CHAPTER VIII.
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.
Crouching behind the friendly boulder, Fred Greenwood rested the barrelof his Winchester upon it and took careful aim at the buck, which seemedscarcely to have moved from the moment he was seen by the youths. Thathe maintained his pose thus long was certainly remarkable, and the factwas due to a cause suspected by neither of the boys.
That the antelope has the bump of curiosity developed to a most amazingdegree is well known. It is this peculiarity which has proved fatal tothe animals in numberless instances. The curiosity of the _cervus_species, while much less, sometimes manifests itself in an extraordinaryfashion. Fred Greenwood managed his approach with so much skill that hewas not noticed; but his comrade, further away, was seen by the vigilantanimal, when Jack, becoming impatient over the delay, began the attemptto follow him. The sight of the young hunter startled the buck. He wason the point of whirling about and making off, but waited to learnsomething more definite. The caution of Jack rendered this difficult,and it was because of the animal's hesitation that Fred succeeded inreaching the spot from which to try a shot.
The lad sighted at the front of the game and his finger was pressing thetrigger, when, perhaps because of a sudden sight of Jack, the buckturned about to flee. It was at this juncture that Fred fired.
The result was better than he expected. It is almost impossible to killa deer instantly, instances being known of one running a number of rodswith a bullet through his heart; but in this instance the buck,gathering his forelegs under him, as if to leap a high obstruction,bounded straight up in air and dropped back so close to the edge of thecliff that he toppled over and came tumbling downward like a log ofwood.
The point where he fell was some distance away and out of sight of theyoung hunter, who, with a delighted exclamation, rose to his feet andbegan scrambling toward his prize. But for his excitement Fred wouldhave noted a singular thing. When the report of his rifle rang out inthe stillness, the echo from the face of the cliff sounded as sharp andloud as the crack of his own weapon. The explanation of this speedilybecame manifest.
Although the way was rough, the distance was so short that it took Fredonly a brief time to reach the inanimate body of the buck.
"Hank couldn't have beaten that shot himself! I must have driven thebullet through his heart, which I shouldn't have done if he hadn'tstarted to flee at the instant I pulled trigger----"
At that moment an Indian, rifle in hand, stepped into view from amongthe rocks, and with a grin on his face came toward the youth. Fred wasnot dreaming of anything of the kind, and looked at the red man inastonishment.
"Eh! howdy, brother? That my buck," said the Indian, with his paintedface still bisected by a tremendous smile.
The lad flared up on the instant.
"How do you make that out? I just shot him."
"No; me shoot him--he mine."
Fred's gorge continued to rise.
"You are not speaking the truth. I fired at him a few minutes ago andsaw him spring in air and fall over the cliff."
"Where you hit him?"
Ready to prove the truth of his own words, the youth stooped over thecarcass, which was lying on its left side. A crimson orifice was seenjust back of the foreleg, which showed where the tiny messenger of deathhad entered.
"That's where I struck him! What have you to say to _that_?"
"I shoot at the same time as brother. That where my bullet go in. Derewhere it come out."
Reflection convinced Fred of the unpleasant fact that this Indian wasspeaking the truth. The relative position of the lad and the dead buckhad been such that it was impossible for his bullet to take the courseof the one that had slain the animal. The decisive shot, therefore, wasnot his.
"But I know mine struck him somewhere," was Fred's desperateexclamation; "could it have taken the same course as yours?"
The tantalizing smile came back to the face of the red man, who shookhis head.
"My brother's bullet strike dere--hurt antler bad."
The Indian thrust the toe of his moccasin against the buck's antlers. Itwas plain that one of the prongs had been chipped off, as if by theimpact of a glancing bullet. Fred could no longer deny the mortifyingfact that his shot had no more to do with the death of the animal thanif it had been a pebble tossed up the cliff by hand.
The discovery did not add to his temper, and he was in an unreasonablemood.
"You hadn't any business to fire at the buck when I did! I had pickedhim out for my game and it was a mean act on your part. We both struckhim, and I shall claim one-half of him, for I'm hungry, and it will soonbe supper-time."
A dangerous light shone in the black eyes of the Indian. Evidently hehad no liking for the race of the young man, and his resentment wasroused by his words and manner.
"He mine; me take him; you thief!"
It occurred to Fred Greenwood at this moment that it would be unwise aswell as perilous to quarrel with this denizen of the wilderness. He wasin middle life, active, powerful, wiry and unscrupulous. The youth wasno match for him in a personal encounter; besides which he noticed thatthe fellow carried a Winchester like his own, not to mention theformidable knife at his waist.
Still the lad was too proud to yield the point without protest. Besides,he was growing anxious about that supper which hung suspended in thebalance.
"It's only fair that you should give me a part of the body; you can'teat a tenth part of it. You must divide."
"He mine--me take all--white dog have none--me kill him."
"You will, eh? I shall have something to say about that."
It was Jack Dudley who uttered these words as he strode into view fromthe direction taken a few minutes before by his comrade.
The Indian had detected the approach of Jack before he spoke and beforeFred knew of his coming. He raised his head like a flash, and the dark,threatening expression vanished, succeeded by the grin that was therewhen he first appeared to the younger lad.
"Howdy, brother?" he said, extending his hand, which was taken rathergingerly by the surprised youth, who recognized him as Motoza, thevagrant Sioux, with whom he had had the singular experience some nightsbefore, when encamped in the grove on the prairie.
"Why, I didn't suspect it was _you_," added Jack, hardly knowing how toaddress him.
Motoza would have lacked ordinary perception had he failed to see thatthe boys were friends. What impulse led him to do what he did it wouldbe hard to explain, but without making any response to the remark ofJack he drew his knife, stooped over the carcass, and dextrously cut twolarge pieces from the haunches. Straightening up, he handed one to Jackand the other to Fred, with the words:
"Take, brothers."
"Thank you very much," replied Fred, accepting the "peace offering,"while his friend made similar acknowledgment.
"Brothers want more?"
"That is plenty. We are obliged, and hope you will pardon our hastywords."
With the chronic grin on his painted face Motoza stood silent, as if thebusiness was closed between them.
"That gives us our supper, Fred, and we may as well go back to camp.Good-by, Motoza."
The Sioux slightly nodded, but did not speak. Each boy, carrying hisfood, turned his back upon him and moved away in the direction of thecamp. When they had gone a slight distance, Jack looked back and saw theIndian bent over the carcass of the buck and busy with his knife insecuring a meal for himself. A few minutes later the parties were out ofsight of each other.
At the first water they reached the lads carefully washed and dressedthe venison and resumed their return to camp.
"What do you make of it, Jack?" asked Fred.
"I don't know enough about Indians to judge them correctly, but I thinktheir nature must be similar to our own. Motoza formed a respect for mebecause of the manner in which I handled him the other night."
"That is my belief; and it is not only respect, but friendship. He likesyou, and will never do you harm."
"What about _you_?"
"I am not so clear there. He and I were quarrelling when you came up. Ithought it was I who killed the buck, but he proved it was himself, andthat I had no claim to him. But I had set my heart on making a supperoff venison to-night, and did not like the thought of giving it up. Hewas ugly, and if you hadn't come up just when you did there would havebeen trouble, with the chances against me."
"It was a mistake on your part."
"I fear it was. It may be, however, that Motoza feels better disposedtoward me since he has learned we are friends."
"That is my belief. But it is rather curious that we should run acrosshim again, so many miles from the spot where we last met; but, Fred, wemust keep our bearings."
They were in a wild section of the mountains, which they had not seenbefore, but by carefully noting the position of the sun in the sky andobserving a towering, snow-covered peak that had been fixed upon as alandmark, they agreed as to the right direction. They were confirmed intheir belief shortly after by coming to the edge of the canyon whichthey had leaped on their outward trip; but the width was fully twentyfeet, with no diminishing, so far as they could see, to the right orleft.
"I hardly think it will do to make the venture here," remarked Jack,with a shake of his head.
"No; for not only is it too wide, but the other side is several feethigher than this."
They cautiously approached the edge and peered down into the frightfuldepth. There was the same foamy stream, apparently a half-mile below,clashing over the rocky bottom, and sending up the faint roar thatimpressed them when the canyon was first seen. It was, in short, areproduction on a reduced scale of the magnificent Grand Canyon of theYellowstone, which is a source of admiring wonder to thousands oftourists.
Something away down in the bottom caught the attention of Fred, and, athis suggestion, they laid aside their rifles and venison and creptforward on their faces until their heads projected over the edge of thedizzying depth.
"Do you see him?" asked Fred.
"Yes; who would have thought of such a thing?"
At many points in the yeasty foam black masses of rocks rose so highabove the roaring stream that the water whirled and eddyed around them.It was mostly these obstructions that kept the current in a state ofturmoil, and made it show distinctly in the twilight gloom of thecanyon. On one of the dripping rocks was a man, standing so like astatue that in the indistinct light Fred Greenwood took him for somefantastic formation of stone, worn by the eroding action of the angrywaters, but the suggestion of a living person was so striking that thetwo called their spy-glasses into use.
The result was astounding. Instead of being an Indian, as they hadbelieved at first, it was a white man. Furthermore, the instrumentsproved beyond question that he was their old friend, Hank Hazletine.
"What in the name of wonder is he doing down there?" exclaimed theamazed Jack.
"Standing on a rock," was the reply. "He finds some amusement in that,or he wouldn't do it."
"He must have entered at the mouth of the canyon, which cannot be faroff."
"That may be so. The sides are so broken and rough that he could usethem for stairs in going down or coming up."
"Whew!" exclaimed Jack, with a shudder; "the thought scares me. Iwouldn't undertake it for the world! Suppose, when you had picked yoursteps half-way down, you couldn't find a place to rest your hands orfeet; or, in climbing up, you should be stopped within a yard or two ofthe top?"
"It would be the end of the chapter for us; but Hank knows the countryso well that he is in no danger of making such a mistake; but none forus."
In the hope of attracting the notice of their friend the boys shouted tohim, but the roar of the waters was in the ears of the hunter, who wouldnot have heard the boom of a cannon fired on the cliffs above. He didnot look up or give any heed to their hail. Fred thought of throwingdown a piece of rock, but it was too dangerous. It was liable to be sodeflected from its course as to kill the unsuspicious hunter, who hadassumed great risk as it was.
"Do you see that?" asked Jack.
The question was caused by the action of Hank, who made a leap thatcarried him to the top of the boulder nearest him. Then he sprang to asecond and a third, when, to the astonishment of the watchers, hedisappeared.
The reason was apparent. After his last leap he had passed under aprojecting ledge, from which, of course, he would emerge whenever hechose to do so. But, though the boys watched for a considerable time, hedid not appear; and, realizing that the afternoon was drawing to aclose, they rose to their feet, with the purpose of pushing on to camp.
But to do that they must find a place where the canyon could be crossed,and they set out on their hunt, which proved less difficult than wasanticipated. Not far off a portion of the rocks on their side projectedlike a tongue so far over the ravine that it was barely two yards fromits extremity to the other bank. Moreover, the sides of the canyon wereon a level, so that a more favorable spot for crossing could not havebeen desired.
An examination of this formation showed that twenty feet below them thecanyon was as wide as at the point from which they had watched theirfriend. The ledge, therefore, arched over, and was in the nature of apartial bridge, whose thickness would have sustained a great many tons.
They peered downward in quest of Hank, but the gorge had taken an abruptturn since they saw him and he was not in sight.
The task before them seemed so simple that the two gave it scarcely athought, but it brought them an experience which, in some respects, wasthe most terrifying of their lives.
While the banks were substantially on the same level, the opposite onewas fringed with a species of stunted bush, two or three feet high,quite dense, and bearing a species of red berry such as is found on thefragrant wintergreen. Hazletine had cautioned the lads against eatingany vegetable whatever in this section, since many are violentlypoisonous and have caused the death of more than one thoughtlesstenderfoot.
Fred Greenwood made ready for the first jump. As in the former instance,the distance was so slight that it was not necessary to toss any oftheir impedimenta in advance of their own passage. It was easy to jumpwith the Winchester in one hand and the goodly piece of meat in theother. Since Fred had beaten his friend some time before, Jack quietlyresolved to turn the tables by doing his best, and he was confident offar surpassing him, especially as Fred had no suspicion of hisintention.
"Go ahead," said Jack; "night isn't far off, and it will be dark by thetime we reach camp."
Fred took only a couple of paces for a start, when he bounded across thechasm with the ease of a chamois. Jack had sauntered a rod back, as ifwith no special purpose in mind, when his object was to secure theimpetus that would land him far in advance of his comrade. Standingthus, he complacently watched Fred, as his body rose in air, gracefullycurved over, and landed at a safe distance beyond the edge of thecanyon.
It was while Jack Dudley was standing thus that he fancied he saw adisturbance in the bushes where Fred was about to alight. It was soslight that he did not think it meant anything; and, without noticing itfurther, he started on a series of quick, short steps, which were togive him the necessary momentum to win the victory over his friend. Atthat instant Fred landed and emitted a cry of terror and warning.
"Look out, Jack! Don't jump! Stop! stop!"
But, though Jack heard the cry, it was too late to heed it. He was sonear the edge of the canyon that had he checked himself he would havegone spinning to death down the abyss. The leap must be made, and,gathering his muscles, he rose in the air, with his legs gathered underhim, and with the certainty that the jump would far surpass the one thathe had just witnessed.
In that critical moment, when his body rose and seemed suspended overthe gorge, Jack's attention was fixed upon the strange actions of Fred.The instant he landed he darted to one side, and with his rifle struckat something in the bushes which Jack could not see. As he did so herecoiled, and was in the act of advancing and striking again, wh
en Jacklanded upon the ground beyond.
As he did so he heard a vicious, locust-like whir, whose meaning herecognized. An immense rattlesnake was in the bushes, and Fred haddescended almost upon it. But for the tremendous effort of Jack he wouldhave dropped squarely upon the velvety body, with consequences toofrightful to be thought of; but his great leap carried him over it,while the attack of Fred upon the reptile, in the effort to save hiscompanion, diverted the attention of the rattlesnake for an instant.
Jack saw the flat, pitted head, the gleaming coil, the distended jaws,while the slightly elevated tail vibrated so rapidly with the warningwhich, once heard, can never be forgotten, that it looked hazy andmist-like. Before Fred, at imminent risk to himself, could bring downhis clubbed gun with crushing force, Jack felt a sharp sting in hisankle and called out, in the extremity of terror:
_"I'm bitten!"_
He was not only terrified but angered, and whirling about, he broughtdown his gun with spiteful violence on the writhing body. The reptilestruck again, but it was already wounded to that extent that its blowwas erratic, and, though it came near reaching the hand of Jack, itmissed by a safe margin.