CHAPTER XIII.
DICK IN A NEW CHARACTER.
Let us now return to Archie, whom we left in Black Bill's wigwam. He wasvery much disheartened at the result of his cousin's bold attempt torelease him, but knowing that it was useless to repine, or to attemptresistance, he submitted to his fate with all the fortitude he couldcommand, and allowed the outlaw to bind him hand and foot.
"You said I couldn't keep you pris'ner, didn't you?" said Black Bill,fiercely; "now I'm goin' to show you. If you can break that buckskin,you're a hoss."
"I don't see what you want with me, anyhow," returned Archie. "I am notAdam Brent, and, more than that, I never saw or heard of him until threedays ago."
"Keep your breath to cool your porridge," said the outlaw, as hestretched himself on a pile of skins near his prisoner, "'cause it aintno 'arthly use to waste it in talkin' to me. I'm too ole a 'coon to leta boy like you pull the wool over my eyes. Don't I know that nose ofyour'n, an' that har, an' that black face? I could pick you out among amillion. Now, I am goin' to sleep, an' you had better do the same."
This command was uttered in a very savage tone of voice, and Archie,knowing that it would be the height of folly to enrage the outlaw bydisregarding his wishes, turned over on his bed to find an easyposition, and held his peace; but sleep for him was quite out of thequestion. Black Bill slept, however, and snored lustily for half anhour; and then he suddenly awoke and started up with an ejaculation ofwonder. Almost at the same instant a yell rang out on the air, followedby the report of a rifle, which brought the outlaw to his feet in greathaste.
"What's the matter out there?" asked Archie, who speedily became awarethat there was something unusual going on in the camp.
"We're attacked!" exclaimed Black Bill, in great excitement. "Themfellers at the fort are either mighty reckless, or else they've got helpfrom somewhere. They're pitchin' into us, that's sartin."
As the outlaw spoke, the report of a volley of fire-arms rang throughthe ravine, followed by yells, and the hurrying of feet outside thelodge. Black Bill tore open the door, and looking out, began a rapidconversation with some one. It proved to be the Black Fox, who came in,and hastily untying Archie's feet, grasped him by the collar, andhurried him out of the lodge. Black Bill caught him up in his arms as hecame out, and placed him upon the back of a mustang, which was standingin front of the door; after which the young Indian seized the bridle,and led the animal off at a rapid trot.
As soon as Archie had time to look about him, he found that the outlawhad not been mistaken in his conjectures. The confusion in the camp wasincreasing every moment. The reports of the rifles rang out louder andclearer, showing that the attacking party was gaining ground rapidly;men, women, and children, surprised and terrified by the suddenness ofthe assault, ran through the village in all directions, some with packson their backs containing their household goods, others empty-handed,and too intent on making good their escape to think of any thing else,and all hurrying at the best of their speed toward the mountains. Theflames were already ascending from the lower end of the village, and bythe light which they gave out, Archie discovered that the attackingparty was composed of trappers, and that they were coming directlytoward him, sweeping every thing before them. The hope that they wouldsee and recognize him was short-lived; for the Black Fox plunged at onceinto the midst of the flying crowd, and a very few minutes sufficed forhim to conduct his prisoner into the woods.
The fight at the village, if such it could be called, was over almost assoon as it began. The trappers, whose only desire was to release DickLewis, passed rapidly through the camp, looking in vain for the objectof their search, and then turned and retreated toward the fort, thusextinguishing the last spark of hope which their appearance had raisedin the breast of the prisoner. Scarcely had their shouts died away inthe distance, when a chorus of yells arose in another direction; and theretreating Indians, one and all, faced about, and hurried back to thecamp. Those yells produced a great change in them, for their terror gaveaway instantly to the wildest delight, which they expressed in allpossible ways. The Black Fox, who still held fast to the horse on whichArchie was mounted, shouted until he was too hoarse to speak plainly,and then triumphantly announced:
"More Indian coming. Burn fort now, sure."
When Archie arrived within sight of the camp, his heart stood still, andhe trembled for the safety of his friends at the trading-post. A cloudof braves in war-costume--five hundred of them at least--was movingthrough the burning village in the direction the trappers had gone--thehorses running at the top of their speed, and their riders swingingtheir weapons around their heads, and yelling like madmen. These werethe reinforcements the chief had been expecting; and now that they hadarrived, Archie knew that the attack on the fort would not be longdelayed. It was commenced that very hour; and when it was over, some onebrought him tidings of the result.
When the reinforcements had passed out of sight, the Indians who hadfled before the trappers ran into the village, and busied themselves inpulling down the wigwams to stay the progress of the flames. This was amatter in which the Black Fox was not interested. He had no property tosave, but he had a prisoner to watch, and to this duty he gave his wholeattention. Stopping in the edge of the woods, he tied the mustang to atree, and seizing Archie by the shoulders, pulled him rather roughly tothe ground; after which he spread his blanket on the leaves, and settledinto a comfortable position to observe what was going on in the village.He was very talkative, and entertained his captive with a glowingdescription of the manner in which the Indians would overcome thegarrison, and the way they would dispose of their prisoners; butfinding that Archie was in no humor to listen to him, he finallyrelapsed into silence.
At the end of two hours--two long, dreary hours they were, during whichArchie was a prey to the most gloomy thoughts--he was aroused from areverie into which he had fallen, by the movements of the Black Fox, whojumped to his feet, and gazed earnestly toward a group of warriors whohad just emerged from the ravine. Archie thought they acted verystrangely. Some of them walked with feeble, tottering steps, as if theyscarcely possessed the strength to retain an upright position, whileothers reeled about like drunken men. He looked toward the young Indianfor an explanation.
"Much hurt," said the latter; then, fearing that his prisoner might notunderstand him, he struck himself on various parts of his body with hishand, raised his bow to his shoulder as if it had been a gun, andimitated the motions a person would make in using a saber. From thisArchie knew that the warriors had been wounded, and that they hadreceived their injuries during the battle at the fort. This was enoughto put him into a fever of suspense. He wanted to know if the Indianshad been successful, and he wished some of the braves would tell him;but they did not seem disposed to do any thing of the kind. They did noteven notice their friends, but threw themselves upon the ground, andwrapping their blankets around their heads, suffered in silence.
"Which side whipped?" asked Archie, at length.
"Indian," replied the Black Fox.
"How do you know?"
"O, Indian always whip white man."
"No, Indian doesn't. He gets thrashed sometimes, and badly, too. Hecouldn't whip the trappers who set fire to that camp, a little whileago."
The young savage did not appear to be in a mood to discuss the matter,and Archie, with his feelings worked up to the highest pitch ofexcitement, twisted about uneasily, and waited to see if there were anyprisoners brought in. The wounded Indians, in the meantime came inrapidly, and in a few minutes there were so many disabled warriors lyingabout him, that Archie began to believe that the fight had resulted in adecided victory for the defenders of the fort. Among the wounded savageswas one who attracted Archie's attention; and if he had been a whiteman, or even a friendly Indian, he would have felt the keenest sympathyfor his distress. He was a tall, broad-shouldered, powerful-lookingfellow, badly injured, if one might judge by the looks of his face, andthe pain occasioned by his wounds seemed to be so int
ense that he couldneither sit, lie, nor stand still, even for a moment. He would seathimself on the ground, and rock back and forth for awhile, then stretchout at full length, and thrash about uneasily, and finally spring to hisfeet, and look around for another resting-place. At length he walkedrapidly toward the Black Fox, who, thinking that it might not be quitesafe to trust himself within reach of a man driven nearly frantic withpain, jumped up, and retreated a few steps. This seemed to be just whatthe wounded man wanted; for he took possession of the young Indian'sblanket, and, wrapping it around his head, lay down upon the ground.
If the owner of the blanket was angry, he did not show it. He stoodlooking at the warrior a moment, and then an idea occurred to him whichhe announced to Archie in his broken English. There was no danger thatthe latter would escape while the Indians were all around him, he said,and he would go to the village and make some inquiries concerning thefight. It might be well for Archie to keep perfectly quiet during hisabsence, he added, for there was the wounded Indian, who was in just theright mood to hurt somebody.
"Don't be uneasy," replied Archie. "Go and get some information aboutthat fight, and hurry back; for I want to know which whipped. I'll wagermy rifle against your bow and arrows that you Indians were completelycleaned out."
When the young warrior had disappeared, Archie, not knowing what else todo with himself, lay down on the ground to await his return, lookingover his shoulder occasionally at the wounded Indian, who began to kickabout worse than ever.
"It serves you just right," said the prisoner. "What had those people atthe fort done to you, that you wanted to kill them? Perhaps you willlearn to let peaceable white settlers alone in future."
"I don't reckon I ever done any harm to peaceable white fellers," said afamiliar voice, from under the blanket. "Lay down, you keerless feller!"it added quickly, as Archie started up in amazement; "lay down, oryou'll spile every thing."
Archie, for a moment too astonished to speak, fell back upon the groundagain, and, as he did so, he felt the cold blade of a hunting-knifepressed against his hands. The thongs of buckskin with which he wasconfined gave away, one after the other, under its keen edge, and in afew seconds he was free.
"Dick, is that really you?" he whispered, as soon as he had recoveredthe use of his tongue.
"I don't reckon it's any body else."
"How did you get so badly hurt?"
"Hurt!" repeated the trapper; "I aint no more hurt nor you be. This aintthe fust time you've been fooled to-night, is it? I've been through aheap since I seed the sun set, but I can out-run and out-fight the bestInjun in this tribe yet. I haint got no time to waste in talkin',howsomever. We're licked, the tradin'-post is burned up, an' the onlything we can do is to make tracks for Fort Benton. Creep into thembushes, an' keep in 'em till you get around to the other side of thecamp; then strike off through the mountains, an' go straight south. Themoon is up now, an' you can tell the pints of the compass from that.Arter you have gone about two miles from the camp, you will strike theole wagon trail--it aint traveled now, but it is a good, plain road, an'you can't miss it--which you must foller till you reach the prairy."
"I might get lost," whispered Archie. "Why can't you go with me?"
"'Cause I can't leave ole Bob," was the reply. "He's a pris'ner now, an'I'm goin' to stay here till I see a chance to turn him loose. You can'tget lost if you do as I tell you. When you reach the prairy, travelstraight north fur about ten miles, an' you will come to the Ole Bar'sHole. If me an' Bob are alive, we'll be thar to-morrer night; but if weshouldn't come then, don't wait fur us, but strike out fur Fort Benton,which is exactly north-east of the Ole Bar's Hole. Now be off afore thatyoung Injun comes back."
"But, Dick," persisted Archie, "I don't want to leave Frank."
"Who axed you to leave him? Ole Bob sent him safe out of camp long ago."
Dick jumped to his feet and staggered off in the direction of thevillage, and Archie, after looking all around him to see that there wasno one observing his movements, crept into the bushes. When he reachedthem, he arose to an upright position, and hurried along with allpossible speed, keeping in the edge of the ravine, as Dick had directed.How long it was before the Black Fox discovered his escape and what hesaid, and what he did, when he found that his prisoner had slippedthrough his fingers, Archie never knew. He heard no tumult behind him,nor any sounds of pursuit; and neither did he meet any of the Indiansduring the two hours he stumbled about through the darkness, picking hisway over rocks and logs toward the old wagon trail of which Dick hadspoken. He reached it in safety, and then his progress became more easyand rapid.
The road, being overhung by cliffs and trees, was, in some places, pitchdark; but Archie found but little difficulty in following it. He ranalong, forgetful of every thing except that there were Indians andoutlaws behind him, never giving a thought to the grizzly bears,panthers, and other savage animals with which the mountains abounded,and thinking only of the foes he had left in the ravine, and of the OldBear's Hole, where he hoped to meet the trappers. Alone in themountains, on foot, and entirely unarmed, his situation was far frombeing an encouraging one; but Archie had a happy faculty of looking atthe bright side of things.
Dick had told him that the trail was not traveled now, but Archie foundthat he was mistaken; for, when he had gone about two miles, he camesuddenly around the base of a mountain, and found before him a long rowof camp-fires, and wagons drawn up on each side of the road. He wasstartled by the unexpected sight, and his first impulse was to turn andtake to his heels; but a closer glance satisfied him that he hadstumbled upon the camp of a party of emigrants. That same glance showedhim also that an attempt at retreat might prove extremely hazardous;for, standing in front of the nearest fire was a man who hailed him themoment he came in sight, and covered him with his rifle.
"Who's that?" asked the emigrant, in some alarm.
"A friend!" replied Archie. "Don't shoot."
"Come up to the fire, friend, and let's have a look at you," said theman. "Why, what's the matter with you? You are as white as a sheet."
"Perhaps you would be white, too, if you had passed through what I haveto-night."
"And you are panting as though you had been running," continued theemigrant. "Where's your horse and your gun? and what are you doing outhere alone in the mountains, at this time of night?"
"It's a long story, and I can't stop to relate it to you. You have madeyour camp in a very dangerous place, if you only knew it, and my adviceis to hitch up and start for Fort Benton with as little delay aspossible. There are hostile Indians all around you."
"Indians!" cried the emigrant. He stepped back, and, dropping the buttof his rifle to the ground, leaned on the muzzle of the weapon andlooked earnestly at Archie, while several men who were lying near thefire on their blankets, and who had been awakened by the conversation,raised themselves on their elbows and began to listen more attentively.
"Where is Fort Benton, and why should we go there? We want to go to FortStockton."
"Well, you will never see it. It was burned by Indians not more thanthree hours ago, and the most of the garrison were massacred. Thesavages may come along this road in less than twenty minutes."
If Archie had never created a sensation before, he could certainly boastof having made one now. It seemed to him, from the commotion thatensued, that every person in the train had heard his words.Exclamations of wonder and alarm arose on all sides: men began runningabout, some yoking their oxen and harnessing their mules, otherscrowding around Archie and asking innumerable questions which they didnot give him time to answer; horses pranced and snorted; dogs barked;children cried; women screamed and thrust their heads out of the wagonsto see what was going on; and in a moment the camp, which had been soquiet and peaceful when Archie first discovered it, was in the greatestuproar.
"Why, boy, you're crazy!" exclaimed one of the emigrants, when Archiehad hurriedly related his story. "I don't believe a word you say. You'vebeen asleep, and dreamed it all
."
"Am I asleep now?" retorted Archie. "Look at my wrists. Do you dreamthat you see those marks on them? They were made by the strips ofbuckskin with which I was tied."
"Didn't they tell us at Fort Alexander that there wasn't a hostileIndian on the plains?" asked another.
"Very likely they did, sir; and no doubt they thought so. I have beenliving within sight of a camp of Indians for the last three days, and Ididn't know they were preparing to go on the war-trail; but they were,and I have passed a portion of this night as a prisoner among those sameIndians."
"But suppose they do attack us? we've got twenty men."
"There were almost seven times as many in Fort Stockton, and yet theIndians captured it. If you are tired of life, you can stay here; but asI desire to live awhile longer, I shall go on."
Archie did go on, but he did not go alone; the entire train went withhim. Among the emigrants there were many who had never crossed theplains before, and who were terrified by the simple mention of the words"hostile Indians." These prepared to turn back at once; and the others,not caring to be left behind, accompanied them.
"Is there any one here who can spare me a horse and rifle?" askedArchie. "I have tramped about among these mountains until I amcompletely tired out; and I have no weapon except a pocket-knife."
Archie was standing near a wagon occupied by an invalid, who hadlistened to his story with blanched cheeks. When he made this request,the man said, in a trembling voice:
"You don't look as though you were strong enough to handle a gun but ifyou are, here's one at your service."
"I don't want to take this, sir, unless you have other weapons," saidArchie, who, anxious as he was to have some means of defense in hishands, was not selfish enough to disregard the comfort or safety ofothers.
"I have a brace of revolvers," replied the man; "but that thing is of nouse to me, for I never fired a gun in my life. You will find my horsepicketed with the others--a large chestnut-sorrel, with white mane andtail. The saddle and bridle are in the front of the wagon."
Archie thanked the man cordially, and wondering where he had lived allhis life that he had never learned to use a rifle, he took the saddleand bridle from the wagon and started out to find the horse.
Never before had Archie seen a wagon-train prepared for the march in soshort a space of time. Every thing was done in a hurry, and, in lessthan five minutes, some of the emigrants were moving down the roadtoward the prairie. He noticed, also, that now that the excitement andalarm occasioned by the intelligence he had brought had somewhatsubsided, silence reigned in the camp. Not a loud word was heard. Themen moved about their work as silently as specters, and spoke to theiranimals in whispers; the screams had ceased, the children had stoppedcrying, and all seemed to understand the necessity of making as littlenoise as possible. The horses, too, seemed to comprehend the situation,for there were no prancing or restless ones among them; and even thewagons moved off with a subdued creaking of their huge wheels.
When Archie had found and saddled his horse, he began looking about forthe captain of the train. He had something to say to him.