Altsheler, Joseph - [Great West 01] Read online

  About nightfall the hunter shot an elk on the northern slope, and all three worked far into the night at the task of cleaning and cutting up the body, resolving to save every edible part for needs which might be long. All of it was stored in the cavern or on the boughs of trees, and leaving the horses to graze at their leisure on the grassy acres they lay down on their blankets in the cavern and slept the sleep of the little death, that is the sleep of ex-

  159

  THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

  haustion, without a dream or a waking moment.

  Will did not awake until the sun of dawn was shin- ing in the cavern, although it was at its best a some- what obscure sun, and the dawn itself was full of chill. When he went outside he found that heavy clouds were floating above the mountains and masses of vapor hung low over the valley, almost hiding the forest, which was thickest at the northern end and the lake which cuddled against the western side.

  "I look for a mighty storm, maybe a great snow," said Boyd. "All the signs are here, but it may hang about for several days before coming, and the more time is left before it hits the better for us. It was big luck for us to find so deep a valley just when we did. Now, Will, suppose you take the beasts out to pasture and by the time you get back Giant and me will have breakfast ready."

  Will found the horses and mules quite comfortable in the new stable and they welcomed him with neighs and whinnies and other sounds, the best of which their vocal cords were capable. The friendship that he had established with them was wonderful. As the Little Giant truly said, he could have been a brilliant success as an animal trainer. Perhaps they divined the great sympathy and kindness he felt for them, or he had a way of showing it given to only a few mortals. What- ever it may have been, they began to rub their noses against him, the big horse, Selim, finally thrusting his head under his arm, while the mules proudly marched on either side of him as he led the way down to the pasture.

  160

  THE BEAVER HUNTER

  "Ain't it wonderful," said the Little Giant, who saw them from the mouth of the cavern where he and Boyd were cooking, "the way the boy has with animals? My mules like me, but I know they'd leave me any minute at a whistle from young William, an* follow him wherever he went."

  "Same way with that horse of mine, Selim. He'd throw me over right away for Will. He's a good lad, with a clean soul and a pure heart, and maybe the animals, having gifts that we don't have, to make up for gifts that we have and they haven't, can look straight into 'em. Do you think, Giant, that Felton could have had a line on our mine?"

  "What's your drift, Jim?"

  "Could he have been out here somewhere when the Captain, Will's father, found it, and have got some hint about its discovery? Maybe he guesses that Will's got a map, and that's what he's after. He wouldn't have followed us at such terrible risks, un- less he had a mighty big motive."

  "That's good reasonin', Jim, an' I think thar's some- thin' in your notion. Ef it's so, Felton will hang on to the chase o' us ez long ez he's livin,' an' fur the present, with Sioux on one side o' us an' outlaws on the other, I'm mighty glad we're hid away here in so deep a cut in the mountings."

  "So am I, Giant. I think that coffee is boiling now. Call the lad."

  "Young William! Young William!" cried the Little Giant. "Don't you dare to keep breakfus' wait- in' the fust mornin' we've moved into our new home."

  161

  THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

  After breakfast Will and Bent worked on the cav- ern, while Boyd went hunting on the slopes. They cut many poles and made a palisade at the entrance to the great hollow, leaving a doorway only about two feet wide, over which they could hang the big bear- skin in case heavy wind, rain or snow came. Then they packed the whole floor of the cavern with dry leaves, making a kind of matting, over which they intended to spread furs or skins as they obtained them.

  "Caves are cold when left to theirselves," said the Little Giant, "an* it's lucky thar's a good nateral place fur our fire jest beside the door. We'll have lots o' meat in here, too, 'cause Jim's a fine hunter an* the valley is full o* game. Thar must be a lot o' grizzly bears roun' in these mountings, too, Young William. Wouldn't it be funny ef we went out some day an* come back to find our new house occupied by a whole family o' fightin' grizzlies, every one o' them with iron claws, ten inches long?"

  "No, it wouldn't be funny, Giant, it would be tragic."

  "Ef you jest knew it, Young William, we're mighty well off. Many a trappin' outfit hez been froze in in the mountings, in quarters not half so good ez ours."

  Boyd shot another elk and smaller deer, and on the next day secured more game, which they cured, concluding now that they had enough to last them in- definitely. Will and the Little Giant, meanwhile, had been working on the house, and Boyd, his hunting over, joined them. The cured skins of the animals were put over the leaf thatch of the floor as they had planned,

  162

  THE BEAVER HUNTER

  and as they procured them they intended to hang more on the walls, for the sake of dryness and warmth.

  Although the clouds threatened continuously the storm still held off. They expected every morning to wake up and find the snow drifting, but the sun always showed, although dim and obscured by vapors. Will still led the horses and mules down to the grass every morning, and, every night, led them back to the new stone stable. The valley began to wear the aspect of home, of a home by no means uncomfortable, but on the sixth night there Will was awakened by something cold and wet striking upon his face. He went to the door, looked out and saw that the snow they had been expecting so long had come at last. It was thick, driving hard, and for the first time he hung in place the great bearskin, securing it tightly with the fasten- ings they had arranged and then went back to sleep.

  He was the first to awake the next morning, and pushing aside the bearskin, he looked out to see snow still falling and apparently a good six inches in depth already.

  "Wake up, Jim, and you, too, Giant!" he called. "Here's our storm at last, and lucky it is that we're holed up so well."

  Boyd joined him. The snow was so dense that they could not see across the valley, but it was not driving now, merely floating down lazily and persistently.

  "That means it will come for a long time," said Boyd. "Snow clouds are like men. If they begin to pour out their energy in vast quantities they're soon exhausted, but if they work in deliberate fashion they

  163

  THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

  do much more. I take it that this snow won't stop today, nor maybe tonight, nor the next day either."

  "We can stand it," said Will. "We're well housed up and we're safe from invasion. If you and Tom will get breakfast I'll feed the horses and mules."

  They had employed a large part of the time cutting the thick grass with their hunting knives, and it was now stored in the stable in a considerable quantity, out of the reach of the longest neck among the horses and mules. They were responsive as usual when he came among them, and nuzzled him, because they liked him and because they knew he was the provider of food, that is, he was in effect a god to them.

  Will talked to the animals and gave to every one his portion of hay, watching them with pleasure as they ate it, and returned thanks in their own way. When he made his way back through the snow, break- fast was ready and, although they were sparing with the coffee and bread, every one could have all the meat he wished.

  "Now, there'll be nothing for us to do but sit around the house," said Boyd, the breakfast over.

  "Which means that I kin put in a lot o' my spare time readin'," said the Little Giant. "Young William, bring me my Shakespeare ! What, you say I f urgot to put it in my pack! Well, then bring me my copy o* the Declaration o' Independence. I always like them words in it, 'Give me lib'ty or give me death!' 'Sic semper tyrannis!' "

  " 'Give me liberty or give me death' is not in the Declaration of Independence, Giant. Those

  164

  THE BEAVER HUNTER

&nbs
p; words were used by Patrick Henry in an address."

  "Well, they ought to hev been thar, an* ef Patrick Henry hadn't been so fresh an* used 'em first they would a-been. But you can't go back on 'sic semper tyrannis!' "

  "They couldn't possibly be in the declaration, Giant, because they're Latin."

  "I reckon the signers o' the Declaration wuz good enough to write Latin an' talk it, too, ef they wanted to."

  "They were used eighteen or nineteen hundred years ago by a Roman."

  "I guess that's one advantage o' livin* early. You kin git the fust chance at what's best. Anyway, they did say a lot o' rousin' things in the Declaration, though I don't remember exactly what they wuz. But I see I won't hev no chance to git on with my lit'ry pursuits, so I think I'll jest do chores about the house inside."

  He went to work in the best of spirits. Will had seldom seen a happier man. He fixed shelves in the stone, arranged the materials from their packs, and all the time he whistled airs, until the cavern seemed to be filled with the singing of nightingales, mocking birds and skylarks. Will and Boyd began to help him, though Will stopped at times to look out.

  On every occasion he reported that the snow was still drifting down in a steady, thick, white stream, and that he could not see more than thirty or forty yards from the door. About eleven o'clock in the morning, when he pulled the bearskin aside for perhaps the sixth time, he heard a sound which at first he took to be the dis-

  165

  THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

  tant moan of the wind through a gorge. But he had not heard it on his previous visits, although the wind had been blowing all the morning, and he stood there a little while, listening. As he did not hear it again just yet, he thought his fancy had deceived him, but in a minute or so the sound came once more. It was a weird note, carrying far, but he seemed to detect a human quality in it. And yet what human being could be out there in that lone mountain valley in the wild snow storm? It seemed impossible, but when he heard it a third time the human quality seemed stronger. He beckoned to the hunter and Little Giant.

  "Come here," he said, "and tell me if my imagina- tion is playing tricks with me. It seems to me that I've heard a human voice in the storm."

  The two came to the doorway and, standing beside him, listened. Once more Will discerned that note and he turned an inquiring face to them.

  "There!" he exclaimed. "Did you hear it? It sounded to me like a man's voice !"

  Neither Boyd nor Bent replied until the call came once more and then Boyd said :

  "It's not your imagination, Will. It's a man out there in the snow, and he's shouting for help. Why he should expect anybody to come to his aid in a place like this is more'n I can understand."

  "He's drawin' nearer," said the Little Giant. "I kin make out the word 'hello' said over an' over ag'in. Maybe Felton's band has wondered on a long chase into our valley, an' it's some o' them lost from the others in the storm, callin* to em."

  166

  THE BEAVER HUNTER

  "Like as not," said the hunter. "The snow has cov- ered up most of the traces and trails we've left, and anyway they couldn't rush this cavern in the face of our rifles."

  "It's no member of Felton's gang," said Will, with great emphasis.

  "How do you know that?" asked Boyd in surprise.

  "I can scarcely tell. Instinct, I suppose. It doesn't sound like the voice of an outlaw, though I don't know how I know that, either. Hark, he's coming much nearer! I've an idea the man's alone."

  "In the storm," said the Little Giant, "he's likely to pass by the cavern, same ez ef it wuzn't here."

  "But we mustn't let him do that," exclaimed Will. "I tell you it's a friend coming! a man we want! Be- sides, it's no Indian! It's a white man's voice, and we couldn't let him wander around and perish in a wilderness storm!"

  The hunter and the Little Giant glanced at each other.

  "A feller that kin talk with hosses an 1 mules, an* hev the toughest mule eat out o' his hand the fust time he ever saw him may be able to tell more about a voice in the wilderness than we kin," said the Little Giant.

  "I don't believe you're wrong," said the hunter with equal conviction.

  Will threw aside the bearskin and dashed out. The two men followed, their rifles under their fur coats, where they were protected from the storm. The voice could now be heard very plainly calling, and Boyd and Bent were quite sure also that it was not one of Fel-

  167

  THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

  ton's band. It truly sounded like the voice of an honest man crying aloud in the wilderness.

  Will still led the way and, as he approached, he gave a long, clear shout, to which the owner of the voice replied instantly, not a hundred yards away. Then the three pressed forward and they saw the figure of a man, exaggerated and gigantic in the falling snow. Behind him stood three horses, loaded heavily but drooping and apparently almost frozen. He gave a cry of joy when the three drew near, and said :

  "I called upon the Lord when all seemed lost, but I did not call in vain."

  He was tall, clothed wholly in deerskin, and with a fur cap upon his head. His figure was one of great strength, but it was bent somewhat now with weari- ness. The Little Giant uttered an exclamation.

  "By all that's wonderful, it's Steve Brady!" he said. "Steve Brady, the seeker after the lost beaver horde!"

  The man extended a hand, clothed in a deerskin gauntlet.

  "And it's you, Tom Bent, the Little Giant," he said. "I surely did not dream that when you and I met again it would be in such a place as this. Providence moves in a mysterious way its wonders to perform, and it's a good thing for us it does, or I'd have frozen or starved to death in this valley. That quotation may not be strictly correct, but I mean well."

  The Little Giant seized his hand and shook it vio- lently. It was evident that the stranger was one whom he admired and liked.

  168

  THE BEAVER HUNTER

  "Ef we'd knowed it wuz you callin/ Steve Brady," he said, "we'd hev come sooner. But hev you found that huge beaver colony you say is somewhar in the northwestern mountings, the biggest colony the world hez ever knowed ?"

  "I have not, Tom Bent. 'Search and ye shall find' says the Book, and I have searched years and years, but I have never found. If I had found, you would not see me here in this valley, a frozen man with three frozen horses, and I ask you, Tom Bent, if you have ever yet discovered a particle of the gold for which you've been looking all the years since you were a boy."

  "Not a speck, Steve, not a speck of it. If I had I wouldn't be here. I'd be in old St. Looey, the grandest city in the world, stoppin' in the finest room at the Planters' House, an' tilted back in a rockin' chair pickin' my teeth with a gold tooth pick, after hevin' et a dinner that cost a hull five dollars. But you come into our house, Steve, an* warm up an' eat hot food, while Young William, here, takes your hosses to the stable, an' quite a good hoss boy is young William, too."

  "House ! Fire ! Food ! Stable ! What do you mean ?"

  "Jest what I say. These are my friends, Thomas Boyd and William Clarke, young William. Boys, this is Stephen Brady, who has been a fur hunter all his life but who hasn't been findin' much o' late. Come on, Steve."

  Will took the three horses and led them to the stable, into which he pushed them without much trouble, and where they received a fair welcome. He

  169

  THE GREAT SIOUX TRAIL

  also threw them a quantity of the hay, and then he ran back to the house, where Boyd and Bent were rapidly fanning the coals into a blaze and were warm- ing food. Brady's outer garments were steaming be- fore the fire, and he was sitting on a stone outcrop, a look of solemn satisfaction on his face.

  "It is truly a habitation in the wilderness," he said, "and friends the best and bravest in the world. It is more, far more, than I, a lone fur hunter, had a right to expect. Truly it is more than any humble mortal such as I had a right to hope for. But as the sun stood still over Gibeon, and as
the moon stood still over the vale of Ajalon at the command of Joshua, so the wilderness and the storm opened at the command of the Lord, and disclosed to me those who would save me."

  There was nothing of the unctuously pious about his tone and manner, instead it was sternly enthusiastic, full of courage and devotion. He made to Will a mental picture of one of Cromwell's Ironsides, or of the early New England Puritans, and his Biblical lan- guage and allusions heightened the impression. The lad felt instinctively that he was a strong man, great in the strength of body, mind and spirit.

  "Take another slice o* the elk steak, Steve," said the hospitable Little Giant, who was broiling them over coals. "You've et only six, an' a man o' your build an' hunger ought to eat at least twelve. We've got plenty of it, you won't exhaust the supply, never fear. An* take another cup o' coffee; it will warm your in- sides right down to your toes. I'm mighty glad to

  170

  THE BEAVER HUNTER

  see you, an* young William's mighty glad to see you."

  "You couldn't have been as glad to see me as I was to see you," said Brady with a solemn smile. "Truly it seems that one may be saved when apparently his last hour has come, if he will only hope and persist. It may be that you will yet find your gold, Thomas Bent, that you, James Boyd and William Clarke, will find whatever you seek, though I know not what it is, nor ask to know, and that I, too, will find some day the great beaver colony of which I have dreamed, a colony ten times as large as any other ever seen even in these mountains."

  Boyd and Bent exchanged glances, but said nothing. It was evident that they had the same thought and Will's quick and active mind leaped up too. In their great quest they needed at least another man, a man honest, brave and resourceful, and such a man in the emergency was beyond price. But for the present they said nothing.