CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
ATTACKED BY BANDITS--A SAD DEATH AND A SUDDEN RESCUE.
It was well that we had been warned not to go beyond the camp, for therehappened at that time to be abroad on the prairies a band of miscreantswho would certainly have shot whoever they had caught straying. Theband was composed of white men--that class of white men who, throwingoff all moral and social restraints, give themselves up to the practiceof every species of iniquity, fearing neither God nor man. They were,in short, a band of robbers and cut-throats, whose special business atthat time was hunting buffalo, but who were not averse to sell theirservices to any nation that chanced to be at war, or to practice simplerobbery when opportunity offered.
These men held the opinion that Indians were "vermin," to exterminatewhich was commendable. When, therefore, they discovered our camp by thelight of the fires, they rode towards it with the utmost caution, takingadvantage of every bush and knoll until our sentinels observed them.Then they rushed upon us like a hurricane, sending a volley of bulletsbefore them.
Several of our men fell, mortally wounded. Our sentinels ran in, and awild attempt at defence was made; but it was in vain, we had been takencompletely by surprise, and, as the only chance of safety, our partyscattered in all directions, each man making for the nearest woods.
Only Big Otter, Salamander, and I remained beside the camp-fires,resolved to defend our helpless females or die with them. This broughtabout a most unexpected turn of affairs, for the villains were so eagerto hunt and kill the flying Indians, that every man went in hot pursuitof a fugitive, leaving us for the moment absolutely alone!
We were not slow in taking advantage of this. Although at the onsetsome of our terrified horses broke their fastenings and galloped away,others remained quiet. Among these last I observed, were my own horseand that of Salamander, which I have already said were splendid animals.
Scarcely believing our good fortune, we all bounded towards these. In amoment I had mounted. Eve seized my hand, put her foot on my toe, and,with a light spring, seated herself behind me. Big Otter, vaulting onSalamander's steed, swung Eve's mother up behind him.
"Catch another horse--there are plenty good enough for a light weightlike you, Salamander," said I, as I put my horse to its utmost speed.
Salamander was not slow to obey, but had scarcely mounted when a loudhalloo told that our action had been observed. I did not look back.One consuming idea filled my mind, and that was to save Eve Liston.That the miscreants who now thundered after us would show us no mercy Ifelt well assured, and plied the heavy thong I carried with all mymight. The noble steed did not require that. It strained every muscleto the uttermost.
I felt cheered to observe that Big Otter kept well up with me, and couldhear that Salamander was not far behind.
We now felt that our only hope, under God, lay in the superiority of ourhorses, and for some time we listened to the pattering of the hoofsbehind us with intense anxiety. Soon I began to fancy that we weredistancing them, and ere long we became sure of this, at least as to themost of our pursuers, but there was one who kept drawing closer andcloser.
Presently a shot was fired and a bullet whizzed close past my head.
At that moment Big Otter reined up so violently as to throw his horsealmost on its haunches. I checked my speed but did not rein up.Looking back, I saw my Indian friend wheel round, raise his gun to hisshoulder and fire. The moon was bright, and I could see that the manwho had been closing with us dropped to the ground. Whether he waskilled or only wounded we did not wait to ascertain, but dashed on againas fast as ever. We soon drew rein, however, on observing that the fallof our pursuer had checked his companions. On reaching him they halted,dismounted, and finally gave up the chase. We soon left them out ofsight behind us, but still we held on at a hand-gallop, resolved to putas much distance as possible between us before encamping.
During all this exciting chase Waboose's mother had clung to herstalwart support with the uncomplaining patience of Indian women; but wewere deeply concerned to find on halting that she was too much exhaustedto dismount and that blood was trickling from her lips. Indeed, shewould have fallen to the ground if Big Otter had not caught her in hisarms.
"Are you wounded, mother?" exclaimed Eve, going down on her knees,seizing one of the poor woman's hands and kissing it tenderly.
"No, Waboose, but I think there is something wrong here." She pressedher breast gently and coughed up some blood.
"She is quite worn out," said I. "Come, Big Otter, let us carry her toa more comfortable place, and make a fire. A cup of tea will soonrevive her."
I spoke cheerily, with a view to comfort Eve, but I confess that greatanxiety filled me when I looked at the poor woman's wan face andemaciated frame. The blood, too, appeared to me a fatal symptom, thoughI had but a hazy idea of everything relating to disease.
The place we had selected for our encampment was a dense mass of forestwhich covered the prairie in that part to an extent of about two squaremiles. Near the outer margin of this patch there was a curious steepmound which rose so high that from the top of it one could see over thesurrounding trees. It rose somewhat in the form of a cone with a flatspace at the apex of not more than twenty feet in diameter. On theouter rim of this apex was a fringe of rocks and low bushes. It was, infact, a natural fortress, which seemed so suitable for us in ourcircumstances that we at once set about making our camp on the top ofit. We took care, however, to kindle our fire in the lowest-lying anddensest thicket we could find at the foot of the mound. We also madethe fire as small and free from smoke as possible, for fear ofattracting any one to the spot.
While I was busy down in the dell preparing the tea, Salamander havingbeen left to take care of the camp on the mound, Big Otter came to me.I was alarmed by the solemn expression of his face.
"Nothing wrong, I hope?" said I, anxiously.
"The wife of Weeum the Good is dying," said the Indian, mournfully.
"Oh! say not so," I exclaimed, "how dreadful to poor Waboose if thiswere to happen just now! You must be mistaken."
"Big Otter may be mistaken. He is not a medicine-man, but he saw ayoung girl of his tribe with the same look and the same flow of bloodfrom the mouth, and she died."
"God forbid!" I exclaimed, as I took up the kettle in which the tea wasbeing made. "See, it is ready, I will take it to her. It may at leastrevive her."
I hurried to the top of the mound, where poor Eve sat by the couch ofbrush we had spread, holding her mother's hand and gazing into her facewith painful anxiety. She looked up hastily as I approached, and heldup a finger.
"Does she sleep?" I asked, in a low voice, as I seated myself besidethe couch and set down the kettle.
"Yes--I think so--but--"
She stopped, for at the moment her mother opened her eyes, and lookedwistfully round.
"Weeum!" she murmured, in a faint voice. "I thought I heard him speak."
"No, dear mother," said Eve, beginning to weep silently. "Your spiritwas in the land of dreams."
"See," said I, pouring some hot tea into a cup and stirring it. "I havebrought you some of the pale-faces' sweet-water. I always carry alittle of it about with me when I go hunting, and had some in my walletwhen we started on this wild race. Was it not fortunate? Come, take alittle, it will strengthen you, mother."
It was the first time I had called her mother, and I did so from afeeling of tenderness, for she seemed to me at the time certainly to bedying; but she misunderstood my meaning, for she looked at me withpleased surprise, and then laughed very softly as she glanced at Eve. Iperceived, however, from the innocent look of inquiry returned by thelatter, that she did not understand her.
After taking some of the tea, the poor woman revived, and I whispered toher daughter,--"Don't you think it might please her to see the littlepicture?"
"Perhaps. I am not sure. Yes, give it to me. I will show it, but saynothing about my father's writing or wishes.
I have not yet been ableto speak to her."
To our disappointment she could make nothing of the portrait. Perhapsthe moonlight was insufficient, though very bright, but it is moreprobable that her sight was even then failing.
"What is that?" said Eve, with a startled look, pointing at somethingbehind me.
I turned sharply round, and beheld a column of bright flame shootinghigh up into the night-air. An exclamation of bitter chagrin escapedme, for I knew well what it was. After I had got the fire kindled downin the thicket on our arrival, I had noticed that I had laid it close tothe roots of a dead fir-tree, the branches of which were covered to thetop with a species of dried moss. At the time I knew that there wasdanger in this, but as our fire was to be very small, and to beextinguished the moment we were done with it, I had allowed it to remainrather than be at the trouble of shifting and rekindling it. Iafterwards found that Big Otter had left the fire in charge ofSalamander, and gone to shift the position of the horses; and Salamanderhad left it to fetch water from a neighbouring spring. Thus left toitself, the fire took advantage of the chance to blaze up; the moss onthe dead tree had caught fire, and the instantaneous result was a blazethat told of our whereabouts to whoever might be on the look-out withinten or fifteen miles of us in every direction.
Immediately afterwards Big Otter and Salamander came leaping into ourfortress.
"What is to be done now?" I asked, in a tone of deep mortification.
"I would say mount and fly," replied the Indian, "if it were not for_her_." He pointed to the dying woman as he spoke.
"It is quite out of the question," said I. "She cannot be moved."
"The pale-face talks wisdom," said Big Otter. "We must put the place ina state of defence, and watch instead of sleep."
A deep sigh from Salamander told that the proposed mode of spending thenight was most unsatisfactory.
Having no other resource left, however, we at once set about our task.
A number of large loose stones lay about on the little plateau thatcrowned our mound. These we rolled close to the edge of it, and rangingthem in line with those that were already there, formed a sort ofbreastwork all round. Our three guns we had of course brought with us,as well as ammunition, and as mine was a double-barrelled fowling-piecewe had thus four shots at command at any moment. The weapons beingalready charged, we placed ourselves at three points of our circle andprepared for a weary watch.
The blaze of the burning fir-tree soon went out, and there werefortunately no other dead trees at hand to be kindled by it. The moonhad also become obscured with clouds, so that we were left incomparative darkness. The dead silence which it was needful tomaintain, and the occasional murmur of the dying woman rendered ourposition eerie and sad in the extreme.
At such times, when danger threatens and everything that is calculatedto solemnise surrounds one, thought is apt to be very busy; and often,in such circumstances, the mind is more prone to be occupied withdistant scenes and persons than with those near at hand. Ere long thesick woman appeared to have fallen asleep, and her daughter was seatedin perfect silence by her side. No sound whatever fell upon mylistening ear, for the night was intensely calm, and in spite of myefforts to resist it, my thoughts strayed away to the home in "the oldcountry"; to scenes of boyhood, and to the kind old father, who used, asa term of endearment, to call me "Punch."
A slight motion on the part of Salamander recalled me, and, by way ofrousing myself to the necessity of present watchfulness, I examined thepriming of my gun. Then it occurred to me that a bullet, if fired at afoe in the dark, would be very unlikely to hit; I, therefore, drew bothcharges, and loaded with buckshot instead. You see, thought I, there isno absolute necessity to kill any one. All I can possibly wish to do isto disable, and big shot is more likely to do that without killing, thanbullets.
While thus engaged the clouds rolled off the moon, and I saw mycompanions clearly, sitting like statues at their posts. In a fewminutes I heard the sweet, low voice of Eve. She was speaking to hermother. As I sat there and observed her fair hair and skin, andrecalled (for I could not just then see) her blue eyes, I found itdifficult to believe that there was even a drop of Indian blood in herveins. "Not that I object to Indian blood," I said to myself, mentally,in self-justification, "by no means. Indians are God's creatures aswell as white men, and many of them are a great deal better creaturesthan many white men, but--"
At this point my mental remarks ceased, for I observed, to my surprise,that Eve opened a small book, and from the continuous tone of her voice,I knew that she was reading.
"It must be the Testament," thought I, "which poor Liston mentioned inhis manuscript as having been obtained from a hunter."
The voice became more distinct as she proceeded, and I could make outthat she read the English slowly and with great difficulty, and thentranslated it into Indian to her mother.
"God so loved the world," she read with peculiar emphasis, and paused,as if wishing to impress the blessed truth, "that He gave hisonly-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish buthave everlasting life."
She closed the book at this point and I observed that she bent over thesick woman a long time.
Suddenly there arose on the still night-air a low wail, so deep--sosuggestive of a breaking heart, that I sprang up and leaped to thegirl's side.
There was no occasion to ask what had occurred. The mother lay theredead, with the jaw dropped and the glazing eyes staring at the sky.Kneeling down I gently closed the eyes, and with a napkin bound up theface. Big Otter glided towards us, followed by Salamander. One glancesufficed. They cast a look of pity at the orphan, who, with her face onher knees, sobbed as if her heart would break. Then, without a word,they glided back to their posts. I turned to Eve and took her hand.
"Dear girl," I began--but she checked me.
"Go," she said, "danger may be near; your post is unguarded."
Raising her hand to my lips I left her without a word, and resumed mywatch. Again profound silence reigned around, broken only now and thenby an irrepressible sob from Eve.
Some hours afterwards--I knew not how many, for I had been half asleep--Big Otter came to me.
"We may not stay here," he said. "Come, I need your help."
Without reply I rose and followed. It was still very dark. He went towhere the body of the Indian woman lay. It was cold and stiff by thattime. In passing I noticed that poor Eve acted as sentinel for BigOtter--occupied his post and held his gun.
I found that a shallow grave had been hollowed out close to where thecorpse lay.
Understanding at once the purpose for which I had been called, I kneeledat the head while the Indian kneeled at the feet. Grasping theshoulders carefully I waited for a word or look from Big Otter, butinstead he turned his head to one side and uttered the singleword,--"Come!"
Eve glided instantly towards us, went down on her knees, and printed along passionate kiss on the cold forehead. Then the Indian looked atme, and we lifted the body into the grave. Eve spread a blanketcarefully over it, and at once left us to resume her post at thebreastwork, while we covered in the grave with earth and dead leaves.
We had barely accomplished this duty when a loud report rudely broke thesilence of the night, and a rushing of feet was heard at the foot of themound. Leaping to my post, I instantly fired one of the barrels of mygun. Several fierce cries followed, showing that the buckshot had takeneffect, and from the nature of the cries we at once perceived that ourassailants were white men. I purposely reserved my second barrel, formy comrades, having also fired, were swiftly reloading, and, therefore,defenceless.
It was well that I did so, for two men, who had not been in the firstrush, now came up the mound at a run. Aiming right between them, Ifired and shot them both. They fell with hideous cries, and, rollinghead over heels down the steep ascent, went crashing into the bushes.
"They are the men from whom we have just escaped," said I to Big Otter;bu
t my Indian friend was so elated by the success of my shot and withalso excited by the fray, that instead of answering, he gave vent to aterrific war-whoop in true Indian style.
The attacking party had come on in front from the direction of theplains. To my consternation, Big Otter's war cry was replied to in ourrear. Turning quickly, I saw the dark forms of several savages runningup the slope of our fortress. These, like the white men, had beenattracted to us by our column of fire. I was going to send a charge ofbuckshot amongst them, when my Indian friend stopped me.
"Let them come," he said, quickly. "They and the white men are swornfoes. Be ready to follow me."
This last was said to all of us, for we had instinctively drawn to thecentre of our plateau with the idea of fighting back to back with thefoes who surrounded us. Again we heard the white men charging up thefront of our little hill, but, before they reached the top, a dozensavages had leaped into our enclosure.
"Help! against the pale-face dogs," cried Big Otter, pointing his gun,and firing at them as they came up.
A wild war-whoop rang out from the Indians, who were only too ready toaccept the invitation to fight the pale-faces. A defiant cheer burst inreply from the white men, who were equally eager for the fray.
"Come!" whispered Big Otter at this point.
We had no difficulty in slipping away at the rear unperceived amid thedin and smoke, and ran to where our horses had been tied. Mounting,like squirrels, we went off like the wind in the direction of the openprairie, and soon left our little fortress far behind us, with theredskins and the pale-faces fighting on the top of it like wild cats!