CHAPTER XII
THE HIDDEN CAMP
THERE remained only an hour or so of daylight after Roger had securedthe best parts of the carcass of the young elk, and fastened the bundleof fresh meat to his saddle.
Dick knew that they must be more than ordinarily careful where theyspent the night, because the chances were the vindictive half-breedwould be scouring the country looking for signs of them. If they wereincautious about building the cooking fire, his sharp eyes would besure to discover their location; and, should that occur, they couldexpect trouble.
The thing that worried them most of all was the possible theft of theirmounts. That the packhorse had been stolen was not a matter of suchimportance, for they could get on without an additional animal; but inregard to their saddle horses the case was vastly different.
It would be next to impossible to overtake the expedition on foot, asthey had learned before now. In following the river, there were timeswhen, on account of bad ground, they had to cover five miles in orderto make one of progress. And all this time the hardy voyageurs who wereboatmen for Captain Lewis would be urging their craft forward with theskill and ability peculiar to their kind.
This being the case, Dick was bent on finding some hiding-place fora camp, where they could be additionally secure, and the horses keptwithin close reach.
"No fire to-night, unless we can hide it," he announced to hiscompanion, when they were once more moving along, keeping a constantlookout for foes, and at the same time on the alert for the nook thatwould meet their requirements for a camp.
Roger groaned.
"Then I do hope we'll be lucky enough to find a good place," heremarked, as he redoubled his efforts to make the discovery; "becauseI'm hungry for a bite of this fine young elk. Why, it's been three daysnow, or even more, since I put a tooth in fresh meat. This tough oldpemmican is as hard as flint, and next to tasteless."
"But you know what our mother would say, Roger about looking a gifthorse in the mouth. If we could get nothing better, this same driedvenison would keep us alive; and when you're real hungry it doesn'tseem so very bad."
"Oh, well, perhaps not, Dick," admitted the other; "and I've seen timeswhen it tasted pretty good; but after being on that pemmican for threedays, and with a young elk in hand, it would be hard if we couldn'thave a fire to-night."
"Let's hope that the chance turns up, then," remarked Dick, cheerfully."And about this same pemmican, you know that the Indians live prettymuch all winter on it. Besides, when a brave is sent a hundred ortwo miles across country, to carry a message to the chief of anothertribe, all he takes along with him is a little dried meat in his dittybag, that he munches once in a while, drinking at the springs he runsacross on the way. I believe an Indian runner could keep on from theMississippi to the ocean just that way, carrying all he needed to eatin a package not larger than my head."
They kept pushing on, making as good time as the nature of the roughground permitted; while the sun dropped out of sight, and dusk beganto gather around them.
Roger was really beginning to despair, and feared that they would haveto pass a fireless night, one keeping constantly on guard while theother slept, so that the horses might be protected, when a sudden lowexclamation from his companion thrilled him.
"What is it, Dick?" he asked, nervously fingering his gun, which hekept in his hand as he rode along; "did you see any one skulking in theshadows?"
"Oh! no, not that, Roger," replied his cousin, cheerfully; "but, unlessI miss my guess, we've come to a fine place to make our camp; and, ifthings turn out as well as I expect, there ought to be a chance for asmall fire, enough of a blaze to cook some of your meat by."
"Good! You make me feel happy again, Dick!" exclaimed the other,eagerly; "but show me where you've made this discovery."
"Look over in that direction, and you can see the rocks piled up,"Dick went on. "It seems to me that we ought to find a hiding-placeamong them, where we can pitch our little camp. Of course it means thatwe must come down, and pull all the grass the horses will need, andperhaps take them to water, too; but that is nothing to worry over, ifonly we pass the night without an attack."
It turned out as Dick predicted, for they did find a splendid nook inthe midst of the rocks, where they could be safe from observation. AndRoger soon discovered the very spot for the little fire.
Both the young pioneers were soon as busy as beavers, for there wasmuch to be done. The horses had been watered before coming up among therocks, so that would not have to be attended to again. Dick went down,and started to pull grass, which he carried in armfuls up to wherethe horses had been secured; and once the faithful beasts started tocontentedly munch at their supper, there was no reason why they shouldgive any more trouble.
Meanwhile Roger had started the fire. It was only an apology for one,and offered little cheer; but on this occasion the boys were notthinking of sitting around a blaze, toasting their feet, and watchingthe sparks fly upward, to "tell all creation of their presence," asRoger expressed it. All they wanted was sufficient heat to cook themeat and make a pot of tea, after which the fire would be allowed togo out.
Roger knew how to cook better than most lads of his age, and Dickalways let him have full swing when out on their numerous huntingtrips. Considering the few appliances for comfort which hunters inthose days carried with them, the boys got on splendidly. If there wasno frying-pan handy they could thrust small portions of meat on theends of long splinters of wood, and in this fashion manage to obtainwhat was to them a satisfying meal.
The tender elk meat pleased them both, and Roger was kept busy with"repeat orders" for some time. But finally they cared for no more;after which the red embers of the cooking fire were covered with earth,and the last sign of human presence obliterated, even the odor ofsupper passing away with the disappearance of the heat.
Later on, Roger lay down in his blanket and slept soundly, while Dicksat, gun in hand, and watched. Long did the hours seem, and many timesno doubt some cry from a night bird would startle the sentry, alwayssuspicious lest this might be a signal uttered by some creeping Indianto tell his mates that he had made a discovery.
When the stars had given notice that the time for his vigil was at anend, Dick woke the other, and from that hour on to daybreak Roger satsilent, watchful, and faithful.
But there was no alarm, and with the coming of dawn they shook handsover the fact that they had managed to elude the search which Dupuy hadmade for their camp, during much of the night.
Again was a fire started, with the aid of the ever handy flintand steel. Had the boys had the misfortune to lose these almostindispensable articles, Roger knew how to create a tiny blaze withthe aid of a small bow and a twirling stick. This trick he had beentaught by an old traveler, who declared he had seen the natives do thesame far away on islands in the East Indies. But, although Roger couldaccomplish the feat, it was always a difficult thing to do, and hemuch preferred the ordinary method of making fire from sparks made bystriking flint against steel.
Finally, having loaded the horses again, and in a better fashion thanbefore, the boys were ready to make a fresh start.
Roger wondered whether they would chance to run across the half-breedanywhere.
"He looked so angry," he said, as they started away from the rockyfortress that had made them such a capital camp, "that I believe hewould think nothing of sending one of his arrows into my back as Ipassed some secret hiding-place; or use his rifle, if he had onesomewhere at the time he started to creep up on the elk, the same way Idid, wishing to save his ammunition."
"Then let us hope we will see nothing of him," observed Dick; but allthe same he was a little nervous as they rode on.
And, after all, Roger's fears were not without foundation, for a shorttime later, as they were cantering along, they heard the twang of abowstring. Both boys involuntarily ducked. They never knew just howclose the arrow came, but both heard the hiss as it passed, and then athud as it struck a tree.
"Run for it!" exclaimed Dick, as he dug his heels into the sides of hishorse, and, bending low in the saddle, went flying forward at an almostreckless pace.
Roger followed close behind, grumbling as he rode; but there were nomore arrows, and in a short time they were able to sit upright again,although Dick continued to urge his animal to make more speed.
"That was too bad, Dick," complained Roger; "it makes my blood boilto think of the two of us running away from only one. We could haveturned, and placed him between two fires, so that it would soon seempretty hot for the coward. Why did you run away?"
"There were a good many reasons, Roger," answered the other, who wasquite used to these exhibitions of recklessness on the part of hiscousin, and always made it a point to explain the motives that actuatedhis conduct, so that the other might profit by his caution. "Firstof all, we could not tell how many enemies there were around us. Ifwe had waited, we might have been surrounded by a dozen Shoshones orCheyennes, and either killed or taken prisoners. And then again, Roger,I never want to forget that we are the messengers of our fathers, senton a most important mission. If we choose to take unnecessary risks,and that paper never comes back signed by Jasper Williams, think ofthe consequences that are apt to follow. So you see that it is a wisething for us to take no chances. We promised our mothers that, Roger;don't forget again, when tempted to risk everything to please your ownfeelings."
"Dick, you're right, just as you always are, and I'm sorry I spoke thatway. Yes, it would have been foolish to turn and try to punish thatskulking half-breed. And he did no damage after all with his spinningarrow. Did you hear what a whistling noise it made as it passed over?"
"That was caused by the feathers being placed in a sort of winding way,so as to make the arrow whirl as it flew," Dick explained. "It made methink of the duck we call a whistler, whose wings make a sound as itflies such as you can make by blowing in a hollow reed. But we seemto have outdistanced the enemy now, and perhaps it would be safe tobreathe the horses a little."
They pushed on during the whole of that day without once meeting anydifficulty; although there were times when they found themselvescompelled to make wide detours in order to avoid bad stretches ofground, or sloughs, where the footing was treacherous for the horses.(Note 3.)
On this account they did not make the progress impetuous Roger wouldhave wished for, although his companion declared himself satisfied.
"Better luck, perhaps, to-morrow," he would say, whenever Rogercomplained; and thus the latter was shamed out of his mood.
That night they found a place to camp that was totally unlike thefortress amidst the rocks, but offered them just as secure a refuge.And again they saw daylight come without any alarm.
So three days passed away, and it was now to be hoped that they wouldsee nothing more of the half-breed. Dick remained on his guard, all thesame, for he did not mean to be caught napping.
The nature of the country had changed again, and, instead of the woodsor rocky bluffs which they had left farther down the river, they nowfound themselves looking out on vast stretches of level prairie, wherethe tall grass waved in the breeze until it resembled the waters ofa wide sea; and in places innumerable wild flowers dotted it likesplashes of paint, making a picture that even boys could admire.
Here they would be apt to come upon many novel things, of which theymay have heard wandering trappers speak, but which up to recently theyhad hardly expected to see for themselves.
At the same time there would be ever-increasing danger of their beingdiscovered by some hand of red hunters, stalking antelope or bison, andready to leave their hunting for a more convenient season if they sawa chance to capture palefaces, with their wonderful "shooting-sticks,"which in those days were a source of great bewilderment to the Indianswest of the Mississippi.
But nevertheless, in spite of the constant presence of peril, the twolads enjoyed the experience, and had no regrets about having started onthe adventurous mission, since they were at the same time serving thosethey loved so well, and satisfying the craving for excitement thatseems to be a part of almost every boy's nature.