Through Apache Lands Part 17

It was a box of matches!

Suddenly he remembered how they came there. On the day before leaving Santa Fe it occurred to him that he would be likely to need such a convenience, and he had carefully wrapped up a box and placed it in this out-of-the-way corner, where it had lain forgotten.

"That's lucky!" exclaimed the delighted lad, as he drew them out, recognizing them more by the touch than by sight. "Now I'll build a big fire, and fix things splendidly."

A fire was his great desideratum, and, had he believed it possible without great trouble and work, he would have kindled one before that.

The capture of a new horse could have pleased him scarcely more than the discovery of the matches, and he set about reaping the advantage at once.

In such a place there was little difficulty in procuring fuel, and it took Ned but a short time to gather all he could possibly need; but, to guard against all contingencies, he continued collecting until he had a huge pile, made up of dead limbs, branches, and a number of green sticks thrown in. In a few minutes the flames were under way. He had kindled them against the face of a rock, and they burned with a cheery heartiness that did much to dispel the gloom which had begun settling over him. He seated himself as near the fire as he could without being made uncomfortable by the reflected heat, and then he a.s.sumed as easy a position as was possible in such a place.

"I wonder if anybody will see that?" he asked himself in a whisper, after it had continued burning some time.

Rising and reconnoitering the ground, he was gratified to learn that the light was better screened than he had reason to expect, considering the carelessness with which he had kindled it. The rock at the rear shut off all view from that direction, while the undergrowth was so matted and dense in front, that it seemed impossible for any one to see it from the prairie. Having made this survey, he returned to his position, feeling much easier in mind than before.

"Strange what has become of d.i.c.k and Tom," he muttered, following up this train of thought, as usual whenever he was left undisturbed for a few minutes. "Can it be that they have been killed by the Apaches? It might be, and yet I don't know how it could happen, either."

He was still meditating upon this ever-interesting query, when he was roused to a sense of his situation by the sound of something trampling through the bushes behind him.

"Indians!" he exclaimed, springing to his feet, rifle in hand, and casting his terrified glance in the direction from whence came the sound.

The words were yet in his mouth, when he felt that he had committed a blunder. No Indian would approach in that manner.

"It must be some animal," was his conclusion, as he stepped back, so as to bring himself as close to the fire as possible.

The next moment, a huge, dark, unwieldy body advanced from the gloom with a growl, and he saw an immense grizzly bear lumbering toward him.

As quick as thought his rifle was at his shoulder, and he fired full at him, the distance being so short that he could not fail to hit the mark; but the wound, however severe it might have been, was not fatal, and did not deter bruin's advance in the least. Knowing that it would be sure death if he were once seized by the powerful monster, and aware of the dread which all animals have of fire, he dropped his gun and caught up a blazing brand, which he flung in the very face of the brute.

This was more than a bear, as courageous as was this giant grizzly, could stand, and he retreated with an awkward haste which was ridiculous. For the instant he was panic stricken, and continued falling back until he was invisible in the gloom. But he was not disposed to give up the contest by any means. Ned knew he would be back again, and fortified himself as well as possible by hugging his own camp fire, stooping down and holding himself ready to hurl another torch in the brute's face if he should persevere in his attack.

For several minutes all was quiet, and he began to hope that his fright was such that he would keep at a respectful distance. Such was not the case, however. A growl from another direction warned him that the brute was about to advance from that quarter. The lad peered out into the gloom, wondering whether the creature would eventually overcome his dread to such an extent as to press him to the wall. At any rate, he was not disposed to wait and hastily ran around to the other side of the blaze, by which maneuver it was interposed directly between him and his enemy.

"I wonder what he will do now?"

CHAPTER x.x.x.

FIGHTING A GRIZZLY.

The grizzly could not fail to detect the ruse of the boy, and he countered by moving around to the other side of the fire, so that he regained his former advantage. The nocturnal visitor had evidently set his mind upon making his supper upon the little chap, whose plump, robust appearance must have been a very tempting bait to him. The latter was reluctant to repeat his maneuver, as, by doing so, he would be forced to pa.s.s so near his foe that a big paw might reach out and grasp him while on the way.

"I'll have to fight you with fire," he said, as he seized a large stick, one end of which was blazing.

In the hope that he might give him a greater scare than before, the lad swung it rapidly around his head until it was fanned into a roaring flame. While this was going on, he was surrounded, as it appeared, by a fiery circle, his appearance being such that the bravest quadruped living could not have been induced to approach within his reach. Not content with this, Ned a.s.sumed the aggressive. Stooping low, he emitted a wild yell, and repeating this, pointed the torch forward and toward him, moving it more rapidly and in a smaller circle, while at the same time he kept slowly advancing upon him.

No bear could be expected to withstand such a demonstration. The figure of the yelling urchin, with his head surrounded by a blazing serpent, must have struck terror to his very inmost being. Without pausing to do more than to utter a short growl, he wheeled around and went crashing through the undergrowth as if under the belief that a battery had been suddenly unmasked and was about to open upon him. When he had retreated a few rods he paused to see how matters appeared, when he again beheld the horrid figure closer than ever and drawing nearer every moment. It was appalling, and he plunged away at a greater speed than ever. Ned pursued him until he was fearful of getting so far away from the camp fire that he would lose it altogether. When he paused he could hear the bear still tramping off, as if he already felt the torch blistering his nose. Turning again, the lad ran with all speed to his "headquarters,"

where he flung down his torch and caught up his gun.

"Now I think I've got time to load it," he said, as he began the operation at once, a little alarmed, however, to discover that the supply of ammunition furnished him by Tom Hardynge was growing alarmingly small.

He succeeded in ramming the charge home, and then as he placed the cap upon the tube, he felt something of the old confidence that was his when astride the mustang and coursing over the prairie at a speed which no horse could equal. When first charged upon by the monster he had fired with such haste that he had no time to make any aim; now fortified by his camp fire, he meant to improve upon that. Everything being ready, he looked off into the gloom, but nothing was to be seen of the creature, nor did the slightest sound betray his whereabouts.

"He'll be sneaking back pretty soon," said the lad to himself, who was resolved to remain on the watch.

He was not kept waiting. A minute later he caught the slow crackling and trampling of some heavy creature through the undergrowth, and he was confident that his old enemy was close at hand. The lad sank down upon one knee, so close to the fire that it scorched him, and awaited his approach. But the grizzly had been so thoroughly scared that he hadn't entirely recovered from it. When something like twenty feet away he halted, and evidently began debating whether it would be prudent to approach.

Chadmund could not make out his figure distinctly, although he knew precisely where he was; but, by and by, when the head moved a little, he caught the phosph.o.r.escent glitter of the eyes. As the fire light shone upon the gun-barrel he wanted no better opportunity, and, supporting the weapon upon one knee, he pointed it straight at the center--that is, directly between those glowing orbs, which remained stationary, as if in waiting for the fatal messenger. It came the next moment. True to its aim, the tiny sphere of lead entered the head of the bear at the most vulnerable point, and the life went out from that huge ma.s.s. A rasping growl, a few spasmodic throes, and it was all over.

Ned was naturally exultant over his exploit, and he reflected that if matters went on in the same fashion, he could soon lay claim to being quite a hunter. He had shot an Indian, a buffalo, and a grizzly bear, besides performing some other exploits not always accomplished by men.

"I guess the best plan is to load again," he muttered, as he adopted this precautionary measure. "That isn't the only grizzly bear in the country."

By this time the fire was running down, and the lad, throwing some more fuel upon it, seated himself directly in front, prepared to watch for further visitors. He had scarcely ensconced himself in this position when his hair fairly rose on end at hearing a low but distinct, growl, proving that some other unwelcome caller was about to pay him his respects.

He hurriedly looked in every direction, but could see nothing to explain the cause of this alarming manifestation. It was so different from the warning uttered by the grizzly that he knew it must be some other sort of creature. Holding his rifle ready for instant use, he glanced hurriedly about him, but, although the camp fire was throwing out a long stream of light, no sign of an animal could be detected.

"I'm sure I heard something," he repeated, still wondering and looking around in search of the cause. "h.e.l.lo! there it goes again. It sounds as if it were somewhere up in the air--it is in the air!"

The fire had been kindled against the face of a rock. This rock rose perpendicularly a dozen feet above the ground below, where the fire was burning, and where the lad was standing. As he looked up he saw the gaunt figure of a large mountain wolf standing on the very edge of this, looking down upon him, its lank jaws distended, its eyes glaring, and its whole appearance that of a ferocious beast about to leap down upon his head. The suggestion was so startling, that Ned uttered an exclamation of terror, and leaped back several feet.

It must be that when a wild beast comes across a boy, he concludes that even though he carries a gun there is nothing to be feared from him. The grizzly bear had shown a sublime indifference to Ned's capacity, and his life had paid the forfeit. And now, although the mountain wolf must have seen him raise that rifle and point it as straight as the finger of fate directly at him, he paid no attention to it whatever; but there he stood, snarling and growling, and on the very point of leaping.

Suddenly there was a short, sharp crack, and it was all over with the wolf. He must have gathered himself for a leap at that very moment; for the bullet that bored his brittle skull through and through did not prevent an outward bound. A faint yelp and the creature bounded full a dozen feet directly out from the rock, and, owing to some curious quirp of the muscles, turned a complete somerset, and would have landed directly upon the head of Ned if he hadn't sprung to one side as the carca.s.s fell to the ground.

"That settles your case," remarked the boy, with the indifference of an old hunter. "Now it's time to load up again."

This done he settled himself to watch and listen and play the part of his own sentinel for the rest of the night. A faint moaning of the night-wind was all that reached his ears. Once he fancied he heard the report of a gun far away in the distance, but it was so faint that he might have been mistaken. Then a cry, somewhat resembling that made by a panther, was borne on the wind, but that, too, seemed to come from the mountains that were miles away to the westward. No sound indicated the presence of any further danger close at hand. Everything was quiet, and seemingly at rest.

CHAPTER x.x.xI.

SLEEP.

The sentinel on his rounds, the watchman upon his beat, or the sailor pacing the deck of his vessel in mid-ocean, keeps his senses awake by the constant motion of his body. To sit down to rest for a few minutes only is fatal. Sleep has the power of stealing over the faculties, and wrapping them up in its embrace so insidiously, that no watchfulness can guard against it unless artificial means, such as walking, are resorted to. When Ned Chadmund resumed an easy position in front of his own camp fire, the inevitable result followed. He resolved to keep his ears and eyes open, and almost immediately closed them. A few minutes pa.s.sed and then his head began to nod. Several times he narrowly escaped tumbling over, and, finally rousing, he vigorously rubbed his eyes, yawned, and arose to his feet.

"My gracious! this won't do," he exclaimed, with a shuddering sense of the danger he was running. "A bear might steal right up to me and eat me up before I could help myself. If I'm going to play sentinel, I must do it like a man."

Straightway he began pacing back and forth in front of the blaze, his beat extending some twenty feet back and forth. He carried his rifle on his shoulder and proved the thoroughness of his vigilance by an occasional glance at the top of the rock, from which the mountain wolf had made its death leap. The coast remained clear. The far-off sounds which had attracted his attention a short time before were not repeated, and, as the labor of walking back and forth grew a little wearisome, he began to argue the question with himself.

"I wonder whether there isn't some way of resting without working? If I've got to walk all night, what shall I be good for to-morrow? I don't see any fun in this sort of business. Ah, I know how I'll fix it; I'll kindle two fires."

He acted upon the idea at once. He had gathered such an abundance of fuel that he had no fear of the supply running out. In a few minutes he had a second fire started, about a dozen feet from the other, while he stowed himself away directly between them. His position, he soon discovered, was rather warmer than he antic.i.p.ated, but he speedily remedied this by permitting each fire to subside in a slight degree.