CHAPTER XIV
SURROUNDED
Bubbling over with mirth, at the manner in which they had gotten thebest of Del Pinzo and his gang, the outfit from Diamond X rode on thetrail again, once more intent on trailing the Yaquis that had capturedFloyd and Rosemary. And if Bud, Nort and Dick could, at that moment,or thereabouts, have seen Rosemary boldly defying the evil-faced Mikewith her automatic, their admiration for the girl would have beenmanifested by yells of approval.
But Bud and his chums, with their cowboy friends, were all unaware ofwhat was happening farther on in the desolate mountain whither theIndians had led their captives. If they had been they probably wouldnot have ridden on in such comparative leisure. For they did not rushat headlong pace, knowing they had a long, long trail ahead of them,and must conserve not only their strength, but, what was moreimportant, that of their horses.
Without horses it would have been impossible to have gone on for morethan a short distance in that wild country. As I have explained motorcars, even the marvelous little Ford, would have been out of thequestion, so rough was the trail, so winding amid rocks, now down insome narrow defile, hardly wide enough for a single rider, and againascending some slope tangled with brush and dead trees.
Knowing themselves to be thus dependent on their horses our heroessaved their steeds all they could. It was for this reason that, muchas they hated Del Pinzo and his gang, they would not deprive theseoutlaws of what was a means of life--their horses.
"But they won't ride after us, and I don't believe they'll give us anymore trouble," chuckled Bud, as he visioned the outlaws, used to theircomfortable if clumsy saddles, riding bareback. To a horseman this isthe limit of torture, for the horses of the west are no circus animals,with broad, flat backs. Instead, they generally have a ridge of boneon which it is almost impossible to ride, even when a blanket or two isstrapped on in place of a saddle. Only an Indian can manage to ridealong with but a blanket for a seat.
"Yes, we put one over on them all right," agreed Dick.
"The only thing about it is that they held us up," remarked Nort."We're several hours behind our schedule now."
"It can't be helped," spoke Bud, looking at a deep scratch on hishand--a scratch caused by a glancing bullet. "We can't really doanything toward rescuing Rosemary and Floyd until we strike the trailof the Yaquis, and it's mostly guess work until then."
"But when we do locate them!" exclaimed Nort, as he gripped the handleof his gun, "we'll let 'em see what a mistake they made!"
"You got rid of a mouthful that time, son," observed Yellin' Kid. Andthen, lifting his voice he roared out:
"As I was ridin' on the trail, My true love for to see. I met a four-legged grizzly bear, An' th' grizzly he met me!
"'Oh kind Mr. Bear,' I gently called, 'Move on!' but he shook his head. So then I ups with my .45 An' fills him full of lead!"
Having gotten this out of his "system," Yellin' Kid seemed to feelbetter. He smiled genially at the boy ranchers, and flapping his hatdown on the side of his pony sent the animal ahead in a cloud of dustto join some of his companions in the lead.
Thus, making merry as possible under the circumstances, the outfit fromDiamond X resumed the trail, the more experienced cowboys looking hereand there for any "sign" that would indicate the presence or thepassage of the Yaquis.
As a matter of fact Snake Purdee did not expect to "meet up" with anyof the Indians for some time. He and Rolling Stone had talked thematter over, and Rolling Stone had given the benefit of his experiencein trailing Yaquis.
"With them," said the new acquisition to Diamond X, "it's a sort of aflash in the pan. They get excited for some reason or other, have awar dance, a pow wow or some ceremony, and before they know it somecrazy leader has taken the trail with some of his friends, and they'rebent on shooting up some Mexican or American town, getting strong drinkwhen they can, and stealing everything they can lay their dirty paws on.
"That's when they're in the first rush of excitement, and I take itthat it was on a time like this the Yaquis took Miss Rosemary andFloyd. Why they did this, instead of shooting 'em, as they generallydo, I can't make out. The Yaquis don't ordinarily use those methods."
"Unless they took my cousins to hold for ransom," suggested Bud.
"Well, of course that's possible, but I didn't know the Yaquis werethat smart," answered Rolling Stone. "Still, some new leader may havegotten together a band, or it may be some half breed, or even somerenegade American is at the bottom of this. I can understand a chaplike that holding prisoners for ransom.
"But what I started to say was that once the first wild outburst isover, the Yaquis will keep mighty quiet. They won't go about with abrass band, advertising their hiding places."
"You mean it won't be easy to find them?" asked Nort.
"That's it, son. They're going to be mighty cute and foxy, and while aYaqui isn't in it with our old time American Indians in the matter ofcovering a trail, still we aren't going to have any walkover. We'vegot our work cut out for us."
"I believe you!" shouted Yellin' Kid. "But we'll get the devils sooneror later."
"The sooner the better," said Rolling Stone quietly, and there was inhis very quietness a menace which the boys understood very well. Everyhour that Rosemary and Floyd remained in the hands of the Yaquis meantan ever increasing danger. And once the mad frenzy of the Indians woreoff and they began to realize what they had done, anticipating theconsequences once they were captured with the prisoners in theirpossession, there was hardly a question of what they would do toRosemary and Floyd. The captives would be killed to get them out ofthe way.
It was this that urged the rescue party ahead with all the speedpossible, and consistent with preserving their horses' power to travel.
In spite of wounds, and some were seriously hurt (one dying later)there was no sign of gloom in the midst of the party of which the boyranchers formed an important element. Some of the cowboys sang, andYellin' Kid intoned another verse or two of the many songs with whichhe seemed plentifully provided.
Coming to a deep ravine, along which the trail led into the mountains,where it was reported the Yaquis had headed, Snake Purdee called a halt.
"What's the matter now?" asked Rolling Stone.
"Do you see anything?" asked Bud, for he noticed the veteran cowboylooking down into the black depths.
"No," answered Snake slowly, "but it strikes me this is a good place toget rid of the saddles and truck we took offen Del Pinzo. No usecarting the duffle along. It's no good to us and it only tires ourpack mules. Heave it down this gully, boys and we'll ride lighter."
This was soon done, and the baggage animals, at least, went forwardwith easier burdens. The trail became more rough as it led upward, butSnake explained that they would cross one range of the mountain, andcome to a level plain which must be traversed before the second rangewould be reached.
"And we'll either come across the Yaquis in the plain, or as we go upthe second mountain," said the cowboy. "That will be about their limitI fancy."
They camped that night on the downward slope of the first mountain,having crossed the ridge through a narrow pass, not easy to negotiate.There was a more tense feeling when this night camp was made than atany time before.
"For it seems now, somehow," explained Bud, "that we're within strikingdistance of the Yaquis. We're trailing 'em close!"
"The closer the better--so, we can get a few shots at 'em!" declaredNort.
"Will they really make a stand and fight?" asked Dick.
"I don't know," Bud replied. "I never--"
"They'll fight all right!" interrupted Rolling Stone. "They'll fightnow just through fear of being captured. The first hot impulses thatcaused them to run wild are cooling off. They'll be worse to tacklenow than when they first took the war path, for they will be cool andcalculating, while before they were hot headed, and anyone who usedhalf his brains could best 'em. Yes, we aren't going to have a picnic."<
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"Well, we didn't come for that," said Dick grimly.
He and his companion boy ranchers were willing to endure all thehardships and dangers with the more seasoned cowboys, and Bud and Nortwho, until within a comparatively recent time were unused to westernways, were now accounted as capable of Bud, than which there was nohigher praise.
There was evident in the manner in which campfires were built, and asystem of sentinel guards posted, that the older men realized thenearness of danger. The cowboys had dropped their half banteringmanner, and sat grim-lipped and thoughtful of eye about the blaze.This change in their manners affected our youthful heroes who looked atone another somewhat apprehensively, and more than once let their handsstray to their weapons.
But the night passed without untoward incident, if we except a falsealarm given by Bud when he was standing guard. He had been pacingbackward and forward for some hours, and it was almost time for hisrelief, when he saw, peering over the top of a rock, what he took to bethe feathered headdress of an Indian. Forgetting, for the moment thatthe Yaquis did not adopt the picturesque adornments of the Americanredmen, Bud fired, at the same time letting out a yell.
Of course, this roused the whole camp, and you can appreciate Bud'schagrin when his "Indian" proved to be nothing more than a wavingbranch of a bush topping a rock. The waving leaves had looked likefeathers in the starlight, by which alone Bud had seen them.
"Well, I wasn't taking any chances," he said, when the cause of hisalarm was ascertained.
"That's right," Yellin' Kid assured him.
Morning saw the party in saddle again, and as better time could be madeon the down trail, they reached the intervening plain of the valley,between the two mountain ranges well before noon.
A halt was made for "grub," and it was after this meal, when they wereabout to proceed again, that an astounding discovery was made. Dickgave the alarm. He had gone off a little way to get his pony, whichhad strayed, when he saw, on the far horizon, a band of horsemen. Theywere too distant to be made out clearly, but against the intensely bluesky Dick saw waving lances, and he at once shouted:
"Indians!"
This was enough to focus all eyes, first on him and then on theapproaching band. The waving lances could plainly be seen now.
"And look there!" cried Nort, as he pointed to the North, a directionexactly opposite to that whence the horsemen discovered by Dick wereapproaching.
"More Indians!" shouted Yellin' Kid.
Snake Purdee leaped to a high rock and with rapid gaze swept thehorizon.
"They're coming from all directions," he said grimly, as he leaped downand began a rapid survey of their position, with a view to its defence."We're being surrounded!"
And this was so. From all points there rode in on the outfit fromDiamond X an ever narrowing circle of horsemen, many of whom carriedlances which pointed toward the zenith.
"They aren't Yaquis," exclaimed Rolling Stone. "Those Mexican Indiansdon't carry lances. They must have met up with a band from someAmerican reservation and have gotten them to go on the warpath. Thislooks bad!"