Frank on the Prairie

by Harry Castlemon

  CHAPTER XIII.

  Frank's New Acquaintances.

  Frank's sudden appearance created considerable of a commotion in thecamp, for the men sprang to their feet and reached rather hurriedlyfor their weapons. They were evidently alarmed; and Frank was a gooddeal surprised thereat, for he had not dreamed that men accustomed tothe dangers of the prairie--as these undoubtedly were--could befrightened at the sudden approach of a single bewildered horseman. He,however, rode straight up to the fire, where the men stood with theirrifles in their hands, and exclaimed, as he dismounted from his horse:

  "Good evening, gentlemen!"

  His politeness did not serve to allay the fears of the men, for theyregarded him sharply for a moment, and then one of them asked, in avoice that somewhat resembled the growl of an enraged bear:

  "What do you want?"

  "I am lost," replied Frank. "My horse was stampeded with a herd ofbuffaloes, and I am now making the best of my way back to my friends."

  The man slowly surveyed him from head to foot, and then answered, in atone of voice which showed that he did not believe Frank's statement:

  "Lost! Lost, aint ye? Wal, what in tarnation are ye lost fur? Whydon't ye go whar ye b'long?"

  "That's what I want to do!" replied Frank, who, astonished at themanner in which he was received, and fearful that he would becompelled to pass another night alone on the prairie, did not noticethe sly, meaning glances which the men exchanged. "I am trying to findmy friends. I left them at the 'old bear's hole,' if you know wherethat is."

  This statement was received with something like a long breath ofrelief by the trappers--for such they undoubtedly were--and thespokesman continued:

  "Then, ye're sartin ye're lost, an' that ye aint got no friendsnigher nor the ole bar's hole? Who war ye travelin' with? Who's yercomp'ny?"

  "Dick Lewis and old Bob Kelly," replied Frank, mentioning the names ofthe guides, with the hope that some of his new acquaintances mightknow them; nor was the hope a vain one, for the trappers repeated thenames, and again exchanged those sly glances, which Frank noticed butcould not understand:

  "So ole Bob is yer comp'ny," said his questioner, at length; "an'ye're sartin ye left him at the ole bar's hole! Then, ye won't belikely to set eyes on him to-night, 'cause the bar's hole ar' a goodfifty mile from here, an', if ye're actooally an' sartinly lost, yeaint no ways likely to find it in the dark."

  The trapper was evidently forgetting his fears and recovering his goodnature--if he possessed that quality--for, as he resumed his seat atthe fire, he continued, in a somewhat milder tone:

  "If yer hoss war stampeded, stranger, he must be powerful lively onhis legs to have tuk ye so fur; but, I reckon, ye must be travelin' aleetle out of yer latitude. It aint often that a feller meets ateetotal stranger in these parts what says he's lost, an' we don'tlike to take in every one as comes along; but, if so be that ye are afriend of Dick an' ole Bob, ye can hobble yer hoss an' camp here withus. Ye can sleep by our fire to-night, an' in the mornin' we'll setyer on the right track."

  Frank gladly complied with this invitation, and, after relieving hishorse of the saddle, he seated himself at the fire, and began to makea close examination of his new acquaintances. They were all large,muscular men, and were dressed in complete suits of buckskin, whichwere very ragged and dirty. Their faces were almost covered withthick, bushy whiskers, and their hair, which, judging by its tangledappearance, had never been made acquainted with a comb, hung down totheir shoulders. The man who had acted the part of spokesman, wasparticularly noticeable, being more ragged and dirty than hiscompanions, and his face, which bore several ugly scars, was almost asblack as a negro's.

  In short, they were a very ferocious looking set, and Frank almostwished he had remained on the prairie instead of coming to their camp.But, after all, he might be very much mistaken in his men. It was notto be expected that persons of their calling, who had no doubt livedon the prairie from boyhood, who had been exposed to all kinds ofweather, and braved innumerable dangers, it could not be expected thatsuch men should always present a neat appearance. Beneath their roughexterior there might be hidden the warmest of hearts. And as for theirreception of him, they had doubtless treated him as they treated everystranger they met on the prairie--on the principle, "Believe every manan enemy, until he proves himself otherwise."

  While these thoughts were passing through Frank's mind, the trappershad been regarding him closely and with evident curiosity.

  The result of their examination appeared to be satisfactory, for thespokesman presently remarked:

  "It's plain, stranger, that yer out of yer callin'. Ye don't b'long onthe prairy. Yer from the States, we take it."

  Frank replied that he was, and then proceeded to give the trappers anaccount of the circumstances that had brought him to the prairie, andalso told how he had made the acquaintance of Dick and old Bob; to allof which the men listened eagerly, now and then exchanging the samesly glances that Frank had before noticed. When he had finished hisstory, the swarthy trapper arose to his feet, and, going to a treeclose by, took down a piece of buffalo meat, from which he cut severalslices that he placed on the coals, remarking as he did so:

  "Whenever we do meet a stranger in these parts, an' he turns out to bethe right kind of a chap, we allers treat him as handsome as we knowhow. We can't offer you anything more'n a chunk of buffaler hump, butsich as we have yer welcome to."

  The offer was evidently made in all sincerity, and if Frank stillentertained any fears that the men were not what they should be, hespeedily dismissed them, and again blessed his lucky stars that he wasnot compelled to pass another night alone on the prairie.

  While his supper was cooking, he was again plied with questions, themost of them relating to the movements of old Bob; and especially didthe trappers seem anxious to learn where he was going, and what heintended to do when he returned from California. Frank answered thesequestions as well as he could, and his replies seemed to satisfy themen, one of whom finally changed the subject of the conversation, byremarking:

  "I'll allow that's a fine shootin' iron of your'n, stranger, but it'sa new-fangled consarn, I should say."

  Frank, it will be remembered, had Archie's rifle, which, being abreech-loading weapon, was something the trappers had never seenbefore, and it required considerable explanation to enable them tounderstand "how the consarn worked."

  From his rifle they went to the other articles of his "kit." Thecontents of his haversack were examined, the qualities of hishunting-knife and revolvers discussed, and then they turned theirattention to his horse--made inquiries concerning his speed andbottom, until, weary with their questioning, they stretched themselvesout by the fire and went to sleep.

  After eating his supper, Frank followed their example; and, beingcompletely exhausted, having scarcely closed his eyes during thepreceding night, he slept soundly until morning.

  When he awoke it was just daylight. The trappers had already arisen;the fire had been replenished, and several slices of meat werebroiling on the coals.

  They hardly noticed Frank; the only reply his polite greetingsreceived, being a sort of grunt and a slight nod of the head. Afterwashing his hands and face in the creek that ran close by--aproceeding which the trappers regarded with undisguised contempt--heseated himself at the fire with the others and began helping himselfto the meat, at the same time inquiring the way to the old bear'shole.

  "That ar' is the way, stranger," replied the swarthy trapper, pointingin a direction exactly contrary to the one Frank had pursued the daybefore; "an', as I told ye last night, it's nigh on to fifty milesoff."

  After this, they again relapsed into silence, and as soon as they hadfinished their breakfast, went out to catch their horses. Frankaccompanied them; all his old fears that there was something wrong,revived with redoubled force, and he was anxious to leave the companyof his new acquaintances as soon as possible. When he had caught andsaddled Pete, he left him standing for a few moments, until he secur
edhis rifle and haversack, and when he turned to mount, he saw one ofthe trappers seize the horse by the bridle and spring into the saddle.Frank gazed in surprise at these movements, but before he could speak,the swarthy trapper turned suddenly upon him, exclaiming:

  "Look a here, stranger! Ye come here last night without nobody'saskin' ye, an' tells us some kind of a story 'bout yer bein' lost, an'all that. Now, mebbe yer all right, an' mebbe ye aint. Ye may havefriends no great way off, that ye kalkerlate to bring down on us; butye can't ketch old foxes like us in no sich trap as that ar'. We'rejest goin' to take yer hoss to keep yer from findin' yer friends ag'inin a hurry. Yer young fur sich bisness as this yere, an' if ye didn'tlook so mighty innercent, I'd split yer wizzen fur ye. So now be offto onct, an' don't never cross our trail ag'in. If ye do--" Thetrapper finished the sentence by shaking his head threateningly.

  Frank listened to this speech in utter bewilderment. He could scarcelybelieve his ears. But it was plain that the trappers were in earnest,for the one who had mounted Pete held his own horse by the bridle, inreadiness to start. He fully realized his helpless situation, and italmost overpowered him. But, at length, he found courage to say:

  "You are certainly mistaken. I _am_ lost. I don't know where to go tofind my friends, and, if you take my horse from me, I may never findthem again. Besides, what is your object in robbing me?"

  "Wal, now, stranger," said the trapper, dropping the butt of his rifleto the ground, and leaning upon the muzzle of the weapon, "we jestaint a goin' to stand no foolin'. We b'lieve yer a spy, an' ar' goin'to bring Bob Kelly an' the rest of yer friends down on us. That's jestwhat's the matter. The prairy is cl'ar, thar aint no Injuns tomassacree ye; ye have a good pair of legs, so trot off on 'em to onct.Ye can be glad enough that we didn't tie ye up to a tree, an' leave yeto the wolves. If ole Kelly could get his hands on us, we'd be used aheap wusser nor robbin', an' you know it well enough. An' when ye seethe ole chap, ye can tell him that the next time he wants to try toketch Black Bill, he'll have to get up a better trick nor this yere.Come, now, mizzle--sally out to onct--an' don't stop to talk, 'causeit won't do no arthly good whatsomever. Yer hoss is gone--that'ssettled--an', if yer shootin' iron were any 'count, we'd a tuk thattoo. We've left ye three loads, an' that'll kill game enough to do yetill ye find yer friends. Come, walk off--make yourself skeerce,sudden."

  There was a wicked, determined look in the trapper's eye that toldFrank that he was in earnest; and, fully convinced that it would beuseless to remonstrate, and fearful that if he did not obey the order,the man would fulfill his threat of tying him to a tree, and leavinghim to the mercy of the wolves, he shouldered his rifle, and, with aheavy heart, set off on his journey.

  When he reached the top of a high swell, about half a mile from thecamp, he looked back, and saw the trappers riding off at a rapidgallop, Pete playing and prancing with his new rider as if he wasperfectly satisfied with the change. Frank watched them as long asthey remained in sight, and then, throwing himself on the ground,covered his face with his hands, and gave away to the most bitterthoughts. What could have induced the trappers to act sotreacherously? Did they really suspect him of being a spy, or was thatmerely an excuse to rob him in his defenseless situation? The wholetransaction was involved in a mystery he could not fathom, nor was itat all probable that he could arrive at a solution until he should seeDick or old Bob Kelly. Would he ever see them again, was a question hedare not ask himself. The chances were certainly not in his favor,situated as he was, alone, in the midst of an unbroken wilderness, theprairie stretching away, on one hand, as far as his eye could reach,the Rocky Mountains looming up on the other. But he was not one tolook altogether upon the dark side of the picture. It had a brightside as well, and he found that he had reason to congratulate himselfthat the outlaws--for such he now knew them to be--had let him off soeasily. What if they had left him bound to a tree, as they hadthreatened? The chances were not one in a hundred that he would everhave been released. Although his horse had been taken from him, he hadbeen allowed to go free, and to retain his rifle and hunting-knife.Yes, his situation might have been infinitely worse. He still had muchto be grateful for, and, as long as he had life, he would cherish thehope of being able to find his way to his friends. As these thoughtspassed through his mind, they brought renewed strength anddetermination, and, rising to his feet, he again set out at a briskwalk.

  He remembered that the outlaws had told him that, in order to reachthe old bear's hole, he must travel in a direction exactly opposite tothe one he was pursuing; but he had good reason to believe that theyhad endeavored to mislead him. When he took his involuntary ride, hewas careful to remember the points of the compass, and, as Pete hadcarried him exactly south, of course, in order to reach his friends,he must travel north. He had no compass, but the sun was just rising,and he was able to calculate all the points from that. Having settledthis to his satisfaction, he began an examination of his haversack,and found that its contents had been thoroughly overhauled--no doubtwhile he was asleep--and that the outlaws had left him threecartridges for his rifle, and his flint and steel. All the otherarticles, which consisted of several rounds of ammunition for hisrevolvers (which had gone off with his horse), stone arrow-heads,spear-heads, the claws of the bear that Dick had killed in the cave,and numerous other relics which Archie had collected since leaving St.Joseph, had all been abstracted.

  In spite of his unpleasant situation, Frank could not repress a smile,when he thought how indignant his cousin would be, when he received anaccount of his losses. Having completed his examination, and placedhis remaining cartridges carefully away in his pocket, he resumed hisjourney, and, just as he reached the top of a swell, he discovered ahorseman galloping rapidly along the edge of the willows that fringedthe base of the mountains. The thought that he saw something familiar,about both the horse and his rider, had scarcely passed throughFrank's mind, when he was electrified by the sight of a large brindledog, which ran in and out of the bushes, with his nose close to theground, now and then uttering an impatient bark, which was answered byyells of encouragement from the horseman. There was no mistaking thatyell, and Frank ran down the swell, swinging his hat, and endeavoringto attract the attention of the man with a voice which, in hisexcitement, he could scarcely raise above a whisper. But he wasdiscovered. Both dog and horseman turned toward him, and, a momentafterward, Frank had one arm around the neck of Useless, and his handwas inclosed in the trapper's vice-like grasp.