left
+securely bound, standing in the middle of the lodge arraying himself in
+a hunting-shirt which he (the outlaw) had thrown off a little while
+before.
+
+"Hallo!" he exclaimed, "what's all this yere? Ah ha! You were trying to
+escape, were you? Who turned you loose?"
+
+Archie, seeing that his cousin's plans for liberating him had been
+nipped in the bud, put on a bold face, and made the best of the
+situation. He took all the blame upon himself. He knew that if he told
+the outlaw that he had had assistance, he would, of course, investigate
+the matter; and if he found Frank in the vicinity of the lodge, it might
+arouse his suspicions to such a degree that he would examine his
+disguise; and that would be very disagreeable for Frank.
+
+"I have a way of turning myself loose whenever I feel like it," replied
+Archie. "Why didn't you stay away about five minutes longer? You can't
+keep me a prisoner."
+
+"Can't!" exclaimed the outlaw. "Wal, I'll see about that. I knowed you
+were a slippery customer--all the Brents are--an' I kinder thought it
+would be a good plan fur me to come back here an' keep an eye on you,
+an' leave the others to hunt up Dick Lewis. It seems I got here jest in
+time. Now, crawl out of that huntin' shirt, an' I'll tie you up so tight
+that you won't get loose agin in a hurry."
+
+Frank, who was lying flat on the ground at the back of the lodge,
+listened with a heavy heart to this conversation. His plans had failed,
+and it was useless to think of attempting to liberate his cousin again,
+for the outlaw had said that it was his intention to remain in the lodge
+and watch him. There was but one thing he could do now, and that was to
+look out for himself. His first hard work must be to find Dick Lewis; he
+would know just what ought to be done. Having come to this
+determination, Frank crawled slowly and cautiously away from the lodge,
+and finally, rising to his feet, hurried through the village; and having
+satisfied himself that there was no one observing his movements, he
+plunged into the willows that fringed the base of the mountains. It was
+not his intention to travel directly toward the fort, but to attempt to
+reach it by some roundabout way, and thus avoid meeting the Indians who
+were in pursuit of the trapper. He had something of an undertaking
+before him now, for he was in a strange country, and had not the least
+idea in which direction he ought to go to find his friends. When he
+reached the mountains he was as effectually lost as he had been on the
+day that he and Archie killed their first antelope; but trusting every
+thing to luck, he made his way through the thick woods as rapidly as the
+darkness would permit, and after stumbling about among logs and rocks
+until he was almost exhausted, he removed his mask, which, on account of
+the long bill attached to it had considerably impeded his progress
+through the bushes, and sat down to wait until daylight.
+
+His thoughts and feelings were what any other boy's would have been
+under the same circumstances. His courage had been tested more than once
+during the few months he had passed in the Far West, and he had never
+yet shown himself to be a coward; on the contrary, his attempt to rescue
+Archie had proved that in an emergency he could be as daring and
+reckless as Dick Lewis himself. He could keep up his courage, and show
+a bold front while in the presence of his enemies, but to be alone in
+the mountains, with no weapon but his pocket-knife with which to defend
+himself, and nothing to occupy his mind, or draw his thoughts from the
+dangers yet to be encountered--this it was that tried his nerves; and
+his face was whiter, and he was more nearly overcome with fear now, than
+at any time during the day. His situation was scarcely more encouraging
+than when he was a prisoner. How could he hope to find the valley when
+he did not know where to look for it; and what if he did succeed in
+reaching it, and should find the fort in ashes, and the soldiers and
+trappers all massacred? What would become of him? He might starve to
+death, or be devoured by the grizzlies there in the mountains, and no
+one would ever know what had become of him.
+
+"But I am not starved yet," said Frank, when he had reached this point
+in his meditations, "and thus far I haven't seen any wild animals to be
+afraid of. As long as I can lift a finger, I shall live in hopes of
+getting safely out of this scrape. Now, I am going to sleep. There is
+no knowing what is in store for me, and I may have need of all my
+strength before I see the sun set again."
+
+Frank stretched himself upon the ground, with the medicine-man's mask
+under his head for a pillow, and soon forgot the Indians, grizzlies, and
+all the other perils with which he was surrounded, in a sound sleep.
+When he awoke it was broad daylight. He had had one visitor during the
+night, and that was a large gray wolf, which sat on his haunches at a
+little distance regarding Frank intently, and which took to his heels
+and quickly disappeared when the boy raised himself on his elbow.
+
+"I don't think I should have slept so soundly if I had known that I had
+such a neighbor as that," thought Frank. "But after all, I wish I was
+sure that I had nothing worse than wolves to fear, although they did
+frighten me considerably when we had that race on the ice with them last
+winter. Now, if I only had a cup of Dick's coffee, and a venison-steak,
+I should be ready for work; but I don't see much chance to get any thing
+to eat up here."
+
+Frank picked up his mask, looked at the sun, and struck off through the
+woods in the direction he supposed the fort to be. He had not made many
+steps before he found himself on the brink of a narrow gorge, which
+extended up and down the mountain. Its sides were thickly covered with
+bushes and rocks, and it was so deep that the roar of the
+mountain-torrent which ran through it came but faintly to his ears. Was
+it not fortunate for him that he had camped before reaching the gully?
+He might have fallen into it in the darkness, and that would have been
+infinitely worse than remaining a prisoner among the Indians. He
+wondered if he could jump it, but concluded that he would not make the
+attempt, when he discovered, a short distance from him, a small tree
+lying across the gorge. Upon examining it closely, however, he found
+that it would prove rather a perilous undertaking to cross it, for the
+bark was slippery, the tree was more than half decayed, and its top
+rested but lightly on the opposite bank. He was not allowed many minutes
+in which to make up his mind what he would do, for while he stood
+looking, first at the tree, and then up and down the gorge, in the
+hope of finding some better way of crossing, he was startled by a
+whistling sound in the air, an arrow whizzed by much too close to his
+head for comfort, and glancing from a tree on the opposite bank, fell
+down into the gorge.
+
+Frank was so frightened that for a moment he was deprived of all power
+of action; and before he could look around to see where the missile came
+from, another arrow whistled by, a little closer to him than the other,
+and then came a third, which found a lodgment in the mask which he
+carried in his hand. Then Frank began to realize that it was dangerous
+to stand there in that exposed position; and in the excitement of the
+moment, scarcely knowing what he was about, he gathered all his energies
+for the effort, bounded into the air, alighted in safety on the other
+side of the gorge, and in a moment more was concealed behind a tree
+which grew on the edge of the precipice. This feat called forth an
+exclamation of amazement from his concealed enemy; and when Frank looked
+back at the gorge, he was astonished himself. He never could have made
+a standing jump like that in his sober moments.
+
+[Illustration: THE LEAP FOR LIFE.]
+
+Scarcely had Frank disappeared behind his tree, when a young Indian
+stepped from the bushes, and stood out in full view of him. It was his
+rival of the morning--the one with whom he had run the foot-race. He
+carried a bow, and a quiver full of arrows, in his hand, and stood
+gazing earnestly at the gorge, as if mentally calculating its width; and
+the more he looked at it, the more astonished he became.
+
+"Ugh!" he grunted, at last. "Good boy! Make good jump, make _very_ good
+jump!" Then looking toward the place where Frank was concealed, he
+called out: "Hay, you!"
+
+The young Indian did not speak these words as plainly as we have written
+them. He uttered them with his teeth closed, and with a grunting,
+guttural sound, that can not be imitated on paper.
+
+"What do you want?" asked the fugitive, surprised to hear himself thus
+addressed.
+
+"You come over, and I no shoot," replied the young Indian.
+
+"Go over there!" exclaimed Frank, "I guess not. If you want to see me
+more than I want to see you, you must come over here. What do you want,
+any how?"
+
+"We go back to chief. I no shoot."
+
+"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'll wait awhile before I go back to
+the chief. You want the honor of taking me prisoner, but you sha'n't
+have it."
+
+"You no come?" asked the savage.
+
+"No, I no come. I'll stay here."
+
+"You no come, I shoot."
+
+"Go ahead; but keep yourself pretty close over there, or I may shoot
+too."
+
+"Oh, no," laughed the Indian. "You got no gun, no pistol, no knife--no
+nothing."
+
+If the young warrior had only known it, he was mistaken in this. Frank
+had something, which, although by no means as serviceable as a rifle or
+revolver would have been, was still effective enough in his hands to
+keep his enemy from crossing the gorge. While this conversation was
+going on, he had taken a good view of his situation, and finding that he
+had no way of retreat, he had prepared himself to stand a siege. The
+tree behind which he had taken refuge was a very small one, not more
+than half large enough to conceal him from the view of the Indian, and
+stood, as we have said, on the very brink of the gorge. It afforded him
+but a poor protection, but he knew that he must remain there, for there
+was not another tree or rock, or even a thicket of bushes large enough
+to conceal him, within twenty yards, and the mountain at his back was
+much too steep to be scaled. If he left his tree to find a better place
+of concealment, he would present a fair mark for the arrows of the
+Indian, who handled his bow with so much skill that Frank did not care
+to expose himself.
+
+Frank, seeing that he was fairly cornered, began making preparations for
+compelling his enemy to remain on his own side of the gully; for he
+noticed that the young warrior carried a knife and tomahawk in his belt,
+and he was afraid that, if he allowed him to come to close quarters, he
+might not be able to vanquish him as easily as he had done before. At
+the foot of the tree was a rock which had begun crumbling away; and
+while he was talking to the Indian, Frank had busied himself in
+collecting the pieces that were of a size and weight convenient to
+throw. He had played ball so often that he had become a swift and
+accurate thrower, and he told himself that if the Indian did not mind
+what he was about, the interview would end in a way he had not dreamed
+of.
+
+"He thinks he has got me fast now," thought Frank; "but I shouldn't
+wonder if he found himself mistaken. If he gives me a fair chance, I'll
+knock him down with one of these rocks, and go over there and take his
+weapons away from him. Then I'll make him guide me to the fort by the
+shortest route."
+
+"Hay, you white boy! You no come I shoot!" exclaimed the Indian again;
+and, as he spoke, he fitted an arrow to his bow, and pointed it at
+Frank.
+
+"Shoot away!" replied the latter.
+
+The Indian let fly the arrow, and Frank threw a stone at the same
+instant. Both made good shots. The arrow struck the tree behind which
+our hero was concealed, and the stone whistled through the feathers on
+the young warrior's head-dress. He escaped by an inch.
+
+"Ugh!" he ejaculated, in great astonishment.
+
+"Ugh!" echoed Frank. "Didn't I tell you that you had better keep close?
+Look out! Here comes another!"
+
+Away flew a second stone, and the Indian dived into the bushes just in
+time to avoid it, for it went straight toward the mark. He began to have
+some respect for the white boy, who, although he was without a weapon of
+any kind, was still brave enough to stand his ground.
+
+The contest thus commenced was kept up for a quarter of an hour. The
+arrows whistled by the tree whenever Frank showed so much as an inch of
+his head, and were always answered by a volley of stones, which flew
+like bullets through the bushes where the Indian was concealed,
+compelling him more than once to change his position. Then there was
+quiet for awhile, and the combatants stood watching one another, Frank
+keeping a sharp lookout for any tricks on the part of his antagonist,
+and wondering what would be his next move. He was not long in finding
+out, for presently the young warrior set up a whoop which echoed and
+re-echoed among the mountains, until it seemed to Frank that the woods
+were full of yelling savages.
+
+"If he is trying to frighten me, I hope he will have a good time of it,"
+thought Frank. "Perhaps he has settled himself down there with the
+intention of starving me out. If he has, he will find it up-hill
+business, for I can go without food and water as long as he can. If I
+only had my rifle, wouldn't I show him something?"
+
+The Indian waited a few minutes, and repeated the yell; and this time,
+to Frank's utter amazement and consternation, there was an answer. It
+came faintly to his ears, but still it was so plain and distinct that he
+knew he could not be mistaken. Had his rival been calling for
+assistance? The question was scarcely formed in his mind, when the
+savage raised his head above the bushes, and coolly announced:
+
+"Hay, you white boy! More Indian coming!"
+
+At that moment Frank's body, being but partially protected by his tree,
+offered a fair mark, and the young savage was prompt to take advantage
+of it. Another arrow flew across the gully, and this time it was not
+thrown away. Frank reeled a moment, threw his arms wildly about his
+head, and fell heavily to the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+FRANK'S FRIEND, THE GRIZZLY.
+
+
+The young Indian was evidently very much surprised at the result of his
+shot. He stood for a moment as if petrified, looking at the prostrate
+form across the gorge, and then slowly and cautiously stepped out of the
+bushes to take a nearer view. He shaded his eyes with his hand, twisted
+himself into all sorts of shapes, ran up and down the bank, and looked
+at the motionless figure from a dozen different positions, and having
+satisfied himself at last that his enemy was really dead, he placed his
+hand to his mouth, and uttered a series of hideous yells, that once more
+awoke the echoes far and near.
+
+His next move was to cross the gorge. He could not jump it, as Frank had
+done, and so was obliged to make use of the tree. It trembled and
+cracked beneath his weight, but he crossed it in safety, and bending
+over the young hunter, twisted his hand in his hair and yelled
+furiously. He held this position but an instant. He looked for the wound
+made by the arrow, but could not find it. He _felt_ something, however,
+and that was a very slight pull at his belt, as four sinewy fingers were
+carefully inserted beneath it. With a cry of terror he sprang to his
+feet, and Frank arose with him--unharmed, save a slight red mark across
+his forehead, and as full of fight as ever. Before the young Indian
+could fully comprehend the trick that had been played upon him, his
+cries for help were stifled by a strong grasp on his throat, and he was
+thrown flat upon his back, with his head hanging over the brink of the
+precipice.
+
+"Now, red skin, I'll show you how easily I can handle you," exclaimed
+Frank. "I was only playing with you this morning, but now I am in
+earnest. Keep perfectly still, or I'll pitch you into the gully."
+
+Frank, as we have said, was greatly alarmed when he found that the
+Indian had been calling for assistance, and that his shouts had
+elicited a response from some of his friends. He had no fears but that
+he could hold his ground against one Indian, armed with a bow and arrow,
+but suppose that the reinforcements who were coming up were full-grown
+Indians, and supplied with rifles? He must escape from there before they
+arrived; and the only way that he could discover to accomplish this, was
+to contrive some plan to induce his antagonist to cross the gorge. If he
+could bring him to close quarters, and could get hold of him before he
+had an opportunity to draw his knife or tomahawk, he was sure that he
+would have nothing to fear; but he dared not leave his tree while his
+enemy held his position on the opposite side of the gully, for he would
+send his arrows about him like hail-stones.
+
+All these thoughts passed through Frank's mind in an instant of time;
+and when the savage discharged his last arrow at him--it passed so close
+to him that it left a mark across his forehead--he staggered and fell,
+as if he had been mortally wounded. That was his plan for bringing his
+enemy across the gorge, and we have seen how it succeeded. His design
+now was to disarm the savage, tie him to a tree, and then take to his
+heels, and leave the gully as far behind as possible, before the
+reinforcements arrived.
+
+"I'm all right yet, you see," said Frank, holding his antagonist down
+with one hand, and with the other unfastening the belt in which he
+carried his knife and tomahawk. "If you live a few years longer, you
+will learn that an Indian never gets smart enough to outwit a white man.
+Now----"
+
+Frank did not finish the sentence, for just then he happened to look up,
+and saw a sight that drove all thoughts of the Indian out of his mind.
+The bank on which he and his antagonist were lying, hung over the gorge,
+and a portion of it, about twenty feet square, having, no doubt, been
+loosened by their struggles, was sinking down into the abyss, carrying
+with it Frank and the Indian, and also the tree which had served the
+latter for a breast-work. Its motion was slow, almost imperceptible at
+first, but it was gathering headway, and moving more rapidly every
+instant. As quick as thought Frank was on his feet, and gathering
+himself for a spring; but it was too late. The earth slid from beneath
+him, and, like a drowning man grasping at straws, Frank clutched the
+branches of the tree with a death-grip, and plunged with it into the
+gorge. For an instant he descended with what seemed to him lightning
+rapidity, and then the motion was suddenly checked--so suddenly, that
+the branches were almost torn from his grasp--and he found himself
+swinging in the air, twenty feet below the top of the precipice. The
+tree was hanging with its head downward, but its roots were still
+imbedded in the firm earth above; and that was all that had saved Frank
+from destruction.
+
+All this passed in much less time than we have taken to describe it, and
+it may be imagined that Frank's mind was in a great whirl. When he
+recovered himself sufficiently to understand his situation, he looked up
+and saw the young Indian clinging to the roots of the tree, and
+struggling to draw himself up to the firm ground above. He saw more: he
+saw that with every effort the Indian made, he was loosening the roots
+of the tree, and that one by one they were giving away. Forgetting, in
+that moment of peril, that he and the young warrior had been engaged in
+a desperate fight but a moment before, Frank, still hanging at arm's
+length from the branches of the tree, with an abyss of unknown depth
+below him, into which he was every instant expecting to be plunged by
+the giving away of the roots above, addressed words of advice and
+encouragement to the frightened savage.
+
+"Take it easy, up there!" said he, coolly. "Don't thrash about so, for
+you are only exhausting yourself, without doing any good. Take your
+time, and you are all right."
+
+But the Indian was too nearly overcome with fear, and too intent upon
+extricating himself from his dangerous position, to heed the advice. He
+struggled more desperately than ever, and finally, to Frank's immense
+relief, succeeded in pulling himself over the roots, and crawling up to
+the solid bank. Then his fear all vanished. He uttered a loud yell of
+exultation, and bent over the precipice to look at Frank, who was coming
+up through the branches hand over hand. He watched him for a moment,
+and then disappeared from view; and when he came back to the brink of
+the gorge, he carried his bow in his hand, with an arrow fitted to the
+string, which he drew to its head, and pointed straight at Frank's
+breast.
+
+The young hunter was now menaced by another danger. He had escaped
+falling into the gorge almost by a miracle, but it did not seem possible
+that there was the least chance for escape this time. The Indian was
+standing on the bank above him, and Frank could almost touch the steel
+head of the arrow with his hand. He was completely at the mercy of his
+foe, who surely could not miss so large a mark at that distance. His
+bearing at that moment would have delighted Dick Lewis, could he have
+seen him. He hung by his hands from the branches of the tree, looking
+defiantly up into the Indian's face, and not a muscle quivered. The
+young warrior was evidently astonished, for he lowered his bow, gazed
+down at his helpless antagonist for a moment, and called out:
+
+"White boy, you no afraid?"
+
+"Shoot close," replied Frank, his voice as firm and steady as ever. "If
+you miss, you are a goner."
+
+Once more the arrow was drawn to its head, and pointed at Frank's heart;
+but the Indian did not shoot. He looked up, as if alarmed by some
+unusual sound, and then, to Frank's astonishment, dropped his bow, and
+took to his heels. The young hunter could not imagine what had caused
+his precipitate flight, and just then he did not care. Something had
+befriended him by frightening the Indian away most opportunely, and
+Frank improved the respite thus unexpectedly given him, by clasping his
+legs around the body of the tree, and ascending quickly to the top of
+the gorge. He did not know what new danger he might meet there, nor did
+he give the matter a moment's thought. He would certainly have a much
+better chance for life while standing on the solid ground, where he
+could fight or run, as circumstances might require, than he had while
+hanging suspended in the air over the brink of the gorge.
+
+In a few seconds Frank was within reach of the roots of the tree, and
+drawing in a long breath of relief, he pulled himself over them, and
+looked cautiously over the top of the bank. Then he saw that the friend
+who had rescued him from the arrow of the savage, was an enormous
+grizzly bear, almost large and ugly enough to be a second Old Davy.
+About fifty yards down the bank of the ravine stood a scrub pine; and in
+its topmost branches sat the young warrior, looking down at his shaggy
+foe, which was walking in a circle around the tree, now and then seating
+himself on his haunches, and gazing up into it, as if trying to contrive
+some plan to bring the Indian down to him.
+
+"Hurra for you, grizzly," said Frank, to himself. "You have rendered me
+a most valuable service; and that you may never feel a trapper's bullet,
+or an Indian's arrow, is the sincere wish of, yours truly. Keep him up
+there for an hour or two, and I'll just take his weapons, and make
+myself scarce about here. I'll never forget this gully as long as I
+live."
+
+Frank crawled noiselessly upon the bank, picked up the bow, and the
+quiver of arrows, possessed himself of the Indian's belt, which
+contained his knife and tomahawk, and looked about for some means of
+crossing the gorge without attracting the attention of the grizzly. That
+was a matter that he need not have troubled himself about, for the
+bear's quick ear had caught the sound of his footsteps, and, leaving the
+tree, he turned to attack Frank. He came on at a rapid pace, uttering
+hideous growls, and looking savage enough to frighten any body. He
+certainly frightened Frank, who could see but one way of escape, and
+that was to jump the gully. It was wider now than it was before, but he
+had a chance for a running start, and he accomplished the feat in
+safety, to the no small amazement of the Indian, who yelled at him with
+all the strength of his lungs.
+
+"I suppose you thought I was caught, didn't you?" exclaimed Frank.
+"Well, I wasn't. I am all right yet; and now I will leave you in the
+grizzly's company."
+
+But Frank, as it happened, was not yet done with the bear. The animal
+stopped when he saw that the boy had eluded him, and turned immediately,
+and ran toward the tree which lay across the gully. Things began to
+look dark again for the young hunter. If the bear were allowed to cross
+the gorge, he would, of course, compel him to take refuge in a tree, and
+there was no knowing how long he might keep him there. He could not
+forget that there were more Indians not a great way off, and that they
+had heard the young warrior's yells, and were hastening to his
+assistance. The grizzly, although he had saved him from the fury of his
+rival, might, after all, be the cause of his capture.
+
+Frank saw the necessity of prompt action. His first thought was to try
+an arrow on the bear; but he abandoned the idea when he reflected that
+the bow was a weapon to which he was not accustomed, and that the
+chances were not one in ten that his arrow would reach a vital part. The
+grizzly was already half way across the gorge. The tree shook and bent
+beneath his weight, and Frank hoped it would break; but he could not
+afford to trust any thing to luck. He put it out of the animal's power
+to cross to his side of the gully, and caused his destruction at the
+same time, by seizing the tree with both hands, and lifting it from its
+place, and pitching it over the precipice. It fell with a loud crash,
+carrying with it the bear, which speedily disappeared from his view
+among the bushes and rocks which covered the sides of the gorge.
+
+Frank, scarcely waiting to see what had become of the grizzly, snatched
+up the Indian's weapons, and flew down the mountain at the top of his
+speed, fastening the belt around his waist, and slinging the quiver of
+arrows over his shoulder as he ran. His mishaps at the gully had
+consumed a good deal of valuable time, and Frank was now in momentary
+expectation of hearing the reinforcements, who had been summoned by his
+rival, bounding along his trail in pursuit. He could not hope to beat
+full-grown Indian braves in a fair race, but he could, perhaps, elude
+them, and this he resolved to attempt. He had often heard the trappers
+describe the plans to which they resorted to throw pursuing Indians off
+their trail, and the information he had gained from their stories was of
+value to him now. He walked on every log he could find, jumped from
+rock to rock, doubled on his trail, and finally he found himself on the
+banks of a little trout-brook, the course of which he followed for two
+or three miles, walking in the water all the way. Of course, as he paid
+no attention to the points of the compass, he got completely bewildered;
+and when he stepped out of the brook, and sat down on the bank to rest,
+he did not know whether he had been traveling toward the fort or not, or
+whether he was distant from it one mile or twenty. But that was a matter
+that did not trouble him. He was satisfied that he had eluded pursuit
+for the present, and he was also certain of another thing, and that was,
+that he was very hungry. His first care must be to obtain something to
+eat. That was not a difficult task, for there was a trout-brook at his
+feet, and he had a fish-line, and a flint and steel in his pocket. In
+half an hour's time a fire was burning brightly on the bank, three large
+trout, supported on sticks driven into the ground, were roasting before
+it, and Frank lay stretched out on the grass, watching the fish with a
+hungry eye, and thinking over his adventures at the gully. He began to
+be lonesome, and to long for companionship; and his wish was gratified
+before he was many minutes older, for, when the fish were done to a
+turn, and he was about to begin his meal, he was startled by the sound
+of voices and footsteps. He listened intently for a moment, and finding
+that the sounds grew louder, and that the intruders, whoever they were,
+were approaching his camp, he caught up his bow and arrows, and darted
+into the bushes. He had barely time to conceal himself before Black Bill
+and Adam Brent emerged from a thicket on the opposite side of the brook.
+The former stopped and looked about him suspiciously when he saw the
+fire, and the fish roasting before it, and cocked his rifle, as if in
+momentary expectation of discovering an enemy. A single glance at Adam's
+face satisfied Frank that he was a prisoner, and not a willing companion
+of the outlaw.
+
+"Somebody has been campin' thar," said Black Bill; "but I reckon he
+heered us, an' tuk himself off. We'll go over an' look at things, an'
+see what's been goin' on."
+
+The outlaw and his captive crossed the brook, and the former, after a
+few minutes' examination of the ground about the fire, struck the butt
+of his rifle with his fist, and opened his eyes in great amazement.
+
+"It's the feller that run the foot-race yesterday, as sartin as I'm
+alive," said he, in a tone of voice which indicated that he did not
+understand the matter at all; "an' I'd like to know how he come here.
+The last time I seed him he was a prisoner in the chief's lodge, an'
+thar were two Injuns guardin' him. See them shoe-prints on the bank of
+the brook? Thar's where he stood when he ketched them fish. An' here's
+the pole he used, too. He was layin' on the grass beside that rock, an'
+when he heered us comin', he run off."
+
+"Which was a lucky thing for him," observed Adam.
+
+"Wal, I don't reckon it will do him any good," replied the outlaw;
+"'cause arter we eat these yere fish of his'n, we'll hunt him up. If we
+don't find him, some of the Injuns will, most likely; an' even if he
+aint ketched at all, how much better off is he than he would be with the
+chief? Thar aint nothing left of Fort Stockton, an' he can't find no
+friends short of Fort Benton, an' that's a good hundred miles from
+here."
+
+Frank was lying in the bushes, not more than twenty feet from the
+outlaw, and distinctly heard every word of the conversation. The
+information he gained from it destroyed his last hope. The savages had
+made the attack upon the trading-post during the previous night, and it
+had been successful. The soldiers and trappers were all massacred or
+scattered to the four winds of heaven, and he had no friends to look to
+for assistance within less than a hundred miles. The prospect before him
+was certainly most discouraging, but he could not dwell upon it then,
+for he had other matters to think of. He was in close proximity to a
+dangerous enemy, and how was he to elude him? This question was answered
+by the outlaw himself, whose actions suggested to Frank another daring
+project, which he was prompt to carry into execution. Black Bill laid
+his rifle upon the ground, and kneeled down beside the brook to drink.
+Scarcely had he taken a swallow of the water, when he heard footsteps
+behind him, and upon looking up saw Frank standing over him with his bow
+in his hand, and an arrow pointed straight at his breast.
+
+"Don't move hand or foot," said the young hunter, so excited that he
+could scarcely speak. "Your game is up."
+
+Adam was no less astonished at Frank's sudden appearance than was the
+outlaw; but he quickly recovered his presence of mind, and catching up
+his captor's rifle, leveled it full at his head.
+
+"Surrender, Black Bill!" he exclaimed. "If you attempt to get up I'll
+send a ball into you."
+
+[Illustration: CAPTURE OF BLACK BILL BY FRANK AND ADAM BRENT]
+
+The looks of the weapons were enough to frighten the outlaw into
+submission. He made no remark, but it was easy enough to see that he was
+not brave enough to think seriously of attempting resistance.
+
+"Now, Adam," said Frank, "keep him covered with your rifle, and if he
+shows fight, bang away. I'll soon put it out of his power to do any
+mischief."
+
+As Frank spoke he produced his fish-line from his pocket, and after
+doubling it two or three times, passed it around the outlaw's wrists,
+and tied it securely. The latter, at first, showed a disposition to be
+ugly, and resisted Frank's efforts to bring his hands behind his back;
+but the expression he saw on the face of Adam Brent, as he cocked the
+rifle, and placed its cold muzzle against his temple, quickly brought
+him to terms. Frank handled the fish-line skilfully, and in a few
+minutes the outlaw was as helpless as though he had been in irons.
+
+"There!" said Adam; "he is all right, and so am I. I feel a little more
+at ease than I did ten minutes ago. What's to be done now?"
+
+"The first think is breakfast," replied Frank. "Here are three
+trout--one apiece; and although they are hardly enough to make a meal
+for one hungry man, we can't catch any more, for my fish-line is in use.
+Help yourself. I'll feed Black Bill, if he wants any thing to eat. By
+the way, is this man what he claims to be?"
+
+"I suppose he is my uncle," answered Adam; "but he doesn't act like it,
+does he? He has kept me a prisoner for ten years; or, it amounts to the
+same thing, for I could scarcely go out of the house, unless accompanied
+by my father. That is the story I promised to tell you, and I will
+relate it now while we are resting and eating our breakfast. Then I will
+tell you what happened last night at the fort."
+
+"Black Bill, if you want me to feed you, come here," said Frank.
+
+"Chaw your own grub," was the gruff response.
+
+"All right. If you get hungry before night, you will know who to blame."
+
+The boys, leaving the outlaw sitting sullenly on the bank of the brook,
+stretched themselves on the grass near the fire, with their weapons
+close at their side, and Adam began his story.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+ADAM BRENT'S STORY.
+
+
+"I shall try to tell my story," began Adam, "just as my father told it
+to me, years ago. It is not a long one, and even if it was, I should
+hurry through it as rapidly as possible, for it is a matter I do not
+like to talk about. That man," he added, nodding his head toward the
+outlaw, and speaking as plainly as a mouthful of fish would permit, "is
+a walking illustration of what bad company will do. He is my uncle, I am
+sorry to say, but, for a long time, I have never called him by any other
+name than Black Bill. In my story, however, I shall speak of him as
+William. I can remember when he was an uncle worth having. I used to run
+to meet him whenever I saw him coming, would stand at his side for hours
+listening to the story of his adventures in the mines, and was never
+easy unless I was in his company. But things have changed of late. I
+would run away from him now if I saw him coming toward me, and I am much
+more uncomfortable in his presence than I used to be out of it.
+
+"When I was about six years old, mother and I lived with my grandfather
+at Placer City, in California. He kept a grocery and provision store,
+and my father and his brother William owned and worked a claim in the
+mines. The claim paid well, much better than any other for miles about,
+and father was steadily growing rich by his labor. William ought to have
+been equally prosperous, for he received half the profits; but somehow
+he never had a cent of money in his pocket, but was continually asking
+assistance from father, of whom he borrowed, first and last, several
+thousand dollars, which he has never taken the trouble to return. He
+said he was buying up claims; but when he had a quarrel with a miner
+about a gambling debt which he could not pay, the truth came out, and
+father saw where his money had been going. He found out, too, that for
+months William had been keeping company with some of the very worst men
+in the mines--gamblers, horse-thieves, and criminals of every sort, who
+had run away from the States to get out of reach of the law.
+
+"I need not stop to tell you how shocked and pained all the family were
+when they heard of this, or how they tried, by every means in their
+power, to make William see what would surely be his end if he did not
+abandon the life he was leading. Of course, he made promises of
+amendment, and, for a while, held manfully to them; but it requires
+moral courage to resist temptation, and that was something William did
+not possess. It was not long before he was as bad as ever; and when he
+could go no farther for want of money, he came to father to borrow. Then
+came the first quarrel between the brothers. Father refused to accede to
+his demand, and William threatened vengeance. He did not say what he
+would do, but father knew what he had determined upon, as well as if he
+had told him in so many words.
+
+"Father had been in the habit of depositing his gold-dust in the safe at
+the store. William knew it, and was resolved to have that gold-dust. If
+he could not borrow it, he would steal it. He broke into the store that
+very night, but found the safe empty. Father had removed every dollar of
+the money. The noise he made in breaking open the safe aroused
+grandfather, who slept in a room over the store; and not recognizing
+William in the darkness, he gave him a shot from his revolver. The ball
+took effect somewhere, for the next morning there was blood on the
+floor, and William was nowhere to be found. Every one wondered who the
+robber could be, and a great many questions were asked about the missing
+man; for he had been a prominent character in the mines, and his
+mysterious disappearance excited curiosity. But it did not stop there.
+That curiosity became suspicion; and it was not long before it was
+noised abroad that he was the guilty one.
+
+"William kept clear of Placer City forever afterward. The miners had a
+summary way of dealing with such men, and if they could have found him,
+the influence of all his friends and relatives combined could not have
+saved him. It was not long after that before people began to talk about
+Black Bill--the leader of a band of robbers who infested the mountains
+between Placer City and Sacramento; and in less than two weeks father
+fell into his hands. He recognized the chief, if others did not, and you
+can imagine what his feelings were when he found that he was his own
+brother. Black Bill robbed him, as he robbed every one else who came in
+his way, and released him with this warning, as nearly as I can recall
+the words:
+
+"'You have made me what I am,' said the robber, 'and I will be revenged
+in a way you do not think of. I shall not lift a hand against you, but
+keep an eye on that boy of yours. If I get hold of him, I will make him
+a second Black Bill.'
+
+"That was all the outlaw said, but it was enough to frighten father more
+than any physical danger would have done; and, as for myself, I might as
+well have been sent to the State's prison at once, for I could scarcely
+have been more closely confined there than I was at home. Several
+attempts to steal me were frustrated by the vigilance of my father, who,
+becoming weary at last of living in constant fear of losing me, sold out
+his claim in the mines, and removing to this wild region, erected the
+house in which we lived until last night, and began business as a
+fur-trader. It was there he made the acquaintance of Capt. Porter. No
+sooner had we become fairly settled in our new home, than Black Bill
+made his appearance; and, although he has occasionally been off on
+trapping expeditions, he has spent the most of his time for the last ten
+years in hanging around the valley, watching his opportunity to capture
+me. He never succeeded, however, until last night; and, as good luck
+would have it, he was not destined to keep me long."
+
+"O, I haint done with you yet!" exclaimed the outlaw, who had listened
+attentively to the story. "You're free now, an' I'm a pris'ner; but it
+won't be so long. I've got plenty of friends roamin' about among these
+mountains."
+
+"You have found out by this time that the boy you captured last night
+was not Adam Brent, haven't you?" said Frank. "Where is he now?"
+
+"Who--that spunky little feller? The last time I seed him the Black Fox
+was marchin' him off to the woods."
+
+"Who's the Black Fox?"
+
+"I should think you had oughter know him purty well by this time. He's
+the feller you run that race with. I told him that if he would take good
+care of that boy, an' not let him get away, I would make him a present
+of that leetle gray hoss of mine."
+
+"That little gray horse doesn't belong to you, as it happens," said
+Frank. "He's mine."
+
+"I'd like to see you get him. One of my mates, Jack Bowles, has got him
+safe."
+
+"Well, if I had my other horse----"
+
+Frank was about to say that if he had Roderick, and could catch Jack
+Bowles out on clear ground, he would show him that he hadn't got Pete
+quite so safe as he imagined; but he stopped when he reflected that the
+mustang was a good many miles away, and in the hands of the savages,
+and that possibly he might never see him again.
+
+"I know where your other horse is," said Adam. "He is in the possession
+of Dick Lewis. You see, when the trappers learned that Dick had been
+captured, they went up and attacked the Indian camp, in the hope that
+during the confusion he might see a chance to get away. That was,
+probably, the time that Roderick escaped. At any rate, when the trappers
+returned to the fort, the mustang came with them, and Dick took care of
+him."
+
+"That's all right," said Frank. "I knew the Indians would never catch
+Dick. Did you see Bob Kelly?"
+
+"Yes; he was alive and yelling when we cut our way out of the fort."
+
+"I have just thought of something," said Frank, turning to the outlaw.
+"You said you gave Archie into the keeping of the Black Fox. I met the
+Fox about three miles back in the mountains, and had a fight with him.
+What was he doing so far from camp?"
+
+"I don't know," replied the outlaw, looking thoughtfully at the ground.
+"Mebbe the leetle feller got away from him."
+
+"That's just my idea. Archie escaped, and he was in pursuit of him. If
+the Fox knows when he is well off, he will get help before he tries to
+capture him, for Archie is plucky and strong, if he is little. But,
+Adam, you were going to tell me what happened at the fort."
+
+"There isn't much to tell," was the reply. "The Indians whipped us, and
+they were not more than an hour in doing it. The trappers, as I told
+you, left the fort and made an attack on the village, for the purpose of
+liberating Dick Lewis. Of course, they did not expect to whip the
+Indians in a fair fight; all they wanted to do was to throw the camp
+into confusion, and give Dick a chance to do something for himself. But
+he had already escaped, and about fifteen minutes after the trappers
+left, he came into the fort, puffing and blowing like a porpoise. The
+trappers were more successful than they expected to be. Finding the
+village nearly deserted, they set it on fire, kept up a running fight
+with the Indians for ten miles; and sixteen out of nineteen returned to
+the fort in safety. The Indians, in the meantime, must have received
+reinforcements from somewhere, for they followed close at the trappers'
+heels; and no sooner had the gates been closed than the fight began.
+
+"You learned something about Indians when they made the attack on your
+wagon-train, while you were coming across the plains; but you have never
+been in a regular battle with them, and you can have but a poor idea of
+the state of affairs in and about that fort during the short time the
+fight continued. They began operations by setting fire to our house and
+barns. The fire lighted up the whole valley; and I shall never forget
+how I felt when I looked over the top of the palisades and saw the
+savages coming toward us. I had never seen so many Indians before. There
+must have been a thousand of them; and the determination with which they
+made and carried on their attack, proved that they had great confidence
+in their overwhelming numbers, and that they expected an easy victory.
+They did not waste time in skulking behind trees and shooting at the
+fort--they came on in a body, like soldiers, approaching so close to the
+palisades that we could touch them with the muzzles of our guns as we
+thrust them through the loop-holes. They expected, no doubt, to find the
+fort in the same defenseless state in which they had seen it in the
+morning--with the gates gone and the walls broken down; but in this they
+were disappointed. The major had paid some attention to Captain Porter's
+warning, and the old trading-post was as strong as it had ever been.
+That was a fortunate thing for us, for, even as it was, it was all we
+could do to prevent the savages from affecting an entrance. They fought
+like tigers, climbing up to the top of the wall and throwing their
+tomahawks down at the soldiers, and even tearing out the palisades in
+some places; and I saw more than one Indian cut down with sabers inside
+the fort. The assault did not continue more than five or ten minutes--of
+course it seemed much longer to me--and then one of the chiefs set up a
+yell, and the savages fell back to the cover of the woods to devise
+some new plan of attack; while we improved the time to repair the damage
+they had done. I say _we_, because I count myself in as one of the
+defenders of the fort. My bullets went as swift and as straight to the
+mark as anybody's. I had a good rifle and a brace of revolvers; and,
+although I was excited and frightened, as I believe any other boy would
+have been under the same circumstances, I was not foolish enough to
+waste my ammunition, and did not shoot unless a fair mark was presented.
+I know I hit one Indian, and saved a soldier's life; but I haven't come
+to that yet.
+
+"If you had been in the fort, I don't think you would have failed to
+take particular notice of Dick Lewis and Bob Kelly. All the trappers
+seemed to be in their element--I don't believe there was one among them
+who experienced any more fear than you and I would if we were defending
+a snow fort against the attacks of our schoolmates--but Dick and Bob
+were as wild as any of the Indians. Such yells I never before heard
+uttered by white men. If there was one place in the fort more dangerous
+than another, those two trappers were sure to be there. On one occasion,
+when the Indians had cut down a portion of the palisades, and the
+soldiers were doing some desperate hand-to-hand fighting to keep them
+from entering through the opening, Dick seized one of the savages, and,
+whirling him clear over his head, threw him back into the fort, calling
+out: 'Ketch him, somebody!' Three or four soldiers sprang upon him at
+once, and before they had time to bind him, Dick threw them another.
+When the savages had been driven back, and the soldiers were repairing
+the palisades, the major took occasion to thank the trappers, and
+especially Dick and Bob, for what they had done. The former listened
+attentively to what he had to say, and then drew himself up and gave the
+major a regular military salute.
+
+"'Fightin' comes as nateral to me as eatin',' said he. 'Me an' my chum,
+poor ole Bill Lawson, fit all through the Mexikin war; an' as fur
+Injuns, I've been in a heap of skrimmages with 'em, fust an' last. But
+we'll have to do wusser fightin' nor that afore we are done with 'em,
+major. They're goin' to begin their tricks, now.'
+
+"The trapper had scarcely uttered these words, when a chorus of savage
+yells arose on all sides of us, and bullets and arrows began to come
+into the fort like hail-stones. A new danger threatened us now, for some
+of the arrows had bunches of burning leaves and pine-knots attached to
+them. They came over the walls in a perfect shower, some falling on the
+stables, some on the quarters, and in less than a minute the fort was on
+fire in a dozen different places.
+
+"'Shovels!' shouted Captain Porter. 'All my men turn to and throw dirt
+on the fire!'
+
+"But the savages were prepared for this. A number of them had climbed
+into the trees surrounding the fort, from which they could see all that
+was going on inside the palisades; and no sooner did the trappers fall
+to work in obedience to the captain's order, than a storm of bullets
+fell among them, sending more than one poor fellow to eternity.
+
+"For the next half hour we had a serious time of it; but I believe the
+trappers would have succeeded in frustrating the designs of the
+savages, had it not been for the reckless bravery of a young chief, who,
+in some mysterious way, succeeded in entering the fort unobserved. How
+he managed to elude the vigilance of the soldiers, who were watching the
+loop-holes while the trappers were engaged in fighting the fire, I can
+not tell; but, at any rate, he got in, went into the officers' quarters,
+and after piling a quantity of clothing in one corner, set it on fire. I
+was standing at one of the loop-holes, watching a chance for a shot at a
+warrior who was concealed in the top of a tree about fifty yards from
+the fort, when I heard a yell, and, turning quickly, saw a soldier
+struggling on the ground, and an Indian standing over him with his
+tomahawk raised to strike. I was not quick enough to prevent the weapon
+from descending, but I destroyed the Indian's aim by sending a ball into
+his shoulder. The hatchet grazed the soldier's head, and his enemy fell
+into the arms of a trapper, who bound him hand and foot before he could
+wink twice.
+
+"If the trapper had known what the Indian had been doing, I do not
+think he would have taken him prisoner. He believed that the savage had
+just entered the fort, and that he had not had time to do any mischief;
+but he soon discovered his mistake, for when somebody opened the door of
+the officers' quarters, a thick volume of smoke rushed out. The trappers
+were ordered to the spot immediately, but it was too late. The fire had
+made rapid headway, and the inside of the building was a sheet of
+flames. It quickly spread to the stables adjoining the quarters, thence
+to the palisades, and almost before we knew it we were surrounded by a
+wall of fire.
+
+"'The jig's up at last, youngster,' said Dick, as he hurried past me.
+'Shovels aint no more account. We've got to trust to our hosses' legs
+now!'
+
+"I don't believe I was ever before so badly frightened as I was when I
+heard these words. My situation then was bad enough, surrounded as I was
+by burning houses, almost suffocated by smoke, while bullets and flaming
+arrows were whistling through the air, carrying death and destruction on
+all sides of me; but to leave the shelter of those walls, and ride out
+of the fort under the very noses of a thousand yelling Indians, with
+nothing but the speed of my horse to stand between me and their fury--I
+tell you, Frank, the bare thought was enough to make my old fur cap rise
+on my head as it had never done before. While I was standing inactive,
+the soldiers had sprung into their saddles, and with drawn sabers in one
+hand, and revolvers in the other, were awaiting the order to cut their
+way out of the fort. Father and Captain Porter had secured my horse, and
+were looking for me. I had barely time to mount before the gate flew
+open, the bugle sounded a charge, and we swept out of the fort into the
+midst of the savages."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+TURNING OUT A PANTHER.
+
+
+"I have been in more than one fight with the Indians," continued Adam,
+"and have heard their yells more times than I can remember; but I never
+heard any that equaled those which rung in my ears when the savages saw
+us coming out of the fort. At the moment the gate opened they were
+preparing for a second assault, and we must have taken them by surprise,
+for they scattered right and left before us like a flock of turkeys. But
+they did not forget the weapons they held in their hands, and, as we
+dashed through their lines, the bullets and arrows whistled about our
+ears thicker than ever. Before we had gone fifty yards from the gate, I
+saw riderless horses on all sides of me.
+
+"Our party did not keep together long. Pursuit was commenced on the
+instant, and presently Indians, soldiers, and trappers were mixed up in
+the greatest confusion, so that I could scarcely distinguish a friend
+from a foe. Picture to yourself the scene: A desperate hand-to-hand
+contest among mounted men--the horses thundering along at the top of
+their speed, their riders too intent upon fighting to know or care where
+they were going; sabers, tomahawks, and spears flashing in the air, and
+emitting sparks of fire as they clashed together; rifles and revolvers
+cracking right and left, their reports sounding faintly above the noise
+of the horses' hoofs, and the whoops and yells of the combatants;--if
+you can imagine such a scene, you can have a faint idea of the running
+fight we carried on with those savages while we were going through the
+valley. As for myself, I confess that I took but little part in it, I
+was so badly frightened. I emptied both my revolvers before we were
+fairly out of the gate, and then clung to the horn of my saddle, and
+gazed about me in a sort of stupid bewilderment, while my horse galloped
+along with the rest. I seemed to be in a sort of trance; and when I
+came to myself I found that I had become separated from my father and
+Captain Porter, and that they were nowhere to be seen. I was almost
+alone. My horse, frightened by the noise and confusion, had left the
+others, and was going toward the mountains at a rate of speed I had
+never supposed him capable of. I saw that he was running away with me,
+but I did not care for that. If he would only take me out of reach of
+the Indians, and carry me to the willows, where I could conceal myself
+until daylight, he might run and welcome. I did not try to stop him, but
+somebody else did. I heard the report of a rifle close behind me, my
+horse fell dead in his tracks, and I went rolling along the ground like
+a ball from a bat. I was badly hurt, and stunned by the fall, but still
+I retained my senses sufficiently to see that the enemy who had unhorsed
+me so suddenly was an Indian, and that he was approaching to finish the
+work he had begun. He came on at a gallop, holding in his hand a spear
+which was pointed straight at my breast. I gave myself up for lost; but
+when the spear was so close to me that I could have touched it, the
+Indian fell forward in his saddle (he was tied fast to it, so that he
+could not fall to the ground), the spear dropped from his grasp, and his
+horse carried him away, dead. Where the bullet that saved my life came
+from, I could not tell. It may have been a spent ball; or some friend
+may have seen my danger, and discharged his rifle at the Indian; but
+that was a matter I could not stop to inquire into. I jumped to my feet,
+and made the best of my way toward the willows, but had not gone far
+before I found that I had other enemies to contend with. I heard a
+shout, and saw a trapper running toward me. I stopped when I discovered
+him, for I thought he was one of those belonging to Captain Porter's
+expedition, and consequently a friend; but when he came within reach of
+me I found out my mistake. He seized me by the collar, and greeted me
+with:
+
+"'Who are you, boy? What's your name?'
+
+"'I am Adam Brent,' I replied, astonished at his tone and manner.
+
+"'Then you're jest the chap I've been a lookin' fur,' said he; and
+before I could tell what he was going to do, he caught me up in his
+arms as if I had been a child, and plunged into the willows. I did not
+struggle nor shout for help, nor do I believe I even trembled when,
+after carrying me perhaps half a mile into the woods, he put me down on
+a log, and, seating himself beside me, coolly announced that he was
+Black Bill, and that, having got hold of me at last, it was his
+determination to hold fast to me.
+
+"'I've been many a long year tryin' to get you,' said he, with savage
+satisfaction, 'an' now I'm goin' to make a second Black Bill of you. I
+made that promise to your father more'n twelve year ago, an' I haint
+forgot it. When I see you as I have been--hunted through the mountains
+like a wild beast, an' shot at by every white feller who crosses your
+trail, then I'll be satisfied.'
+
+"I had lived in fear of this man from my earliest boyhood, and had more
+than once tried to imagine the terror I should experience if I should
+ever be so unfortunate as to fall into his power; but now that I was his
+prisoner, I was not at all afraid of him. If your cousin, whom he
+captured last night by mistake, had been safe among friends, I should
+have felt no uneasiness; but, perhaps, after all, it was a good thing
+for Archie that Black Bill carried him to the Indian camp, for if he had
+been at the fort during the fight, he might not have been as fortunate
+as I was. A good many of our people were cut down, and I don't suppose
+that more than a dozen escaped.
+
+"After thinking over my situation, I made up my mind that fate had
+destined me to a long captivity among the Indians, in company with this
+outlaw, and that I would endure it with what fortitude I could.
+Sometimes, when I thought of the scenes I had witnessed during that
+hand-to-hand fight, and reflected upon my father's chances for escape, I
+did not care what became of me. Black Bill said I would never see him
+again, and I believed him; and told myself that, if I must live without
+my father, I might as well be among savages as anywhere else. But I
+think differently, now that you have rescued me. I hope to be a man some
+day, and when that time comes, such fellows as Black Bill and his mates,
+who are constantly spreading dissatisfaction among the Indians, and
+urging them on to the war-trail, will have good cause to remember me. To
+whom are you making signals?" continued Adam, suddenly raising himself
+on his elbow, and looking earnestly at the outlaw.
+
+Frank had been so intent upon his breakfast, and so deeply interested in
+his friend's story, that he had not thought of keeping a lookout for
+enemies; consequently he did not see the figure clad in buckskin, which
+crept stealthily through the trees on the opposite side of the brook,
+and took up a position behind a huge bowlder, from which a good view of
+the camp could be obtained. But the figure was there, and it was that of
+an outlaw--one of Black Bill's mates. His eyes, which swept rapidly over
+the camp, were open to their widest extent, and on his face, as he
+raised it cautiously above the bowlder, was an expression of great
+astonishment. Black Bill saw him, if the boys did not; and, by turning
+partly around and showing his confined hands, and by nodding his head,
+and winking his eyes, and making other mysterious signs, he must have
+succeeded in making the spy understand the situation, for he disappeared
+behind the bowlder, and stole back into the woods.
+
+"You were making signals to somebody," exclaimed Adam, catching up the
+outlaw's rifle, and casting suspicious glances through the trees around
+him.
+
+"Makin' signals to the air, then," replied Black Bill, sullenly. "Thar
+aint nobody within miles of here that I knows on."
+
+But Adam had lived too long on the frontier, and knew too much about the
+outlaw to be easily deceived. He had distinctly seen the prisoner
+nodding his head, and with the quick instinct of one who had passed his
+life surrounded with foes of every sort, he scented danger. Frank might
+have been satisfied with Black Bill's reply, and the innocent, surprised
+expression on his face, but Adam was not. He jumped to his feet, and
+running across the brook, looked up at the top of the cliffs under which
+they had been sitting. As he did so, he passed behind the bowlder where
+the spy had been concealed but a moment before, and there he stopped,
+and leaning carelessly upon the rock, said, in a whisper to Frank, who
+had followed close at his heels:
+
+"Don't exhibit any surprise, but look down at those leaves. Somebody has
+been here."
+
+Frank looked, but could see nothing suspicious. Adam's trained eye, as
+keen as an Indian's, had, at a single glance, discovered signs of an
+enemy that Frank could not have found after an hour's careful search.
+
+"I may have passed behind this rock when I first came to the brook,"
+said he.
+
+"If you did you never left those tracks," said Adam. "They were made by
+moccasins; and you've got shoes on. They were made by a white man, too,
+for the toes point out. If it had been an Indian, the toes would point
+in. A friend of Black Bill's was here not more than two minutes ago; and
+the sooner we get away from here the better it will be for us. What
+shall we do with our prisoner?"
+
+"Let's take him with us, and compel him to show us the way to Fort
+Benton," replied Frank, astonished at his friend's skill in wood-craft,
+and at the coolness and deliberation with which he spoke.
+
+"That would never do," said Adam, quickly. "His friends will be after us
+in less than five minutes, and he would shout to guide them in the
+pursuit. Besides, we are completely lost, and how could we tell whether
+or not he was guiding us to the fort? He would take us as straight to
+the Indian camp as he could go."
+
+"Well, if we leave him here he will call for help the minute we are out
+of sight."
+
+"Perhaps he will not be able to call for help by the time we are done
+with him. I'll tell you what we will do," continued Adam, glancing
+toward the outlaw, who still sat on the ground, closely watching all
+their movements, "do you get behind him, throw your arm around his neck,
+and choke him with all your power; and I'll cram my handkerchief into
+his mouth. Then catch him by the shoulders, and drag him to that sapling
+and tie him there; and while you are doing that, I will secure his knife
+and tomahawk, and also his powder-horn and bullet-pouch. After that
+we'll take to our heels, and do some of the best running we ever did in
+our lives. There's not a single instant to be lost. Don't flinch, now."
+
+Adam knew that Frank was a remarkably swift runner, an excellent
+wrestler, and a splendid shot with the rifle; but he had never seen him
+in a situation like this, and he did not know how cool and determined he
+could be. If he had, he would not have talked to him about "flinching."
+
+"Wal," exclaimed the outlaw, as the boys sprang across the brook, "seen
+any thing wuth lookin' at? Didn't diskiver none of my mates hangin'
+around in the bushes, did you?"
+
+"We saw all we wanted to see," replied Adam. "We saw foot-prints behind
+that bowlder, and we know who made them. That's the way to do it! Choke
+him till he opens his mouth."
+
+While Adam was occupying the outlaw's attention, Frank had stepped
+behind him, and thrown his arm around his neck. He struggled and tried
+to shout for help; but the strong grasp on his throat rendered him
+powerless, and effectually stifled his cries. His under jaw dropped
+down, and the handkerchief which Adam held ready in his hand, was forced
+into his mouth. A moment afterward Black Bill was lying flat on his
+back, held down by Frank's handkerchief, which was passed around his
+neck and tied to the sapling of which Adam had spoken, and the boys,
+having possessed themselves of their weapons, and the outlaw's
+ammunition, were scrambling up the cliff like a couple of goats. They
+looked back now and then to satisfy themselves that their prisoner was
+still secure, and both told themselves that if they should be so
+unfortunate as to again fall into his power, their treatment would be
+very different from that which they had already received at his hands.
+Black Bill seemed almost beside himself with rage. He glared up at them
+like a madman, and made the most desperate attempts to free himself from
+his bonds; but the boys, although they had done their work quickly, had
+done it well, and as long as they remained in sight of the outlaw, he
+had accomplished nothing toward liberating himself.
+
+Arriving at the top of the cliff, Adam shouldered his rifle, and sprang
+forward at the top of his speed, closely followed by Frank, who stepped
+as nearly as possible in his tracks. For nearly half an hour they flew
+along without speaking, turning their heads occasionally to listen for
+sounds of pursuit, making use of all their skill to render their trail
+as indistinct as possible, and finally they slackened their pace to a
+rapid walk, which they kept up for two hours longer without once
+stopping to rest. At the end of that time, Frank, being satisfied that
+they were out of danger for the present, proposed "half an hour for
+refreshments." The half hour was really not more than ten minutes, for
+the boys were so much afraid of the enemies who they knew were following
+them, that they regarded every instant spent in needful repose as so
+much time wasted. Their refreshments consisted of just nothing at
+all--not even a drop of water to cool their lips. They could not stop to
+cook a dinner, even if they had had any thing to cook; and after a very
+short rest, during which they talked over their situation, and tried to
+determine upon their plans for the future, they sprang up, and resumed
+their flight, Adam, as before, leading the way.
+
+The outlaw had told his nephew that Fort Benton, which was the nearest
+trading-post, and the place to which all the trappers and soldiers who
+escaped the massacre would be likely to direct their course, was a
+hundred miles distant; and the boys had decided, after much debate, that
+it lay nearly due east of Fort Stockton. A hundred miles from the
+nearest place of refuge, in the heart of an unbroken wilderness, every
+step of the way they must travel beset with dangers, and their path
+waylaid by crafty foes who might spring out on them without an instant's
+warning! Twenty miles of mountains and ravines to be passed over, and
+eighty miles more of prairie, where there was not even a thicket of
+bushes to afford them concealment from their enemies, to be traversed on
+foot! Would they ever succeed in reaching the fort?
+
+"It looks like a slim chance, doesn't it?" said Adam, who easily read
+the thoughts that were passing through Frank's mind. "But father used to
+tell me that a fellow never knows how much he can accomplish until he
+tries. We will do the best we can, and if we fail we shall have the
+satisfaction of knowing that it isn't our fault."
+
+Frank's endurance was severely tested that day. He found that traveling
+through the mountains on foot was something besides a holiday pastime,
+especially with such a guide as Adam, who moved along without any
+apparent effort, threading his way through the thick, tangled bushes
+with a celerity that was surprising. The afternoon wore slowly away, and
+just as the sun was sinking out of sight behind the mountains, the boys,
+weary and footsore, halted in the edge of the willows, and looked out
+over the prairie which stretched away before them as far as their eyes
+could reach. Adam stood for a long time with his chin resting on the
+muzzle of his rifle, and his gaze fixed upon the horizon, thinking of
+his father and Captain Porter, and wondering if he should meet them if
+he succeeded in reaching the fort; while Frank, after satisfying himself
+that there were no Indians in sight, became interested in objects in his
+immediate vicinity. He thought the place looked familiar. There was a
+wide, shallow creek flowing through the ravine in which they were
+standing, and on its left bank arose a rocky cliff, which hung over the
+bed of the stream. Under the branches of a spreading oak which grew near
+the foot of the cliff, were the remains of a camp-fire; and a little
+farther on was a sapling which had been stripped of its bark. Frank
+remembered that sapling. It was the one to which Roderick had been tied
+when the trappers first brought him into camp. The horse was wild and
+vicious then, and after trying in vain to break the lasso with which he
+was confined, he had attacked the tree with his teeth, and peeled off
+the bark as neatly as it could have been done with a knife.
+
+"We have accomplished the hardest part of our journey," said Adam, his
+gaze still wandering over the prairie in the direction he supposed the
+trading-post to be, "and now comes the dangerous part. If what father
+said about a general rising of the Indians was correct, the savages are
+scattered all over the plains between here and the fort; and if we get
+through, it will be more by good luck than good management. Do you see
+any thing?"
+
+"Yes, I do," said Frank; "I see plenty of old friends. I know every
+stick of timber about here, for I passed three of the pleasantest weeks
+of my life in this very ravine. You have heard Dick and Bob speak of the
+Old Bear's Hole, haven't you? Come with me, and I will show it to you."
+
+Frank crossed the creek and began pulling aside the bushes at the base
+of the cliff, searching for the entrance to the cave. Dick had told him
+that more than one sharp-eyed Comanche had looked for it in vain, and
+for a long time Frank thought he should meet with no better success; but
+at last he discovered the entrance by stepping into it accidentally. The
+mouth of the passage was filled with leaves, which had effectually
+concealed it from his view.
+
+"The cave must be a mile or two below, isn't it?" asked Adam, gazing
+dubiously at the dark opening.
+
+"No; it is above ground altogether, and is inside this rock," replied
+Frank, pointing to the cliff. "But the question is, Shall we use it, now
+that we have found it? Do you suppose that Black Bill and his friends
+are in pursuit of us?"
+
+"Of course they are. They won't give us up so easily."
+
+"But we have taken a great deal of pains to conceal our trail, and they
+may not be able to follow it."
+
+"Don't you believe it," replied Adam, with a laugh. "Those men's eyes
+are as sharp as a hound's nose. If they can track an Indian when he is
+doing his best to cover up his trail, they can surely follow us. We are
+not done with them yet."
+
+"Then I propose that we sleep in the Old Bear's Hole. I can't travel any
+farther to-night, and I should feel much safer in the cave than I should
+if we camped in the open air. We can't get along without some supper,
+and we must have a fire to cook it; and that might attract the attention
+of the outlaws if they should happen to be in the neighborhood."
+
+The matter was settled without any further debate, and the boys began to
+busy themselves in collecting a supply of pine-knots to serve as
+torches. This done, Adam lighted one of them with his flint and steel,
+and handed it to Frank, who backed down into the opening; but, to his
+friend's surprise, he came out of it again much more quickly than he had
+gone in.
+
+"I have just thought of something," said he, in reply to Adam's
+inquiring look. "The first night we camped here, while we were on our
+way to California, Dick Lewis went into the cave and found that a
+grizzly bear had taken possession of it. He had a terrible fight with
+the animal, and was so badly clawed up that his most intimate friend
+would not have recognized him. There may be a bear in there now for all
+we know."
+
+"That's so," said Adam. "Must we give up the idea of sleeping in the
+cave?"
+
+"Not yet. Dick and Bob, who spent many a day here hiding from the
+Indians, were old foxes, and had two holes to their burrow. Come with
+me, and I will show you the other."
+
+Frank led the way to the top of the cliff, and, after a short search,
+discovered the entrance to the upper passage-way. He was not greatly
+encouraged when he found it, for he saw that a path, hard and well
+beaten as any road, led from it down the side of the cliff. Then he
+blessed his lucky stars that he had not gone into the cave. It had an
+occupant, the character of which was proved by the bones that lay
+scattered about on both sides of the path. It was some ravenous beast of
+prey, which probably would not feel disposed to abandon his snug
+quarters without a fight. Adam kneeled down beside the passage-way, and,
+after a single glance into the cave, sprang up and threw his rifle
+forward in readiness to shoot. Frank looked in and saw a pair of eyes,
+which shone like coals of fire, glaring at him through the darkness.
+
+"It isn't a grizzly," said Adam, "but something almost as bad. It's a
+panther. He must come out of there, too," he added, pulling off his hat
+and digging his fingers into his head to stir up his ideas. "That cave
+is the only safe place we can find, and we must have it, whether he is
+willing or not."
+
+"Hand me your rifle," said Frank; "I'll fix him."
+
+"Not for the world," replied Adam, quickly. "You must remember that we
+have enemies not a great way off, and that it stands us well in hand to
+be quiet about what we do. Besides, there may be a whole family of
+panthers in there, and if you should wound one of them, we'd have a
+fight on our hands directly. I know how to manage him. Take this rifle
+and climb up into that tree, and when he comes out tell me."
+
+Frank did as his companion requested. He mounted into the topmost
+branches of the tree, and, after settling himself into a comfortable
+position, from which he could watch the mouth of the passage-way, he
+turned to observe Adam's movements. He saw him, with a long stick in his
+hand, kneeling before the opening at the foot of the cliff, engaged in
+pushing a quantity of dried leaves and pine-knots into the passage-way.
+Then his plan was clear enough to Frank: he was going to smoke the
+panther out.
+
+Adam worked steadily for half an hour, and then Frank, seeing him take
+his flint and steel from his pocket, turned his attention to the
+passage-way at the top of the hill. There was draught sufficient to make
+the fire burn well, and presently Frank heard a great roaring and
+crackling in the cave, and a thin wreath of smoke came curling out. With
+the smoke came the panther, which was evidently very much alarmed by
+this unexpected assault upon his home, for he flew down the path like a
+flash of light, and speedily disappeared in the bushes. Adam's plan had
+worked to perfection. The Old Bear's Hole had been cleared of its
+dangerous occupant, and the boys were at liberty to take possession of
+it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+FRANK IN SEARCH OF HIS SUPPER.
+
+
+"He's out!" shouted Frank, scrambling down out of his tree.
+
+"I thought I could manage him," said Adam. "Don't you think my plan was
+the best? But I say, Frank," he added, as he joined our hero at the top
+of the hill, "we must fire the rifle once, at least, for we want some
+supper."
+
+"If we could use a bow and arrow as well as the Black Fox, we would not
+need the rifle. Now, one of us had better stay here, and build a fire in
+the cave, and gather a supply of wood for the night, while the other
+goes out and knocks over a big-horn. The mountains about here are full
+of them."
+
+"Well, seeing that you are the best shot, perhaps you had better go to
+market. By the time you get back, I will have every thing ready. You
+are not afraid to go?"
+
+No, Frank was not afraid, but still he did not like the idea of
+wandering off alone among those mountains. He would have felt much more
+at his ease if the big-horn had already been killed, and was ready for
+the spit. Besides the danger of getting lost, there were the outlaws,
+who might hear the report of his rifle, and pounce down upon him before
+he could secure his game and make good his retreat to the cave. He and
+his companion might have gone without their suppers for that night
+without serious inconvenience, but they were still eighty miles from
+Fort Benton, and, while they were traveling across the prairie, they
+might not find any thing to shoot, for the Indians had doubtless
+frightened away all the game. If Frank succeeded in killing a big-horn,
+it was their intention to cook it all, and carry with them a supply of
+the meat sufficient to last them until they reached the fort.
+
+Adam began looking about for dry wood with which to start the fire in
+the cave, and Frank shouldered his rifle and started down the cliff. He
+followed the same course which he, and Archie, and the trapper had
+pursued on a former occasion, when they went out to hunt big-horns, and
+presently found himself in the ravine in which his cousin had met with
+his first adventure with a grizzly. Dick had once told him that if the
+trees in that ravine could speak, they could relate many a thrilling
+story about him and Bill Lawson; and Frank thought that, if they could
+find tongues now, they might have something to say concerning himself
+that would prove interesting.
+
+The deer-path which Frank was following ran through the ravine for about
+half a mile, and then led down the side of a precipitous cliff, and
+terminated on a rocky ledge, perhaps twenty-five feet square, in the
+center of which was a spring of water. When Frank reached the edge of
+this cliff, he looked over it very cautiously, and was gratified to see,
+about a hundred feet below him, a noble elk, with wide-spreading
+antlers, drinking from the spring.
+
+"Our supper is all right," soliloquized the young hunter, after he had
+taken a good survey of the ledge, and calculated the animal's chances
+for escape in case he failed to disable him at the first shot. "That
+ledge juts out into a gorge which is much too wide for any deer to jump.
+If he tries it, I am sure of him, for he will fall on the rocks and be
+killed. He can't scale the cliff, unless he comes up the path; and, if
+he tries that, I'll be here to stop him."
+
+Frank did not usually spend as many minutes in getting ready for a shot
+as he did on this particular evening. On ordinary occasions, his rifle
+was at his shoulder the instant the game appeared in sight; and one
+quick glance along the barrel made him sure of his aim. But this was not
+an ordinary occasion. He was working for his supper now, there were
+enemies all around him, and it was rapidly growing dark. He must kill
+the elk at the first shot, secure a portion of it (the animal was so
+large and heavy he knew he could not carry it all), and make his way
+back to the Old Bear's Hole without the loss of a single minute. He
+raised his rifle and took a long and deliberate aim at the buck, and
+just then the animal bounded across the spring and came leisurely up
+the path. For a single second his breast presented a fair mark; but
+that second was long enough for Frank. The rifle cracked sharply, and
+the elk, turning in his tracks, made one tremendous bound, and, leaping
+clear across the ledge, disappeared among the trees which lined the
+sides of the gorge. Frank's supper was not all right, after all.
+
+"Now just look at that!" he exclaimed, in a tone of great
+disappointment. "When one is in a hurry, something always happens to
+trouble him. The deer is dead enough, but what good will he do me as
+long as he lies at the bottom of the gully?"
+
+As Frank said this, he jumped to his feet, and, running down the path,
+looked over the ledge. The bushes were so thick that he could not see
+the bottom of the gorge; but there were drops of blood on the leaves,
+and Frank knew that the fall had proved fatal to the buck, even if the
+shot had not. What plan could he contrive to descend into the ravine was
+the question that troubled him now; and it was one that was asked and
+answered almost in the same breath. He chanced to look toward the top
+of the cliff, and was frightened nearly out of his senses when he
+discovered two Indians advancing toward him with stealthy footsteps. He
+was now in the same situation in which the elk had been but a moment
+before, with this slight difference: He was conscious of the presence of
+his enemies, while the first intimation of danger the buck had was,
+receiving the ball in his breast. There was no place of concealment on
+the ledge, and he had his choice between two courses of action: One was
+to ascend the path in the face of the Indians, and the other to jump
+over into the ravine. He was not long in coming to a decision. He took a
+single glance at the Indians, and, seeing that one of them was in the
+act of raising his gun to take aim at him, he tightened his grasp on his
+rifle, which he held in his left hand, and seizing with his right the
+bushes that grew on the edge of the precipice, he fearlessly threw
+himself into the gorge, while the bullet that was intended for him sped
+harmlessly through the empty air. The Indian was just a moment too late.
+
+Both savages uttered loud yells of astonishment as they witnessed this
+act of desperation, and, bounding swiftly down the path, they leaned
+over the rocks to see what had become of the reckless young hunter. The
+bushes, by the aid of which he had swung himself over the precipice,
+sprang back to their place, but Frank was nowhere to be seen. The
+Indians thought, no doubt, that he had paid for his temerity with his
+life, and that he was lying mangled and bleeding at the bottom of the
+gorge; but could they have looked under the overhanging rock on which
+they were kneeling, they would have seen him standing erect and unharmed
+about ten feet below them, with his rifle clubbed, ready to strike the
+first of his foes who came in sight. His attempt at escape was not so
+reckless as the Indians imagined it to be. While standing on the ledge,
+he noticed that the branches of a tree, which grew at the bottom of the
+ravine, extended almost to the top of the precipice, and he thought he
+could jump into them with perfect safety. Still he hesitated to try it,
+until he discovered the Indians, and then he found that he had no
+alternative. To assist him in his descent, and to render the attempt
+less hazardous, he made use of the bushes, which, contrary to his
+calculations, swung with him far below the top of the tree, and out of
+reach of it. This proved, however, to be a point in his favor; for, to
+his great surprise and delight, he landed on a broad, flat rock, which
+was effectually concealed from the view of the Indians by the
+overhanging cliff. It seemed as if this way of escape had been prepared
+expressly for him. If he had built the cliff himself he could not have
+devised a better hiding-place. His enemies, even if they discovered him,
+could not climb up to him from the bottom of the cliff, for it was so
+steep that a mountain-goat could scarcely have found footing thereon;
+and if they descended to him from above, he would shoot the first one
+who came in sight.
+
+"I am all right yet," thought the young hunter, drawing a long breath of
+relief, and feeling for his powder-horn. "There is only one way in which
+the Indians can get the better of me, and that is by starving me out.
+Adam must go without his supper to-night, for I have business on my
+hands that will----"
+
+Frank paused in his soliloquy, and his face once more grew pale with
+terror. He could find no ammunition for his rifle. When Adam removed the
+powder-horn and bullet-pouch from the person of the outlaw, he had
+thrown them over his own shoulders, and there they were now. Frank had
+left his companion without thinking to ask for them. He was in something
+of a predicament, standing, as he was, almost within reach of two
+hostile Indians, and without even a charge of powder or a bullet for his
+rifle. A movement at the top of the cliff drew his thoughts from himself
+to his enemies. They leaned over the precipice and conversed earnestly
+for a few minutes, and then one of them sprang into the air and landed
+in the branches of the tree. Fortunately his back was turned toward
+Frank, and this gave the latter an opportunity to conceal himself, which
+he quickly did. The savage, little dreaming that the object of his
+search was so near to him, descended the tree and disappeared among the
+bushes which lined the sides of the gorge.
+
+While Frank was waiting to see what the other Indian was going to do, he
+was sure that he heard the sound of a desperate struggle at the bottom
+of the ravine. It continued but a moment, and then all was still again.
+He might have been mistaken in this, but still he was certain that
+something had happened down there, and so was the Indian, who, after
+waiting nearly ten minutes for the report of his companion, uttered some
+words in the Indian tongue. An answer came from below, and the savage
+sprang into the tree and quickly descended to the bottom of the gorge.
+Frank thought he had gone down to assist in cutting up the buck; but if
+that was his intention, he did not carry it out. His companion had been
+tomahawked the moment he reached the foot of the tree, and a like fate
+was in store for him. Two trappers, one of them in the disguise of an
+Indian, were concealed among the bushes in the ravine, awaiting his
+appearance. The wary savage, always on the lookout for danger,
+discovered his foes, but just a moment too late. The report of a rifle
+rang through the mountains, and the Indian, falling headlong to the
+ground, was instantly pounced up by the trappers, and dispatched as if
+he had been a rabid wolf. Frank's ears told him what had been going on,
+and his heart beat high with hope. Friends were near, and he was certain
+that he knew who they were. Without stopping to consider that there
+might be more Indians in the vicinity, who would be attracted by the
+sound of his voice, he called out: "Dick Lewis!"
+
+There was silence for a moment, and then came the reply: "Show yourself,
+you keerless feller!"
+
+Frank, too overjoyed to speak again, was on his feet in an instant, and
+preparing to descend into the ravine. There was but one way to
+accomplish this, and that was to spring into the tree. It was a long
+jump from where he stood, and, if he failed to catch one of the limbs,
+or if it proved too weak to sustain his weight, he would fall forty or
+fifty feet. But Frank did not stop to think of this. Grasping his rifle
+tightly in one hand, he sprang into the air, and, by the aid of a
+friendly branch, swung down to the body of the tree in safety. In a
+moment more he was standing between Dick and Bob, who were wringing his
+hands with an energy that brought the tears to his eyes.
+
+But little time was wasted in explanations. Frank told the trappers that
+he had left Adam at the Old Bear's Hole, and that he had come out in
+search of his supper; and Dick told him that he and Bob were traveling
+through the ravine, on their way to the cave, when they heard the report
+of the rifle and saw the buck fall over the precipice. They also heard
+the voices of the Indians on the cliff, and, supposing that they owned
+the game, and that they would be likely to descend into the ravine to
+secure it, they concealed themselves in the bushes to await their
+appearance. The first savage who came down the tree was easily
+overpowered; and when his companion called out: "Do you see any thing of
+the white man?" (that was the first intimation the trappers had that
+there was a white hunter about) Dick replied: "Yes; he's here, but I
+can't get at him." "That brought the Injun down, you see," said the
+latter, in conclusion, "an' when he come in sight, we sent him where
+he'll never get a chance to attack any more peaceable tradin'-posts,
+I'll bet a hoss. Fetch along the mustang, Bob, an' we'll start for the
+Ole Bar's Hole."
+
+The horse was brought up, and Frank fairly danced with delight when he
+found that it was Roderick. The animal recognized his master, and
+answered his caresses by rubbing his head against his shoulder. Frank
+sprang upon his back, and the trappers, after they had raised the elk
+from the ground and placed it before him, led the way toward the cave.
+It was quite dark when they arrived within sight of it, but Dick knew in
+an instant that there was something wrong; and so did Bob, who placed
+his hand on his companion's shoulder and pointed toward the top of the
+cliff.
+
+"My eyes aint as good as they used to be," said he, "but if that aint an
+Injun up thar, I never seed one."
+
+"An' if that aint one of Black Bill's mates standin' at the foot of the
+cliff, may I be shot!" added Dick.
+
+"Then they've tracked us, after all the trouble we took to throw them
+off our trail!" whispered Frank, in great excitement. "Who knows but
+that they have captured Adam?"
+
+"If they have, we'll soon turn him loose," replied Dick. "Now,
+youngster, you stay here, an' me an' Bob will creep up an' take a look
+at things. If thar aint nobody in the cave except Black Bill an' his
+friends, we'll clean 'em out in a hurry. We've got a long account to
+settle with one of them fellers, an' this is jest the time to do it."
+
+The trappers stole off in the darkness, and Frank sat on his horse and
+awaited the issue of events with feelings that can not be described. He
+saw Dick and Bob creep noiselessly upon the outlaw who stood at the foot
+of the cliff, and seize, gag, and bind him; and so silently was the
+whole operation performed, in spite of the man's furious struggles, that
+he did not hear even a leaf rustle. One enemy had been disposed of; but
+there were still three others, besides the Indian, to be overcome.
+
+"If I had a load for my rifle I wouldn't sit here long," said Frank, to
+himself. "I know there will be a desperate fight in that cave if Black
+Bill is there, and perhaps just one bullet may be needed to decide the
+battle in our favor. What in the world was that?"
+
+A thin sheet of flame, followed by a dense volume of smoke, suddenly
+arose from the mouth of the upper passage-way. The moment's silence
+that succeeded was broken by cries of pain and loud yells of anger, and
+through the smoke, which settled like a cloud over the cliff, the Indian
+appeared, running at the top of his speed, as if badly frightened at
+something, and directing his course toward a thicket of bushes at the
+opposite side of the ravine. The thought that it was the Black Fox had
+scarcely passed through Frank's mind when he discovered that there were
+two horses tied to the bushes, and that the Indian was running toward
+them, evidently with the intention of mounting one of them and making
+good his escape. Frank leaned forward to obtain a better view of the
+animals, and, in a moment more, the elk had been pitched to the ground,
+and Roderick was flying down the ravine with the speed of the wind.
+
+"Stop, you Black Fox!" shouted Frank, swinging his rifle around his head
+and giving vent to a yell that awoke the echoes far and near. "I've got
+something to say about this business."
+
+One of the horses was Pete, and the other was King James. While
+Roderick had been faithfully serving the trappers--he had carried Dick
+Lewis through that desperate hand-to-hand fight at the fort, and, like
+him, escaped without a single injury--his swift rival had been equally
+faithful to one of the outlaws. Black Bill had captured him from one of
+the soldiers during the fight, and, recognizing Dick's massive form
+among the struggling horsemen, he had made every exertion to come to
+close quarters with him. Roderick moved so swiftly, however, that the
+black could not overtake him; and perhaps that was a fortunate thing for
+the outlaw, if he had only known it. While Dick was cutting his way
+through the ranks of the Indians, he was keeping a bright lookout for
+Black Bill, and if he could have found him, and brought him within reach
+of the cavalry saber which he was wielding with such telling effect, he
+would have put a sudden stop to his career of depredation. Pete had
+carried Black Bill many a long mile since his master last saw him; but
+now he seemed in a fair way to fall into the hands of his rightful
+owner.
+
+"Stop, I tell you!" shouted Frank, again. "You are at the end of your
+rope now, my hearty."
+
+The young Indian heard the order, but paid no attention to it. He ran
+directly to the horses, and, springing upon King James's back, cut the
+lasso, with which he was tied, with his knife, and went tearing down the
+ravine, with Frank in hot pursuit. The time had come now to decide the
+question which had been so long in dispute. This was to be a fair race,
+and Frank wished his cousin had been there to witness it, for he was
+sure of a victory.
+
+A few of Roderick's long bounds carried him through the willows and out
+on the prairie, where Frank discovered the Indian, almost a hundred
+yards distant, lying flat along his horse's neck, one hand twisted in
+his mane, and the other swinging the lasso, which he now and then
+brought down on the black's side with a sounding whack. Roderick seemed
+to know what was expected of him, for he increased his speed the moment
+he emerged from the willows, and then the race began in earnest. The
+gray gained from the start, and rapidly, too; and, before half a mile
+had been accomplished, Frank was so close to the object of his pursuit
+that he leaned forward to catch him by the scalp-lock.
+
+"I guess you'll stop now, Indian!" he exclaimed. "Well, it makes no
+difference to me which way you take it, on foot or on horseback, for I
+can beat you."
+
+The Indian, for once, was a little too quick for Frank. Slipping like an
+eel out of his grasp, he threw himself from his horse without attempting
+to check his headlong speed, and, landing safely on his feet, started
+back toward the willows. Frank was on the ground almost at the same
+instant; and then began another race, which, like the one that had come
+off the day before at the Indian camp, was decided in favor of the
+fleet-footed young hunter. The Black Fox, however, was desperate to the
+last; and, after the race, a fight ensued. One quick, determined blow
+with the rifle knocked the knife from the savage's hand; but that was
+not the end of the matter--it was only the beginning of it. The young
+warrior's strength and agility seemed to have increased wonderfully
+since their last meeting, and the struggle, which continued at least ten
+minutes, was decided only by Frank's superior powers of endurance. He
+came off with flying colors; and when he helped his prisoner to his
+feet, his arms were fastened behind his back with his own belt.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+ADAM BESIEGED.
+
+
+For a quarter of an hour after Frank left him, Adam worked
+industriously, collecting a supply of wood for the fire, which he piled
+at the entrance to the passage-way. The next thing to be done was to
+ascertain whether or not the cave was a safe place for them to camp
+during the night. One enemy had been dislodged by the smoke, but there
+might be others in there for all he knew. The only way to find out was
+to go in and see; and this Adam prepared to do.
+
+Having satisfied himself that his knife and hatchet were safe in his
+belt, he grasped a lighted pine-knot in one hand to serve as a torch,
+and holding in the other the bow, and half a dozen arrows which he had
+selected from the quiver, he crawled down into the passage-way. The
+thought that he was about to enter the cave which, but a few minutes
+before, had been the home of a panther, made him tremble so violently
+that the torch shook in his hand. He worked his way along very slowly
+and cautiously, stopping every few feet to examine the ground before
+him, and finally reached the foot of the passage-way without having
+discovered any thing at which to be alarmed. There was the panther's bed
+on the withered hemlock boughs which, in days gone by, had served Dick
+and Bill Lawson for a couch; but the panther himself was gone. The cave
+appeared to be empty, but it was not so in reality. Had Adam raised his
+torch above his head and examined the sides of the cavern closely, he
+would have discovered something crouching behind a projecting rock,
+about ten feet above the floor of the cave, and might have seen the eyes
+which glared down at him through the darkness.
+
+"This will do nicely," said Adam to himself. "There is a little too much
+smoke in here just now for comfort, but that will soon pass out. If the
+outlaws track us here, and come in at one of the passage-ways, we can
+go out at the other; and if they surround us, so that we can't get out
+at all, we can climb up the sides of the cave and hide among those
+rocks."
+
+So saying, Adam began making preparations for the night. He threw down
+his weapons, stuck his torch into the ground, and ascended out of the
+cave to bring down the wood which he had collected. In a few minutes a
+fire was blazing brightly in the center of the Old Bear's Hole (the
+passage that led to the top of the hill answered all the purposes of a
+chimney), a quantity of wood sufficient to keep it burning all night was
+piled in one corner, and Adam sat on the hemlock boughs whittling out
+some spits on which to cook the supper when Frank brought it in. All
+this while that dark object behind the rocks had been looking down at
+him, closely watching every move he made.
+
+When the spits were finished, Adam went out of the cave to look for
+Frank. He began to think that if the big-horns were as plenty about
+there as his friend had represented them to be, he was a long time in
+finding one. His impatience soon gave way to anxiety; and when at last
+it grew quite dark, and Frank did not make his appearance, he became
+alarmed. He could not go out to look for him, for he did not know the
+direction in which he had gone; and, besides, he might get bewildered in
+the darkness, and be unable to find his way back to the cave. For two
+hours he kept watch at the top of the hill--as Dick, years before, had
+kept watch for the return of Bill Lawson--listening in vain for the
+sound of Frank's footsteps, and then he reluctantly came to the
+conclusion that he was destined to pass the night alone and supperless.
+He did not mind the loss of his supper so much, but he knew he would be
+lonesome down there in that gloomy cavern, with no one to talk to. He
+felt the need of companionship; and, more than that, he was harassed by
+the fear that Frank had fallen into some danger.
+
+"There is but one thing that I can do," he soliloquized, "and that is to
+wait until daylight and follow his trail. I'll never make another step
+toward Fort Benton until I know what has become of him. It would be a
+cowardly piece of business in me to desert him, after what he has done
+for me."
+
+Adam's first care was to make his camp secure against any visitors he
+might chance to have during the night. The bright fire which was burning
+in the cave, and which shone out at the mouth of the passage-way,
+lighting up the bushes all around, was just the thing to keep off
+four-footed enemies, but it might serve to guide the outlaws, whom he
+feared more than bears or panthers, to his place of retreat. The light
+must be covered; and that could be easily done, for there was the log
+which the trappers had more than once used to conceal this entrance to
+the Old Bear's Hole. Adam rolled it close to the opening, and, after
+listening again to make sure that Frank was not approaching, he backed
+down into the passage-way and pulled the log over it, leaving only a
+small opening for the passage of smoke.
+
+For the next half hour Adam was miserable enough. He lay upon the
+boughs, gazing into the fire and thinking over his adventures, now and
+then raising his head to listen for Frank's footsteps--once or twice
+almost certain that he heard his voice--and finally he fell into an
+uneasy slumber. When he awoke, it was with a start and a presentiment
+of evil. He knew he heard a voice now, but it was not Frank's voice.
+Starting up in alarm, he grasped the bow which lay close at his side,
+and looked up the passage-way in the direction from which the voice
+came. A cold sweat started out all over him, and he trembled in every
+limb when he saw that the log which he had placed over the opening had
+been removed, and that two men were leaning over it, peering down into
+the cave. The fire had burned out, leaving only a bed of smoldering
+coals; consequently it was dark in the Old Bear's Hole, and Adam was
+sure the men could not see him, although he could observe every move
+they made, and could even distinguish their features. The men were Black
+Bill and his friends.
+
+"Wal, I reckon we've run yer cubs to earth at last," said a gruff voice.
+"They're thar easy enough, 'cause I can see a fire an' smell smoke."
+
+"Yes," assented Black Bill, "they're thar, an' we'll jest go down an'
+fetch 'em out."
+
+"Mebbe it aint them at all," said another of the outlaws. "P'raps it's
+Dick Lewis and Bob Kelly."
+
+"No, I reckon it aint nobody but the boys," replied Black Bill. "Haint
+we follered their trail all the way, an' did we see any signs of Dick
+and Bob? Say, you, Adam, an' you other feller!" he shouted, "we've got
+you, an' you can jest give up without any fussin' or foolin'. Hear me,
+don't you?"
+
+Adam did hear him. He thought he could have heard that stentorian voice
+very distinctly if he had been half a mile distant; but he did not make
+any reply. He was well satisfied of one thing, and that was that Black
+Bill, boldly as he spoke, was in no hurry to enter the cave. The latter
+could not forget that the boys had possession of his rifle and
+ammunition; and, from what he had seen of them, he did not think it
+likely that they would hesitate to use the weapon in an emergency. This
+view of the case was confirmed by the next words the outlaw uttered.
+
+"You needn't keep so still down thar!" he shouted. "We've got you fast
+enough, an' if you don't hand up that rifle an' come up out o' that,
+it'll be wuss fur you."
+
+If the outlaws had known that Adam was alone in the cave, and that the
+rifle they so much dreaded was a long way from there, they would not
+have spent many minutes in settling matters. They waited and listened
+for a reply, and then Adam saw Black Bill's burly form darken the
+opening. He was tired of waiting for Adam; and since the latter would
+not come up, he had decided to go down after him. The boy saw that it
+was high time he was doing something.
+
+"Hallo, up there!" he exclaimed, as if he had just awakened from a sound
+sleep; "who's that? Frank, Dick, Bob, wake up! There's somebody coming
+down the passage-way."
+
+By the time these words were spoken, there was no one in the
+passage-way, or even in sight. Black Bill had crawled back to the top of
+the hill with all possible speed. He believed now that his man was right
+in his conjectures--that the trappers, of whom he stood so much in fear,
+were in the cave with the boys, and that it would not be quite safe for
+him to go among them. He said nothing until he had rolled the log over
+the opening, thus putting it out of the power of his enemies to ascend
+out of the cave to attack him, even should they feel so disposed, and
+then he exclaimed, in an exultant tone:
+
+"We've got you all jest where we want you. It wont take us long to
+settle up our accounts. Thar won't be enough of you left to go on
+another tradin' expedition by the time we are done with you."
+
+During the next ten minutes Adam sat on his bed of boughs, listening
+intently, and wondering what would come next. The outlaws were holding a
+consultation. He could hear them conversing in low tones, but could not
+understand what they said. After a long and earnest debate, they seemed
+to have come to some decision, for the sound of their voices ceased, and
+Adam heard them moving down the hill. The next sound that reached his
+ears came through the lower passage-way--a rustling sound, as if some
+one was crawling toward the cave; but Adam knew it was not that. He was
+well aware that the outlaws could not be induced to enter the Old Bear's
+Hole as long as they supposed that Dick and Bob were there, for there
+was not one among them who was brave enough to meet either of the
+trappers in a fair contest. They had determined to compel them to come
+out of their hiding-place, so that they could overpower them by their
+superior numbers. In order to accomplish this, they adopted the same
+plan to which the boys had resorted to drive out the panther. But Adam
+was not a wild animal, to be frightened out of his snug harboring-place
+by a little smoke. He thought he knew how to beat the outlaws at their
+own game; and, while they were employed in filling the passage-way with
+leaves and pine-knots, he went to work to stop the draft so that the
+fire would not burn. The lower passage-way, where it entered the cave,
+was about two feet square; and it was a matter of but little difficulty
+for him to close the opening by cramming the hemlock boughs into it.
+When the work was done, he surveyed it with a smile of satisfaction, and
+told himself that the outlaws would have a fine time smoking him out.
+
+Having finished the task of blocking up the passage-way, Adam spread his
+hunting-shirt upon the ground, and began cutting the garment into
+strips with his knife. The pieces, when tied together, formed a rope
+about fifteen feet in length; and in one end of it was a running noose.
+Adam then threw a pine-knot upon the fire, and when it blazed up so that
+he could distinguish objects in the cave, he coiled the rope in his
+hand, and, after one or two failures, succeeded in throwing the noose
+around a projecting point of rock about ten feet above his head. As the
+noose settled down over the rock, something glided from behind it, and
+stole noiselessly up the side of the cave; but Adam did not see it. It
+was dark up there, and he was too deeply interested in his work to
+notice any thing. In order to make sure that the rope was strong enough
+to sustain his weight, he ascended it hand-over-hand, and climbed upon
+the rock.
+
+"This is just the place," said he, to himself. "Black Bill will not be
+long in finding out that I am alone here, and then, of course, he will
+come in. I can't whip him and his three mates, so when I see him coming,
+I will climb up the rope, and hide behind this rock. He'll never
+discover me, unless he comes up here; and if he tries that I'll begin
+to fight. I'll show him that he's got a nephew who isn't afraid of him,
+if he is an outlaw and a desperado."
+
+Adam slid down the rope again, and busied himself in collecting his
+weapons, and getting every thing in readiness, so that when the time
+came for him to retreat, he could ascend to his hiding-place without an
+instant's delay. Then, for the first time, he discovered that Frank had
+gone off without any ammunition for his rifle. The powder-horn and
+bullet-pouch were still hanging over his shoulder, where they had been
+ever since he and Frank escaped from the outlaws. How careless they had
+both been! What a reckless piece of business it was for a hunter to go
+off alone in the mountains, with only one load in his rifle! Frank might
+have run into some danger from which a single extra charge of powder
+would have saved him. But no amount of regrets could now place the
+ammunition in his friend's hands; and after a few seconds reflection,
+Adam thought that perhaps what had been Frank's loss might be his
+gain--that the powder, at least, might be made to serve him a good
+turn. An idea came into his head, and no sooner was it conceived than he
+set about putting it into execution. Stepping to the place where the
+upper passage-way opened into the cave, he pulled the stopper from the
+powder-horn, and poured nearly all its contents in a pile upon the
+rocks. With that which was left in the horn, he laid a train from the
+pile to the middle of the cave. When he had done this, he felt greatly
+encouraged. He believed that if he had a few more pounds of powder, and
+a supply of provisions and water, he could hold the Old Bear's Hole
+against all the enemies Black Bill could bring against it.
+
+While Adam was thus employed on the inside of the cave, the outlaws were
+equally busy on the outside. They had filled the passage-way with
+leaves, and after a fire had been started in them, Black Bill and two of
+his men went up the hill to tell the occupants of the cave what they had
+done, and to demand their surrender. The outlaws had left some one at
+the upper passage-way to watch it during their absence. It was the Black
+Fox, who, shortly after his fight with Frank, had found and joined
+Black Bill's party. He had a piece of news to communicate to the
+outlaws, and that was that Adam was alone in the cave. He had kept a
+close watch down the passage-way, and had seen Adam moving about--it was
+so dark that he could not tell what he was doing--and he had seen no one
+else. He did not believe that Dick and Bob were down there, and, after
+Black Bill had listened to his story, he did not believe it either. With
+angry haste he pulled away the log which he had rolled over the mouth of
+the passage-way, and shouted:
+
+"You Adam Brent! You can't fool me no longer. I know jest how the matter
+stands; you're alone down thar. Pass up that rifle an' come out, or I'll
+be down arter you."
+
+Adam, as before, had nothing to say until the outlaw, enraged at his
+silence, began making preparations to descend into the cave; and then he
+called out:
+
+"Black Bill, can you hear what I say?"
+
+"Do you hear what _I_ say?" asked the outlaw, in reply. "Come up out o'
+that."
+
+"Listen to me," said Adam. "We are not going up there----"
+
+"_We!_" interrupted the outlaw; "thar aint nobody down thar but you. If
+Dick an' Bob are in the cave, why don't they speak?"
+
+"Their rifles will speak sooner than you care to hear them. We are all
+ready for you, and the first man who comes down here will be blown in
+pieces. We've got something that you don't know any thing about."
+
+Adam knew, by the silence which followed, that his words had not been
+without their effect upon the outlaws. They were cowards at heart, and
+they dreaded to face an unknown danger. They talked together in a low
+tone for a few minutes, and then Black Bill began to descend into the
+cave, his actions indicating that he was thoroughly in earnest this
+time, and that there was to be no backing out, no matter what perils he
+might encounter.
+
+"Stop!" shouted Adam, who plainly saw that something was going to
+happen. He was standing near the fire, holding in his hand one of the
+spits on which he had intended to cook his supper. He was ready to put
+it to a different use now, for one end of it was blazing, and he stood
+within reach of the train of powder. "Stop!" he repeated, in a still
+louder tone. "I am not going to be captured again, and I give you fair
+warning that, if you come into this cave, I will blow you up. Don't come
+a step nearer."
+
+Black Bill was too angry to heed the warning. He growled out a savage
+reply, and came on down the passage-way, followed by both his
+companions. It required the exercise of all the courage Adam possessed
+to stand there and await their approach, but he did it; and when Black
+Bill was directly over the pile of powder, he threw his burning spit
+upon the train. There was a quick flash which lighted up the interior of
+the Old Bear's Hole as bright as noon-day, and a great volume of smoke
+arose and filled the cavern. For an instant there was silence in the
+cave; then a frightful yell rang through the passage-way, followed by a
+volley of oaths, and threats of vengeance that made Adam's blood run
+cold. He had all the while been aware that the powder was not sufficient
+in quantity to do the outlaws any great damage. He had hoped that it
+would frighten them, but it had a directly opposite effect. They were
+almost beside themselves with rage now, especially Black Bill, who had
+suffered more severely than either of his companions. When he came into
+the cave he carried his knife in his hand, and was in just the humor to
+use it upon something.
+
+"Start up this fire, one of you, an' give us a light here," said he, in
+a voice choked with passion. "Jack, watch that hole, an' be sure that he
+don't slip by you."
+
+The smoke which filled the cave soon passed out; and when the wood,
+which had been thrown upon the fire, blazed up so that the outlaws could
+distinguish objects about them, they were not a little amazed to find
+that the Old Bear's Hole was empty. Their plucky enemy, who, alone and
+unaided, had held them at bay for more than an hour, had disappeared.
+Adam was where he could see them, however, and he took particular notice
+of the outlaws' faces. Black Bill's eye-brows had disappeared
+altogether, and so had his whiskers and moustache. His 'coon-skin cap
+and hunting-shirt were badly burned, and his face was blacker than ever
+from the effects of the powder. His two companions had also suffered
+severely, and Adam did not wonder that they were angry.
+
+"Where is he?" exclaimed Black Bill, in great perplexity. "He couldn't
+have gone out through this other hole, 'cause it's stopped up. Ah! I see
+where he is. Come down out o' that."
+
+The outlaw was looking straight at the bowlder behind which Adam was
+concealed; but the latter, knowing that he had not discovered him, kept
+perfectly quiet. He had made up his mind to fight in earnest now, and
+was ready to give his enemies a warm reception, if they attempted to
+drag him from his hiding-place.
+
+"I haint agoin' to waste no more words with you," said Black Bill,
+savagely. "I'll snake you down from thar, an' split your wizzen fur you;
+that's what I'll do."
+
+The outlaw placed his knife between his teeth, and snatching one of the
+pine knots from the fire, began the ascent of the rocks. As they were
+almost perpendicular, that was a task of some difficulty; but, with the
+assistance of his men, he was at last able to grasp the bowlder, and
+draw himself up until he could look over it. Adam was there. He was
+lying flat on his back with his bow drawn, and the moment the outlaw's
+head appeared in view, he discharged an arrow at him. The missile passed
+through his cap, and sent it whirling to the floor.
+
+"Here you are!" shouted Black Bill. "You'll never have a chance to draw
+an arrer or any thing else on me agin."
+
+Adam knew by the expression he saw on the outlaw's face, that he had
+something worse than captivity to fear now. His enemy swung himself over
+the bowlder, and was on the point of springing down upon the boy, when
+his movements were arrested by a savage growl which seemed to come from
+the rocks directly over his head. The next instant a dark object bounded
+through the air, and alighting on Black Bill's shoulders, fastened its
+teeth in his throat, and fell with him headlong to the ground. Adam saw
+it as it passed over him, and knew that it was a panther--the mate to
+the one he had smoked out of the cave.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+DICK IN A NEW CHARACTER.
+
+
+Let us now return to Archie, whom we left in Black Bill's wigwam. He was
+very much disheartened at the result of his cousin's bold attempt to
+release him, but knowing that it was useless to repine, or to attempt
+resistance, he submitted to his fate with all the fortitude he could
+command, and allowed the outlaw to bind him hand and foot.
+
+"You said I couldn't keep you pris'ner, didn't you?" said Black Bill,
+fiercely; "now I'm goin' to show you. If you can break that buckskin,
+you're a hoss."
+
+"I don't see what you want with me, anyhow," returned Archie. "I am not
+Adam Brent, and, more than that, I never saw or heard of him until three
+days ago."
+
+"Keep your breath to cool your porridge," said the outlaw, as he
+stretched himself on a pile of skins near his prisoner, "'cause it aint
+no 'arthly use to waste it in talkin' to me. I'm too ole a 'coon to let
+a boy like you pull the wool over my eyes. Don't I know that nose of
+your'n, an' that har, an' that black face? I could pick you out among a
+million. Now, I am goin' to sleep, an' you had better do the same."
+
+This command was uttered in a very savage tone of voice, and Archie,
+knowing that it would be the height of folly to enrage the outlaw by
+disregarding his wishes, turned over on his bed to find an easy
+position, and held his peace; but sleep for him was quite out of the
+question. Black Bill slept, however, and snored lustily for half an
+hour; and then he suddenly awoke and started up with an ejaculation of
+wonder. Almost at the same instant a yell rang out on the air, followed
+by the report of a rifle, which brought the outlaw to his feet in great
+haste.
+
+"What's the matter out there?" asked Archie, who speedily became aware
+that there was something unusual going on in the camp.
+
+"We're attacked!" exclaimed Black Bill, in great excitement. "Them
+fellers at the fort are either mighty reckless, or else they've got help
+from somewhere. They're pitchin' into us, that's sartin."
+
+As the outlaw spoke, the report of a volley of fire-arms rang through
+the ravine, followed by yells, and the hurrying of feet outside the
+lodge. Black Bill tore open the door, and looking out, began a rapid
+conversation with some one. It proved to be the Black Fox, who came in,
+and hastily untying Archie's feet, grasped him by the collar, and
+hurried him out of the lodge. Black Bill caught him up in his arms as he
+came out, and placed him upon the back of a mustang, which was standing
+in front of the door; after which the young Indian seized the bridle,
+and led the animal off at a rapid trot.
+
+As soon as Archie had time to look about him, he found that the outlaw
+had not been mistaken in his conjectures. The confusion in the camp was
+increasing every moment. The reports of the rifles rang out louder and
+clearer, showing that the attacking party was gaining ground rapidly;
+men, women, and children, surprised and terrified by the suddenness of
+the assault, ran through the village in all directions, some with packs
+on their backs containing their household goods, others empty-handed,
+and too intent on making good their escape to think of any thing else,
+and all hurrying at the best of their speed toward the mountains. The
+flames were already ascending from the lower end of the village, and by
+the light which they gave out, Archie discovered that the attacking
+party was composed of trappers, and that they were coming directly
+toward him, sweeping every thing before them. The hope that they would
+see and recognize him was short-lived; for the Black Fox plunged at once
+into the midst of the flying crowd, and a very few minutes sufficed for
+him to conduct his prisoner into the woods.
+
+The fight at the village, if such it could be called, was over almost as
+soon as it began. The trappers, whose only desire was to release Dick
+Lewis, passed rapidly through the camp, looking in vain for the object
+of their search, and then turned and retreated toward the fort, thus
+extinguishing the last spark of hope which their appearance had raised
+in the breast of the prisoner. Scarcely had their shouts died away in
+the distance, when a chorus of yells arose in another direction; and the
+retreating Indians, one and all, faced about, and hurried back to the
+camp. Those yells produced a great change in them, for their terror gave
+away instantly to the wildest delight, which they expressed in all
+possible ways. The Black Fox, who still held fast to the horse on which
+Archie was mounted, shouted until he was too hoarse to speak plainly,
+and then triumphantly announced:
+
+"More Indian coming. Burn fort now, sure."
+
+When Archie arrived within sight of the camp, his heart stood still, and
+he trembled for the safety of his friends at the trading-post. A cloud
+of braves in war-costume--five hundred of them at least--was moving
+through the burning village in the direction the trappers had gone--the
+horses running at the top of their speed, and their riders swinging
+their weapons around their heads, and yelling like madmen. These were
+the reinforcements the chief had been expecting; and now that they had
+arrived, Archie knew that the attack on the fort would not be long
+delayed. It was commenced that very hour; and when it was over, some one
+brought him tidings of the result.
+
+When the reinforcements had passed out of sight, the Indians who had
+fled before the trappers ran into the village, and busied themselves in
+pulling down the wigwams to stay the progress of the flames. This was a
+matter in which the Black Fox was not interested. He had no property to
+save, but he had a prisoner to watch, and to this duty he gave his whole
+attention. Stopping in the edge of the woods, he tied the mustang to a
+tree, and seizing Archie by the shoulders, pulled him rather roughly to
+the ground; after which he spread his blanket on the leaves, and settled
+into a comfortable position to observe what was going on in the village.
+He was very talkative, and entertained his captive with a glowing
+description of the manner in which the Indians would overcome the
+garrison, and the way they would dispose of their prisoners; but
+finding that Archie was in no humor to listen to him, he finally
+relapsed into silence.
+
+At the end of two hours--two long, dreary hours they were, during which
+Archie was a prey to the most gloomy thoughts--he was aroused from a
+reverie into which he had fallen, by the movements of the Black Fox, who
+jumped to his feet, and gazed earnestly toward a group of warriors who
+had just emerged from the ravine. Archie thought they acted very
+strangely. Some of them walked with feeble, tottering steps, as if they
+scarcely possessed the strength to retain an upright position, while
+others reeled about like drunken men. He looked toward the young Indian
+for an explanation.
+
+"Much hurt," said the latter; then, fearing that his prisoner might not
+understand him, he struck himself on various parts of his body with his
+hand, raised his bow to his shoulder as if it had been a gun, and
+imitated the motions a person would make in using a saber. From this
+Archie knew that the warriors had been wounded, and that they had
+received their injuries during the battle at the fort. This was enough
+to put him into a fever of suspense. He wanted to know if the Indians
+had been successful, and he wished some of the braves would tell him;
+but they did not seem disposed to do any thing of the kind. They did not
+even notice their friends, but threw themselves upon the ground, and
+wrapping their blankets around their heads, suffered in silence.
+
+"Which side whipped?" asked Archie, at length.
+
+"Indian," replied the Black Fox.
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"O, Indian always whip white man."
+
+"No, Indian doesn't. He gets thrashed sometimes, and badly, too. He
+couldn't whip the trappers who set fire to that camp, a little while
+ago."
+
+The young savage did not appear to be in a mood to discuss the matter,
+and Archie, with his feelings worked up to the highest pitch of
+excitement, twisted about uneasily, and waited to see if there were any
+prisoners brought in. The wounded Indians, in the meantime came in
+rapidly, and in a few minutes there were so many disabled warriors lying
+about him, that Archie began to believe that the fight had resulted in a
+decided victory for the defenders of the fort. Among the wounded savages
+was one who attracted Archie's attention; and if he had been a white
+man, or even a friendly Indian, he would have felt the keenest sympathy
+for his distress. He was a tall, broad-shouldered, powerful-looking
+fellow, badly injured, if one might judge by the looks of his face, and
+the pain occasioned by his wounds seemed to be so intense that he could
+neither sit, lie, nor stand still, even for a moment. He would seat
+himself on the ground, and rock back and forth for awhile, then stretch
+out at full length, and thrash about uneasily, and finally spring to his
+feet, and look around for another resting-place. At length he walked
+rapidly toward the Black Fox, who, thinking that it might not be quite
+safe to trust himself within reach of a man driven nearly frantic with
+pain, jumped up, and retreated a few steps. This seemed to be just what
+the wounded man wanted; for he took possession of the young Indian's
+blanket, and, wrapping it around his head, lay down upon the ground.
+
+If the owner of the blanket was angry, he did not show it. He stood
+looking at the warrior a moment, and then an idea occurred to him which
+he announced to Archie in his broken English. There was no danger that
+the latter would escape while the Indians were all around him, he said,
+and he would go to the village and make some inquiries concerning the
+fight. It might be well for Archie to keep perfectly quiet during his
+absence, he added, for there was the wounded Indian, who was in just the
+right mood to hurt somebody.
+
+"Don't be uneasy," replied Archie. "Go and get some information about
+that fight, and hurry back; for I want to know which whipped. I'll wager
+my rifle against your bow and arrows that you Indians were completely
+cleaned out."
+
+When the young warrior had disappeared, Archie, not knowing what else to
+do with himself, lay down on the ground to await his return, looking
+over his shoulder occasionally at the wounded Indian, who began to kick
+about worse than ever.
+
+"It serves you just right," said the prisoner. "What had those people at
+the fort done to you, that you wanted to kill them? Perhaps you will
+learn to let peaceable white settlers alone in future."
+
+"I don't reckon I ever done any harm to peaceable white fellers," said a
+familiar voice, from under the blanket. "Lay down, you keerless feller!"
+it added quickly, as Archie started up in amazement; "lay down, or
+you'll spile every thing."
+
+Archie, for a moment too astonished to speak, fell back upon the ground
+again, and, as he did so, he felt the cold blade of a hunting-knife
+pressed against his hands. The thongs of buckskin with which he was
+confined gave away, one after the other, under its keen edge, and in a
+few seconds he was free.
+
+"Dick, is that really you?" he whispered, as soon as he had recovered
+the use of his tongue.
+
+"I don't reckon it's any body else."
+
+"How did you get so badly hurt?"
+
+"Hurt!" repeated the trapper; "I aint no more hurt nor you be. This aint
+the fust time you've been fooled to-night, is it? I've been through a
+heap since I seed the sun set, but I can out-run and out-fight the best
+Injun in this tribe yet. I haint got no time to waste in talkin',
+howsomever. We're licked, the tradin'-post is burned up, an' the only
+thing we can do is to make tracks for Fort Benton. Creep into them
+bushes, an' keep in 'em till you get around to the other side of the
+camp; then strike off through the mountains, an' go straight south. The
+moon is up now, an' you can tell the pints of the compass from that.
+Arter you have gone about two miles from the camp, you will strike the
+ole wagon trail--it aint traveled now, but it is a good, plain road, an'
+you can't miss it--which you must foller till you reach the prairy."
+
+"I might get lost," whispered Archie. "Why can't you go with me?"
+
+"'Cause I can't leave ole Bob," was the reply. "He's a pris'ner now, an'
+I'm goin' to stay here till I see a chance to turn him loose. You can't
+get lost if you do as I tell you. When you reach the prairy, travel
+straight north fur about ten miles, an' you will come to the Ole Bar's
+Hole. If me an' Bob are alive, we'll be thar to-morrer night; but if we
+shouldn't come then, don't wait fur us, but strike out fur Fort Benton,
+which is exactly north-east of the Ole Bar's Hole. Now be off afore that
+young Injun comes back."
+
+"But, Dick," persisted Archie, "I don't want to leave Frank."
+
+"Who axed you to leave him? Ole Bob sent him safe out of camp long ago."
+
+Dick jumped to his feet and staggered off in the direction of the
+village, and Archie, after looking all around him to see that there was
+no one observing his movements, crept into the bushes. When he reached
+them, he arose to an upright position, and hurried along with all
+possible speed, keeping in the edge of the ravine, as Dick had directed.
+How long it was before the Black Fox discovered his escape and what he
+said, and what he did, when he found that his prisoner had slipped
+through his fingers, Archie never knew. He heard no tumult behind him,
+nor any sounds of pursuit; and neither did he meet any of the Indians
+during the two hours he stumbled about through the darkness, picking his
+way over rocks and logs toward the old wagon trail of which Dick had
+spoken. He reached it in safety, and then his progress became more easy
+and rapid.
+
+The road, being overhung by cliffs and trees, was, in some places, pitch
+dark; but Archie found but little difficulty in following it. He ran
+along, forgetful of every thing except that there were Indians and
+outlaws behind him, never giving a thought to the grizzly bears,
+panthers, and other savage animals with which the mountains abounded,
+and thinking only of the foes he had left in the ravine, and of the Old
+Bear's Hole, where he hoped to meet the trappers. Alone in the
+mountains, on foot, and entirely unarmed, his situation was far from
+being an encouraging one; but Archie had a happy faculty of looking at
+the bright side of things.
+
+Dick had told him that the trail was not traveled now, but Archie found
+that he was mistaken; for, when he had gone about two miles, he came
+suddenly around the base of a mountain, and found before him a long row
+of camp-fires, and wagons drawn up on each side of the road. He was
+startled by the unexpected sight, and his first impulse was to turn and
+take to his heels; but a closer glance satisfied him that he had
+stumbled upon the camp of a party of emigrants. That same glance showed
+him also that an attempt at retreat might prove extremely hazardous;
+for, standing in front of the nearest fire was a man who hailed him the
+moment he came in sight, and covered him with his rifle.
+
+"Who's that?" asked the emigrant, in some alarm.
+
+"A friend!" replied Archie. "Don't shoot."
+
+"Come up to the fire, friend, and let's have a look at you," said the
+man. "Why, what's the matter with you? You are as white as a sheet."
+
+"Perhaps you would be white, too, if you had passed through what I have
+to-night."
+
+"And you are panting as though you had been running," continued the
+emigrant. "Where's your horse and your gun? and what are you doing out
+here alone in the mountains, at this time of night?"
+
+"It's a long story, and I can't stop to relate it to you. You have made
+your camp in a very dangerous place, if you only knew it, and my advice
+is to hitch up and start for Fort Benton with as little delay as
+possible. There are hostile Indians all around you."
+
+"Indians!" cried the emigrant. He stepped back, and, dropping the butt
+of his rifle to the ground, leaned on the muzzle of the weapon and
+looked earnestly at Archie, while several men who were lying near the
+fire on their blankets, and who had been awakened by the conversation,
+raised themselves on their elbows and began to listen more attentively.
+
+"Where is Fort Benton, and why should we go there? We want to go to Fort
+Stockton."
+
+"Well, you will never see it. It was burned by Indians not more than
+three hours ago, and the most of the garrison were massacred. The
+savages may come along this road in less than twenty minutes."
+
+If Archie had never created a sensation before, he could certainly boast
+of having made one now. It seemed to him, from the commotion that
+ensued, that every person in the train had heard his words.
+Exclamations of wonder and alarm arose on all sides: men began running
+about, some yoking their oxen and harnessing their mules, others
+crowding around Archie and asking innumerable questions which they did
+not give him time to answer; horses pranced and snorted; dogs barked;
+children cried; women screamed and thrust their heads out of the wagons
+to see what was going on; and in a moment the camp, which had been so
+quiet and peaceful when Archie first discovered it, was in the greatest
+uproar.
+
+"Why, boy, you're crazy!" exclaimed one of the emigrants, when Archie
+had hurriedly related his story. "I don't believe a word you say. You've
+been asleep, and dreamed it all."
+
+"Am I asleep now?" retorted Archie. "Look at my wrists. Do you dream
+that you see those marks on them? They were made by the strips of
+buckskin with which I was tied."
+
+"Didn't they tell us at Fort Alexander that there wasn't a hostile
+Indian on the plains?" asked another.
+
+"Very likely they did, sir; and no doubt they thought so. I have been
+living within sight of a camp of Indians for the last three days, and I
+didn't know they were preparing to go on the war-trail; but they were,
+and I have passed a portion of this night as a prisoner among those same
+Indians."
+
+"But suppose they do attack us? we've got twenty men."
+
+"There were almost seven times as many in Fort Stockton, and yet the
+Indians captured it. If you are tired of life, you can stay here; but as
+I desire to live awhile longer, I shall go on."
+
+Archie did go on, but he did not go alone; the entire train went with
+him. Among the emigrants there were many who had never crossed the
+plains before, and who were terrified by the simple mention of the words
+"hostile Indians." These prepared to turn back at once; and the others,
+not caring to be left behind, accompanied them.
+
+"Is there any one here who can spare me a horse and rifle?" asked
+Archie. "I have tramped about among these mountains until I am
+completely tired out; and I have no weapon except a pocket-knife."
+
+Archie was standing near a wagon occupied by an invalid, who had
+listened to his story with blanched cheeks. When he made this request,
+the man said, in a trembling voice:
+
+"You don't look as though you were strong enough to handle a gun but if
+you are, here's one at your service."
+
+"I don't want to take this, sir, unless you have other weapons," said
+Archie, who, anxious as he was to have some means of defense in his
+hands, was not selfish enough to disregard the comfort or safety of
+others.
+
+"I have a brace of revolvers," replied the man; "but that thing is of no
+use to me, for I never fired a gun in my life. You will find my horse
+picketed with the others--a large chestnut-sorrel, with white mane and
+tail. The saddle and bridle are in the front of the wagon."
+
+Archie thanked the man cordially, and wondering where he had lived all
+his life that he had never learned to use a rifle, he took the saddle
+and bridle from the wagon and started out to find the horse.
+
+Never before had Archie seen a wagon-train prepared for the march in so
+short a space of time. Every thing was done in a hurry, and, in less
+than five minutes, some of the emigrants were moving down the road
+toward the prairie. He noticed, also, that now that the excitement and
+alarm occasioned by the intelligence he had brought had somewhat
+subsided, silence reigned in the camp. Not a loud word was heard. The
+men moved about their work as silently as specters, and spoke to their
+animals in whispers; the screams had ceased, the children had stopped
+crying, and all seemed to understand the necessity of making as little
+noise as possible. The horses, too, seemed to comprehend the situation,
+for there were no prancing or restless ones among them; and even the
+wagons moved off with a subdued creaking of their huge wheels.
+
+When Archie had found and saddled his horse, he began looking about for
+the captain of the train. He had something to say to him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+A RIDE FOR LIFE.
+
+
+Archie had a plan to propose to the wagon-master, and that was that the
+train should be conducted first to the Old Bear's Hole, and then to Fort
+Benton. He thought this would be much safer than to attempt a long
+journey across the plains. The Indians would certainly pass over that
+road in going from their camp to attack the settlers on the prairie; and
+it was equally certain that they would discover and follow the trail
+left by the wagons. If the emigrants were overtaken in the open country,
+they could offer but a feeble resistance; but if they intrenched
+themselves in the cave, they could hold any number of their foes at bay.
+Archie explained this plan to the captain when he found him, and, to his
+utter amazement, it was rejected without an instant's hesitation.
+
+"I've done nothing but lead wagon trains across these prairies for the
+last two years," said the man. "I've made a business of it; but I never
+before heard any thing about Indians on the war trail. You've well-nigh
+frightened the whole train to death by your cock-and-a-bull story; and,
+since the emigrants are bound to turn back, I shall take them to Fort
+Alexander."
+
+"Why, that's farther off than Fort Benton!" exclaimed Archie. "It must
+be two hundred miles from here."
+
+"No difference if it's a thousand. I don't know the way to Benton, but I
+could go to Alexander if I was blindfolded. And another thing: wouldn't
+I look well trusting my own life, and the lives of these people, to a
+boy like you! I don't believe you ever saw an Indian."
+
+"I've seen more of them than you ever did," replied Archie, indignantly,
+"and I have had more experience with them, if I am from the States. Mark
+my words: Before morning, you will wish you had taken my advice."
+
+Archie left the captain and fell back to the wagon of the invalid. "I
+am much obliged to you, sir, for the use of your horse and rifle," said
+he, "but I must return them now. The wagon-master is about to undertake
+a journey of two hundred miles across the prairie; and, as I don't think
+it a safe piece of business, I am going to leave the train and start off
+on my own hook."
+
+"Hold on!" exclaimed the man, as Archie dismounted to tie the horse to
+the wagon. "Where are you going?"
+
+Archie unfolded his plan again for the benefit of the invalid, adding
+that, as the wagon-master had not seen fit to adopt it, it was his
+intention to go alone to the Old Bear's Hole, and, if he did not find
+Dick and Bob there, to strike for Fort Benton. The invalid listened
+attentively, and, when the boy ceased speaking, announced that it was
+his determination to accompany him. This was something that Archie had
+not counted on, and he did not know whether to be disappointed or
+delighted. The prospect of a lonely journey of ninety miles, through a
+country infested with hostile Indians, even though there was a bare
+possibility that he might meet the trappers at the Old Bear's Hole, was
+by no means a cheering one; and he would have been glad of almost any
+company except this invalid. If the latter accompanied him, he would, of
+course, go in his wagon, and that was an arrangement the boy did not
+like. Its white cover could be seen at a long distance, dark as it was,
+and if there were any Indians about it would be certain to attract their
+attention, in which case Archie, to save his own life, would be obliged
+to leave the helpless emigrant to shift for himself.
+
+"You will let me go with you?" said the invalid, seeing that Archie
+hesitated.
+
+"That is a matter which you must decide, sir," was the reply. "I do not
+expect to reach the fort without trouble; and whether or not you will be
+safer with me than with the train, is a question which I can not take
+the responsibility of answering."
+
+"I will answer it for myself: I shall go with you."
+
+Upon hearing this, the invalid's teamster, who had sat listening to the
+conversation, pulled up his horses with a jerk, and, hastily collecting
+the articles in the wagon which belonged to him, jumped to the ground.
+
+"What's the matter out there?" asked the owner of the wagon. "Why don't
+you go on?"
+
+"'Cause I am done with you; that's why," replied the teamster, gruffly.
+"If you are goin' into any sich business as this--philanderin' off over
+the prairy with that fool of a boy, who will lose you an' himself into
+the bargain in less'n twenty minutes arter you git out of sight of the
+train--you can jest drive your own wagon. I am goin' to stay with the
+emigrants, where I know I am safe."
+
+Every little trouble seems a mountain to a sick person, and when the
+invalid heard this, he covered his face with his hands and cried like a
+child. As the teamster was about to move off, he looked up and said,
+piteously:
+
+"Mike, don't leave me. Remember that I can't help myself, and that I
+must have some one to defend me if we get into trouble."
+
+"I reckon my life is worth as much to me as your'n is to you," was the
+rejoinder.
+
+"Don't go yet, Mike; hear what I have to say," continued the invalid. "I
+have twenty thousand dollars in hard money in this wagon, and if you
+will go with me, and stick to me until we reach Fort Benton, I will give
+you one-fourth of it--five thousand dollars. You will certainly run less
+risk in traveling ninety miles than in going two hundred."
+
+The teamster stopped, and, walking slowly back to the wagon, looked down
+at the ground in a brown study. Archie, who had watched his face
+closely, noticed that he listened with indifference to the invalid's
+appeals to his pity, but at the mention of the twenty thousand dollars,
+the expression of unconcern on his face gave way to a look of
+astonishment, and he began to listen more eagerly. This made it plain
+enough to Archie that, if the man consented to accompany the wagon, it
+would not be out of any desire to respect the wishes of his employer, or
+to protect him if he fell into danger, but simply to earn the money that
+had been promised him.
+
+"If I had twenty thousand dollars, or twenty cents, about me, I should
+be very careful not to mention the fact in the presence of such a man as
+he is," said Archie, to himself. "He is a villain--I can see it in his
+eye; and I hope he will decide to remain with the train. I should feel
+quite as much at ease among the Indians as I should with him for
+company."
+
+"You will not leave me, Mike," said the invalid, in a pleading voice.
+"Didn't I find you in the streets of St. Joseph in a destitute
+condition, and haven't I fed, clothed, and paid you well since you have
+been with me? Drive me to Fort Benton, and the five thousand dollars are
+yours."
+
+"Wal, Mr. Brecker, you have treated me mighty kind, that's a fact; and,
+now that I think of it, it would be mean in me to desert you. But I
+don't want to go alone--this boy would be of no account if we should
+happen to fall into trouble; and, if I can get company, I'll stick by
+you."
+
+The teamster, without waiting to hear the invalid's profuse thanks,
+threw his bundle into the wagon and hurried down the road out of sight.
+He returned in a few minutes, accompanied by a rough, reckless-looking
+man, with whom he was conversing earnestly. They stopped at a short
+distance from the wagon, and Archie, who was listening intently,
+overheard a portion of their conversation. Mike was urging the man to
+accompany his employer's wagon, and the latter was holding back through
+fear of the Indians.
+
+"I tell you thar aint no Injuns on the prairy," said the teamster. "That
+boy don't know what he's talkin' about. The wagon-master says so, and so
+does every body else in the train, except Brecker, and he's a fool.
+It'll be the best job you ever done. Twenty thousand dollars aint picked
+off every bush nowadays."
+
+Archie pricked up his ears when he heard this. The invalid had offered
+his teamster but five thousand dollars for driving the wagon to Fort
+Benton, and yet the man was talking as though he had promised him the
+whole twenty thousand. Archie began to get excited, and believed that
+the best thing Mr. Brecker could do would be to remain with the wagon
+train.
+
+"Are you sure that you can depend upon that man?" he inquired,
+addressing himself to the invalid.
+
+"Who--Mike? Certainly. He is an honest fellow, and I would trust him
+with my life. Why do you ask that question?"
+
+Archie did not think it best to give a direct answer. The invalid was
+frightened nearly out of his senses already, and the boy had no desire
+to increase his alarm by revealing the suspicions that had suddenly
+arisen in his mind. If Mr. Brecker was willing to trust himself and his
+twenty thousand dollars on the prairie under the protection of the
+teamster, it was really no concern of his. If Mike _was_ an honest man,
+however, he was certainly keeping bad company, and Archie thought it
+might be a good plan to keep his eyes open and be prepared for any
+emergency. He was sure that something exciting would happen during the
+ride to the Old Bear's Hole. While he was thinking the matter over, the
+two men approached the wagon, and Mike introduced the new-comer as his
+friend Bob Frost, an old guide and Indian fighter.
+
+"He is just the man we want," said the invalid. "I shall feel safe now."
+
+"In course you can feel safe," replied Frost, with a braggadocio air
+that made Archie put him down as a coward at once. "Thar aint Injuns
+enough on the prairy to skeer me. I'll take you through to Fort Benton
+without no trouble. 'Taint wuth while to have that ar youngster taggin'
+arter us, though," he added, glancing at Archie.
+
+"Why, he will show us where to go," replied Mr. Brecker.
+
+"We don't need him, and he can't go," said Frost, decidedly. "I know the
+way to Fort Benton better nor he does."
+
+"I don't see how my presence will interfere with you in any way," said
+Archie. "It was I who first proposed Fort Benton as a place of refuge,
+and I shall go there, whether you are willing or not."
+
+Frost had an overbearing air about him, and an insolent way of talking
+that Archie did not like, and he thought he might as well give him to
+understand that he was not under his control, and that he should do as
+he pleased. When the man was about to reply, Mike interrupted him. The
+two conversed in a low tone for a few minutes, and then sprang into the
+wagon and drove after the train, which was by this time out of sight in
+the darkness. In half an hour they reached the prairie, and, leaving the
+road, the teamster turned to the left and drove along the edge of the
+willows toward the Old Bear's Hole.
+
+The cover of the wagon was open at both ends, and Archie could see every
+move the men made. They drove rapidly for awhile, and then, allowing the
+horses to settle down into a slow walk, entered into an earnest
+conversation. The invalid tossed about uneasily on his bed, now and then
+raising the cover of the wagon, and looking out over the prairie to
+satisfy himself that there were no savages in sight, and, becoming
+impatient at length, desired the teamster to drive faster.
+
+"'Taint safe," said Frost, who seemed to have taken the management of
+affairs into his own hands. "The faster we go the more the wheels
+rattle; an' if thar are any Injuns about, the noise will lead them to
+us. I say, youngster! Mebbe it would be a good plan fur you to ride on
+ahead, an' see if the way is clear."
+
+Now, this was something that Archie had no intention of doing. He had
+already marked out the course he intended to pursue, and one thing he
+had determined upon was, that he would not for a moment lose sight of
+the teamster and his friend. He thought too much of his own safety, and,
+besides, he wanted to be at hand to protect the invalid; for he was sure
+that he would need somebody's protection before many minutes more had
+passed over his head. He knew, as well as if had been explained to him
+in so many words, that the men had determined to take possession of the
+twenty thousand dollars, and that the guide's suggestion, that he should
+ride on in advance, was but a plan to get rid of him. Perhaps, the
+moment his back was turned, Frost would send a ball into him; or, it
+might be, that it was his intention to lose him in the darkness, and
+then dispatch the invalid and rob the wagon. Archie did not know which
+of these two courses of action the men had decided upon, but he was
+resolved that neither of them should prove successful.
+
+"Did you hear what I said, youngster?" exclaimed Frost, angrily.
+
+"Oh yes, I heard you."
+
+"Then why don't you start--why don't you obey orders?"
+
+"Well, I have two reasons. In the first place, I do not recognize your
+right to give any orders; and, even if I did, I should pay no attention
+to them, as long as you issue them in that insolent tone of voice. In
+the next place, if it is all the same to you, I prefer to ride behind."
+
+"Then you can stay behind. You can jest toddle back to the wagon train."
+
+"I am not going that way. My route lies in this direction."
+
+"Wal, then, travel on ahead," roared the guide, growing angrier every
+moment. "We don't want you hangin' about us no longer."
+
+"Oh, don't send him off," cried the invalid. "He is going to show us the
+way to a safe hiding-place."
+
+"You need not be at all uneasy, Mr. Brecker," said Archie. "I have not
+the least intention of leaving you alone with these men."
+
+"Haint you?" exclaimed Frost. "Mike, pull up them hosses. I'll soon fix
+him."
+
+The time for action had come, and Archie was ready for it. As the
+teamster stopped the horses, and Frost leaped to the ground, he rode up
+to the wagon, and, thrusting his hand under the cover, pulled out the
+invalid's revolvers. He knew just where to find them, for he had seen
+their owner place them beside him on the mattress, where he could seize
+them at an instant's warning.
+
+"What's the matter?" cried Mr. Brecker, in great alarm. "What are you
+going to do with those pistols?"
+
+Archie could not stop to reply. He grasped a revolver in each hand, and
+covering the teamster's head with one of the weapons, pointed the other
+at the guide, who at that moment came around the end of the wagon. The
+former dropped the reins, and turned pale with terror; but Frost, who
+was in too great a hurry, and too highly enraged to notice any thing,
+ran up to Archie, and seized his horse by the bridle.
+
+"Now, my lad," said he, savagely; "climb down----"
+
+"Take your hand off that bridle!" interrupted Archie.
+
+Frost now looked up for the first time, and seeing the shining barrel of
+the six-shooter leveled full at his head, uttered a cry of alarm, and
+staggered back as if he were about to fall to the ground. The man who
+boasted that he had never seen Indians enough to frighten him, was
+thoroughly cowed by a sixteen-year-old boy.
+
+"Drop that knife!" commanded Archie, and the bowie which the guide held
+in his hand fell to the ground instantly. "Look out there, Mike! I am
+watching you, and if you attempt to pick up a weapon it will be the last
+of you. Now, Frost," he added, waving one of his revolvers over the
+prairie in the direction he supposed the wagon train to be, "make
+tracks. Don't stop to talk, but clear out at once. Mr. Brecker and his
+money are safe while I am about. Why don't you obey orders?
+One----two----"
+
+The guide did not wait to hear any more (he was afraid that when the
+"three" came out, a bullet would come with it), but hurried off at once,
+and without uttering a word. Archie kept one of his revolvers pointed
+at him as long as he remained in sight, and then turned to the
+teamster.
+
+"Now, Mike, it's your turn," said he, giving emphasis to his words by
+pointing both his weapons at the man's head. "Jump down from that wagon,
+and follow your partner. When I count three, I am going to send two
+bullets over the seat on which you are now sitting."
+
+Had Archie fulfilled this threat, the bullets would have passed through
+the empty air; for Mike, taking him at his word, leaped to the ground
+and walked off, shaking his head and muttering to himself. That part of
+the work was done, and now came a more difficult task, and that was to
+quiet the invalid, who seemed to be on the point of going into a fit of
+hysterics. Archie soothed him as best he could, assuring him that the
+danger was passed, and that there was nothing more to be apprehended
+from the would-be robbers, but his words seemed to have no other effect
+than to increase the invalid's agitation. The boy did not know what to
+do; and, while he was considering the matter, the reports of rifles
+suddenly rang out on the air, followed by a chorus of savage yells
+which made the cold chills creep all over him. The Indians had overtaken
+and attacked the train. As quick as thought Archie dismounted, and after
+tying his horse to the wagon, sprang into the driver's seat, and seized
+the reins and whip.
+
+What happened during the next two hours Archie could scarcely have told.
+He tried many a time afterward to recall the incidents of that wild
+ride, but all that he could remember was that he clung to the reins with
+one hand, and swung the whip with the other, until his arm was so tired
+that he could hardly raise it to his shoulder; that the spirited horses
+never broke their mad gallop from the time they left the willows, until
+he checked them on the banks of a little creek, twenty miles from the
+base of the mountains, where he stopped to obtain a few minutes' rest;
+that the heavy wagon rocked and groaned like a vessel in a gale of wind,
+as the frantic horses dragged it over the prairie, up one swell and down
+another--bounding over buffalo wallows and gullies, which at any other
+time would have effectually checked its progress;--he remembered this
+as if it had been a dream; and when he came to himself, he was sitting
+on the ground beside the wagon, the horses were standing knee-deep in
+water, and the invalid was staring at him with a bewildered air, like a
+man just aroused from a sound sleep.
+
+"Where are we?" asked the latter, in a scarcely audible voice.
+
+"We seem to be in a grove of willows on the banks of a creek," replied
+Archie; "but how long we have been here, and how we came here in the
+first place, I scarcely know. What is that noise?"
+
+Archie was himself now, and all his senses were on the alert. He heard
+the tramping of horses' feet on the other side of the willows, and,
+jumping up, he clambered, into the wagon and seized the whip; but the
+jaded horses refused to move. One of them lay down in the water, and
+before Archie could compel him to get upon his feet again, the willows
+on the bank were dashed aside, and a company of horsemen came into view.
+They were not Indians, however, but cavalrymen from Fort Benton.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+When Adam Brent saw the outlaw preparing to jump down upon him, he gave
+himself up for lost. He was not able to defend himself from the assault
+of that strong man, and neither did he expect assistance from any
+source; and when he saw the panther spring from his hiding-place among
+the rocks, and fall with Black Bill to the bottom of the cave, he was so
+amazed and bewildered, that, for a moment, he could scarcely believe the
+evidence of his eyes. He forgot Black Bill, and every thing else, in the
+reflection that he had passed a portion of the night in the cavern with
+that savage animal, and that he had slept while his glaring eyes were
+fastened upon him. Regardless of being seen by the outlaws, he looked
+over the bowlder, and watched the struggle that was going on below. He
+had never witnessed so desperate a fight before, and, although he was
+intensely alarmed, he retained his wits sufficiently to notice that the
+panther was getting the best of it, and that he was in a fair way to
+clear the cave of his enemies. The bullets which Black Bill's friends
+had fired at him, if they had hit him at all, had only served to render
+him more furious.
+
+When Adam first looked over the bowlder, the combatants were tumbling
+about on the ground, the men using their knives, and the panther
+striking right and left with his claws, and growling fiercely. In a
+moment the scene changed. Black Bill was lying motionless where he had
+fallen; one of the outlaws, with his face terribly lacerated, was
+rolling about, uttering piercing cries of pain and terror; the other,
+who was the only one uninjured, was trying to climb up the sides of the
+cave out of reach of his dangerous antagonist; and the panther was
+crouching low on the ground, looking toward the passage-way, where stood
+a couple of trappers who had entered unobserved.
+
+"Send a chunk of lead into the critter, Dick; thar's my game," said Bob
+Kelly, pointing toward the prostrate form of his old enemy.
+
+The panther, lashing his sides with his tail, sprang into the air, but
+was met half way by a bullet sent by an unerring hand, and fell dead
+almost at the feet of the old trapper, who ran into the cave, and bent
+over Black Bill's motionless figure; while Dick collared the uninjured
+outlaw, and held him fast.
+
+"We're too late, Dick," exclaimed Bob, after he had taken one glance at
+his insensible foe. "I've waited an' watched fur him all these years to
+be cheated at last by a painter. The critter's done the work fur him."
+
+Dick's prisoner seemed astonished beyond measure at the sudden
+appearance of the trappers. He never thought of resistance, but readily
+surrendered his knife, and begged lustily for quarter. His captor looked
+at him with an expression of great contempt on his honest countenance.
+
+"You're a purty feller, to lead wild Injuns agin peaceable
+tradin'-posts, an' then when you're ketched ask fur quarter, aint you?"
+he exclaimed. "If me an' Bob were like we used to be, all your
+hollerin' an' beggin' wouldn't do you no 'arthly good whatsomever; but
+we lived among white folks a good while, an' we've larnt that thar is
+law, even on the prairy, fur jest sich fellers as you. We'll take you to
+Fort Benton, that's what we'll do with you, an' if you aint hung fur
+your meanness, I shall allers think you'd oughter be. Hallo! Come down
+from thar, you keerless feller!"
+
+The trapper had discovered Adam looking at him over the top of the
+bowlder. He thought it was Archie, and he was a good deal disappointed
+when he found that it was not. He asked a good many questions concerning
+the missing boy, but Adam knew nothing about him. Archie had left him
+while he was sitting by the fire in the soldiers' quarters, running
+bullets, and he had not seen him since.
+
+"Never mind," said Dick; "he'll turn up all right yet. He's got a heap
+of sense, that little feller has, an' grit, too; an' they'll bring him
+safe out of any scrape he can get into. Now, where's Frank, I wonder?
+The last time I seed him that hoss of his'n was carryin' him through
+the ravine like a streak of lightnin'. It would take two or three sich
+men as I be to watch that oneasy feller."
+
+Dick shouldered his rifle, and hurried out in search of Frank, while
+Bob, after binding the prisoner, busied himself in setting things to
+rights. In half an hour the Old Bear's Hole presented a scene that was a
+cheering one to our weary fugitives. The fire was burning brightly
+again, the body of the outlaw had been removed, and all traces of the
+fight which had taken place there but a few minutes before, were
+concealed by the leaves which the old trapper had pulled out of the
+lower passage-way and spread over the floor of the cave. Dick had
+returned with Frank, who was so jubilant over his success that, for a
+long time, he could talk about nothing else. He felt particularly proud
+of the result of the race he had just run. Roderick had fairly
+vanquished his swift rival, and Frank, after a protracted
+rough-and-tumble fight, had overpowered and bound the Black Fox. The
+young hunter now lay stretched out on the ground in front of the fire,
+one hand supporting his head, and his eyes fastened upon his prisoner,
+who sat sullenly in a remote corner of the cave. Adam lay near him,
+watching the movements of the trappers, one of whom was engaged in
+cutting up the elk, and the other in superintending the broiling of
+several steaks, which he had placed on the coals. In the corner,
+opposite the entrance, sat the outlaws--the remnant of Black Bill's
+band. The one who had been wounded during his fight with the panther,
+was too severely injured, and too thoroughly cowed by the presence of
+the trappers, to attempt escape, and consequently he was not confined;
+but the others were bound hand and foot.
+
+"Things are comin' out all right at last, aint they?" said Dick, turning
+the steaks with his knife. "If I could only see Archie settin' somewhere
+about this fire, an' could hear him laughin' an' goin' on like he allers
+does, I should be jest as happy as I want to be. A good many of the
+fellers that left the Colorado with us we'll never see agin, but I'll
+bet a hoss that we will find every one of our crowd at Fort Benton, when
+we get thar. I come out without a scratch, an' so did Frank an' Adam;
+Bob, here, has got a hole in his head, made by a tomahawk, an' another
+in his arm, made by a bullet; but he's as sassy and full of fight as
+ever."
+
+"Did you recognize Bob when he was playing the part of medicine-man?"
+asked Frank.
+
+"Sartin I did. I've knowed the ole feller since I was a boy no bigger
+nor you, an' I've seed him when he looked wusser nor he did in that
+doctor's dress. I knowed I was safe the minute I seed him come into the
+village."
+
+"How did you obtain possession of that disguise?" inquired Frank,
+turning to the old trapper.
+
+"Easy enough. Arter Dick was captured, I hung around the camp in the
+edge of the woods, waitin' fur a chance to do something fur him. I
+happened to meet the medicine-man, an', thinkin' that I could make
+better use of his rig nor he could, I jest knocked him over."
+
+The supper, which Dick now pronounced ready, did not put a stop to the
+conversation, for there was much to talk about. Adam told what had
+happened at the cave during Frank's absence, and the latter described
+his adventures, from his unsuccessful attempt to liberate his cousin
+down to the time he met the trappers in the ravine. Dick and Bob were
+astonished at the reckless courage he had exhibited. The former, as
+usual, called him a "keerless feller," and Bob declared that he would
+make a trapper "wuth lookin' at." Then Dick told how he had seen Bob
+captured while they were cutting their way out of the fort, and how he
+had gone into the camp in the disguise of a wounded Indian to assist him
+in making his escape. When he liberated Archie, however, he found that
+Bob had already eluded his enemies; and, after wandering about the camp
+until he found a rifle which he could take possession of without
+attracting attention, he returned to his horse, which he had left hidden
+in the bushes, and soon overtook his chum, who was on his way to the Old
+Bear's Hole.
+
+When the boys had satisfied their appetites, they lay down on the leaves
+and went to sleep, while Dick set out in search of Archie, leaving Bob
+to watch the boys and the prisoners during his absence. He was gone all
+day, and when he returned he was not as hopeful as when he left in the
+morning. He had met no Indians, he reported, but he had seen the ruins
+of a wagon train, which had been attacked and burned. If Archie was with
+that train, the probabilities were that they would never see him again.
+
+After another hearty meal on venison, the fugitives set out for Fort
+Benton, accompanied by their four prisoners--the trappers on foot, and
+the boys and the wounded outlaw riding the horses. They traveled all
+that night, and at noon the next day arrived within sight of the walls
+of the fort. The very first person they saw was Archie Winters, who
+galloped out on the chestnut-sorrel, swinging his hat around his head,
+and shouting like one demented.
+
+"Not one of our crowd is missing now," he yelled, when he had embraced
+his cousin and Adam, and shaken the trappers warmly by the hand.
+"Captain Porter and Mr. Brent came in last night. As I live, there's my
+horse, which I never expected to see again. And isn't that Pete? Hurrah
+for every body! except the Indians and the outlaws."
+
+Almost the first thing the cousins discussed was the race between
+Roderick and King James. Archie listened attentively to his cousin's
+story, and when it was concluded he said, in a tone of voice which
+showed very plainly that he was not yet willing to give up beaten:
+
+"The speed of a horse depends a good deal upon the driver. I know that
+the Black Fox was riding for his liberty, but I don't believe he made
+King James run as swiftly as I could, if I had been on his back. But,
+since you were kind enough to recapture the horse for me, I will settle
+the matter by riding a race with you at the very first opportunity--that
+is, if you say so."
+
+"Of course I say so," replied Frank. "Archie, you do crawl out of little
+holes when you are cornered, don't you? I'll beat you so badly that you
+will never boast of your horse's speed again."
+
+Although the boys were very jubilant, and often congratulated one
+another on the good fortune that had attended their "crowd," they still
+had much to be sorry for. Of the twenty trappers who had accompanied
+them across the plains from Fort Yuma, only seven remained. More than
+one brave fellow mourned the loss of his chum, who had fallen by the
+hands of the Indians, and the boys heartily sympathized with them, one
+and all. But still the expedition was not abandoned, and neither was the
+departure from the fort long delayed. After a consultation with the
+trappers, Captain Porter decided to pass the winter on the Saskatchewan;
+and the morning of the third day after their arrival at the fort, found
+the cousins ready for the journey. Archie took leave of the invalid,
+who, to show his gratitude for the services the boy had rendered,
+offered him half his twenty thousand dollars; and when Archie declined
+to accept, he insisted on presenting him with his horse and rifle. The
+expedition was as well equipped now as when it left the Colorado, for
+the captain had procured a supply of weapons, traps, pack-mules, and
+provisions from a trader who happened to be at the fort.
+
+"Good-by, Adam," said Frank, who stood with one hand clasping his
+friend's, and the other holding the impatient Roderick by the bridle.
+"We have seen some stirring times during our short acquaintance, and you
+will not be likely to forgot us soon, will you?"
+
+"I'll never forget you," replied Adam, earnestly. "If it hadn't been for
+you, Frank, I should now be a prisoner in the hands of the outlaws. I
+tell you, fellows, my ideas concerning boys from the States have changed
+wonderfully since I first met you. You can both beat me riding and
+shooting, and you take to the mountains as naturally as though you had
+been born here."
+
+When the farewells had been said, Adam returned slowly and sorrowfully
+to his quarters in the fort, and the cousins galloped after the
+trappers, who had already disappeared behind the distant swells.
+
+The adventures we have attempted to describe in this volume form but a
+small portion of the history of the life Frank and Archie led while they
+remained with Captain Porter. If space would allow, we might tell of
+many interesting events that happened during the winter they passed upon
+the banks of the Saskatchewan. We might describe the races which came
+off between the rival horses, in every one of which the gallant little
+black was as badly beaten as ever Sleepy Sam had been. Although Archie,
+at first, found any number of "little holes to crawl out of," he was
+finally obliged to confess that Roderick was the swifter horse. We might
+tell of the rivalry which existed between the boys, and which seemed to
+grow stronger every day, affording infinite amusement to the trappers,
+who praised first one, and then the other, to incite them to greater
+deeds of valor; how Frank took the lead by killing a grizzly bear, alone
+and unaided, and Archie, to be even with him, nearly broke King James's
+neck, and his own into the bargain, by attempting to capture a wild
+horse. That was a proud day for Archie, for he actually succeeded in
+lassoing one of the drove; but, unfortunately, the lariat was insecurely
+fastened to his saddle, and the wild steed made his escape after all,
+carrying the lasso with him. All the trappers voted that this exploit
+was fully equal to the killing of a grizzly, and that, if Frank wished
+to take the lead again, he must trap or shoot another bear. We might
+recount the adventures that befell them during the two weeks they were
+lost in the mountains, living in a little hut they had built under the
+shelter of a friendly cliff, which effectually protected them from the
+fury of the snow-storms--enjoying splendid shooting in the meantime, and
+experiencing not a single fear but that "every thing would come out all
+right" in the end. We might tell of the long winter evenings they passed
+listening to the trappers' stories; and of the days, too, when they
+never stirred out of the cabin, because they were snowed under and could
+not get out. This was the poetry of the life they led during that
+long-to-be-remembered winter, and then came the prose. Their provisions
+gradually disappeared; game became scarce; the snow filled up the
+mountain passes to the depth of forty feet, and covered all their traps;
+their horses and mules were killed and eaten, and finally but one single
+horse remained besides Roderick and King James, and that was Pete. His
+time came at last, and then the cousins looked at one another with a
+most doleful expression on their hunger-pinched faces.
+
+"It can't be helped, boys," said Captain Porter. "We must live, and one
+horse is about as good as another, any how. I have twenty-five hundred
+of them on my rancho, and when we get home you can take your pick of the
+lot."
+
+"Do you suppose I could ever find a horse that would suit me as well as
+King James?" whispered Archie, drawing the captain off on one side. "No,
+I couldn't; but take him and save Roderick, if you can. Frank thinks so
+much of that horse I shouldn't like to see him killed."
+
+Frank saw the whispered conversation going on, and, suspecting something
+at once, took Dick into his confidence. "I know what they are talking
+about," said he, "and I am not going to have any one make sacrifices for
+me. When you get up in the morning, go out and shoot Roderick. It would
+be a severe blow to Archie to lose his horse, and I will prevent it as
+long as I can."
+
+The trappers, knowing how hard it would be for the boys to part with
+their favorites, hunted all that day without any food at all; and when
+they returned to the camp that night, they brought four big-horns and
+an elk. That hunt saved the lives of the horses, for, in a day or two,
+the snow began to melt, game became more abundant, and things looked
+bright again. It had been a narrow escape for their favorites, however,
+and the boys, fearing that they might again be placed in the same
+situation, became impatient to begin the homeward journey. Besides, they
+had seen quite enough of perilous adventure, were heartily tired of life
+in the mountains, and longed for the society of their friends once more.
+To their great delight, their departure from the Saskatchewan was not
+long delayed. One bright, spring morning, they started for Fort
+Churchill, where the captain procured a supply of horses and pack-mules,
+and, after a fatiguing ride of nearly two months, the cousins found
+themselves once more in Uncle James's rancho. They met new faces there,
+for Mr. Winters had sold his farm and stock, and the purchaser had taken
+possession of the premises.
+
+There was nothing now to detain them in California, and after a few days
+spent in taking leave of their acquaintances--they found it an
+exceedingly difficult task to say good-by to Dick and Bob--the cousins
+took passage on board a steamer for Portland. In four weeks more the
+little cottage on the banks of Glen's Creek was filled with a happy
+party, including Archie's father and mother, and Uncle James. Things
+began to wear their old accustomed look again. The Speedwell once more
+rode proudly at her moorings in the creek (her sailing qualities had not
+been injured in the least by her fourteen months of idleness, and she
+was still able to beat the swiftest boat about the village), the door of
+the museum was open every day, and there was plenty of work being done
+there. A stand had been erected in the middle of the room, and it was
+already filled with specimens which excited the wonder and admiration of
+the village boys. "Old Davy" was there, stuffed and mounted, and looking
+so life-like that Archie said he almost expected to see him jump down
+from the stand and come at him. Then there were three smaller grizzlies,
+two elk, as many Rocky Mountain goats, and the prong-horn they had
+killed on the day they were lost on the prairie.
+
+In Frank's room some changes had been made. There were more pictures on
+the walls now, and among them was the identical one which Pierre
+Castello had removed from its hook on the night he tried to compel Frank
+to tell where he had hidden the office key. The picture was hanging from
+the same hook over which the Ranchero had thrown the lasso when he
+pulled Frank up by the neck, and the lasso itself was there also--or,
+rather, all there was left of it. The "sporting cabinet," which hung on
+the frame at the foot of the bed, had received several additions in the
+shape of rifles, revolvers, and hunting-knives; and the hooks at the top
+of the frame supported the bow, quiver of arrows, and tomahawk which
+Frank had captured from the Black Fox. An apartment in the book-case,
+which contained the stuffed birds, was devoted to the other relics which
+the boys had collected during their absence. There were knives, pistols,
+and carbines from Don Carlos' rancho; a piece of the "bridge of clouds,"
+at which the trappers had been so badly frightened; a portion of the
+flat-boat which had carried the horses across the creek; and also the
+lantern which Archie had used in the stable. There were stone arrow and
+spear heads, and necklaces of bears' claws from Fort Benton; elk horns
+from the Saskatchewan; and Mexican dresses, spurs, lassos, and a saddle
+and bridle from Southern California. In short, the room was almost as
+much of a curiosity-shop as the museum itself.
+
+The barn had two more occupants now, and they were Roderick and King
+James. The horses had been so intimately connected with their adventures
+on the plains and in the mountains, and the boys had become so greatly
+attached to them, that they could not think of leaving them behind. They
+were plump and fat now, looking very unlike the poor, scraggy animals
+which had so narrowly escaped being served up at the camp fire, and many
+a pleasant morning gallop had the boys taken with them over the breezy
+hills with which Lawrence was surrounded.
+
+Frank had brought another old friend with him, and that was Marmion.
+Brave at first regarded the new-comer with suspicion; but being, like
+his master, of a kind and accommodating disposition, he made overtures
+of friendship, to which the ill-mannered Marmion responded by taking
+Brave down and giving him a good shaking. But the Newfoundland was like
+his master in another respect: he was hard to whip; and, before the boys
+could separate the combatants, he gave his fierce antagonist a drubbing
+that must have astonished him. At any rate, Marmion howled lustily for
+quarter, and the next time Brave made advances, they were more
+graciously received. The dogs were now living very peaceably, Brave
+occupying his kennel by the back porch, and Marmion sleeping in the
+barn. They ate out of the same dish, without any quarreling over the
+tit-bits, always accompanied their master wherever he went, and if one
+got into trouble with the village curs, the other always lent prompt and
+effective assistance.
+
+The cousins had not forgotten the quiet sports they had so often enjoyed
+in the days gone by. Their fishing-rods and double-barrels came as
+readily to their hands as ever; squirrels and trout were served up at
+the cottage every day; and to many a thrilling story did George and
+Harry Butler listen while sailing up and down the river in the old
+Speedwell. On all the adventures of which Frank and Archie had been the
+heroes during their journeyings in the Far West, they delighted most to
+talk about those which befell them on the memorable night they spent IN
+THE MOUNTAINS.
+
+THE END.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Interesting and Attractive Works
+
+BY HARRY CASTLEMON.
+
+
+_THE GUN-BOAT SERIES._
+
+    FRANK, THE YOUNG NATURALIST
+    FRANK IN THE WOODS
+    FRANK ON THE PRAIRIE
+    FRANK ON A GUN-BOAT
+    FRANK BEFORE VICKSBURG
+    FRANK ON THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI
+
+
+_THE GO-AHEAD SERIES._
+
+    TOM NEWCOMBE
+    GO AHEAD
+    NO MOSS
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Frank in the Mountains, by Harry Castlemon
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41802 ***