A SUCCESSFUL SORTIE.
The success which had attended Ned's efforts thus far encouraged the
scouts very much indeed. Little things often carry considerable weight,
especially when boys are concerned. Besides, there are times when even a
thistle down will point to the way the wind is blowing. And a small
success spelled greater things in store for them.
Accordingly, they all hurried as fast as the conditions would allow.
Fortunately, there were few obstructions in the way to give them cause
for trouble. Here and there they discovered a slight fissure, in which
Ned warned them to be careful not to catch a foot, lest they get a bad
wrench that might even amount to a sprain.
Once or twice Ned thought it best to make doubly sure by halting long
enough to lower his light, and take another quick look at the floor.
What he saw appeared to encourage him greatly; at least the other scouts
knew when he once more continued the forward progress, that it was all
right.
And it may be easily believed that the two experienced guides had
watched all these goings-on with considerable curiosity, as well as
satisfaction. It was in a line with their practical woods education, so
that they could appreciate what Ned set out to accomplish.
The Indian had grunted his approval as soon as he saw the boy get down
on his knees to look for a trail in the slight layer of dust; while
Francois could have been heard chuckling to himself at a great rate,
showing how tickled he felt over the smartness of the patrol leader.
"Say, don't you feel something like a breath of fresh air?" asked Jimmy,
when they had been pushing along for several minutes in this rapid
manner.
"Yes, you're right about that," admitted Jack.
"Oh, I felt it before Jimmy said a single word," Teddy remarked. "I was
sucking it in for all I was worth, because after that dust got to going,
it's been hard to breathe at all."
"Must be the outlet, don't you think, Ned?" questioned Frank.
"We'll all hope so," came the reply from the leader.
"P'raps the three men may be hanging around meaning to keep us from
rushing the exit, if we happen to come along that way?" Jimmy next
advanced; for his mind was so fashioned that he could think of more
objections in a minute than would occur to any one else in an hour.
"Well, they'll wish they had'nt, then," said Jack, belligerently. "All
told, we're seven against three; and what with our guns, we ought to put
up a pretty stiff sort of a battle."
"Well, I guess so," grunted Jimmy, immediately appeased by the prospect
of action, which always satisfied a certain longing in his soul; for
doubtless the ancestors of the Irish boy had once fought at Donnybrook
Fair in the Old Country.
The atmosphere certainly grew fresher as they continued to push forward.
This fact told them they must be approaching an opening where the outer
air managed to gain ingress to the fissure.
Then they noticed that it was no longer so intensely dark as it had
heretofore been. Ned concluded that it would be policy for them to
lessen the illumination they were making with their torches.
"Shut off your light, Jimmy, Teddy and Frank," he told them.
Nobody asked why this must be done. They had learned the lesson of
implicit obedience to those in authority, as every scout has to do
before he can qualify for any honors, or medals, or rise from being a
tenderfoot to the place of a second or first-class scout.
Indeed, doubtless, most of the boys guessed the answer as soon as Ned
gave the order, for they were a quick-witted lot. They could reason it
out that the less illumination they caused, the more chance for them to
attain their end, which was to burst out of the back door of the mine,
and make their escape.
"I see it!" Jack exclaimed, as he caught sight of a dazzling mark ahead,
which must be the sunlight shining beyond the black tunnel or fissure.
The prospect of a speedy release cheered them wonderfully. It served to
even quicken their steps, though they had already been making fair
progress.
"Only one thing to bother about now, eh, Ned?" Frank asked.
"That's all," came the terse reply, for Ned was busily engaged keeping
his eyes fixed on the opening, that was gradually growing wider, and
possibly trying to make up his mind what chance there was of finding it
unguarded.
"If those three huskies are waiting beyond, ready to give us a volley
when we poke our noses out, we'll have a battle royal on our hands, let
me tell you," Teddy announced as his opinion.
There was nothing new in that, for all the others had guessed the same
thing, before he spoke. At the same time it caused them to clutch
their weapons with more determination than ever, after Teddy had voiced
their sentiments in this way. They were now so near the exit that Ned
first asked Jack to "douse his glim," and shortly afterwards followed
suit himself.
There was no further necessity for artificial light, since enough of the
natural kind sifted in through that opening.
Ned gave a word of caution just then.
"Carefully, now!"
They fairly crept up to the gap in the rocks, and looked out. It was
possible to see for some little distance beyond the opening. They saw
bushes, and piled-up rocks in abundance, behind which there might be
enemies hiding.
Ned turned to Francois.
"Find out if there is anybody waiting there, Francois!" he simply said,
knowing that the other was perfectly capable of doing what he was told.
It pleased the old voyageur to be called upon in a crisis. He
immediately crept forward on hands and knees. They saw him take his
slouch hat from his head and fix it on the end of his gun barrel; after
which he thrust it forward until it was in plain sight without the exit
of the mine.
A prompt response met this challenge. They heard the sudden spiteful
crack of a gun, but as Ned had cautioned them to seek shelter behind
various outcropping spurs of rock, no damage was done.
"Gee! it knocked Francois' hat off all right, believe me!" exclaimed
Jimmy, after he had raised his head cautiously, much as a turtle would
have done.
The guide made no effort to recover his headgear. He had instantly
looked out after the shot came, as meaning to learn where the marksman
was located, so that he could return the compliment of his fire.
A puff of gray smoke told him this fact, and without even waiting for
orders Francois leveled his own gun and blazed away.
"Oh! listen to that, would you?" cried Jimmy, as they heard a bellow of
mingled pain and rage break forth from the thicket into which the bullet
from the voyageur's rifle had sped like a flash.
"Down again, mebbe more shoot!" the Cree guide was heard to call out;
and _apparently_ he read the signs correctly, for hardly had the scouts
"ducked" once more than there was a crash of two guns, telling that the
entire force of the enemy must be opposed to them.
This time Jimmy could not be restrained. He had been fairly burning to
get in some active work, and without even waiting for orders, he began
to rattle off the shots from his repeating gun, in rapid-fire style.
He had taken pattern from the method adopted by Francois, and sent his
lead in the direction where he saw wreaths of smoke curling forth. Teddy
and Frank also felt savage enough at being fired on without warning to
give back a single shot apiece, but the other two held their
ammunition.
If they meant to rush the exit now was the time to do it, Ned knew. It
would be folly to wait until the enemy had recovered from the confusion
into which they may have been thrown by this volley.
"Now, charge, and scatter all you can; so as to keep from being hit!"
called out Ned, as he sprang for the opening.
They burst out with a cheer, as though under the impression that in this
way it might be possible to send further dismay into the hearts of the
three men who had, of course, been compelled to either fly, or else lie
low while the shooting was going on.
There were a couple of shots, but sent in under such conditions that
they failed to find a billet, and were wasted. Those who fired were
possibly more concerned about their own safety just then, than the
chances of cutting down any of the exploring party.
Led by Ned, they swept over the open space and plunged into the
wilderness of rocks and scraggy brush beyond. One look the patrol leader
gave, after they found themselves in the shelter of the screening
bushes.
"Anybody hit?" he asked, anxiously.
"Don't know for sure," spoke up Frank, "but something seemed to burn my
leg, at the time they fired; and, by George! look what happened to my
fine kahki trousers, would you?"
He pointed to a tear that could be plainly seen, showing where a bullet
had gashed the tough material in passing.
"Sure you're not badly hurt, Frank?" asked Jack, solicitously.
"Hardly brought blood!" declared the wounded scout, with a tinge of
delight in his voice, for it was worth while to know that you had been
touched by a bullet, and even have the evidence to show for it, without
any painful consequences to follow.
"Lucky feller!" said Jimmy, somewhat jealous of the honor this was going
to bestow upon the other, when the story of the raid was told later on.
"But we mustn't stay here," Ned told them. "Keep your eyes all around,
and if you are sure you glimpse anybody following after us, give him
your compliments; only remember that you're scouts, and make it as easy
as you can for the poor wretch."
"He won't know it if I hit him!" Jimmy went on to say; nor did anybody
stop to ask him to explain more fully what he meant.
The fact that they were leaving the mine for good did not seem to cause
any of the party the least distress of mind. They had come and looked it
over, and Ned had learned all he wanted, in order to make a
comprehensive report. The sooner they left the vicinity, the better all
of them would be pleased.
To reach their canoes again, they would have to cover considerable
ground; and that caused Jimmy to wince, for he was not reckoned as good
a walker as most of his mates.
Secretly, he was hoping that some other plan might appeal to Ned, such
as hiding their trail, and resting up in some snug retreat over night,
when they would be in good shape to complete the journey in the morning.
It was now a question as to just how they were to conduct their retreat
so as to avoid the risk of being pelted with bullets by the three
miners, reinforced by any others who may have been in the tent village.
Ned was only too glad to leave this pretty much in the hands of
Francois, whose practical experience was worth much more than any theory
that could be studied out of scout books.
The French Canadian voyageur quickly understood what was expected of
him, after he had received the signal. Although the boys had been in his
company for weeks now, they had never seen him so alert and active. He
seemed to be watching every angle of the compass at the same moment, and
twice raised his gun and fired backward, as though he had discovered
some lurking foe.
That this was far from imagination they saw when the second shot came;
for hardly had it echoed through the hills than a form was seen to rush
into view, and a man in rough clothes flashed across an open space,
holding to his left arm, as though he might have received the guide's
lead in that shoulder.
"You pinked him, Francois, sure you did that time!" cried Jimmy
excitedly; "don't I just wish I had your quick eyes, though? I didn't
see a single thing moving up there; but you did, Francois. Old Eagle Eye
I'm going to call you after this. Oh! why don't one of 'em step out, and
let me take a snapshot at him?"
It seemed as though the others were not that obliging, for while several
shots were fired, without doing the explorers any damage, Jimmy could
see nothing of the men who used their guns. He, finally, being unable to
stand it any longer, sent a couple of shots at the spot where he saw
smoke rising, after another fusilade had come.
"Guess I'm on the blink when it comes to sharpshooting," bemoaned Jimmy;
"why, at this rate, I'll never get the stock of my trusty rifle covered
with notches, to show the number of ferocious pirates I've bowled over.
It's a measly shame, that's all."
At any rate, they seemed to be making a successful "getaway," as Jack
called it; because they were gradually leaving these hidden marksmen
further and further behind. The next shot showed that the handler of the
gun was quite some distance away. He must have taken more pains to aim,
however, than up to now had been the case, for immediately the "ping" of
the bullet was plainly heard as it winged its flight only a short
distance above their heads, flattening out against the face of the rock
beyond.
This thing of being under fire was no new experience with these scouts.
They had on several occasions heard lead sing past their ears; but, all
the same, none of them enjoyed the sensation very much. It was apt to
cause a shiver or a feeling as of being put in connection with a
galvanic battery.
"Seems like we've left that crowd in the lurch," Teddy remarked, a few
minutes later, as they began to reach more regular ground, where the
going promised to be considerably easier.
"Yes," added Jack, "and the most we have to fear after this is meeting
up with the other lot that waited for us on the lower river. They may
have grown tired of laying around, or else got wind of our change of
plans, so that right now they are crossing to the mine!"
"Look!" said the Cree guide, pointing backward; and immediately the
scouts saw three columns of very black smoke ascending straight toward
the sky.