A Waif of the Mountains Part 28

"It may have been," reflected the parson, carefully keeping his thoughts to himself, "that, when she remembered from whom it came, she flung it aside to please him. Captain," he added, "since this was once mine, I presume you have no objection to my keeping it."

"You are welcome to it; I don't care for it," replied the parent.

"Thank you," and the parson carefully put it away to keep company with the letter of Nellie Dawson which broke her father's heart; "I observe that it is quite dry, which makes me believe it has not been exposed to the dew, and therefore could not have lain long on the ground."

"You can't tell anything by that," commented Vose; "the air is so dry up here, even with the snow and water around us, that there's no dew to amount to anything."

All seemed to prefer not to discuss the little incident that had produced so sombre an effect upon the party. Wade Ruggles was disposed to claim the handkerchief, inasmuch as it was he who found it, but he respected the feelings of the parson too much to make any protest.

The occurrence was of no special interest to the guide. He had said they were in danger from the Indians and he gave his thoughts to them.

While the others kept their seats on the ground, he stood erect, and, shading his eyes with one hand, peered long and attentively over the trail behind them. The clump of cedars from amid which the thin column of vapor was slowly climbing into the sky and the narrow ledge which had been the scene of their stirring adventure were in view, though its winding course shut a portion from sight.

"I expected it!" suddenly exclaimed Vose.

The others followed the direction of his gaze and saw what had caused his words. The five Indians, whom Vose had discovered in camp, were picking their way along the ledge, with their faces turned from the white men, who were watching them. Despite the chilly air, caused by the elevation, not one of the warriors wore a blanket. Two had bows and arrows, three rifles, carried in a trailing fashion, and all were lithe, sinewy fellows, able to give a good account of themselves in any sort of fight.

A curious fact noted by all of our friends was that while these warriors were thus moving away, not one of them looked behind him.

Their long black hair hung loosely about their shoulders, and in the clear air it was observable that three wore stained feathers in the luxuriant growth on their crowns.

"Is it possible that they have no suspicion of us?" asked the parson; "their action in not looking around would imply that."

"Don't fool yourself," was the reply of Adams; "they knowed of us afore we knowed anything of them."

"Why did they allow us to pa.s.s their camp undisturbed?"

"Things weren't in the right shape for 'em. There are only three guns among 'em, though them kind of Injins are as good with the bow as the rifle, and they made up their minds that if we let them alone, they wouldn't bother us."

"You said awhile ago that we should have trouble from them."

"And so we shall; when they reasoned like I was sayin', they didn't know anything about the little accident that happened to their chief; it's that which will make things lively."

"We can't see the point where that accident took place," said Captain Dawson.

"No; the trail curves too much, but we can foller it most of the way; they're likely to go right on without 'specting anything, but when they find the horse, it'll set 'em to looking round. After that, the band will begin to play."

While the party were watching the five Indians, the leader was seen to pa.s.s from view around the curve in the trail, followed by the next, until finally the fifth disappeared. All this time, not one of the warriors looked behind him. It was a singular line of action, and because of its singularity roused the suspicion of the spectators.

While three of the miners resumed their seats on the boulders and ground, Vose Adams kept his feet. Doubling each palm, so as to make a funnel of it, he held one to either eye and continued scrutinizing the point where he had last seen the hostiles. He suspected it was not the last of them. Instead of imitating him, his friends studied his wrinkled countenance.

The air in that elevated region was wonderfully clear, but it is hardly possible to believe the declaration which the guide made some minutes later. He insisted that, despite the great distance, one of the Indians, after pa.s.sing from view, returned over his own trail and peeped around the bend in the rocks, and that the guide saw his black hair and gleaming snake-like eyes. The fact that Vose waited until the savage had withdrawn from sight, before making the astonishing declaration, threw some discredit on it, for it would have required a good telescope to do what he claimed to have done with the una.s.sisted eye alone.

"You see I was looking for something of the kind," he explained, "or mebbe I wouldn't have obsarved him."

"Could you tell the color of his eyes?" asked the doubting Ruggles.

"They were as black as coal."

"It is safe to say that," remarked the parson, "inasmuch as I never met an Indian who had eyes of any other color."

"There are such," said Vose, "and I've seen 'em, though I'll own they're mighty scarce and I never knowed of any in this part of the world. Howsumever, I won't purtend that I could see the color of a man's eyes that fur, but I did see his hair, forehead and a part of his ugly face. He knowed we was behind him all the time, and this one wanted to find out what we was doing. When he larned that, they kept on along the ledge, but there's no saying how fur they'll go afore they find something's gone wrong."

Captain Dawson showed less interest in this by-play than the others.

He was not concerned with what was behind them, so much as with what was in front. The belief was so strong with him that their persistent travel through the night had brought them close to the fugitives that he begrudged the time necessary for the animals to rest and eat.

Parson Brush felt that Adams was acting wisely in giving attention to the rear. It would be the height of folly to disregard these formidable warriors when they meant trouble. Brush rose to his feet and using his palms as did the guide, scanned the country behind them.

He saw nothing of any warrior peering around the rocks, but he did see something, which escaped even the keen vision of Vose Adams himself.

Beyond the ledge and a little to the left, he observed a riderless horse, with head high in air, and gazing at something which the two white men could not see. The parson directed the attention of Vose to the animal.

"By gracious! it's the chief's horse," he exclaimed; "do you see that?"

The other two were now looking and all plainly saw a warrior advance into view, approaching the animal, which, instead of being frightened, seemed to recognize his friends, and remained motionless until the Indian came up and grasped the thong about his neck. Then the two pa.s.sed from sight.

The identical thing prophesied by Vose Adams had occurred under the eyes of the four pursuers. The steed of the dead chieftain had been recovered, and it would not take the hostiles long to penetrate the mystery of the matter. Vose was wise in taking the course he did, and his companions were now inclined to believe his astonishing a.s.sertion that he saw one of the number when he peeped around the curving ledge and watched their actions.

However, it would have been absurd to wait where they were in order to learn every move of their enemies, for that would have been a voluntary abandonment of the advantage secured at the cost of so much labor and danger. Captain Dawson insisted that the pursuit should be pressed without any thought of the red men, and Vose consented.

"But there's one thing we mustn't forget, captain," he said, "and that is that it is daytime and not night."

"I do not catch your meaning," replied the captain, pausing on the point of moving off to secure his horse.

"It is this: them people in front will keep as sharp an eye to the rear as to the front; more'n likely it will be sharper, and it will be a bad thing if they discover us when we're two or three miles off."

"How shall we prevent it?"

"We can do it, if we're careful. You'll remember that when you went over this route last, you come upon places where you could see for a mile or more, 'cause the trail was straight and broad, while there are others where you can't see more'n a hundred yards. Them that I've named last is where we must overhaul 'em."

"That sounds well, Vose," said the captain, "but I am unable to see how you are going to manage so as to bring that about."

"While you're getting the animals ready, I'll take a look ahead."

This was not in the nature of an explanation, but the three willingly did their part. Vose disappeared almost instantly, and, though they took but a few minutes to prepare their animals for the resumption of travel, he was back among them, the expression of his face showing that he brought news of importance.

"They ain't fur off," he said.

"How far?" asked the captain.

"I can't say anything more than that we're purty close to 'em. Let's push on!"

CHAPTER XXI

STRANGERS

The signs of an approaching storm that had been noted with some apprehension the night before, pa.s.sed away. The sky revealed hardly a cloud rift, and, when the sun had climbed the mountain crests, the scene was grand beyond description. But for the grim errand of the four men, holding relentlessly to the pursuit, they must have yielded to its impressive influence.