CAYUSE TURNS A TRICK.
When Little Cayuse crept down to the mouth of the mine, in the inky
blackness of the very early morning, after the moon had gone down, it
was the native instinct that led him in the narrow trail along the
brink of the abyss. His tread was noiseless, in spite of the uneven
footing and unseen obstacles. Looking up toward the sky, he could
follow the dim outline of the mountaintop and knew he was near the
entrance to the mine. Then the strong odor of tobacco smoke came to his
nostrils. For an instant the Indian youth felt that the smoker must be
within reach of his arm. In breathless silence he listened:
“P’ff, p’ff, p’ff,” came the soft forcing of the smoke through enjoying
lips. Then a moist piece of tobacco in the pipe sizzled spitefully,
and minute sparks shot up from the bowl for an instant, disclosing the
half-closed eyes of the guard.
Cayuse crouched low and awaited some movement of the man that would
drown the slight rustle of his own advance.
Deliberately and comfortably the guard puffed away until his pipe had
gone out. Then he yawned and dropped his pipe, during which performance
Cayuse had passed him and felt the more even footing of the interior
under his moccasins.
But he had barely passed into the mouth of the mine, and while not
ten feet from the guard, when the latter suddenly became stiff and
silent, as if listening intently. Then Cayuse heard the faint swish of
clothing for a moment, and then the sudden scrape of a match along a
trouser leg, followed by the splutter and bright glare of a match.
The boy’s hand was on his revolver, and his muscles were tense as
whipcords, as the guard held the match aloft and peered out into the
night, trying to pierce the darkness beyond the narrow circle of light.
It was a critical moment for the Piute. If the guard turned his head
ever so slightly before the match went out, he could catch a glimpse of
the intruder, and neither would know what action the other might take.
Cayuse’s black eyes watched the man’s head as the match flickered and
went out. He was not discovered.
For a moment there was silence, and then Cayuse heard the guard
fumbling on the floor for his pipe, swearing softly the while.
Once more Cayuse advanced, while the other was occupied.
The guard was filling his smoker again, and Cayuse gained many feet.
Now another match flared up, and in the intermittent flashes, as the
guard sucked the blaze into his bowl, Cayuse plainly saw the features
of the man.
It was Bloody Ike.
With catlike movements the Indian boy felt his way down the slope. Here
and there the rotting brattice crumbled at his touch, and pieces fell
with a soft thud, but he was now far from the guard at the mouth.
He was tempted to strike a match, but denied himself the comfort of a
glance at his surroundings, fearing another guard might be posted where
there was a divergence of slopes or at the spot where Pa-e-has-ka and
Hickok were held.
After a time a faint light glimmered ahead, and loomed larger as he
advanced. It was a lantern hung overhead, which shed feeble rays on its
surroundings.
Along the walls were tiered many bales in various forms and sizes. It
was the storehouse of the gang. Leaning against the bales in the full
glare of the lantern sat a man on a box. His cooling pipe had fallen on
his breast, the under jaw had dropped, and the inner guard of the mine
stronghold was breathing stertorously.
Cayuse looked for other men of Price’s gang, but none were within reach
of the lantern’s rays.
But the keen eyes of the Piute fell on something that interested him
far more. His heart jumped with joy, for there, only a few feet from
the sleeping guard, lay two men, both seemingly asleep.
They were Pa-e-has-ka and the Laramie man.
Both were bound, hand and foot, and were lying on a little pile of hay,
over which a blanket had been thrown.
To advance boldly into the light might precipitate a shot from some
unseen guard. But every moment was precious. What should he do first?
The sleeping sentry, heavily armed, was a dark-visaged, vicious-looking
fellow. If Cayuse first attempted to release Pa-e-has-ka and Hickok and
he was fired upon, he would be imperiling lives more valuable than his
own.
But Little Cayuse’s head was clear, his determination strong, and his
heart brave.
Advancing softly, Cayuse, expecting every instant to hear the crack of
a revolver and feel the lead burning through his vitals, reached the
lantern, and turned the blaze low.
The heavy breathing of the guard and the prisoners continued.
Very gently the keen knife of the Indian boy slipped through the bonds
of Pa-e-has-ka. Then the ropes fell from the wrists and ankles of Wild
Bill.
The three men slept on.
Cayuse hesitated for a moment, then slightly shook Pa-e-has-ka. The
scout awoke to find Cayuse’s finger pressed to his lips.
Cayuse shook Hickok, and the latter would have started up and spoken
but for the restraining hand of the Piute.
Into the hand of each Little Cayuse pushed a revolver, and then they
understood. Pressing his mouth to the scout’s ear, Cayuse whispered:
“Guard asleep; Pa-e-has-ka shut off wind.”
The scout arose noiselessly. Cayuse turned on the light a little.
Buffalo Bill crept up to the sleeping man, Cayuse slipping close to one
side. Then, as the scout suddenly seized the man’s wrists in a grip of
iron, Cayuse clapped both hands over his mouth.
The struggle was short and almost noiseless. Hickok brought a rope and
prepared a gag. Then the lantern was turned low, and behind an angle
in the wall the three men whispered council. Two more men were to be
disposed of--Ike and another, one at each opening into the mine.
The scout had heard the guards say they would await relief from town
till two hours after sunup; then they would come in for breakfast. But
they expected two more of Price’s gang before that time.
* * * * *
When Price’s men reached town and told him of meeting Fighting Dan in
the foothills, the agent became alarmed. He feared the proximity of
such men who might take a notion to investigate the trail that led to
the mine. If they should discover that the place was guarded their
curiosity would be correspondingly heightened, and who could tell what
they might do?
Price hurriedly called the sheriff and all the men he could muster
on whom he could depend, and had them sworn as deputies. He would go
prepared to have his own way. If Fighting Dan had captured his plunder
he would have Dan and his men arrested, charged with robbing a mine in
operation.
Price would swear that he and his men were getting ready to work the
old claim. The sheriff and his deputies would take oath to the same.
The municipal judge would know what to do. He had fixed many cases for
Price and the cattlemen, who were his friends.
With the sheriff and posse of twenty men the Indian agent hurried away.
The townspeople were full of wonder, and not a few rode out toward the
foothills, hoping to have their curiosity relieved. Many rumors were
started, among them that a pocket had been opened in the mountains, and
insiders were staking claims.
Finally so much excitement had been aroused that later in the day fully
one hundred men were hastening toward the hills, a few with picks and
spades, some with rifles and guns, some mounted, and others on foot.
The trail was plain and easily followed, and as those in the lead
entered the mountains they heard the sound of battle. There was a
rattle of shots, followed by silence for a moment, and another volley;
then a continuous popping of revolvers and rifles.
The cavalcade paused and sent on scouts to investigate. It was evident
that the sheriff and his posse had found plenty of business.
After a time the scouts reported that a general engagement was going
on, in which it seemed that several small parties were taking part,
each for itself. From the top of a bluff just beyond the battlefield
could be safely viewed. Hither the crowd rushed, those with mounts
going as far as possible on horseback, and then, hitching their
animals, clambering up the rocks on foot.
A strange picture was presented. At the furthermost point of the
engagement, several men were huddled in the mouth of the lower entrance
to the mine slopes. They were shooting from behind rocks and timbers
outward at another party among the bowlders, ten rods away.
A third party, which could now be made out as the sheriff and his
posse, had taken a hand from a position higher up and commanding an
equal rake of both the others.
All were well among the broken granite and in little danger except
of getting pinked when poking out a head or hand to get a shot at
the other fellows. If any damage had been done the victims had been
concealed in the rocks by their friends.
The country was too rough to attempt a charge, and the sheriff’s party,
which numbered as many men as the others combined, could not dislodge
either of them.
Suddenly the men at the mouth of the slope arose and darted back into
the murky interior out of view. The second party seemed to be greatly
surprised and disconcerted for a moment, and then turned their whole
attention to the sheriff’s posse, popping away as often as a bit of
flesh or apparel appeared.
It was amusing to the onlookers to see a man bob up like a
Jack-in-a-box in one place and then another, to bang away at the enemy,
and then drop out of sight.
Presently the second party made a sudden dash for the cover of the
mine, where their erstwhile enemies had disappeared.
After a few minutes the sheriff and his men arose, one after another,
and stared helplessly at the place where the enemy had disappeared.
They could not understand this manoeuvre. They had come upon two
bands of fighting men, and had taken a hand at settling the dispute by
attempting to wipe out both parties. Now the former enemies had nested
together--either had come to an understanding or had gone beyond reach
of the third party to fight it out alone.
Agent Price rubbed his eyes and stared at the hole in the mountain,
then held conversation with the sheriff. It seemed to the onlookers
that they must have agreed upon some plan, for they at once began a
movement which eventually placed them in the position just vacated by
the last party to take refuge in the mine.
Here the sheriff halted, not daring to enter the frowning interior,
where a dozen or so well-armed men might pour a disastrous volley into
them from the darkness beyond.
The sheriff and Price held council behind the shelter of the bowlders.
Then the watchers saw another sight that puzzled them still further.
Out from the upper entrance to the mine filed a column of men. They
ranged themselves along the upper shelf without a sound, each man with
ready rifle or revolver, and then crept slowly up to the brink, where
they could look down upon the unprotected sheriff and his men. They had
nearly reached the objective point when in the lower entrance appeared
a figure with wildly waving arms, who shouted:
“In here, quick! It’s a trap! They’re over your heads!”
Before Price and the sheriff could understand, the men above had risen
with leveled guns, and a big voice shouted:
“Hands up, or we’ll blow you into the rocks!”
And their hands went up as their weapons dropped, for resistance was
useless. The rocks which sheltered them from an enemy on a level with
their footing protected them no longer.
While all but two of the men above kept them covered those two
descended and disarmed the entire party. The sheriff protested, and
threatened, and proclaimed his authority, but he was made a prisoner,
together with the man who represented the United States Government in
its Indian service.
The surrender had barely been affected when the entire mountaintop
seemed to shiver for a moment and then settle, together with terrific
rumble and roar that threw men to the ground.
From the mouths of the mine blew volumes of rock, timbers, and débris.
Then columns of black smoke and gaseous vapors poured out until the sky
overhead was darkened.
The mine had been wrecked and rendered impenetrable by some gigantic
upheaval.
For a few minutes all were overwhelmed with surprise and awe, then
Price, who was the first to recover, said:
“It’s the work of Bloody Ike, and he’s in there, buried under a million
tons of rock!”