The Silver Canyon: A Tale of the Western Plains Read online

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

  BLACK BOY AMUSES HIMSELF.

  Upon learning the fact that they had so nearly crossed the ridge ofmountains, the Doctor resolved next day to proceed as far as the pointwhere the adventure with the bears had taken place, and there endeavour,by the aid of his glass, to determine which direction to take: whetherto find a ravine by which they might descend into the plain, or whetherit would be better to remain amongst these mountains, and here continuehis search.

  The place was reached in due time, and for the time being there seemedto be no chance of getting down into the plain, either to search for thebears or to pursue their course in that direction.

  The Doctor examined the slopes and ravines, plunged down into the mostsheltered chasms, and chipped at the fragments of rock, but no sign ofsilver rewarded the search, and their journey would have been uselessbut for the fact that, as they were making a circuit, Joses suddenlyarrested them, for he had caught a glimpse of a little flock of mountainsheep, and these he and Bart immediately set themselves to try andstalk.

  It was no easy task, for the little group were upon a broad shelf highabove them, and in a position that gave them an excellent opportunityfor seeing approaching danger. But this time, after taking a longcircuit, the hunters were rewarded by finding themselves well withinshot, and only separated from the timid beasts by some rugged masses ofrock.

  These they cautiously approached, crawling upon hands and knees, when,after glancing from one to the other by way of signal, Bart and Josesfired exactly together, with the result that a splendid young ram made abound into the air and rolled over the edge of the shelf, fallingcrashing down amongst the bushes and loose stones, to land at last but avery short distance from where the Doctor was awaiting his companions'return.

  The most remarkable part of the little hunt, though, was the action ofthe rest of the flock, which went off with headlong speed to the end ofthe shelf of the mountain, where they seemed to charge the perpendicularface of the rock and run up it like so many enlarged beetles, todisappear directly after over the edge of the cliff upon which they hadclimbed.

  "At last!" panted Bart eagerly. "We shall have something good in thelarder to-day instead of running short."

  "Just you wait till you've tasted it," said Joses, as he came up, drewhis knife, and he and Sam rapidly dressed the sheep, getting rid of theuseless parts, and dividing it so that each might have a share of theload back to camp, where Joses' words proved true, the various jointsbeing declared to be more delicious than any meat the eaters had tastedyet.

  In these thorough solitudes amongst the hills the practice of keepingwatch had not been so strictly attended to as during the journeying inthe plains, for the horse--Indians seldom visited these rugged places,--in fact, none but the searchers after mineral treasures were likely tocome into these toilsome regions. Hence it was then that the next nightthe party were so wanting in vigilance.

  Harry had been appointed to the latter half of the night, and afterdiligently keeping guard through the earlier hours, Joses awakened hissuccessor, and fully trusting in his carrying out his duties, went andlay down in his blanket, and in a few seconds was fast asleep.

  That morning at sunrise, after a delicious night's rest, Bart rose tohave a look round before breakfast, when to his horror he saw that thecamp was apparently in the hands of the Indians, who had been allowed bythe negligent sentinel to approach while those who would have defendedit slept.

  Bart's first movement was to seize his gun, his next to arouse theDoctor.

  Then he stopped short, sorry for what he had done, for just then, freefrom all sling and stiffness in his wounded arm, their old friend thechief came striding across the open space before the waggon, and uponseeing Bart held out his hands in token of friendship.

  Bart shook hands with him, and as he glanced round he could see that thefaces of those around were all familiar except one, whom the chief hadbeckoned to approach, which the strange Indian did with a stately air,when a short conversation between them and the chief took place, afterwhich the new-comer turned to Bart, and said in very fair English:

  "The great chief Beaver-with-the-Sharp-Teeth bids me tell you that hehas been back to his people to fetch one of his warriors who can speakthe tongue of the pale-faced people, and I am that warrior. The greatchief Beaver-with-the-Sharp-Teeth says it is peace, and he comes to seehis friends and the great medicine-man, who brought him back to lifewhen wounded by the poisonous arrows of the Indian dogs of the plains."

  "We are very glad to see Beaver-with-the-Sharp-Teeth again," cried Bartheartily, "and delighted to find he has brought a great warrior who canspeak our language."

  "So that it flows soft and sweet," said a hoarse voice, and Joses stoodup. "How are you, chief?"

  The hearty, friendly look and extended hand needed no interpretation,and the greeting between them was warm enough to bring smiles into thefaces of all the Indians, who had no scruple soon afterwards aboutfinishing the mountain mutton.

  After the breakfast Bart and the Doctor learned that the chief Beaver,as it was settled to call him, had been off really on purpose to get aninterpreter, knowing that he could find the trail of his friends again;and this he had done, following them right into the mountains, andcoming upon them as we have seen.

  Conversation was easy now, and Bart learned that their friends had had asevere fight in the plains a short time before the first meeting, andthat the Beaver had felt sure that he would die of his wound, and beleft in the wilderness the same as they had left fifteen of theirnumber, the odds against them having been terribly great.

  Later on came questions, the Beaver being anxious to know why theDoctor's party were there.

  "You have not come upon the war-path," the Beaver said, "for you areweak in number, and you have brought a woman. Why are you here?"

  Then the Doctor explained his object--to find a vein of either gold orsilver somewhere in the mountains; and as soon as it was allinterpreted, the chief laughed outright.

  "He does not set much store by the precious metals, Bart," said theDoctor, "and when I see the simplicity of their ways, it almost makes meashamed of our own."

  Just then the Beaver talked earnestly for a few moments with the warriorwho interpreted, and returned to the Doctor.

  "The Beaver-with-the-Sharp-Teeth says you gave him life when all wasgrowing black, and he thought to see his people never more; and now hesays that he rejoices that he can take his brother across the plains towhere a great river runs deep down by the side of a mighty mountain,where there is silver in greater quantities than can be carried away."

  "Does the chief know of such a place?" cried the Doctor, excitedly.

  "Yes; he and I have seen it often," said the Indian.

  "And will he take me there?"

  "Yes; the Beaver will take his brother there, and give it all into hishands."

  "At last!" cried the Doctor excitedly. Then in a low voice, "Suppose itshould not prove to be silver after all?"

  "I know it is silver," said the Indian, quietly. "Look," he cried,taking a clumsily-made ring from his medicine-bag. "That came fromthere, so did the ring upon the lariat of the chief."

  "Ask him when he will take me there!" cried the Doctor.

  "He says now," replied the Indian, smiling at the Doctor's eagerness andexcitement. "It is a long way, and the plains are hot, and there islittle water; but we can hunt as we go, and all will be well."

  "You know the way from here down into the plain?" said the Doctor. "Itis a long way, is it not?"

  The Indian smiled. "It is a very short journey," he said. "I know theway."

  In effect they started as soon as the camp was struck, and the Beaver,leading the way, took them down a deep gulch, of whose existence theywere unaware, by which they made an easy descent into the plain, andinto which they passed with such good effect that at sunset the boldbluff where the adventure with the bears had taken place stood up in thedistance, with the steep wall fall
ing away on either side, lookingdiminutive in the distance, and very different to what it really was.

  They had had a rapid progress over a long range of perfectly levelplain, the horses, after the toils in the mountains, seeming quiteexcited at having grass beneath their feet; and hence it was that whenthey were camping for the night, and Bart's beautiful cob with long maneand tail had been divested of saddle and bridle, and after being wateredwas about to be secured by its lariat to the tether-peg, the excitablelittle creature, that had been till now all docility and tractableness,suddenly uttered a shrill neigh, pranced, reared up, and before Bartcould seize it by the mane, went off across the plain like the wind.

  The loss of such a beast would have been irreparable, and the Doctor andJoses ran to untether their horses to join pursuit, but before theycould reach them, the Beaver and half a dozen of his men were after thecob at full speed, loosing their lariats as they rode and holding themover their heads ready to use as lassoes as soon as they could getwithin reach of the fugitive.

  No easy task this, for as, dolefully enough, Bart looked on from thewaggon, he could see his little horse keeping a long distance ahead,while now the Indians seemed to be making to the left to try and cut therestive little creature off, as he made for a wild-looking part of theplain about a couple of miles away.

  Bart was helpless, for there was no horse of their own left that was ofthe slightest use for pursuit of his swift little cob, and all he coulddo was to stare after those engaged in the pursuit in a hopeless way asthe truant galloped on at full speed, swishing its tail, tossing itshead, and apparently revelling in its newly-found liberty.

  All at once Bart became aware of the fact that one of the Indians hadbeen for some minutes watching him attentively, and the man had uttereda low guttural laugh as if he were enjoying the youth's misfortune.

  "I wonder how he would like it," thought Bart, as he darted an indignantlook at the Indian, who sat upon his swift pony like a group cut inbronze. "He might just as well have gone after Black Boy, for his ponylooks as if it could go."

  Just then the Indian threw himself lightly from his nag and drew near toBart, with the horse-hair rein in his hand. Then he made signs to theyoung fellow to mount.

  "Do you mean that you will lend me the pony to go after my own?" saidBart eagerly.

  The Indian did not understand his words, but evidently realised theirmeaning, for he smiled and nodded, and placed the rein in Bart's hand,when he leaped into the saddle, or rather into the apology for a saddle,for it was only a piece of bison hide held on by a bandage, while a sortof knob or peg was in the place of the pommel, a contrivance invented bythe Indians to hold on by when attacking a dangerous enemy, so as to lieas it were alongside of their horse, and fire or shoot arrows beneathits neck, their bodies being in this way thoroughly protected by theirhorses.

  The Indian smiled and drew back when Bart touched the pony with hisheel, the result being that, instead of going off at a gallop, thelittle restive beast reared up, pawing at the air with its hoofs, andnearly falling backwards upon its rider.

  The Indian looked on intently as if ready to leap forward and seize thebridle should Bart be dismounted. But the lad kept his seat, and thepony went on all fours again, but only to begin kicking furiously, todislodge the strange white-faced being upon its back. It was like aninsult to an animal that had been accustomed to carry true-bloodedIndians all its life, dressed in skins ornamented with feathers andneatly painted up for special occasions, to have a pale-faced,undersized human animal in strange clothes mounted upon it; and theproper thing seemed to be to kick him off as soon as it could.

  These seemed to be the ideas of the Indian pony as exemplified by itsacts; but the wildest of animals of the horse family cannot always do asthey please, and it was evidently with something like astonishment thatthe little steed found Bart, still fixed firmly upon its back instead offlying over its head or slipping off backwards over the tail.

  This being so, the pony began to what is called "buck," that is to say,instead of letting its back remain in an agreeable hollow curve, onewhich seems to have been made by nature on purpose to hold a humanbeing, it curved its spine in the opposite direction, arching it as acat would, but of course in a modified way, and then began leaping upfrom the earth in a series of buck jumps, all four hoofs from the groundat once.

  Still, in spite of this being the most difficult form of horse troubleto master, Bart kept his seat. He was jerked about a great deal, but hehad been long used to riding restive horses, and he sat there as coollyas if in a chair.

  Then the Indian pony uttered a few shrill snorts and squeaks, throwingup its head, and finally turning round, first on one side then upon theother, it tried to bite its rider's legs--attacks which Bart met by aseries of sharp blows, given with the lariat that was coiled by thehorse's neck.

  These pranks went on for a few minutes, the Indian looking smilingly onthe while, till, seeing that Bart was not to be dislodged, the ponybegan to back and finally lay down.

  This of course dismounted the rider, and with a snort of triumph thepony sprang to its feet again, evidently meaning to bound off afterBlack Boy and enjoy a turn of freedom.

  The pony had reckoned without its rider, for Bart was too old at suchmatters to leave his grasp of the rein, and the Indian cob's firstknowledge of its mistake was given by a sharp check to its under jaw,round which the horse-hair rope was twitched, the next by finding itsrider back in his old place where he had leaped as lightly as could be.

  The Indian gave an approving grunt, and uttering what was quite a sigh,the pony resigned itself to its fate, and obeying the touch of Bart'sheel, went off at a fine springing gallop.

  It was a long chase and an arduous one, for Black Boy seemed to laugh toscorn all attempts at capture--of course these were horse-laughs--andled his pursuers a tremendous run; and had it not been for his master,late as he was in the field, the cob would not have been captured thatnight. As it was, Bart went off at speed, setting at defianceprairie-dogs' burrows, and other holes that might be in his way, and atlast he contrived to cut off a corner so as to get nearer to his nag,when, taking the rein beneath his leg, he placed both hands to his mouthand uttered a long shrill cry.

  It acted like magic upon Black Boy, who recognised it directly as hismaster's call, and having had his frolic, he trotted slowly towardswhere Bart cantered on, suffered himself to be caught, and the partyreturned in triumph, none the worse, save the tiring, for the adventure.