CHAPTER XXVI--THE RETURN OF RAT
"Come on, shoot the brute!" shouted Jack, greatly excited as he saw theperil of the scout.
In response to his appeal several men ran for their rifles, but KitCarson himself, quickly turning to his followers, said quietly: "Noneof that, boys. This fellow isn't to blame for what he's doing. Leavehim to me."
In surprise the trappers drew back and watched the scout, as quicklyavoiding the rush of the black horse he soon quieted the excitedanimal, which was more nervous than savage. Indeed, in the days thatfollowed, the methods which Kit Carson employed to "break" thehigh-spirited animal were different from those which any of his friendshad ever seen or employed. In most cases horses were broken by the mostbrutal of means. Cruelty was so common that it was looked upon ascommonplace. The new method which the scout used was so different as tocause surprise among his followers. Indeed, many of them expressedtheir open belief that he would never succeed and his plan would onlyresult in damage to the one who employed it.
Kit Carson, strong and quiet, a man who did not hesitate to use thevery utmost of his strength and the greatest of his resources when hewas fighting, in most ways was quiet and gentle as a woman. Followinghis plan persistently, not many days had elapsed before the black horsewas following the scout almost as a dog follows his master. Indeed heseemed to develop a feeling of strong affection for his captor, and itwas plain to all the campers that they never before had seen theirleader become so fond of any animal.
In the days that passed, the horse, which was named Black Jack, becamethe pet of the entire camp. There was one strange trait, however, whichthe horse developed, and that was that he was unwilling for any of thetrappers to mount him save Kit Carson and, on rare occasions, Reuben.Several times Reuben had been permitted to ride the swift-footed steed,but it was plain to the beholders as well as to the rider that therewas no enthusiasm in carrying the boy. The excitement attending thecapture of the wild horse passed in a brief time, although Black Jackstill remained a great pet of the trappers.
There were busy days that followed. The season was proving to beunusually successful, and the number of skins taken by the men rapidlyincreased with every passing day. The daily round of visiting thetraps, the labour of skinning the animals that had been caught, and thework of drying and curing the catch occupied most of their time.
Indeed it was soon decided that the furs must be cached after the planwhich had been followed once before. This time it was Reuben whoassisted in selecting the spot where the hole should be dug in theground, and it was he who looked after the preparations of the place toreceive the valuable skins which represented so much toil and time.
Still the labour of trapping was steadily continued. One day whileReuben was alone, engaged in the task to which he had been assigned, hewas startled when he saw before him near one of the traps the stoopingfigure of a man. The stranger was bending over a trap, and for a momentthe lad was angered by the sight before him. He was suspicious that thevisitor was striving to steal the catch of the night. And there was nocrime considered more heinous among the trappers, unless it was that ofhorse stealing.
Hastily Reuben looked to the priming of his rifle and then advancing,quickly shouted: "Who is there? Who are you? What do you want?"
To the amazement of the startled lad the huge form of Rat arose fromthe opposite bank of the stream and quickly turned to face the one whohad hailed him.
"Huh!" exclaimed Rat. "It's only you, is it?" as he discovered who theparty was that had hailed him.
"That's all," said Reuben dryly, "and I see you're just Rat. Tell mewhat you're doing here."
"I'm 'tending to my own business, and that's more than some people aredoing."
"You don't look as if you were," retorted Reuben, still more angered bythe manner of the man.
"What do I look as if I was doing?"
"You know as well as I do," said Reuben quickly, "and you know whatsometimes happens to men for doing that very thing."
"You little cub!" roared Rat. "I've a great mind to treat you as----"
"As you were treated by Kit Carson?" laughed Reuben.
For a moment the expression of anger on the face of the huge man causedReuben to regret the hasty words he had spoken. He felt safe, however,as the brook was wide and deep, and he had little fear that Rat wouldventure into the cold waters of the mountain torrent. Water had everbeen one of the pet aversions of the huge Rat, and he had neverlistened kindly to suggestions of his camp mates as to its use. For amoment the angry face of the man glared upon Reuben, and then as if bya supreme effort, Rat, striving to look more pleasant, said: "And whatluck have you had this winter?"
"Good. How has yours been?"
"My luck is against me," replied Rat, shaking his head as he spoke."Everything is against me."
"Including Rat," suggested Reuben.
"What do you mean?" thundered the trapper, his face once moreexpressive of his anger.
"Nothing, except that you stand in your own way. That's what everybodyabout the camp says. They would like to be friends with you, but youwon't let them."
"Why won't I let them? I would like to be on good terms witheverybody."
"With Kit Carson?" inquired Reuben.
"Yes, even with Kit Carson." As Rat spoke, Reuben was conscious for aninstant of a deep scowl that appeared on the face of the trapper, butit disappeared so quickly that he was not even positive that it hadbeen there at all. "What would Kit Carson say if I came back to camp?"inquired Rat at last.
"That would depend very much upon what you yourself said, I reckon. IfI remember right, that's the way it was before, wasn't it? If you hadkept quiet Kit Carson would have been quiet, too."
"I hear he has married a squaw," suggested Rat.
"You can hear all sorts of things."
"Did he?"
"Yes. He's not ashamed of it."
"Perhaps she'll be when he runs off and leaves her."
"I advise you not to suggest that thing to Kit Carson the next time yousee him. You'll have more than a lame wrist to show for it if you do."
"He took me off my guard," protested Rat. "I wasn't ready for him."
"That wasn't any fault of yours. He caught you before you could getready. You were doing your best to get the drop on him."
"That's a lie!" shouted Rat. "I wasn't doing anything of the kind! Butthen," he added a moment later, his voice becoming lower, though it wasplain that he had regained his self-control only by a great effort,"but then I have no desire to quarrel with Kit Carson nor any one inthe camp. I would like to be friends with all, if they'd let me."
"Do you mean you want to come back to camp?" inquired Reuben.
"Yes."
The lad whistled and made no response until Rat said: "Don't you thinkthey would let me come?"
"If you will promise to be on your good behaviour, they'll be glad tohave you come. They wouldn't have you there a minute, though, if youtried the trick you did before."
"I haven't any trick to try. I'm hungry and I'm tired. If they'll giveme some supper and let me spend the night in camp, that's all I want.I'll leave to-morrow morning if they want me to. If they will let me,though, I'll stay and do my share, and be glad to do it."
"I can't say what they'll do. The only thing for you to do is to tryit."
"Maybe you'll go ahead and find out for me?" suggested Rat, his voicebecoming almost a whine in his eagerness.
"No, come along. Go back up the stream about a mile and you'll find aplace where you can jump across. If you want to you can come over onthis bank now."
"I don't want to," said Rat quickly, glancing at the rushing torrent,as if it was threatening him. "I'll walk back up the bank and wait foryou. How long will you be?"
"I don't know," said Reuben. "I wasn't coming back this way anyway. I'mgoing to visit the traps and set them. I have brought bait with me andI'll fix every trap before I leave."
"Would you like to have me help you?" inquired Rat, striving to spe
akpleasantly.
Reuben hesitated a moment and then said: "Yes. You had better comeacross here, though, and not wait to go back up the stream."
In response to the suggestion the huge man, with many groans andprotestations, finally entered the stream, and as the depth of thewater increased he held high above his head the two pistols with whichhe was armed. The sight was ludicrous and Reuben laughed heartily. Asthe man came nearer the bank on which he was standing Reuben's heartalmost misgave him for the invitation he had given. Nor was it longbefore Reuben had greater cause for regret that he had been willing forthe huge Rat to join him.