CHAPTER VI.
THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN.
When Kelly was left alone after Jehiel had started in pursuit of Snowdrop, he dismounted from his horse, and at a signal from him the sagacious animal lay down upon the ground, and Kelly proceeded to take his rest.
With his rifle beside him, his head pillowed upon the neck of the noble brute, he was soon in the realm of dreams. His sleep was long and deep, for the scout was very tired, and he did not awake until long after dark. Then the uneasy actions of his horse aroused him, and the motion of his ears, when the scout partially raised up, showed that he had heard some suspicious sounds; and Kelly felt confident that whatever the danger was it was very near, for the animal lay quite still, with his ears pointed forward in the attitude of intense apprehension.
The scout silently drew back the hammer of his rifle, and felt in his belt to see that his knife and revolvers were in their accustomed place.
Silence reigned for a few minutes, as deep as though no living thing was within miles of there.
Then Kelly heard some peculiar sounds—very slight at first, but plain and distinct. He recognized the sounds as being produced by the feet of human beings, and he knew that at least two persons were coming directly toward his hiding-place.
The scout did not move, neither did the noble black horse beside him. Both seemed instinctively to know that Indians were about, and the scout thought it more than probable that it was a part of the Sioux band who were trying to find him and Jehiel.
He kept still also because he thought that by so doing the Indians might pass by without noticing him.
The sound of falling footsteps came nearer and nearer, and the brave scout could see that they were moving with great caution. And they were coming straight toward him, and so close were they that Kelly imagined they might hear the beating of his heart.
His rifle was already cocked, and he now brought it to his shoulder, resolving to use it should his presence be discovered or necessity require.
"Listen," said a strange voice in unmistakable English, "I thought I heard something!" and another voice responded—"Yes, I heard the breaking of a twig;" and Kelly recognized the last as the voice of a woman.
"I wonder if it can be Jehiel and Snowdrop?" he soliloquized, but he could not tell whether the woman was white or red.
Whoever it was they kept perfectly still, evidently listening for a repetition of the sounds; and although the silence was of only a minute's duration it seemed an hour to the scout.
Again he heard them moving along, and they were now within a few feet of him, when Kelly, in a low, firm voice, said: "Halt!" As the steps ceased he continued—"Who comes there?"
"A white man, and an enemy to none but Indians!" was the reply.
Kelly recognized the voice of the speaker, and exclaimed:
"Gracious! is that you, Curtiss? Come on—but who have you got there?"
"I do not know what her name is, or where she came from; but I do know that she has done a good job for me, that I will not soon forget. She crept to my side about an hour ago, and cut the thongs with which I was bound to a tree, and probably saved me from getting roasted."
Then the scout looked at her as well as he could in the dim light, but she did not speak.
"She is no Blackfoot," he said, "and she is too good looking for a Sioux. Tell you what it is, Curtiss, I believe she is a white girl! How is it, girl, can you speak the language of the pale-faces?"
"Yes," replied a low, sweet voice, "I am Nu-le-la, the sister of Red Pine, the Sioux chief."
"The dickens, you are! Well, Curtiss, you and I are in luck, no matter who the young lady is. But, if she is a Sioux we will have to keep her close, or she will betray us to her brother. There will be a loud rumpus when they find out you are gone."
"Just listen! They have found it out already," said the Indian girl. "Let us leave here, for Red Pine will have a hundred braves upon our path as soon as the light comes, and he can be cruel when he chooses!" Loud yells could now be heard far down in the valley.
"Did you conceal your trail when you came here?" the scout asked of Curtiss.
"No," he replied, "we came as fast as we could, and had but one thought—that was to get away as fast as possible."
"Then they will have no trouble in following your trail when daylight comes, so the best thing we can do is to get out of here as soon as possible. I found a cave one day when I was out hunting, and not far from here. If I can only find it again, we will be all right. We have a few hours the start of them, so I guess we can find shelter before they can find us. Come on, now, and be sure and keep in a line directly behind me," said Kelly, as he entered the stream leading his horse. "And another thing," he continued, "you must be careful and not break any of the bushes along the bank, nor leave a footprint in the sand!"
And leading his pet horse he led the way up the stream.
When the stream became too narrow for the scout and his horse to walk abreast, he led the way, the faithful black following him, and Curtiss with the Sioux maiden bringing up the rear.
The current of the stream was swift, and whatever footprints were made were quickly washed full of sand and stones; and half an hour after no trace could be found in the bed of the stream, of those who so recently had passed through. They could hear the angry yells of the Sioux far down the valley, and they pressed on without halting.
The stream now came through a narrow defile with huge rocks towering perpendicularly upon either side; then having gone a few rods further, the scout halted.
"This looks very much like a trap!" said Curtiss.
"Well, yes," replied the scout. "It would be a trap if the Sioux only knew we were here. But they don't know it and this is not the place I proposed for us to roost in. Follow me a little longer." So saying, he led the way a few feet further, then turning abruptly to the right, disappeared in what seemed to Curtiss to be solid rock.
Presently the voice of the scout was heard:
"Why don't you come in? 'Walk into my parlor, said the spider to the fly,'" he sung, as Curtiss and the Indian girl entered the fissure in the rocks through which the brave scout had disappeared with his horse.
They found themselves within a large cave, thirty or forty feet in length, and perhaps half that distance in width. The floor was as smooth as could be wished for, while the room was high enough for all purposes.
"How do you like this?" asked Kelly. "Here is room enough and to spare, and no one can find the entrance unless they come up the stream as we did; and even if they should, we could defend ourselves against the whole Sioux nation!" He at once led his horse to the further end of the cave, and returned to the opening.
It was now daylight, and he took the opportunity to have another look at the Indian girl.
"Great Cæsar! But you are pretty," he said, as his eyes met those of the maiden.
"If this pale-face will only think so," she replied, pointing to Curtiss, "I shall be very happy!"
"Well, if he don't make you happy, I shall be tempted to punish him in some way!" said the scout.
"No, not that," answered the girl. "I saved him from torture, and now he is mine—yes, all mine forever!" said the impulsive girl, and she threw her arms round the white man's neck.
"There is no doubt but what the girl is in love," said the scout to himself, "and, as matters stand just now, I don't know but what it is the best thing that could happen for me, and it certainly is for him." Then he added, aloud—"If you and Nulela will remain here with old Pet, I will climb to the top of this rock and see if I can discover what the Sioux are about."
"All right," replied Curtiss—"we will wait here for you. But do not expose yourself unnecessarily, Kelly."
"I am not in the habit of doing that," answered the scout, "but let me advise you to keep on good terms with the girl. The more you can talk love to her, the better it will be for us, because if you make her angry she would not stop short of putting you again in the hands of her brother."
Proceeding down the stream a short distance, the scout came to a place where he could climb to the top of the rock.
Arriving there, he hurried to the end overlooking the valley, whence he could get a good view of the plains and the valley below him.
Away off, as far as the eye could reach, he saw straggling parties of Indians moving about, as if endeavoring to find the trail of the escaped prisoner.
Some of them were very near the foot of the hill upon which he stood, but the scout was satisfied that they had not yet found the trail.
There was one thing, however, which seemed somewhat singular to the scout. He noticed that a large addition had been made to their force. But it was soon made plain to him.
He saw large parties coming from the north, and knew that they were not all Sioux who where there, but that the Blackfoot braves had come to answer the call of Gray Eagle made by the smoke-signals, which the scout had sent up for the old chief.
"By Jingo!" he muttered, "I wish I could be down there to help one side or the other; but then, where is the difference? It is only dog eat dog after all, and they can fight it out without my assistance. Wish I only knew whether Jehiel is in the scrimmage or not? Reckon not, though, for he has not had time to go to the Blackfoot village and back. Wonder where the dickens he is, anyhow?"
But no answer came to any of the scout's queries, and the gnawings of hunger brought him back to his senses.
In a few minutes a drove of mountain sheep were discovered, slowly feeding toward him, and drawing his revolver he waited until they were near enough, and shot one. Shouldering his meat, he retraced his steps toward the ravine, only pausing once on the way to secure an armful of dry wood. He then descended to the stream, and once more presented himself before the group in the cavern.
"All right, here?" he asked, as he entered and deposited his armful of wood and meat upon the floor.
"Yes; all right!" replied Curtiss. "Did you learn any thing of our Indian friends, down in the valley?"
"Not much," replied the scout. "They seem to be having lively times down there, but I don't know as it is any thing that can interest us as much as a good roast of this mutton will, so I propose that we eat now. After breakfast I will take another look at them."
While they were yet eating their breakfast they were saluted by a strange voice, shouting:
"Hello! Who in thunder has tuck possession uv my domicil?"
They all sprung to their feet, and, grasping their weapons, stood ready to receive the new-comer, whoever he might be.
"Put up yer shooters, yer little nubbins; I won't hurt yer, seein' 'at yer mostly white," and as they did so the stranger advanced to the fire.
He was, to all appearances, an aged man, as his hair and beard, which were both long and flowing, were as white as the driven snow; but his straight, athletic form belied his age.
His dress and arms were such as are usually worn by the mountain trapper, though he wore one very singular ornament. This was no less than a necklace, consisting of a double row of bear claws.
This, the reader will understand, if he is conversant with Indian character, was a badge of distinguished bravery, and one of which any hunter might well be proud.
The stranger stood before the fire, silently regarding them for several minutes, then he broke out—"Why don't yer say suthin? Yer a doggoned purty set, to come inter a feller's house in this way, without even askin' the owner. Ef I was a leetle better 'quainted I'd take yer 'cross my knee an' spank ther hull caboodle uv yer!"
"I was not aware, sir," said the scout, "that we were intruding on any man's domain. I accidentally discovered this cave about a week ago, and made use of it this morning in effecting our escape from a party of Sioux who were on our trail.”
"Sioux? Ther devil! Ther' ain't a Sioux in ther kentry what dare kem' a nigh here!" exclaimed the stranger.
"But," replied Kelly, "there are Sioux within a very short distance of here, as you can see for yourself if you will go to the top of the bluff."
"Wal, yer needn't bother yerselves any further. I've l'arnt 'em to respect old Bear-Paw, as they calls me; an' now ef yer a mind ter kem with me, I'll show yer a better place nor this."
He led the way to the further extremity of the cavern, and halted before the solid wall.
At his feet were a number of small stones, one of which he took in his hand and struck the wall before him three times.
The astonishment of the scout and his friends can not be imagined as they saw the rock slowly recede before them and swing noiselessly back. They followed their leader through the aperture, the huge rock swung back to its former position, and they discovered a room nearly twice as large as the one they had just left.
At one side a brisk fire was burning, and over this an old negro woman was cooking a savory venison ham. Piles of fur were lying around, indicating that their host was a trapper.
"Here we ar'," said the old man; "an' here I have lived fur nigh onto ten year. Thar's wood enuf an' pervison enuf ter stan' a ten year siege, an' now ef ye'll jes' tell me what the trouble ar' an' all about it then mebby I kin tell yer what ter do."
Thereupon Kelly proceeded to relate all that had transpired up to this time; and there we must leave them for awhile and look after the fortunes of others.