CHAPTER VI.
MANUELITO'S FATE.
For ten minutes Pike remained at his post of observation on top of therock, watching the Indians as they slowly and cautiously moved down thePass in the direction of the abandoned camp. The children, worn out withtheir play, and the fatigues of the climb, were sleeping soundly in thelittle cave on the peak,--Nellie, with her fair head pillowed in patientKate's lap. Black Jim, too, was lying where the sun shone full upon him,and snoring away as placidly as earlier in the morning.
Kate, far back in the cave, had no idea what was going on in the Passbelow; but her soul was still filled with dread and anxiety. The oldtrooper knew well that just as soon as the Indians came to the wagonsand found them abandoned, their first care would be to secure all theplunder from them possible. Then they would probably dispose ofManuelito after their own cruel designs; and then, if darkness did notcome on in the meantime, they would probably begin their search for thefugitives. There would be no difficulty to Indian trailers in followingtheir track up the mountain side; of this Pike was well assured. But thewary old trooper had taken the precaution, every time that he and Jimhad gone to and from the camp, to take a roundabout path, so as to bringtheir trail around the base of the mountain in front of the cave, and inthis way the Indians in following would come directly in front of theirbarricade at the mouth and from sixty to a hundred yards down the hilland within easy range and almost sure shot of the defenders.
And now, peering down into the road far below, Pike could see that theleading Indians had come in sight of the big baggage wagon and that theywere signalling to those in the rear, for almost instantly three or foursinewy, athletic young fellows sprang up among the trees and bowlders onthe north side of the Pass, and crouching like panthers, half crawling,half springing, they went flitting from rock to rock or tree to treeuntil lost to the view of the lone watcher on the great ledge, but itwas evident that their purpose was to reconnoitre the position from thatside, as well as to surround the objects of their pursuit should theystill be there. Almost at the same instant, too, an equal number of theTontos came leaping like goats a short distance up the slope towardsPike's unconscious garrison, but speedily turned eastward, and, adoptingprecisely the same tactics as those of their comrades across the road,rapidly, but with the utmost stealth and noiselessness, bore down on theabandoned nook.
"Mighty lucky we got out of that and found this," muttered Pike. "Itwon't be five minutes before they satisfy themselves that there is noone left to defend those wagons or the horses--and the moment theyrealize it there'll be a yell of delight."
Sure enough! After a brief interval of silence, there came from below ashout of exultation, answered instantly by triumphant yells from theIndians in the roadway, and echoed by a wail of mortal terror from poorKate, crouching below in the cave. Pike lost no time in sliding down therocks and striving to comfort her. Nellie, clinging to her nurse, wasterrified by the sounds. Little Ned, pale, but with his boyish face setand determined, grasped once more his little Ballard rifle, and lookedup in the corporal's face as much as to say: Count on me for one of yourfighting men! Trembling, shivering and calling on the blessed saints,poor Kate stood there wringing her hands, the very personification ofabject fright. Jim, coming around to the mouth of the cave, spokesternly to her; told her she ought to be ashamed of herself for settingso bad an example to little Nell. "Look at Ned," he said, "see how thelittle man behaves; his father would be proud of him." And then Pikespoke up. "Don't worry, don't be so afraid, Kate; they have got all theywant just now. They'll just plunder and gorge themselves with food, andthen they will have Manuelito to amuse themselves with. It is gettingtoo late in the day for them to attempt to follow us. They have got toomuch to occupy themselves with anyhow. Don't you worry, old girl; ifthey do come this way, as they may to-morrow morning, we'll give them adose that will make them wish they had never seen a Yankee."
NELLIE, CLINGING TO HER NURSE, WAS TERRIFIED BY THESOUNDS.]
The Indian shouts redoubled; every accent was that of triumph. They wereevidently rejoicing over the rich find in the ambulance and the baggagewagon. Of course a great deal of property had been left there for whichPike's party would have no possible use up here in the cave, and thisincluded plenty of food. The horses, too, delighted the Tontos, and, asPike said, they would doubtless be occupied some little time with thedivision of the spoils, and longer in having a grand feast.
Looking down the road he could see the two mules browsing peacefullyside by side, Manuelito still lashed to the back of one of them. Twoyoung Indians stood guard over him and their four-footed captives; buteven these fellows were by no means forgotten, for every now and thenPike could see their friends running back to them with something to eatand, after exchanging a word or two, hurrying again to the wagons.
After a while poor Kate, partially assured by Pike's words, but moreshamed into silence by the bravery of little Ned, subsided into a cornerof the cave, and there seated herself, moaning and weeping, but nolonger making any outcry. Pike decided that it would be necessary forhim to go once more to his watch-tower, and as far as he could, watchthe programme of the Apaches the rest of the day. Before starting,however, he called up Jim and gave him his instructions: "You see thatthe sun is almost down. The chances are that they will be so muchinterested in what they have found that darkness will settle down uponus before they fairly get through with their jubilee. Then, again, itmay be that the bloody hounds will have some fun of their own with poorManuelito to-night. I've no sympathy for the scoundrel, but I can't bearthe idea of one who has served with us so long being tortured before ourvery eyes. We can't help it, however, there are only two of us here, andour first object is to protect these poor little children, and thatwretched old Kate of a nurse there. Stay here with your rifle behind thebarricade. I'll whistle if any Indian attempts to follow our trail; thenI'll come down here as quickly as possible. But keep a bright lookoutyourself. Watch those trees down there to the front. Note everythingoccurring along the road as far as you can see. There goes one of thebeggars back to that point now. Even in the midst of their fun theydon't neglect precautions. See! he's going to climb up there on thatlittle hill just where I was watching this morning. Yes, there he goes.Now you will see him lie down flat when he gets to the top, and peerover the rocks to the west. What he is looking out for, I don't know,but it may be that they expect the cavalry even more than we do. Theypossibly have had signal fires from the reservation warning them thatthe cavalry have already left the Verde. I hope and pray they have. Now,keep up your grit, Jim; don't let anything phaze you. If you want help,or see anything, whistle, and I'll come down."
Already it was growing darker down the gorge. Pike could see that theApaches had lighted a fire in the road close to the wagons. Evidentlythey were going to begin some cooking on their own account, and wereeven now distributing the provisions they had found. Two of them hadreleased Manuelito from the mule, and the poor devil was now seated,bound and helpless, on a rock by the roadside, looking too faint andterrified to live. The captain's field glass revealed a sorry sight tothe old soldier's eyes as he peered down at the little throng of savagesabout the baggage wagon, now completely gutted of its contents; andthough he despised the Mexican as a traitor and thief and coward, it wasimpossible not to feel compassion for him in his present awful plight.There was something most pitiable in the fellow's clasped hands andabject despair. He had lived too long in Arizona not to know the fatereserved for prisoners taken by the Indians, and he knew, and Pike knew,that, their hunger once satisfied, the chances were ten to one theywould then turn their attention entirely to their captive, and have awild and furious revel as they slowly tortured him to death.
THE POOR DEVIL WAS NOW SEATED, BOUND AND HELPLESS, ON AROCK BY THE ROADSIDE.]
The sun had gone down behind the range, far over to the west, as Pikereached once more the top of his watch-tower, and every moment thedarkness deepened down the Pass. Up here he could not only see thebaggage wag
on in the road, but the top of the ambulance, and two of thehorses were also visible, and occasionally the lithe forms of the Tontosscurrying about in the firelight. Evidently the old cook fire in thecleft of the rocks had been stirred up and was now being utilized byhalf the band, while the others toasted the bacon and roasted _frijoles_down in the road. The yells had long since ceased. Many of the warriorswere squatting about the baggage wagon gnawing at hard bread or otherunaccustomed luxuries, but those at the ambulance were chattering likeso many monkeys and keeping up a hammering, the object of which Pikecould not at first imagine, until he suddenly remembered the locked boxunder the driver's seat, the key of which was always carried by thecaptain. Then a flash of hope shot over him as he recalled the fact thatwhen they left their station Captain Gwynne had stowed away in therethree or four bottles of whiskey or brandy. It would take them but alittle while, he knew, to break into the enclosure, and then there wouldbe a bacchanalian scene.
"Oh, that it were a barrel instead of a bottle or two," groaned Pike."As it is there's just enough to exhilarate the gang and keep them,singing and dancing all night; but a barrel!--that would stupefy themone after another and Jim and I could have gone down and murdered thewhole crowd. Not one of 'em would ever have known what hurt him."
Ha! a sound of crashing, splitting wood. A rush, a scuffle--then a yellof triumph and delight. Every Indian in the roadway sprang to his feetand darted off up the rocks to swell the chorus at the ambulance. EvenManuelito's guard left his prisoner to take care of himself and ran likea deer to claim his share of the madly craved "fire water." A few yearsbefore and most of them hardly knew its taste, but some of their numberhad more than once made "John Barleycorn's" acquaintance and had toldwondrous tales of its effects. In less than a minute, with the singleexception of their sentry on the hill, every Tonto was struggling,shouting, laughing and leaping about the family wagon, and Pike knewfrom the sounds that the captain's little store of liquor was rapidlydisappearing. Every moment the noise waxed louder and fiercer as thedeep potations of the principal Indians did their poisonous work. Therewere shrill altercations, vehement invective and reproach; Pike evenhoped for a minute that there had been enough after all to start themfighting among themselves, but the hope was delusive. All was gloom anddarkness now in the Pass except immediately around the two fires. Hecould no longer see Manuelito or the mules, but suddenly he heard asound of a simultaneous rush and an instant after with hideous shoutsand yells the whole band leaped into view and went tearing down into theroad and up to the rocks where their helpless prisoner still sat boundand helpless--more dead than alive--and Pike heard the shriek of despairwith which the poor fellow greeted his now half crazy captors.
"My God!" groaned the old soldier, "it is awful to have to lurk here andmake no move to help him. He would have cut all our throats without atwinge of conscience, but I can't see him tortured nor can I lift a handto save him. And here's Kate, and those poor little ones. They can'thelp hearing his cries and shrieks. What an awful night 'twill be forthem! No use of my staying up here now. I must go down to them."
Far back in the black recesses of the cave he found them,--Nellietrembling and sobbing with her head pillowed in Kate's lap and coveredwith a shawl so as to shut out, if possible, the awful sounds frombelow. The Irishwoman, too, was striving to stop her ears and was at thesame time frantically praying to all the saints in the calendar for helpin their woeful peril, and for mercy for that poor wretch whose madcries and imprecations rang out on the still night air even louder thanthe yells of his captors. Manful little Ned sat close by his sister'sside, patting her arm from time to time with one hand while he clung tohis rifle with the other. The boy did not shed a tear, though his voicetrembled and his lips quivered as he answered Pike's cheery words. Jimknelt at his post at the stone breastwork keeping vigilant watch, thoughhis teeth chattered despite his best efforts, and his eyes weredoubtless bulging out of their sockets.
"You mustn't be sitting here all in the dark," said Pike. "Keep up alittle fire, Ned, my boy. It's so far back and so far up the hill thatthe Indians cannot possibly see the light it may make even were they tocome around to the east side of the mountain. They won't to-night,though. They've found papa's stock of whiskey and brandy and are alreadyhalf drunk. They'll lie around there all night long and never comehunting for us until after sunrise to-morrow, if they do then. We'lljust have fun with these fellows until the cavalry come from Verde, ascome they will, I haven't a doubt, now that papa has found that he wascut off and has ridden back on the trail to meet and hurry the troops.He knows well that you and Jim and I could take care of Nellie and standoff these beggars until he could reach us. Now, light the lantern andstow it in that niche yonder. And you, Kate, lie down and cover yourselfand the children with blankets. I'm going out where I can watch whatthey're doing."
So saying, Pike took his rifle and the field glasses and, after a wordwith Jim, passed around to the east front of the ledge. It was too darkto enable him to venture down the bowlders, or to attempt to climb againto the top of the rock, but he found a spot among the stunted trees fromwhich he could just see the back part of the baggage wagon and theApaches flitting about it in the light of their fire. Leveling hisglasses he could make out that several of the Indians were grouped aboutsome object in the road, and presently one or two came running to thespot with buckets of water which they dashed over a prostrate form. Itwas Manuelito, who had probably fainted dead away.
Then, as the Mexican apparently began to recover his senses, he waslifted roughly from the ground and borne, moaning and feebly struggling,towards the wagon. Into this he was tossed head foremost, so that onlyhis feet and legs were visible to the anxious watcher up the hill.Securely bound, and already half dead from the tortures inflicted onhim, unable to move hand or foot, the poor wretch lay there, alternatelypraying and weeping. What the next move of the Apaches would be was notlong a matter of doubt. The whole band, with the exception of theirsentinels, were now dancing and leaping about their captive, singingsome devil-inspired chant, which occasionally gave place to yells oftriumph. Presently the younger men began piling up wood under the backof the wagon--under the Mexican's manacled feet; and then brands andembers were thrust underneath. Pike turned sick with horror andhelplessness at the sight, for he knew instantly what it meant. Thewagon was to be the wretched Manuelito's funeral pyre. They meant toburn him to death by inches. Suddenly a bright flame leaped up from thebottom of the stack of fuel; broader, brighter, fiercer it grew until itlapped up over the floor of the wagon. A scream of agony rang throughthe Pass, answered by jeering laughter and fiendish yells. The nextminute the whole band were circling round the wagon in a wild war-dance;their yells, their savage song, completely drowned the shrieks of thetortured man. The whole wagon was soon a mass of flames, and more fuelwas added. Presently the rear axle came down with a crash, sendingshowers of sparks whirling through the night air, and Pike turned awayfaint and trembling.
Another instant, however, and every faculty was on the alert, everynerve strung to its highest tension, and the old soldier sprang back tothe cave in answer to Jim's call.
"Look!" whispered the negro. "Look down there! There's some one movingamong those rocks."