CHAPTER IX
THEIR SLUMBERS DISTURBED
"All aboard for the High Sierras!" called Stacy Brown, swinging to hissaddle a few minutes later. The others, one by one, mounted and satawaiting the order to start.
Woo Smith had gone on ahead. Scorning the use of a pony to ride, he hadtrotted on, shooing the pack-horses along, the departure of theOverlanders having been deferred until about an hour after he had leftthem. Woo said that he would make camp at a good place and have supperready upon their arrival.
The Overlanders finally started away, waving their hands to the curiousnatives, and soon reached the trail that led towards the High Country.The trail was an old one, but so seldom used that it could hardly bedignified by the name of trail. Woo plainly was familiar with it, for hehad reached it by the most direct course, marking the beginning of it bybreaking over branches of bushes, a trick that he had learned from whitemen with whom he had explored the mountains at some previous time.
Very good time was made that day, and when about eighteen miles fromGardner they saw the smoke of Woo's camp-fire. Half an hour later theyreached it and found that the guide had selected an ideal camping place.There was water and good feed for the horses. Woo already had turned outthe pack-horses, which were grazing out of sight of the camp, and thecowbells on two of them could be heard tinkling in the distance.
"I reckon I drew a prize," declared Hippy pompously, referring to Woo.
"Time will tell," answered Emma Dean.
"I agree with you," answered Elfreda Briggs. "One shouldn't jump atconclusions, as Grace Harlowe says."
Saddles were quickly removed, and, before doing anything else, the menof the party washed the backs of the ponies to prevent the animalsbecoming saddle-sore. By the time they had finished and turned out theponies to browse, the guide had supper ready for them. The air was hotand motionless, for they were not yet high enough in the mountains tocatch the cool breezes from the snow-clad tops, and all felt the heat.
The Chinaman had prepared a supper that won golden words of praise fromthe girls of the Overland party, and Stacy and Hippy ate until it seemedas if they must pop open. The flapjacks fairly melted in the mouths ofthe Riders and the coffee they pronounced to be delicious.
"Won't it be fine not to have to do any cooking on this trip?" smiledEmma.
"Yes. I feel as if a great load had been lifted from my shoulders,"agreed Stacy. "I did most of the cooking for our Pony Rider outfit.Ordinarily I would rather cook than do most anything that I know of."
"I am sincerely glad that you are not cooking for this party," declaredEmma Dean with emphasis.
"You are congratulating yourselves too early," interjected Nora Wingate."We are all going to do work just as we always have done."
Grace and Elfreda agreed with her.
"You don't mean that we've got to get up in the dewy morning and rustlegrub for the outfit, do you?" demanded Chunky.
"Yes, of course," answered Grace.
"That is the fun of camping," said Miss Briggs. "We should soon forgetall we knew had we servants to do the work for us. He is an industriousfellow, though, I must say," added Elfreda, glancing at Woo, who wasbusily at work washing dishes and singing "Hi-lee, hi-lo!"
"He is a song-bird, too," observed Stacy.
"Woo, you must be saving of the provisions," called Grace. "Remember wemust make our supplies go a long way, for we shall not get any more forsome time."
"Don't wolly till to-mollow. Hi-lee, hi-lo; hi-lee, hi-lo!" sang theguide.
"What's that he says?" demanded Tom Gray.
"He says, 'Don't worry until to-morrow,'" interpreted Emma.
"Ha, ha!" laughed Chunky, and the Overland Riders joined in thelaughter.
"You savvy plenty to-mollow. Me savvy glub to-mollow," added Woo,chuckling to himself.
"He speaks hog Latin quite fluently, doesn't he?" observed Stacysolemnly.
"You leave it to Smith. I found Smith, you know," reminded Hippy Wingatepridefully.
"Hi-lee, hi-lo!" sang the Chinaman, continuing with his work, while theOverlanders, having finished their supper, gathered about the campfire,and forgot the heat of the California night in its cheerful glow. Itseemed good to them to be out in the open once more, to be where theywere obliged to depend almost wholly on their own resourcefulness fortheir food and lodging, if not for their lives, for they were going intoperilous places, places fraught with dangers.
Woo, having completed his work, and having hung his frying-pans andother equipment to nails driven in a tree, sat down on his haunches bythe fire, and, after composing himself, lost his long yellow fingers inthe mysterious depths of his wide-flowing sleeves.
"Me savvy plenty fine night," he observed, gazing blissfully up into thesky. "You savvy plenty fine night, too?" he asked, looking soulfully atMiss Briggs.
"I savvy the same as you do, Woo," replied Elfreda soberly. "It is goingto be a fine night for sleep, but I think the air will be cooler lateron."
Woo nodded wisely, and Stacy glanced up with quickened interest.
"Are we going to sleep on the ground?" he asked.
"Yes," answered Tom Gray. "You ought to be used to that."
"Are there snakes up here?" questioned the fat boy apprehensively.
"Me savvy plenty snake," the guide informed them.
"What kind?" wondered Emma.
"Lattlers."
"He means rattlers," interpreted Grace Harlowe.
"Oh, wow!" muttered the fat boy. "I think I'll climb a tree."
"You will take pot luck on the ground with the rest of us," answered Tomrather severely.
"Me savvy lattler in blanket once," declared the guide. "Lattler sleepplenty in blanket. Go away in molning. Lattler no hurt Chinaman,"explained Woo.
Signs of uneasiness were observable among the girls of the Overlandparty, and in Stacy Brown as well. Tom declared that Woo was "drawingthe long bow," and said that he never had heard anything of the sortabout the Sierra trails.
"I have," announced Hippy. "There are snakes all about here, but we arenot going to lose any sleep over it. Besides, Stacy is getting thewiggles."
"Yes. For goodness sake, drop the subject. You folks give me thewillyjiggs," shivered Emma Dean.
"I'm not getting the wiggles," protested Stacy. "I reckon I'm not afraidof anything that walks."
"We were not speaking of that kind," reminded Nora. "We were speaking ofreptiles."
"How long do you figure that it will take us to get into the HighCountry?" asked Grace by way of changing the subject.
"Me savvy eight days," answered Woo. "You savvy mebby pony him noclimb?"
"Yes, they can, too," objected Stacy indignantly. "Our ponies can gowhere a bird can. Don't you forget that."
"Me savvy plenty snake, too," added Woo.
"For goodness sake, stop that snake conversation," cried Emma. "I shallsurely dream about snakes if you go on that way."
Smith grinned happily, then proceeded, with the utmost composure, torelate experiences with big rattlers in the Sierras. He told of wakingup in the morning and finding one coiled in his blanket, under his arm,or, perhaps, nestled close to his neck for warmth from the chill nightair of the higher altitudes, until Stacy was on the verge of a panic,and Emma Dean was shivering.
"Mr. Smith," she said, after regarding him inquiringly for some moments."Have you ever had any experience with transmigration of thought?" sheasked.
"Tlans--tlans--"
"Transmigration," assisted Hippy.
"Tlansmiglation! Les. Me savvy. Me savvy one time big hunter shoot onein mountains. Woo savvy bad medicine and run away," chuckled theChinaman.
"I reckon that will be about all for you this evening, Emma," observedHippy Wingate, amid peals of laughter from the Overland girls.
Tom got out the bedding, consisting of a blanket apiece, and a tarpaulinfor a cover, while Woo busied himself with cutting browse which heplaced on the ground and l
aid blankets on it. It was not a particularlysoft bed at that. While they were preparing their beds, Stacy pokedabout with a stick, covering a radius of several rods.
"What in the world are you doing?" demanded Nora Wingate.
"He is beating up the landscape to drive out the serpents," answeredEmma. "You are a tenderfoot, aren't you?"
"I don't like the fleas to get next to my skin," explained the fat boylamely. "They tell me that these California fleas are awful."
"Were I as tough as you, I do not believe I should worry about a littlething like that," retorted Emma.
Stacy made no reply, but poked the fire savagely, then piled on morewood, occupying all the time he could before preparing for bed, and theothers had turned in long before he was ready.
"Stop that fussing and come to bed!" ordered Hippy.
"Yes, for goodness sake, do," added Miss Briggs. "Woo Smith, aren't youready to turn in?"
"Les. Me savvy glub first."
"You might fetch Uncle Hip and myself a bite to eat while you are on thefood question," suggested Stacy.
"No food until breakfast," admonished Grace.
After idling about and grumbling for fifteen minutes more, Stacy finallycrawled in under the tarpaulin, uttering dismal groans and complaintsabout the hardness of his bed. All were lying with feet towards thefire. The smoke and the blaze drove away insects, and the warmth waspleasant, even though the night was sultry, and it was not long afterthat when the Overlanders dropped off to sleep.
Woo, chuckling to himself and muttering, crept cautiously to the men'sside of the fire, surveyed the layout, then crawled in under thetarpaulin beside Stacy Brown. A few moments later, Hippy, who lay nextto Stacy, was aroused by the fat boy's mutterings. Stacy was dreamingabout snakes. Hippy knew because he heard his fat nephew say, "Snakes!"
"I'll teach that boy a lesson and make him dream of something worthwhile," decided Hippy. Rising on one elbow, Lieutenant Wingate glancedover the row of heads just visible above the top of the tarpaulin. Hecould barely make out their features in the faint light, but when hisgaze finally came to rest on the face of the sleeping Chinaman, HippyWingate was suddenly possessed of a brilliant idea. Woo lay flat on hisback, both hands snugly tucked into the wide-flowing sleeves.
"I have it," chuckled Hippy.
Reaching over Chunky very cautiously, he lifted the long black queue ofthe guide, held it for a moment, then softly dropped it across the faceof the sleeping, snoring Stacy. Chunky muttered and stirred restlessly.Hippy waited, then began slowly drawing the queue over Stacy's face.
The fat boy awakened suddenly, but he did not move at once, for he wasfairly paralyzed with terror. Something cold and soft was wriggling overhis face. Uttering a mighty yell, Stacy grabbed that wriggling queue, atthe same time giving it a tug.
It was now Woo Smith's turn to yell, and yell he did, as he struggledand fought to free himself.
Stacy, hurling the thing from him, leaped to his feet, howling lustily.He stepped on Woo and went over backwards, landing on Hippy's stomach,struggling and fighting, and finally finishing up by fastening hisfingers in Tom Gray's hair.
The camp was instantly in an uproar, and none was more loud in hisprotestations than Hippy Wingate himself.