CHAPTER VII.
IN AND OUT OF THE BURNING CABIN.
"The roof is on fire!"
"The wall is on fire under one of the sleeping-room windows!"
The first cry came from Ralph, who was in the loft, the second from hisbrother, who saw the flames and smoke coming through the cracks wherethe wall and the flooring of the cabin joined. The breeze wasincreasing, and soon both fires were burning merrily, as if such flameswere not tending toward a tragedy.
"Some water--we must put it out!" came from Poke Stover, and, catchingup one of the buckets the boys had thoughtfully provided, he ran to thewindow beneath which the conflagration was spreading. "Unbar it, Dan,and I'll souse it out. Look out that you don't expose yourself."
The shutter was unbarred and opened for the space of several inches. Atonce the smoke began to pour into the cabin, setting them all tocoughing. Then the breeze carried the smoke in the opposite direction.
Suddenly Poke Stover set down the bucket of water and grabbed Dan'sgun. A quick aim and a flash, and one of the Comanches let go of theshield and danced around with a broken elbow. Then both of the enemyretreated far more rapidly than they had come.
"Got him that trip," was the frontiersman's satisfactory comment. "Butbe careful, Dan, there are others watching us from the timber."
The shutter was pushed open a little more, and with much skill PokeStover dashed the water on the blaze and put the most of it out. Thenhe wet an old coat and beat out what remained.
"It's a pity we didn't have no dirt handy to shovel on," he said,pausing to catch his breath, while Dan locked the shutter again. "Wemay need this water afore we git through. How is it up thar, Ralph?" hecalled.
"It's burning pretty lively," was the reply. "But perhaps we can beatit out with the coat."
"The Indians can spot you on the roof," said Dan.
"Go down and unbar the door and swing it partly open," said PokeStover. "That will attract the attention of the Injuns, and they won'tbe a-lookin' at the roof. But wait a minit, till I'm ready fer ye!" headded, as he laboured up the ladder with a second bucket of theprecious water. The old coat was soused thoroughly, and Stover openedthe shutter nearest to the fire.
"Now go ahead!" he called out, and Dan opened the door, and swung itback and forth several times. He also showed his hat on a stick, and ina trice came several shots, one going through the head-covering andentering the closet in the corner. Then he swung the hat out again, andanother shot followed.
During this time the old frontiersman had reached out of the upperwindow and beat out part of the fire and hurled the remainder to theground, far enough away from the cabin to keep it from doing furtherharm. One shot was aimed at him, as the breeze exposed him through thesmoke to the Comanches, but this luckily flew wide of its mark.
"By gosh, but that was a close shave!" ejaculated Stover, as he droppedback into the loft, while Ralph closed the shutter. His beard wassinged in two places and his face was red and hot. "It's a good thingthat fire wasn't allow to gain no more headway."
He bathed his face and took a drink of water, and then all three beganto speculate upon the next probable movement of the Comanches. By theclock on the living-room mantel it was now half-past four.
"Father ought to be coming now," said Ralph. "But perhaps he has beenunable to get anybody to come back with him."
"Don't worry about that," returned Poke Stover. "They'll all come ifonly they git the word. The buck ague don't go around here." By buckague the frontiersman meant the fright which occasionally takespossession of a pioneer or soldier when facing Indians who are on thewar-path.
It was not long after this that the Indians began to show theiractivity once more. Others of the tribe had arrived, until theynumbered eighteen or twenty, the majority of whom were armed with guns,only one or two of the older warriors sticking to their bows andarrows.
"I reckon they suspect we are waiting for help, and they mean to dosomething before it gits too late," observed Poke Stover. "Perhapsthey'll give us another rush before they withdraw fer good. We hadbetter inspect all of our shootin'-irons, fer we may want 'em badly."
The frontiersman was right, the Comanches were organising an attack, tobe divided into three parts,--one party to come from the timberskirting the burn, the second to come up behind the cabin, and thethird to make a dash from behind the cattle shed. The first divisioncarried a heavy log, with which they hoped to batter down the door inshort order.
"They are coming!" The cry came from Dan, who was watching the timberin front of the burn. "There are six of them!"
"Here comes another crowd from the shed!" ejaculated Ralph.
"They have divided up," said the frontiersman. "Boys, I'm afraid we nowhave a stiff piece of work cut out for ourselves. A third party iscoming from the rear, and there is no telling but what there may bestill more. We must do our best and fight to a finish, for they are onthe war-path for fair, and they'll show us no mercy if once they git atus. Load up and fire jest as quick as ye can! Give it to 'em hot!"
As Poke Stover finished, he leaped to the window nearest to him, shovedthe muzzle of his weapon through the port-hole, and pulled the trigger.A yell went up as one of the redskins threw up his arms and fell. Butthen the others came on faster than ever, yelling and shouting in amanner to cause the stoutest heart to falter. Surely, as Stover hadsaid, it would be a fight to the finish, and they were but three toseventeen.
Dan was at one port-hole and Ralph at another, and now both firedsimultaneously. Whether the shots were effective they could not tell.Certainly none of the Indians dropped.
In two minutes more the Comanches were running around the house inevery direction, trying to batter down the door with the log, andlikewise trying to pry open several of the shutters with theirhatchets.
At such close quarters it was next to impossible to fire on them,although several gun and pistol shots were exchanged. Once an Indianfired through a port-hole into the bedchamber, and the burning gun-wadlanded on one of the straw bedticks.
"Put it out!" roared Poke Stover, and while Dan trampled on the fire toextinguish it, the frontiersman let the Indian have a shot in return.
Crash! crash! The heavy bombardment on the door was beginning to tell,and already there was a long crack in the oaken slab, and the splinterswere flying in all directions.
"We'll take our stand here!" cried Poke Stover, motioning to a spotfacing the door. "Give it to 'em the minit daylight shines through!"And they did, with such serious results that the party with the ramdropped that instrument and ran to the opposite side of the house. Buttheir places were quickly taken by others, and now it looked as if thedoor must give way at any instant.
Suddenly, just when it looked as if the next shock to the door mustsmash it into a hundred pieces, there came a scattering volley ofrifle-shots from the timber near the river, answered almost instantlyby a second volley from the forest opposite. Then came a yell from theComanches, and a cheer in English.
"Hold the cabin! We are coming!" came in Mr. Radbury's well-knownvoice, and never had it sounded more comforting to the two boys than atthat moment. Then followed more shots, some striking the cabin andothers hitting the Indians, who were so demoralised that for the momentthey knew not what to do.
"Down with the redskins!" came in the tones of a settler namedWhippler, who had lost his wife in a raid about a year previous. "Killevery one of 'em! Don't let them escape!"
In his eagerness to annihilate those he so hated, he rode to the frontof the others, discharging his gun and his pistol as he came, and thenleaping upon the nearest redskin with his long hunting-knife. Hebrought the red man down with a stroke in the breast, and was then laidlow himself by Red Pony, an under chief, who was in charge during theabsence of Wolf Ear and Bison Head. Red Pony then ran off for his verylife, followed by fourteen others, the remainder being either killed orwounded.
"Boys! Are either of you wounded?" asked Mr. Radbury, as he leaped fromthe mustang he was riding, and rushed
into the cabin.
"We are all right, father," answered both lads.
"Thank God for that!" murmured the parent, reverently. "But, see, yourneck is bleeding," he added, to Dan.
"It's only a scratch."
"Good. Poke, I see you managed to get to them. You are a brave fellow,if ever there was one."
"We've had a hot time of it, father," put in Ralph. "If it hadn't beenfor Mr. Stover, I don't know what we would have done."
"Ralph is right," assented Dan. "If he hadn't put out the fire we wouldhave been burnt out, and the cabin would have gone up in smoke in thebargain."
"I shall not forget your kindness, Poke," said Mr. Radbury, taking thefrontiersman's horny hand. "But, as you are all right, I fancy I hadbetter join the others, and follow the miscreants."
"And I'll go with ye," said Poke Stover, who disliked too much praise,although not averse to some laudatory speech. "We ought to round upevery mother's son of 'em while we are about it."
"Shall we go too?" asked Dan. "I'd rather do that than remain behind,"he continued.
"You may come, if you'll promise to keep to the rear," answered thefather. "Remember, the Indians are wily, and may set a trap for us."
All went outside, crawling through the battered doorway, and were soonmounted on several extra mustangs Mr. Radbury had brought along. Theplanter informed them that he had brought with him twenty-four men,including Jim Bowie, who had happened to be in Gonzales at the time.Soon the party of four were riding hard to catch up with the otherwhites, who were following the trail of the Comanches along the bank ofthe upper Guadalupe River.
"FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF THE COMANCHES."]