CHAPTER IX
The Indian Outbreak
"They seem to be having trouble with the Indians on the reservation,"remarked Mr. Milton one evening, just after his return from a trip totown; "everybody in Helena seems to be talking about it, and there wasa big article in the 'Despatch' this morning, too."
"What kind of trouble?" asked Bert, his interest at once aroused. "Youdon't mean there's talk of an outbreak among them, do you?"
"That's exactly what I _do_ mean," replied Mr. Melton seriously. "Theyoung bucks are discontented, and are continually making 'war medicine.'Of course, the old men of the tribes do all they can to keep them withinbounds, for they know how useless any outbreak would be. But the youngmen have never had the bitter experience of their fathers, and at presentthey seem very restless."
"But I thought the days of Indian outbreaks were over," exclaimed Tomexcitedly; "why, they wouldn't have a ghost of a chance if they startedanything now."
"Just the same there are enough of them to make trouble, if they ever gotstarted," said Mr. Melton soberly. "Of course, as you say, the uprisingwould be suppressed quickly enough, but not perhaps without considerablebloodshed and loss of property. At any rate, the prospect of such anoutbreak is enough to keep people living anywhere near the reservationboundary on the anxious seat."
"But I should think," remarked Dick, "that the authorities would makesuch preparations to subdue an uprising among the Indians that it wouldbe crushed before they had a chance to get off the reservation."
"Well, the authorities _have_ taken every possible precaution," repliedMr. Melton. "Jim Hotchkiss, the sheriff, told me that word had beenpassed to officers of the forts to have the troops in readiness forinstant action. But the 'noble red man' is cunning in his own way, andlays his plans carefully. And when he is ready to strike he strikesquickly, like the snake. A marauding band will attack and sack afarmhouse, and be forty miles away before the troops arrive on the scene.And in a country as large and wild as this it is something of a task tocorner and subdue them."
"There hasn't been any trouble of the kind for a long time, has there?"asked Dick.
"No, not for a good many years," answered Mr. Melton; "and that inclinesme all the more to take the present situation seriously. These uprisingscome only at long intervals now, but it seems impossible to prevent themaltogether. After an outbreak has been put down the Indians are veryquiet for a time. They have probably suffered considerable loss of life,and been severely punished by the government. For years the memory ofthis lingers, but gradually it fades away, and the rising generation ofyoung bucks, with the inherited lust of fight and warfare running riot intheir blood, become restless and rebellious under the restraints ofcivilization and government. They hear stories of their ancestors'prowess from the lips of the old men of the tribe, and they long to goout and capture a few 'pale face' scalps on their own account. After awhile they work themselves up to the required pitch, and some fine day aband of them sallies forth on the 'war path.' Then there is a brief timeof plundering and murdering, until the troops can come up with them. Thenthere's a scrimmage, in which most of the band is exterminated, and therest are herded back to the reservation, with most of the fight gone outof them."
"I should think a few experiences like that would teach them wisdom, andkeep them from repeating the experiment," commented Bert.
"It would seem so," assented Melton, "but," with a smile, "youth isalways prone to disregard what is told it by its elders, and to insist onfinding out the why and wherefore of things by bitter experience."
"I hope there's nothing personal in that," grinned Dick.
"Oh, not at all," replied his host with an innocent expression on hisface, but a twinkle in his eye. "I wonder what could have given you thatidea."
"Nothing," replied Dick. "I just thought it barely possible, that's all."
"Oh, no," disclaimed Melton, "nothing could have been further from mythoughts."
Dick looked suspicious, and Tom and Bert laughed heartily.
After this little interruption, the talk went back to the subject of thethreatened Indian uprising. After a time Mr. Melton said: "It might be agood idea for you boys to ride to town to-morrow and get the latest news.There'll be very little going on about the ranch to-morrow to interestyou, and it will be a good way to spend the day. Besides, there are oneor two things I forgot when in town, and while you are about it you canget them and bring them back with you."
This plan was received by the boys with acclamation, and they immediatelyset to making preparations. It was a considerable distance to the town,and they planned to make an early start, before the intense heat of theday set in.
They accordingly packed their "war-bags" that same evening, and beforeretiring had made every preparation for the morrow's trip.
The next morning they were up with the sun, and after a hasty breakfastleaped into their saddles and were off. It was a glorious day, and theexhilarating air made them feel "right up on their toes," as Tomexpressed it. Bert felt called upon to reprove Tom for using thisexpression, for, as he gravely pointed out, they were not on their owntoes at all, but on the horses', so to speak.
"Aw, forget it," retorted Tom flippantly; "it's toe bad about you,anyway."
Having delivered this shot Tom chirruped to his horse, and set off at asmart gallop, followed by Dick and Bert. The two latter hadn't decidedwhat they would do to Tom when they caught him, but they were longing fora canter, anyway, and this gave them a good excuse. But after travelingin this rapid manner for a short distance they pulled in their steeds,for it would never do to tire them thus early in the journey. Tom, seeingthat the pursuit had been abandoned, also reined in his horse, andallowed his companions to gain on him.
"Don't shoot," he called. "I'll promise to be good and never do itagain--not till the next time, that is."
"All right," laughed Bert, "we'll suspend sentence this time, but at thenext offense we won't be so lenient, will we, Dick?"
"Not by a long shot," said Dick; "we'll toe him along at the end of alariat if he does, that's all." He grinned feebly as he got off thisatrocious pun, but Bert and Tom refused to be beguiled into smiling.
"I never thought it of you, Dick, honest I didn't," mourned Bert, sadlyshaking his head. "I naturally expect such things from Tom, but I had abetter opinion of you. I suppose I'll have to let bygones be bygones, butjust the same you deserve nothing less than ptomaine poisoning aspunishment."
At this Tom and Dick gave utterance to a howl of execration that madetheir horses jump, and two tightly rolled sombreros came flying towardBert's head. But he ducked just in time, and then had a good laugh as Tomand Dick were forced to dismount and secure their misused headgear.
Soon his two friends were back in the saddle, however, and then they setoff at a steady trot, discussing in a more serious vein the probabilityof such an uprising as Mr. Melton feared.
"I don't want it to happen," summed up Bert at last, "but if it's got tohappen anyway, I hope it does while we're out here. I feel like a smallboy going to a fire. As long as the house has to burn anyway, he wants tobe Johnny-on-the-spot."
In this manner the time passed quickly, and before eleven o'clock theywere nearing the town. A few minutes later they were riding through itsstreets, alertly on the lookout for any signs of impending trouble. Allseemed much the same as usual, though, except that about the telegraphand newspaper offices there seemed to be unwonted bustle and excitement.Here and there knots of men had congregated also, who appeared to bediscussing some important matter.
The three boys rode until they reached the post office, and then,dismounting and hitching their horses, went inside. The post office alsoserved as a telegraph station, and there were various news bulletinsposted about the room.
They hastened to one of these, and their faces grew grave as they read.It appeared from the bulletin that the Indians were on the very eve of anoutbreak, although they had made no actual hostile moves as yet. Troopshad been summoned to the r
eservation, however, and were expected to reachHelena that evening. They were ordered to stay in the town overnight, andpress on for the reservation the following morning.
"It begins to look like business now, all right," said Bert, after he andhis friends had digested this information.
"It sure does," agreed Dick, "but likely as not it will all blow overbefore anything really serious happens."
"Oh, of course, there's always that chance," said Bert, "but let's gooutside and find out what the opinion of the townspeople is. They mustunderstand the situation pretty thoroughly, and we can soon find outwhether or not they regard this as a false alarm. But it looks to me asthough real trouble were brewing."
Bert's opinion seemed to be shared almost unanimously by the citizens.Everywhere men were getting out and overhauling their firearms, and therewas a run on the ammunition stores.
"I'm glad we brought our revolvers," remarked Tom; "there seems to be achance of our having use for them by and by."
"I'm mighty glad we did," acquiesced Bert, "and I brought somethingbeside my revolver, too. Just before we left the ranch I packed myWinchester repeater inside my blankets. I wasn't even thinking of theIndians then, but I thought we might have a chance at a little game, andit would be just as well to pack it along. There's not a chance in athousand that we'll need it, but you can't always tell."
"It's lucky you did," said Dick; "have you got plenty of ammunition forit?"
"None too much," replied Bert. "I think while we're here I'll buy a fewboxes of cartridges."
Acting upon this thought, they bought the ammunition, together with someextra cartridges for their revolvers. This done they made the purchasesfor Mr. Melton that he had requested of them, and after a satisfying mealat the best hotel set out on their return journey.
It was about two o'clock as they jogged out of town, and as they knewthey had ample time in which to reach the ranch before dark they let thehorses set their own pace. They had many things to talk about, althoughthe heat of the sultry afternoon made even conversation a task. Butnothing could subdue their spirits, and with never a care in the worldthey rode gaily on.
"It's quite near stage time," Bert remarked suddenly, "we're pretty nearthe trail, and if we meet it we can get the latest developments of thereservation situation from Buck, the driver. He always has a supply ofthe latest news. He knows more than the local newspapers of what's goingon, I believe."
"I'll bet that's the coach now," exclaimed Dick, pointing to a cloud ofdust in the distance.
"Yes, I guess it is," returned Bert, gazing intently at the distantsmirch against the clear blue background of sky; "come along, fellows.Ride hard and we'll reach the trail before the coach comes along."
Accordingly they set spurs to their horses and galloped rapidly over thesunburned prairie. In a short time they reached the travel-hardenedtrail, beating the coach by a good half mile. Then they drew rein, andwaited impatiently for the lumbering vehicle to reach them.
With rattle of harness and creak of complaining axle-tree the coachtoiled over the endless trail, drawn by four raw-boned mules. As it drewnear, the boys waved their sombreros to the driver, who returned thesalute with a flourish of his long snakeskin whip.
At last it reached them and the driver rumbled a hoarse greeting. "Howgoes it, pards," he said, "an' what's the good word?"
"That's just what we were going to ask you," said Bert with a friendlysmile. "We've been hearing a lot lately of the expected redskin uprising,and we wanted to know if you had a line on the real situation, Buck. Isthere anything really doing, or is it all just talk?"
"I dunno," answered the driver, "some says yes an' some says no, butif you want my honest opinion I'd say thet the Injuns ain't got nerveenough to start trouble no more. Why, they're so all-fired meek an' lowlythet----"
Zip! A bullet whizzed through the sultry air and whirled the stagedriver's slouch hat from his head. Zip! Zip! Zip! and the air was alivewith the whine and drone of bullets.
"Hold-ups, by the 'tarnal," yelled the driver, accompanying his wordswith a whirl of oaths. "Down behind the coach, Sam!" addressing theguard, who always rode beside him on the box with loaded rifle; "we'llstand 'em off, or I'm a greaser."
The guard leaped down behind the coach at the same moment that Bert andDick and Tom made for the same shelter. There were only two passengersin the coach, and they, pale of face and with chattering teeth, joinedthe little group.
"Them shots came from that bunch of chaparral over there," said Buck,"but it's an almighty queer way for road agents to go about a job. Theyginerally----"
"Injuns!" shouted the guard, who had been peering cautiously around theend of the coach. "Injuns, by the Lord Harry, shoot me if they ain't!"
A thrill passed over the three comrades, and they looked warily forth inthe direction in which the guard had pointed. Sure enough, over the topof the chapparal they could discern a number of hideously painted facessurmounted by tufts of eagle feathers. The guard, recovering from hisfirst paralysis of astonishment, took careful aim at one of them andpulled the trigger. A yell of pain followed the report of his rifle, anda savage shout went up from the band of redskins. They answered with avolley that bored through the sides of the coach, and narrowly missedseveral of the little group gathered behind it.
"We got to turn the coach over," exclaimed Buck, "the top an' floor's awhole lot thicker than the sides, and besides, as it is there's nothin'to prevent the bullets from comin' in underneath. Lend a hand, everybody,and we'll get 'er over."
He crept in between the mules and commenced unharnessing them. Bert andhis friends leaped to his assistance, although during the process theywere much more exposed to the fire of the Indians. The latter were notslow to perceive this, and they opened a steady fire. But fortunatelythey were poor shots, and most of their bullets went wild. Several struckthe mules, however, and the unfortunate animals plunged and kicked sowildly that the three friends and the driver stood in almost as muchdanger from them as from the bullets. Finally the traces were unfastened,and the mules, released from the harness, raced wildly away.
Bert and the others dodged nimbly back behind the coach, and then allhands set to the task of overturning it. By dint of exerting all theirstrength they finally managed to lift one side of the clumsy vehicleuntil it toppled over with a crash.
"There," exclaimed Buck, wiping the perspiration from his face with a bigbandanna handkerchief; "so fur, so good, but we got to do more than that.Them Injuns will start to surround us as soon as they see they can't pickus off from the front, and we want to be ready for them."
"What do you think we'd better do?" asked Bert.
"Fust thing is t' get the trunks and mail bags out o' the coach and builda barricade with them," replied the driver, "an' it looks as though westood a good chance o' gettin' shot full o' lead doin' it, too. If themInjuns hadn't been sech all-fired poor shots we'd a been winged beforethis, I reckon."
"Well, as long as it's got to be done, we might as well get it overwith," said Dick; "come on, fellows, one, two----"
"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Bert. "I think it would be a good plan forthose of us who have rifles to be on the lookout and pick off any of theredskins who show themselves. Even if we don't get any, it will preventthem from taking good aim."
"We ain't got but one rifle, though," objected Buck. "Sam, here,"motioning toward the guard, "is the only one in the bunch with a rifle."
"No, I've got one in my blanket roll," replied Bert, and before thedriver could answer was busily engaged in undoing the tightly rolledblanket.
"I reckon you two had better get anythin' you want off your horses," saidBuck, addressing Tom and Dick, "an' then set the critters loose. Theyain't a mite o' good here, an' they only take up valuable space."
The boys were loath to act on this advice, but they saw the wisdom of it,and so did as the driver suggested. They knew that the horses, as soon asreleased, would make for the ranch, and they had little fear of theIndians being able to cat
ch them. Accordingly, a few minutes later thethree trusty animals were turned loose, each receiving a smart slap tostart it on its way. They galloped off across the plain, and were soonlost to sight in the distance.
Meantime the Indians had been keeping up a straggling fire in thedirection of the stage coach, and Bert and the guard set themselves tothe task of silencing it. Lying flat on the ground, and aiming their gunscautiously around each end of the coach, they fired with sure aim everytime a dusky arm or leg was exposed by their attackers. They were bothcrack shots, and their bullets seldom failed to reach their mark.Gradually the fire from the enemy died down, and at last stopped almostaltogether. The precision of the white men astonished them, and they drewbehind cover and held a conference.
"Now's the time!" exclaimed Buck. "Into the coach, boys, and rustle outthe baggage. Lively's the word!"
All the little party, with the exception of the passengers, who seemedtoo paralyzed with fright to move, dashed into the coach, and before theIndians realized what was happening returned, each staggering under somebulky article, trunk, or mail bag.
The savages sprang into life, and a hail of bullets struck against thecoach. But they were too late, and the defenders set to work to constructa circular rampart, using the coach as part of it. After arranging thebaggage to their satisfaction they dug up earth and covered theimprovised ramparts with it.
"So far, so good," said Buck, when at last they stopped to draw breath."That will hold the red devils off for a time, anyway. But unless we gethelp in some way I'm afraid we're done for, anyway. There's a big partyo' bucks there, and chances are that more will join them before mornin'.Then they'll come at us in earnest, and it will only be a question o' howlong we can stand them off. After that----" he ended with a silence moreeloquent than words.
"Isn't there--isn't there some way to summon aid?" asked one of thepassengers, with blanched cheeks.
"I don't see how," replied Buck; "it would be jest plain suicide fer oneof us to make a break now. Besides, it's twenty miles to the nearesttown, and the Injuns'll be on us long before anybody could get to townand bring back help, even supposin' the Injuns didn't pot him before hegot fairly started. O' course, we couldn't do anythin' before dark,nohow."
"Don't you think they'll attack before that?" asked Dick.
"No, I don't," replied the driver; "they'll want to surround us first,an' they won't start to do that until after dark, 'cordin' to my way o'thinkin'. What do you say, Sam?"
"Them's my sentiments exactly," answered that individual. "There ain't achance in the world o' their doin' anythin' before that."
As the opinions of these two veterans coincided the matter was regardedas settled, and the boys commenced overhauling their pistols to make surethey were in perfect shape.
There was no further movement on the part of their besiegers, but Buckand Sam knew full well that the Indians were far from giving up theirattack. To them the respite was more ominous than an active sally, forthey knew that the braves were hatching some scheme for theirdestruction.
"They're foxy as they make 'em," opined Sam grimly; "the critters arecookin' up some deep plan to circumvent us, or I'm a Dutchman. Jest waitan' see if they ain't."
"If anybody thinks them red devils ain't watching us closer than a catwatches a mouse," said Buck, "I'll just prove it to 'em mighty pronto."
He snatched his sombrero from his head, and placing it on the muzzle ofthe guard's rifle, held the piece up in the air so that the hat projectedabove the edge of the over-turned coach. Instantly a sharp fusillade brokefrom the Indian's position, and one bullet, better aimed than themajority, passed clean through the sombrero, whirling it off the rifle.
"I reckon that shows they ain't asleep," remarked Buck grimly; "ef theydon't get our scalps it won't be from lack o' tryin'."
"We've got to figure out some way of getting word to town," exclaimedBert fiercely. "There must be some way, if we could only think of it.I have it!" he shouted. "Listen! The new branch they've been puttingthrough from the railroad is almost completed, and a foreman I wasspeaking to a few days ago said they had almost finished stringing thetelegraph wires. They're probably up by now, and if I could only get tothem I'd have help here in no time!"
"By all that's holy, the lad's right," exclaimed Buck, "an' it ain't farfrom here neither, considerin' jest the distance."
"But the chances are you'd never reach the railroad, Bert," said Dickanxiously; "they'd wing you before you got anywhere near it."
"I'll have to take a chance on that," responded Bert. "Besides, if Idon't go our condition is hopeless, anyhow, so I might as well attemptit."
The two Westerners nodded their heads at this, and Buck said: "O' course,it's only a ragged chance, but it might go through at that. The bestthing will be for him to make the try the first second after dark. Theredskins won't start to surround us until then, and by quick work hemight get out before they'd finished postin' a ring around us."
"But even if you get to the railroad how are you going to telegraphwithout an instrument?" inquired Tom.
"Leave that to me," replied Bert; "if I can only get that far I'll manageto telegraph all right, never fear."
By this time the sun was low in the west, and a short time afterward itdipped under the rim of the prairie. For a short time the sky was paintedin vivid colors by its reflected rays, and then the sudden prairietwilight descended swiftly.
"Now's your time, son," said Buck; "are you all ready?"
"I'll start the first second you think it best," replied Bert, and thenturning shook hands all around, ending up with Dick and Tom.
"We'd go with you, old friend, if it would do any good," said Dick,wringing Bert's hand. "I guess you know that without my saying it."
"I know it, all right," replied Bert; "but don't you worry about me. TheIndian isn't born yet that can get my scalp."
As he finished speaking Buck said: "You'd better start now, my lad. It'sso dark they can't see you, and I don't think they've had time tosurround us yet. If you do get through and send the message make fortown. Don't try to get back here, because you'd never make it, and if youdid it would do no good. There's no use sacrificing your life along withours."
"Well, I'll get there first," said Bert, "and then there'll be plenty oftime to think about whether or not to come back." Needless to say, in hisown mind there was little doubt that if it lay in his power he wouldreturn and fight, and if need be die at his comrades' side.