ON THE ROOF.
Captain Dohm Shirril was never more in earnest than when he declared
that the Comanches meant to renew their attempt to fire his cabin.
Having come so near success, they would resort to the same means, taking
care to provide against a second ignominious defeat at the hands of the
defenders.
The darkness, on the whole, was far more helpful to the latter than to
their assailants, for, if care was used, it was beyond the power of the
Indians to discover the presence of any person on the roof. The
Comanches, from the force of circumstances, would have to move back some
rods from the building, to see the cover, and that distance was
sufficient to shut out all sight of a figure, so long as it remained
prone. If a man rose to his feet, as Dinah had done, his outlines would
show, and he would become an instant target for the redskins.
It was with a full conviction of these important facts that the Texan,
imitating the action of his servant, unfastened the scuttle, and
noiselessly let it fall back behind him. Then he thrust his head and
shoulders through and scanned the half of the roof in his field of
vision.
Nothing to cause alarm was discerned, and rising still higher, he peered
over the peak to the other side.
The air had the odor of burning wood, and the cavity burned in the roof
showed signs of life, but they were so slight as to be harmless. They
would soon die out, despite the strong wind still blowing.
It need not be said that the Texan had not the remotest intention of
following the example of his servant. If he should discover the presence
of an Indian on the roof, little fear of an attempt to steal upon him
unaware and fling him to the earth below. The captain held his
Winchester firmly grasped and most of its chambers were charged. That
offered the true solution of his problem, in case of the appearance of
danger, and he was not the man to hesitate in such an emergency.
He did not fail to notice that which was observed by his nephew: the
Comanches had ceased their whooping and firing, though the tramping of
their mustangs proved that most of the warriors were still mounted and
circling back and forth in the aimless effort to detect some means of
getting at the defiant inmates of the house.
"Avon has given them the slip," was his conclusion, "though he must have
had a close call. There is one Indian less, at any rate, than when he
stole out of the cabin."
Such was the fact, though, as we have shown, he did not fall by the
rifle of the youth.
The Texan was standing on the chair in the upper room, with his head and
shoulders through the opening, all his senses on the alert, when he
caught the faint report of a rifle, repeated several times. The sounds
came from a point a long way off, and he could only conjecture their
cause.
"If it was over yonder," he added, referring to a point of the compass
almost opposite, "I would believe the boy fired the gun and had come in
collision with some more of the scamps that are so plenty to-night, but
he can't be over there, because that would lead him further from the
camp of the cattlemen."
And yet, as the reader suspects, the rifle was discharged by the young
man, who, in obedience to the general law, had strayed in the wrong
direction in his blind search for his friends.
It was not necessary to give any attention to matters below stairs. He
could not believe that danger threatened there, but, should it appear in
an unexpected form, the women would give quick notice, and he could
hasten to their aid.
"Avon ought to reach camp in half an hour," continued the Texan,
following his train of thought; "true, he is on foot, but he knows every
step of the way, and won't allow the grass to grow under his feet; it
will take the boys about half a minute to make ready; the cattle can be
left to themselves, so they ought to be here within three-quarters of an
hour, and won't they make fur fly when they do come!" added the Texan
with a thrill; "they will welcome such a chance to even up matters with
these cattle thieves, who have been hanging round the country for nearly
a week; they will give them a lesson which will make it safe for the
women until we get back, even if gone six months."
Despite his watchfulness against his foes, his gaze continually wandered
to the northward, whence the expected aid was to come. His elevation was
not sufficient to permit him to see beyond the ridge which his relative
must pass to reach camp, but he listened for the assuring shouts which
were sure to proclaim the arrival of the brave fellows who were always
ready to risk their lives for a friend.
Although the captain relied chiefly upon the darkness to screen him from
sight of the Comanches, he could not feel sure of entire safety in his
situation. In order to hold all of the roof in his field of vision, he
had to keep not only his head but his shoulders above the level of the
scuttle. By doing this, he could look over the peak, but his danger lay
in the evident fact that the Indians knew the location of the opening,
and would use their eyes for all they were worth in striving to detect
anyone venturing out of it.
The conviction, therefore, was that his conspicuous posture was likely
to reveal his outlines to some watchful warrior, who might rise to his
feet on the back of his steed so as to permit a closer view of the
roof.
No more uncomfortable sensation can be imagined than that of one who
continually invites the skill of a sharp-shooter, and the Texan met the
difficulty not by shrinking, like a turtle, within his protection, but
by climbing stealthily out upon the planking, where he remained extended
at full length.
This rendered him less liable to be seen, but if his assailants should
take a notion to sweep the deck, as may be said, with rifle bullets, he
was far more likely to receive some of them in his person than he would
be by retaining his former place.
But a greater or less degree of danger must attend any effort to
frustrate the designs of the red men, who were inspired by a hatred
intensified by the loss of two of their number.
With his face almost pressing the planking the Texan drew himself, inch
by inch, along the roof, until he was some six feet distant. Then he
paused and listened, slightly raising his head and peering around in the
gloom.
Once he heard the hoofs of a galloping horse, which, however, quickly
ceased. Then several whistle-like signals passed between the marauders,
and he was able to catch the murmur of voices within the cabin. The wife
and servant were talking together, and, though their words were low, the
open doors allowed the slight noise to reach the ears of the Texan,
without telling him what words were spoken.
Holding his position several minutes, he turned a little to the left and
crept along, until able to look over the low peak of the roof. He did
this by raising his head the few inches necessary to bring his eyes just
above the level.
Everything, so far as he could judge, was the same as before. The
smouldering in the cavity had died out, though the smoke was as pungent
as ever.
"Dinah could not have done her work more effectively, and a reasonable
person ought to be satisfied----"
His keen sense of hearing apprised him of a noise, slight but
significant, near him. His first thought was that it was in front, but
the next moment he knew it came from the rear. Turning his head in that
direction, without moving his body, he caught the outlines of a
Comanche's head at the lower corner of the roof behind him. It slowly
rose until the shoulders appeared, and no doubt remained that the Indian
was cautiously climbing upon the roof, to renew the attempt to set fire
to it.