Brinton Kingsland, after peering over the crest1 of the elevation2 for a few brief moments, turned and hastily descended3 to where his pony4 awaited him. Without touching5 his bridle6, he spoke7, and the obedient animal followed him, while the parents and little sister anxiously listened to the report of what he learned.
"It's the very party of Indians that we have been trying to get away from," added the youth to his first explanation; "there are seven of them, and Wolf Ear is among them."
"Is he?" eagerly asked Edith, from her wrappings on the saddle in front of her mother "oh, let me see him! Tell him I am here."
"Keep quiet! Don't speak," said her father sternly. "Wolf Ear is with bad Indians, and is a bad Indian himself"
The child would have protested, but for the manner of her father. He could be firm when he chose, and she knew better than to disobey him but she pouted8 just a little, as she nestled down by her mother, who shared to some extent her faith in the Ogalalla who had spent so many hours under their roof.
"What are they doing?" asked Mr. Kingsland of his son.
"They act queerly; the party are drawn9 up together, and looking off in the direction of the trail to the agency, over which they expect us to pass."
"They are on the watch for us, of course; how far away do you judge the trail to be?"
"Several miles; it seems odd to me that they should ride so far south, instead of staying nearer to it."
"It is plain enough to me; they fear that if we caught sight of them, as we should be sure to do, we would hurry back to the house, where they should have less chance against us. By keeping hidden, so that we could not discover our danger until too far away from home, they could ride in behind us and cut off our escape in that direction. But how are we to escape them?"
"We passed an arroya a little way back: let us take to that, and there isn't a minute to lose."
The youth hastily climbed into the saddle, and turned the nose of Jack10 about, so that he went back directly over his own hoof-prints. A little distance, and they struck a narrow valley-like depression, which wound further to the south than the course they were pursuing at the moment of the startling interruption. He entered this at once, the others directly at his heels, the animals walking fast, but with a silence that made one suspect they understood the danger that threatened all.
The arroya, as it is termed in some parts of the country, was a straight passage, resembling a gully, between banks a dozen feet in height. It looked as if it had been washed out years before, by some violent rush of waters, which soon ran itself dry, leaving the abrupt12 banks, facing each other, at varying distances of from ten to fifty feet.
In some places these banks of clay were perpendicular13, so that a horse, once within the gorge14, could not leave it at many points, while in others, the dirt had tumbled in to an extent which made it easy for him to climb out.
The course of the arroya was devious15, and there was no saying when it would terminate by rising to the level of the prairie. At most, it could be but a temporary refuge for the fugitives16.
The thought occurred to both father and son that the Indians must soon discover this refuge, which would be welcome to them and their animals while the piercing blast was sweeping17 across the prairie. The eddying18 snow had almost ceased, but the wind blew fitfully, and whenever it touched the face or bare hand, it was like a needle of ice. The American Indian is one of the toughest of creatures, but he does not disdain19 shelter for himself and beast from the merciless blizzard20, or driving tempest. Many of those gathered about Pine Ridge21, during the critical days in '90-'91, found protection in the pockets of earth in the gullies, where they peered out like wild animals on the alert for a chance to spring at the blue-coated sentinel, without risk to themselves.
If the arroya should hold its general course southward for several miles, the little party might successfully escape the hostiles, who intruded22 between them and the agency. The afternoon was wearing away, and the night would be moonless and starless. Our friends hoped, if they escaped until then, to lessen23 greatly the distance between them and Pine Ridge.
A quarter or a third of a mile through the winding24 gully, and Brinton drew rein25, and waited until his parents rode up beside him.
"I wonder what has become of them?" was his inquiring remark.
"What does it matter," asked his mother in turn, "so long as we cannot see them? We must be a good way from them now."
"I wish I could think so, but I can't feel easy while riding in this blind fashion. There may be greater danger in front than we have left behind."
"What do you propose to do?" asked the father.
"Take a look round and learn, if I can, how things are going."
Without explaining further, the youth swung himself down once more from the saddle, and hurried to the edge of the arroya on his left. There was a spot so sloping that after a little work, with the dirt crumbling26 under his feet, he reached the level above, and was able to peer over a great deal of the surrounding prairie without exposing himself.
The result ought to have been gratifying, but it was hardly that. North, south, east, and west the youth bent27 his keen vision, but not a sign of the dreaded28 hostiles was to be seen. They were as invisible as though they had never been.
Had the distance travelled by the fugitives since their fright been twice or thrice as great, this must have been the best of omens29, but the space was not far, and it was almost self-evident that the band was still in the neighbourhood.
But where?
That was the question on the lips of father and son as they discussed the situation, and in the minds of both trembled the same answer: the hostiles were in the arroya itself, behind the fugitives.
"They have ridden down the bank," said the parent, "to shelter their ponies30 from the icy blast, and are there now."
"Will they suspect that we have been this way?" inquired the mother.
"They cannot fail to notice the hoof-prints we have left," replied her husband, "and that will tell the story as plainly as if they sat on the bank as we rode by."
The alarming declaration caused the wife to cast a terrified glance behind her, as if she expected to see the ferocious31 redskins burst into view with crack of rifle and ear-splitting shriek32.
In the circumstances, there was manifestly but one thing to do—push on with no more delay than was inevitable33.
The ground at the bottom of the arroya was comparatively level, and the horses dropped into an easy swinging gallop34, which lasted but a few minutes, when Mr. Kingsland called in a faint voice, as he brought his animal down to a walk—
"Hold on, Brinton!"
"What is the matter?" asked the son, looking at him in dismay.
"I can't stand it; I am not as strong as I thought."
He reeled in his saddle, and the startled son reached out to prevent his falling.
"Forgive me, father; I forgot your illness."
"There—there—I am all right," he murmured, putting his hand to his face, in the effort to master his weakness.
His wife was also at his side, anxious and alarmed.
"Hugh, I fear you have undertaken more than you can do," she said, laying her hand affectionately on his arm, and peering into as much of his face as was visible through the thick wrappings.
He made no reply, and it was plain that he was nearly fainting. There was nothing his friends could do for him, except to help him out of the saddle, and they were about to propose that, when a slight but alarming accident took place.
The Winchester, resting across the saddle-bow and hitherto grasped in the mittened36 hands of the man, slipped from his relaxed fingers and fell to the earth. The lock struck in such a way that a chamber37 was discharged, the bullet burying itself in the bank which Brinton had climbed only a few minutes before.
The sharp explosion roused Edith, who was sinking into a doze11, and imparted to the man himself such a shock that his growing faintness gave instant place to renewed strength. He straightened up and said—
"Gracious! that's too bad; they must have heard it."
"We can't tell about that; are you stronger?"
"Yes; let's push on; we must lose no time."
Brinton longed to force the animals into a gallop, but dared not, after what had just taken place. But they were pushed to a rapid walk, which was kept up some ten or fifteen minutes, when came another sudden halt, for the good reason that they had reached the end of the arroya.
That singular formation, after winding about for a long distance, rose to the level of the prairie, and disappeared.
To proceed further must be done by exposure to any hostiles in the neighbourhood. Brinton stopped and looked inquiringly at his father.
"As near as I can judge," said the latter, "we are close to the Big Cheyenne; we ought to cross that early this evening and keep on to the White, which should be reached by daylight; then the ride is not far to Pine Ridge."
"Night is near; we will wait awhile; the rest will do you good, and I will take a look over our own trail."
Leaving his friends to themselves, Brinton headed back and struck Jack into a moderate gallop through the arroya.
He was uneasy over that accident with his father's Winchester. If heard by the keen-eared hostiles they would start an investigation38, which could have but one result.
"They must have heard it," was his belief, "and if so, they knew where it came from. It won't take them long to learn its meaning—halloa! what's the matter, Jack?"
More than once, the sagacity of his animal had warned the youth of the approach of danger. The pony dropped into a walk so quickly that the rider was thrown slightly forward in the saddle. Then the animal pricked39 up his ears, took a few more stops and halted.
"That means something," thought Brinton, bringing his rifle round to the front and making ready to use it on the instant if needed. He softly drew the mitten35 from his right hand.
The gully turned sharply to the left, just ahead, and he knew that Jack had scented40 danger. But, if so, minute after minute passed and it did not appear. The youth became perplexed41, and was in sore doubt whether to push on a little further or turn back.
He gently twitched42 the rein and touched his heels against the ribs43 of his pony. He advanced a couple of paces, and stopped as abruptly44 as before, his head still up, his ears erect45, while the snuffing nostrils46 showed that he was wiser than his rider.
"I'll be hanged if I don't learn the meaning of this," muttered Brinton Kingsland, who, with less discretion47 than he generally showed, swung himself out of the saddle and moved stealthily forward, with the resolution to learn the cause of Jack's alarm.
And he learned it soon enough.
He had barely time to pass part way round the curve in the arroya, which was unusually winding at that portion, when he came face to face with an Indian horseman.
The animal of the latter, quite as sagacious as Jack's, had detected the presence of a stranger beyond the turn, and halted until the latter revealed himself, or his master decided48 upon the line to pursue.
Brinton's great blunder was in moving so impatiently through the gully that he was revealed too soon to draw back. Thus it was that it may be said he almost precipitated49 himself upon the buck50 before he saw him.
It would be hard to describe Brinton's emotions when on the first startled glance at the solitary51 Indian he recognised him as Wolf Ear, whom he had encountered but a little while before. The Indian looked fixedly52 at him, and something like a smile lit up his broad coppery face.
"Thus we meet, Brinton," he said in his low voice; "will you come forward and shake hands?"
"Why should I shake hands?" asked the youth, thoroughly53 distrustful of the Ogalalla; "we are enemies."
"That is for you to decide," was the cool remark of the Indian youth.
He made as if to ride away, when Brinton interposed.
"Your actions do not agree with your words."
"And why not?"
"After parting from me, you rode away and joined my enemies."
To the amazement54 of the youth, the young Ogalalla without a word wheeled about and galloped55 out of sight up the arroya.
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1
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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6
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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7
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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8
pouted
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| v.撅（嘴）( pout的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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11
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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12
abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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13
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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14
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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15
devious
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| adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的 | |
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16
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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17
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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18
eddying
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| 涡流，涡流的形成 | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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20
blizzard
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| n.暴风雪 | |
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21
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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22
intruded
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| n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于 | |
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23
lessen
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| vt.减少，减轻；缩小 | |
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24
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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26
crumbling
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| adj.摇摇欲坠的 | |
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27
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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28
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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29
omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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30
ponies
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| 矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑 | |
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31
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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32
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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33
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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34
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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mitten
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| n.连指手套，露指手套 | |
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mittened
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| v.（使）变得潮湿，变得湿润( moisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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38
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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39
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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40
scented
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| adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词) | |
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41
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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42
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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43
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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44
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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45
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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46
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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47
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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48
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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49
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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50
buck
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| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
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51
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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52
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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53
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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54
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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55
galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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