IN THE MOUNTAINS.
"Well, this beats me completely. That old medicine-man that Archie and I
wanted to shoot so badly was Bob Kelly; and, of course, he did not make
a mistake when he cut that bark with his tomahawk--he did it on purpose.
Didn't he play his part well? The old fellow must have a steady hand to
send those weapons so close to Dick without hitting him. Where did he
get this disguise, I wonder; and how is he going to escape from that
lodge? This night's work is a little ahead of any thing I ever heard
of."
Frank was sitting on the ground in a thicket of bushes on the outskirts
of the village, where he had concealed himself, to obtain a few minutes'
rest, and to decide what he should do next. He had passed through the
camp in safety, and without attracting especial attention from any of
the Indians. He had met several warriors on his way, but his disguise
was complete, and they, supposing him to be the medicine-man, stepped
aside to let him pass, and did not trouble themselves to take a second
look at him. He had been emboldened by his success thus far, and a
daring project had entered his head. It was to go back to the village,
and find and liberate Archie.
There were a good many dangers and difficulties to be overcome in
carrying out this plan. The outlaw had said that it was his intention to
take Archie to his lodge, where he knew he would be safe; but Frank did
not know where that lodge was. And suppose, if he succeeded in finding
it, that Black Bill and his companions should be there guarding their
prisoner! What would they do to him if they caught him prowling around?
Frank did not care to enrage them, for he knew what manner of men they
were; but still he was determined that he would not leave his cousin to
his fate without making at least an attempt to save him. The village was
nearly deserted, except by the women and children, and he could
scarcely encounter more danger there than he would in attempting to find
his way to the valley. The mountains were filled with Indians, who were
searching for the trapper, and he could not hope to avoid meeting some
of them. His disguise would protect him as long as he remained near the
village, but wouldn't the warriors suspect something if they found him
making his way toward the fort?
"I'll be in danger, no matter what I do," said Frank, to himself; "and I
am going to try to find Archie. If he isn't liberated I would just as
soon be recaptured as not, for I could never live without him. How would
I feel to go back to our hunting and fishing grounds about Lawrence, and
know that he was kept a prisoner among these savages? I won't do it. If
he must stay here, I shall stay with him."
So saying, Frank crawled out of the bushes, and started back toward the
village. Not knowing how many eyes there might be watching him, he tried
to imitate the medicine-man's movements--walking with his form half
bent, and assuming a feeble, tottering step which he was sure would
pass in the darkness for that of a very old man. He reached the village
at last--passing the chief's wigwam on the way, where the guards stood
in blissful ignorance of the fact that the captive they had been set to
watch had crawled out of his prison under their very noses--and began
looking about for the outlaw's lodge. How should he know it when he saw
it? was a question he had asked himself over and over again. There was
plainly but one way to proceed, and that was to visit every wigwam in
the village until he found the one of which he was in search. This was
something that more than one old trapper would have shrunk from
undertaking; but, relying entirely upon his disguise, and remembering
what Bob had told him--that he might go all over the village and into
every lodge without being questioned--Frank resolved to attempt it. If
he were captured it would be nothing more than what would most likely
befall him if he tried to reach the fort; and he had the satisfaction of
knowing that the Indians would not harm him.
The first lodge that Frank looked into was empty. The door had been
thrown back, and by the flickering light of a fire which was burning in
the center of the lodge, he was able to take a good survey of its
interior. There were the skins on which the warriors had been sleeping
when they were aroused by the chief's "death-whoop," but no one was in
sight. An Indian woman came in just as he completed his investigations,
but did not appear to notice him, and he hurried off to visit the next
lodge. Just as he was about to place his hand upon the door, it was
raised by some one on the inside, and Frank's heart fairly came up into
his mouth when one of the outlaws stepped out. He looked savagely at the
boy for a moment, and then shouldered his rifle and walked away; and
presently Frank saw him mounted on his horse, and galloping toward the
ravine.
"This is the place," said our hero, to himself. "Archie is in here; but
now that I have found him, how am I going to get him out? That's a
difficulty I did not think of before."
With a trembling hand Frank raised the door and peered under it, half
expecting that Black Bill or some of his companions would jump out and
make a prisoner of him; but there was no one in the lodge--no one except
Archie, who lay in one corner, bound hand and foot. But if his body was
confined, his tongue was free, and his spirit as undaunted as ever.
"You here!" he exclaimed, when he saw his cousin approaching him. "Clear
out; I've seen enough of you for one night. If I could use my hands for
about a minute, I would pay you for what you did to Dick Lewis. Keep
away from me."
"Silence!" whispered Frank, as he kneeled down beside his cousin, and
began untying his hands. "Don't say a word."
Archie was as surprised now as Frank had been when old Bob appeared to
him in the chief's wigwam. He recognized the voice that addressed him,
but he could hardly bring himself to believe that the hideous-looking
object bending over him was Frank Nelson. He would have asked a hundred
questions had not the latter interrupted him.
"We've no time to talk," he whispered, hurriedly, as he assisted his
cousin to his feet. "I will explain every thing when we are out of
danger. Now, then, you can never go through the village in that dress."
"I am afraid I can't go through it at all," replied Archie.
"Yes, you can. I don't believe there is a single warrior in the camp
now, except the two who are guarding the chief's wigwam. They are all
out looking for Dick. We have little to fear from the women and
children, for they couldn't stop us if they tried. Is there any clothing
in here?"
"I believe there is a hunting-shirt and cap in that corner."
"Well, get into them as quickly as possible, and I will go out and see
if the coast is clear."
Frank, knowing that a medicine-man was expected to do things different
from any body else, did not go out at the door, but crawled under the
skins at the back of the lodge. It was well for him that he did so; for
scarcely had he left Archie, when the door was raised and Black Bill
came in, and was astonished to see his prisoner, whom he had left
securely bound, standing in the middle of the lodge arraying himself in
a hunting-shirt which he (the outlaw) had thrown off a little while
before.
"Hallo!" he exclaimed, "what's all this yere? Ah ha! You were trying to
escape, were you? Who turned you loose?"
Archie, seeing that his cousin's plans for liberating him had been
nipped in the bud, put on a bold face, and made the best of the
situation. He took all the blame upon himself. He knew that if he told
the outlaw that he had had assistance, he would, of course, investigate
the matter; and if he found Frank in the vicinity of the lodge, it might
arouse his suspicions to such a degree that he would examine his
disguise; and that would be very disagreeable for Frank.
"I have a way of turning myself loose whenever I feel like it," replied
Archie. "Why didn't you stay away about five minutes longer? You can't
keep me a prisoner."
"Can't!" exclaimed the outlaw. "Wal, I'll see about that. I knowed you
were a slippery customer--all the Brents are--an' I kinder thought it
would be a good plan fur me to come back here an' keep an eye on you,
an' leave the others to hunt up Dick Lewis. It seems I got here jest in
time. Now, crawl out of that huntin' shirt, an' I'll tie you up so tight
that you won't get loose agin in a hurry."
Frank, who was lying flat on the ground at the back of the lodge,
listened with a heavy heart to this conversation. His plans had failed,
and it was useless to think of attempting to liberate his cousin again,
for the outlaw had said that it was his intention to remain in the lodge
and watch him. There was but one thing he could do now, and that was to
look out for himself. His first hard work must be to find Dick Lewis; he
would know just what ought to be done. Having come to this
determination, Frank crawled slowly and cautiously away from the lodge,
and finally, rising to his feet, hurried through the village; and having
satisfied himself that there was no one observing his movements, he
plunged into the willows that fringed the base of the mountains. It was
not his intention to travel directly toward the fort, but to attempt to
reach it by some roundabout way, and thus avoid meeting the Indians who
were in pursuit of the trapper. He had something of an undertaking
before him now, for he was in a strange country, and had not the least
idea in which direction he ought to go to find his friends. When he
reached the mountains he was as effectually lost as he had been on the
day that he and Archie killed their first antelope; but trusting every
thing to luck, he made his way through the thick woods as rapidly as the
darkness would permit, and after stumbling about among logs and rocks
until he was almost exhausted, he removed his mask, which, on account of
the long bill attached to it had considerably impeded his progress
through the bushes, and sat down to wait until daylight.
His thoughts and feelings were what any other boy's would have been
under the same circumstances. His courage had been tested more than once
during the few months he had passed in the Far West, and he had never
yet shown himself to be a coward; on the contrary, his attempt to rescue
Archie had proved that in an emergency he could be as daring and
reckless as Dick Lewis himself. He could keep up his courage, and show
a bold front while in the presence of his enemies, but to be alone in
the mountains, with no weapon but his pocket-knife with which to defend
himself, and nothing to occupy his mind, or draw his thoughts from the
dangers yet to be encountered--this it was that tried his nerves; and
his face was whiter, and he was more nearly overcome with fear now, than
at any time during the day. His situation was scarcely more encouraging
than when he was a prisoner. How could he hope to find the valley when
he did not know where to look for it; and what if he did succeed in
reaching it, and should find the fort in ashes, and the soldiers and
trappers all massacred? What would become of him? He might starve to
death, or be devoured by the grizzlies there in the mountains, and no
one would ever know what had become of him.
"But I am not starved yet," said Frank, when he had reached this point
in his meditations, "and thus far I haven't seen any wild animals to be
afraid of. As long as I can lift a finger, I shall live in hopes of
getting safely out of this scrape. Now, I am going to sleep. There is
no knowing what is in store for me, and I may have need of all my
strength before I see the sun set again."
Frank stretched himself upon the ground, with the medicine-man's mask
under his head for a pillow, and soon forgot the Indians, grizzlies, and
all the other perils with which he was surrounded, in a sound sleep.
When he awoke it was broad daylight. He had had one visitor during the
night, and that was a large gray wolf, which sat on his haunches at a
little distance regarding Frank intently, and which took to his heels
and quickly disappeared when the boy raised himself on his elbow.
"I don't think I should have slept so soundly if I had known that I had
such a neighbor as that," thought Frank. "But after all, I wish I was
sure that I had nothing worse than wolves to fear, although they did
frighten me considerably when we had that race on the ice with them last
winter. Now, if I only had a cup of Dick's coffee, and a venison-steak,
I should be ready for work; but I don't see much chance to get any thing
to eat up here."
Frank picked up his mask, looked at the sun, and struck off through the
woods in the direction he supposed the fort to be. He had not made many
steps before he found himself on the brink of a narrow gorge, which
extended up and down the mountain. Its sides were thickly covered with
bushes and rocks, and it was so deep that the roar of the
mountain-torrent which ran through it came but faintly to his ears. Was
it not fortunate for him that he had camped before reaching the gully?
He might have fallen into it in the darkness, and that would have been
infinitely worse than remaining a prisoner among the Indians. He
wondered if he could jump it, but concluded that he would not make the
attempt, when he discovered, a short distance from him, a small tree
lying across the gorge. Upon examining it closely, however, he found
that it would prove rather a perilous undertaking to cross it, for the
bark was slippery, the tree was more than half decayed, and its top
rested but lightly on the opposite bank. He was not allowed many minutes
in which to make up his mind what he would do, for while he stood
looking, first at the tree, and then up and down the gorge, in the
hope of finding some better way of crossing, he was startled by a
whistling sound in the air, an arrow whizzed by much too close to his
head for comfort, and glancing from a tree on the opposite bank, fell
down into the gorge.
Frank was so frightened that for a moment he was deprived of all power
of action; and before he could look around to see where the missile came
from, another arrow whistled by, a little closer to him than the other,
and then came a third, which found a lodgment in the mask which he
carried in his hand. Then Frank began to realize that it was dangerous
to stand there in that exposed position; and in the excitement of the
moment, scarcely knowing what he was about, he gathered all his energies
for the effort, bounded into the air, alighted in safety on the other
side of the gorge, and in a moment more was concealed behind a tree
which grew on the edge of the precipice. This feat called forth an
exclamation of amazement from his concealed enemy; and when Frank looked
back at the gorge, he was astonished himself. He never could have made
a standing jump like that in his sober moments.
[Illustration: THE LEAP FOR LIFE.]
Scarcely had Frank disappeared behind his tree, when a young Indian
stepped from the bushes, and stood out in full view of him. It was his
rival of the morning--the one with whom he had run the foot-race. He
carried a bow, and a quiver full of arrows, in his hand, and stood
gazing earnestly at the gorge, as if mentally calculating its width; and
the more he looked at it, the more astonished he became.
"Ugh!" he grunted, at last. "Good boy! Make good jump, make _very_ good
jump!" Then looking toward the place where Frank was concealed, he
called out: "Hay, you!"
The young Indian did not speak these words as plainly as we have written
them. He uttered them with his teeth closed, and with a grunting,
guttural sound, that can not be imitated on paper.
"What do you want?" asked the fugitive, surprised to hear himself thus
addressed.
"You come over, and I no shoot," replied the young Indian.
"Go over there!" exclaimed Frank, "I guess not. If you want to see me
more than I want to see you, you must come over here. What do you want,
any how?"
"We go back to chief. I no shoot."
"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'll wait awhile before I go back to
the chief. You want the honor of taking me prisoner, but you sha'n't
have it."
"You no come?" asked the savage.
"No, I no come. I'll stay here."
"You no come, I shoot."
"Go ahead; but keep yourself pretty close over there, or I may shoot
too."
"Oh, no," laughed the Indian. "You got no gun, no pistol, no knife--no
nothing."
If the young warrior had only known it, he was mistaken in this. Frank
had something, which, although by no means as serviceable as a rifle or
revolver would have been, was still effective enough in his hands to
keep his enemy from crossing the gorge. While this conversation was
going on, he had taken a good view of his situation, and finding that he
had no way of retreat, he had prepared himself to stand a siege. The
tree behind which he had taken refuge was a very small one, not more
than half large enough to conceal him from the view of the Indian, and
stood, as we have said, on the very brink of the gorge. It afforded him
but a poor protection, but he knew that he must remain there, for there
was not another tree or rock, or even a thicket of bushes large enough
to conceal him, within twenty yards, and the mountain at his back was
much too steep to be scaled. If he left his tree to find a better place
of concealment, he would present a fair mark for the arrows of the
Indian, who handled his bow with so much skill that Frank did not care
to expose himself.
Frank, seeing that he was fairly cornered, began making preparations for
compelling his enemy to remain on his own side of the gully; for he
noticed that the young warrior carried a knife and tomahawk in his belt,
and he was afraid that, if he allowed him to come to close quarters, he
might not be able to vanquish him as easily as he had done before. At
the foot of the tree was a rock which had begun crumbling away; and
while he was talking to the Indian, Frank had busied himself in
collecting the pieces that were of a size and weight convenient to
throw. He had played ball so often that he had become a swift and
accurate thrower, and he told himself that if the Indian did not mind
what he was about, the interview would end in a way he had not dreamed
of.
"He thinks he has got me fast now," thought Frank; "but I shouldn't
wonder if he found himself mistaken. If he gives me a fair chance, I'll
knock him down with one of these rocks, and go over there and take his
weapons away from him. Then I'll make him guide me to the fort by the
shortest route."
"Hay, you white boy! You no come I shoot!" exclaimed the Indian again;
and, as he spoke, he fitted an arrow to his bow, and pointed it at
Frank.
"Shoot away!" replied the latter.
The Indian let fly the arrow, and Frank threw a stone at the same
instant. Both made good shots. The arrow struck the tree behind which
our hero was concealed, and the stone whistled through the feathers on
the young warrior's head-dress. He escaped by an inch.
"Ugh!" he ejaculated, in great astonishment.
"Ugh!" echoed Frank. "Didn't I tell you that you had better keep close?
Look out! Here comes another!"
Away flew a second stone, and the Indian dived into the bushes just in
time to avoid it, for it went straight toward the mark. He began to have
some respect for the white boy, who, although he was without a weapon of
any kind, was still brave enough to stand his ground.
The contest thus commenced was kept up for a quarter of an hour. The
arrows whistled by the tree whenever Frank showed so much as an inch of
his head, and were always answered by a volley of stones, which flew
like bullets through the bushes where the Indian was concealed,
compelling him more than once to change his position. Then there was
quiet for awhile, and the combatants stood watching one another, Frank
keeping a sharp lookout for any tricks on the part of his antagonist,
and wondering what would be his next move. He was not long in finding
out, for presently the young warrior set up a whoop which echoed and
re-echoed among the mountains, until it seemed to Frank that the woods
were full of yelling savages.
"If he is trying to frighten me, I hope he will have a good time of it,"
thought Frank. "Perhaps he has settled himself down there with the
intention of starving me out. If he has, he will find it up-hill
business, for I can go without food and water as long as he can. If I
only had my rifle, wouldn't I show him something?"
The Indian waited a few minutes, and repeated the yell; and this time,
to Frank's utter amazement and consternation, there was an answer. It
came faintly to his ears, but still it was so plain and distinct that he
knew he could not be mistaken. Had his rival been calling for
assistance? The question was scarcely formed in his mind, when the
savage raised his head above the bushes, and coolly announced:
"Hay, you white boy! More Indian coming!"
At that moment Frank's body, being but partially protected by his tree,
offered a fair mark, and the young savage was prompt to take advantage
of it. Another arrow flew across the gully, and this time it was not
thrown away. Frank reeled a moment, threw his arms wildly about his
head, and fell heavily to the ground.