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-The Project Gutenberg eBook, In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers, by G. A.
-Henty, Illustrated by Wat. Miller
-
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-
-
-
-Title: In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers
-
-
-Author: G. A. Henty
-
-
-
-Release Date: June 30, 2013  [eBook #43067]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-
-***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE HANDS OF THE
-CAVE-DWELLERS***
-
-
-E-text prepared by David Edwards, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made
-available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org)
-
-
-
-Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
-      file which includes the original illustrations.
-      See 43067-h.htm or 43067-h.zip:
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43067/43067-h/43067-h.htm)
-      or
-      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43067/43067-h.zip)
-
-
-      Images of the original pages are available through
-      Internet Archive. See
-      https://archive.org/details/inhandsofcavedwe00hentiala
-
-
-
-
-
-IN THE HANDS OF THE CAVE-DWELLERS
-
-by
-
-G. A. HENTY
-
-Author of "With Roberts to Pretoria" "Won by the Sword" "To Herat
-and Cabul" &c.
-
-Illustrated by Wat. Miller
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-Blackie and Son Limited
-London Glasgow and Dublin
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration: "FOUR INDIANS STEPPED FROM AMONG THE TREES"]
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-    CHAP.                         PAGE
-
-    I. A MIDNIGHT ATTACK            7
-
-    II. A HEARTY WELCOME           23
-
-    III.  AN AMBUSH                42
-
-    IV.  A GREAT RANCH             61
-
-    V. AN INDIAN RAID              81
-
-    VI. HOPEFUL NEWS              101
-
-    VII. THE PURSUIT              120
-
-    VIII. THE CAVE-DWELLERS       140
-
-    IX. RESCUED                   157
-
-
-
-
-IN THE HANDS OF THE CAVE-DWELLERS
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I
-
-A MIDNIGHT ATTACK
-
-
-It was late in the evening at San Diego, in the autumn of the year 1832;
-there was no moon, but the stars shone so brightly in the clear, dry
-atmosphere that it was easy to distinguish objects at some little
-distance. A young fellow, in the dress of a sailor, was making his way
-through the narrow streets that bordered the port, when he heard a
-sudden shout, followed by fierce exclamations and Mexican oaths. Without
-pausing to consider whether it was prudent to interfere, he grasped
-tightly a cudgel he had that day cut, and ran to the spot where it was
-evident that a conflict was going on. It was but some forty yards away,
-and as he approached he made out four figures who were dodging round a
-doorway and were evidently attacking someone standing there. The
-inequality of the combat was sufficient to appeal to the sailor's
-sympathies. The sand that lay thick in the street had deadened his
-footsteps, and his presence was unmarked till his stick descended with a
-sharp crack on the up-lifted wrist of one of the assailants, eliciting a
-yell of pain, while the knife the man held flew across the street.
-
-One of the man's companions turned upon the new-comer, but the sailor's
-arm was already raised, and the cudgel lighted with such force on the
-man's head that he fell stunned to the ground. This unexpected assault
-caused the other two fellows to pause and look around, and in an instant
-the defender of the doorway bounded forward and buried his knife in one
-of their bodies, while the other at once fled, followed by the man
-whose wrist had been broken by the sailor's first blow.
-
-"Carambo, seņor!" the Mexican said. "You have rendered me a service
-indeed, and I tender you a thousand thanks. I could not have held out
-much longer, for I had been more than once wounded before you arrived."
-
-"You are heartily welcome, seņor. It was but a slight business--two
-blows with my stick and the matter was done."
-
-"You are not a countryman of mine, seņor," the other said, for the
-sailor spoke with a strong accent; "you are a stranger, and, as I can
-see now, a sailor."
-
-"That is so. I am an American."
-
-"Is that so?" the other said, speaking this time in English. "As you
-see, I know about as much of your tongue as you do of mine. I thought
-you must be a stranger even before I observed your dress, for street
-frays are not uncommon in this town, whereas in other ports there are
-scores of men ready for any villany, and few of my people would care to
-interfere in a fray in which they have no interest. But do not let us
-stay here. It is best to get out of this quarter."
-
-"Shall we do anything with these fellows? The one I hit can only be
-stunned, and I should think we ought to give him in charge to the
-watch."
-
-The other laughed. "You might wait some time before we found them, and,
-besides, it would give us a deal of trouble. No; leave them where they
-lie. The one I struck at least will never get up again. Now, seņor, may
-I ask the name of my preserver? Mine is Juan Sarasta."
-
-"Mine is William Harland," the sailor replied.
-
-"We are friends for life, Seņor Harland," the Mexican said, as he held
-out his hand and gripped that of the sailor warmly. "Where are you
-staying?"
-
-"I am staying nowhere at present," the sailor laughed. "I deserted from
-my ship three days ago, bought a supply of food, and have been some
-miles up the country. I knew that the vessel was to sail to-day, and I
-came back again and watched her go out just before sunset, and have been
-sitting on a barrel down at the wharf, wondering what I was going to do,
-and whether, after all, it would not have been wiser of me to have put
-up with that brute of a captain until we got down to Valparaiso."
-
-"We will talk all that matter over later," the Mexican said. "I am
-staying with some friends, who will, I am sure, make you welcome when I
-tell them that you saved my life."
-
-"I thank you very much," the sailor said, "but no doubt I shall be able
-to find some little inn where I can obtain a night's lodging."
-
-"Such a thing is not to be thought of, Seņor Harland, and I shall feel
-very much hurt if you do not accept my offer."
-
-They were now in a wider street, and, passing a wine-shop from which the
-light streamed out, Harland saw that the Mexican was a young fellow but
-two or three years older than himself, and his dress showed him to
-belong to the upper class. The Mexican's glance had been as quick as his
-own, for he said, "Why, you are younger than I am!"
-
-"I am just eighteen."
-
-"And I twenty. Were you an officer on your ship?"
-
-"No. My father is one of the leading citizens of Boston; he absolutely
-refused to allow me to follow the sea as a profession, although he is a
-large ship-owner himself; however, my mind was made up, and as I could
-not go as an officer, I came as a sailor. This is not my first voyage,
-for two years ago he let me sail in one of his ships as an apprentice,
-making sure that it would have the effect of disgusting me with the sea.
-However, the experiment failed, and to his anger I returned even fonder
-of it than when I started. He wanted me to go into his office, but I
-positively refused, and we had a serious quarrel, at the end of which I
-went down to the river and shipped before the mast. I know now that I
-have behaved like a fool. The captain was a brute of the worst sort, and
-the first mate was worse, and between them they made the ship
-unbearable. I stood it as long as I could, but three days before we got
-to this port one of the young apprentices, whom they had pretty nearly
-killed, jumped overboard, and then I made up my mind that as soon as we
-landed I would bolt and take my chance of getting a berth on board some
-other ship."
-
-"But you speak Spanish very fairly, seņor."
-
-"Well, the last ship I was in traded along the western coast, putting in
-at every little port, so I picked up a good deal of the language, for we
-were out here nearly six months. The ship I have just left did the same,
-so I have had nearly a year on this coast, and having learned Latin at
-school, of course it helped me very much. And you, seņor, how do you
-come to speak English?"
-
-"I have been down for the past six months in Valparaiso, staying with a
-relation who has a house there, and my greatest friends there were some
-young Englishmen of my own age, sons of a merchant. My father had spoken
-of my paying a visit to your States some day, and therefore I was glad
-of the opportunity of learning the language. This, seņor, is the house
-of my friends."
-
-As Harland saw that his companion would take no denial, he followed him
-into the house. The young Mexican led the way to a pretty room with
-windows to the ground, opening on to a garden.
-
-"You are late, Seņor Juan," a gentleman said, rising from his seat; but
-before the young man could reply, a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old
-cried out: "Madre Maria, he is wounded!"
-
-"It is nothing serious, and I had almost forgotten it till just now it
-began to smart. I have two, or, I think, three stabs on my left arm;
-they are not very deep, as I twisted my cloak round it when I was
-attacked. But it would have been a very serious business had it not been
-for this gentleman, whom I wish to introduce to you, Don Guzman, as the
-saviour of my life. He is an American gentleman, the son of a wealthy
-ship-owner of Boston, but, owing to some slight disagreement with his
-father, he has worked his way out here as a sailor. I ventured to
-promise that you would extend your hospitality to him."
-
-"My house is at your service, seņor," the Mexican said courteously. "One
-who has rendered so great a service to my friend Don Juan Sarasta, is my
-friend also. Christina, ring the bell and tell the servants to bring hot
-water and clothes, and then do you go to your room while we attend to
-Don Juan's injuries."
-
-The wounds proved to be by no means serious; they were all on the
-forearm, and, having to pierce through six or seven inches of cloth, had
-not penetrated very far. They had, however, bled freely, and although
-the young man laughed at them as mere scratches, he looked pale from the
-loss of blood.
-
-"A few bottles of good wine, and I shall be all right again."
-
-"I must apologize for not having asked you before," Seņor Guzman said to
-Harland, when the wounds were bandaged, "but have you supped?"
-
-"Yes, thank you, seņor. I bought some food as I came through the town,
-and ate it as I was waiting at the port."
-
-"Have you any luggage that I can send for?"
-
-"I have a kit-bag, which I will fetch myself in the morning. It is out
-on the plain. I did not care to bring it from the town until I knew that
-the vessel I came in had sailed."
-
-"I can lend you some things for the night," Juan said. "You are a little
-taller than I am, but they will be near enough."
-
-Some wine and biscuits were now brought in, and some excellent cigars
-produced.
-
-"Were they thieves that attacked you, think you, Don Juan?" his host
-asked, after the latter had given a detailed account of his adventure.
-
-"I cannot say, but I own I have an idea it was my life that they wanted
-rather than my valuables. I had a fancy that a man was following me, and
-I went to see the man I had spoken to about the mules. Coming back I
-heard a whistle behind me, and twenty yards farther three men sprang
-out, and one ran up from behind, so that I don't think it was a chance
-encounter."
-
-"Do you suspect anyone?"
-
-The young Mexican hesitated a moment before he answered. "No, seņor; I
-have no quarrel with anyone."
-
-"I do not see how, indeed, you could have an enemy," Don Guzman said,
-"seeing that you have been here only for a fortnight; still, it is
-curious. However, I have no doubt there are plenty of fellows in the
-town who would put a knife between any man's shoulders if they thought
-he was likely to have a few dollars in his pocket. Your watch-chain may
-have attracted the eye of one of these fellows, and he may have thought
-it, with the watch attached to it, well worth the trouble of getting,
-and would have considered it an easy matter, with three comrades, to
-make short work of you, though I own that when you showed fight so
-determinedly I wonder they did not make off, for, as a rule, these
-fellows are rank cowards."
-
-Will Harland observed that when the don asked if Juan had any suspicions
-as to the author of the attempt, Donna Christina, who had returned to
-the room when his wounds were dressed, glanced towards him, as if
-anxious to hear his answer. Putting that and the young Mexican's
-momentary hesitation together, he at once suspected that both he and the
-girl had a strong idea as to who was at the bottom of this attempt. The
-subject was not further alluded to, the conversation turning upon the
-United States, concerning which the Mexican asked Harland many
-questions.
-
-"It is a pity so great a distance divides us from them," he said. "It is
-more effectual than any ocean, and yet perhaps if we were nearer
-neighbours your people would disturb our quiet life here. They are
-restless, and forever pushing forward, while we abhor changes, and live
-as our fathers did three hundred years ago. You see, the mountains act
-as a barrier to us, and we have never even tried to extend the territory
-we occupy beyond the strip of land between the coast and the mountains,
-and, indeed, that is ample for us. Our population has decreased rather
-than increased since Mexico declared its independence in 1821, and took
-what I have always considered the ill-advised step of expelling all the
-Spanish residents about six years ago.
-
-"Not that we in this province took any very active part in the civil
-wars that for ten years raged in Central Mexico; but although the
-Spanish authorities were bad masters, it must be granted that, while
-they were here, there was more trade and commerce than there has since
-been, and that the advantages all expected to secure from the revolution
-have by no means been obtained. It is curious that the same has been the
-case in the other countries that gained their independence. In Central
-America there are constant troubles, in Peru things have gone backward
-rather than forward, and Chile alone shows signs of enterprise and
-advancement. However, these things do not concern us greatly; we live
-by the land and not by trade; we have all we want, or can desire, and
-subsist, like the patriarchs of old, on our flocks and herds.
-
-"Don Juan's father, a man of vigour and courage, has shown more
-enterprise than any of us, for before the beginning of the troubles he
-moved far up a valley running into the heart of the mountains, and
-established himself there. He had large flocks and herds, but his land
-was insufficient to support them, and, in spite of the warnings of all
-his friends, he determined to move. So far he has proved himself a wise
-man. He began by making a sort of treaty with the Indians of that part,
-by which he agreed to give them a considerable amount of blankets and
-other goods if they would bind themselves not to interfere with him in
-any way. These people have generally proved themselves faithless in such
-matters, but this has been an exception to the rule, and I believe that
-he has not lost a single head of cattle since he went out there, and he
-is now undoubtedly one of the richest men on this coast. The fact that
-he should send his son on to Chile to enlarge his mind and prepare him
-for a trip to the United States, and even to Europe, shows the energy of
-the man, and how far removed his ideas are from those of the hacienderos
-in general. I can assure you that Juan's departure caused quite a
-sensation in this part of the province."
-
-"Does your father often come down here himself, Don Juan?"
-
-"He generally comes down once a year to arrange for the disposal of the
-increase of his cattle--that is to say, of the tallow and hides; as to
-the meat, it is practically of no value. Of course the bullocks are
-killed on the estate; the daily consumption is large, for he has upwards
-of fifty peons and vaqueros, but this is a comparatively small item, for
-he generally kills from eighteen thousand to twenty thousand animals;
-the carcasses are boiled down for the fat, and that and the hides are
-packed on great rafts and sent down to the coast. His place is only a
-few miles from the Colorado River. When he comes down here, he takes up
-a ship, which he sends round to Loreto, and thence up to the mouth of
-the Colorado."
-
-"How far is this place from here?"
-
-"About two hundred miles."
-
-"I should have thought it would have been better to have them here."
-
-"No, there is a range of hills about half-way between his place and the
-coast, across which it would be difficult to get them. Another thing is,
-that there is scarce any food by the way; rain seldom falls here, and
-although the land is very rich when irrigated, it affords but a scanty
-growth in its wild state. A herd of twenty thousand bullocks could
-scarcely exist on the road, and even if they got here, they would have
-lost so much fat that they would scarce pay for boiling down."
-
-They sat smoking in the veranda until nearly midnight, and Don Guzman
-then conducted the young sailor to the chamber that had been prepared
-for him.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II
-
-A HEARTY WELCOME
-
-
-Early as Mexican households are awake, in order to enjoy the
-comparatively cool hours of the morning, William Harland was the first
-up, and, dressing hastily, he started out to fetch his kit-bag. At the
-bottom of this he had stowed away, before he went on board, the clothes
-that he had worn when he left home, and also the contents of a small
-trunk that he had taken with him, buying an outfit for use on board from
-a slop-shop. He was back in an hour, for he had hidden the bag in a
-clump of bushes but two miles from the town. The servants were moving
-about, but, with the exception of Juan, none of the others were yet
-down. The latter met him as he entered.
-
-"I have been to your room, and when I found it empty, guessed the errand
-on which you were away. Why did you not tell me last night? You could
-have had a negro slave to go with you and carry that sack of yours
-back."
-
-"Oh, I am not too proud to carry it myself, Don Juan, and I was really
-anxious to get it the first thing this morning, for I certainly should
-feel very uncomfortable sitting down to breakfast with your friends in
-this rough sailor suit. Luckily, I have some decent clothes in my bag,
-and half a dozen white jean jackets and trousers, which I bought for
-wearing ashore when I was on my last voyage; for then, as an apprentice
-and in a ship chiefly belonging to my father, I had a good many
-privileges in the way of leave when we were in port."
-
-"You look desperately hot, and if you would like a swim, there is a pond
-in that clump of trees at the end of the garden--I have had a dip there
-myself this morning."
-
-"Thank you, I should like it extremely, and I can then finish my toilet
-there."
-
-The pond was an artificial one, the sides and bottom being lined with
-stone; a thick band of trees and undergrowth surrounded it; it had
-doubtless been formed for the purpose of a bath, and also, as was shown
-by two or three seats placed around it, as a shady retreat during the
-heat of the day. In half an hour Will rejoined Juan, looking cool and
-comfortable in his white jacket and trousers, and a white flannel shirt,
-with turn-down collar and black silk handkerchief around his neck.
-
-"That is a good deal better," Juan said; "you only want a sombrero to
-complete your costume. Sit down here; I told the servant to bring
-chocolate for us directly I saw you coming out from the trees. Don
-Guzman and Christina take their chocolate in their room. I don't suppose
-that we shall see them till breakfast, which will not be served for an
-hour and a half yet."
-
-"How is your arm, Don Juan?"
-
-"Drop the Don, please; I was always called simply Juan by my English
-friends at Valparaiso. It is much more pleasant than our ceremonious way
-of addressing each other. So call me Juan, please, and I will call you
-Will."
-
-"Now, Juan," Harland said, as they sipped their chocolate, "who do you
-believe set those ruffians on to you? I could see plainly enough that
-both you and the seņorita had suspicions, though you did not choose to
-mention them to her father."
-
-"You are a sharp observer," Juan laughed. "Well, yes, I will tell you
-frankly upon whom my suspicions fell. I must tell you first that Don
-Guzman is a connection of mine, my father having married a first cousin
-of his. When my father went out to this new ranch of his, twelve years
-ago, he left me behind, under my cousin's charge, and I lived here for
-five years, going to the mission to be educated by the fathers. Since
-then I have generally spent a month or two here, and not unnaturally, as
-you who have seen her will doubtless admit, I have grown to be very fond
-of Christina. Of course till lately she has simply looked upon me as her
-big cousin, but when I was last here, before going down to Valparaiso,
-she was a little changed; she had grown to be shy with me, which she had
-never been before, and I hoped that she had begun to return my
-affection. Naturally enough, when I returned the other day, I spoke out
-to her, and learned, to my delight, that this was so, but of course she
-could say nothing until our parents had been consulted--an indispensable
-step, as you of course know, for in Mexico, although young people may
-have some voice in the matter, the parents' consent has to be obtained,
-and the preliminaries are, in fact, settled by them. In this case,
-happily, there is no fear of difficulty arising on that score. Don
-Guzman and my father are firm friends, and the alliance would be a
-suitable one in all respects, as, although my father may be more wealthy
-than Don Guzman, Christina is an only child, while I have a sister who
-is about her age."
-
-"But I still do not see, Juan, how this explains anyone having an enmity
-with you."
-
-"No, I am just coming to that. You must know that the military
-commandant of San Diego, Colonel Pedros Melos, has a son Enriques, who
-is a captain in the regiment stationed here. Christina told me before I
-went down to Chile that Captain Melos was a frequent visitor, and that
-he was very attentive to her father, and frequently brought bouquets of
-choice flowers. She added that, although he was very civil to her, as
-far as the customs of the country permit a caballero to be civil to any
-young lady not related to him, she did not like him. Well, it happened
-the other day, that, just as Christina and I were coming to an
-understanding, exactly where we are sitting now, this Captain Melos
-stepped out from the window of the drawing-room. I should imagine that
-he had no great difficulty in understanding the situation. A young
-couple who have just declared their love for each other are apt to look
-a little awkward when suddenly interrupted.
-
-"The sound of his foot, as he stepped out on the veranda, caused us to
-look round sharply. As his eye fell on us he turned as pale as if he had
-received a blow, and if ever man's face wore for a moment an expression
-of intense rage his did then. However, he checked himself, murmured a
-word or two about believing that Seņor Guzman was in the veranda, and
-then turned on his heel and went back into the room. Christina caught my
-arm. 'Beware, Juan, that man will be your deadly enemy!' And I felt that
-she spoke truly. She said that his attentions of late had been very
-marked, and she had been in constant fear that his father would call on
-hers to ask for her hand for his son. We agreed that I should, without
-loss of time, speak to her father on the subject of my suit, and I did
-so on the same day.
-
-"He was good enough to say that when a request from my father reached
-him to that effect, he should most willingly accede to it. Colonel Melos
-did, in fact, call the day before yesterday, and formally proposed the
-alliance, to which Don Guzman replied that his daughter's affections
-were already engaged with his perfect consent and approval. The colonel,
-of course, had nothing to do but to bow himself out with as good a
-grace as he could muster. I fancy from what I have heard that he is a
-good officer and an honest man. He has played a part in all the civil
-wars that we have had here, but, unlike most others, he always stuck to
-the same side, which, fortunately for him, turned out in the end to be
-the successful one. His son bears an altogether different character.
-Here, indeed, there has been nothing much against him; the fact of his
-father being commandant has no doubt acted as a check upon him, and
-possibly the hope that he may have entertained of winning Christina's
-hand may have helped to render him discreet, but I have heard that in
-other places where his regiment has been in garrison, he bore the worst
-of characters.
-
-"Thus, you see, as a bitterly-disappointed man and as an unscrupulous
-one, he might well have been the author of this attack upon me; and, as
-you noticed, the idea occurred to Christina as well as myself,
-remembering as we did the expression of his face when he saw us
-together. That the affair was his work, however, we have no shadow of
-proof, and I should not think of whispering my suspicions to anyone.
-Still, I shall take every precaution for the three or four days that I
-remain here, and shall not be out in the unfrequented streets after
-nightfall. And now about yourself; tell me, frankly, what are you
-thinking of doing? Do you intend to continue at sea, or are you thinking
-of returning to your home, where, no doubt, you would be gladly received
-by your father?"
-
-"I have not thought it fully over yet, but I certainly shall not go back
-to my father with the tale that I found my life unbearable and deserted
-my ship. When I go it must be with a better record than that. He may
-have objected most strongly to my taking to the sea, but I think it
-would be an even greater annoyance to him to find that having, in
-defiance of his wishes, done so, I had so soon backed out of it. He
-himself is a man who carries through anything that he undertakes, no
-matter if he incurs loss in so doing. I do not say that if I saw some
-other opening and made a success of it, he would mind; but when I do go
-back it must not be as a returned prodigal, but as a man who has done
-something, who has in one line or another achieved a certain amount of
-success. As far as I have thought it over, my ideas have been to take a
-passage down to Valparaiso, which seems to me the most go-ahead place on
-this coast, and there look round. I have money enough to last for some
-little time, for my father, on my return from my last voyage, gave me a
-cheque for five hundred dollars, and, beyond twenty or thirty dollars
-expended on my sea-kit, I still have it all in my belt."
-
-"But what do you think of doing in Valparaiso?"
-
-"I would take anything that turned up except a clerkship. Then, if in
-two or three months I could see nothing that seemed likely to lead to a
-good thing, I would ship again."
-
-"Well, you will not embark on any such wild-goose chase for some time,
-for I intend to take you off with me to my father's hacienda for a long
-visit. You will receive the heartiest of welcomes when I tell them what
-you have done for me. I can promise you, I think, a pleasant time there,
-and you will see what will be quite a new side of life to you, and learn
-something of the ranching business, which, let me tell you, is as good
-as another, though I admit that a considerable amount of capital is
-required for making a fair start."
-
-"I should like it extremely," Harland said, "but--"
-
-"There are no buts in it, Will," the other broke in. "You don't suppose
-that after what has happened you are going your way and I am going mine
-in the course of a few days, as if we were but two passengers who had
-made a short voyage together. My father would never forgive me if I did
-not bring you up with me. I expect to-morrow or next day we shall have
-three or four of the men down with horses, blankets, and other
-necessities for travel. I sent a messenger off on the day I arrived.
-There is generally a wagon or two that comes down every month for
-groceries, wine, and other matters, and as I find that it is fully that
-time since the last trip, I expect that the carts and men will both
-arrive to-morrow. Travelling comfortably, we shall take the best part of
-a week to get there; of course, with relays of horses it could be done
-in less than half that time. The wagons take ten days, and that is good
-travelling, especially as there are three days' heavy work over the
-first range of hills. Here the mules will have a few days' rest and then
-start again."
-
-"You find mules better than horses for wagons?"
-
-"Beyond all comparison better; the value of a mule is six times that of
-a horse, except for exceptionally good and fast animals. Feed a mule
-well, and there is no better beast in the world. Of course the mules are
-big animals, being bred from the finest donkeys that can be imported
-from Spain, and can drag as much as oxen and go half as fast again."
-
-Acting under his friend's advice, Will purchased the necessaries for his
-journey, the principal item being a Mexican poncho; this, in
-appearance, was like a large blanket made of a long, soft wool that was
-practically water-proof. A hole edged with braid was cut in the middle.
-This was slipped on over the head, and a long riding-cloak, reaching to
-the stirrups, was obtained, while at night it served all the purposes of
-an ordinary blanket. Juan presented him with a rifle, a brace of
-handsomely mounted double-barrelled pistols, and a sword.
-
-"We always ride armed across the hills; we are on good terms with the
-Indians near us, but might fall in with some wandering bands, or
-possibly a party of white cut-throats, fugitives from justice. Besides,"
-he added significantly, "there may possibly be dangers on this side of
-the first range of hills."
-
-"You think--" Will began.
-
-"Yes, I think it possible that the organizer of the first attempt on my
-life may try again. It is not probable that he likes me any better for
-the failure he then made."
-
-Some high riding-boots, a couple of pairs of fringed Mexican trousers,
-and a few other necessaries completed the equipment, most of which was
-to be sent up in the wagon with the kit-bag. Will was in high spirits.
-Nothing could be more pleasant than the trip promised to be, and he
-looked eagerly forward to the start. The wagons had arrived, and with
-them four mounted men who had overtaken them on the day before they
-reached San Diego. They brought down with them two riding horses,
-intended for Juan's use.
-
-"My father always sends two down," Juan said, "so that I can have a
-change each day, and be beyond the reach of such accidents as a horse
-straining himself or casting a shoe. Besides, on more than one occasion
-I have brought back a friend with me, as I am going to do now."
-
-"I suppose you breed a good many up there?"
-
-"We breed enough for the wants of our vaqueros, and a few high-class
-animals for our own riding. We don't care about having more than is
-necessary, for a good horse is a temptation that an Indian can scarcely
-withstand. Cattle they don't care so much for, for up in the mountains
-feed would be scarce for them; besides, they have no difficulty in
-getting meat--game is plentiful enough, deer and bear, while at times
-they go down into the great plains on the other side of the Rockies and
-kill as many buffalo as they please, jerk the meat, and bring it up to
-their villages. In point of fact, we never refuse half a dozen or a
-dozen cattle to any party of Indians who come down and ask for them. It
-keeps us on good terms with them, and practically costs us nothing, for
-they do not often take the hides, preferring greatly deer-skins for
-their hunting-shirts and leggings, for which bullock hide is too heavy,
-while for their lariats and heel ropes, and so on, they use buffalo
-hide, which is stronger and tougher. So practically, you see, it is only
-the value of the fat that we lose."
-
-Three days later Juan and Will said good-bye to Seņor Guzman and his
-daughter and set out, the four mounted men riding behind them with two
-led animals carrying provisions and water-skins.
-
-"How far is it before we get beyond the settled country?"
-
-"The country is cultivated as far as the Chocolate Hills, as there are
-several small rivers, whose water is used for irrigating the fields.
-Beyond these hills there are scattered villages and haciendas, their
-positions being determined by the existence of streams coming down from
-a great mountain range, for although rain seldom falls near the coast,
-there are heavy showers there occasionally. Except in the rainy season,
-the beds of these streams are dry, but wells sunk in them at all times
-yield a plentiful supply of water. It is drawn up by the labour of
-bullocks, and the ground irrigated; and they grow oranges, bananas,
-grapes, melons, and all kinds of fruit, in fact, in abundance. Some of
-these irrigated estates are of considerable size. For the last fifty
-miles we shall come across no settlements until we reach our own
-hacienda, for the country is too much open to Indian forays. Though we
-do not suffer as much as they do on the other side of the Colorado;
-still the risk is great--too great for men who embark their capital, to
-say nothing of risking their lives. We are fortunate in the fact that
-the tribe immediately in our neighbourhood is a small one, and far less
-warlike than many of their neighbours. The goods they receive from us,
-and the cattle, make them comparatively rich, and they have never shown
-any signs whatever of enmity against us. We have promised them that if
-they are attacked by any of their savage neighbours we will, if they
-come down to us, assist them, and as the hacienda is strongly built and
-we have a supply of arms sufficient for all our men, we could resist any
-attack. I think this understanding has quite as much to do with their
-friendly feeling towards us as the benefits they receive from us."
-
-"It must be a large valley to be capable of sustaining so vast a herd as
-that of your father?"
-
-"Yes; the valley is not very wide at the lower end near the river, but
-the hills open out and form a basin some ten miles wide and twenty miles
-long. Beyond that it extends a considerable distance, but narrows fast;
-a stream runs down the centre, and during the rainy season and at the
-time of the melting of the snows there are innumerable rivulets coming
-down from the hills, and in consequence the grass is sweet and long. Our
-herds amount to about forty thousand head, and we do not let them exceed
-that number. We do not use the upper part of the valley. By our
-agreement with the Indians that is to remain untouched as a
-hunting-ground for them."
-
-That night they slept at the hacienda of some acquaintances of Seņor
-Sarasta, where they were most hospitably entertained; the next day they
-halted for a few hours at San Felice, and rode on as soon as the sun had
-lost its full power. They were now beyond the region of general
-cultivation; the plain was, however, fairly green, as a short time
-before the unusual circumstance of a heavy rain had occurred, with the
-result that in the course of a few days the whole face of the country
-was changed. As soon as the horses were unsaddled the men scattered to
-collect dead brushwood, and in a short time a fire was blazing, and a
-slice from a hindquarter of venison that had been presented to them by
-their host of the night before was skewered on a ramrod and placed over
-it. They had made sixty-five miles in two days' journey. They had not
-been following any beaten track, but the men had all made the journey so
-often that no path was needed. In the morning they would begin the
-ascent of the lower slopes of the mountains, whose crest rose some
-thirty miles ahead of them, although, seen in the clear air, they did
-not seem to Will Harland to be more than a fifth of that distance.
-Rather to the surprise of the men, Juan ordered that a watch should be
-kept, a precaution they had never taken before.
-
-"I have an idea," he said to Will, "that we shall be attacked either
-to-night or while mounting the hill to-morrow. It is just as well to
-take the precaution to set a guard to-night, but I do not really think
-that if a party are out after us they will trouble us to-night. They
-could not know exactly the road we should take, but will be sure that we
-shall cross the hills and come down on the north side of the Great Dry
-Lake, and probably stop at Martinez. From there the country is better
-cultivated, as we go along the Chatenezonais Valley, in which there are
-several villages. To-morrow's journey is, therefore, the most lonely and
-dangerous, and they would have no motive whatever in going farther, so I
-think that for to-night we can sleep tranquilly. To-morrow we shall have
-to be on our guard."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III
-
-AN AMBUSH
-
-
-The night passed quietly. The soil was soft and sandy, and, rolled in
-his poncho, Will slept as comfortably as if in a hammock. They were in
-the saddle early, for the day's ride would be a very long one, and Juan
-intended to give the horses a day's rest at Martinez.
-
-"We don't consider sixty miles to be a long journey here," Juan said, as
-they started, "and, indeed, if one starts on fresh horses it is a mere
-nothing; but when one rides the same, day after day, forty is as much as
-one has a right to expect from them after one is once fairly on his way.
-We shall meet with no water to-day, and it is specially for this part of
-the journey that we brought the water-skins with us."
-
-"I noticed that you did not fill them half full at the last stream we
-crossed."
-
-"No, it was not necessary; the horses will have a good drink at a stream
-we shall cross in a couple of hours, and we shall fill the skins there;
-beyond that we enter the mountains and travel through an extremely
-difficult pass, or, rather, I should say, passes, till we come down into
-the valley. The carts do not come this way; they strike the Colorado
-River many miles down and follow its bank. It is at least a third
-longer, but if it were three times as long they would have to go that
-way; the passes are difficult enough for horses, but they would be
-impossible for wheeled carriages."
-
-After riding for thirty miles they halted for half an hour; the horses
-were watered, and the men ate some of the meat they had cooked overnight
-and some cold pancakes that had been fried in deer's fat. They were now
-far up on the hillside and following a regular track.
-
-"Another hour's sharp climbing and we shall be on the top summit of the
-pass. See to the priming of your rifles and pistols. If we are not
-attacked before we reach the top I shall admit that I have been wrong,
-and that the attack upon me was, after all, the work of street
-ruffians."
-
-The four vaqueros were ordered to look to their pistols before
-remounting; they did not carry guns.
-
-"Do you expect an attack, master?" one asked. "I have not heard of
-there being any bands on the road just lately, but of course there may
-be some, and this bit of road is their favourite lurking-place, as the
-traffic between San Filepi and the Chatenezonais Valley all comes this
-way."
-
-"I do not know that I expect to be attacked, Lopez, but I have grounds
-for suspecting that it is possible. If we should be ambushed, dismount
-at once, and take up your position behind the rocks and fight them in
-their own way. If the road were good enough I should say gallop on, but
-it is too steep and too rough for that."
-
-Will Harland soon found that his friend had not exaggerated the
-difficulty of the pass. On both sides the hills sloped very steeply and
-were covered by boulders. The track in the middle of the ravine was just
-wide enough for a cart, but at distances of two hundred or three hundred
-yards apart the rock had been cut away for some twenty yards, so that
-two or three carts could draw aside there to allow others coming the
-other way to pass. As it was inconvenient for two to ride abreast, Juan
-said: "We had better go in single file."
-
-"Yes, and I will ride first," Will replied. "If there should be a fellow
-hiding among these rocks, it will be you they are after, and, riding
-first, you would present an easy mark for them; whereas, if I am first,
-they won't be able to aim at you till you are pretty nearly abreast of
-them."
-
-"I don't like that," Juan began, but Will pushed his horse forward. Both
-had unslung their rifles from their shoulders, and were carrying them in
-readiness for instant use.
-
-"Keep your eyes on the rocks," Juan said to the men behind him; "if one
-of you sees the least movement give a shout, and all throw yourselves at
-once off your horses."
-
-It would, however, have been no easy matter to distinguish a man's head
-among the masses of rock and boulders through which in many places
-brushwood and small trees had sprung up, and, although all kept scanning
-the hillsides minutely, nothing suspicious was heard, until suddenly a
-shot was fired from a spot some forty feet up the rocks on the left-hand
-side. Will instantly swung himself to the ground, gave a sharp slap on
-his horse's quarters, and ensconced himself behind a rock, while the
-animal, relieved from the weight of his rider, made his way rapidly
-along the path. The first shot had been followed by half a dozen others.
-These came from both sides of the ravine, and a ball striking the rock
-close to Will's head, showed him that his position was no more safe
-there than it would have been on horseback. He therefore made a rush
-upward, and took up a position between two rocks which covered him from
-either side. Then he took advantage of some bushes and crawled some
-yards farther along, until he came to a spot where he could lie in
-shelter, and yet obtain a view through the bushes both above and below
-him.
-
-"Are you all right, Juan?" he shouted.
-
-The answer came from rocks on the other side. "Yes; the ball aimed at me
-has killed my horse, but I am unhurt. Lopez is killed."
-
-For some time shots were fired at intervals. Juan shouted to the
-vaqueros not to use their pistols.
-
-"You would have no chance of hitting them," he said, "and they would
-only pick you off one by one. Lie quiet for the present; keep your shots
-till they come to close quarters. Now, Will," he said in English, "you
-watch the rocks above me, and I will watch those above you. Mark, if you
-can, where a shot is fired; lie with your rifle pointed at it until the
-fellow stands up to fire again, and then let him have it."
-
-Four shots were fired almost together from Will's side, the assailants
-aiming in the direction from which the voice had come, but Will had no
-doubt that Juan had foreseen this and was in shelter when he spoke.
-Presently he saw a puff of smoke shoot out from the side of a large
-rock. He brought his rifle to bear upon it and watched intently. Three
-minutes later a head appeared cautiously round the rock, then a shoulder
-appeared, and a rifle was pointed towards the spot behind which he had
-first sheltered. He fired, there was a sharp scream, and the rifle went
-clattering down, exploding as it fell. The moment that he had fired,
-Will drew back into the shelter of the stone. Two other shots rang out,
-and the balls cut up and scattered the small pebbles on which he had
-been lying. He was able to observe, however, the position of one of his
-assailants. While he was reloading he heard the crack of Juan's rifle,
-followed by an exclamation of satisfaction.
-
-"That is two of them, Will. They will soon get tired of this game."
-
-The distances were so short, in fact, that it was almost impossible for
-even an indifferent shot to miss his aim when he once caught sight of
-the head of an enemy. Presently another shot struck the rock close to
-Will. It was fired some paces from the stone that he was watching, and
-showed that the assailants were using the same tactics that he had done,
-and were shifting their positions after firing. He moved a few yards
-away, and did not answer to the next two or three shots that were
-fired.
-
-"He is done for," he heard one of the men on the other side of the
-ravine say. They were but some fifty feet away from him, and it was,
-therefore, easy to catch their words as they shouted from one to the
-other.
-
-"Well, then, go down and attack the man we want," another voice said.
-"No one but the Englishman had a rifle over there, so you are quite
-safe."
-
-"You had better come and show us the way. We did not bargain for this
-sort of thing. You said we should settle it all in one volley."
-
-"So you would have done, you fools, if you could have shot straight. Who
-could have supposed that you were all going to miss at that distance.
-Why, a child of ten years old would have fired straighter. However, I am
-ready to lead the way. You, over there, make a rush when we do."
-
-Will marked the exact position of the speaker. It was behind a large
-boulder some fifteen yards up the hill and as much ahead of him; he saw
-that to join the men who had been firing he would have to pass an open
-space between that and some other large masses of rock, and he laid his
-sights on that spot. The speaker, who was evidently confident that he
-was killed, and that therefore there was no danger of a shot being fired
-at him while he moved to join the others, appeared half a minute later.
-He was stooping, and held a pistol in each hand. The moment his body
-appeared in the line of fire Will pressed the trigger, and the man
-rolled over like a log. A cry of dismay burst from the hillside above
-Harland, where the men had evidently been watching also for their leader
-to join his comrades and give the signal for a rush.
-
-"I have shot Melos, Juan!" Will shouted. "At least if he is, as you
-suppose, their leader."
-
-"Well done, indeed! We shall have no difficulty with the rest of them if
-their paymaster is dead; they will think of nothing now but saving their
-own wretched lives."
-
-The parties on the opposite sides of the ravine now shouted to each
-other. Two or three of them urged their companions to make a general
-rush, but the majority were altogether against this.
-
-"Why should we throw away our lives?" one said. "They have all got
-pistols, and even if we got the better of them, four or five of us would
-be likely to go down before we had finished with them. Indeed, they
-would shoot us down directly we showed ourselves, and half of us would
-never reach the bottom."
-
-There was a silence which showed that there was a general feeling that
-he was right. Then the same speaker went on:
-
-"Caballeros, we have been cruelly misled; we are poor men, and have been
-led into this. Two of us have been killed; we ask your mercy."
-
-As he ceased there was a general cry of "Mercy! mercy!"
-
-"You dogs!" Juan shouted back, "if it were not that all of your lives
-are not worth as much as a drop of the honest blood of those with me, I
-would not move from here until I had put an end to the last of you.
-However, you have had a lesson now. Come down one at a time into the
-road. When you get there drop your pistols and knives to the ground, and
-then go down the hill. When one man has started let the next man come
-down. How many are there of you?"
-
-"There are six of us alive," the man answered. "We were eight besides
-our leader. My brother was killed by you in San Diego the other night,
-and if it had not been for that I should not have come."
-
-"Look here," Juan said, "I shall see every one of your faces plainly as
-you come down, and when you have thrown down your arms you will stand
-and face this rock so that I may have a good look at you. I warn you to
-leave San Diego as soon as you get back, for when I return I will have
-the town searched for you, and any of you found there will pay for this
-with your lives. Now you come down first."
-
-One by one the six men came down, placed their weapons upon the ground,
-turned to the rock where Juan was lying, and then went down the pass
-without a word being uttered. When the last had gone Juan stepped down
-into the road, and was at once joined by Will, who had kept his rifle
-pointed on each man as he reached the road, in case he should intend
-treachery against Juan. Two of the vaqueros also stepped out.
-
-"Where is Pedro?" Juan asked.
-
-"He is dead, sir. He was shot through the body, but had just strength to
-throw himself in among the rocks. I heard him groaning just at first,
-but he was soon silent; I could see him from where I lay, and he has not
-moved since."
-
-"See if he is dead, Sancho. This is a bad business."
-
-The man returned in a minute.
-
-"He is quite dead, seņor."
-
-"Where is the man you shot, Will? Let us see if my suspicions are
-correct."
-
-Will led the way to the spot, followed by the others. Juan glanced at
-the dead man.
-
-"It is as I thought," he said. Then he turned to the vaqueros. "You may
-as well search him. It is likely he has money upon him."
-
-"He has a bag, and a heavy one, sir," one of them said, as he lifted a
-canvas bag from the dead man's sash.
-
-"Let us see what he valued my life at," Juan replied.
-
-The two vaqueros counted over the gold pieces.
-
-"There are eighty of them."
-
-"Ten apiece," Juan remarked. "Put aside sixty for the widows of Pedro
-and Lopez, and take ten each yourselves."
-
-"Shall we do anything with the body, seņor?"
-
-"Fetch some big stones and pile them over it. There will be no search
-for him, for you may be sure he has not mentioned to anyone in the town
-what he was going to do, or where he was going. He probably asked for a
-week's leave of absence, and would likely enough say that he was going
-up to Los Angeles or Santa Barbara, and when he does not return it will
-be supposed that he has been murdered on the way. When you have done
-with him you had better do the same thing with the bodies of your two
-comrades. The ground is too rocky to dig graves, and they will sleep as
-well there as elsewhere. It would be impossible for us to carry them
-home."
-
-An hour's labour and the work was finished. Will assisted the men in the
-work. Juan did not offer to do so.
-
-"I have a bullet in my shoulder," he said. "Another fellow fired the
-instant that I shot his comrade. He luckily hit my shoulder instead of
-my head. I will get you to fetch Pedro's sash and make a sling for my
-arm. We can do nothing for it until we go down to Monterey."
-
-"Have the horses gone far, do you think, Juan?"
-
-"No, we shall probably find them a few hundred yards up the pass. They
-are trained not to go on without riders, and when their first alarm at
-the firing has ceased they will halt."
-
-When the cairns were finished the vaqueros cut down two saplings and
-made a couple of rude crosses, which they fixed above their fallen
-comrades. Then they all proceeded up the pass, and soon came upon the
-horses, and, mounting, continued their way down into Monterey, where
-they arrived just as the sun was setting. Here Juan's wound was attended
-to. The injury was to the left arm, which had been thrown forward in the
-act of firing. The ball struck just above the elbow, and had cut a
-groove from that point nearly up to the shoulder.
-
-"This is evidently my unlucky arm at present, Will," he said, with a
-smile; "after having had three gashes below the elbow a week ago, it now
-gets ploughed with a rifle-bullet."
-
-"I should call it a lucky limb, Juan, considering that they are nothing
-but flesh wounds, and that had not the arm received them, both knife and
-bullet might have given you a vastly more serious wound elsewhere."
-
-"Yes, that is true enough. There is one comfort in being wounded in
-this country. You can't go into the smallest village without finding
-half a dozen people capable of dressing an injury, more especially a
-knife wound. In fact, knife fights are so common that very little is
-thought of them unless really dangerous injury is inflicted."
-
-"Will not this prevent your riding for a day or two, Juan?"
-
-"Not a bit of it. We had intended to stop here to-morrow to give a rest
-to the horses, but the next day we will push on. Happily, we shall not
-have to be on our guard against danger, for the risk of falling in with
-marauding red-skins is too slight to be thought of. Our next day's ride
-will be an easy one, across a cultivated country. Then we have a long
-day and a half of mountain work."
-
-The passes which they had to traverse before arriving at Seņor Sagasta's
-ranch astonished Harland, who had no previous experience of such
-scenery. Sometimes they were travelling up ravines so deep and rugged
-that it was almost twilight below, while at others they wound along on
-natural ledges on the face of precipices where a stumble of the horse
-would mean certain death to it and its rider. Higher and higher they
-wound, until, crossing a narrow shoulder of bare rock, they looked down
-into the broad valley owned by Juan's father.
-
-"Do you see that white speck in front of the dark patch of trees? That
-is the hacienda. As the crow flies, I do not suppose it is more than
-seven or eight miles away, but by the way we have to go it is five times
-that distance, and if we are there by this time to-morrow we shall have
-every reason to be satisfied."
-
-When they started the next morning, Juan sent one of the vaqueros on
-with the news that he would arrive two hours after his messenger.
-
-"It is just as well to give them notice," he said to Will. "I told him
-to mention that I have my arm in a sling, but that I have no serious
-injury. It has been hurting me a good bit for the past two days, and as
-I have not got much sleep I expect that I am not looking what you call
-very fit, therefore it is as well that they should not think me in a
-very bad way when I ride up; besides, I dare say they are getting
-anxious about me. You see, they will have calculated upon my having
-ridden a good deal faster than we have done, for with the two horses one
-can push on rapidly, and, knowing when the horses would have arrived at
-San Diego, they have, I am sure, been on the look-out for me for the
-past three or four days. Of course the wound was nothing in itself, but
-in such rough riding as we have had one gets sudden jerks that do not
-improve its condition. You have bathed it for me night and morning, but
-there is no doubt it has become a good deal inflamed, and I shall have
-to keep quiet for a few days after we get there."
-
-Will himself was by no means sorry that the journey was approaching its
-end. Wholly unaccustomed to riding, he had been so stiff at the end of
-the second day's journey that he could scarcely dismount unassisted from
-his horse. This had to some extent worn off, but he still felt that
-every bone in his body ached. The last ten miles were performed at a
-canter. The horses seemed as glad as their riders at being on level
-ground again, and were doubtless well aware that they were close to
-their home once more. They were within three miles of the hacienda, when
-they saw two mounted figures riding to meet them.
-
-"It is my father and sister," Juan said. "I thought that they would lose
-no time in starting after Antonio arrived with the news that I was close
-at hand."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV
-
-A GREAT RANCH
-
-
-Antonio had indeed been charged to make light of the fight in the pass.
-
-"My father is almost sure to mount and ride out to meet me," Juan said
-to him before starting. "You can say we had a skirmish with some
-brigands in the hills, and that I have a slight flesh wound in the
-shoulder, but don't say more about it until he has started to meet us.
-Then you can go to the huts and break the news of the death of Lopez and
-Pedro to their wives, but keep them from going anywhere near the house
-till I arrive. I don't wish my mother to know anything about it till I
-see her. If she heard that two of the men had been killed she would at
-once imagine that I had been badly wounded and that you were concealing
-the truth from her. Of course you will tell them, Antonio, that I am
-bringing a friend with me."
-
-Seņor Sarasta and his daughter came up. Will Harland reined in his horse
-a little so as to allow his companion to meet his friends alone. Juan
-checked his horse and dismounted as they came up to them, and they, too,
-leaped from their horses.
-
-"Welcome home again, Juan!" his father said, embracing him in Spanish
-fashion; while the girl kissed him with warm affection.
-
-"So I hear from Antonio that you have had trouble on the way and have
-lost some blood."
-
-"'Tis only a flesh wound, sir, but just at present it is smarting a good
-deal. Riding over those mountains is not the best thing in the world,
-even for a trifling wound. Now I wish to introduce you to my friend, Don
-William Harland, an American gentleman, who has done me vital service,
-as I will presently relate to you."
-
-Will had also dismounted, and was standing by his horse, some fifteen
-yards away. Juan's father walked across to him, and, lifting his
-sombrero, said:
-
-"As the friend of my son, seņor, I welcome you most warmly, the more so
-since he tells me that you have rendered him a signal service, though of
-what nature I am not aware, but in any case, as his friend you are mine,
-and I beg you to consider my house as your own. This is my daughter,
-Donna Clara."
-
-Will removed his sombrero and bowed deeply, while the girl made a
-ceremonious salute.
-
-"Now let us mount and ride on," Seņor Sarasta said. "Your mother will
-be anxiously expecting you, Juan. We have been looking for you for the
-past two days. But where are your other two men?"
-
-"I am sorry to say, father, that they are both killed," Juan replied.
-
-"Killed!" the haciendero repeated; while the girl uttered an exclamation
-of horror.
-
-"Why, Antonio only spoke of the attack upon you as a trifle!"
-
-"I told him to do so, sir. I did not wish for you or my mother to be
-alarmed. She might well have imagined that the wound was much more
-serious than he reported; but it was a serious affair. We were ambushed
-by a party of nine men in the upper part of the pass in the hills beyond
-Monterey. The two men were killed by their first fire. We took to the
-rocks. My friend here shot their leader and one of the men. I shot
-another, but should not have been much further use, for one of them
-fired almost at the same instant that I did, and his bullet cut my arm
-from the elbow to the shoulder. It is not at all a serious wound, but
-it disabled the arm for a time. However, the fall of their leader
-settled the affair. The other six men, finding that they could not get
-away without a certainty of being shot, surrendered, coming out one by
-one and throwing down their weapons in the road and then going down the
-pass singly. I was obliged to let them go, for they were still superior
-to us in number, and we could no more show ourselves out of shelter than
-they could. Some at least of us might have fallen had the fight gone
-on."
-
-"Well, let us mount," the don said. "You must tell me all about it later
-on. The first thing to do is to have your wound seen to. Padre Hidalgo
-is a famous hand at such matters."
-
-"Well, seņor," he went on to Will, as they cantered along, "I can quite
-understand now that the service that you rendered to my son is a
-valuable one, for had you not shot the leader of these rascals, to say
-nothing of some of the others, the fight might have terminated very
-differently."
-
-"That is certainly so," Juan said, "but that was not the service to
-which I alluded. Don William and I made our first acquaintance in the
-streets of San Diego after nightfall. I was returning through the
-quarter by the port when I was attacked suddenly by four cut-throats. I
-was defending myself as well as I could, but should certainly have been
-killed had not this gentleman, who was an entire stranger to me, ran up
-and levelled one of my assailants to the ground with a blow from a stick
-he carried, and broke the wrist of another. The third, turning to defend
-himself, I disposed of, and the other ran away."
-
-"By the saints! you seem to have had a hot time of it, Juan, and,
-indeed, we have all good reason to be most grateful to your preserver.
-Seņor Harland, my obligations to you are infinite--such as I can never
-repay."
-
-"Really, seņor, you are making more of the matter than it is worth,"
-Will said earnestly. "I was going quietly along when I heard shouts and
-exclamations, and felt that someone was being attacked. I ran forward,
-and, seeing four men attacking one, had no difficulty in deciding who
-were the aggressors, and without hesitation joined in. As I took them by
-surprise, and, in fact, disposed of two of them before they could attack
-me, while almost at the same moment Juan killed another, the affair was
-over almost before it began. It was not a quarter of a minute from the
-time I came up to that in which the fourth man was running off at the
-top of his speed. I have already benefited very largely by the affair,
-having gained thereby the friendship of your son, the hospitality of his
-friend, Seņor Guzman, and the opportunity of making this journey and
-paying you a visit. As to the affair in the mountains, I was defending
-my own life also, and our success was as important to me as to him."
-
-"It is well for you to make light of it, sir, but whether the first
-affair lasted a quarter of a minute or a quarter of an hour, the result
-was the same. Your quickness and courage in thus plunging into a street
-fray on behalf of a stranger saved my son's life, as doubtless did the
-shot that killed the leader of the party attacking you. It is strange,
-indeed, that he should have met with two such adventures in the course
-of a week. Possibly, Juan, the one was a sequel to the other, and those
-engaged in it may have been the comrades of the men who attacked you at
-San Diego, and who thus assaulted you to obtain revenge for their mishap
-there."
-
-"That was so, father. Both attacks were the work of one man, who, I am
-happy to say, will trouble me no more, as he was the leader of the
-second attack--the man whom Seņor Harland shot."
-
-"But who is the man, and what could have been his motive for thus
-attacking you?"
-
-"I only suspected the first time, father, and until I looked at the man
-Harland had shot I was not sure of it. Happily none of the men who acted
-for him are likely to open their lips on the matter, and no one else
-will have a suspicion. Had it been otherwise we might have had a good
-deal of trouble over it, for the man was Captain Enriques Melos."
-
-Sarasta looked grave.
-
-"As you say, that would lead to serious trouble were it known, although,
-clearly, you were not to blame in the matter; but what was the reason of
-his enmity against you?"
-
-"He was a suitor for Donna Christina Guzman's hand, father."
-
-"Ah, ah, that explains it! Well, we will think no more of it at present;
-but what did you do with his body?"
-
-"We piled rocks over it; there is no fear of his being discovered, and
-as he certainly would not have mentioned to anyone his intention of
-murdering me on my way home, no search is likely to be made in that
-direction."
-
-"That is well. Of course I received your letter, Juan, and sent off a
-messenger at once to Seņor Guzman, giving my and your mother's hearty
-consent to the match, which indeed pleased us much."
-
-Two or three minutes later they arrived at the hacienda, in front of
-which a number of servants and peons employed in the gardens and stables
-had gathered to welcome their young master back after his nine months'
-absence. As they dismounted, Donna Sarasta appeared at the door. Juan
-ran up the steps and tenderly embraced her; Seņor Sarasta then led Will
-up.
-
-"Your first welcome, my dear, should have been given to this gentleman,
-Seņor William Harland, for had it not been for him you would not have
-Juan by your side now. He has twice saved his life."
-
-"Twice saved his life!" Donna Sarasta exclaimed incredulously. "Is it
-possible, Philip?"
-
-"It is quite true," her husband said gravely. "Had it not been for him
-Juan would never have returned to us. Do not be alarmed; the danger is
-over, for the author of these attacks has fallen by Don William's
-rifle."
-
-The lady held out both hands to Will. The tears were streaming down her
-cheeks.
-
-"Seņor," she said, "I cannot thank you now. Remember that it is our only
-son's life that you have saved. Think of what we should have felt had
-he not returned, and our men had brought us news of his death. May the
-Blessed Virgin reward you and bless you! Give me your arm, Philip, I am
-faint."
-
-Her husband and son supported her into the house and placed her on a
-couch.
-
-"Look after your mother, Clara," the Mexican said, as two female
-attendants came in.
-
-"Sancho, go and call Father Hidalgo down from his study. Doubtless he is
-unaware that my son has returned. Tell him that he is to bring bandages
-and salves, for there is a wound to be dressed. He will find my son in
-the dining-room. Do one of you fetch basins of hot water and sponges
-there. Now, Seņor Harland, I will lead you to your room. Doubtless a
-bath will be agreeable to you after your journey."
-
-Will was glad to be out of the way during this family meeting, and
-willingly followed his host, who took him to a large chamber on the
-first floor. A bath stood ready filled, with towels and all
-conveniences.
-
-"I told them to put a suit of Juan's clothes in readiness. I did not
-know whether they would fit, but I have no doubt they will do so. They
-will save you the trouble of opening your bag till evening. And now, if
-you will excuse me, I will go down and look at the boy's wound."
-
-"Well, luck has favoured me, indeed," Will said to himself, as he looked
-round the room before proceeding to undress. "A fortnight ago there was
-I, a runaway lad without plans, in a strange country, with nothing but
-my kit-bag and some ninety pounds to rely upon. Now I am in clover, with
-a good friend, a welcome assured as long as I choose to stay here, and
-an amount of gratitude that seems to me almost ridiculous, considering
-that it is all the result of my interfering in a street row, just as I
-might have done in any other port. At any rate, I shall have some new
-experiences to tell about when I get home. I shall certainly like the
-seņor; he has been so long out here that he has shaken off the indolent
-air and the formal constraint that almost all these Spanish people
-have, and is much more like an American than an Englishman. The mere
-fact of his having settled in this out-of-the-way valley is a proof that
-he has a lot of go and pluck.
-
-"Of course I can't tell much about his wife yet; she is naturally upset
-at the thought of Juan's danger. As to his sister, she is ever so much
-prettier than his sweetheart, though certainly Christina Guzman is
-pretty, too. She hardly said a word after her first welcome to him--I
-suppose she was too upset to talk, and will brighten up when she finds
-that Juan's wounds are really trifling. Well, I expect I shall have a
-jolly time of it here, and get some shooting and hunting. It will be
-great fun among all these herds of wild cattle. The first thing to do
-will be to learn to ride properly. I should not like to have all these
-Mexican fellows laughing at me. At any rate, I have learned something on
-our way here. I will get Juan to go out alone with me for a bit till I
-can be sure of sticking on. From what he was saying, some of their
-horses must be brutes to sit, especially those who jump straight up
-into the air, and keep on doing it until they get rid of their riders."
-
-Having taken a bath and dressed very leisurely, he went downstairs
-again, feeling pleased that Juan's clothes fitted him so well, and that
-it was not necessary for him to get out his own, for, although new, they
-would certainly not look so well after their journey in the kit-bag as
-did the spotless white garments that had been provided for him. He found
-Clara alone in the patio. This hacienda, like most of its kind, was a
-large square building with a courtyard in its centre. In this case the
-patio had been transformed into a shady little garden, with
-orange-trees, bananas, and other tropical productions. Grape-vines
-climbed round the light pillars that supported the veranda that
-surrounded it, and covered its roof with a mass of foliage dotted with
-great purple bunches of grapes. Two or three little fountains were
-half-hidden among the trees, and the air was heavy with the scent of the
-orange and citron flowers.
-
-"My father and mother will be down directly, seņor," she said; "the bell
-will ring for the mid-day meal in a few minutes."
-
-"What a lovely little garden this is!" Will said cheerfully, for he saw
-that the girl was nervous and embarrassed. "You would not see anything
-like this in the east, even under glass."
-
-The girl was silent for a few moments, and then broke out:
-
-"I hope you do not think me ungrateful, seņor, that I have said nothing
-to thank you for what you did for my brother, but it was not that. It
-was because I felt that if I were to say a word I should break out
-crying. We love each other dearly, Juan and I, and it was so awful to
-think that I might never have seen him alive again;" and she stopped,
-with her eyes full of tears.
-
-"I quite understand, seņorita," he said; "and, indeed, I have been very
-much more than sufficiently thanked by your father and mother. As for my
-share in the matter, it was really not worth talking about. I am a
-sailor, you know, and I am sorry to say that sailors when in port are
-often in the habit of getting into rows, and I have half a dozen times
-at least, when in foreign ports, taken part in a scrimmage when I saw
-drunken sailors engaged in a broil with others, and have had to fight
-very much harder than I did at San Diego, where, in point of fact, so
-far as I was concerned, there was really no fighting at all. I do not
-say that your brother might not have come off very badly if I had not
-happened to come along, but there was really no shadow of risk to
-myself. A couple of blows and it was all over; and I do hope that no one
-will say any more in the way of thanking me."
-
-At this moment Seņor Sarasta, his wife, and Juan, all came out together.
-
-"Well, Juan, how do you feel now?" Will asked, well pleased at their
-arrival.
-
-"I feel a different man altogether," the young Mexican replied. "A warm
-bath first and then the padre's salves have done wonders for me, and in
-a week I shall have forgotten all about it."
-
-The rest of the day was spent in sauntering or sitting in the gardens
-round the house. They were of the Spanish fashion, containing but few
-flowers except those borne by the fruit-trees, and resembling
-shrubberies and orchards rather than gardens, shade being the principal
-object aimed at. During the afternoon Will told his friend of his desire
-to become a good horseman.
-
-"I will put you in charge of Antonio; we have no better rider on the
-ranch. He will put you through a course, beginning with comparatively
-well-broken bronchos, until you can sit the worst buckers on the plains;
-but you must not mind a few heavy falls at first."
-
-"I shall not mind that a bit, Juan. Sailors have the knack of falling
-lightly."
-
-"Ah, well, he will choose a spot where the grass is long and the ground
-soft for your lessons, and I can tell you it makes a good deal of
-difference whether you come off on ground like that or on a spot where
-there is next to no grass, and the ground is as hard as a brick. I have
-no doubt that in the course of two or three weeks you will, if you
-stick to it, be able to ride almost anything."
-
-"You need not be afraid of my not sticking to it, Juan. I certainly
-should not like to look like a fool to your vaqueros, still less before
-your mother and sister."
-
-Accordingly next morning Will's lessons began in a meadow close to the
-stream, and half a mile away from the house. At first he was thrown an
-innumerable number of times, for he had told Antonio to bring with him
-some fairly restive horses.
-
-"It is of no use my spending my time on quiet animals," he said. "I have
-just had a week's riding on one of them. I may as well begin with a
-fairly bad one at once; it only means a few more throws. I have got to
-learn to hold on, and the sooner I begin that the better."
-
-"With beginners we sometimes put a strap for them to hold on by, seņor."
-
-Will shook his head. "I don't want anything of that sort," he said. "I
-want to be able to stick on by my knees."
-
-"It is more by properly balancing yourself than by holding on," the man
-said. "If you always keep your balance you will come straight down again
-into the saddle, no matter how high he throws you, and there is no doubt
-that the tighter you hold on by your knees the more heavy are the throws
-that you will get."
-
-"I can understand that, Antonio. Now I am ready to begin."
-
-Will had expected to find it difficult, but he was fairly astounded by
-the rapidity and variety of the tricks by which he was again and again
-thrown off. After a time Antonio urged him to give it up for the day,
-but he insisted on continuing until he was so absolutely exhausted that
-he could do no more.
-
-"Well, seņor," the man said, "you have done wonderfully well for a
-beginner, and I will guarantee that in another week you will be able to
-ride any ordinary horse, and in a month you will be able to mount
-fearlessly any animal that you may come across, except, of course, a few
-brutes that scarcely a vaquero on the ranch would care to back."
-
-Antonio's opinion was justified. It was ten days before Juan was able to
-ride again, and by that time William Harland was so far accustomed to
-the saddle that he was able to accompany him and his father on their
-excursions to visit the herds and see that all was going on well. He did
-not, however, give up his lessons with Antonio, devoting three or four
-hours a day to the work, and at the end of the month he was able to sit
-any ordinary bucker without difficulty. After that he practised for an
-hour a day on vicious animals, and at the end of three months Antonio
-said:
-
-"Now, seņor, I can do no more for you; that brute that you have been
-riding the last week is the terror of the ranch, and after sitting him
-as you have done for the last three days, without his being able to get
-rid of you once, you can ride anything without fear."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V
-
-AN INDIAN RAID
-
-
-The time passed very pleasantly; Will had become a great favourite with
-both Seņor Sarasta and his wife, and was treated as one of the family.
-Donna Clara often accompanied the party on horseback, and when her first
-shyness with Will had worn off, he found that she was lively and
-high-spirited. Accustomed to horses from her infancy, she was an
-admirable rider, and, although both Juan and Will were mounted on some
-of the best horses on the ranch, she could leave them behind on her
-favourite mare, a beautiful creature that she herself had broken in. At
-the end of three months Will felt that, much as he was enjoying himself,
-he must not outstay his welcome; but, upon his broaching the subject of
-leaving, the whole family protested so indignantly against such an idea,
-that he felt they really desired him to stay with them. Juan spoke to
-him on the subject as soon as they started on horseback together that
-afternoon.
-
-"The idea of your leaving us is altogether preposterous, Will; do you
-think that we should for a moment let you go? Where, indeed, would you
-go? What ideas have you in your mind? Are you not one of us completely?"
-
-"You are awfully good to me; I was never so happy in my life," Will
-replied, "but there is reason in all things; I cannot spend my life
-here. I must be doing something for my living. As I told you, I do not
-want to return home until I can say to my father, I have been a success,
-I require no favours, and am in a position to keep myself."
-
-"I understand that," Juan said, "but how do you propose doing it?"
-
-"I should do it somehow. I can at least ride now, and have more ways of
-making a living open to me than I had before."
-
-"My dear Will, you are talking nonsense, and if you suppose that we are
-going to let you go out into the world in that sort of way you are
-altogether mistaken. At any rate, leave the matter alone for the
-present; we may see our way more clearly in time;" and had Will happened
-to glance at his companion's face, he would have been puzzled by the
-slight smile that glanced across it.
-
-Two months later all hands were busy on the ranch. It was the season at
-which the herds were weeded out, the old bulls and some of the young
-ones slaughtered, skinned, and boiled down. Will only once accompanied
-Seņor Sarasta and Juan to the scene of operations. He was interested in
-the Indians, who, with their squaws and young ones, had come down and
-established a camp of their own. They were free to take as much meat as
-they pleased, not only for eating, but for drying for future
-consumption; broad, thin slices of flesh were cut up and hung on ropes
-between poles to dry in the sun. Three days sufficed for the operation.
-The meat, now almost as hard as leather, was pounded by the women
-between heavy stones, and then mixed with a little salt and packed
-tightly in bags made of skins. In this state it would keep for an
-indefinite time. Will Harland often went there, but could not be induced
-to approach the spot where the animals were slaughtered. He was much
-rallied by Seņor Sarasta and Juan on what they called his
-faint-heartedness.
-
-"I admit all you say," he replied. "I don't mind going into a fight
-myself, but I cannot stand seeing those poor brutes killed. I know that
-it is necessary, and that your vaqueros do it almost instantaneously; at
-the same time, it is not necessary for me to see it. I would very much
-rather stay away and watch the natives, with the shrivelled old women,
-and the funny little papooses."
-
-Clara nodded approvingly. "You are quite right, Don William," for
-although the others all, like Juan, called him simply by his Christian
-name, Clara still continued the more formal mode of address. "I never go
-near the yard myself when it is going on."
-
-"Ah! it is one thing for a girl not to like it," Juan said, "but for
-Will, whom I have seen as cool as possible when his life was in danger,
-and who fired at a man as steadily as if he had been shooting at a
-target, it seems odd. However, one does not go to see the animals
-killed; no one can take pleasure in that. The interest lies in the skill
-and courage of the vaqueros, who are constantly risking their lives;
-and, indeed, there is scarcely a season passes in which one or two of
-them are not killed."
-
-The work occupied nearly a month; then Juan started with his father for
-San Diego, where the formal betrothal of the former was to take place.
-At this his father's presence was necessary, and the latter would make
-his usual arrangements for chartering a ship to go down to receive the
-hides and skins full of tallow at the mouth of the river. Will had again
-proposed that he should accompany them and say good-bye to them there.
-As before, his proposal was scoffed at.
-
-"It will be time enough to think of that when I go down three months
-hence to be married," Juan said; "and now you must take our places
-here, and look after my mother and sister. You will have to play the
-part of my younger brother, and keep things straight. When we come back,
-we will have a serious talk about the future."
-
-Will was indeed now quite at home in the work of the ranch, and not
-infrequently rode in one direction to give orders respecting the herds,
-while Juan rode in the other; and the vaqueros all regarded him as being
-invested with authority by their master. The report of Antonio and
-Sancho of what had taken place at San Diego and on the road, had greatly
-predisposed them in his favour, and the manner in which he had succeeded
-in sitting a horse that few of them would venture to mount had greatly
-increased their respect for him. Don Seņor Sarasta settled the matter by
-saying, "If you were to go with Juan I could not leave at the same time,
-Will, and I particularly wish to be present at his betrothal. It would
-be strange and contrary to all custom if one of his family were not
-there; still, we could hardly be away together unless there were
-someone here to take our place. You know questions are constantly
-referred to us. One herd strays into the ground allotted to another,
-disputes arise between vaqueros, and, in fact, someone in authority must
-be here."
-
-"Very well, sir. Then, if you think that I can be really useful, I shall
-be only too glad to stay. You know that my own inclinations are all that
-way. I have already been here five months, and I feel that this
-delightful life must come to an end before long. However, since you are
-good enough to say that I can really be of use in your absence, I will
-gladly remain here until Juan goes down again to fetch his bride."
-
-Two days later the Mexican and his son rode off, accompanied by six
-well-armed horsemen. Will found plenty to do, and was out the greater
-part of the day. Two days after the others had started he saw one of the
-Indians talking to Antonio. As soon as the latter saw him he left the
-Indian and came up to him.
-
-"This Indian, who is one of the chiefs of our tribe, seņor, tells me
-that there is a report that the Indians on the other side of the river
-are preparing for an expedition. It is supposed that it is against
-another tribe farther east. They have not raided on this side of the
-river for many years, but he thought that it was as well to let us know
-that they are at present in an unsettled state. He says that he will
-have some of his warriors down near the river, and that he will let us
-know as soon as he has any certain news."
-
-"Is there anything to be done, do you think, Antonio?"
-
-"No, seņor; wars are frequently going on between the Indians to the
-east, but we have never had any trouble with them since we came here. If
-our Indians thought that there was any danger, they would very soon be
-flocking down here, for they have always been promised that they should
-be supplied with firearms were anything of that sort to happen, and they
-know that, with the aid of our people, they could beat off any number of
-these red-skins."
-
-"I have no doubt that we could defend ourselves, Antonio; however, you
-see that in Don Sarasta's absence I have a very heavy responsibility,
-and I think that it would be as well to take some precaution. Will you
-ask the chief to send down a dozen of his warriors? They shall be paid,
-in powder and in blankets, whatever is the usual sum. I want them to
-establish themselves round the hacienda, to keep guard at night. I don't
-mean that they shall stay close to the house, but scout down towards the
-river, so that in case of alarm there would be time to get you all in
-from the huts. How many sleep there?"
-
-"There are about thirty of us who look after the herds in the lower
-parts of the valley, and eight or ten peons who work in the garden round
-the house."
-
-"Well, that force, with the half-dozen servants in the house, would be
-able to hold the hacienda against almost any number of Indians, and you
-could all be here in ten minutes from the alarm being given."
-
-"Very well, seņor, I will tell the chief."
-
-He talked for a few minutes with the Indian.
-
-"He will send twelve of his braves down to-morrow," he said, when he
-rejoined Will.
-
-"Very well, let him do so; I shall certainly feel more comfortable. What
-tribe do these Indians on the other side of the river belong to?"
-
-"They are a branch of the Tejunas, who are themselves a branch of the
-Apaches. The head-quarters of the tribe lie on the east side of Arizona,
-between the Gila River and the Little Colorado. The Tejunas lie between
-them and the Colorado; they are just as bad as the Apaches themselves,
-and both of them are scourges to the northern districts of Mexico."
-
-"What are our Indians?"
-
-"They are a branch of the Genigueh Indians. They live among the hills
-between Iron Bluff, sixty miles below us, and those hills you see as
-many miles up. A good many of them hunt during the season on the other
-side as far east as Aquarius Mountains, in what is known as the Mohave
-country, but they never go farther south that side than the river
-Santemaria, for the Tejunas would be down upon them if they caught them
-in what they consider their country."
-
-"I wish the seņor was back," Will said; "though I dare say it is all
-right, and that, as the Indians haven't made a raid across here for many
-years, they will not do so now. How would they get across the river?"
-
-"They would swim across, seņor. An Indian thinks nothing of swimming a
-wide river; he simply slips off his horse, and either puts his hands on
-its back, or more generally holds on by its tail."
-
-"Have these fellows guns?"
-
-"A great many of them have. They capture them from the Mexicans, or, in
-peaceable times, trade skins or their blankets or their Indian trumpery
-for them. It is against the law to sell guns to the Indians, but most
-Mexicans will make a bargain if they have the chance, without the
-slightest regard to any law."
-
-"How is it that the Mexican government does not try and get rid of these
-Indians? I see by the map that the frontier line is a long way north of
-the Gila."
-
-"Yes, seņor; they may put the line where they like, but there is not a
-white man for a couple of hundred miles north of the Gila, except on the
-Santa Fé River, and even there they are never safe from the Apaches and
-the Navajoes. Why, it would want an army of twenty thousand men to
-venture among the mountains north of the Gila, and they would all die of
-starvation before they ever caught sight of an Apache. No, seņor; unless
-there is an earthquake and the whole region is swallowed up, I don't see
-any chance of getting the better of the red rascals."
-
-After entering the house, Will said nothing of the news which he had
-heard. It seemed that there was no real ground for alarm, and yet he
-could not but feel very uneasy. The next morning he rode down to the
-river, where a number of peons were engaged in loading the rafts with
-hides and tallow. He had told Donna Sarasta that he should be down
-there all day, as he wanted to get the work pushed on. He had been there
-but two hours when Antonio rode up at a headlong gallop.
-
-"What is it, Antonio?" Will exclaimed, for it was evident from the man's
-appearance that his errand was one of extreme importance.
-
-"The hacienda has been attacked by Indians, seņor; I was with the herd
-two miles this side of it when I heard some shots fired. I galloped to
-see what was the matter, but when I got within a quarter of a mile I saw
-that the Indians were swarming round it. A dozen started in pursuit of
-me, but they did not follow me far."
-
-Will stood as one thunderstruck.
-
-"But how can they have got there, Antonio?"
-
-"They must have come by what is called the little gap. You know it,
-seņor,--that valley that runs off from the other nearly abreast of the
-hacienda. Following that and crossing a shoulder, you cross down on to
-the river some ten miles higher up. They must have crossed there by
-swimming in the night."
-
-"But the chief said he had scouts there."
-
-"They could hardly watch thirty miles of the river, seņor; besides, the
-red-skins would have sent over two or three swimmers to silence anyone
-they found near the place where they were to cross."
-
-By this time a dozen other vaqueros, who had been warned by Antonio as
-he came down, joined them.
-
-"We must ride for the hacienda at once," Will said, leaping into the
-saddle.
-
-"No use, seņor, no use. I should say there must be four hundred or five
-hundred of the red-skins, and we may be sure that there is not a soul
-alive now at the hacienda or at the huts. They will be here in a short
-time, of that there is no doubt; probably half will come down the valley
-and half will go up. We must ride for it, sir; follow the river down
-till we are past the hills; there is not a moment to be lost."
-
-The peons who had gathered round gave a cry of despair. "You can go if
-you like, Antonio; I see we can do nothing at present, but I will not
-leave the place."
-
-"What will you do then, seņor?"
-
-"We will take the rafts and pole them across the river; there are no
-signs of Indians there, and it is not likely there will be now." Then he
-turned to the peons. "You have heard what I said. Get to the rafts at
-once, there is not a moment to be lost. Look at that herd galloping
-wildly; you may be sure that the red-skins are after them."
-
-"The seņor's advice is good," Antonio said, "and there is not a moment
-to be lost. Get on board all of you, comrades; tie your bridles to the
-rafts."
-
-All hurried on to the rafts, the ropes that held them to the shore were
-cut, and the peons, putting out the poles, pushed them into the stream.
-The rafts were already heavily laden, by far the greater portion of the
-cargo having been placed on board. Most of the vaqueros had their rifles
-slung across their shoulders, as they had heard from Antonio what the
-Indian had said, and had, on starting out, taken their guns with them.
-
-"One never can tell what will happen," Antonio said; "it is always well
-to be on the safe side."
-
-Although the peons exerted themselves to the utmost, the rafts moved but
-slowly, and they were but seventy or eighty yards from the shore when a
-large band of Indians rode down to the bank and at once opened fire. As
-they approached, Will shouted to all the men to take their places on the
-other side of the piles of hide, and, using these as a breast-work,
-those having guns at once returned the Indian fire. Five or six of the
-red-skins fell, and the plunging of many horses showed that they were
-wounded. A chief, who seemed to be in command, waved his hand and
-shouted to his followers, who were evidently about to urge their horses
-into the river, when Will, who had held his fire, took a steady aim at
-the chief, and the latter fell dead from his horse.
-
-"Will they take to the water, Antonio?" he asked the vaquero, who had
-taken his place on the raft with him.
-
-"I do not think so, seņor; it is not in Indian nature to run such a risk
-as that. We should shoot down numbers of them before they reached us,
-and they would have a tough job then, for the peons would fight
-desperately with their long knives, and it is no easy matter to climb
-out of the water on to a raft with two or three men with long knives
-waiting for you. This band are Apaches, seņor; they have evidently
-joined the Tejunas in a big raid."
-
-The Indians for a few minutes continued their fire, but as those on the
-rafts only showed their heads when they stood up to fire, and every
-bullet told in the crowded mass, the Indians sullenly rode off.
-
-The peons then resumed their poles, and in ten minutes reached the
-opposite shore. Will sat down as soon as he had seen the horses landed,
-with a feeling of despair in his heart. In the hurried arrangements for
-the safety of those with him he had scarcely had time to think. Now
-that there was nothing to do, the full horror of the situation was felt,
-and the thought of Donna Sarasta and of Clara being murdered altogether
-overpowered him, and his cheeks were moistened with tears. What would
-the seņor and Juan say on their return? They had left him in charge, and
-although he could hardly be said to be to blame, yet he might have taken
-greater precautions. He should not have relied upon the Indian scouts,
-but have kept at least enough of the men up at the house to offer a
-serious defence. Antonio, who was at the head of one of the parties in
-charge of a herd, came up to him presently.
-
-"Well, seņor, 'tis no use grieving, and assuredly if anyone is to blame
-it is I rather than you, for I assured you that there was no danger. I
-shall tell the seņor so when he comes. Had he been here he would, I feel
-sure, have waited for further news before regarding the matter as
-serious. Now, seņor, what do you propose to do next? You are our
-leader."
-
-"The first thing to do is to go to the hacienda after dark, and to find
-out what has happened there. How long do you think that the Indians will
-remain in the valley?"
-
-"Some days, I should say, seņor. They will no doubt kill a number of
-cattle and jerk the meat. Then they will drive off as many as they think
-they can take with them, and probably slay the rest out of pure
-wickedness."
-
-"The principal point is to find out if all at the hacienda have been
-killed."
-
-"That you may be sure of, seņor; but still it is right that we should
-know. There may be one exception, although I can hardly hope."
-
-"How do you mean, Antonio?"
-
-"I mean, seņor, that the seņorita may have been spared for a worse
-fate--I mean, may have been carried off by them. The Indians, while
-sparing no one else, old or young, always carry off the young women."
-
-"Great heavens!" Will exclaimed, stepping back, as if he had been
-struck. "You do not say so! A thousand times better had she been
-murdered by her mother's side. It is maddening to sit here and be able
-to do nothing, not even to be able to find out if this dreadful thing is
-true. How many men have we with guns?"
-
-"Thirteen besides myself and you, seņor."
-
-"Those who have no rifles will be useless; they had better go down with
-the rafts as soon as it becomes dark."
-
-"Yes, seņor, that would be best. The Indians are sure to swim across
-to-night, and the four rafts would do well to push off as soon as they
-can no longer be seen from the other side. The four head men, who will
-go down with them, are all here."
-
-"Call them up."
-
-The four white men came to him.
-
-"As soon as it is dark," he said, "you must push off; do not make the
-slightest noise; when you get out in the middle of the stream let the
-current take you down, only using the poles, when it is absolutely
-necessary to keep you from approaching either bank. The twelve vaqueros
-who have not guns had better go with you; that will give three to each
-raft. We will pick out thirteen of the best horses, the others you must
-kill this afternoon for food. Have you fishing-lines?"
-
-"Yes, seņor, we always carry them with us; and we have spears and can
-fish by torch-light."
-
-"Good! then you will manage very well. The vaqueros and what peons you
-do not require must be landed as soon as you have passed the mountains;
-they had better strike up to Monterey and wait there for orders. I will
-give money to one of them to buy a horse there and ride with the news to
-Don Sarasta at San Diego."
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI
-
-HOPEFUL NEWS
-
-
-When all the arrangements had been made for the departure of the raft,
-Will Harland said to Antonio: "Do you think that it will be absolutely
-impossible to approach the hacienda by daylight?"
-
-"It could not be done, seņor, and, indeed, I don't see that any good
-could come of it, for even if we could get in unobserved, there would be
-no one of whom we could ask questions or find out anything as to what
-has taken place. It is just possible that in the confusion of the attack
-some of the peons employed in the house, the stables, or our huts may
-have escaped and hidden themselves. The Indians are good searchers, but
-just at first they would be anxious to make their success as complete as
-possible, and doubtless a large party rode up the valley at once while
-the others started down it. It was important that they should surprise
-the men with the various herds before they could gather together, for
-even if twenty or thirty could have rallied they would have made a hard
-fight of it before they lost their scalps. Therefore, any who escaped in
-the attack on the house may have hidden themselves from the first
-search, and we may possibly come across them at night. They would
-assuredly never leave their hiding-places until darkness had fallen.
-
-"I have some hopes of Sancho. If anyone has got out safe he has. He had
-a good deal of experience in Indian fighting some fifteen years ago,
-when he was farther east, and is sure to have his wits about him. He was
-at our hut when I came along this morning. As you know, he got hurt by a
-young bull in the yard ten days since. He was nearly well again, but the
-padre said he had better keep quiet for another day or two. I fancy that
-he was the only man there except the peons, for it is a busy time. At
-the first war-whoop he heard he would make for shelter, for he would
-know that it was no use his trying to fight the whole tribe. There is a
-thick patch of brush twenty or thirty yards from the huts. I expect that
-he would make for that straight. There is a tank in the middle that was
-used at one time, but the water was always muddy, and the master had a
-fresh one made handy to the huts, and since then the path to the old
-tank has been overgrown, and no one ever goes there. If Francisco is
-alive, he is lying in that pond under the bushes that droop over it all
-round."
-
-"He would not be able to give us any information as to what was done in
-the house."
-
-"No, seņor. But he would be of great assistance to us if we follow the
-red-skins. He is up to all their ways, and is a good shot with the
-rifle. At any rate, if we go down to the house I should like to try to
-find him. We have been comrades a good many years now."
-
-"Certainly, Antonio, you shall see if you can find him. He is a good
-fellow, and, as you say, would be of great assistance to us. Do you
-think that we could make a circuit and come down on the river again two
-or three miles higher up, and cross there and get anywhere near the
-house?"
-
-"We might do it, seņor, but as we cannot get near enough to do any good,
-I think we should be wrong to move from here. You may be sure that
-there are some of the red-skins hiding on the opposite bank, keeping a
-sharp watch on us. If any of us were to ride away, one of them would
-carry the news at once, and they would be on the look-out for us. If we
-all stay here till it is dark, they would suppose that we have all gone
-down with the rafts. That will be good for the rafts, too, for the
-Indians would be unlikely to attack them, believing that there were some
-fifteen or twenty men with guns on them; and, in the next place, they
-will think that they are clear of us altogether and be less cautious
-than they might be if they were to suppose that we were still in their
-neighbourhood."
-
-"You are right, Antonio, and I will try and be patient."
-
-As soon as it was dark the little party of fifteen men started, moving
-as noiselessly as possible. They rode two miles up the river to a point
-where Antonio said they were opposite a path by which they could keep
-along at the foot of the hills until in a line with the hacienda.
-
-"You don't think that there is any fear of there being any red-skins on
-the farther side?"
-
-"Not the slightest, seņor. Long before this they will have their fires
-lighted and be gorging themselves with meat. They know how small our
-force is, and will never dream of our venturing back into their midst."
-
-As they rode into the river they slipped off their horses as the latter
-began to swim, holding on with one hand, and with the other keeping
-their guns, pistols, and ammunition above the water. The river at this
-point was some two hundred yards wide, and flowing with a quiet current.
-In a few minutes they were across. Antonio soon discovered the path,
-and, following it, they rode in single file for an hour. Then they
-reached a spot where there was an opening among the trees, and Antonio
-said that they were abreast of the hacienda, which was some four miles
-away; the building itself was not visible, but the number of fires which
-blazed round it was a sufficient indication of its position. At various
-other points up and down the valley fires also blazed, but there was
-none much nearer their side of the valley than those round the hacienda.
-
-"Do you mean to go with me, seņor?"
-
-"Certainly I mean to go. How had it best be done?"
-
-"I should say that we had better ride to within two miles; it would not
-be safe to go with so large a party nearer than that; then we will take
-one of the others with us to hold our horses, and, going at a foot-pace,
-we might get within half a mile of the house without their hearing us.
-There will be a good deal of movement in the valley; the cattle will be
-restless, having been chased all day, and the herds broken up, so I
-think that we can reckon on getting pretty close. Then we will go
-forward on foot. We had better make for the huts first; you see, the
-Indians are thick round the house; I don't think there is any chance of
-anyone being saved there, because that would be the first point of
-attack. If we do not find Sancho, possibly we may come upon one or two
-of the peons, who would be likely enough to make for the same shelter;
-if not, we can try round the stables. Still, I am afraid there is no
-chance of hearing what has happened at the house--I mean, whether the
-seņorita is killed or a prisoner. If there is no other way we must get
-hold of an Indian and kill him; I will then dress up in his clothes, and
-see if I can get into the house. As there are two tribes engaged, one
-would have more chance of passing unsuspected than if they all knew each
-other personally. At any rate, it must be risked. I know the Indian ways
-pretty well, and might pass muster, but you would have no chance,
-seņor."
-
-When they dismounted Antonio said:
-
-"We had better leave our jackets and sombreros here; their outline would
-show on the darkest night that we were not Indians."
-
-Before leaving the raft Will had obtained from one of the head men a
-pair of the Mexican fringed leggings, as their own white trousers would
-betray him at once, and now, with a dark blanket thrown over his
-shoulder, he might at a short distance be easily mistaken for an Indian.
-He had already left his riding-boots behind him, and had obtained a pair
-of moccasins from one of the peons.
-
-"I will lead the way, seņor, as I know every foot of the ground,"
-Antonio said.
-
-Moving along noiselessly they came down upon the huts of the white
-employés of the hacienda. As there were no fires burning here, they had
-but slight fear of encountering any of the Indians. Each, however,
-carried a long knife ready for instant action. They had left their
-rifles and pistols behind them, for if it was necessary to fight, the
-combat must be a silent one.
-
-They crossed to the clump of bushes of which Antonio had spoken.
-
-"You stop outside, seņor; it is of no use two of us making our way into
-the tangle."
-
-As he parted the bushes before entering, a slight sound was heard.
-
-"Good! there is someone here," he muttered; and then, making his way a
-few paces forward, he uttered Sancho's name. There was no reply, and he
-repeated it in a louder tone. At once there was a low reply: "Here am I.
-Is it you, Tonio?"
-
-"Yes; I have come to look for you. I thought you would have made a
-bee-line here as soon as you heard the red-skins."
-
-"You were right, and there are two peons here. We were just going to
-start to make our way down to the river. Are you alone?"
-
-"I have the young seņor with me."
-
-"That is good. I was afraid that we had all been wiped out."
-
-In a couple of minutes the four men emerged from the bushes.
-
-"I am glad to see that you are safe, Sancho," Will said warmly. "Now can
-you tell me what has happened?"
-
-"I know nothing whatever, seņor. I was eating my breakfast when I heard
-a sudden yell, and knew that it was the Apache war-whoop, and that there
-must be a big force of them. There was evidently no fighting to be done,
-so I caught up my rifle and pistols and made for the bush. These two
-peons who were outside followed me. I told them to hide as best they
-could, and I went on into the pool, found a good place under some thick
-bushes, hid my powder-horn and weapons handy for use close by, and lay
-down with my head out of water, listening. Already they were down at the
-huts, and I heard the cries of the peons they caught there. Luckily I
-was the only Mexican above. A few shots were fired up at the hacienda,
-and I thought I heard screams, but, owing to the yells of the Indians, I
-could not be sure. Presently it all died away. I don't fancy they
-suspected that anyone had got away, the attack being so sudden; at any
-rate, they made no search here. I made up my mind to lie down till most
-of them would be asleep and then to make for the river, and I told the
-peons that we must each shift for ourselves, as we had more chances of
-getting away singly than if together." All this was spoken in a low
-voice.
-
-"The principal thing that I wanted to ask you is, do you know whether
-the seņorita was killed, or whether they have kept her to carry off?
-But, of course, you don't know."
-
-"They would not kill her," the man said confidently; "but so far as I
-know, they have not even caught her. I was at the stables maybe half an
-hour before the seņorita came down and had her horse saddled. She had a
-basket with her, and told me she was going to ride up the valley to that
-wigwam that remained when the Indians went away, carrying as much meat
-as their ponies could take. There were an old Indian and his wife left
-there--she had got a fever or something, and was too ill to travel, and
-the seņorita was going to take a basket of food and some medicine that
-the padre had made up for the old man. I have been thinking of her all
-day. I should say she was coming back when the red-skins rode up the
-valley after the cattle. She could hardly have helped seeing them, and I
-wondered whether she would take to the trees and ride on this way until
-after they had passed, or whether she had turned and ridden on. If she
-did the first, she is pretty sure to have been captured when she got
-down near home; if she went the other way, she gave them a mighty long
-chase, for there is not a horse on the estate as fast as hers, and as
-for the Indian ponies, she could leave them behind as if they were
-standing still."
-
-"Thank God, there is a hope, then!" Will exclaimed. "Now we must move
-farther off and chat it over."
-
-When they had gone a quarter of a mile from the house they stopped.
-Antonio told the two peons that the rafts had started fully two hours
-before. "The current is only about a mile and a half an hour, and if you
-cross the river and keep on, you ought to catch them up before morning,
-and can then swim off to them. Don't keep this side of the river, there
-are red-skins on the bank; but if you stay on this side of the valley,
-among the trees, down to the river, you will meet none of them. We have
-come that way."
-
-The peons at once started.
-
-"Now, seņor, will you go on to where the horses are? Sancho and I will
-go back to the house; he understands the Apache language. We will crawl
-up near the fires, and I should think that we are pretty certain to hear
-if they have caught the seņorita or not. However, we may be some time,
-so do not be anxious, and don't move if you hear a sudden row, for we
-might miss you in the dark. We shall make straight to this tree, and for
-a bit my horse must carry double; you had better hand your jacket to
-Seņor Harland, Sancho, and take his blanket."
-
-"How far are the horses?"
-
-"There are three of them about two hundred yards farther on."
-
-"I will go there first, then," the man said. "This is a terrible
-business, seņor."
-
-"Terrible, indeed. I am afraid there is no doubt that Donna Sarasta has
-lost her life."
-
-"I reckon," the man said, "that except ourselves and any you may have
-with you, there ain't a dozen alive in the valley; it is a clean wipe
-out. I never knew a worse surprise. How about the party by the river?"
-
-Antonio related what had taken place there.
-
-"Well, that is something saved," he said, "and with sixteen of us all
-well armed we can manage to make a decent fight of it. We must get
-another horse, but that won't be very difficult; most of the others are
-sure to have their lassos with them, there are a score of horses running
-loose on the plains, and they cannot have roped them all in yet."
-
-When they reached the horses he went on: "You had better stop here,
-Tonio; you are not accustomed, as I am, to them Injuns, and as you don't
-know much of their lingo, you would not understand much of their talk. I
-would much rather go alone."
-
-"All right, old man!" the other said.
-
-"Now for my toilet," Sancho went on; and, going up to one of the horses,
-he pricked it with his knife. "Steady, boy, steady!" he said, as the
-horse plunged.
-
-"It is for your good as well as mine, for you would not find life in an
-Indian village as pleasant as the life you have been used to." He dipped
-his fingers in the blood, drew a broad line across his forehead and
-round his eyes, placed a patch on his cheek; then he cut off two
-handfuls of long hair from the animal's tail, tied these together with
-string and fastened them in his hair, so that the horse-hair fell down
-on to his shoulder on each side and partially hid his face.
-
-"It is rough," he said, "but it will pass in the darkness. It is lucky
-you have got a 'Pache blanket; that will help me wonderfully."
-
-"Yes; I bought it from the Indians when they traded here a few weeks
-since. The man I got it of said that he had traded a good pony for it
-when he was hunting in the spring on the other side of the river."
-
-"I will take your rifle, Tonio," Sancho said. "I must either have that
-or a bow and arrow. Now, good-bye!"
-
-Without another word he turned and strolled away towards the hacienda.
-It was nearly two hours before he returned.
-
-"The seņorita has got away so far," he said. "The red-skins came across
-her half-way up the valley; she turned and rode straight up; a dozen
-well-mounted men were sent after her. I heard that they sent so many
-because they were afraid that they might fall in with a party of the
-Genigueh Indians, who would certainly attack them at once."
-
-"Thank God!" Will exclaimed fervently. "There is a chance of saving her,
-after all, for if they overtake her--and they won't do that for some
-time--we can attack them as they come back again."
-
-"Now let us join the others at once, and make up the valley."
-
-During the time Sancho had been away he had been questioning Antonio as
-to the extent of the valley.
-
-"It goes a long way into the heart of the mountains, seņor, but none of
-us know it beyond what we have learned from the Indians, for we were
-strictly forbidden to go beyond the boundary for fear of disturbing the
-game in the Indian country. They say that it runs three hours' fast
-riding beyond our bounds. After that it becomes a mere ravine, but it
-can be followed up to the top of the hill, and from there across a wild
-country, until at last the track comes down on a ford on the Colorado.
-From there there is a track leading west at the foot of the San
-Francisco Mountain, and coming down on the Little Colorado, close to the
-Moquis country."
-
-"How far would that be from here?" Will asked.
-
-"I have never been across there, seņor, and I doubt whether any white
-man has--not on that line. I should think that from what the Indians say
-it must be some fifty miles from the end of our part of the valley to
-the ford of the Colorado, and from there to the Little Colorado it must
-be one hundred and fifty miles in a straight line, perhaps two hundred
-by the way the track goes--that is to say, if there is a track that
-anyone can follow. These tracks mostly run pretty straight, so that I
-should say that it would be about as far to the Moquis country as it
-would be to San Diego from here; however, we may be sure that we are not
-going to make such a journey as that; the Apaches are not likely to
-follow her farther than the end of this valley, or at most to the
-Colorado ford."
-
-As they rode along Will learned from Sancho how he had obtained the
-news.
-
-"There was no difficulty about that," the other said carelessly. "I
-waited till the fires were a bit low, and then sauntered about near
-those of a party of the Tejunas, and heard them talking about it. I
-learned that they had, as they believed, wiped out all our people except
-those who crossed the river on rafts, and the seņorita, though they
-allowed that a few of the men with the herds might have got away, and
-they were going to search the valley thoroughly to-morrow. Not a soul in
-the hacienda escaped. The red-skins were exultant over the amount of
-booty they had taken, and were glad that the cattle were amply
-sufficient for both tribes, so that there would be no cause for dispute
-as to the division; and were specially pleased with the stores of flour
-and goods of all kinds in the magazines."
-
-When they joined the main body Sancho was heartily welcomed by his
-comrades, who were delighted to hear that there was at least a chance of
-saving the seņorita, of whom all hands on the estate were fond. It was
-arranged at once that Sancho should ride by turns behind the others, and
-then they started at a gallop up the valley, keeping close within the
-edge of the trees that covered the hillside.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII
-
-THE PURSUIT
-
-
-But few words were spoken until the party arrived at a spot where the
-valley began to narrow in near the boundary of the ranch. They were now
-considerably beyond the Indian fires.
-
-"There is no fear of our meeting with any of the red devils now," Sancho
-said. "They know well enough that our Indians would not venture to
-attack them, and that there are no other enemies near. A quarter of a
-mile and we shall be at the wigwam where the seņorita went this
-morning."
-
-"We will stop there for a moment," Will said; "it is not likely that we
-shall find anything that will give us useful information, but at any
-rate the horses may as well have a short rest there as well as anywhere
-else."
-
-They had come fifteen miles now at a smart pace.
-
-The men all dismounted. One of them struck a light with his flint and
-steel, and then lit the end of a short coil of cord that had been soaked
-in saltpetre, and waved it round his head till it burst into a flame. As
-they expected, they found the two Indians lying dead; both had been
-tomahawked and then scalped. On the ground lay a broken medicine bottle
-and a portion of some soft pudding.
-
-"That does not tell us much," Will said.
-
-Sancho made no answer, but looked all round the wigwam. "The basket is
-not here," he said. "I noticed that it was pretty full."
-
-"I suppose the red-skins took it, Sancho?"
-
-"They would not bother about a basket; it is the last thing they would
-think of taking. My idea is that the seņorita came back here. I expect
-she came to warn the Indians. She would, to begin with, if she rode at
-full speed, have distanced the 'Paches, who would not be able to get
-through the herd, which must have been between them and her when she
-first saw them. If she were half-way down the valley she might have been
-here some minutes before them. Of course the two old Indians knew that
-there was no escape for them, and made no effort to avoid their fate. I
-expect they had only taken that pudding and medicine out of the basket
-when she got back. Now, seeing that the basket and all that was in it
-are gone, it seems to me possible enough that the seņorita may have
-caught it up and ridden off with it, knowing that she had a long ride
-before her, and through a country where there are no posadas."
-
-"I hope, indeed, that it may be so, Sancho, for I have been wondering
-what she would do if she were lost in these mountains. What would she
-be likely to put in the basket?"
-
-"I handed it up to her, seņor, when she had mounted; there were two
-bottles of milk, a bottle of wine, and a pile of cakes. There were a few
-other things, but I did not notice what they were."
-
-"I only hope that your idea is correct, Sancho; it would be a great
-comfort to know that she had enough provisions to last her for two or
-three days."
-
-"I expect you will find that it is so, seņor; the seņorita is
-quick-witted and cool. I saw her once when a dozen bulls stampeded when
-we were trying to drive them into the yard; she was sitting her horse a
-short distance from the gate, and was just in their line. She didn't try
-to dash aside across their path, as many would have done, but turned and
-started, keeping her horse in at first, and then letting him out
-gradually and edging off out of their line, and she came cantering back
-laughing as she joined her father, who was looking pale as death at the
-danger she had been in. I have very little doubt that it has been as I
-said; she galloped at first at full speed, then when she got near this
-hut she saw that she was well ahead of the red-skins. She rode up here,
-jumped off to warn the Indians, and when she found they would not go she
-took the basket, knowing the things could be of no use to them, and
-might be worth a hundred times their weight in gold to her. Maybe the
-old Indian may have suggested it to her; at any rate, I feel sure she
-took them."
-
-"Well, we will ride steadily on. Is there any place where she could have
-left the valley?"
-
-"Not beyond this, seņor; at least, I know of none; but, as I told you,
-we know very little of the valley beyond this point. Certainly she could
-have known no path; no doubt she went straight on. Well mounted as she
-was, she would feel sure that the red-skins could not overtake her, and
-I expect she did not press her horse much, but contented herself with
-keeping out of rifle-shot. I don't know whether she knew of the ford
-across the river, but she would naturally plunge in at the point where
-the track comes down on it, and would, no doubt, be surprised at finding
-that the horse was able to cross without swimming."
-
-"She would not be able to turn, after she had crossed, and come down on
-the opposite bank?"
-
-"No, seņor; that would not be possible; there are high mountains there,
-and the river at some places runs through deep gorges."
-
-"How far do you think the Apaches would follow?"
-
-"I think that they would keep on for some distance beyond the river;
-when they found at last that they had no chance of catching her, they
-might turn and come back and cross the river, and camp on this side. By
-that time their horses would be done for; you see, they most likely had
-a long ride yesterday; maybe they were travelling all night, and, of
-course, it gave the seņorita an immense advantage that her horse was
-fresh, while theirs had anyhow a great deal taken out of them before
-they set out in pursuit. I should recommend that we halt, as soon as it
-becomes light, in some clump of trees and wait for them as they come
-back. We are pretty well matched in numbers, and with the advantage of a
-surprise we ought to be able to wipe them out altogether. We might go as
-far as we can up the valley to the point where it becomes a mere ravine,
-before daylight breaks, and our horses will be all the better for a rest
-of a few hours. They will have gone over forty miles since they left the
-river, and we may probably have a very long journey to do again
-to-morrow. There is no saying how far the seņorita may have gone; she
-would not know whether the red-skins might not follow all night, and I
-should think that she would keep on till daybreak, though, of course,
-she would only go at a walk."
-
-"It is difficult to say what she is most likely to do."
-
-"It is, indeed, seņor; if I myself were in her place I should be
-puzzled. I should reckon that all in the valley had been wiped out. The
-red-skins would assuredly first make a rush for the hacienda, because it
-was most important that they should carry that before the men could
-rally round and make a defence. I should reckon that the red-skins would
-remain there for four or five days before they had jerked as much meat
-as they could carry, and that, when they started, a party would like
-enough be placed in ambush to catch me as I came back. I should know
-that it was next to hopeless to try and find my way down across such
-mountains as there are ahead, through which, so far as I know, there are
-no tracks, and I am not sure that I should not push on in hopes of
-reaching the Moquis, who are peaceful Indians, as I have heard, with
-their villages perched on the top of hills, and having flocks and herds,
-and being in all ways different from all the other tribes except the
-Zunis.
-
-"The red-skins say that these people were here before them, and that
-they really belong to the tribes of Central Mexico, and came from there
-long before the white man ever set foot in America. From there one could
-travel north, strike the Santa Fé trail, and possibly make one's way
-through safely, though the Navajoes are pretty nearly as bad there as
-the Apaches are here. Whether the seņorita has ever heard of the Moquis
-I cannot say, but if she finds that she is on a trail she will follow
-it, thinking anything better than going back and falling into the hands
-of the Apaches."
-
-"Are there any other tribes she would have to pass through on the way?"
-
-"I think not. It is a great mountain track, where even red-skins could
-not pick up a living. As far as I have heard, the track from the ford
-leads through a series of passes between lofty hills. It is not the
-course of a river, and, therefore, there are not likely to be any
-villages. I should say that there would be forest on the lower slopes,
-and we are sure to meet with enough game to keep us."
-
-They now proceeded at a walk, for the trees in most places grew thickly,
-and the ground here and there was broken by boulders that had rolled
-down from the hillside. At last they came to a point where the valley
-was but a hundred yards wide. Here they halted, took off the horses'
-bridles to allow them to pick what grass there was, and threw themselves
-down, and most of them were asleep in a few minutes.
-
-"Is it necessary to keep watch?" Will said.
-
-"No, seņor, the 'Paches will assuredly not start to come back until
-morning. The country is as strange to them as it is to us. I should say,
-from what I have heard, it is about ten miles from the river, and in an
-hour or an hour and a half after daylight they are likely to be here."
-
-Will took a seat by the trunk of a tree. He had no inclination for
-sleep. His thoughts were busy with the girl--alone in these mountains
-with an unknown country before her and a band of relentless savages who
-might, for aught she knew, be still pressing after her. It was difficult
-to conceive a more terrible situation. She might lose the trail,
-which was sure to be a faintly-marked one, and in some places
-indistinguishable save to an eye accustomed to tracking. If so, her fate
-was sealed. She must wander about till she died of hunger and thirst. It
-was maddening to be waiting there even for an hour or two and to know
-that she was alone. As soon as daylight broke, Sancho sent four of the
-men back to hunt for game. If they did not come upon something in the
-course of three-quarters of an hour, they were to return. They had been
-gone, however, half that time when the crack of a rifle was heard, and
-ten minutes later they rode back, bringing with them a stag they had
-shot. Already a fire had been lighted one hundred yards behind the
-camping-ground. Antonio had collected some perfectly dry wood for the
-purpose.
-
-"There will be no smoke to speak of," he said to Will, "and what little
-there is will make its way out through the leaves. It is unlikely in the
-extreme that the Indians will notice it, and if they do, they will think
-that it is a fire made by one of our Indians."
-
-A couple of the hunters at once set about skinning and cutting up the
-carcass. They were to go on cooking it until a signal was made to them
-that the Indians were approaching. The horses had now been collected,
-and the men disposed themselves behind trunks of trees, each with his
-horse a few yards behind him. All these were well trained to stand still
-when the reins were thrown over their heads. In front of them was a
-clear space some thirty yards across. After half an hour's anxious
-waiting, Sancho, who was lying with his ear to the ground, raised his
-hand as a signal that he could hear the Indians coming. The men from the
-fire ran up and took their places with the rest. The rifles were thrown
-forward in readiness. All could now hear the dull tread of the horses,
-with an occasional sharper sound as the hoofs fell upon rock. As the
-Apaches rode out from the wood their leader suddenly checked his horse
-with a warning cry, but it was too late.
-
-Sixteen rifles flashed out, half the Apaches fell, and before the
-others could recover from their surprise at this unexpected attack the
-vaqueros charged down upon them. Hopelessly outnumbered as they were,
-the Apaches fought desperately, but the combat was short. The pistols of
-Will and Sancho were used with deadly effect, and in a couple of minutes
-the fight was over and the last Indian had fallen.
-
-"Now, let us waste no time," Will said. "Ten minutes must do for our
-breakfast; then we will be off."
-
-None of the party was seriously hurt, and the wounds were soon bandaged.
-The joints hanging above the fire were soon taken down, cut into slices,
-and grilled. They were being eaten when four Indians stepped from among
-the trees, one of them being evidently a chief.
-
-"You are breaking the rules," he said to Will, whom he recognized as the
-leader of the party. "We shall lay a complaint before the great master."
-
-Will did not answer, but Antonio, who spoke their language fairly,
-replied, "Have you not heard the news?"
-
-"We have heard no news," the chief said. "We heard a gun fire when we
-were hunting two miles down the valley. We came to see what it was. Then
-we heard many guns, and, not knowing what it could be, hid our horses
-and came on."
-
-"Then do you not know that there are three or four hundred Apaches and
-Tejunas in the valley below; that the hacienda has been attacked, all
-within it killed, and that the herds have been destroyed? So far as we
-know, we alone have escaped."
-
-The Indians uttered deep exclamations of surprise.
-
-"What was the firing?" the chief asked.
-
-"If you go on a hundred yards farther up, you will find the dead bodies
-of twenty Apache braves; they have been riding in pursuit of Donna
-Clara, the daughter of the seņor, who was fortunately at your end of the
-valley, having gone there with food and medicine for the old Indian of
-your tribe who was too ill to leave with the rest, a fortnight since."
-
-"I saw her often then," the chief said, "and this young brave"--and he
-motioned to Will--"he was often in our camp, and the girl visited our
-wigwams and gave many little presents to our women. Did she escape
-them?"
-
-"She did, but where she is we know not. We are going in search of her.
-If you and your warriors will go with us, we shall be glad, for your
-eyes are better than ours, and could follow the footmarks of her horse
-where we should see nothing."
-
-"Teczuma, with one of his warriors, will go," the chief said. "The other
-two must go and carry the news to our people, and, though they are not
-strong enough to fight so large a force, yet they will not be idle, and
-many of the Apaches and Tejunas will lose their scalps before they cross
-the river again."
-
-He spoke a few words to the three men, who at once left, and in ten
-minutes one returned with two horses. The chief had already eaten two
-slices of deer's flesh, and he mounted and rode on with the others,
-while his follower waited for a minute to eat the flesh that had already
-been cooked for him. Sancho had chosen the horse that had been ridden
-by the Apache chief, and, without stopping, they rode on until they
-were, a few minutes later, joined by the other Indian. They now pushed
-on rapidly, ascending the ravine, and on reaching the top Will saw with
-satisfaction that high hills on both sides bordered what was, in fact, a
-pass between them, and that Clara must therefore have kept on straight.
-
-The chief with his follower rode a little ahead of the others, Will,
-with Antonio and Sancho, following closely behind him. Once or twice the
-chief pointed down to marks on the rocks, with the remark, "A shod
-horse".
-
-"That is all right," Antonio said. "The Indians do not shoe their
-horses, so we may be sure it was the seņorita."
-
-The path soon began to descend again, and in an hour from the time of
-starting they emerged from the pass within one hundred yards of the
-river; the ground here being soft, a well-marked track was visible.
-
-"Made by our people," the chief said, turning round. "They often cross
-ford to hunt on the other side--large forests there, two hours' ride
-away--good hunting-ground. Apache not come there. Hills too big to
-cross."
-
-Beyond the river the track was for some time perfectly distinct, but it
-presently became fainter. However, as the Indians rode on rapidly, Will
-had no doubt that, although he could not see the tracks on the ground,
-they were plain enough to the eyes of the Indians.
-
-"It is a mighty good job we have the chief with us," Antonio said. "The
-trail is plain enough at present, but it is sure to get fainter when we
-get into these forests they speak of. Probably it goes straight enough
-there, but once among the trees it will break up, as the Indians would
-scatter to hunt. We should have lost a lot of time following it. Now we
-have got these two red-skin fellows, they will pick it up almost as fast
-as we can ride."
-
-The road, indeed, after passing over a rocky plateau, dipped suddenly
-down into a deep valley running up from the river, and extending as far
-as one could see almost due east among the hills. The track they were
-following turned to the right at the foot of the hill. For miles it was
-clearly defined, then gradually became fainter, as the Indians who had
-followed it turned off in search of game. The footprints of the shod
-horse continued straight up the valley, until, ten miles from the point
-at which they had entered it, they turned to the left.
-
-"It has been going at a walk for some miles," the chief said, "and the
-white girl has been walking beside it. I saw her footprints many times.
-We shall find that she halted for the night at the little stream in the
-middle of the valley. It must have been getting dark when she arrived
-here. She must be a good horsewoman and have a good horse under her, for
-it is nearly eighty miles from here to the hacienda."
-
-By the stream, indeed, they found the place where Clara had slept. The
-Indian pointed to spots where the horse had cropped the grass by the
-edge of the stream, and where it had at last lain down near its
-mistress, who had, as a few crumbs showed, eaten some of the cakes.
-
-"I wonder we don't see one of the bottles," Will remarked.
-
-Antonio translated his remarks to the chief, who said, "Girl wise; fill
-bottle with water; not know how far stream come. We halt here; cannot
-follow trail farther; soon come dark."
-
-This was evident to them all; men and horses alike needed rest. They lit
-a fire and sat around it for a short time; all were encouraged by the
-success so far, and even the fact that they were supperless did not
-affect them.
-
-"Teczuma and Wolf go out and find game in the morning," the chief said
-confidently. "Plenty of game here."
-
-Long before the others were awake, indeed, the chief and his follower
-were moving. Just as daylight broke, the latter ran into camp.
-
-"Come," he said, "bring gun; grizzly coming down valley. Teczuma watch
-him."
-
-The men were on their feet the instant Antonio translated the Indian's
-words, and followed the Indian on foot.
-
-"Was the bear too much for the two Indians?" Will asked Sancho.
-
-"If they had been alone they would have fought it, but the chief was
-right to send for us. It was like enough they might have got badly hurt,
-and that would have been a bad thing for us."
-
-Presently the Indian stopped. It was still twilight under the trees, but
-they could make out a great gray form advancing towards them. When
-within twenty yards it scented danger, and stopped with an angry growl.
-Almost at the same moment a rifle flashed out behind a tree near its
-flank. With a furious growl it turned, exposing its flank to the
-watchers. Antonio had warned five of these not to fire; the other ten
-rifles were fired simultaneously, and the bear rolled over and over. It
-scrambled to its feet again, and stood rocking itself, evidently wounded
-to death. The other five men ran forward together, and when three yards
-distant poured in their fire, and the bear fell dead. The vaqueros lost
-no time in skinning it. A portion of the flesh was carried to the fire,
-cut up into strips, and at once cooked. As soon as the meal was
-finished, the rest of the meat was cut off and divided between the
-party, who then mounted and rode on, the two Indians again leading the
-way.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII
-
-THE CAVE-DWELLERS
-
-
-Three days later the party stood on the brow of a steep bluff looking
-down upon the Colorado Chiquita river. It had been a weary journey. It
-was evident that the girl had, after the second day's riding, allowed
-the horse to go its own way, trusting perhaps to its instinct to make
-for some habitation, should there be any in the region. There had been
-no difficulty in following its footsteps until the third day, when they
-were passing over a stony plateau. Here even the keen sight of the
-Indians sometimes failed them, and hours were lost in taking up the
-trail. There was no water to be met with here, and the Indians agreed
-that the horse was going slowly and weakly, and the girl for the most
-part walking beside it, as they pointed out by a crushed blade of grass
-or flattened lichen by the side of the horse's track. Later in the day
-the trail was straighter, and the chief said confidently, "The horse
-smells water; the river cannot be many miles away."
-
-It was an hour after starting, on the third morning, that they reached
-the bluff opposite to them. For a distance of a couple of miles rose a
-steep island of basalt, some hundreds of feet above the plain around it,
-and on the summit a large village could be seen.
-
-"Moquis," the Indian said, pointing to it.
-
-"Then she must have got there in safety!" Will exclaimed in delight. The
-chief shook his head. "Horse not able to swim river, must stop a day to
-eat grass. There horse!" and he pointed to an animal seven hundred or
-eight hundred feet below them.
-
-"That is its colour, sure enough," Antonio exclaimed, "but I don't see
-the seņorita."
-
-"She may be asleep," Will suggested.
-
-"Likely enough, seņor; we shall soon see."
-
-Dismounting, they made their way down the steep descent. Then all leaped
-into their saddles and galloped forward to the edge of the stream, a
-quarter of a mile away. The mare, which evidently scented that the
-new-comers were not Indians, cantered to meet them with a whinny of
-pleasure. There were no signs of the girl, and all dismounted to search
-among the low bushes for her, Will loudly calling her name. Presently
-the Indian, who, with his follower, had moved along the bank, called
-them.
-
-"She slept here yesterday," he said, and the level grass close to a
-shrub testified to the truth of the exclamation. The two Indians looked
-serious.
-
-"What is it, chief?"
-
-"Indians," he said. "White girl come down to river to drink; then she
-lay down here; then Indians come along; you see footprints on soft earth
-of bank; they catch her when asleep and carry her off. Teczuma and the
-Wolf have looked; no marks of little feet; four feet deeper marks than
-when they came along; Indian carry her off."
-
-"Perhaps they have taken her along the river to some ford, and carried
-her up to their village."
-
-"Soon see;" and he and the Wolf moved along the bank, the others
-following at a short distance, having first taken off their horses'
-bridles, allowing them to take a good drink, and turned them loose to
-feed.
-
-"Small men," the chief said, when Will with the two chief vaqueros came
-up to him. "Short steps; got spears and bows."
-
-"How on earth does he know that?" Will said, when the words were
-translated to him. Sancho pointed to a round mark on the ground.
-
-"There is the butt end of a spear, and I dare say the chief has noticed
-some holes of a different shape made by the ends of bows."
-
-Half a mile farther the bluffs approached the river and bordered it with
-a perpendicular cliff, which had doubtless been caused by the face of
-the hill being eaten away by the river countless ages before. The stream
-was here some thirty yards from the foot of the cliff. More and more
-puzzled at the direction in which Clara had been carried, the trackers
-followed. They had gone a hundred yards along the foot of the cliff when
-a great stone came bounding down from above, striking the ground a few
-yards in front of the Indians, who leaped back. Almost instantly a
-shrill voice shouted from above, and, looking up, they saw a number of
-natives on a ledge a hundred feet above them, with bows bent
-threateningly.
-
-"Back, all of you!" Sancho shouted. "Their arrows may be poisoned."
-
-Seeing, however, that the party retreated in haste, the Indians did not
-shoot; when a short distance away a council was held, and all returned
-to their horses, mounted, and swam the river; then they rode along to
-view the cliff. Three or four openings were seen on the level of the
-ledge on which the Indians were posted, and Will was astonished to see
-that above, the cliff, which was here quite perpendicular, was covered
-with strange sculptures, some of which still retained the colour with
-which they had in times long past been painted.
-
-"They are the old people, the cave-dwellers," Sancho said. "I have heard
-of them; they were here long before the Moquis were here. They were a
-people dwelling in caves. There are hundreds of these caves in some
-places. They have always kept themselves apart, and never made friends
-with the Moquis. In the early times with the Spaniards there were
-missionaries among the Moquis, but they could never do anything among
-the cave people, who are, they say, idolaters and offer human
-sacrifices."
-
-"How do the people live?" Antonio asked.
-
-"They fish, and steal animals from the Moquis when they get a chance,
-and they dwell in such inaccessible caves that, once there, they are
-safe from pursuit.
-
-"If you like, seņor, I will go up to the Moquis village, and try to find
-out something about them. I don't know the Moquis language, but I
-understand something of the sign language, which is understood by all
-Indians, and I dare say that I shall be able to learn something about
-these people."
-
-Will dismounted as the vaquero rode off, and, bidding Antonio do the
-same, told the man to take their horses a quarter of a mile away, and
-there to dismount and cook a meal.
-
-"Now, Antonio," he said, "we have to see how this place can be climbed."
-
-Antonio shook his head. "I should say that it was altogether impossible,
-seņor. You see there is a zigzag path cut in the face of the cliff up to
-that ledge. In some places the rock is cut away altogether, and then
-they have got ladders, which they would no doubt draw up at once if they
-were attacked. You see the lower ones have already been pulled up. Like
-enough sentries are posted at each of those breaks when they are
-threatened with an attack. Besides, the chances are that if they thought
-there were any risk of our getting up, they would kill the seņorita."
-
-"I see all that, Antonio, and I have no thought of making my way up by
-the steps; the question is, could it be climbed elsewhere? The other end
-of the ledge would be the best point to get up at, for any watch that is
-kept would certainly be where the steps come up."
-
-Antonio shook his head. "Unless one could fly, seņor, there would be no
-way of getting up there."
-
-"I don't know that," Will said shortly; "wait till I have had a good
-look at it."
-
-Lying on the ground, with his chin resting on his hands, he gazed
-intently at the cliff, observing even the most trifling projections, the
-tiny ledges that here and there ran along the face.
-
-"It would be a difficult job and a dangerous one," he said, "but I am
-not sure that it cannot be managed. At any rate, I shall try. I am a
-sailor, you know, Antonio, and am accustomed, when we have been sailing
-in the gale, to hold on with my toes as well as my fingers. Now, do you
-go back to the others. I shall want two poles, say fifteen feet long,
-and some hooks, which I can make from ramrods. Do you see just in the
-middle of that ledge, where the large square entrance is, the cliff
-bulges out, and I should say the ledge was twenty feet wide; this is
-lucky, for if there are sentries on the steps they would not be able to
-see beyond that point. If they could do so, I should not have much
-chance of getting up, for it will be a bright moonlight night. When I
-get to the top--that is, if I do get there--I shall lower down a rope.
-You can fasten the lariats together. They would hold the weight of a
-dozen men. The lightest and most active of you must come up first. When
-two or three are up we can haul the rest up easily enough. Now you can
-go. I shall be here another half-hour at least. I must see exactly the
-best way to climb, calculate the number of feet along each of those
-little ledges to a point where I can reach the one above with my hook,
-and get the whole thing well in my mind."
-
-Antonio went away shaking his head. To him the feat seemed so impossible
-that he thought that it was nothing short of madness to attempt it. Such
-was the opinion of the rest of the vaqueros and the two Indians when, on
-arriving at the fire, he told them what Will proposed doing. Their
-leader, however, when he joined them, had a look of confidence on his
-face.
-
-"I am more convinced than ever that it can be done," he said. When the
-meal of bear's flesh had been eaten, he lit his pipe and began to smoke
-quietly. The chief came up and spoke to him.
-
-"What does he say, Antonio?"
-
-"He says that you are a brave man, seņor, but that no man could do what
-you are talking of, and that you will throw away your life."
-
-"Tell him I will bet my horse against his that I shall succeed, and you
-shall be witness to the bet in case I don't come back again."
-
-The chief nodded gravely when the offer was made to him. Indians of all
-tribes are given to wagering, and as the horse Will was riding was a far
-better one than his own, he regarded the matter rather as a legacy than
-a bet.
-
-An hour later Sancho came down, accompanied by several of the Moquis
-Indians, leading four sheep as a present, and followed by women carrying
-pans of milk, baskets of eggs, and cakes of various descriptions. Sancho
-presented the chief to Will.
-
-"They are quite friendly, seņor; they hate the cave-dwellers, who are
-constantly robbing them, and who compel them to keep guard over the
-animals at night. I can understand them pretty well; they bid me tell
-you that they would gladly assist you against the cave-dwellers, but
-that it is impossible to reach the caves."
-
-Will shook hands with the chiefs, and asked Sancho to explain by signs
-that he was much obliged for their presents.
-
-"Tell them, Sancho, that I am going to try to scale the cliff
-to-night."
-
-"You are going to scale the cliff?" the vaquero asked incredulously.
-
-"I did not say that I was going to scale it, but that I was going to
-try; and I may add that I hope that I shall succeed. Will you ask if the
-cave-dwellers poison their arrows?"
-
-"I have already asked that, seņor, but he said no. The cattle have often
-been wounded by them, and unless the wound is a mortal one, they
-recover."
-
-"That is very satisfactory," Will said, "for I own I have more fear of
-being hit by a poisoned arrow than I have of scaling the cliff."
-
-"The chief says that if you will go up to their village he will place a
-house at your disposal, seņor."
-
-"Tell him that I am much obliged, and that to-morrow I may accept their
-invitation. Our horses will require three or four days' rest before
-starting back, and I can hardly hope that the seņorita will be fit to
-travel for a good deal longer than that."
-
-Although they had but just eaten a meal, the vaqueros were perfectly
-ready to begin another. A number of eggs were roasted in the ashes, and
-washed down by long draughts of milk. The chiefs then left them, but a
-number of the villagers came down and watched the proceedings of the
-strangers with great interest. Will at once proceeded to carry out his
-plan of bending the ramrods: a hot spot in the fire was selected, and
-two of the vaqueros increased the intensity of the heat by fanning it
-with their sombreros. Three others went down to the river and brought up
-a large flat boulder and two or three smaller ones, and, using the large
-one as an anvil, the ends of the hooks were hammered into sharp, broad,
-chisel-shaped blades. Sancho had explained to the chiefs that two poles,
-some fifteen feet long, were required, and when these were brought down
-the ramrods were securely bound to them with strips of wetted hide.
-Other strips were, by Will's directions, bound round the pole so as to
-form projections a foot apart.
-
-"That will greatly assist me in climbing it," he said. "I don't say I
-could not do without it, but it will make it very much easier."
-
-In order to lull the cave-dwellers into security, the camp was shifted
-in the afternoon to the foot of the Moquis hill, and there Will gave his
-men instructions as to the operations.
-
-"We will cross the river on the horses a mile above the cave," he said;
-"we must use them, or we could not keep our rifles and pistols dry. You
-must all remove your boots as soon as you dismount, and we will now tear
-up two or three blankets, and twist strips round the barrels of the
-guns, so that, should they strike against the rocks, no sound shall be
-made. You had better do the same with the barrels of your pistols."
-
-Then he chose the lightest of the vaqueros to follow him. Another
-light-weight was to be third. Antonio was to follow him, and then
-Sancho, and the order in which all the others were to go was arranged.
-Lariats were securely knotted together, and the knots tied with strips
-of hide, to prevent the possibility of their slipping. The men carried
-out his orders, but it was evident from their manner that they had not
-the slightest hope that his attempt would be successful. An hour after
-sunset they started. It was two days after full moon, and they had,
-therefore, as many hours to reach the foot of the cliffs before it rose.
-
-An hour was sufficient to traverse the distance, and they therefore
-rested for that time, after darkness set in, before starting, swam the
-river, and after removing their boots made their way noiselessly along,
-keeping some distance from the river bank until they reached the spot
-where the cliff rose perpendicularly; then, keeping close to its foot,
-they held on until they arrived at the spot Will had fixed upon. There
-all lay down among the boulders close to the rock wall, and remained
-there until the moon rose.
-
-There had been several discussions as to the best way to get the lariat
-up, as it was agreed that, whether carried in a coil over the shoulder
-or wound round the body, it would hamper the climber's movements. The
-question was finally solved by his taking a coil of thin hide, which,
-while little thicker than string, was amply strong enough to support the
-weight of the lariat. Four or five bullets had been sewn up in a piece
-of skin and attached to one end. A strap was fastened to each pole so
-that these could be slung behind him, so permitting him the free use of
-both hands where it was not needful to use them.
-
-"The saints watch over you, seņor!" Antonio whispered, as Will prepared
-to start, and he and Sancho gave him a silent grip of the hand, while
-the Indian chief laid his hand on his shoulder and muttered, "Ugh, heap
-brave!"
-
-For a short distance the ascent was comparatively easy. Then he arrived
-at the first of the ledges he had noticed. It was some ten inches wide,
-and, keeping his face to the wall and using his hands to grip the most
-trifling irregularity, or to get a hold in small crevices, he made his
-way along until he arrived at a projection which barred farther
-progress. Slipping one of the slings from his shoulder, he reached up
-until the hook caught the next ledge, and obtained a good hold there. He
-then climbed the pole until his fingers got a grip of the ledge, when he
-hauled himself up to it. It was some fifteen inches wide here, and
-without difficulty he obtained a footing, again slung the pole on his
-shoulder and went on. The ledge narrowed rapidly, and he was now at one
-of the points which appeared to him the most difficult, for from where
-he had been lying the ledge seemed almost to cease, while the next ledge
-above it was also so narrow that he knew he could not obtain standing
-room upon it.
-
-As he approached the narrow path he took the poles, one in each hand,
-and obtained a grip of the upper ledge. He now made his way along on
-tiptoe, having his weight almost entirely on the poles, shifting them
-alternately. To a landsman this would have been an extraordinary feat,
-but, accustomed to hang to the ropes by one hand, it was not so
-difficult for him, especially as he obtained some slight support from
-his feet. Without the poles it would have been impossible for him to
-have passed, as the ledge in some places was only three inches wide. At
-the end of some thirty feet it again widened; the next forty or fifty
-feet upward were comparatively easy, for the rock sloped to some extent
-inward, and there were many fissures in which he was enabled to get a
-firm grip with his fingers. Then came several difficult places, but he
-was confident now in the hold the hooks had on the rocks, and, always
-working with great caution and using sometimes his hands, sometimes the
-poles, he reached the top in half an hour after starting.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX
-
-RESCUED
-
-
-He threw himself down on the platform, which was entirely deserted, and
-lay there for five minutes; then he unwound the coil of leather-thong,
-and threw the weighted end over. He knew that he had allowed ample
-length, and drew it in until he felt a slight strain; then came three
-jerks. The party below had hold of the thong; two more jerks told that
-they had fastened the end of the lariat to it; in a couple of minutes it
-was in his hands. There was a parapet some eighteen inches high along
-the edge of the platform, intended doubtless to prevent the children
-from falling over. Seeing no place to which he could fasten the lariat,
-he tied it round the middle of the two poles, laid these on the ground
-close to the parapet, put his feet upon them, and then leaned over. Two
-pulls on the lariat told him that the next man was tied on, and he began
-at once to haul upon it. He found the weight much less than he had
-expected. Not only was the vaquero short and wiry, but he was using both
-his hands and feet with such effect that in five minutes he stood beside
-Will.
-
-The work went on quickly now. One after another the men were pulled up,
-and in less than an hour all were assembled on the platform, where, save
-three engaged in pulling their comrades up, they had laid down as soon
-as they reached it. Will had been glad to relinquish the work to others,
-for his hands were cut and bleeding. He had crawled along, keeping by
-the wall of rock until he reached the point where the bulge or bend in
-the face of the cliff enabled him to see to the other end of the
-platform. To his surprise not a soul was visible, but, peering over the
-parapet, he saw four figures standing as sentinels at the points where
-there were breaks in the path, and the moonlight enabled him to make out
-that the ladders had been pulled up and laid beside them.
-
-He could hear a confused hum of voices from the principal cave, but,
-though most anxious to know what was going on there, he dared not
-venture farther until all the men were up, as anyone coming out of the
-cave would at once see him. He therefore rejoined the others. Each man
-as he came up gave him a silent grip of the hand, and the Indian chief
-muttered something which Sancho whispered meant "heap great brave". As
-soon as the last man was up they moved silently forward. Every man knew
-the part he had to play. Sancho and three others crept forward on hands
-and knees, under shelter of the parapet, to the other end of the
-platform, where they were to await the signal, the rest halting at the
-front of the main entrance to the cave.
-
-Here a sight met their eyes that filled them with horror. The entrance
-opened into a wide hall, which was lighted by a dozen torches. At the
-farther end was a hideous idol carved from a solid rock; in front of
-this was a sort of altar, upon which lay a figure, which they at once
-recognized as that of Donna Clara. Beside her stood two men, naked to
-the waist, with their bodies painted with strange figures. They had
-knives in their hands, and, rocking themselves to and fro, were uttering
-some sort of prayer or incantation.
-
-"You take the fellow to the left, Antonio, I will take the other."
-
-[Illustration: THE FIGHT IN THE CAVE]
-
-The shots rang out together--the distance was but sixteen or seventeen
-yards--and without a cry the two priests or executioners fell dead. A
-terrible cry of astonishment and dismay broke from the crowd, and before
-they could recover from their surprise, the vaqueros and the two
-Indians, headed by Will, burst their way through them. Will had given
-strict orders that there was to be no general firing, as men, women, and
-children were likely to be mixed up together, but as they entered they
-caught the sound of four rifles outside, and knew that the sentries had
-been disposed of. Will caught up the girl, who was evidently insensible,
-and threw her over his shoulder, and, surrounded by his men, made his
-way outside the cave. Here he handed her over to Antonio, who was a very
-powerfully built man, and the latter, without a word, started for the
-steps.
-
-"Now, my men," Will shouted, as with cries of fury the Indians followed
-them, "don't spare one of these bloodthirsty wretches, but don't touch
-the women."
-
-The fight was short, half the Indians being shot down as they poured out
-on to the platform; the others, however, maddened by the loss of their
-expected victim and the capture of their stronghold, fought desperately
-to the end, the Mexicans using the butt ends of their rifles, while the
-savages fought with knives. After the fight was over, the cave was
-thoroughly searched; many of the women had fallen, for they had joined
-in the fight as fiercely as the men, and in the darkness and confusion
-it was impossible to distinguish them apart. The rest, with the
-children, were forced to descend the steps. The ladders had been
-replaced by Sancho and his party, who, having finished their work, had
-run off at once to bring up the horses.
-
-Clara was still unconscious when they returned. Will mounted, and
-Antonio handed her to him. Sancho and two of the men accompanied him,
-while the rest in charge of the captives followed more slowly. Fires
-were blazing high at the Moquis village, and it was evident that the
-attack had been eagerly watched, and that the firing on the platform had
-shown that the caves had been taken, for on the still night air came
-the sound of horses, drums, and loud shouting. Will at once urged his
-horse into the water, his companions swimming by their horses close to
-him so as to render assistance, if necessary; but the distance was
-short, and it was not long before the horse felt the bottom again. The
-sudden chill of the water had roused the girl from her faint.
-
-"Where am I?" she murmured.
-
-"You are safe in my arms," Will said. "We have got you safely out of the
-hands of those wretches. All danger is over."
-
-"Is it Will," she asked, "or am I dreaming?"
-
-"It is I, sure enough, Clara," he said; "and I am glad that for once you
-have dropped the don. I followed you with Antonio and Sancho and
-thirteen other vaqueros. We were joined by the Genigueh chief, Teczuma,
-and one of his tribe, who have been invaluable in following your track."
-
-"Holy Virgin, I thank you!" the girl murmured, and then lay silent for a
-time.
-
-"Where are you going now?" she asked presently.
-
-"To the Moquis village, where you will be most kindly received, and
-where we shall stay till you have got your strength again."
-
-"Zona, my gallant Zona! Is she safe?"
-
-"Yes. She seemed pretty nearly recovered from her fatigue when we found
-her this morning, and will be ready to carry you back again."
-
-As they approached the hill they saw a number of people coming down the
-zigzag path, with torches, who welcomed Will on his arrival with loud
-cries of triumph. The horses could go no farther, as the path, like that
-up to the caverns, was at several points cut away, the breaks being in
-the daytime filled with long planks. As the girl was altogether unable
-to walk, some of the boys ran up the hill, and in a quarter of an hour
-returned with some poles, with which a litter was speedily improvised.
-In this she was laid, and four Moquis carried her up the hill, Will
-walking beside her and holding her hand. The whole of the villagers
-were assembled on the top of the hill, shouting and dancing with joy at
-the destruction of their enemies, for Sancho had already made the chiefs
-aware that all the men had been killed, and the women and the children
-were being brought in as prisoners.
-
-The Moquis houses surprised Will, as they had neither windows nor doors
-on the ground floor, and entrance was only obtainable by a ladder to the
-upper story. Clara was here handed over to the care of the principal
-women of the village. Half an hour later the rest of the party came up
-with the prisoners. These were for the time confined in one of the
-houses, two armed Moquis keeping guard over them. The women would,
-Sancho explained to Will, be used as servants and to fetch water from
-the springs at the foot of the hill. The children would probably be
-adopted into the tribe.
-
-It was ten days before Clara was strong enough to think of starting. She
-had for twenty-four hours been in a high fever, but the care lavished
-upon her, and her fine constitution, speedily brought her through this,
-and two days later she was able to see Will.
-
-"Tell me all that has happened," she said. "I feel sure that mother has
-been killed, for the valley was full of Indians, and I know that there
-were but few men at home."
-
-"I am afraid that there is no doubt about that," Will said gently. "We
-may be thankful, Clara, that your father and Juan were both away, or
-they, too, might have fallen."
-
-Then he related very briefly how those by the river had been saved, how
-they had learned from Sancho that she had been away at the end of the
-valley, and how they had started in chase; and then, in a few words,
-told how he had scaled the face of the cliff, had assisted his followers
-up, and had arrived just in time.
-
-"I will tell you about my journey another time," she said. "I do not
-like to think of the last part of it; we were both worn out, Zona and I,
-and if we had not come down upon the river we should have both died. I
-took a long drink, and then fell down and went to sleep. I was awakened
-by being lifted up, and found that I was being carried by two Indians,
-and that others were all round me. I was too weak even to struggle, but
-I remember being carried up a very steep path on the face of the cliff.
-As soon as I was laid down I went to sleep, and I suppose slept all
-night. In the morning they gave me food and water, but left me alone
-till it was dark again; then they led me into a large cave lit up by
-torches, with a horrible idol at the end. They laid me down on a great
-stone in front of it, and two men with knives came beside me. Then I
-suppose I fainted, and I remember nothing more till I woke up feeling
-strangely cold as we were swimming across that river."
-
-Almost the whole of the inhabitants of the village paid a visit to the
-cave on the morning after the fight, and when shown the ropes, still
-hanging, by which the party had been drawn up, could at first hardly
-believe Sancho and the two Indians who assured them that Will had
-climbed up there unaided. After Clara's illness had taken a turn, and
-there was no longer cause for anxiety about her, Will was greatly
-interested in the Moquis village. He was taken into one of the
-underground rooms that served as temples, and was horrified at finding
-that hundreds of rattlesnakes and other venomous serpents were kept
-there, and still more astonished when he saw the priests handle them
-carelessly and take them in their mouths. He could not believe that they
-had not been rendered harmless until shown that they still retained
-their poison-fangs. He was told that once a year there was a great
-festival in which all the men in the village took part and performed
-dances, holding the snakes in their mouths.
-
-The villagers endeavoured to show their thankfulness at the destruction
-of their enemies by profuse hospitality to their guests, and the latter
-thoroughly enjoyed their stay. On starting on the return journey Clara
-rode with Will, the two vaqueros, and the Indian chief to the foot of
-the cliff, and was shown the spot where Will had climbed up. After
-looking at it for some time she suddenly burst into tears.
-
-"It is dreadful even to think of your going up there, Will," she said.
-"I should never have forgiven myself if you had been killed when risking
-your life in that way to save me."
-
-"You would never have known it," he said.
-
-"I should have known it," she said earnestly, "when we met in the
-Hereafter."
-
-The journey home was conducted in easy stages. Wolf, the Indian, and one
-of the vaqueros had been sent off the day after Clara rallied from her
-attack of fever. If they found the Apaches still in the valley, they
-were to return to warn them; if not, they were to ride on until they met
-Seņor Sarasta and told him of his daughter's safety.
-
-When half-way back they met Juan with ten well-armed vaqueros. The
-meeting was a joyful one, although saddened by the loss, now confirmed,
-of their mother.
-
-"Ah! Will," Juan exclaimed, after his first tender embrace of his
-sister, "you are tenfold my brother now. You have saved Clara's life as
-well as mine; your messengers have told me how you scaled a cliff that
-seemed to all of them so impossible that none had the slightest hope
-that you could succeed."
-
-"And how are things in the valley?"
-
-"Better than might have been hoped. The red-skins only remained three
-days; some ten thousand of the cattle have been recovered; many were
-found in the woods in the hillsides, more still had gone right up the
-valley, and when the red-skins tried to follow them they were assailed
-with such showers of arrows by the Geniguehs that they fell back, having
-indeed already as many cattle as they could drive away. Two of the men
-from the raft brought us the news to San Diego, and the commandant at
-once told off one hundred cavalry to accompany us, and in future a fort
-is to be built near the hacienda, and fifty soldiers are to be stationed
-there. The commandant was rather reluctant to agree to this until he had
-received orders from government, but on our undertaking to supply the
-garrison with bread and meat, he consented, seeing that it would be a
-distinct saving of expense. So we need have no fear of the red-skins
-meddling with us again. My father has already sent down to Monterey to
-arrange for the purchase of ten thousand head of cattle from the ranches
-there, so in two or three years we shall be in full working order again.
-We found twenty of the vaqueros assembled at the hacienda; they had
-taken to the woods at the first attack, and had remained in hiding until
-they found that the red-skins had gone."
-
-A messenger was at once sent on ahead to inform Seņor Sarasta of the
-time at which the party would arrive, and he met them at the upper end
-of the valley. The meeting was an affecting one. After embracing his
-daughter the Mexican threw his arms round Will with as much affection as
-if he had been his father.
-
-"I did not think," he said, when the first emotion was over, "when I
-left you in charge that the duty would be such an onerous one, but you
-have nobly fulfilled your trust, most nobly, and I thank you from the
-bottom of my heart."
-
-On arriving at the hacienda they found that great efforts had been made
-to remove all signs of the visit of the Apaches. Donna Sarasta had been
-buried in the little chapel near the house. The broken and torn-up
-shrubs had been replaced, and although inside the rooms were bare, for
-the furniture had been hacked to pieces by the red-skins, everything was
-spotlessly clean. Will did not enter with Seņor Sarasta into the house,
-but went straight to the stables with the vaqueros and saw his horse and
-Zona cared for. When he went to the house, Don Sarasta and Juan went out
-to him.
-
-"We have been talking together, Will," the Mexican said, "and the result
-is this: I do not know what your sentiments may be, but I have
-ascertained those of my daughter. We have been as one family for seven
-or eight months. We all wish that we shall continue to be so in reality,
-and I now offer you formally the hand of my daughter, Donna Clara
-Sarasta, in marriage. I know that I can intrust her happiness to you,
-and the match will afford both myself and Juan the most lively
-satisfaction."
-
-"It would be altogether beyond my hopes, seņor," Will said, greatly
-moved. "I will not deny that I have from the first had a profound
-admiration for your daughter, but I should never have spoken of it,
-seeing that I am at present a penniless man, and am, indeed, much below
-the age at which we think of marriage in the States."
-
-The Mexican smiled. "According to Spanish law, and our own policy, the
-legal age for marriage is fourteen for the man and twelve for the woman,
-and although it is not often that marriages take place quite so young as
-that, they are very frequent when the man is sixteen and the girl
-fourteen or fifteen; therefore, that is no obstacle whatever."
-
-"Then, seņor, I accept your generous offer most gladly and thankfully,
-and shall consider myself the most fortunate man alive in winning such a
-bride as Donna Clara."
-
-"Well, you had better go in and tell her so," the seņor said. "I think
-that that will be more in accordance with your American customs than for
-me to go in and formally hand her over to you."
-
-Three months later a double marriage took place at San Diego. Don
-Sarasta settled a large sum of money upon his daughter, and, with Juan's
-cordial assent, arranged that at his death the hacienda and ranch, and,
-indeed, all of his property, should become the joint property of his son
-and daughter, with power to make any future division of it that they
-might think fit. After remaining a week at San Diego, Will sailed with
-his wife to Panama, crossed the isthmus, and took ship to New York,
-where he astounded his father and mother by presenting to them his wife,
-and mentioning casually that she had a fortune of $200,000, and was
-joint heiress to estates and property worth at least $2,000,000, which
-caused Mr. Harland, senior, to acknowledge that Will's mania for the sea
-had not turned out so badly after all.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-HISTORICAL TALES BY G. A. HENTY
-
-The Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt.
-
-For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem.
-
-The Dragon and the Raven: or, The Days of King Alfred.
-
-A Knight of the White Cross: The Siege of Rhodes.
-
-The Lion of St. Mark: A Story of Venice in the 14th Century.
-
-A March on London: A Story of Wat Tyler.
-
-At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris.
-
-St Bartholomew's Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars.
-
-By England's Aid: or, The Freeing of the Netherlands.
-
-The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus.
-
-When London Burned: A Story of the Great Fire.
-
-A Jacobite Exile: In the Service of Charles XII.
-
-Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden.
-
-At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War.
-
-With Frederick the Great: The Seven Years' War.
-
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