CHAPTER XXXII.
TRAILED DOWN.
"Ther trail's gittin' derned hot, boy!" said Old Rocks, near sunset."Ther p'izen varmints can't be fur ahead."
They were passing through one of the wildest sections of the park.Mountains, capped with eternal snow, were on every hand. Their sideswere seamed with mighty chasms and strewn with huge bowlders, many ofwhich, it seemed, the weight of a hand would send crashing andthundering into the dark depths below.
Some of the mountains bore traces of vegetation, pine and cedar showingdarkly on many a jagged cliff. Some were bleak and barren, but none theless grand, impressive, and awe-inspiring.
Amid these mountains were desolate canyons, which seemed to hold somedreadful secret locked fast in their silent bosoms.
Since the encounter with the grizzlies Old Rocks and Frank had paused toeat a square meal of bear-steak, and it had braced them for the tramp,so they were able to cover ground swiftly without fatigue or discomfort.
They had passed through a region of boiling geysers, where the watershot more than a hundred feet into the air, and came down in a rain,across which a beautiful rainbow formed, the roaring sound whichaccompanied this exhibition being as loud as the exhaust of a thousandlocomotives.
In one marshy valley they had passed pools of water, sulphur yellow,bright green, pink, crimson, and nearly all colors of the rainbow, thepools being from twenty to fifty feet apart.
They had seen other things which were not given a second glance by OldRocks, but which Frank longed to stop and examine.
But it was no time for sight-seeing, as the boy well knew, and he heldclose to the heels of the unwearying guide.
And now, near nightfall, Old Rocks declared that the trail was gettinghot.
"Shall we be able to overtake them before dark?" asked Frank, with thegreatest anxiety.
"I dunno," was the answer. "But it's derned certun thet we ain't goin'ter come fur from it."
"Oh, for two hours more of daylight!" sighed the boy.
"We'd run ther critters down dead sure in thet time. But I don't wantyer ter git ther idee thet they're goin' ter give up ther gal 'thout amurmur."
"But they will have to give her up."
"Thet's whatever. All ther same, we may hev ter fight, an' ole Half Handis a mighty bad critter ter buck agin'; you hear me shout!"
"I am ready to fight, if necessary."
"Ef I'd heerd yer say so this mornin', I w'u'dn't putt no dependence onit; but now I'll allow thet yer means whut yer says, an' yer've got sandter give erway. Boy, you're a holy terror on trucks, an' you may quoteme ez sayin' so."
Frank did not smile.
"Wait," he said. "I may not show up so well in the encounter with theBlackfeet. I was lucky in the bear fight."
"Wa-al, dog my cats ef you ain't ther fust tenderfut I ever saw thetwouldn't hev bragged his head off ef he'd killed a grizzly! Why, boy,you don't seem ter know whut ye've done! You've made a record. Ary othertenderfut I ever saw'd go back East an' publish ther story in all therpapers. He'd be hailed ez a mighty chief an' a tin god on wheels."
"Tenderfeet are not all braggarts, any more than Westerners are allbrave men."
"Thet's whatever," nodded Rocks; "but it's took me a gaul derned longtime ter find it out."
The sun was low behind the western mountains, and darkness was fillingthe great canyons.
The guide swung onward at a steady pace, following the trail with thesame readiness and ease that had proved a source of wonder all along tohis companion.
It was evident the Blackfeet had not anticipated hot pursuit, and sothey had made little or no effort to hide their trail after passingacross an arm of the lake.
The trail grew hotter and hotter, but night came on swiftly, and OldRocks was forced to bend low and keep his eyes on the ground.
"Watch out ahead, boy," he directed. "I've got all I kin' tend ter infollerin' ther trail. Don't let us run plump onter ther varmints, ferthey might take a notion ter wipe us out."
So Frank followed the guide, keeping his eyes to the front, and watchingfor danger.
Darker and darker it became. Rocks was forced to proceed more slowly, asthere was danger of losing the trail entirely.
Finally he found it necessary to stop now and then and examine theground thoroughly.
"We shall not overtake them before dark, shall we?" asked Frank,anxiously.
"Hard tellin'. Watch out. May run onter 'em any time."
When they halted again, Frank suddenly uttered a low cry of warning,caught hold of the man, and exclaimed:
"Look there!"
Through the darkness they saw the twinkle of a camp-fire.
"Thet settles it!" breathed Old Rocks, exultantly. "The skunks are thar!We've run 'em down!"
He gave no further attention to the trail, but straightway made surethat every weapon he possessed was ready for use.
"Now, boy," he whispered, "keep yer nerve. Thar'll be need enough o' itafore long."
"I am with you," assured Frank. "I do not think I shall lose my nervesin this case."
"Wa-al, I don't," confessed the man. "I've got heaps o' conferdence inyer now. We'll creep up."
Then followed something that sorely tried the patience of the boy, forOld Rocks seemed to crawl forward like a snail, taking advantage ofevery cover that would shield them from the sight of any one in front.
The guide warned Frank to "hug ther ground," and made him creep, andskulk, and wiggle along when there seemed no need of it.
In this way they slowly drew near to the fire, about which figures movednow and then.
"It's ther onery Blackfeet," the guide finally announced. "We hev done agood job so fur ter-day, an' now we wants ter finish it right, you bet!"
"What do you mean to do?" asked Frank.
"Make a bluff," was the answer.
"What kind of a bluff?"
They had reached a point where they could look into the camp and see thesavages feasting on some kind of game they had killed and cooked by thefire.
"I'm goin' in thar an' demand ther gal," said the guide.
"Won't that put us in their power?"
"You won't go with me."
"No?"
"No. You'll keep in ther background."
"What for?"
"As a reserve force. You must keep yer peepers open, an' ef you see therskunks is goin' ter do fer me, jest open up on 'em. I reckon you kinshoot some?"
"Yes."
"Take good keer not ter bore me."
"I will."
"But, ef yer start, pump ther lead ter ther critters ter beat ther OleNick."
"I will do it."
"Make sure whar ye're puttin' yer bullets, fer ye don't want ter killther leetle gal."
"You may depend on me."
"While you're slingin' lead I'll try ter git ther gal an' git erway withher."
"Won't we get into trouble if I should kill one of these Indians?"
"How?"
"Why, the Blackfeet are peaceable, and it may create a disturbance. Wemay be hauled over the coals."
"Haul an' be derned! Ther onery varmints hev kidnaped a white gal, an'they're poachin' on forbidden territory, besides bein' off therreservation. Ef they try ter kill me, it will be a case o' self-defence.I'll allow as how we kin defend ourselves. You do ez I say, an we'llcome out all right, dog my cats ef we don't!"
"All right."
"But don't shoot 'less yer hev ter, remember thet."
"I will remember it."
"Ef I hedn't seen ther b'ar, an' seen hwar yer putt five bullets interhim inside ther space uv a silver dollar, I might be skerry 'boutlettin' yer shoot inter thet camp while I wuz thar; but I'll admit ezhow I reckon ye kin shoot."
They now crept forward till they were within easy shooting distance ofthe camp, and then Rocks paused once more, putting his lips close toFrank's ear, and whispering:
"See them rocks down thar?"
The boy nodded.
"Wa-al, jest you creep do
wn behind them an' take yer position ready tersling lead."
"What are you going to do?"
"Git inter ther camp. I'm goin' ter walk in from t'other side, sothey'll be lookin' fer any further danger frum thet quarter. Don't gitimpatient, fer it'll take me some time ter git round thar. Wait easy."
"I'll wait."
Then the old man crept away into the darkness, and Frank began workinghis way down to the rocks.
He finally reached the position, and there he waited, being able to lookinto the camp and see every figure revealed by the flaring fire.
The little girl was there, exhausted by the day of hardships, sleepingsoundly. One of the Indians had thrown a greasy blanket over her, so shewas protected from the night air, which is always chilly in YellowstonePark.
Frank's heart throbbed with sympathy as he gazed down on her.
"Poor little Fairy!" he thought. "How she did cling to me! I am ready towade through fire and water for her. We will save her to-night if welive!"
He found it difficult to restrain his impatience as the time creptslowly away and Old Rocks failed to appear. Some of the Indians rolledthemselves in their blankets and prepared to sleep. Others sat andsmoked in grim silence.
Frank had spotted Half Hand, and he felt that it would be somesatisfaction to send a bullet after the villainous half-blood.
"He is at the bottom of this business," thought the boy. "He would nothesitate at murder."
Nearly an hour passed after Old Rocks crept away before the guideappeared. At last, to the astonishment of Frank and the utterconsternation of the Indians, the man seemed to rise up in the verymidst of the camp, as if he had suddenly sprouted from the ground.