It was quite late when they camped. Tim would have nothing to do with the blanket, so the boys spread it upon the earth, lay down upon it, and then drew the borders over them.
Wearied out they soon fell asleep, depending, under the kindness of heaven, upon the watchfulness of the faithful Newfoundland that had never yet proved unfaithful to his trust.
In the middle of the night Elwood awoke from a feeling of uncomfortable warmth, and threw the blanket off and slept thus until morning. He was the first to awake, just as light was dawning, and was on the point of rising when he started and became suddenly transfixed with horror at a sight directly before his eyes!
CHAPTER XV
The Crotalus
There are several species of rattlesnakes found in California, among which are the black, spotted and striped. Some of them grow to an enormous size and are anything but pleasant strangers to encounter, especially when you come upon them suddenly and find them coiled. It is a peculiarity of these specimens of the Crotalus of America that they strike only from the coil, are easily killed, and generally, although not always, do they rattle before they dart forward their poisonous fangs.
We can conceive of nothing upon the face of this beautiful earth more shudderingly repulsive than a rattlesnake. The arrowy head, and shiny, flabby body, with its glistening scales and variegated color, its tapering tail, with that dreadful arrangement by which it imitates so closely the whirr of the locust, the bead-like eyes, with no lids and a fleshy film dropping over them—all these make up the most terrible reptile found on the American continent.
And then imagine one of these creatures coiled! The thick, heavy body with the tail projecting upward from the center, the head drawn back, and the red, cavernous mouth open, with the curved, hollow teeth and the sacs at their roots filled nigh to bursting with this concentrated essence of the vilest of all poison—imagine this, we say—but don’t do it either! If you have never seen a rattlesnake, don’t go near one, unless you have a chance to kill it, even if his fangs have been extracted. The heel shall bruise the serpent, and that is the best use to which they can be put.
But as Howard Lawrence opened his eyes, in the dull light of this summer morning, he saw coiled within five feet of him a striped rattlesnake, its intensely black eyes fairly scintillating light, and its rattle gently waving but making no noise.
In a single second his true peril flashed upon him. If he moved the reptile would strike. He might throw himself suddenly backward, but in that case if he escaped, the malignant fangs would be buried in the sleeping Elwood ere he could open his eyes and understand the danger that threatened him. And he was afraid, too, to speak to him and Tim in the hope of awaking them. There would be blundering upon their part, and blundering meant but one thing—death.
Howard looked straight at the serpent’s eyes and became conscious of a strange sensation passing through him. The small, black orbs seemed to advance, shrink and float away through the air, enchaining his own vision until the will, which had so vehemently repelled the danger grew indifferent, and the thought of peril merged into a vague, dreamy semi-consciousness, which, while it took knowledge of the terrible reptile, coiled and ready to strike, yet failed to impress the mind with the energy to withdraw from its terrible power. His blood slowly chilled, as if vein by vein it froze throughout his person, until from head to foot the vital current was congealed. At times he strove to move, or more properly sought, in the mysterious make-up of our composition, to rouse the will from its torpor, but with the same result as follows the effort of the sufferer to use his paralyzed limb. The will seemed to make a feeble twitch or two and then subside, unable to break the fatal spell spreading over his mind and faculties. The eyes of the reptile glared upon his own, their bead-like blackness taking the form of a point of fire waving, floating, gyrating and circling in the air, doubling in and out in rings of the rainbow’s hues, melting away into the distance, then drifting forward until mingled with his own, up and down in the same bewildering maze of color and design that visits the patient when lost in the delirium of fever. And all the time it was as if the rattlesnake was conscious of the dreadful power he held over his victim. Its arrowy head and long neck were started silently toward him, as if threatening instant destruction; and then, like the cat toying with her victim, it was withdrawn again, and the spell deepened and increased. A strange whirl passed through the mind of the boy. By a violent attempt to call in his wandering thoughts he gathered an idea of the mortal danger impending over him, but he could not centralize his mental powers.
The bewildering sensations were somewhat similar to that of a man whose brain has received a violent concussion—the mysterious chambers and channels through which thought forced its way were choked up and the subtle impetus recoiled, powerless to perform its function. He felt the necessity of clear, vigorous thought, but his dull brain would not work—the cold incubus upon it chilled it through and through; and all the time the malignantly beautiful reptile was partly coiling and uncoiling, the articulated ring giving a faint rattle, as if caused by the slight vibration of its body. After a while the serpent lay still, but never once was its eye removed from its victim. It was growing tired of dallying with its prey and was making ready to strike. The coil became close and compact, the rattle rising from the center, and the eye assumed a clear, metallic sharpness that appeared to throw forward its fateful rays into his own. He saw that the sport was done and the snake was ready to strike; he strove to move, but could not; he essayed to speak, but the words choked him unuttered. He saw the reptile calling in its strength and—
“Quick, Howard, draw the blanket over you! He can’t strike through that!”
The practical, energetic words of Elwood Brandon, whom he had imagined asleep at his side, broke the dreadful spell that had enchained Howard. He felt the mist pass from his eyes, his mind threw off the incubus which had borne it down, and he was himself again, with clear mental powers.
His right hand lay upon the thick blanket, and sensible of his extreme peril, he quickly closed it, grasping the edge firmly, and then threw himself over upon his face and against his cousin, but covering both their bodies at the same instant with the heavy, closely-knit cloth.
At the very moment of doing so the angry locust-like ring of the reptile and a sharp thrust against the blanket as if struck by a small stick announced that it has given its blow.
Howard and Elwood both shouted to Tim to come to their assistance; but ere he could respond a rush was heard, followed by a fierce growl, and they understood at once that Terror had appeared upon the scene.
They let him rage for a few moments and then, Tim having informed them that the snake was “kilt entirely,” they cautiously crept forth. As they looked furtively around they saw at once that the Newfoundland had done his work well. The reptile was torn into shreds and strewn over an area of several yards. Its fangs had entered the blanket where, while they did not pierce through they stuck irrevocably, holding the reptile a prisoner to the fury of the dog.
Thankful indeed were the boys for their providential escape from this dreaded creature. Elwood had been awakened by its slight rattling, when, suspecting the danger that was closing around his cousin, he uttered the warning words which we have given and which proved the means of robbing the blow of the reptile of its danger.
The fangs were carefully extracted from the blanket, and Howard declared his intention of preserving them as a curiosity; but within a half-hour after leaving the camp they were lost, and he did not judge it worth while to search for them.
CHAPTER XVI
The Camp-Fire
As our three friends on that bright summer morning stood on the slope of the mountains and gazed down into the beautiful Salinas Valley before them, Elwood Brandon suddenly pointed a little to the north and said:
“See! there are others beside us!”
About a mile distant, and not far from the river, they saw a thin, black column of smoke rising among the trees, o
f so dark and palpable a character that it could be distinguished at once.
“Another party of Indians,” replied Howard. “We seem to be getting into their neighborhood.”
“I only wish they were a party of white hunters or miners, for I long to see a friendly face.”
“What good could it do us? They wouldn’t accompany us home, or take any trouble to see that we were protected.”
“Perhaps not, but I tell you, Howard, this begins to look dangerous when we see nothing but enemies. There are but three of us, and one gun only between us. I believe a single Indian could destroy us all if he chose to do so.”
“Except in one contingency.”
“What is that?”
“That you should aim the gun. He would then flee at once.”
Elwood laughed and added:
“But we have no breakfast, and we may as well be moving.”
“You’re a sensible boy,” added Tim O’Rooney, “be the towken that when ye spakes ye quiverally anticipates me own thoughts.”
They soon reached the level of the valley, and then took a direction straight toward the spot where they had seen the camp-fire burning. The intervening space was quite thickly grown with trees and vegetation, so that they could obtain no sight of the fire itself until they were very close to it.
“We must be careful,” admonished Howard. “If it is a party of Indians they may discover us before we do them.”
“I don’t suppose it will do for us all to walk straight up to them, for they’ll be sure to see us then.”
“No, one must creep up and find whether the coast is clear. Tim has seen more of California than we have, and he can do that if he wishes.”
“Sinsible agin, for I was about to spake the same. Do yees tarry here while I takes a look around. Whist! now, and kaap so still that ye’ll hear me brathe all the way there and back agin.”
The boys took their position each behind a large tree, and looking cautiously forth they awaited the return of their friend.
When these precautions were taken they were not a hundred yards distant from the strangers. The Irishman stepped very carefully, moving on tiptoe, and not making any noise that was perceptible. This was no great attainment in woodcraft, as any person could have done the same with ordinary care, when the woods were of the character of this one. Had there been briers or brambles, or swampy ground, or that which was unusually dry, and covered with twigs, it would have been a feat far more difficult of attainment.
Just before Tim disappeared from view they saw him sink down upon his hands and knees and creep forward; but the bushes soon shut him out from view and they could only wait with all the patience possible.
At the end of about ten minutes the genial face of the Irishman appeared, and the expression upon it gave rise to pleasant anticipations.
“Who are they?” asked the two boys together, as soon as they deemed it prudent.
“Whist! now don’t spake so loud. Ye’ll wake ’em out.”
Tim looked behind, and became satisfied that there was no fear of discovery, when he arose to his feet, and took his careless, sauntering manner.
“Well, Tim!’” said Howard inquiringly.
“What is it yez wishes?”
“We wish to know whether these strangers are white men or Indians.”
“Well, ye saas, I had to crawl up to ’em mighty careful, for if you step upon a stick no bigger than a tooth-pick, yees are sortin to wake up a slaapin’ copper-skin—”
“So they were Indians, then,” interrupted Elwood somewhat impatiently.
“Do yes be aisy now, and not be interruptin’ of me, and yer observations and questions which ain’t naaded in this case. Me owld grandfather used to till a great many stories to us spalpaans about the part he took with young Emmett—when owld Ireland stood up against England. He used to tell us his stories—did the same—and just so sure as one of us axed him a question, he’d go back to the beginning and till the whole story over again. He’d begin airly in the evening, and kaap it going till tin or eleven o’clock. I belave the old gintleman rather liked to have us be interruptin’ him, for he laid bates for us wee ones, and ye see by that manes one story sometimes kept him going for a waak. Heaven bliss the owld gintleman—he had a habit of stopping in the middle of an exciting part and lighting his dudheen, and then when he’d begin again, he’d skip over a part on purpose to make us ax him a question—”
“Well, Tim, we will talk about your grandfather some other day,” said Howard, who, as naturally may be supposed, was impatient for him to come to the point.
“Yis, I was just through with him, but yees should never be overmuch in haste. Me blessed mother always told me that it was the same as being too slow, and if anybody could spake of the same, could me mother do it. I was about to obsarve when yees interrupted me, that a man must be mighty careful in going up to a camp-fire, for these Indians slaap so quietly that the overturning of a leaf is sure to wake ’em, and you saa by this, if we’d all three gone up, as we war thinkin’ about, they’d heard us long before we could have got sight of ’em, and our tramping in Californy would be done with—”
“So they were Indians were they?” asked Elwood again, partly amused and partly vexed at Tim’s persistent dallying with their curiosity.
“Who said the same?”
“You implied it. Were they red or white men? Answer us—yes or no!”
“And that is just the pint I’s raching for, as me frind, Michael O’Shanghangly, said when he took a half-quart of whisky. Yez understands that I wanted to make sure just who the same might be, and what was their number. ’Spose, now, I should have come back and said there war but three of the same, and there should be a half-dozen, or I should say they was white gintlemen like ourselves, and they should turn out to be of a darker hue. Ye saas that it wouldn’t do.”
The boys had become so uneasy by this time that they were walking back and forth, and talking to each other in low tones.
“I will go forward and see for myself,” said Elwood. “I don’t care about waiting an hour or two for him to answer my question.”
“He will soon answer us; he is only indulging in a little pleasantry.”
“Rather a bad time for jesting.”
“I think we can be sure of one thing,” added Howard a moment later.
“What is that?”
“That we are not in much danger. If we were he wouldn’t wait so long to tell us.”
“I don’t know about that; it would be in keeping with his foolishness. I tell you, Howard, I will ask him once more, and if he doesn’t answer me at once, I shall go forward and learn for myself.”
“Well, do so.”
“Tim, are those Indians or white men?”
“That’s it, is it? Why didn’t yez ax me before? They’re a party of white men, be the same!”
CHAPTER XVII
The Miners
“I wished to give yez a pleasant surprise, as the doctor said when he told the man that his wife was dead,” remarked Tim, in explanation of his conduct. “Had there really been any of the red gintlemen around I’d have told you soon enough.”
Our young friends were too well pleased at the intelligence to feel other than good natured, and they gladly forgave Tim for his trespass upon their patience. Without waiting further they walked hastily forward, and a moment later stood by the camp-fire.
Three men, apparently, had just aroused themselves from slumber, and were now stirring around making preparations for their breakfast. They were shaggy, unshorn, grimy-looking fellows, who had “run wild” for several years, but who had not necessarily lost their humanity, even though they had in a great degree lost its outward semblance. In the center, a large bundle of sticks were burning quite briskly, and one of the men was turning and watching some meat that was cooking over it. The others had evidently just returned from the river, for their red temples and foreheads still glistened with moisture which sparkled like dew on their patriarchal
beards.
They were rough, hardy-looking fellows, but Elwood felt little apprehension as he stepped forward and said:
“Good morning, gentlemen!”
He who was cook turned his head, but a hot drop of moisture from the steaming meat at that moment flew in his eye, and clapping his finger to it, he muttered something, and forthwith and instantly gave his exclusive attention to his culinary duties.
The second man was rubbing his face with a piece of coarse cloth, and he suddenly paused with his black eyes glaring over the top, his face resembling the head of some huge animal clambering over the edge of a rock, and who, having just gained a foothold, is looking hurriedly around for his prey.
The third was combing his hair, and just at this moment it was moistened and sticking straight over his forehead like the horn of an animal. He would run the comb through with his right hand and then smooth the hair with his left. He stopped with both arms crooked over his head, and wheeled around like an automaton, and stared at the boy a moment, and then said:
“Well, there! Why didn’t you ring the door-bell? I say, youngster, come forward and give us a grip of your hand. Halloo! you’ve got your brother with you!”
“Not my brother, but my cousin, Howard Lawrence.”
The two boys shook hands with the three, and the grip that they received from the horny palms made them wince with pain.
“But where’d you come from? We don’t see a couple of youngsters dressed up in your style promenading ’round in these parts every day. Where’d you come from?”
“The steamer on which we took passage the other day from Panama, was burned off the coast, and we got ashore on a raft.”
“Be you the only ones?”
“No; there were quite a number that escaped.”
“Where be they?”
The Edward S. Ellis Megapack Page 84
