WHAT THE CAVE HELD
There was something alive in the cave, and Jack did not wait to
see what it was. With two or three long jumps he passed out of the
entrance and stood again among the underbrush, through which the
bright sun was sending down its long sheaves of light. Nothing more
happened, and as he looked back into the cave it was all quiet
there. He was breathing fast, startled and excited, yet not exactly
frightened, and when he reached the open air and had recovered from
his start, he felt curious to know what had made the strange noise
and what had hit him. It did not seem that it could be anything very
terrible, for if it had been, it would have struck him harder and
made more noise. He looked back into the cave, but the darkness gave
no answer to the question in his mind. He could see two or three tiny
sparks faintly glowing, which went out one by one as he watched them.
This was the remains of his torch. He wondered what that dim pale
shape could be, that he had seen for an instant, but too indistinctly
to tell what it was. Though he was anxious to know more about the
cave, he did not feel like venturing into it again without a light,
and he determined to go home and tell his uncle, and, in a day or two
to return, better prepared for the investigation.
His mind was so full of what he had seen that he started down the
hill toward his horse, altogether forgetting his gun, and when he
remembered it, he had a long climb back to recover it.
It was the middle of the afternoon before he reached the house, and
there was no one about to whom he could talk of his adventure except
Mrs. Carter. To her he told his story, but she could throw no light
on the matter, nor, indeed, could his uncle when he consulted him at
supper.
"Why, Jack," said he; "that is very interesting, and you were lucky
to find such a place. It was pretty keen of you too, to think of
making the torch as you did. I fancy it would have served you better
though, if you had put some wads of grass with your pine needles.
It would have burned more slowly and steadily, and would have given
you a pretty fair light. I do not wonder that you wanted to get out
of the cave when you heard that noise and were hit. Were you much
scared?"
"Yes, I guess I was, Uncle Will. My heart was beating hard when I got
out, but the light seemed to cool me down right off. That's queer,
isn't it?"
"Oh, I don't know," said his uncle; "it seems to me very natural.
Wait till Hugh gets back, Jack, and then we three will go up on the
hill, with plenty of lights, and will see what there is in the cave,
and where it goes to." With this, Jack was forced to be content.
During the next two days Jack thought a great deal about the cave,
and on the evening of the second day, when Hugh returned from town,
Jack met him at the barn, and while he was unsaddling, poured into
his ear the tale of his discovery.
Hugh seemed much impressed, but ventured no opinion, though he asked
a number of questions. "What did the thing feel like that hit you on
the head, son?" said he.
"Why, it was something soft, and not very big. It just hit my hat a
light blow, not much more than enough to dent it in, I should think,
but there was the queerest noise at the same time that I ever heard.
I don't know how to describe it. It was like something moving quickly
through the air. Just the faintest sound you can think of, but it
seemed close to my ear."
"Well," said Hugh, "I reckon you're a great hand to have things
happen to you. Now ain't it a queer thing that you should just about
roll into this place, and me live about here all these years and
never know that it was there. You done well to make the light you
did, and to go in like you did. It kind o' makes a man go slow to see
everything black ahead of him. We'll know to-morrow what there is
there, unless your uncle wants me to do something else."
"No," said Jack, "I'm sure he don't, for he said that we'd all three
go up there together and find out what there is in the cave."
"All right," said Hugh, "that will suit me first class. I expect
when we get there maybe we won't find anything very strange, and
then again, maybe we will. Caves ain't very common in this country,
but I've seen a good many of 'em; some of 'em where the Indians have
been in, and drawed all kinds of pictures on the walls. And then away
south-west of here, up in the mountains, there's lots of caves that
the Indians used to live in. Some of 'em are away high up on the
cliffs, right hard places to get to, but those Indians lived there,
and you can see their bed places, and where they have had their
fires, and sometimes you'll find the pots that they used to cook in,
and everywhere, all about, there's lots of pieces of broken pots. But
all that was a long time ago. I expect the Indians that lived down on
the prairie, at the foot of these cliffs, were likely hostile, and
the fellows that had their houses up in the caves lived there so's to
get away from them that was down on the plains. I reckon you've heard
tell of the Pueblo people that live down there yet. They live in
regular houses, built of 'dobes. Some of them houses are like three
or four built on top of each other, and they haven't got a door nor a
window on the outside. They climb up into 'em by ladders, that they
haul up after 'em, and then they're just like they was in a fort. I
expect they got to building them houses because people were hazing
them, and they had to have protection, nights."
After breakfast next morning the three started for the cave, carrying
two lanterns and some candles. When they came to the place where Jack
had seen the badger and the coyote, he told Hugh about it, and asked
him what sort of a game these two animals were playing. Mr. Sturgis
laughed when the question was asked, and Hugh smiled, too. "Son," he
said, "your uncle, here, asked me that same question about six years
ago, when he first saw a badger and a coyote acting that way. I have
seen it a heap of times, and I'll tell you what I believe it means.
You know, in these days, since there ain't no buffalo, any more, the
coyotes are pretty nearly always hungry. I believe that a coyote
sometimes, when he finds a badger out on the prairie, just keeps
a-bothering him and a-bothering him until he gets the badger right
mad, and gets him so he wants to fight. You know, a badger ain't a
very good-tempered animal, nohow. Well, after the coyote has pestered
him a while, the badger gets so cross that he just wants to get hold
of that coyote, and the coyote keeps pretty close to him, and the
badger keeps following him, and so the coyote leads him along, until
presently maybe he runs across two or three other coyotes, and then
they all pitch into the badger and kill him, and eat him."
"That seems mighty queer, Hugh," said Jack. "I didn't suppose a
coyote knew enough to make a plan like that."
"Well, of course," said Hugh, "I don't know that it is so; no coyote
ever told me that it was, but I've seen them acting that way often,
and I can't think of no other meaning to it except that. But a coyote
is smart enough to do that, or most anything else. It may be that the
coyote just enjoys teasing the badger, and making him fighting mad,
but if that was so, I wouldn't look to see the thing happen as often
as it does. A coyote's got a heap of meanness in him, though; I've
seen a couple of 'em spend an hour or two just bothering a big wolf,
and I'm certain they did that just for the fun of it. The wolf was
crossing a big sheet of ice, where a creek had overflowed, and it was
pretty slippery, and he could not handle himself very well, nor turn
quick. One of the coyotes would run pretty close in front of him,
and the wolf would make a grab at him, and while he was doing that,
the other coyote would run up behind him and nip him. Why, them two
little rascals had a heap of fun with that big wolf before he got off
the ice and on to the bare ground, where he had a good footing."
Before long they reached the place where Jack told them they must
leave their horses, and then they started up the hill. Hugh said,
"We'd better all take our ropes with us; we don't know but what we
might need 'em when we get up there." They clambered up the steep
ascent, Jack in advance, and feeling quite important at the thought
that he was now acting as guide for Hugh and his uncle. Once, when
they stopped to rest, he pointed out where the hawk's nest was, and
showed them where he had rolled down the hill and into the bushes.
"It's a wonder you didn't break your neck," said his uncle.
"Well," said Hugh, "it would be a wonder if we didn't know that boys
are all the time getting into scrapes, where a grown man would be
killed, and the boys come out of it without even getting scratched
up." As he said this he looked hard at Jack, who thought he must be
referring to his scrape with the mountain lion.
It was not long before they were all standing in the brush, at the
entrance to the cave.
"Well," said Mr. Sturgis, as he peered into the opening, "it's black
enough in there, certainly."
"Dark as a wolf's mouth," said Hugh.
They lighted the two lanterns, and giving Jack a candle, they
prepared to go in.
"Do you want to lead the way, Jack?" said his uncle, "or shall one of
us go first?"
"No," said Jack, "I'd like to be first to go in. You know, I feel as
if this cave belonged to me."
"That's right, son," said Hugh; "you're the leader of this party. Go
right in, and we'll follow you. Only I don't want you to go too fast,
or too far ahead. I've seen these caves sometimes where there's a big
drop off in the bottom, and I'd hate almightily to be following you
and see you fall off into a big hole. You go ahead, but go mighty
slow, and we'll be right close behind you. You two might leave your
guns out here, I don't reckon there's nothing to hurt anybody
inside. I don't see no signs where anybody has been in this cave this
season, except where son walked the other day."
Mr. Sturgis and Jack left their guns here, but Hugh retained his.
Then the three went into the cave, Jack a little in advance. They
had made only two or three steps into it when Jack again heard the
queer whirring noise, and saw Hugh suddenly strike at something with
his hand, and then heard a faint, squeaking cry, and a sound as of
something soft striking the ground.
"There's what hit you," said Hugh.
"Oh, what is it?" said Jack.
"Bats," said Hugh. "I suspicioned it was them, from what you said,
but I wan't certain. They can't do no harm, but look here!" and Hugh
stooped and picked up two or three feathers, and one of the slender
sticks that Jack had noticed the day before, and said: "This has been
a sacred place for the Indians. See these presents? These are eagle
feathers, and here are a lot of arrows that have been given, maybe,
to the Sun."
"But those look pretty old, Hugh," said Mr. Sturgis.
"Yes," was the reply, "these were left here a long time ago. Don't ye
see they've got stone points? This here arrow looks like a Cheyenne
arrow, but it's old."
"There, Uncle Will!" said Jack, interrupting, "There's that white
thing. Let's see what that is."
They moved forward a little, very slowly, and in a moment saw that
the cave was a small one, not more than forty feet long. On a bed of
stones, raised above the floor lay a whitish bundle, about three feet
long and two wide, tied up with leather thongs.
"Ha!" said Hugh.
"What is it, Hugh?" said Jack.
"Why don't you see?" said Hugh. "This here cave is a grave and that's
the body of a person that was buried here."
"It must have been a little bit of a child, then," said Jack.
"Not so," Hugh answered, "that's a grown person, either a man or a
woman. That's the way they tie 'em up in bundles when they bury 'em.
I expect that Indian was put here a long time ago." Hugh put down his
lantern, bent forward and took hold of the bundle by either end, and
lifted it from the ground. It seemed to weigh very little, and as he
replaced it on its bed of stones, he repeated, "A long time ago. Why,
that bundle don't weigh nothing. There can't be nothing in it except
just the very driest kind of bones, and that hide that it's wrapped
in is just like paper; when I lifted it, my fingers went right
through it."
Jack stared at the bundle, wondering how long it had been here, who
it had been, and thinking of the life that it had led so long ago.
Meantime, the other two had turned aside and were looking about the
cave, which was only ten or twelve feet wide. Hugh picked up an
earthenware pot, which stood at one end of the bed of stones, and
calling Jack, showed it to him. By the light of the lantern it seemed
to be dark red and grey, and it had once held something, as its sides
and bottom, within, were dark with crusted dust. "I expect when they
buried this fellow," said Hugh, "they left some grub for him to eat,
in this pot." Near the pot, but resting on the floor of the cave, was
a small sack made of what seemed like leather. This, when Jack felt
of it, seemed heavy. The covering was hard and dry.
On the walls at either side of the cave were scratched in the rock,
rude figures of men, a great circle with lines starting out from it,
which Hugh said meant the Sun, and a rude figure of a bird with a
great hooked beak--the Thunder Bird.
After they had satisfied their curiosity, Mr. Sturgis and Hugh turned
to go, but Jack lingered behind. "Oh, Hugh," he called, "can't we
take this bundle with us? I'm sure it would be a greater curiosity,
back east, than the mummies from Egypt that I have seen in the museum
there."
"Well now, son," said Hugh, "I don't reckon I'd bother that fellow,
if I was you. Fetch the pot and that little sack along with you, if
you want 'em, and then come out here in the sunshine, and we'll talk
about it." They sat down by the mouth of the cave, and Hugh and Mr.
Sturgis filled their pipes.
"Now, look here, son," said Hugh, "how would you like it if
some day some fellow was to come along to the place where your
great-great-grandfather had been buried, and should talk about
carrying off his bones for a curiosity?"
"Well," said Jack, "I don't suppose I'd like it very much."
"I don't expect you would," said Hugh, "and the Indians feel the same
way about their dead grandfathers that you might feel about yours.
You don't want that bundle in there for anything except because
it's a curiosity, and if I was you, I wouldn't bother it. It can't
do no one any harm for you to take these other things; they're real
curiosities, because they're the old-time things the Indians used to
make and use; but I wouldn't bother them bones. Let's see what you've
got."
They opened the sack carefully, but the covering of hide tore to
pieces as they tried to unwrap it. Hugh spread out his coat, so that
nothing might be lost and all bent eagerly forward to see what the
relics might be. The largest thing was a great pipe made of black
carved stone; then there were eight arrow heads of black, white and
brown flint, finely worked, and one smaller piece of flint, shaped a
little like an arrow head, but which Hugh said was used in painting
skins.
When they were all unwrapped, Hugh said: "There, son, you've sure got
some real old relics, now. I don't know as I ever see a nicer lot of
arrow points, and I'm sure I never see a pipe like that. Them things
is mighty old. I wouldn't be a mite surprised if that fellow died
before America was discovered."
Jack was delighted with the find. He still felt that he would like to
have the bundle, and, above all, would like to know what there was
inside of it, but he made up his mind that it was better to do as
Hugh had said. After they had reached their horses, he wrapped the
pot carefully up in his coat and tied it to the horn of his saddle,
and all the way home he rode with his hand on it, so that it should
not be jarred and broken.
When they reached home he spread his trophies out on the kitchen
table to show to Mrs. Carter, and said to her, "Won't these make a
great show in my room in New York?"