CHAPTER XI.
HELD AT BAY.
"Don't move, Aleck!" said Thad, instantly, and he raised his voiceenough, to purposely let the three men hear what he said.
Of course the boy did not budge. Perhaps he even gave Kracker backlook for look, only that there may have been a smile of contempt uponhis boyish face.
"Don't you hear what I say, come here!" roared the colonel.
"He hears you all right, but he feels quite satisfied to stay where heis," said Thad, in a cool tone.
The other turned those blazing eyes on the speaker.
"Who asked you to put your finger in my business?" he demanded, harshly.
"I'm not. It's you who keeps on meddling with things that concern thisboy and his mother only. I suppose you are Colonel Kracker?" Thad wenton.
"That's my name, and anybody who knows me would tell you that you'redoing the most foolish thing in all your life, when you try tointerfere with any affair on which I've set my heart. I want that boyto come to me!" and he shook his fat finger threateningly toward Aleckas he said this.
"Then you'll have to take it out in wanting, let me tell you;" repliedthe patrol leader, "for he belongs in this camp of Boy Scouts; andwe're going to stand back of him."
If Thad was excited he certainly did not seem to be so; in factGiraffe wondered how in the world he could command his voice so well,and speak so calmly, when on his part he was fairly shivering with thenervous tension.
"What's that you say?" shouted the big man, bristling all over withrage until he seemed to swell up larger than ever. "Why, you littleimp, d'ye know what I've a good notion to do with you for thisinsulting talk?"
"I don't know, and neither do I care," replied Thad, "but there's onething I do think _you_ ought to know."
"Oh! you do, eh? What might that be?" demanded Kracker, sneeringly.
"Turn your head a little to the left, and you'll see a pile of rocks,"the scoutmaster went on. "Now, look up on top of that pile, and you'llsee a young fellow on one knee, holding a big rifle straight on you.That's one of our chums. He's from the State of Maine, where they teachboys to be able to hit a leaping deer straight in the heart every shot.Try and take just three steps this way, if you want to test his skillwith the rifle. Or any one of you start to raising a gun; and my wordfor it you'll never know what hit you. Get that, Kracker?"
Evidently the big man saw Allan kneeling there, and holding his gunleveled. The sight did not give him any too much enjoyment, either,judging from the way some of the color faded from his face. Hespluttered quite as much as before, but he had lost a good part of hismake-believe courage. In fact, Thad believed he had the big bully onthe run; and he meant to press his advantage.
"If I don't get him this time, I will later on," said Kracker, givingAleck a look of intense hatred.
"Don't you believe it," declared the scoutmaster, cheerfully. "We'regoing to see him through, and if it's necessary, we'll find a way ofsending word to the fort, and bringing a bunch of hard-ridingcavalrymen here to chase you out of the mountains. And just remember,Colonel Kracker, there are eleven of us, all told, well armed, andknowing how to take care of ourselves. We're no city greenhorns,either, but scouts who have had a whole lot of experience in hardplaces. Now, if you know what is good for you, keep away from ourcamps, wherever they may be. Our guide, Toby Smathers, who knows youlike a book, says that lots of good people would throw up their hatsand cheer, if they heard you'd crossed over the line. You understandwhat I'm saying, I guess, don't you?"
"You're doing a fool play, young feller, believe me," spoke up the mancalled Waffles, thinking it was up to him to stick in his oar. "Theyain't many men as would dar' talk to the kunnel like you done. Betterhand the boy over to him; he's his uncle, and has a right to takecharge of him."
"That's a lie!" burst out Aleck, angrily. "He came around our home,and tried every which way to get mother to just tell him what she knewabout the mine, promising all sorts of shares if only she'd trust him;but since she didn't know a single thing about where it lay, andwouldn't believe him on oath, either, course she didn't make anyarrangement. But he ain't any relation of mine."
"It wouldn't make any difference if he was, Aleck; when you say youdon't want anything to do with Kracker, that settles it," and Thad allthis while kept his eyes fixed on the big man, because he believedthe other to be just full of treachery and all kinds of trickery, sothat he would be ready to do something desperate if only he thought hecould take the young scoutmaster by surprise, and off his guard.
"You don't understand the matter at all," complained the big man, withsomething like a whine in his gruff voice now, showing that he waspretty nearly cowed.
"How is that?" demanded the other, instantly.
"I'm meaning to be his friend, and the friend, of his folks," Krackercontinued.
"Funny way you have of showing your friendly feelings, then, I mustsay," declared Thad, with scorn in his voice; "making him a prisoner,trying to force him to give up a secret you choose to think hecarries; and when he refuses to take you at your word, putting himthere on that ledge, to starve, or face a horrible death in perhapsfalling down a couple of hundred feet."
Kracker looked a little confused, but it was only a flash in the pan.Such a thing as shame was foreign to his nature. For years he had beenused to browbeating almost every person with whom he had had dealings.The fact that first of all a mere slip of a woman had dared defy him,and then her boy did the same, nettled him beyond description; and hehad arrived at desperate measures at the time Aleck, so unfortunatelyfor the boy, fell into his hands.
And now it galled Kracker to see how he and his two helpers were beingactually held up by a parcel of half grown lads. Why, it would seem asthough some mockery of fate had taken hold of his fortunes, and wasfinding keen pleasure in adding to his humiliation.
He would have liked to rush upon these cool boyish customers, and tohave trampled them under foot, as he had possibly done many men intimes past, when he was less huge in his proportions, and could getaround better. But somehow he did not dare attempt it.
Perhaps it was the display of weapons that awed him; and yet ColonelKracker was accustomed to seeing such things, and knew how to takethem at their true value. Then it may have been the manner of thespokesman of the little party that had so depressing an effect uponthe bully. Why, what was the world coming to, when mere boys began tohold the whip hand, and shape things as they pleased?
He started to talk, but spluttered so much he could not makeintelligible sounds. And his round moon face had taken on a deep redhue again, until it bordered on the purple. Thad, who had someknowledge of medicine, as we have seen on numerous occasions, reallybegan to wonder whether the bulky man might not be getting perilouslynear the border line, and taking chances with a sudden attack ofapoplexy, or else something else along those lines.
Once or twice Thad had seen something move back of the three men. Hedared not take his eyes off them long enough to look carefully, and atfirst could not decide whether it was a prowling wolf, bold enough tocome thus near the camp in broad daylight; or a human being.
He even suspected at one moment that possibly the invaders might havebeen in greater numbers than any of the scouts dreamed; and that someof them were even then creeping around, with the idea of turning thetables on the boys by a sudden coup.
But that idea went glimmering, when he contemplated the utterimpossibility of any foe crawling across the bare and open stretch ofrock extending between their camp, and the foot of the rise.
It certainly could never be done; and with the Maine boy keeping watchon things from his eyrie amid the piled-up rocks.
Then what?
Why, to be sure, it must be the Fox. The young Crow had vanished, Thadremembered, at the approach of the trio of prospectors. Just where hehad gone the patrol leader had neither known, nor cared, at the time.He seemed to have some reason for fearing either Kracker, or one ofthe two lesser rascals with him; and appeared desirous of keeping
outof their sight.
Thad also remembered that the Indian boy possessed a gun. He onlyhoped he would not do anything rash; but then he had been present whenthe scoutmaster spoke to those under him; saying that as members ofthe great organization that made for peace, they must not use theirfirearms unless as a very last resort; and then only to cripple theirenemies. The Crow had nodded his head with the rest when Thad askedfor this assurance; and surely an Indian keeps his word.
There, once again his head poked up into view, and this time so closeto the men that Thad saw the Fox had been stealthily creeping nearerall the time.
Did he have some object in his movements, or were they caused simplyby curiosity to see how close he could get, unobserved, to the one heseemed to fear?
Seeing that Kracker was too furious to even control his voice, theshorter fellow, whom Thad took to be Waffles, again put in his talk.
"It's plain to be seen you critters don't know the kunnel," heobserved, bitterly, just as though he himself had had a longexperience, and knew what it meant to stir up that vile temper toofar. "He never gives a thing up. He's jest like a bulldog that gits agrip. Ye may chase us off this time; but we'll stick like a plaster;and in the end git what we wants. We allers does."
"Oh! you don't say?" remarked the scoutmaster, with cutting emphasis;"well, the chances are the lot of you will get what you've been richlydeserving a long time back, if you keep on meddling with our affairs.And now, suppose you skip out. We couldn't come to any agreement if wetalked an hour. And we have some other things we want to do. Take yourfat friend away, Waffles; he's liable to explode before long, unlessyou do."
Amazed at the cool defiance of the boy, the man called Wafflesmechanically started to obey. But before they had taken half a dozensteps backward, Thad heard a strange, hissing sound that he could notunderstand. The next instant, to his astonishment, he saw Wafflespulled over backwards, his feet sprawling awkwardly. His calls forhelp were half muffled, and for a very good reason; since he was beingpartly choked by the loop of rope which the young Crow Indian hadthrown over his head with so much dexterity, and then jerked tight.