IN THE mean time, the situation of our friends in Wolf Ravine was
becoming perilous to the last degree.
Before going to work, on the morning of the steam man's excursion to
the mountains, Baldy Bicknell made a reconnoissance of the ravine, to
assure himself that there was no danger of being suddenly overwhelmed,
while delving for the precious yellow sand.
He saw abundant signs of Indians having recently visited the place,
but he concluded there were none in the immediate vicinity, and that
comparatively little risk was run in the boy making his wished-for
visit to the mountains in the west.
Through the center of the ravine ran a small stream of water, hardly
of enough volume to be used for washing gold without a dam being
created. It looked as if this had once been the head of a large
stream, and that the golden sand had been drifted to this spot, by the
force of the powerful current.
The auriferous particles were scattered over the entire breadth of the
ravine, for the distance of several hundred feet, being found in the
richest deposits between the ledges and rocks, in the bottom of the
channel, where, as may well be supposed, it was no easy matter to
obtain.
A short distance back of the 'diggings,' where the vast masses of
rocks assumed curiously grotesque forms, the miners discovered a rude
cave, where they at once established their headquarters. A tiny stream
ran through the bottom of it, and with a little placing of the close
bowlders, they speedily put it in the best condition of defense.
It was almost entirely surrounded by trees, there was one spot where a
thin man, like Hopkins or Baldy, could draw his body through and climb
a luxuriant cottonwood, whose top have a wide view of the surrounding
plain.
The day passed away without any signs of Indians, Baldy occasionally
ascending the side of the ravine, and scanning the plains in every
direction, on the constant lookout for the insidious approach of their
enemies.
Just before nightfall, while all three were at work, a rifle was
discharged, and the bullet was imbedded in the tough oaken handle of
the spade with which the trapper was digging.
'Whar in thunder did that come from?' he demanded, dropping the
implement, catching up the rifle, and glaring savagely about him.
But neither of the others could answer him, and climbing up the bank,
he looked fiercely around for some evidence of the whereabouts of his
treacherous foe.
The latter remained invisible, but several hundred yards down the
ravine, he caught a glimpse of enough Indians dodging hither and
thither to satisfy him that there was quite a formidable force in the
valley.
Giving the alarm to his companions, all three withdrew within the
cave, not the less willingly, as it was very near their usual quitting
time.
'Begorrah! and what'll becoom of the shtame mian and the boy?'
inquired Mickey, as he hastily obeyed orders.
'Jerusalem!' exclaimed the Yankee, in great trepidation, 'if he isn't
warned, they'll catch him sure, and then what'll become of us? We'll
have to walk all the way hum.'
As the best means of communicating with him, the trapper climbed
through the narrow opening, and to the top of the tree, where he
ensconced himself, just as the steam man uttered its interrogative
whistle.
The trapper, as we have shown in another place, replied by pantomime,
not wishing to discover his whereabouts to the enemy, as he had a dim
idea that this means of egress might possibly prove of some use to
him, in the danger that was closing around them.
When Johnny Brainerd recognized his signal, and beat a retreat, Baldy
began a cautious descent to his cave again. At this time it was
already growing dark, and he had to feel his way down again.
And so it came about, that not until he had reached the lowest limb,
did his trained ear detest a slight rustling on the ground beneath.
Supposing it to be either Mickey or Ethan, he continued his descent,
merely glancing below. But at that moment something suspicious caught
his eye, and peering down more carefully, he discovered a crouching
Indian, waiting with drawn knife until he should come within his
reach.
The trapper was no coward, and had been in many a hand to-hand tussle
before; but there was something in the character of the danger which
would have made it more pleasant for him to hesitate awhile until he
could learn its precise dimensions; but time was too precious, and the
next moment, he had dropped directly by the side of the red-skin.
The latter intended to make the attack, but without waiting for him,
Baldy sprung like a panther upon him and bore him to the earth. There
was a silent but terrific struggle for a few moments, but the
prodigious activity and rower of the trapper prevailed, and when he
withdrew from the grasp of the Indian, the latter was as dead as a
door nail. The struggle had been so short that neither Mickey nor
Ethan knew anything of it, until Baldy dropped down among them, and
announced what had taken place.
'Jerusalem! have they come as close as that?' asked the Yankee in
considerable terror.
'Skulp me, if they ain't all around us!' was the reply of the hunter.
'How we ar' to git out o' hyar, ar' a hard thing to tell j'ist now.'
'It's meself that thinks the rid gentlemin have a love fur us, as me
mither obsarved, when she cracked the head of me father,' remarked
Mickey, who had seated himself upon the ground with all the
indifference of an unconcerned spectator.
It was so dark in their cave-like home that they could not see each
other's faces, and could only catch a sort of twilight glimpse of
their forms when they passed close to each other.
It would have made their quarters more pleasant had they struck a
light, but it was too dangerous a proceeding, and no one thought of
it. They could only keep on the alert, and watch for the movement of
their enemies.
The latter, beyond all doubt, were in the immediate vicinity, and
inspired as they were by hate of the most vindictive kind, would not
allow an opportunity to pass of doing all the harm in their power.
The remains of their food was silently eaten in the darkness, when
Baldy said:
'Do yer stay hyar whar ye be till I come back'
'Where might ye be going naow?' inquired Hopkins.
'I'm goin' outside to see what the reds are doin', and to see whether
thar's a chance fur 'em to gobble us up hull.'
'Do yees mind and take care of y'urself, as me mither cautioned me
when I went a shparkin',' said Mickey, who naturally felt some
apprehension, when he saw the trapper on the point of leaving them at
such a dangerous time.
'Yes. Baldy, remember that my fate is wrapped up in yours,' added the
Yankee, whose sympathies were probably excited to a still greater
extent.
'Never mind about Baldy; he has been in such business too often not to
know how to take care of himself.'
'How long do you expect to begone?'' inquired Ethan.
'Mebbe all night, if thar ain't much danger. Ef I find the varments
ar' too thick I'll stay by yer, and if they ain't I'll leave fur
several hours. Leastways, whatever I do, you'll be sure to look out
for the skunks.'
With this parting admonition, the trapper withdrew.
In going out, he made his exit by the same entrance by which all had
come in. He proceeded with great caution, for none knew better than he
the danger of a single misstep. He succeeded, after considerable time,
in reaching a portion of the valley so shrouded in gloom that he was
able to advance without fear of discovery.
He thoroughly reconnoitered every part of the ravine in the immediate
vicinity of the cave, but could discover nothing of the Indians, and
he concluded that they were some distance away.
Having assured himself of this, the trapper cautiously ascended the
side of the ravine, until he reached the open prairie, when he lost no
time in leaving the dangerous place behind him.
He had no intention, however, of deserting his friends, but had simply
gone in quest of the steam man. He comprehended the difficulty under
which they all labored, so long as they were annoyed in this manner by
the constant attacks of the savages, and he had an idea that the
invention of the dwarfed Johnny Brainerd could be turned to a good
account in driving the miscreants away so thoroughly that they would
remain away for a long enough time for them to accomplish something in
the way of gathering the wealth lying all about them.
He recalled the direction which he had seen the puffing giant take,
and he bent his steps accordingly, with only a faint hope of meeting
him without searching the entire night for him. Baldy was shrewd
enough to reason that as the boy would wish some water for his engine,
he would remain in the immediate vicinity of the river until at least
that want could be supplied.
Acting on this supposition, he made his way to the river bank, and
followed so closely to the water that its moonlit surface was
constantly visible to him.
The night was still, and, as he moved silently along, he often paused
and listened, hoping to hear the familiar rattle of the wheels, as the
youngster sped over the prairie.
Without either party knowing it, he passed within a few yards of Duff
McIntosh, the huge trapper, whom he had known so intimately years
before.
But had he been aware of the fact, he would only have turned further
aside, to avoid him; for, when the two trappers, several years
previous, separated, they had been engaged in a deadly quarrel, which
came near resulting fatally to both.
At length the faint rattle of the wheels caught his ear, and he bent
his steps toward the point where he judged the steam man to be.