CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
THE NIGHT-WATCH.
Those were very encouraging words, and they seemed to tingle in theboys' ears as the colonel followed his servant's example, rolled ablanket about his shoulders, and lay down with his head resting on oneof the mules' loads; but the impression soon died away, leaving the ladsclose together, with their guns resting on the grass, listening in thedeep silence of the starlit night, and for some time without speaking aword.
"Come a little farther away," whispered Perry at last. "I want totalk."
They moved a few yards away from the sleepers, and stopped beneath agreat spreading tree at about equal distance from the colonel and thefire, which glowed faintly, but gave sufficient light for them to seeDiego and the other Indian squatted down, making tents of their longgarments, and with their chins bent down upon their breasts; but whetherasleep, or waking and watchful, it was impossible to say.
"Well?" said Perry at last, after they had been straining their ears tocatch different sounds, now the trickling murmur of falling water, nowsome strange cry from far away in the woods, or the whisper of a breezewhich came down from the mountains to pass away among the trees.
"Well?" said Cyril.
"Isn't it awfully quiet?"
"Yes."
"Look over there, just to the left of the fire. Isn't that some onewatching us?"
"Tree trunk," said Cyril laconically.
There was a pause, and then Perry whispered again.
"I say, I don't want to be cowardly, but there's some one coming slowlythrough the trees. I caught a glimpse of his back. He's stoopingdown--there, between those two big trunks, where it's open. Don't yousee--stooping?"
"Yes, I see, and nibbling the grass as he comes. One of the mules."
Perry shaded his eyes--needlessly, for there was no glare to shut out--and he soon convinced himself that his companion was right.
But he felt annoyed, and said testily:
"I wish you wouldn't be so ready to contradict everything I say."
Cyril laughed softly.
"Why, you didn't want it to be an enemy, did you?"
Perry made no reply, and they stood for some time together in silence,listening to the _crop, crop_ sound made by the mules, and thewhispering sighs of the wind, which came down sharp and chill from themountains. At last Cyril spoke again.
"Let's walk round the camp."
"You can't for the trees."
"Oh yes, we can. It's cold standing here. We'll work in and out of thetrees, and make a regular path round. It will be better than standingstill."
"Very well," said Perry shortly. "Go on first."
Cyril shouldered his piece and stepped off cautiously for a couple ofdozen yards, and then struck off to the left, meaning to make the fireact as a centre round which they could walk, keeping guard andthemselves warm; but before he had gone many steps he stopped short.
"Look here," he whispered, "you are a soldier's son, and ought to teachme what to do in keeping guard."
"There's nothing to teach," said Perry. "All you've got to do is tokeep a sharp lookout."
"Yes, there is. If we keep together like this, we leave a lot of thecamp exposed. What we ought to do is for one to go one way, and one theother; then meet, cross, and go on again. It would be far better."
"But then we should be alone so long. We had better keep together."
"Very well," said Cyril shortly; but he owned to himself that he feltbetter satisfied, for it was lonely, depressing work there in thedarkness.
Cyril stepped forward again, going slowly and carefully through thethick growth, making as little noise as possible, and trying to keep asnearly as possible to the same distance from the fire--no easy task, bythe way--but he had not gone far before he stopped short and startedaside, bringing his gun down to the present. For, all at once, from outof the darkness, some one seemed to strike at him, the blow cuttingthrough the twigs and leaves by which he was surrounded with a loudwhistling noise, while the stroke was so near, that he felt the air moveclose to his face.
"Fire--fire!" whispered Perry excitedly.
"What at? I can't see any one," replied Cyril, as he stood with hisfinger on the trigger.
He felt his heart beat with a heavy throb, and his hands grew moist, ashe tried hard to pierce the darkness, and fix his eyes upon the enemywho had made so cowardly a blow at him; but the thick branches shut outevery ray of light, and the silence was now painful in the extreme. Theposition was the more startling from the fact that neither could tellfrom which side the next blow would come.
But still that blow did not fall, and it seemed to Cyril, as he stoodthere holding his breath, that the Indian who had struck at him sotreacherously was waiting until he moved, so as to make sure beforestriking again. At last the painful tension came to an end, forsuddenly, from just in front, there was a heavy sigh, and _crop, crop,crop_, followed by a burst of laughter from the boy.
"Oh, I say, Perry," he cried, "what a game! Fancy being scared likethat by a mule."
"Then it was one of the mules?"
"Of course; we frightened the poor thing, and it kicked out at us. Comealong."
He bore off a little to one side, and they passed the browsing animal,and, though describing rather an irregular circle, made their way roundthe fire, getting back pretty exactly to the place from which theystarted.
This was repeated several times, and then, for a change, Cyril proposedthat they should strike off a little, straight away from the camp.
Perry was willing, and they put their plan in operation, for no specialreason other than that of seeing the ground was clear in differentdirections, and to relieve the monotony of the watch.
"You lead now," said Cyril, in a low voice, so as not to disturb theothers, who, in thorough confidence that a good watch would be kept, andthat there was no fear of any danger, were sound asleep.
Perry led on, finding the way more open a short distance from the camp,but he had not led thirty yards when he stopped short.
"Hallo! another mule?" said Cyril.
"Indian!" said Perry huskily; and, as Cyril pressed forward to hiscompanion's side, there, hard to define, but plain at last, stood one ofthe Indians, who raised his arm and pointed back, uttering two or threewords in a guttural tone.
"What does he say?"
"That we must go back to the fire. Perhaps we had better," said Cyril."I don't like his being there, though. Look here," he said quickly;"let's make haste back, and go right out the other way."
"What for?" said Perry, following his companion.
"I'll tell you directly."
Five minutes later they were checked just on the other side by anotherIndian who started up right in their path.
"Come and warn my father," said Perry excitedly. "They're going toattack us."
"No; I think not," replied Cyril decisively. "They're sentries. Comeand try another way."
He led off again, after they had returned to the fire, finding that theywere not followed, and that all was still; and again they were stoppedby an Indian starting up and ordering them back.
"That's it," said Cyril quietly; "they've surrounded us with sentries."
"To attack us?"
"No; to see that we don't escape; and while we were walking round andround, they were within a few yards of us, listening to all ourmovements."
"But they couldn't have been there then, or they would have started upas they did just now."
"No; we weren't doing anything they minded; but as soon as we tried togo straight away, they stopped us. Let's try once more."
He led off quickly again, with the same result; and then Perry turnedback to where his father lay asleep.
"What are you going to do?" whispered Cyril.
"Wake up my father, of course. We are attacked."
"Don't do that," said Cyril decisively. "We are not attacked, or theywould have seized us at once. I'm sure they are only guarding us, tomake sure that we d
on't try to escape. It's of no use to wake him tillthe proper time."
Perry hesitated.
"But we are in danger."
"No; I don't think we are. They are watching us, but they don't mean toattack us, or they would do so. You'll see now. We've come among them,and they'll keep us under their eye, and perhaps will not let us goagain. Look here: let's go and speak to Diego."
Perry was easily led, and yielding to his companion's decisive manner,he followed to the fire and then round to the other side, where theIndian guide and his companion were squatted down with their chinsresting upon their chests.
They made no sign as the boys came silently up, and appeared to be fastasleep; but Cyril knew better, for he saw in the dim glow shed by thefire, a slight tightening of the man's hand upon his bow.
"They're asleep," whispered Perry. "Better come to my father."
"Asleep with one eye open, and on the watch," said Cyril quietly, and hebent down and whispered a few words.
They were electric in their effect, for both men raised their heads, andtheir eyes glittered in the faint light from the fire.
"Didn't take much waking," said Cyril, with a little laugh. Thenturning to Diego, he said, in the man's half-Spanish jargon:
"Why are the Indians on the watch all round here?"
The man looked at the speaker intently.
"Are the Indians watching all round?" he said quietly.
"You know they are. Why is it? To keep us from going away?"
The man looked at him intently, and then nodded his head.
"And suppose we try to go away, what then? Would they fight?"
"Yes," said the guide gravely.
"And try to kill us?"
"Yes, they would kill you."
"Try to, you mean."
"No," said the man gravely. "Kill you. You are few, they are many."
"Stop a moment," said Cyril, as the man turned his head aside wearily."Will they try to kill us if we stay?"
"No."
Cyril tried to get more information from the man, but he shook his head,and made a pretence of being so lazy and unable to comprehend the boy'swords, that Cyril gave up in disgust, and turned impatiently away.
"It's of no good to-night," he said. "We heard all that he is likely toknow. Let's walk round again."
"But they may strike at us in the dark."
"No, they will not do that. I'm not afraid. Let's go through with ourwatching, till we think it's midnight, and then wake up the colonel."
"We'd better call him now."
"No; if we did, it would only be giving a false alarm, when we know thatthere is no danger. Come along."
The weaker mind yielded to the stronger, and the march round was begunagain, one which required no little courage, knowing, as the boys did,that there must be quite a dozen Indians within striking distance, andevery rustle they heard, made probably by one of the grazing mules,might be caused by an enemy creeping forward to strike a blow.
At last, when they felt that it must be getting toward midnight, Cyrilproposed that they should go back close to where the colonel lay asleep,and they had not been standing near him ten minutes, hesitating to callhim for fear he should be awakened too soon, when he suddenly made ahasty movement, opened his eyes, looked round, and sprang to his feet.
"Midnight, boys," he said, "is it not?"
"We don't know, father, and did not like to call you too soon."
"Yes, it must be about midnight," he said decisively, "or I should nothave woke up. Well, is all right?"
"No, father," whispered Perry.
"Oh yes; there's nothing to mind," said Cyril hastily. "We only foundthat there are a lot of Indians round about the camp."
"You saw them?"
"Yes, sir. So soon as we moved a little way, a man rose up and stoppedus."
"On one side?" said the colonel.
"All round, sir."
"On guard, then, in case we wished to escape. We're prisoners, my lad,for the present. However, they will not venture to hurt us, unless wegive them good reason, by loading up the mules to take away somethingthey consider ought to be kept here, and that we shall not be ready todo for some days to come."
"That's what I wanted Perry to feel sir," said Cyril, "but he would haveit that they were going to attack us to-night."
"There is no fear of that, my boy," said the colonel firmly. "There,lie down, and sleep till breakfast-time; there is nothing to fear."
"But are you going to watch alone, sir?"
"Yes, quite alone, my lad," said the colonel, smiling. "There, take myplace; I'm rested now, and you have nothing to mind. Don't meet perilshalf-way; its bad enough when they come. Till they do, it is our dutyto be patient and watch. Afterwards we must fight--if it is necessary.Now--to bed."
The boys obeyed, and the colonel commenced his solitary watch.