CHAPTER III
THE PURSUIT
Blazing up brightly, after Joe had thrown some light sticks on theembers, the fire revealed a much disordered camp. The Indians had rushedover it as a squad of football players might tear through a rivaleleven, leaving devastation in their wake. The only consolation was thatHank had managed to prevent the animals from stampeding, and thepossession of their ponies, in a country where foot travel is almost outof the question, was a big factor.
"But they got almost everything else," said Blake, as he looked aboutthe temporary camp.
"They made for the grub, that's sure," spoke Joe. "I guess they werehungry."
"But why they didn't try harder to make off with the horses is what Ican't understand," spoke Blake, as he continued to make an examinationof the damage done. "I thought that was what they were after."
"They were," declared Hank; "but I guess they realized that takinghorses is a pretty serious crime out here. They knew that all sorts ofefforts would be made to recapture 'em, and by men who would not be asgentle with 'em as Uncle Sam's soldiers. So I guess they decided to passup the horses and only take some grub. That isn't so serious, especiallyas the poor beggars are probably well-nigh starving, having been awayfrom their regular rations so long. Well, it might be worse, I suppose.They will hardly come back to-night, and I guess we can get a littlerest when I picket these animals out again. We got off pretty lucky, Itake it, for there was sure a big bunch of them."
"Lucky?" cried Blake. "I should say not. Look here!" and he pointed tothe upset pile of boxes and bales, only a few of which were now left."We have had the worst kind of bad luck!"
"How's that?" demanded Joe, hurrying to the side of his chum. The firewas brighter now. "What did they take?"
"Our reels of exposed film, for one thing!" cried Blake.
"What! Not our prize Indian pictures?" gasped Joe.
"That's what they did, Joe! Every one of those films we worked so hardto get is gone!"
"But what could the Indians want with them?" asked Joe. "They don'tknow how to develop 'em, and, even if they did, they would be of no use.They can't know what they are, but if the least ray of light gets intothe boxes it means that the films are ruined!"
"That's right," assented Blake, hopelessly. "What can we do?"
"They probably didn't know they were taking your films, boys," spokeHank, who had finished making fast the horses. "They very likely thoughtthe boxes held some new kind of food, and they just grabbed up anythingthey could get their hands on. I reckon the beggars are nearly starving,and that's what made 'em so bold. You'll notice they didn't once fire atus--only up in the air. They just wanted to scare us."
"And they took our films, thinking they were something good to eat,"murmured Blake.
"Yes. I'm not saying, though, that they didn't hope to stampede theanimals; but they went wrong on that calculation, if they had it inmind."
"They have our films," continued Joe, in a sort of daze, so suddenly hadthe events of the last half-hour occurred. "What can we do?"
"Chase after 'em and get our stuff back!" exclaimed Blake, quickly. "I'mnot going to stand that loss. They can have the grub if they want it,but I'm going to get back those films that we went to such trouble, andso much danger, to snap."
"But how are you going to do it?" asked Joe.
"Start in pursuit!" cried his chum with energy. "Come on, Hank, you canfollow an Indian trail; can't you?"
"I sure can, when it's as broad as the one they'll be likely to leave.But not now."
"Why not?" asked Blake.
For answer the cowboy guide waved his hand toward the darkness allabout. There seemed to be a haze over the sky, obscuring the stars.
"It would be worse than useless to start out on the chase now," saidHank. "We can't do anything until morning."
"But they'll be too far away then," objected Blake. "And, while it mightdo little harm if they opened those film boxes in the darkness, it surewould spoil every picture we took to have them exposed in daylight.Let's go now!" and he started toward the animals.
"No," and Hank shook his head. "I don't think you need worry about notcatching those fellers in daylight," he went on. "They won't go farbefore stopping to eat the stuff they took from us. Then they'll have asleep and start on the trail by daylight. We can do the same, and Ithink we can catch up with them. It would be risky to start out atnight in a country we know so little about. We'll have to wait."
Blake sighed, but there was no help for it. The upset camp was put insome kind of shape, the horses were again looked to, and the fire oncemore replenished. The travelers carried an unusually large supply ofprovisions, and though most of these had been taken, there was stillenough food left for a day or two. In that time they might be able toget more, if they could not recapture their own from the Indians.
"We'll start the first thing in the morning, as soon as it is lightenough to see," decided Hank. "And now, if it's all the same to youboys, I'm going to have a bite to eat. That excitement made me hungry."
"Same here," confessed Joe, and soon they were all satisfying theirappetites.
"Oh, but I do hope we can catch up with them and take those films awayfrom 'em," murmured Blake, as he again sought his tent.
"We will," declared Joe, with conviction. "If we have to, I'll get wordto my soldier uncle and have the troops chase 'em."
"The only trouble is that it might be too late," spoke Blake. "I'mafraid of the films getting light-struck. But I guess all we can do isto wait and trust to luck."
There was no further alarm that night, and after a hasty breakfast,eaten when it was hardly light enough to see, the remaining supplies andprovisions were packed and the ponies saddled.
"I guess we can start now," exclaimed Hank, as he leaped to his steed."It will soon be lighter. Forward, march!"