Dick sprang up the hill, and, as soon as he joined Tom, astonished him
with the account of the discovery of the treasure collected by the other
party, and also by the news that it was probable that the Indians would
be speedily upon them. All this he told him as he was crawling forward
towards the edge of the cliff.
"There he goes!" he exclaimed, when they neared it. "Do you see him
going up the slope toward the village? How clear the air is. Dave says
it is six miles there if it is a foot; it does not look more than one.
"Well, I must go and tell them below. Mind, Tom, the moment you see a
party issue out from there you crawl back to the path, and then hurry
down as quick as you can, but mind you don't tumble in your haste."
"That settles it," Dave said, when he heard the news. "If he had been
going to that village he would have made for it straight, and not come
along under the cliffs until he was opposite to it. No; we have got to
fight, that's sartin."
"If we were to mount that path at once, Dave, we could keep them from
climbing up if there were hundreds of them."
"That is so, lad, but we could not stay there forever, and might be took
in the rear by another party. Besides, as soon as they find out that we
have left--they will do that pretty soon--they will be straight after
us. No, we have been talking it over while you have been away, and we
have agreed that we must hold the Canyon until it gets dark, and then
make off. No doubt they know of this path, but they won't think as we
have found it out, and they will fancy that they have got us sure. Like
enough, as soon as they find we are ready for them here, they will send
a messenger off to some village up behind us. There is one thing, he
will have a good way to go for we have seen no break in the cliffs for
the last twenty miles, and maybe they go much farther; anyhow, we have
got to risk it."
"I should think," Dick said, "that anyhow we might as well get the
horses up to the top of the path, ready to push on as soon as it gets
dark. They can do it easily enough in daylight, but it would be a very
awkward job at night."
"Right you are, lad, that is a capital plan. We will do it at once. We
have got everything wrapped up ready. One of us will stay up there with
Tom so as to guard the top of the path, in case any of the redskins
should come down before we are ready to go forward. Three will be enough
to hold the Canyon."
"I will undertake the horse job," Boston Joe said. "As you say, three is
enough here. They will think they are going to take us by surprise, and
as soon as they find we are ready for them they will draw off fast
enough. I reckon that fellow has counted our numbers, and no redskin
will try to force that pass with five Western rifles facing him."
Just as Joe began to mount the path, leading his horse, with the others
tied head to tail in a long line behind it, Tom appeared on the path
high up and shouted:
"Thirty or forty horsemen have just left the village, and are coming
this way."
"All right, Tom," Dick shouted back. "You are not to come down. Joe is
coming up with the horses."
"We have got plenty of time yet," Dave said, as soon as the string of
horses had started on their way up; "it aint much past two o'clock yet,
and it will be pretty nigh six hours afore we can make a start. There is
a good fire, and we have kept down thirty pounds of flour; we shall have
time to bake that into bread before we start. We shan't have much time
for baking when we are once off, you can bet your boots."
Dick looked on with some wonder at the quiet and deliberate manner in
which Dave mixed his dough.
"By the way, Dick," the latter said, looking up, "we have divided that
lot of gold we got here ourselves into five lots, and put one lot into
the blankets on each of our riding horses; it is like enough that if we
carry our own scalps back to the Settlements we shan't get any of the
four baggage ponies there with us. There is about twelve pound of gold
in each blanket, so suppose we have to let the other ponies go, we
shan't have made a bad job out of our journey after all."
"Have you filled the water-skins, Dave?"
"We filled the five small skins we carry ourselves, and one of the
others we daren't carry. Each of the horses has got two sacks of gold,
one of them has got the water-skin, two others have got twenty pounds of
flour each, which will be enough to last us with the loaf we are baking
here till we get out of the Indian country; the others have got the tea
and sugar. The one with the skin will be the heaviest load at first; but
the water will soon go, so that makes it even. Everything else we have
got to leave behind, except a kettle and this baking pan. We will take
them up as we go. Now that the loaf is fairly under way, we will get
ready for the redskins."