The Silver Canyon: A Tale of the Western Plains by George Manville Fenn
CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.
A WILD NIGHT-RIDE.
"Yes, Bart," said the Doctor, "we have a horse now for a messenger, butI dare not send you; and if you lent Black Boy to the Beaver and senthim, I am sure the governor would never respond to my appeal for help.I should be doubtful even if I sent Joses."
"Black Boy would not let Joses mount him, sir," replied Bart; "he neverwould."
"I dare not send you," said the Doctor again.
"Why not, sir? I could find my way," replied Bart excitedly. "Trustme, and I will go and tell the governor such a tale that you will see hewill send us a squadron or two of lancers, and horses and cattle for ourhelp."
"I do not like sending you, Bart," said the Doctor again, shaking hishead. "No, we will wait and see how matters turn out."
The silver-mining went on merrily, and universal satisfaction was feltby the people, who were too busy to think of the rate at whichprovisions were failing; but the Doctor thought of it deeply, and heknew that help must be sent for if they were to exist.
They had made two or three excursions into the canyon and brought uplarge quantities of salmon, and what was dearer to the hearts of all,large pieces of virgin silver; and after the last excursion it had beendetermined to risk the coming of the Indians, and work the rich depositsof silver below, when, the very next morning at daybreak, the Beaverannounced the coming of the Apaches.
"And now," he said quietly to Bart and Joses, "the Beaver's young menwill get back many horses."
"Yes, I thought that," said Joses, "and I'm willing; but take care ofyourselves, my lads; there is danger in the task."
The Beaver nodded and smiled and went his way, while Bart joined theDoctor, who was eagerly watching the coming savages as they rode slowlyacross the distant plains.
"Bart," he said at last, shutting up his glass, "you are very young."
Bart nodded.
"But I find myself compelled to send you on a very dangerous errand."
"To ride on to Lerisco, sir?" said Bart promptly. "I'm ready, sir; whenshall I go?"
"Not so fast," said the Doctor, smiling at the lad's bravery andeagerness. "You must make some preparations first."
"Oh, that will soon be done, sir; a few pieces of dried bison-meat and abag of meal, and I shall be ready."
"I was thinking," said the Doctor, "that I ought to have sent you offbefore the Indians came, but I have since thought that it is better asit is, for we know now where our enemies are. If I had sent youyesterday, you might have ridden right into their midst."
"That's true, sir. But when shall I go?"
"If I send you, Bart, it must be to-night, with a letter for thegovernor, one which, I am sure, he will respond to, when he hears fromyou of the enormous wealth of the canyon and the mine. Now go andconsult with the Beaver as to the track you had better follow so as toavoid the Indians. I must take a few precautions against attack, forthey seem to be coming straight on, and I sadly fear that they mean toinvest us now."
Bart found the Beaver, who was watching his natural foes, the Apaches,along with Joses, as they talked together in a low tone.
"I am going to ride back to Lerisco for help," said Bart suddenly.
"You are, my lad?" cried Joses. "I shall go too."
"But you have no horse, Joses," said Bart smiling, and the rough fellowsmote himself heavily on the chest.
"It is good," said the Beaver in his calm way. "My young men would liketo ride with you, but it cannot be."
"Tell me, Beaver, how I had better go so as to escape the Apaches."
"The young chief must ride out as soon as it is dark, and go straightfor the lake, and round its end, then straight away. The Apache dogswill not see him; if they do, they will not catch him in the dark.Ugh!" he ejaculated with a look of contempt, "the Apache dogs are nomatch for the young chief."
Bart could not help feeling very strangely excited as the eveningapproached, the more especially that the Apaches had come close onseveral hundred strong, and they could see them from the rock lead theirhorses down into the lake for water, and then remount them again, whilea couple of small parties remained on foot, and it seemed possible thatthey intended to make an attack upon the fortress, for they were allwell-armed.
"I shouldn't wonder if we have a bad storm to-night, Master Bart," saidJoses, as the sun set in a band of curious coppery-coloured clouds,while others began to form rapidly all over the face of the heavens,with a strangely weird effect. "You won't go if the weather's bad, Is'pose, my lad?"
"Indeed but I shall," said Bart excitedly. "If I am to go, I shall go."
The Doctor came up then and seemed torn by two opinions, speaking outfrankly to the lad upon the point.
"I don't want to send you, Bart, and yet I do," he said, ratherexcitedly. "It seems an act of cruelty to send you forth on such amission, but it is my only hope."
"I'll go, sir," cried Bart, earnestly. "I'll go for your sake andMaude's."
"Thank you, my brave lad," cried the Doctor with emotion, "but it isgoing to be a terrible night."
"The safer for our purpose, sir," replied Bart. "There, sir, I won'ttell a lie, and say I do not feel timid, because I do; but I mean tomount and ride off boldly, and you'll see I'll bring back plenty ofhelp, and as quickly as I can."
"But wait another night, my lad; it will be finer perhaps. There is nomoon, and if it clouds over, you will never find your way to the lake."
"Black Boy will, sir, I know," said Bart laughing. "I am keeping himwithout water on purpose."
"A clever idea, Bart," said the Doctor.
"Yes, sir," said Bart, "but it is not mine. It was the Beaver's notion.Those dismounted Indians are coming right in, sir, I think," he said.
"Yes, without doubt, Bart," exclaimed the Doctor, watching them. "Yes,they mean to get somewhere close up. There will be an attack to-night."
"Then I shall gallop away from it," said Bart laughing, "for I am afraidof fighting."
Two hours later, Black Boy, already saddled and bridled, a good blanketrolled up on his saddle-bow, and a bag of meal and some driedbison-flesh attached to his pad behind, was led down the rugged way tothe gate, which had been opened out ready. Joses and the Indians wereon either side ready with their rifles as the lad mounted in the outerdarkness and silence; a few farewell words were uttered, and he made hisplans as to the direction in which he meant to ride, which was prettyclose in to the side of the mountain for about a quarter of a mile, andthen away at right angles for the end of the lake.
"Good-bye, my boy, and God be with you," whispered the Doctor, pressingone hand.
"Take care of yourself, dear lad," whispered Joses, pressing the other,and then giving way to the chief, who bent forward, saying, in his low,grave voice--
"The Beaver-with-Sharp-Teeth would like to ride beside the brave youngchief, but the Great Spirit says it must not be. Go; you can laugh atthe Apache dogs."
Bart could not answer, but pressed his steed's sides, and the bravelittle animal would have gone off through the intense darkness at agallop; but this was not what Bart wished, and checking him, Black Boyambled over the soft ground, avoiding the rocks and tall prickly cactiwith wonderful skill, while Bart sat there, his ears attent and nostrilsdistended, listening for the slightest sound of danger, as the Indiansmight be swarming round him for aught he knew; and as he thought itpossible that one of the dismounted bodies might be creeping up towardsthe gateway close beneath the rocks, he found himself hoping that theparty had gone in and were blocking up the entrance well with stones.
The darkness was terrible, and still there was a strange lurid aspectabove him, showing dimly the edge of the top of the mountain. Thatthere was going to be a storm he felt sure--everything was so still, theheat was so great, and the strange oppression of the air foretold itscoming; but he hoped to be far on his way and beyond the Indians ere itcame, for the flashes of lightning might betray him to the watchful eyesof the enemy, and then he knew it meant a ride
All at once, as he was riding cautiously along, his rifle slung behindhim, and his head bent forward to peer into the darkness, there was asharp flash, and what seemed to be a great star of fire struck the rock,shedding a brilliant light which revealed all around for a shortdistance, as if a light had suddenly appeared from an opening in themountain; and then, close in beneath where the electric bolt had struck,he could see a knot of about a dozen Indians, who uttered a tremendousyell as they caught sight of him, making Black Boy tear off at fullspeed, while the next moment there was a deafening crash, and it seemedto Bart that a huge mass of the mountain-side had fallen crumbling down.
That one flash which struck the mountain seemed as if it had been thesignal for the elements to commence their strife, for directly after theheavens were in a blaze. Forked lightning darted here and there; thedense clouds opened and shut, as if to reveal the wondrously vividglories beyond, and the thunder kept up a series of deafening peals thatnearly drove the little steed frantic.
As to his direction, Bart was ignorant. All he knew was that he oughtto have ridden some distance farther before turning off, but that awfulflash had made the cob turn and bound away at once; and as far as therider could make out, they were going straight for the lake with thedismounted Indians running and yelling madly behind.
At least that was what he fancied, for, as he listened, all he couldhear was the deafening roar of the thunder, and the sharp cracklingsound of the lightning as it descended in rugged streaks, or ran alongthe ground, one flash showing him the lake right ahead, and enabling himto turn a little off to the left, so as to pass its end.
He knew now that the pealing thunder would effectually prevent theIndians from hearing him, but the lightning was a terrible danger whenit lit up the plains; and as he peered ahead, he fully expected to see abody of horsemen riding to cut him off. But no; he went on through thestorm at a good swinging gallop, having his steed well now in hand, afew pats on its arching neck and some encouraging words chasing away itsdread of the lightning, which grew more vivid and the thunder more awfulas he rode on.
After a time he heard a low rushing, murmuring sound in the intervalswhen the thunder was not bellowing, so that it seemed to rock the veryfoundations of the earth. It was a strange low murmur, that soundedlike the galloping of horsemen at a great distance; and hearing this,Bart went off at a stretching gallop, crashing through bushes and tallfleshy plants, some of which pierced the stout leggings that he wore,giving him painful thrusts from their thorns, till, all at once, therushing sound as of horsemen ceased, and he realised the fact that itwas the noise of a storm of rain sweeping across the plain, borne uponthe wind to fall almost in sheets of water, though he passed quite uponits outskirts, and felt only a few heavy pattering drops.
He had passed the end of the lake in safety, and was beginning to behopeful that he would escape the Indians altogether, but still he couldnot understand how it was that the little dismounted body of men had notspread the alarm, for he knew that they must have seen him, the ball oflight that struck the rock having lit up everything, and he knew that heseemed to be standing out in the middle of a regular glare of light; butafter the deafening crash that followed he had heard no more--no distantshouts--no war-whoop. They would be sure to communicate with theirnearest scouts, and their bodies of mounted men would have begun toscour the plain in spite of the storm; for he could not think that theApaches, who were constantly exposed to the warfare of the elements,would be too much alarmed to attempt the pursuit.
"They would not be more cowardly than I am," he said with a half laugh,as he galloped on, with Black Boy going easily, and with a long swingingstride that carried him well over the plain, but whether into safety ordanger he could not tell.
All he knew was that chance must to a great extent direct his steps, andso he galloped on with the rain left behind and a soft sweet breezeplaying upon his face, the oppression of the storm seeming to pass away,while it was plain enough that the thunder and lightning weremomentarily growing more distant, as if he were riding right out of ittowards where the air and sky were clearer. Before long, he felt sure,the stars would be out, and he could see his way, instead of gallopingon in this reckless chance manner, leaving everything to his horse.
"I can't quite understand it," said Bart; "there must have been somemistake. Of course, I see now. I was riding straight along under themountain-side when Black Boy swerved almost right round and went off inanother direction: that and the darkness threw them off the track, butthey will be sure to strike my trail in the morning. Black Boy'shoof-prints will be plain enough in the soft earth where the rain hasnot washed them away, and they'll come on after me like a pack of hungrywolves. How I wish I knew whether I was going right! It would be sovaluable now to get right away before morning."
Bart was getting well ahead, but not in the best direction. He had,however, no occasion to fear present pursuit, for the knot of dismountedIndians whom he had seen close under the rock when the lightning felllay crushed and mangled amongst a pile of shattered rocks which theelectric discharge had sent thundering down, while as Bart was canteringon, full of surmises, where not a drop of rain was falling, the stormseemed to have chosen the mountain as its gathering point, around whichthe lightning was playing, the thunder crashing, and the water streamingdown, so that in places regular cascades swept over the sides of therock, and tore away like little rivers over the plain.
For the time being, then, Bart had nothing to fear from theseunfortunate Apaches; but, as the storm lulled, and another little bodyof dismounted Indians crept cautiously up to the fallen rocks, theirobject being to surprise the guards at the gateway, they learned fromone of their dying friends of the appearance of the young chief upon hislittle black horse, and that he had gone right off over the plain.
The sequel to this was that the dead and dying soon were borne away, anda party was formed at daybreak to take steps that would have made Barthad he known, feel terribly uncomfortable, instead of growing hour byhour more confident and at his ease.