CHAPTER XIII--PURSUIT
For a moment the startled men gazed silently at their leader. Every onehad been confident that when they drew near the Indian village theredmen would give up the culprits. However, the quietly spokendeclaration of Kit Carson speedily aroused a spirit of determination,and every one of his followers was willing to do his utmost to carryout his directions.
Before an attack was made, however, the daring hunter approached thevillage alone and noisily summoned the braves to a second conference.Doubtless the slight form of the hunter and his boyish appearancecreated a false impression in the minds of the Indians. That such a mancould really be the leader of the white men and that his courage wouldbe equal to an attack upon their village was plainly something thebraves did not believe. A brief conference followed, but the result ofit was not any more satisfactory than had been that of the formerinterview.
Turning sharply about, Kit Carson quietly went back to his companions,and then before the Indians were fully aware that he was gone, he saidin a low voice to his men: "Fire on the village! Every one pick hisman, and don't one of you miss!"
Instantly dropping upon their knees the men obeyed the order. Almostlike the report of one gun the rifles rang out together.
Without waiting for the smoke to clear and reveal the result of theirattack, every man hastily reloaded his rifle and raised his gun to hisshoulder, ready for instant use. The Indians were not armed except withbows and arrows, and the distance at which Carson's followers had firedwas believed to be out of range of the warriors.
Cries of alarm and confusion arose from the village. Few of the redmenhad believed that the white men would dare attack, and the unexpectedaction had thrown the entire place into confusion. It is true theIndians greatly outnumbered the little attacking party, but as soon asit was discovered that the white men were deadly in earnest anddetermined to secure the culprits for whom they had come, their greaternumbers did not afford much comfort to the startled braves. Many ofthem fled from the village, and those who remained speedily decided togive up their guilty comrades who had sought refuge among them. It wasimpossible to resist the onslaught of the band which had attacked them,when it was led by such a man as the quiet, courageous scout.
For the third time the rifles were loaded, but before they weredischarged an Indian was seen approaching, extending the palms of hishands in token of his peaceful purpose.
Directly behind him appeared a young Indian on horseback. He followedthe chief, who was advancing toward the white men, until he came nearthe place where the spokesman halted. Although the followers of KitCarson were prepared for any event, no gun was fired, while all the menawaited the coming of the messenger. It was believed now that therewould be no further attempt to shield the guilty parties for whom thepadre at the San Gabriel Mission had sent the expedition.
For a moment, although none of the watchful observers was able todiscover the cause, the herald remained silent. Reuben, who was deeplyinterested in the exciting event, now saw, approaching from thevillage, a young squaw. Just what was her purpose in coming was notapparent.
The herald began his speech. "We shall no longer protect the men forwhom the white brothers have come," he explained. "We did not ask themto come to our village. They were in trouble and they sought us out. Wewould punish them for the evil they did to the good padre, but now thatthe padre's men have come to take back to the mission the men who havedone evil, we shall no longer try to hold them in our village. Thebrothers of the padre when they see the evildoers coming forth from ourvillage will not then make any more attacks upon us."
The spokesman paused as if he was waiting for Carson to respond to hisimplied question. As the hunter remained silent, the Indian heraldcontinued his appeal. "Already we have children that are fatherlessbecause the white men have killed our braves. You can hear the wailingof the squaws whose husbands and sons you have slain. Is not thisenough punishment for the white men to visit upon us? We shall nolonger try to shield those who fled to us for refuge."
"Will you give us every one?" demanded Kit Carson abruptly.
"Every one," replied the Indian.
"Then tell them to come out to us now."
The Indian turned back toward the village and then, abruptly halting,once more faced the scout. "And will my white brother promise that noharm shall befall us? That he will take the bad Indians only? Will hepromise that they shall be dealt with justly, and that no harm shallcome to them on their way back to the mission?"
"I make no promises except to tell you that every man will be treatedas he deserves."
"That's just the very thing they don't want," muttered Jack, who hadbeen listening as he stood opposite Reuben. "If they got what theydeserved there wouldn't be many left in the village."
"I'm afraid there wouldn't be very many left among us either,"suggested Reuben quietly.
"What do you mean?" demanded Jack.
"Why, I mean that if every man got what he deserved perhaps he would beworse off than he is now."
"I never got all that I deserved," said Jack sharply. "I've seen a goodmany men who passed for more than they were worth and then again I'veseen others who didn't pass for what they were worth."
"Which is your class?" said Reuben, laughing. Throughout theconversation he had not turned away his gaze from the exciting eventswhich were occurring before him.
"It doesn't make any difference which is my class," retorted Jack. "AllI say is that Indians are all in one class----"
Jack stopped abruptly, for at that moment it was seen that the youngsquaw who had come from the village had now turned quickly toward theyoung Indian who had approached on horseback. Suddenly the mountedIndian darted ahead, his horse apparently breaking into its swiftestpaces at its first leap forward.
The action of the Indian girl, however, was most startling of all. Asthe young brave fled from the spot she grasped the tail of the horse hewas riding, and, clinging tenaciously to it, she was partly dragged andpartly helped forward as both fled from the spot.
At the first sight of the unexpected happening the men with Carsonlaughed loudly. To them it was apparently a joke of some kind that wasbeing enacted before them. In a moment, however, Kit Carson turned toReuben and Jack and said: "Take your horses and follow that redskin.He's trying to get away and he's using the squaw as a shield. If hethinks that she is going to protect him, just show him how mistaken heis. Take after them and don't come back until you get them both."
Instantly Reuben and Jack obeyed the command which had been given them,and putting their horses into their best paces started in pursuit ofthe fleeing pair.
It was not long, however, before they discovered that the Indian pony,in spite of the load he was carrying and the weight that was attachedto his tail--for the Indian girl still was clinging tenaciously to herhold--was much swifter than those of his pursuers.
The marvel of it all was the fearless manner in which the young squawstill clung to the tail of the running animal. There were moments whenshe was dragged over the sands, and then again she would regain herfooting and, running swiftly and leaping wildly, continue her flight.But whatever befell her, whether she was dragged or drawn, her graspwas not relaxed.
The horses which Reuben and Jack were riding were old and slow. Themain thought in the minds of the men when they departed from themission did not concern any possible pursuit. They all had confidentlybelieved that as soon as they approached the Indian village theculprits whom they were seeking would be delivered into their hands.
Their plans, however, had undergone a change, owing to the attack whichthey had been compelled to make. And now the wild flight of the twoIndians convinced the pursuers that the brave was a man of importancein the tribe and that there were special reasons why he was eager toescape.
Doggedly the white men held to the pursuit, but as they fled across thelevel plains toward the defiles of the mountains not more than tenmiles away, they were soon aware that there was slight probability oftheir overtak
ing the fugitives.
"My horse is winded!" called Jack sharply. "Let's turn back!"
"We can't turn back," replied Reuben.
"We can, and I shall," retorted Jack.
"You'll have to go alone," said Reuben. "Kit Carson told us to followthis redskin until we got him. We have been following him, but wehaven't got him yet."
"Well, I can't follow any farther," said Jack, and as Reuben glanced atthe horse of his companion he was convinced that the man had spokentruly. The sides of the poor beast were heaving convulsively and itssuffering was clearly apparent.
"You stop here!" called Reuben. "I'll go ahead alone. I have a rifleand the redskin hasn't any, so I'm not afraid."
In response to his suggestion Jack drew rein on his horse, and whenReuben glanced behind he saw that the poor animal was barely able tostand. The necessity of urging his own horse forward, however, sooncaused him to ignore the plight of his companion and he continued hiswell-nigh hopeless pursuit.
Reuben was convinced that the Indian, although now he had stopped andhad taken the squaw behind him on the back of his pony, would be ableto outdistance him. In the pursuit they had steadily drawn nearer thefoothills and once among them Reuben was convinced that the fugitiveswould escape. Doubtless they were familiar with the valleys and thegorges and would speedily find some place in which to hide. Butremembering the words which had been spoken to him by Kit Carson, andin a measure unconsciously imitating the spirit of the young scout,which knew no such word as turning back, Reuben still clung to thechase. The horse he was riding was slow, but its wind apparently washolding out. Again the boy glanced behind him, and quickly discoveredthat he was no longer able to see his companion. What had become ofJack was not plain, but without any thought of giving in, Reuben urgedhis steed forward.
In a brief time he was approaching the valley which he had seen whenthe pursuit first began. It was a narrow pass between the foothills.What lay beyond it he did not know, but his spirit of determination wasso strongly aroused that when the Indian whom he was following turnedinto the narrow defile he decided at once to follow him.
Not long afterward Reuben found himself in the gorge. It was severalhundred feet wide and on one side there was a steep, precipitous rock.On the opposite side the valley extended for several hundred feet tothe right, and apparently much of it was under cultivation. Surprisedby his discovery, Reuben still did not stop. He was relying chieflyupon the rifle he carried for his defence.
He had not advanced more than two hundred yards beyond the narrowopening before he was aware that further pursuit of the fugitives wouldbe useless. Both had disappeared from sight and doubtless were hiddenin some one of the many caves past which he had been riding.
Still keenly alert, Reuben turned and began to retrace his way towardthe entrance of the valley. He had advanced only a few yards, however,when his progress was abruptly halted.