CHAPTER XXVII--THE THEFT
The dripping body of the huge trapper when he stepped at last upon theshore made Reuben once more aware of the immense size and strength ofthe man. As he recalled the contest between Kit Carson and the giantbefore him, and was reminded of the slight, almost delicate form of thescout, he was amazed at the courage of the latter in accepting thechallenge of the braggart.
At present, however, there did not appear to be anything to fear fromRat, and it was manifest that his thoughts were mostly concerned withhis own condition. The cold water perhaps had cooled any heatedtendencies he may have had. At all events, he was subdued in his mannerand even tried to laugh at the sight he declared he must present.
"I'll help you, lad," said Rat, at the same time stooping and assuminga part of the burden. "You're going back to camp now, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"I'll go along with you."
Reuben glanced in fresh surprise at the man, for the camp of thetrappers, and especially Kit Carson, he was positive Rat had no realdesire to see. Indeed, he wondered at the temerity of the man in daringto return, knowing as he did the feeling against him when he had fledfrom the place.
"I suppose you've got the same trappers as ever, haven't you, Reuben?"inquired Rat.
"Yes," replied Reuben in a low voice.
"Kit Carson still at the head?"
"Yes."
"He's a great little Kit. He was too quick for me," said Rat, strivingto laugh as he spoke.
"He always is," suggested Reuben.
"That don't mean that he always will be, does it?"
"I think it does."
"He certainly has a good friend in you, Reuben. He makes every one bowdown to him."
"If they do, it's not because he makes them, but because they want to."
"It's all the same, it's all the same."
Silence followed, and steadily Reuben led the way back to the placewhere he had left his comrades. Occasionally he glanced keenly at hiscompanion, but he was unable to discover any signs of fear or even ofshame. Apparently Rat was returning to the trappers as a matter ofcourse and expecting that he would be received in the same spirit withwhich he came. And yet in spite of his manner Reuben was keenlysuspicious of the huge boaster. The very fact that he had suffered atthe hands of the boyish scout doubtless had aroused a feeling ofresentment which could not be quieted until Rat had obtainedsatisfaction.
To the surprise of Reuben, however, when they entered the camp Rat wasgreeted without any protest, though it could not be said that there wasmanifest any feeling of special pleasure at his return. Apparentlyaccepting the condition as one which he had expected, Rat soon madehimself at home in response to the quiet invitation of Kit Carson. Itwas plain, however, within a few days that the prejudices of thetrappers were still keen. Indeed there was not one who was notsuspicious of him, though there was none as yet who had shown anyunfriendly attitude.
Why had the man come back to camp? What had he expected? If he hadreturned to take vengeance upon Kit Carson, why did he postpone hisattack? These questions and others like them were frequently in themind of Reuben, but when several days had elapsed and no answer hadbeen found, he concluded that the boaster had been taught a much-neededlesson and that now he was cured of his overbearing ways.
On the fourth day after his arrival Rat suggested to Reuben that theyshould visit their traps together. Unwilling though he was, Reubennevertheless quietly assented, and not long afterward the two men setforth on their rounds.
The season had been wonderfully successful. Never in their experiencehad so many skins been secured as the trappers had taken within thepreceding few weeks. The noisy Rat was loud in his declaration that KitCarson knew better than any one the streams where the beaver lived.Whether his statement was true or not, beaver, otter, mink, and otheranimals were caught in great numbers, and many of the skins, as hasbeen said, had been cached.
It was when Reuben and his companion had halted in the middle of theday for luncheon that Rat quietly said to the lad: "Where have you madeyour caches this time?"
Reuben laughed as he replied: "There's one within ten feet of you now."
"What!" exclaimed Rat, glancing keenly about him as he spoke.
"That's right," replied Reuben, "there's one within ten feet of you. Idon't know what Kit Carson would say, but I'm so sure you can't find itthat I would almost be willing to say you can have half the skins thereif you dig out the place."
"That's all very well," replied Rat; "of course I can't find it." Atthe same time he glanced all about him, and if Reuben had been moreexperienced he would have discovered that the trapper was protestingtoo much. Again and again he begged of Reuben to show him the placewhere the skins were concealed, declaring that he was unable todiscover any trace that had been left. Reuben, however, refused todisclose the location of the cache, and when at last they proceeded ontheir rounds he was convinced that Rat had no suspicion as to its exactlocation.
"I'm wondering," suggested Rat as they moved down the stream, "if KitCarson would have any objection to letting me bring some of my furs andputting them in the cache along with his."
"You'll have to ask him."
"I will just as soon as I go back to the camp," declared Rat.
True to his word, that very evening the huge boaster, approaching thescout, said: "Kit, have you any objection to letting me cache some ofmy furs along with yours?"
For a moment the scout glanced keenly at the face of the inquirerbefore he spoke: "How many furs have you got?" he inquired at last.
"Not very many just yet. I expect to have more, for I've never seen thecatch as good as it is now."
"You come and talk to me when you get more and we'll see what can bedone," said Kit Carson quietly at last.
Slight attention was paid to the conversation, and even Reuben hadalmost forgotten it, as well as his own talk the preceding day with Ratconcerning the location of the cache near the stream on the bank ofwhich they were trapping. These things were brought strongly back tohis recollection, however, when on the following morning it wasdiscovered that the black horse was gone and that two other horses alsohad disappeared. Nor was this all that the camp had lost, for Rat alsowas missing. When the men assembled for breakfast, the discovery of theloss of the black horse and the report also that two other animals weregone caused them to declare that Rat had not fled from the placewithout taking more than the horses. Just what he wanted of threehorses was not plain to the trappers.
Suddenly, however, Reuben called Kit Carson to one side and said tohim: "Did Rat ask you to let him cache some of his furs?"
"Yes," replied the scout, looking keenly into the face of his friend ashe spoke.
"Well, he wanted me the other day, when we were trapping together, toshow him where our cache was. I told him there was one within ten feetof the place where he was standing and that if he could find it hemight have half the skins. You don't suppose that he's found the placeand taken those horses to carry off some of the skins, do you?"
For a moment Kit Carson was silent. Although he was aware that Reubenwas keenly mortified by the confession he had made, he did not speakany word of reproach. Not many minutes had elapsed, however, before KitCarson, selecting two of the swiftest ponies in the camp, said toReuben: "Do you want to go with me?"
"Yes. Where are you going?"
"I'm glad you put your answers in that way," replied Kit Carson with asmile. "I'm glad you're going, and you'll soon find out where I'mgoing. First of all, take me to the place where you told Rat there wasone of our caches."
Both trappers carried their rifles and mounting the swiftest ponies,they speedily departed from the camp. Reuben easily led the way towardthe place where he and Rat had stopped for their noontime meal andwhere also he had foolishly told the braggart that one of the cacheswas not far away.
Reuben was not surprised when an hour later, after they had arrived atthe place they were seeking, he discovered that the hiding-place hadbeen op
ened and that many furs had been removed. It was plain, too,from the marks left by the feet of the horses nearby, as to whatdisposition had been made of the stolen furs. The anger of Reuben wasintense, but to his noisy protests no response was made by Kit Carson,whose quiet manner was still unchanged.
"There's nothing for us to do, lad," suggested the scout, "except to goafter the rascal and get our skins."
Already convinced that this was the purpose of the scout in coming,Reuben made no response except to quicken the speed at which his horsewas moving and do his utmost to follow the scout when they set forth ontheir journey.
They already had taken the precaution of providing supplies sufficientfor two days, although Kit Carson was depending upon game to providemuch of their food.
Occasionally the scout paused to examine the ground and try to discoverthe imprints left by the feet of Rat's horses. Frequently the trail wasalmost lost, but Kit Carson, after circling the spot and carefullyexamining the ground, every time succeeded in discovering the signs forwhich he was searching, and then with increased speed the pursuit wasrenewed.
Reuben was thinking of what would occur if the scout should overtakethe burly boaster. The quiet determination expressed in Kit's faceplainly indicated what was in his mind. And the thief would beovertaken soon, Reuben was convinced, because when Rat had fled,although he had taken Black Jack, swiftest of all the ponies in thecamp, the speed at which he was fleeing could not be greater than thepace of the horses which were following him and carrying the stolenfurs on their backs.
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