A RELIC OF OTHER DAYS.
I MUST not omit to say that during the days occupied in the long ride
toward the northwest, our friends saw Indians more than once. They were
generally straggling parties, who viewed the three horsemen with as
much curiosity as our friends studied them. They were either Comanches
or Kioways, though the hunting grounds of the latter were far to the
eastward. Close to the New Mexican boundary they observed a half dozen
warriors, who the Texans said were Apaches. They followed the whites
for one afternoon, discharging their guns from a distance, and more
than once seemed on the point of attacking them; but a shot from Lattin
wounded a dusky raider badly, after which all drew off and were seen no
more.
The sight of a white man riding toward them, with the evident purpose
of a meeting, centred the interest of the three on him. He was mounted
on a wiry “plug,” and as he drew near was seen to be one of those
individuals occasionally met in the wildest parts of the great West a
generation ago. He belonged to the trappers and hunters, who, leaving
the confines of civilization at the close of the summer season, spent
the severe winters in trapping beavers, otters, and other fur-bearing
animals. They faced the perils of vengeful red men, wild beasts, and
the rigorous winters for the sake of the pittance paid at the frontier
posts and towns for the scant peltries carried thither.
The man who rode up had but the single animal, his worldly possessions
being strapped in place behind him, while his long, old-fashioned
rifle rested across the saddle in front. His dress may be described
as a cross between that of a cowboy and an Indian. His hat was of
the sombrero order, but he wore a skin hunting shirt, leggings and
moccasins, and possessed a massive frame which must have been the
repository of immense strength.
His face was a study. His hair was long, and, like the beard that
covered his face, plentifully sprinkled with gray. His small eyes were
light in color, restless, bright, and twinkling; his nose large and
Roman in form, and his voice a mellow bass.
The trapper was yet several rods distant when Lattin exclaimed in a
surprised undertone:
“Why, that’s old Eph, as sure as I live!”
“So it is,” added Strubell; “I haven’t seen him for years.”
The hunter recognized the Texan at the same moment, and the movement
of his heavy beard showed he was smiling, though it was impossible to
see his mouth. He uttered a hearty salutation as he came forward, and
grasped each hand in turn, being introduced by Strubell to Herbert, who
noticed the searching look he fixed for a moment on his face.
“I’m glad to know you, younker,” he said, almost crushing his hand;
“but I’m s’prised to meet you so soon after seeing another; I aint used
to running agin boys in this part of the world; but things seem to be
gettin’ endways the last few years, and I’ve made up my mind thar’s
powerful little in the trappin’ bus’ness any longer.”
Eph Bozeman, as Strubell announced him, proved by the words just
uttered that he had seen Nick Ribsam, and therefore must have news to
impart. Since he had come directly over the trail of the horse thieves,
the Texans had suspected the other fact before he made it known.
After the exchange of a few questions and answers, during which Bozeman
stated that he was on his way to Austin to hunt up an old friend, who
had been engaged for a number of years in buying and selling mustangs,
Strubell explained the business that had brought him and his companions
over the border into New Mexico.
“How far are we behind Rickard and the others?”
The trapper turned in his saddle and looked to the rear for a few
seconds without speaking. His forehead was wrinkled with thought, but
it did not take him long to answer the question.
“You are thirty-five miles or tharabouts from the Pecos, and Bell and
Harman will cross the stream about noon, which is two hours off, so you
may say thar is thirty miles atween you.”
“There wasn’t more than a dozen when we started,” was the remark of the
disgusted Lattin, “so we have been losing ground for more than a week
that we’ve been chasing ‘em.”
“Thar can’t be any doubt of that ‘cordin’ to your own words,” replied
the trapper; “but if you keep on you’ll be up with ‘em by the end of
two days.”
“How do you make that out?” asked Strubell.
“‘Cause they’re goin’ to stop at the ranch layin’ just beyond.”
Strubell and Lattin exchanged glances, and Herbert, who was watching
them, was satisfied that the news did not surprise them. They had
expected it from the first or they would not have persevered thus far.
“I met ‘em yesterday,” continued Bozeman, “not fur back; they had
halted to cook a young antelope that Harman shot, and I jined in on the
chorus.”
“What did they say to you?”
“Nothin’ in partic’lar; I told ‘em whar I was goin’, and asked ‘em what
they war doin’ in this part of the world. They said they war on thar
way to look at that ranch I spoke about on t’other side of the Pecos,
and it might be they would spend some time thar.”
“Did they say anything about the boy with them?” asked Herbert, whose
curiosity was at the highest point.
“Yas—consid’rable. I asked who he was and whar he come from; Bell told
me he was a younker as wanted to take a trip through Texas fur his
health—though he’s the healthiest younker I’ve looked on for many a
day—and tharfur they war takin’ him along.”
“Did you have anything to say to Nick?”
“Who’s Nick?” asked the trapper, with another movement of the beard
around his mouth that showed he was smiling.
“He’s the boy—my friend that we’re looking after.”
“I shook hands with him, give him some good advice that he thanked me
for, and that was all.”
“I suppose he was afraid to say anything more.”
“It must have been that; Bell and Harman watched him powerful close,
and though he looked as if he would like to add something, he didn’t. I
tell you,” continued the trapper, addressing Strubell and the others,
“I s’pected something was wrong, though I didn’t say nothin’, ‘cause
thar warn’t any show for me doin’ anything. I’m s’prised to hear what
you say, and, boys, if you want me to give you any help, I’m yours to
command.”
This was said with a heartiness that left no doubt of its sincerity.
His friends were delighted with the offer, and Herbert especially was
sure that no better thing could happen. He assured old Eph he should
be well paid for his trouble. The trapper did not refuse, though his
proposal was made without any idea of the kind; but, as he confessed,
matters had gone ill with him for a long time, and he was in need of
all he could honestly earn.
He had known Rickard and Slidham for ten years, and was aware of the
crooked business in which they were engaged; but, inasmuch as they did
not cross his path, there was no cause to quarrel with them. He had
spent more than one night in their company, and would not hesitate
to do so again, without misgiving; but when he learned of their
high-handed outrage, his sturdy nature was filled with wrath, and he
declared himself eager not only to help rescue the boy, but to punish
them for their crime.
This decision was reached within ten minutes after the handshaking, and
the trapper wheeled his pony around and joined in the pursuit without
further delay.
Since it was clear that the others could not be overtaken until they
made their final halt, the pursuers let down in their pace, and allowed
their animals to follow at a leisurely rate.
It struck Herbert as very strange that the destination of the enemies
and friends of Nick Ribsam should be the same. Though the former
could not have caught sight of their pursuers, they must have known
of it, and were now about to stop and give them time to come up, and
make battle, if they chose, for the possession of the young man, who,
without any fault of his own, had become the bone of contention.
There was something about the business that he could not understand;
but by listening to the stealthy conversation of his friends he gained
an inkling of the truth. He learned, too, that they were less hopeful
of success than he. The almost endless pursuit, however, was drawing to
a close, and the end, whatever it might be, was at hand.