THE Irishman had scrambled up, and stood beside them.
“For dthe luv of God coom below, quick!” he exclaimed. “Dthe rats are movin’ in wud the boats!”
“You an’ Revel keep here, Mace. You’ll know if wanted!”
And as Scarred Eagle thus spoke, he hurried down after the Irishman. He found the Indian girl standing as far out as possible, gazing up the water-passage. Coming on slowly, were two canoes, each containing three or four Indians. They could be plainly distinguished, for a torch was fixed in the prow of the one ahead. It only cast light a few yards ahead and around them, so that the watchers had no fears of being discovered, till the canoe should approach nearer.
“They want to come, but ’fraid to,” whispered Moorooine.
“It shows they’ve doubts ’bout thar bein’ a hidin’-place in here. That’s in our favor, anyhow. Ef we could only make ’em b’l’eve thar w’an’t any, we’d soon git clear.”
The canoes came on very cautiously. Suddenly, the Indians, feeling the increased current, began to dip their paddles to prevent moving too fast. The one nearest the torch seized it, and waved it from side to side, examining the walls. But, save at the secret chamber, there was not the least cavity in the rocks.
They held their canoes nearly motionless, and peered into the unknown darkness. Evidently they did not like the idea of venturing further. They were not rid of the superstition about the place, and the gloomy depths, beyond, from which came a sullen roar, made them nervous.
Suddenly a prolonged, dull echo came to the ears of Scarred Eagle and Moorooine. They knew it was caused by rifle-reports up in the passage. Those in the canoes heard the echoes; but to them it was of frightful significance. Mingled with the sullen roar in the depths, it doubtless seemed to their startled imaginations, that the evil spirit of the cave was about to take vengeance on them for their temerity. At any rate, they pulled back with the utmost dispatch.
Leaving Moorooine to watch, Scarred Eagle sprung back and hastened up the passage. As he gained the spot, he heard yells outside plainly.
“We’ve hit one o’ the curs—what’s goin’ on below?” cried Mace. “Is thar a chance—”
“Yes; come on for y’ur lives!” interrupted Scarred Eagle.
They hurried back into the chamber.
“Ar’ they in sight, Moorooine?” called Rhodan.
“No; all gone!” said the girl, joyfully.
“Then out with these ’ere, quick!”
Both canoes were at once launched. In the foremost and largest, four of the rangers took their places. Brom and Moorooine followed in the other.
As they moved forward, they heard the sounds of excitement, which told that the savages were rushing to the spot, where, as they doubtless supposed, their enemies were attempting a desperate resistance.
“Steady!” cautioned Scarred Eagle, as they neared the mouth of the rocky channel. “We must feel our way for a minit or two. T’other canoes may not be out o’ the way.”
Two minutes later they stopped, and peered ahead. Not a sign of a canoe could they see; yet those that had ventured into the passage could not yet have had time to land. To do so, they would be obliged to move a distance up where the bank was more sloping. There was no danger that these might be lying to the right or left of the entrance, behind the juts of cliff.
The rangers consulted a moment. They were far enough to see the reflection of starlight on the water further out. Had it been darker, they would not have hesitated to risk an attempt to start out. They concluded to move close up beside the right wall, and then steal up and endeavor to obtain a view of the opposite side of the entrance.
The canoes came nearly up to the wall, when Devine, glancing back, saw something floating toward them.
“Luk!” he said, in a wild whisper.
The object was where the starlight shone upon it. As the rest turned it disappeared from sight. At the same moment, shouts came from the right of the entrance, and a canoe was heard rounding the adjacent angle.
“Back!” whispered Scarred Eagle, in a tone of startling earnestness.
Quickly as the order was obeyed, the canoes had hardly turned, when the foremost was struck by another containing half a dozen Miami warriors.
Instantly a burst of wild yells rung out, and were echoed back from the adjacent banks; and, at the same instant, “crash! crash!” rung the blows of hatchets. There was no time to level a rifle; no time to push back into the cavern without a struggle.
Six against four! Unfortunately, Revel, at the first onset, received a blow which laid him powerless in the canoe. His fall, while it made the odds more fearful, caused the canoe to surge back, and at that moment Brom, pushing his rifle forward, fired, killing one of the assailants, who fell back into the water. The incident gave the other three time to snatch up their rifles; but by this time another canoe was approaching rapidly.
The rangers were not permitted to level their rifles, for the assailants, knowing that aid was at hand, recovered in time to beat down the weapons, springing in with their hatchets to the attack.
“That’s it—quick boy—git us apart!”
The hoarse exclamation of Scarred Eagle, as with his two companions, he made almost superhuman efforts to beat back the assailants. The endeavors of Brom were somewhat aided by Revel, who began to recover from the effects of the blow. Even then, it seemed impossible to get clear of the assailants before the latter should receive aid. But suddenly their canoe was tipped backward by an unseen hand, and the warriors, losing their balance, tumbled into the water. One of them was dispatched by Mace. At that moment, a form appeared beside Brom’s canoe, and a voice shouted:
“Me—White Fox—take in quick—Goodbrand!”
Moorooine identified the speaker in time to stay the arm of Brom, raised to strike a supposed enemy.
As Goodbrand sprung in, the voice of Scarred Eagle was heard above the din:
“Hyar they come; give them a volley or we’re lost!”
Another canoe was sweeping up, the occupants paying no attention to their companions in the water. Not two rifle-lengths separated them as Scarred Eagle spoke. Almost immediately the four rangers fired, doing fearful execution; then, taking advantage of the confusion, they swept back toward the subterranean chamber.
But the Indians, now reinforced by another party in canoes, soon followed. The rangers had barely effected a landing when they found two or three canoes within twenty yards of the retreat. One of them carried a torch.
“The devils know our weepons ar’ empty, an’ don’t mean to give us time. Load quick, and if they come too soon, club y’ur rifles!”
As the veteran scout issued this command he himself began to reload, the rest following suit.
“Quick! here come!” suddenly exclaimed Moorooine.
As she spoke she darted back, and a canoe rounded the turn, the torch in its prow revealing the cave and inmates distinctly.
“Hyar they be—beat back the devils!” shouted Scarred Eagle and Mace together.
As quick as thought their clubbed rifles came down upon the occupants of the foremost canoe, some of whom in their wild rage had attempted to leap into the chamber. Yells, cries and groans rung out through the dark depths, presenting a scene of the wildest confusion. The Indians pressing in the rear let fly another volley of arrows, but most of them passed over the heads of the assailed, who had temporarily beaten back those in the foremost canoe. At this instant a heavy object fell with a crash in one of the canoes, striking down some of its occupants, and tipping it over.
“Thet’s it—the rocks,” shouted Mace.
“Ay, dthim’s dthe boys. Musha, take dthat, ye haithens. Och, we’ll bate dthem wud sthones, so!”
In less time than it takes to describe it, the Irishman had inaugurated this species of warfare. There were plenty of loose rocks in the chamber, and the rangers hurled these so rapidly among the crowd of assailants that the latter were glad to withdraw out of range as quick as possible. The moment they did so the rangers began again to reload, a torch left in a remote corner of the room affording sufficient light. They could hear their assailants still moving away in the darkness.
The rangers now had time to glance at each other, and question Goodbrand, whose timely aid ten minutes previous had probably saved them all from capture or death. His statement was brief. His companion, Joe Hill, had escaped, while he himself had been struck down with a hatchet as he ran. Being brought forward and recognized, they were about to sacrifice him on the spot, so great was their rage; but at that moment came the shots fired by Revel and Mace upon those endeavoring to force the passage. In the increased rush to this spot only three or four were left around Goodbrand. While the attention of these was for a moment diverted, the thongs with which Goodbrand was bound were cut, and he recognized the whisper of Noochekin in his ear:
“Me pay back you now for savin’ my life on the lake. If catch ag’in you die. Debt paid now. Go.”
He darted away, and was pursued, Noochekin himself joining in the chase. The latter stumbled over a log, retarding the rest, till Goodbrand disappeared behind a lodge. Thence he crept under a jut of the bank, where he lay, till fearing discovery, he dropped under the water, intending to swim into the chamber. As we have seen, he was in time to aid his friends.
“Then the canoe side o’ the entrance must ’a’ be’n watchin’ for ye?” said Scarred Eagle.
“No—watchin’ for you,” was the answer. “It come round the jut as me started to swim. They mistrusted some trick, an’ meant if was in here you shouldn’t git ’way.”
“It must be—yes, Goodbrand; you’re right. The devils hev be’n beat too bad to neglect watchin’ any p’int which may look ’s ’ough we mout take advantage of it. We’re in our last corner, chaps, an’ thar’s no need o’ denyin’ it; but we’ll rest awhile, ef the scamps ’ll let up, an’ prepare to meet ’em when they come. ’Twon’t be soon, uther, ’cos they kain’t but see they’ve got us.”
“Yes; but the hellions ’ll r’member these last two days,” said Mace, grimly. “No danger of their comin’ at us ag’in right away. They’ll wait till we’re as weak as babies from hunger, an’ then try ter git the hull posse on us alive! We mout ’s well keep it up, an’ git our deaths by fightin’.”
“It’s better’n to be kilt alive at dthe sthake!” assented Devine, with a shudder.
“Time enough to begin another scrimmage; thar’s no danger but that the entrance ’ll be guarded close enough now,” answered Scarred Eagle. “But we’d best recruit as best we kin, so’s to hev our strength collected for the last trial. Thar’s jest a chance some on us may git off, though it’s a small one. D’ye see a light ahead, boy?”
The question was addressed to Brom, who stood beside Moorooine in the end of the canoe, peering back through the passage.
“No!” was the response; “but thar’s several canoes hovering outside the entrance, in the starlight. They ain’t a-goin’ to come back here right away.”
“Of course not. What is it, Revel?”
The latter had crept up into the other passage, and now returned.
“The scamps are filling up the passage,” he said.
“Ay—’cos it’ll be easier to watch the other way. They needn’t ’a’ took the pains.”
He saw that Revel, after waiting a moment, made a silent gesture for him to come forward. He followed him up into the passage as far as it had been cleared from the inside. Revel carried a new torch, and by its light revealed a crevice which he had discovered. Then, putting the torch behind them, they could distinguish, at about ten feet distant, the starlight from outside.
“I thought of this just now,” said Revel, “and came up to look again. I discovered it at the time you came after us to escape in the canoes. Now that that chance is gone, here’s another. What do you think of it?”
“One man workin’ outside, where thar’s room, mout, in two hours, make the place big enough for us to creep out,” said Rhodan. “To git outside—thet’s the hull question. One on us mout try it.”
“What is?”
Turning they saw Mace and Goodbrand, who had crept up. The matter was at once explained.
“If one could git out, what chances ’ud thar be to work ’ithout bein’ seen or heard? Thet’s the second question,” said Mace.
“The side we’re lookin’ through is opposite the spot whar the reds ’ll be likely to keep any sort of watch. Besides, they’ve jist filled up the hole above us, so, if one on us could git outside unseen, thar’d be a chance. An’ it seems as ’ough one might. Let us get down an’ consider the chances.”
They returned into the chamber, meeting the others, to whom was communicated what had been discovered. Instantly they began to devise some expedient by which one might leave the subterranean region, and what one of them should undertake the desperate feat.
Goodbrand insisted on having the task. His color, and readiness with the Indian tongue, caused his request to be unanimously granted. But now, how was he to steal out without it being known by the waiting enemy?
“Thar’s no airthly way but to move up an’ engage the reds in a skirmish,” said Scarred Eagle. “We must do it in such a way that Goodbrand can slip noiselessly into the water an’ swim for it. He’ll hev tu turn to the right of the entrance an’ endivor to git a chance to draw himself up on the rocks. Ef he kin manage that far, the rest’ll be easier.”
“Thar’s another thing,” said Brom. “What can he carry to work with?”
There was a short silence. They had nothing with which Goodbrand could work among the seamy rocks except knives and hatchets.