HOW CAL STARTED FOR MEXICO.
Wah-wah-o-be and Kah-go-mish had an advantage over Colonel Evans, for
they knew what had become of Ping and Tah-nu-nu while his uncertainty
about Cal grew darker and darker. He and the cowboys faithfully and
warily threaded the part of the chaparral through which they had marched
in the earlier hours of that eventful day. The buglers blew regularly,
taking care not to get out of hearing of each other, but the firing
ceased after it was discovered that a clear bugle-note could be heard
farther than could the report of a gun.
As Ping and Tah-nu-nu rode slowly along, they began to comprehend the
remarkable proceedings which had so completely puzzled their father,
lying under the bushes. Each had one arm connected by a lariat with the
arm of a cowboy, but they were not far from one another. They asked no
questions and had refused to answer any, but they now and then exchanged
a few words in their own tongue when the Chiricahuas were out of
hearing.
On went the fruitless search, and at last the two young Apaches were led
to a place where two paths ran into one. They knew the spot, for Ping
had lost an arrow there. He remembered, too, how he had lost it, and so
he said nothing, but Tah-nu-nu had nothing upon her conscience, and she
turned to her brother to say, "Ugh! Heap pony!"
"Ah ha! You saw him, did you?" said the sharp-eyed cowboy she was tied
to, and he at once shouted to Colonel Evans, who was riding a little
ahead of them.
"What is it, Bill?"
"Why, colonel, these two young redskins saw him pass, right here. The
gal let it out and the boy doesn't deny it."
The secret was out. Ping himself gave up and was willing to use any
English or Spanish words he knew in telling that he had seen "Heap red
pony" gallop away by the path which led to the right.
"That's the red mustang," said the colonel, sadly. "Cal's away beyond
the spring, long ago. No use to hunt hereaway any more. Call in the
boys. We must try the western chaparral. Maybe he will fall in with the
cavalry."
He did not say why he shuddered, but the thought he did not utter put
the Apaches in place of the cavalry. Hot, weary, and disappointed, he
rode back to the spring and there were Captain Moore and his tired-out
veterans. They had ridden far enough to satisfy themselves that the
Apaches had not at once returned to the United States, and they had
neither a right nor a wish to follow any trail into Mexico.
"Captain," said Colonel Evans, "I wish we were on good terms with the
Mescaleros. They'd be worth all the white men to hunt for Cal."
"Tell you what I believe, though," said Sam Herrick, "them 'Paches
didn't go out of this 'ere chaparral. We're bound to hear from 'em
again. I've heard of Kah-go-mish before."
At the mention of the chief's name Tah-nu-nu looked at her brother, for
he was straightening up proudly.
"Kah-go-mish great chief! Ugh!" he said, with great emphasis, and then his
vanity got the better of him, for he patted himself upon the breast, adding
all the Apache syllables of "The-boy-whose-ear-pushed-away-a-piece-of-lead"
and ended with "Son of Kah-go-mish."
He did not feel called upon to say that Tah-nu-nu was a daughter, but
her face told enough.
"That's it," exclaimed Sam Herrick. "We've caught exactly the right
ones. I wish their dad knew we had 'em. Just as I said, though, we're
bound to hear more from Kah-go-mish."
So they did, but in a somewhat unexpected manner. Away out near the
southern border of the chaparral a string of pack-mules and led horses
came plodding lazily along, late that afternoon, guided by a dozen
rancheros. They were in no danger, for their own cavalry had swept the
way before them. They were in no hurry, for they were mentally sure of
encamping at Cold Spring and of meeting Colonel Romero there. The trail
before them was abundantly plain. No quadruped would or could wander
from the train, and two of the rancheros rode ahead, more were scattered
in the middle, and a pair who seemed almost asleep brought up the rear.
A more helpless military procession never marched anywhere.
The two rancheros in front and the pair in the rear suddenly waked up to
find themselves accompanied by a dozen or more of Indian warriors, all
apparently in a friendly and agreeable frame of mind. Not a whoop was
uttered, not a shot was fired, and it almost looked as if no harm were
intended. The forward rancheros were greeted by a tall chief in a cocked
hat, with red stocking-legs upon his arms. It was a striking uniform for
even an Apache commanding officer.
"How!" he said, as he held out his hand. "Kah-go-mish is a great chief.
Mexican good fellow. Bring heap pony, heap mule, heap plunder. Give all
to poor Indian. Ugh!"
The warriors at the rear smiled and said, "How," but then they took away
the lances and other weapons of the train-guards, as fast as they could
get at them. Resistance was out of the question, of course, and
Kah-go-mish had good reasons for not wishing any bloodshed. It might
have interfered with his wonderful plan.
The entire train was quickly under the care of the Mescaleros, and every
animal in it was turned around, with his head in a southerly direction.
The unlucky rancheros were collected, on foot, in the very path they had
expected to follow on horseback. They were then addressed, in tolerably
good Mexican Spanish, by the chief himself. He told them how great a man
he was, and gave them a vivid picture, a series of animal and insect
illustrations, of his opinion of all pale-faces, all Mexicans, and all
Chiricahuas. He told them they would find some blue-coats at the spring,
and some Gringo cowboys. The chief of the Gringos was a great man. He
had given some horses to the great chief Kah-go-mish. All of those
horses were to be given back to him, but the chief could not bring them
now. There were too many bad blue-coats in the chaparral. The great
chief had given his two children in exchange for the horses, and wanted
to trade back again. He would do so, but not now. He was on his way to
Mexico, to carry back the pack-mules and horses he had just received
from the rancheros. The Mexicans might want them. He hoped the rancheros
would succeed in catching up with the cavalry. They all looked like good
runners.
It was a great speech, and much of it was cheerfully satirical. Part of
it meant that Kah-go-mish knew very well that Captain Moore and Colonel
Evans would deem it their duty to rescue the pack-train if an
opportunity were given them, and that he must get as far away as he
could before the news of his exploit reached them.
It was only an hour before sunset when the plundered rancheros were set
free to find their way to Cold Spring, for they had not so very far to
go, and Kah-go-mish was cautious. As soon as they were out of sight he
and his warriors and their prize were in motion. It was very needful
that they should reach grass and water before morning.
So far the deep plan of the Indian leader had worked remarkably well,
even the changes called for by the capture of Ping and Tah-nu-nu being
as yet in the future. This first success had been indicated by Colonel
Romero himself, when he told Captain Moore about the pack-train. The old
sage-hen had been listening at the same time, but she had not profited
to any known extent. She lacked the ears and the genius of Kah-go-mish,
and perhaps she was not at war with Mexico.
In due season, among the webby paths of the chaparral, the two sections
of the Apache band came together. Cold Spring, the blue-coats, and the
cowboys were far away; the Mexican cavalry were farther; it was entirely
safe for everybody to whoop, and whoop they did. Once more had the chief
they were all proud of proved himself one of the greatest men of the
Apache nation.
Wah-wah-o-be had even a more hopeful feeling concerning Ping and
Tah-nu-nu when she saw the Mexican pack-mules and the long string of
horses, but she and all the rest were quickly in motion, for they knew
that ten miles of desert lay between them and the nearest grass and
water to the southward. More than one path led from the camping-place to
the edge of the chaparral, and the Apaches used several in order to get
out quickly. Suddenly, as they pressed forward, a loud whoop of
exultation that arose upon one of those lanes was heard by the red
wayfarers in all the others. It sounded about two minutes after the red
mustang sentinel awoke his master.
Cal Evans, weary, thirsty, astonished, and wondering what might be best
for him to do, stood in the shadows, watching the wonderful moonlight
procession. There was not anything left for him to do. Another part of
the procession came trampling along behind him, and a loud neigh from
Dick told him that it was coming. His heart beat very hard for a
moment, and then the whoop of triumph which went to the ears of
Kah-go-mish and the rest of the band announced that Cal and the red
mustang were prisoners of the Mescalero Apaches.