A TERRIBLE MEETING.
As he moved along, weary and worn, the memory of the horrid fight he had
seen by the camp fire, and especially the picture of those three stark,
bloody forms that lay stretched upon the earth, seemingly watching every
movement he made, followed and weighed him down like some smothering
incubus. Then he saw, more vividly than ever before, the mountainous
task ahead. With no horse, and the hundreds of miles of mountain and
prairie, with the dangers besetting him on every hand, what possible
hope had he for believing he was ever to reach his destination? The
gloom of the night, the shadow of what he had so recently witnessed, and
his own exhausted condition, no doubt had much to do with the distress;
for his prospects were certainly as good as at morning, when he was so
full of enthusiasm.
"I can't travel any further," he finally exclaimed, "and what's the use?
It won't do any good."
When he paused in his wearisome tramp, he happened to be close to a
tree, quite lofty, with numerous limbs, some of which were quite near
the ground. It struck him at once that it would be a good plan to climb
into this, and ensconce himself among the branches. At any rate, he was
certain to be out of the way of the crawling snakes, and no wild animal
could steal upon him while he was unconscious.
Without pausing more than a moment to consider, he ascended the tree,
and, a short distance from the ground secured the very position he
wanted. Here the limbs crossed and recrossed, and gnarled themselves in
such a way, that the most pleasant kind of bed imaginable was found, and
he stretched out his weary limbs upon it, thanking Heaven that had
guided him to such a favorable place.
"I hope Lone Wolf won't be able to follow me here," was the wish he
expressed, as he resigned himself to slumber.
But gentle sleep had not yet closed his eyelids when he was alarmed by
hearing something beneath him. His first supposition was that it was
Lone Wolf, for the sound resembled the stealthy tread of some person
upon the soft earth; but after listening a few minutes he became
satisfied that it was some animal instead.
"It's a wolf or panther that has scented my trail," was his conclusion,
as he leaned over and peered cautiously down among the branches.
The moon shone more brightly than upon any night since he had started,
but the shadow of the trees themselves obscured his view so much that
his vision was of little use to him. It seemed to him, however, when he
looked downward in this fashion, that once or twice he caught sight of a
shadowy creature, whisking back and forth, leaping about like a dog, and
apparently ready to make a bound upward among the branches.
But he could not make certain of what he saw, although there could be no
doubt but that he heard something, and that some kind of a dangerous
creature was close at hand.
"I guess he isn't going to hurt me," was his conclusion, after watching
and listening a half hour, and after finding a heavy drowsiness was
stealing over him. In this comfortable state of mind, he soon closed his
eyes, and relapsed into a deep, refreshing sleep, which lasted an hour
or more, when it ended in a peculiar manner. Very few boys are apt to
lie quiet in their beds, and Ned Chadmund, in turning over upon his
side, turned completely out of bed, and dropped through the branches to
the ground.
The fall was so slight that it did not hurt him, except in the
disagreeable shock that was inevitable. It flashed on him on the
instant, and, recalling those stealthy footsteps that had so frightened
him, he instantly sprang for the trunk, and began climbing with all the
haste at his command. He was almost within reach of the limbs, when he
heard a growl, and some denizen of the forest came plunging toward him.
With a thrill of terror, the lad made a tremendous effort, caught the
limb with one hand, swung his leg over and drew himself up. As he did
so, he felt distinctly the wind made by the body of the beast, as it
leaped upward, and snapped with his huge jaws at his legs, which were
withdrawn from its fangs just as they closed together. The creature,
whatever it was, made a running leap, that carried him some distance
beyond, when he struck the ground and ran a few leaps before turning
about and retracing his steps.
Without waiting to gain a more distinct view, the lad crept back to his
perch, where he tremblingly awaited the moment when it was to bound up
among the limbs and attack him. After gaining his former position, he
sat for a few minutes shivering like one with the ague, forgetting even
to think of the revolver with which to defend himself in case the brute
assaulted him. But it may have been that the dumb creature believed that
he was already frightened to death, and there was no occasion for
attempting anything further. At any rate nothing more was seen or heard
of him.
Ned had been too thoroughly shaken up to gain any more sleep. He sat
through the remaining hours of the night without closing his eyes a
moment in slumber. They were the longest and the dreariest that he ever
spent, but when the welcome light of morning came his foe had departed.
The wanderer waited a half hour or more, and carefully reconnoitered the
grounds before descending; but, assured that the coast was clear, he
came down to _terra firma_ again and took up his line of march. His fear
now was that his presence in the neighborhood might be discovered by
Lone Wolf or some of his band, and, scarcely pausing long enough to
swallow a few mouthfuls of water from a stream near at hand, he hastened
forward, with his face toward the west.
It became evident, after journeying a short distance, that he was again
following a distinctly-marked trail, one that was originally made by
animals, most probably buffaloes, in their migrations from one section
to another, and had been taken advantage of by men whose business or
inclinations called them in the same direction. Here and there he saw
marks that had been made by the hoofs of horses, and more than once he
was certain he observed the trail of moccasins. The path was more direct
and less laborious to travel, and he began to believe that, if he were
left alone, he might succeed in reaching safety at some time or other.
For some two hours he tramped along through a section that gradually
lost its mountainous character as he neared the rolling prairie beyond.
He kept continually looking back and around him, on the alert for
Indians; but not a sign was discovered, until he approached an
exceptionally rocky place, where the trail wound round the masses of
stone at such a sharp angle that the view was less than a dozen feet.
With no thought of danger, Ned walked around this corner, and on the
instant found himself face to face with a swarthy Indian warrior who
must have seen him approaching, and, dismounting from his horse, stood
back and awaited his approach. That astounded look revealed not only
this, but that the Indian was Lone Wolf.
Fate had brought the two together again, at the very time the heart of
the weary fugitive was beating high with hope. There was no chance for
retreat or hope of avoiding him. The eyes of the painted Apache glowed
with a demoniac light, and his fingers twitched as he placed his right
hand upon the buckhorn handle of a knife at his girdle.
"You run away--you see well--you lie--now I will cut out your eyes, and
you will not see to run away again!"
There was no doubt that such was the purpose of the warrior, as he
advanced upon the lad, who suddenly thrust his hand into his waistcoat
for his revolver.
It was gone!
During the night it had dropped out without being noticed, and he was
absolutely defenseless. He was breathless, paralyzed with terror.
"Yes, I will cut out your eyes, and then you will not see to run away,"
added the chief, striding toward him.
"Hold on thar, my copper-colored friend! This 'ere is a little row you
kin settle with me, instead of that boy thar. Try that knife on my eyes,
and while you're doing it, I'll try mine on yourn."
[Illustration: "THIS 'ERE IS A LITTLE ROW YOU KIN SETTLE WITH ME,
INSTEAD OF THAT BOY THAR."]
It was Tom Hardynge, the scout, who spoke thus opportunely.