MATTERS BECOMING COMPLICATED.
At the place where the inclines from the upper and lower levels of the
old mine met, was massed along the timbered walls a strange assortment
of plunder gathered by Price and his gang during many months. Here it
was that Buffalo Bill and the Laramie man, still unconscious, were
taken. And there it was that Price’s men found Bloody Ike. The latter
was badly injured. He gloated in the capture of the scout and his pard,
and promised, with extravagant delight, to be the death of them.
Ike believed his own injuries due to Buffalo Bill, but he could not
understand how it had all come about. The bomb he had prepared to
destroy the camp of the scout had exploded just after leaving his hand,
and he had narrowly escaped death. He had not distinguished the scout’s
rifle shot from the explosion which followed, but he felt that in some
way Buffalo Bill had once more defeated him.
Bloody Ike declared that the pair should never leave the shaft alive,
whether Price so ordered or not. Two men besides Ike were left to guard
the prisoners. The others went back to partake of the celebration on
the following day, and we have seen that they carried out their plans.
Price was not told that Little Cayuse had escaped. Two men remained at
the hut, ostensibly to guard the prisoner, but in reality to blind the
leader to the loss of the prisoner and firearms, while some of them
attempted to recover the rifles and revolvers.
Price had immediately set about carrying out his plan to stock the
abandoned mine with provision for a long siege. He was shrewd enough
to see he was between two fires, and that when the pinch came he would
receive no assistance from the Washington side of the ring. Neither
could he take refuge among the Indians, for several of the tribes had
learned to hate him, and he was safe only with some bands of renegades
whom he had employed. A few tough characters, white and red, were still
loyal to him, and with these well armed and gathered about him in the
mountain stronghold he could defy the government and its officers.
The second night following the carousal at the hut Price had sent a
dozen pack mules to the hills laden with supplies of various kinds. Six
mounted men went with them, and were to return the following night for
another load.
Price was carrying on his preparations with secrecy, in spite of the
fact that he believed he had downed Buffalo Bill and his band. He
wished to keep the fact that he was furnishing a rendezvous from as
many of the people of the town as possible and its location from all
except his own men.
But it so happened that Red Dick and half a dozen cowpunchers were
coming to town that night for a round of sport. They met the small
caravan and wondered what it could mean. They asked the men who were
with the pack mules, but received such evasive replies that they
determined to learn for themselves where this consignment was going.
Quietly following the trail by the occasional wheezy call of one of
the mules, Red Dick and his men were not far behind when the caravan
entered the trail that led to the old mine. There they dismounted, and
tethered their horses, and followed on foot to the end of the trail.
Red Dick and his men were near enough to hear the challenge of the
guard at the lower entrance to the mine, and watched the lanterns
disappear down the incline.
Dick had recognized some of the men with the mules, and knew that
they were in some way mixed up with Price, and it had been currently
reported for a long time that Price was stealing the best of the Indian
supplies. Red Dick figured it out that here was another batch of goods
that belonged to the government. His narrow but active mind was in a
whirl over the discovery. Here were goods that belonged to him as much
as to Price. Price was stealing from both government and the Indians.
He was hiding his plunder here, and “finding is keeping.”
Red Dick laid the case before his followers. They agreed with him in
every particular, and would stand by him to a man.
Then Dick built a plot of his own to obtain possession of the loot.
With his men he would hide in the hills and watch, and if all six of
Price’s men came out again, after they had gone he would enter and take
possession, without any difficulty, and what he and his men could carry
away in one day would be worth many hundred dollars. If they did not
all come out--well, he would go in, anyway, and once inside, if he had
to fight to hold it, he would, for Price wouldn’t dare call on State or
Federal officials for aid.
Red Dick and his men decided to remain very near the trail and mount
guard all night. They were quite carried away with the prospect.
Very early the following morning Fighting Dan Grey and several
gamblers and sporting men, led by an old plainsman, were coming to
town. They had heard rumors of an impending Indian uprising, and had
seen several bands crossing to the Yellowstone from Flathead Pass. They
wanted to know what Bozeman folk had heard.
A short distance outside the town the plainsman noted that a trail
of horsemen which he had been following ran into one coming out of
Bozeman, and both turned south. He called Fighting Dan’s attention to
it, and the latter jumped to the conclusion that one party was made
up of Indians, and they were on the trail of some mining party for
purposes of robbery.
“S’pose we saunter down thet way an’ see ’f we can’t surprise Mr.
Redskin in his funny bus’ness,” suggested Dan.
The entire party veered sharply and cantered toward the hills. As
they neared the first ravine where the trail became faint they were
surprised to see six men on horseback, leading twice as many mules,
coming out. Fighting Dan halted and awaited the approach of Price’s
party.
“Seen any Injuns?” asked Dan.
The spokesman of Price’s men feared the presence of this party so near
the storehouse, and he hit upon a plan to get rid of them. He answered:
“No; we hain’t seen any sence yistidy. The pesky hoss thieves run off
with our mules, an’ we chased ’em so hard they skedaddled into the
hills an’ left the mules.”
“Which way’d they go?” asked Dan, feeling this excuse to punish a band
of red men was too good to be lost.
“They kep’ south, round the mounting.”
“Guess we better skate down that way a bit; eh, boys?”
“We’re yer highbucks,” came the answer, and away Fighting Dan’s party
dashed.
When well beyond the view of the mule men, Fighting Dan pulled up and
said:
“Rest yer plugs while Lex and me scouts er bit. Them fellers hain’t
seen any Injuns, and their mules hadn’t been stampeded. Some o’ them
chaps belong to Price’s gang, and I’ll bet my hoss they had been down
here ter hide some guv’ment supplies till they get a chance to ship
’em. Ye see the officers are gittin’ pretty clost hauls on Price, and
he’s takin’ care of his stuff. What d’ ye say, boys? Haven’t we a right
to a share in ther loot?”
“It’s a safe bet we have, and we are the boys that can take the goods
if your human bloodhound can lead us to ’em,” came the reply.
“That’s ther talk! Now, Lex an’ me’ll go on a still hunt fer ther
trail, an’ you fellers stay here ready for a charge to the rescue if
you hear fireworks. If Price has got any valerbles here he ain’t ther
fool ter leave ’em uncovered, an’ it may mean er scrap.”
Fighting Dan and his plainsman set out on foot, and first climbed well
into the mountains, where they could command a view of the plain to
the northward, to see if the men with the mules kept on. They had held
straight toward town, so Dan and his trailer chose the best footing
possible back around the mountain to the trail they had left.
At last they saw where the mules had just passed out, and took the back
trail into the mountains. A little farther on they discovered that
another party on horseback had struck the trail ahead of them and were
following in the way the mules had come out.
“Well, I’ll be riddled with forty-fours!” exclaimed Dan. “This gets me
all right. Who be these other chaps thet hev jumped ther claim ahead of
us?”
“They are white men,” answered Lex, “for their horses are shod.”
“That’s so. Now, let’s go cautious, an’ not run inter any shootin’ bees
’thout havin’ our own powder dry. This is gittin’ as interestin’ as er
game o’ odd an’ even, with beans for stake money.”
Half an hour later Fighting Dan and Lex passed around a jutting ledge
and beheld six horsemen pulled up in front of the black mouth of the
old mine. They seemed to be holding parley with invisible parties in
the darkness beyond.
“That’s Red Dick, or I’m ther living image of a liar!” gasped Dan.
He watched for a moment, and then said:
“See here, Lex; you let me hev yore guns ter go with mine, an’ I’ll
keep ’em in there if they try to get out, while you go back arter ther
boys. If there’s any honey to be passed round, Red Dick ain’t goin ’ter
sweeten his lips. What!”
Lex stole away, and Fighting Dan looked to his guns, while from an
angle in the rocks above and behind the gambler two more heads appeared.
They belonged to old Nomad and Skibo.