The Silver Canyon: A Tale of the Western Plains

  CHAPTER THIRTY.

  THE BEAVER SNIFFS DANGER.

  "There's something wrong, Master Bart," said Joses that evening, asBart, rejoicing in the luxury of well-dried clothes, sat enjoying thebeauty of the setting sun, and thinking of the glories of the canyon,longing to go down again and spend a day spearing trout and salmon forthe benefit of the camp.

  "Wrong, Joses!" cried Bart, leaping up. "What's wrong?"

  "Dunno," said Joses, gruffly, "and not knowing, can't say."

  "Have you seen anything, then?"

  "No."

  "Have you heard of anything?"

  "No."

  "Has anybody brought bad news?"

  "No."

  "Then what is it?" cried Bart. "Why don't you speak."

  "'Cause I've nothing to say, only that I'm sure there's somethingwrong."

  "But why are you sure?"

  "Because the Beaver's so busy."

  "What is he doing?"

  "All sorts of things. He hasn't said anything, but I can see by his waythat he sniffs danger somewhere. He's getting all the horses into thecavern stable, and making his men drive all the cattle into the corral,and that means there's something wrong as sure as can be. Injun smellsdanger long before it comes. There's no deceiving them."

  "Let's go and see him, Joses," cried Bart; and, shouldering theirrifles, they walked past the drawn-up rows of empty waggons, whosestores were all high up on the mountain.

  As they reached the entrance to the corral the Indians had driven in thelast pair of oxen, while the horses and mules were already in theirhiding-place.

  "Did the Doctor order this?" asked Bart.

  "Not he, sir: he's busy up above looking at the silver they dug outwhile we were down in the canyon. It's all the Beaver's doing, MasterBart, and you may take it for granted there's good cause for it all."

  "Ah, Beaver," said Bart, as the chief came out of the corral, "why isthis?"

  "Indian dog. Apache," said the chief, pointing out towards the plain.

  Bart turned sharply round and gazed in the indicated direction, but hecould see nothing, neither could Joses.

  The Beaver smiled with a look of superior wisdom.

  "The Beaver-with-Sharp-Teeth," said the interpreter, coming up, "hearsthe Indian dog, the enemies of his race, on the wind; and he will notstampede the horses and cattle, but leave the bones of his young menupon the plain."

  "But where are the Apaches?" cried Bart. "Oh, he means, Joses, thatthey are out upon the plain, and that it is wise to be ready for them."

  "Yes; he means that they are out upon the plain, and that they arecoming to-night, my lad," said Joses. Then, turning to the chief, hepatted the lock of his rifle meaningly, and the chief nodded, and said,"Yes."

  "Come," he said directly after, and he led the frontiersman and Bart tothe entrance of the stable, where his followers were putting the laststones in position. Then he took them to the corral, which was alsothoroughly well secured with huge stones; and the Indians now took uptheir rifles, and resuming their ordinary sombre manner, stood staringindifferently about them.

  Just then there was a loud hail, and turning quickly round, Bart saw theDoctor waving his hand to them to join him.

  "Indians are on the plains," exclaimed the Doctor. "I saw them from thetop of the castle,"--he had taken to calling the mountain rock "thecastle,"--"with the glass. They are many miles away, but they may beenemies, and we must be prepared. Get the horses secured, Joses; andyou, interpreter, ask the Beaver to see to the cattle."

  "All safely shut in, sir," said Bart, showing his teeth; "the Beaverfelt that there was danger an hour ago, and everything has been done."

  "Capital!" cried the Doctor; "but how could he tell?"

  "That's the mystery," replied Bart, "but he said there were Indian dogsaway yonder on the plains."

  "Indian dog, Apache," said the Beaver, scowling, and pointing towardsthe plain.

  "Yes, that's where they are," said the Doctor, nodding; "he is quiteright, and this being so, we must get up into our castle and man thewalls. Let me see first if all is safe."

  He walked to both entrances, and satisfied himself, saying:

  "Yes; they could not be better, but, of course, all depends upon ourcovering them from above with our rifles, for the Apaches could pullthose rocks down as easily as we put them there. Now then, let us goup; the waggons are fortunately empty enough."

  The Doctor led the way, pausing, however, to mount a waggon and take agood look-out into the plain, which he swept with his glass, but only toclose it with a look of surprise.

  "I can see nothing from here," he said, "but we may as well be safe;"and entering the slit in the rock they called the gateway, he drew asidefor the last few "greasers," who had been tending the cattle, to mountbefore him; then Joses, Bart, the Beaver, and his followers came in.The strong stones kept for the purpose were hauled into place, and theentry thoroughly blocked, after which the various points of defence weremanned, the Doctor, with several of the Englishmen, taking the passageand the gate, while the Beaver, with Joses, Bart and the Indians, weresent to man the ramparts, as the Doctor laughingly called them; that isto say, the ingeniously contrived gallery that overlooked the stablecavern and the great corral.

  "You must not spare your powder if the cattle are in danger," said theDoctor for his last orders. "I don't want to shed blood, but thesesavages must have another severe lesson if they mean to annoy us. All Iask is to be let alone."

  Bart led the way, and soon after was ensconced in his rifle-pit, withJoses on one side and the Beaver on the other, the rest of the partybeing carefully arranged. Then the Doctor spread the alarm up above,and the men armed and manned the zigzag way, but all out of sight; andat last, just as it was growing dark, the great plain fortress looked assilent as if there was not a man anywhere upon its heights, and yet intheir various hiding-places there were scores, each with his deadlyrifle ready to send a return bullet for every one fired by an enemy.

  "No firing unless absolutely necessary," was the Doctor's whisperedorder; and then all was silent while they waited to see if any enemywould really come.

  They were not long kept in doubt, for just as the heavens had assumedthat peculiar rich grey tint that precedes darkness, and a soft whitemist was rising from the depths of the canyon, there was seen, as ifarising from out of the plain itself, a dark body moving rapidly, andthis soon developed itself into a strong band of Indians, allwell-mounted in their half-naked war costume, their heads decked withfeathers, and each armed with rifle and spear.

  They were in their war-paint, but still they might be disposed to befriendly; and the Doctor was willing to believe it till he saw throughhis glass that they wore the skull and cross-bones painted in white upontheir broad, brown chests, and he knew that they were of the same tribeas had visited them before, and gone off after so severe a lesson.

  Still he hoped that they might be friendly, and he was determined thatthey should not be fired upon without good reason.

  A few minutes later he changed his opinion, for, evidently well-drilledby their chief, the Indians charged towards where the tilted waggonswere drawn up in the shade of the rock, riding with as much precision asa well-drilled body of cavalry. Then, at a sign, they drew rein in acouple of ranks, about fifty yards from the waggons, and presentingtheir rifles, without word of warning, fired a volley.

  Another volley followed, and another, the thick smoke rising on theevening air, and then, apparently surprised at there being no replyingshot, about twenty galloped up with lowered spears, thrust two or threetimes through the canvas tilts, and galloped back, the whole bandsweeping off the next moment as swiftly and as silently as they came,gradually becoming fainter and more shadowy, and then quite disappearingfrom the watchers' sight.

  "They're gone, then?" whispered Bart, drawing a breath of relief.

  "Yes; they're a bit scared by the silence," said Joses; "but they'llcome back again."

  "When?" sa
id Bart.

  "Sneaking about in the dark, to stampede the horses and cattle, as soonas ever they know where they are, my boy."

  "Yes--come back," said the Beaver in a low tone, and he whispered thento the interpreter.

  "Apache dogs will come back in the night when the moon is up," said theinterpreter. "They will steal up to the camp like wolves, and die likedogs and wolves, for they shall not have the horses and oxen."

  And just then the Beaver, who seemed to comprehend his follower'sEnglish, said softly:

  "It is good."