CHAPTER XII.
COURTSHIP UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
The old trapper and Kelly made their way quietly to the top of the hill through the canyon before mentioned, and were immediately discovered by the Blackfeet, who rushed for their arms and were about to fire upon the two white men, when Gray Eagle interposed his authority, he having recognized the scout.
The two white men walked into the Blackfoot camp and seating themselves beside the fire, entered into conversation with the chief.
"Red Pine, the Sioux, has taken the daughter of Gray Eagle once more," he said. "Can White Panther tell who is to rescue her?"
"It is as much your business as anybody's, I should say," replied the scout, who had heard what Gray Eagle had said about him to Jehiel and Snowdrop.
"Does White Panther remember his promise?"
"Yes. But it seems that the chief of the Blackfeet has forgotten his," replied the scout.
"No. Gray Eagle never forgets! When the White Panther does all he promised, then the pale-faces can come and go when they please, among the Black Hills."
The scout felt the spirit of perverseness rising within him.
"I don't know as I care very much about it any more," he replied. "It is all the same to me if Red Pine keeps the Blackfoot queen, and starves her father to death—as it seems he can if he wants to. Jehiel told me all about it, chief, how you was going off home without making an effort to find me, after I had risked my life half a dozen times for you and your daughter!"
"Snowdrop loves the White Panther," suggested Gray Eagle.
"I don't care if she does; I don't love her, and I have told her so; and if she had not made a fool of herself by running after me, she would not now be in the hands of the Sioux. But no matter about that—you don't love me, if she does; and I am half a mind to let the Sioux starve you out."
"That will never be!" replied the chief. "Gray Eagle has made the smoke signals which will bring every warrior in the Blackfoot village to fight the Sioux. Then Gray Eagle can go down and fight them, too, and when he has killed them all, he will take White Panther prisoner, and make him marry Snowdrop!"
"You must be an old fool!" retorted the scout. "But then, I won't quarrel with you. When you get ready to take me prisoner, please let me know, and perhaps I can help you—and, chief, if it should accidentally happen that you get taken yourself, let me know that, too; and if I don't help you, it will be because I don't want to!"
The scout and his companion were turning to leave, when Gray Eagle asked:
"What is to hinder Gray Eagle from going down where his pale-face brothers go?"
"Perhaps nothing—perhaps much!" replied the scout. "In the first place, there is some one down there who will shoot the first Indian he sees, whether Blackfoot or Sioux! That is reason enough, and if it was not, there is a better one—I don't want you to go down there!"
The old chief could not avoid showing surprise at the bold, and even threatening language of the scout, and he concluded to adopt a different course.
"Would White Panther see the father of Snowdrop, who loves the pale-face, die here? Gray Eagle has nothing to eat."
"There is no one to blame but yourself," replied the scout. "You should have brought up provisions enough to last you. Are you very hungry?"
"Yes," replied Gray Eagle.
"Then why don't you go down and fight the Sioux? They have plenty to eat, and the plains are covered with buffalo."
"The Sioux can not come up, neither can the warriors of Gray Eagle go down!"
"Then why don't you stand up here and pick them off, one at a time? If you could manage to shoot Red Pine, the rest would leave—then you could go down and have things all your own way!"
The remarks of the scout were very tantalizing, and the old chief nearly choked himself trying to smother his anger.
"Come, Bear-Paw," said the scout, "let's go to the edge of the bluff and see what the Sioux are up to. You come too, chief."
The three cautiously approached the edge of the cliff and looked down upon the Sioux camp.
Every thing was quiet there—the warriors were lying around on the grass—smoking, sleeping or gambling, as they pleased.
Snowdrop was sitting at the door of a rudely-constructed teepe, her head bowed in meditation; while twenty yards away stood the Sioux chief, engaged in a like manner. None of them had yet observed the three figures above them.
"Gray Eagle, have you a bow and arrows?" asked the scout.
"Yes," replied the chief.
"Get it, then, and send an arrow down to Snowdrop. I want her to look up here."
The chief did so, and a glad smile filled the Indian girl's face when she saw the scout with her father.
Now that she knew he was safe, she trusted with all her loving woman's heart that he would rescue her from her captors.
Just then two Indians, who had been amusing themselves with a pack of greasy cards, looked up and saw them, and with a loud yell they sprung for their guns.
"Le's salt them fellers," said the old trapper, now speaking for the first time since he left the cave.
The two white men discharged their rifles.
Immediately all was commotion in the Sioux camp. A hundred armed men sprung to their feet, but there were none of the enemy in sight; and the howlings over the bodies of their slain warriors were both long and loud.
The scout and Bear-Paw then returned to the cave, and seated themselves beside the fire, and for a few minutes had all they could do to answer Jehiel's questions.
"If the Blackfoot chief had any spunk at all, he could easily drive the Sioux away," said Kelly; "but it seems as if he was completely discouraged. I'll just bet, if it was me, I would make a big hole in their ranks before dark!"
"Oh, Lew!" exclaimed Jehiel, as a new idea struck him, "let's me and you go up and take the contrack of lickin' the Sioux! Mebbe we could make some kind of a swap with old Gray Eagle, and get a load of beaver-skins to carry home with us. What do you say?"
"I say that we can have a load of something better to carry, without running any risk."
"I don't know of any thing any better," said Jehiel. "Beaver and mink fetch a good price, now-a-days, and we kin make our 'tarnal fortunes—pervidin', of course, we kin git the contrack. But then, mebbe, arter we'd licked the Sioux, old Gray Eagle wouldn't pay us for it—he's an o'nery old thief. What do you suppose is the reason, Lew, that Snowdrop don't fall in love with me? Ain't I good-lookin' enough? Can't I shoot as good as the best of them—and hain't I done enough for her, I'd like to know?"
"I'm sure I can not tell, Jehiel. Have you said any thing to her about it?"
"Yaas, and she give me the mitten quicker 'n spat!" said Jehiel.
"Well, don't get discouraged—perhaps she will come around all right yet. Now, Jehiel, supposing you were rich enough to go back to Vermont and buy out the richest man in your county, would you want to marry an Indian girl?"
"In course I would! Darn it all, Lew, I love the gal, and I don't care whether she is white or black, red or yellow! 'Sides, there hain't no chance to speculate out here. And I don't never expect to get rich here."
"Sit still a minute, and I will convince you to the contrary," said Kelly, and he produced the bag of gold which the old trapper had given him, and poured the contents out before the astonished Jehiel.
"Thunder, Lew! Where did you get all this? Is there any more where this come from? Du tell me if it's all your'n?"
"One question at a time, Jehiel—they will last the longer. In the first place, this bag of gold was a present to me from our friend Bear-Paw; and I assure you there is plenty more where this came from—and this is all mine. Under certain circumstances I shall be at liberty to show you where it came from, and to furnish you enough to make you richer than the wealthiest man in the State of Vermont! But, if those circumstances never transpire, then I will divide this with you."
The scout would have revealed the secret of the chasm, but he did not feel at liberty to do so, as the old trapper had trusted to his honor. He turned to Bear-Paw, and said:
"Will you show Jehiel your menagerie?"
"Sartin, ef he wants ter see 'em," replied the old man, leading the way to the chasm.
Jehiel had not the slightest intimation of what was before him, and his astonishment was unbounded when they arrived at the chasm.
"Jewhillakens!" he exclaimed. "S'pose a feller should walk off here sometime, would he ever touch bottom?"
He received no reply, for had there been any, he was too much surprised just then to have heard it. He saw the old trapper swing off on the end of the rope, and heard him when he stopped upon the opposite side, and waved his torch as a signal for the scout to catch the rope.
"Now," said Kelly, "you go over."
Jehiel showed signs of cowardice.
"How fur is it over there?" he asked.
"About sixty feet," was the reply.
"But durn it, Lew, I might fall and break my tarnal neck."
"Oh! there is no danger of that—all you have to do is to hang on to the rope; and you see there is a big knot in the end, so that your hands won't slip."
"But what's the use in goin' over there? Hain't there plenty of room here?"
"Yes, I suppose so; but I want to show you something on the other side," replied the scout.
"Wal, I hain't afraid, in course, but if it hain't necessary I won't go!"
"It is necessary!" answered the scout.
"Wal, if I must, I must; but the Lord knows I don't want to! And Lew, if I fall and kill myself, I shall always blame you."
"All right! I'll take the blame—you hang on to the rope."
Jehiel let his weight bear on the rope, shut his eyes, and raising his feet from the floor, soon felt himself swinging through space at a rate that made him hold his breath, and tighten his grip upon the rope. He would have retained his hold and swung back again, had not the old trapper seized him by the arm and stopped him.
They were soon joined by the scout, and proceeded at once to the menagerie.
Here the old trapper stuck his torch in the ground, and spoke with a voice trembling with emotion:
"Here's my pets—jest ther best lot uv b'ars an' painters I ever see'd—an' I've got ter leave 'em! I didn't think uv thet when I got 'em here, sech little fellers; but now I feel thet I'm er goin ter die, an' thar won't be nobody ter take care uv 'em, an' love 'em as I do!"
Seeing his evident distress, Kelly said:
"If there was any way to get them away from here, and to the settlements, I would agree to take care of them for you. But don't give way to such feelings, Bear-Paw—you may live many years yet to enjoy the companionship of your pets."
The old man bowed his head and remained silent. After a time he asked:
"Do you care any thing about ther daughter uv ther Blackfoot chief?"
"No, I do not," replied Kelly. "And yet I would rather see her in other hands. If I could only rescue her, and get the Sioux chief's scalp, I should be happy! Then Gray Eagle could have no excuse for not keeping his promise to me."
"Then I'll help yer; an' I reckon we kin do it ef anybody kin!" said the old man.
"I don't think of any way that we can do it, though."
"Kin yer talk the Blackfoot language?"
"Yes," replied the scout.
"Then let's go ter ther openin' whar we war ther other day, an' mebby yer kin git er chance ter say suthin ter her."
They proceeded to the opening, before described, passing the guard, Barnum, after considerable trouble; for the animal was unusually cross that day, having been some time without food.
Here the scout mounted the ladder, and was soon peering through a fissure at the Sioux camp. Two hours before, he had been upon the hill nearly a hundred feet above his present position.
Again fortune favored him, for he saw the Indian girl approaching the stream close by where he stood.
The scout waited until she had reached the water's edge, when he gave a low whistle.
She looked up, and he spoke to her, making use of the Blackfoot dialect, which, for the convenience of the reader we will interpret.
"Snowdrop," said the scout, "when it is dark, come to the place where you are now, and I will take you away. Bring the Sioux chief with you, that I may take him a prisoner."
"Is it White Panther who speaks?" asked the girl.
"Yes."
"Snowdrop will come."
The conversation had not been heard by the Sioux, and Snowdrop returned to her teepe, while Kelly descended the ladder and stood beside his friends. The three then returned to the main room to await the coming of night.