THE FLIGHT.
Ned had enough sense not to undertake to run away from the Apaches until
there was a reasonably good chance of succeeding. He had played the game
of lameness so well that he had secured considerable liberty thereby;
and when, therefore, he went limping beyond the further limit of the
Indians, no one supposed he had any other purpose in view than to obtain
a better place in which to help himself to water. The trees among which
he entered were almost without undergrowth, and, fortunately, were in
exactly the opposite direction from where the mustangs were grazing.
This left the way entirely open for him to do his utmost in the way of
his dash for freedom. It may seem to have been unfortunate in the one
thing, that it caused the lad to go away without his horse; but he would
have left the latter had he been given his chance, for he believed that
while the trail of the animal could be followed without trouble, and
might secure his being run to the ground in the end, yet he could
readily find the means of hiding his own footsteps from the most
skillful of the Apaches.
It is hardly necessary to say that the instant he found himself beyond
the immediate sight of his captors, his lameness disappeared as if by
magic, and he dashed down the stream with all the speed at his command.
After running nearly two hundred yards he suddenly paused and listened.
Nothing could be heard but his own hurried breathing and throbbing
heart.
"They haven't found out anything about me yet," was his hurried
exclamation, as he started off again, continually ejaculating a prayer
that he might succeed, for he needed no one to tell him that it was
really a matter of life and death; for, if Lone Wolf should place hands
upon him again, he would never forgive the attempt.
A hundred yards further in this headlong fashion, and all at once he
found himself at the termination of the wood, which had been such an
advantage to him thus far. On the right and left, over the high,
precipitous mountains back of him, was the small wood, on the other
border of which was the Apache camp. The gorge or valley, in the center
of which he found himself standing, wound in and out among the mountains
before him,--a Devil's Pass on a smaller scale,--so sinuous in its
course that he could trace it only a short distance ahead with the eye.
Directly at his side flowed a mountain stream, varying from a dozen to
twenty feet in width, so clear that in every place he could see
distinctly the bottom. The current was quite swift, and in some places
it dashed and foamed over the rocks almost like a cascade.
Ned dared not hesitate, but, pausing only an instant to catch breath, he
dashed away again until he reached the curve in the ravine, beyond which
he would be hid from view of the encampment. The moment this was reached
he paused long enough to cast back a searching glance. But all looked as
calm and peaceful as if no human being had ever entered the ravine.
"They haven't found it out yet! They haven't found it out yet!" he
exclaimed, his heart rising with hope. "That was a pretty smart thing in
me to pretend to be lame, and if it hadn't been for that I wouldn't have
got half the start."
Passing the turn in the ravine, he felt that it would not do to wait any
longer without some effort to hide his trail. There was but one feasible
way of accomplishing this, and that was by entering the stream and
keeping along it far enough to throw the wolves off the scent. It was
not a very pleasant task to enter the water and move along, where, at
any moment, he was liable to drop down over his head; but he did not
dare to stand upon trifles, and in he went. By keeping close to the
shore, he managed to avoid any such unpleasant ducking, while at the
same time he effectually hid his footsteps from the eyes of the
keenest-sighted Indian. A short distance ahead he found the trees were
growing fully as thickly as in the grove which he had left but a short
time before, and he made all haste thither, continually glancing back,
dreading least he should catch sight of some of the Apaches on the hunt
for him.
Imagine his consternation, when, on the very margin of the wood, he
looked back and saw the forms of two Indians only a short distance away!
They were mounted upon their mustangs and riding at a walk almost in a
direct line toward him, and, as he stared at them he was sure that their
slow pace was due to their careful scrutiny of the trail which he was
satisfied he must have left.
"They have found me out," he gasped, as he turned and hurried down
stream again.
Ned was too frightened to reflect that their actions were such as to
indicate that they were hunters, who were out merely for game, and there
is no telling how far he would have kept up his flight in the stream,
had he not been checked by what he believed to be a providential
interference in his behalf.
The water was broad, moderately deep, and quite clear; but the
overhanging trees threw out so much shade that the bottom was invisible,
so that, scrutinize as much as they chose, the redskins could not detect
the slightest trace of his footprints upon the bed of the stream. The
only difficulty that remained was to leave the water in such a way that
his pursuers should be baffled in any attempt to discover the point.
This was an exceedingly difficult question to solve, and while he was
searching for some suitable place, and growing terribly frightened lest
his two foes should pounce down upon him, he noticed a large tree that
projected over the water. The foliage was dense and the tree seemed to
be hollow. Besides this, one of the limbs hung so low that, by making an
upward spring, he was able to catch it with both hands. He then drew
himself upward, and carefully crawled along until he reached the trunk.
To his surprise and delight, he found it the very concealment he needed
above all others. The trunk was large and hollow, and on the upper side
was an aperture, probably caused by the rotting away of a limb, large
enough to permit the passage of his body.
After peering for a few seconds into the impenetrable darkness, Ned
shoved his feet through, and carefully followed with his body. He
cautiously shoved himself along, until his head was below the level of
the opening, when he paused, believing that he was concealed in the best
manner possible. The lad had absolutely left no trace behind him; the
searching Apaches were without any means of discovering what he had
done, and all he had to do was to remain where he was until the hunt was
over. The tree, slanting out over the water, made his posture a half
reclining one, and as comfortable as it is possible to imagine. His
limbs were somewhat chilled by the wetting they had received, but that
troubled him very little, his whole thoughts, naturally, being centered
upon the one of getting away from the Apaches. It seemed to him that his
senses were preternaturally sharpened, and the rustling of a fallen leaf
startled him into the belief that one of the redskins was crawling out
upon the trunk; but a full half hour passed without presenting anything
of a tangible nature, and hope became very strong in his breast again.
"I wonder whether those horsemen were hunting for me?" he muttered, as
he became more deliberate in his speculations. "I was sure a little
while ago that they were, but it may be that I was mistaken. I don't
think they would come on their mustangs if they wanted to find me, for
they couldn't make much use of them in following me to a place like
this."
Whether or not these two men were his pursuers mattered very little; for
there could be no doubt that his absence had been noticed or that the
most skillful trailers were in pursuit. They could not fail to learn
that he had taken to the stream and would naturally hunt along the shore
to discover where he had left it. This would be likely to bring them
very close to where he was hidden, and he trembled as he reflected upon
the possible, if not probable, result.
The sun was going down in the west; the shadows in the wood gradually
deepened; in his reclining position, Ned Chadmund found a heavy
drowsiness stealing over him. The afternoon was no more than half gone
when his eyes closed in a refreshing sleep, which continued several
hours, and might have lasted still longer had it not been broken. It was
far into the night when the sleeping lad suddenly opened his eyes
without understanding the cause of his doing so. Something had aroused
him, but he could not divine what it was. His posture had become
somewhat cramped from his long continuance in it and he shifted about so
as to rest upon the other side. As he did so, he became aware that some
one or something else was near him. The slightest possible rustling at
the base of the trunk directed his attention there, but there was too
much intervening shrubbery for him to detect anything at all. Everything
in that direction was shrouded in the densest gloom. The moon was
directly overhead, and shining so that he was able to see for some
little distance when he turned his glance from the trunk. Remembering
his revolver, the boy reached down and drew it from within his
waistcoat, where he had concealed it.
"If anybody wants to run against that, let him do so," he said to
himself. "It has five good charges which I will use up before they shall
lay hands upon me or Lone Wolf shall call me his prisoner again."
It seemed to him that, in case of discovery, his position might place
him at a great disadvantage, so he carefully drew his head and shoulders
out of the trunk, so as to leave his arms free to use. This was scarcely
done when he caught the same sound below him, repeated so distinctly
that he knew on the instant what it meant. It was a scratching, rattling
of bark, such as would be made by the claws of an animal in picking its
way along, and as he strained his eyes through the gloom, he saw very
faintly the outlines of some wild animal approaching him, a low,
threatening growl at the same time establishing the identity of the bear
beyond question.
Ned was about to give him the contents of one barrel, when he was
restrained by the recollection that his ammunition was exceedingly
precious and that the report of the pistol was likely to bring some one
whom he dreaded more than the fiercest wild beasts of the forest. So he
decided to try milder means at first. Accordingly, the endangered lad
tried to see whether the animal could not be frightened away without
really hurting him. Breaking off a piece of bark, he flung it in his
face, giving utterance, at the same time, to a growl as savage as that
of the beast himself. The latter instantly paused, as if puzzled to
understand what it meant, but he did not retreat. He merely stood his
ground and growled back again. Encouraged even by this dubious success,
Ned threw more bark, made more noise, and flung his arms so wildly that
he came very near throwing his revolver out of his grasp into the creek.
But it would not work. The bear was not born in the woods to be
frightened by any such trifles, and, halting for scarcely twenty
seconds, he advanced with the calm deliberation of a brute bent upon
clearing up the mystery without any unnecessary delay. Instead of giving
him the contents of one of the chambers of the revolver, the young
hunter drew back within the hollow of the tree, as a turtle is seen to
retreat within his shell when affrighted at the approach of some enemy.
It was a tight squeeze, but he insinuated himself along the open space
until quite sure that he was beyond the reach of the monster. There he
found he had barely room to use his arms, but, pointing his weapon
toward the opening, he awaited the action of bruin.
There was sufficient moonlight to perceive the opening, but he had
scarcely time to glance at it when it was darkened by the bear, which
thrust its head in with a thunderous growl that made the lad shiver from
head to foot. Certain that it would not do to wait any longer, and
believing that he meant to force his entire body through, the sorely
frightened Ned discharged one barrel squarely in the face of the bear.
This settled matters. The latter had his snout and enough of his head
shoved into the opening to receive a bad wound from the weapon,
discharged within a foot or two of his face. He gave a sort of snarling
howl, and jerked out his feet so suddenly that he must have injured
himself still more by doing so, and, with a relief that can hardly be
understood, Ned heard him clawing hastily along the trunk until he
reached the land, when he scampered away into the woods, and nothing
more was seen of him.
"If I had plenty of ammunition, I would not begrudge that shot,"
muttered Ned, as he carefully worked his way along the hollow again.
"But that leaves me only four shots, and there's no telling how soon
I'll have to use the rest."
He found, upon reaching the opening again, that the night was past and
the day was breaking. He had obtained a good night's rest, but he was
anxious to get ahead.
"I wonder where Lone Wolf is?" he thought, hesitating whether he had
better descend from his hiding place or not. "It is all of twelve hours
since I ran away and they must have done a good deal of hunting. Some of
them have passed close to where I am, and they must be lurking about
this very minute."
It was this uncertainty which caused the lad to wait some little time
longer before venturing forth. He had been so fortunate up to this time
that he could not afford to throw the chances away. When he found that
the sun was far above the treetops, however, he began to grow impatient,
and finally came to the conclusion that he was losing valuable time. So
he began crawling carefully out, with the idea of resuming his flight
homeward.
Ned was not yet fairly out from the tree, when he paused, for his ear
detected something alarming. It was the soft splash of water, such as is
made by a person who is carefully wading along, and it sounded fearfully
near to where he was.
He assumed at once, because of the peculiar sound, that it must be
caused by some one who was hunting for him, and no one could be hunting
for him except some of the Apaches from whom he fled. If any doubt
remained in his mind, it was removed a moment later, when he heard a
whistle from the same quarter whence came the sound of the wading. The
signal was instantly responded to in the same manner by some one upon
shore.
"They're Indians," he said. "They know that I must be somewhere in this
neighborhood and they've made up their minds to search until they find
me."
For two or three minutes all was as still as the tomb. It seemed as if
the redskins were listening, in the hope of learning something of the
fugitive through their sense of hearing when their eyes had failed them
so long. If such were the case, they were disappointed, for the boy
crouching in the gnarled tree would have suspended his very breathing,
had it been in his power to do so, lest he should betray himself.
When the splashing noise was heard again, it sounded almost beneath him,
and, yielding to a most dangerous curiosity, which, however, he could
not restrain, he reached one hand into the foliage, drew it aside and
looked down.
Not more than twenty feet distant he saw the figure of Lone Wolf, the
Apache chief!
He stood in the water up to his knees, and, at the moment the fugitive
looked, had passed a short distance beyond the tree, so that his back
only was visible. Had it been a few minutes sooner, the warrior would
have assuredly seen the white, scared face that peered upon him from
among the leaves. But, as it was, he was all unconscious of the fact
that he was so near the prize for which he and several of his best
warriors had been searching for hours.
Two of them had paused beneath the tree and carefully examined the
branches without discerning the hiding place, and they were now moving
forward again, carefully examining everything on each side of the stream
where it seemed possible for a cat, even, to conceal itself. Lone Wolf
would have given his right arm, almost, rather than have his prisoner
elude him. He had been completely deceived by that little artifice of
lameness, and it was not until a full half hour after Ned's
disappearance that he began to suspect that something was amiss. The
trail was taken up at once and followed without trouble to where it
entered the water. Here the real task began, for the hardness of the bed
of the creek prevented them from tracing the footsteps where the
clearness of the current would have enabled them to do so, had the
circumstances been otherwise.
Consequently, the only thing possible for them to do was to find the
place where he had taken to the land again. For this they hunted until
dark and renewed the work again in the morning. But as Ned had not yet
placed his foot upon dry land, the enterprise up to that moment was not
a success.