CHAPTER XXIII
THE LAST STAND
The boy ranchers--only two of them now, for Bud was taking amuch-needed rest, stood silent in the darkness, on one edge of thecamp. They listened "with all their ears," for they were, if notexactly in the enemy's territory, at least within striking distance ofthe Yaquis, and every precaution must be taken.
So when Nort whispered to Dick that a suspicious noise had been heard,Dick was only too ready to believe it.
"Where did you hear it?" Dick asked in a cautious voice when, afterseveral seconds of intent listening, neither had caught a sound.
"Off there," replied Nort rather vaguely, pointing to the darknessahead of them--a darkness where the rays of several camp fires did notpenetrate, and which the starlight did not seem to pierce.
"I don't hear anything," went on Dick. "Maybe it was only the wind.We don't want to give an alarm and--"
"Hark!" interrupted his brother in a low but tense voice.
Clearly then, to the ears of both, came the unmistakable sound ofsomeone or something approaching. There was the crunching of gravel,and the noise of some hard substance moving on a rock.
"It's the Yaquis!" whispered Nort, as he brought his rifle to bear onthe blackness in front of him. "They're creeping up to make an attack!"
Dick also got his gun in readiness for instant action, and the boyswere just about to fire when a noise, best described as "unearthly,"smote their ears. It was a long drawn out cry, weird andblood-curdling. That it was the warwhoop of the Yaquis both boys werebeginning to believe, in spite of knowing that these Mexicans seldom ifever used such romantic if terrible means of terrifying their enemies.
I say the boys were on the verge of accepting the noise as that, whenits character suddenly changed, and the stillness of the night wasfairly shattered by a loud:
"Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"
The reaction was so great that Nort and Dick nearly dropped their guns,and they turned to look one at the other with sheepish grins that wouldhave been visible had the light been stronger. And then, with onevoice the brothers exclaimed:
"Maud!"
It was one of the army transport mules, an animal that helped carry thecamp baggage! She had strayed.
Again rose the cry, not so weird now that its nature was known.
"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"
And from the camp came a disgusted complaint from some sleepy trooperas he shouted: "The chump who tied that mule so he could wander oughtto be made to go get him!"
There was laughter at this, for many had been awakened by the brayingof the animal. And then one of the men in charge of the animals cameout and managed to corral the wanderer.
"Gosh! I'm glad we didn't shoot!" exclaimed Nort, as their tour ofduty ended and their relief came.
"Same here!" added his brother. "How they would have laughed at us ifwe had plugged old Maud!"
This was the only disturbing incident of the night, the remainder ofwhich passed quietly.
With the first streak of dawn the troopers were up, as were thecowboys, for Rolling Stone had said, and Buck Tooth agreed with him,that if the Yaquis did attack it would be at dawn, since they seldomfought after nightfall.
But no attack came, and breakfast was served, with sentries on thewatch to guard against surprise. Some steaming hot coffee, crisp baconthe odor of which was an aroma in the morning air, flapjacks and sourdough bread for those who wanted it, made the meal, which wellfortified those who partook of it for the day's events, which weredestined to be strenuous.
Once again the order was:
"Forward--march!"
Again they were on the trail of the Yaquis.
As they advanced the "sign" became more pronounced that the band hadpassed that way. Whether they had the captives with them could, ofcourse, only be guessed at.
But the trail had been carefully scanned, and there was no evidencethat Rosemary and Floyd had been put out of the way. As far as couldbe told the captives were still the prisoners of the Indians. Andthere were no marks to show that any smaller body had branched off fromthis band of Yaquis that had the unfortunate youth and maiden in charge.
So it was with the hope of finding their cousins safe, though perhapsin dire distress, that the boy ranchers pressed on with their friendsthe troopers and the cowboys.
As the trail became more pronounced, greater precautions were takenagainst a surprise. And a surprise in the rocky defiles through whichthey were passing would have been well nigh fatal. So scouts wereconstantly in the lead, ready at the first suspicious sign to send backword to the main body to be on the alert.
The morning passed without incident, save for one or two false alarms,and there was a sigh of relief when the midday meal was served withoutinterruption in the shape of hostile bullets. Then, after a brief restfor the horses, the march was again taken up.
"I wonder when we'll find them?" asked Nort.
"It's been quite a while now," added Dick.
"Poor Rosemary," sighed Bud, trying to find an easy position for hiswounded hand. "She must have had a tough time."
"Yet she had a lot of grit to send that message the way she did,"commented Nort.
"Yes, only for that we wouldn't have known about it for a longtime--maybe too late," agreed Bud.
It was but a few minutes after this talk that, suddenly, a shot rangout well up ahead. Instantly every nerve tingled for it might mean thebeginning of the last fight. The shot was almost at once followed byothers, and then a scout came clattering back.
"We've found 'em!" he cried. "And it's going to be a dickens of afight! They're in a regular fort!"
The firing in front became more brisk. Clearly all the van guard wasnow engaged, and quick orders were issued to send up a squad or two ofthe troopers, while the main body prepared for what they hoped would bethe last battle.
Captain Marshall rapidly questioned the messenger who had come back.The man told how he and his companions had been riding along when theywere suddenly fired upon. The shot came from a ledge at one side ofthe defile through which the trail ran, and they had a glimpse of aYaqui warrior shaking his fist at them in defiance as he disappearedamid the rocks after delivering his warning shot.
Then the shooting between the outposts of the Indians and the advanceguard of the rescue party became general as the scout rode back toreport.
Captain Marshall hurried to the front with his first band of fighters,the cowboys and our youthful heroes being bidden to remain where theywere until the officer had made an observation. In a little whileCaptain Marshall came back.
"It will be their last stand!" he exclaimed.
"How so?" asked Snake.
"Well, they're there with their backs to the wall. They can't get outat the rear and we're here in front to stop them if they come this way.It will be a fight to a finish!"
And as the boy ranchers wondered at the fate of Rosemary and Floydthere came from the front a burst of firing.