The Pioneer Boys of the Yellowstone; or, Lost in the Land of Wonders

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XXIV

  AN INDIAN'S GRATITUDE

  FOR some time the three fugitives plodded through the pine forest thatlay along the side of the mountain ridge, enclosing the wide valley inwhich the camp of the Indians had been pitched.

  The snow was coming down in earnest now. It acted as though bent onmaking up for lost time; and, unless all signs failed, there would bean exceedingly heavy fall before they saw the sun again.

  One comfort they found in this coming of the white mantle--they couldnot be tracked by Lascelles and his allies when their escape wasdiscovered.

  "Dick!" ventured Roger, after quite a long time had elapsed, and theyfound the snow getting constantly deeper underfoot.

  "Well?"

  "We have our guns, it is true, and that I count a fine thing, but ofwhat use are they to us without our powder horns?"

  "That was our misfortune, Roger, but we can borrow from Mayhew here. Bybeing prudent we ought to make his supply go around."

  Imagine the feelings of the two boys when the guide gave utterance toan exclamation of disgust and chagrin.

  "I hate to tell you, lads," he said, "but it must have happened duringmy flight. I had fired twice, and given the red hounds cause to besorry they chased after me; and then I suddenly missed my powder horn.It must have been torn loose while I was passing through some densebushes."

  "Did you go back and try to find it?" asked Dick, while Roger seemedmute with consternation.

  "Yes, but it was no use," replied the guide, "and I had to give it up."

  "Then we are in a bad way, without any ammunition for our guns," Dickcontinued, though he did not attempt to criticize Mayhew, for herealized that, after all, it had been an accident, liable to happen toany one, and he felt sure the frontiersman must be suffering in hismind on account of it.

  "I have the load in my gun, and one in my pistol," said Mayhew."Besides that I found a little powder wrapped in a paper in one ofmy pockets, enough to charge one of your guns, and some left over forpriming."

  "That was lucky, at any rate; how came you to have it with you?" askedDick.

  "I remember that, some time before I left on that trip back to theMissouri and down to the outposts of civilization, I was cleaning outmy powder horn, and the little it contained I placed in that paper, andthen in my pocket. I forgot all about it when I filled the horn fromthe stores. Now, it may be, that one charge will stand between us andstarvation."

  "Oh! I hope it will never get as bad as that, Mayhew," said Dick; andyet, deep down in his heart, he knew they were facing a desperatecondition, so far away from the rest of the expedition, and surroundedby perils of every type.

  "Two charges in all!" summed up Roger, finding his voice. "That meansthat we must make each one tell. And, Dick, I want you to load your gunwith that spare powder Mayhew has. You are a surer shot than I, andwhen we use that load it must bring returns."

  "We'll see about that later on," was all Dick replied.

  "But now that we can talk without running any danger," continued Roger,anxious to learn whether either of the others had noticed the samestrange happening in the camp of Blackfeet, "I want to ask you why thatIndian, who was watching us go away, failed to give the alarm?"

  Dick stopped short. He seemed to be astonished beyond measure at whatthe other had just said.

  "Do you mean to tell me, Roger, that you believe any such thing?" heasked.

  "I certainly do," came the response. "I looked back more times thanI can tell you, and there he was, craning his neck and watchingeverything we did. To the very last I saw him still looking."

  "Yes, he is right!" declared Mayhew, breaking in upon the dialogue asthough he, too, had been grappling with a mystery that he could notunderstand. "I saw the same thing. The Indian was watching you, I couldswear to that. Once he dropped his head, only to raise it again. Heseemed to be having some difficulty about holding himself up long, forhe was bandaged about the shoulder."

  "Oh!"

  The way Dick said that one word told Roger that he must have seen agreat light. But why should Dick show signs of satisfaction; for thatwas clearly expressed in his tone?

  "You have guessed the answer, Dick?" exclaimed Roger, hastily. "Pleasetell us what it is, because, for one, I am groping in the dark."

  "You heard what Mayhew just said, and how the man who looked waswounded in the shoulder? Stop and think, and you will remember thathe must be the one who had chased after Mayhew, and came back with abullet wound in the muscles of his shoulder."

  "Which you dressed as neatly as any doctor could have done it," saidRoger.

  "At the time the brave gave little sign that he was grateful,"continued Dick, as he figured things out; "but you know that allIndians practice hiding their real feelings. They think it weak to showsigns of fear or anything like that. But, at the same time, an Indiancan be grateful, and I believe that brave proved it."

  "He did, oh! he did!" exclaimed Roger, no longer groping in darknesssince Dick had thrown light on the mystery. "He knew we were escaping,but he could not find it in his heart to betray the one who had been sokind to him! I shall never believe so badly of Indians after this. Myfather was right when he told me they could be reached by kindness; andsurely he and Uncle Bob ought to know."

  Somehow all of them fell silent for some time. No doubt they werethinking how strangely they had been favored by Providence. (Note 9.)

  Several hours had elapsed since the escape, and they were some distanceaway from the scene of the adventure. The snow was more than ankledeep, and coming down at a furious rate.

  Walking was difficult, especially since all of them were weary, andin great need of rest. Roger staggered at times, and once fell flat,though he hastened to assure the others, as he scrambled to his feet,that he had not suffered by his awkwardness.

  "We will have to seek shelter of some sort," declared Dick, finally.

  Apparently the frontiersman was only waiting to hear something likethis; for, as a grown man, he did not fancy being the first to callquits, as long as those boys saw fit to keep on tramping.

  "It would not be a bad idea, I think," he now remarked.

  "If we could have a fire like we did that other night it would feelgood to me," Roger told them.

  "We might try," said Dick.

  "And when morning comes, how about breakfast?" continued Roger. "Whatmeat I had was taken away from me, and you must be in the same fix."

  "Yes, they thought it was useless to let me keep on carrying fresh elkmeat when we all needed something to eat. But I am thankful they leftme my ditty bag; and I have my knife too, you remember. How about you,Mayhew?"

  "I still have some meat with me; about enough for one meal around,"replied the guide. "After that is gone we will have to shoot game ofsome sort, either elk or buffalo, so as to lay in a stock."

  "Here is a place that looks as though it would afford shelter fromthe storm among these fissures in the rock," announced Dick, whichdeclaration brought cheer to the heart of Roger.

  A little investigation, the best that conditions allowed, showed themthat they could enter one of the fissures and avoid the sweep of therising wind that was now causing the snow to blow in sheets.

  Determined to do all in their power to obtain some comfort, theyselected the best shelter, and then crept within. Roger was the firstto discover some scattered bits of wood lying around, a tree that grewfurther up the abrupt face of the mountain having dropped some of itsbranches.

  Accordingly they obtained a light by means of the tinderbox and flintand steel. This enabled them to collect some of the fuel, and in theend they had a cheery fire.

  Sitting near this for an hour made them so sleepy that they were gladto roll over wherever they chanced to be, and give themselves up toslumber.

  The snow continued to fall heavily during the balance of the night.The wind howled through the adjacent trees in a mournful fashion, butwithin that fissure all was peaceful.

  Once or twice the old frontiersman w
ould awaken on feeling cold, andtoss more fuel on the smoldering embers of the fire, after which hewould again lie down.

  So morning found them. They would not have known that the day had comeif Dick had not made his way to the mouth of the fissure and lookedout. Apparently some hunter instinct had warned him that sleeping timehad passed.

  The snow was falling as thickly as ever. There was already a foot, andmore, of it on the ground. Up on the mountain, where a previous fallhad remained, it probably was twice as deep.

  To go out while the storm prevailed was hardly wise, much as the boyswanted to be on the move.

  Dick had taken note of certain things while the French trader wastalking to them, and particularly of the fact that, when Lascellesspoke of the "other camp" in which Jasper Williams was held a prisoner,he had, possibly unconsciously, nodded toward the east.

  It was in that direction the great lake lay of which they had heard somuch, and from one thing and another Dick came to the conclusion thatthe camp must be located on the border of this large body of water.

  Roger was looking anxiously at the meager stock of meat which Mayhewhad produced from his pockets. There might be enough to satisfy theirpresent hunger, but, once it was gone, the future did not seem veryinviting.

  They cooked it as on the former occasion.

  "And it tastes much better than that the Indians gave us," Rogerasserted, for the Blackfeet took little pains to keep the meat fromscorching, and this had given it a taste not at all pleasant to theboys.

  All too soon was breakfast over, and the last scrap of meat devoured.Roger heaved a sigh of regret as he wiped his mouth on the back of hishand.

  "I wish I knew where we would get the next bite," he remarked. "Itseems to me we eat in queer places on this trip. But I wouldn't mindthat so much if I only felt sure there _would_ be another meal."

  After that they sat around and talked as they attended to the fire. Nowand then one of them would get up to make another hunt for fuel, thestock of which was beginning to get low.

  It was far from a pleasant prospect staring them in the face. Thewonder was how Dick could appear to be so cheerful through it all, andkeep on saying he felt certain it would all come out right in the end.

  Roger at least had the good sense to keep his fears to himself.Whenever he felt that he could almost give a shout, such was thenervous tension under which he was laboring, he would jump up and busyhimself in hunting wood. In action he managed to gain control over hisnerves, so that he could resume his seat, and once more listen to whatthe others were debating.

  Plans were gravely discussed. To hear Dick laying these out one wouldnever dream that they were based upon such a slender shred of hope.Two charges in their guns; many days' journey from the home camp;surrounded by mysterious workings of Nature calculated to make mostmen flee in terror; sought after by a revengeful French trader and hisIndian allies; and now overtaken by a snowstorm that promised to maketraveling additionally difficult--what a prospect for two half-grownlads and a single man to face!

  The last time Dick came back from making an investigation as to theconditions outside, he brought a little satisfactory news. The snow wasfalling in diminished volume, and there was a promise that by anotherhour it might cease entirely. Then they could issue forth, and begin tobeat their way toward that section of the country where they believedthe big lake to lie.

  Hardly had he imparted this information than they were startled by adeep roaring noise from without. It seemed as though the foundations ofthe mountain were shaken and, remembering what a strange country theywere in, Roger could hardly be blamed for starting up with a cry ofalarm.

  The light that came in through the mouth of the fissure suddenly gaveway to darkness; only the flickering gleam of their fire remaining toshow them which way to move.

  "Oh, what has happened now?" asked Roger, and as usual Dick seemed toknow.

  "It is a snow avalanche," he told them, "and I am afraid it has blockedour only means of leaving here, so that we are once more prisoners!"