by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VIII
THE CAVE-DWELLERS
Three days later the party stood on the brow of a steep bluff lookingdown upon the Colorado Chiquita river. It had been a weary journey. Itwas evident that the girl had, after the second day's riding, allowedthe horse to go its own way, trusting perhaps to its instinct to makefor some habitation, should there be any in the region. There had beenno difficulty in following its footsteps until the third day, when theywere passing over a stony plateau. Here even the keen sight of theIndians sometimes failed them, and hours were lost in taking up thetrail. There was no water to be met with here, and the Indians agreedthat the horse was going slowly and weakly, and the girl for the mostpart walking beside it, as they pointed out by a crushed blade of grassor flattened lichen by the side of the horse's track. Later in the daythe trail was straighter, and the chief said confidently, "The horsesmells water; the river cannot be many miles away."
It was an hour after starting, on the third morning, that they reachedthe bluff opposite to them. For a distance of a couple of miles rose asteep island of basalt, some hundreds of feet above the plain around it,and on the summit a large village could be seen.
"Moquis," the Indian said, pointing to it.
"Then she must have got there in safety!" Will exclaimed in delight. Thechief shook his head. "Horse not able to swim river, must stop a day toeat grass. There horse!" and he pointed to an animal seven hundred oreight hundred feet below them.
"That is its colour, sure enough," Antonio exclaimed, "but I don't seethe senorita."
"She may be asleep," Will suggested.
"Likely enough, senor; we shall soon see."
Dismounting, they made their way down the steep descent. Then all leapedinto their saddles and galloped forward to the edge of the stream, aquarter of a mile away. The mare, which evidently scented that thenew-comers were not Indians, cantered to meet them with a whinny ofpleasure. There were no signs of the girl, and all dismounted to searchamong the low bushes for her, Will loudly calling her name. Presentlythe Indian, who, with his follower, had moved along the bank, calledthem.
"She slept here yesterday," he said, and the level grass close to ashrub testified to the truth of the exclamation. The two Indians lookedserious.
"What is it, chief?"
"Indians," he said. "White girl come down to river to drink; then shelay down here; then Indians come along; you see footprints on soft earthof bank; they catch her when asleep and carry her off. Teczuma and theWolf have looked; no marks of little feet; four feet deeper marks thanwhen they came along; Indian carry her off."
"Perhaps they have taken her along the river to some ford, and carriedher up to their village."
"Soon see;" and he and the Wolf moved along the bank, the othersfollowing at a short distance, having first taken off their horses'bridles, allowing them to take a good drink, and turned them loose tofeed.
"Small men," the chief said, when Will with the two chief vaqueros cameup to him. "Short steps; got spears and bows."
"How on earth does he know that?" Will said, when the words weretranslated to him. Sancho pointed to a round mark on the ground.
"There is the butt end of a spear, and I dare say the chief has noticedsome holes of a different shape made by the ends of bows."
Half a mile farther the bluffs approached the river and bordered it witha perpendicular cliff, which had doubtless been caused by the face ofthe hill being eaten away by the river countless ages before. The streamwas here some thirty yards from the foot of the cliff. More and morepuzzled at the direction in which Clara had been carried, the trackersfollowed. They had gone a hundred yards along the foot of the cliff whena great stone came bounding down from above, striking the ground a fewyards in front of the Indians, who leaped back. Almost instantly ashrill voice shouted from above, and, looking up, they saw a number ofnatives on a ledge a hundred feet above them, with bows bentthreateningly.
"Back, all of you!" Sancho shouted. "Their arrows may be poisoned."
Seeing, however, that the party retreated in haste, the Indians did notshoot; when a short distance away a council was held, and all returnedto their horses, mounted, and swam the river; then they rode along toview the cliff. Three or four openings were seen on the level of theledge on which the Indians were posted, and Will was astonished to seethat above, the cliff, which was here quite perpendicular, was coveredwith strange sculptures, some of which still retained the colour withwhich they had in times long past been painted.
"They are the old people, the cave-dwellers," Sancho said. "I have heardof them; they were here long before the Moquis were here. They were apeople dwelling in caves. There are hundreds of these caves in someplaces. They have always kept themselves apart, and never made friendswith the Moquis. In the early times with the Spaniards there weremissionaries among the Moquis, but they could never do anything amongthe cave people, who are, they say, idolaters and offer humansacrifices."
"How do the people live?" Antonio asked.
"They fish, and steal animals from the Moquis when they get a chance,and they dwell in such inaccessible caves that, once there, they aresafe from pursuit.
"If you like, senor, I will go up to the Moquis village, and try to findout something about them. I don't know the Moquis language, but Iunderstand something of the sign language, which is understood by allIndians, and I dare say that I shall be able to learn something aboutthese people."
Will dismounted as the vaquero rode off, and, bidding Antonio do thesame, told the man to take their horses a quarter of a mile away, andthere to dismount and cook a meal.
"Now, Antonio," he said, "we have to see how this place can be climbed."
Antonio shook his head. "I should say that it was altogether impossible,senor. You see there is a zigzag path cut in the face of the cliff up tothat ledge. In some places the rock is cut away altogether, and thenthey have got ladders, which they would no doubt draw up at once if theywere attacked. You see the lower ones have already been pulled up. Likeenough sentries are posted at each of those breaks when they arethreatened with an attack. Besides, the chances are that if they thoughtthere were any risk of our getting up, they would kill the senorita."
"I see all that, Antonio, and I have no thought of making my way up bythe steps; the question is, could it be climbed elsewhere? The other endof the ledge would be the best point to get up at, for any watch that iskept would certainly be where the steps come up."
Antonio shook his head. "Unless one could fly, senor, there would be noway of getting up there."
"I don't know that," Will said shortly; "wait till I have had a goodlook at it."
Lying on the ground, with his chin resting on his hands, he gazedintently at the cliff, observing even the most trifling projections, thetiny ledges that here and there ran along the face.
"It would be a difficult job and a dangerous one," he said, "but I amnot sure that it cannot be managed. At any rate, I shall try. I am asailor, you know, Antonio, and am accustomed, when we have been sailingin the gale, to hold on with my toes as well as my fingers. Now, do yougo back to the others. I shall want two poles, say fifteen feet long,and some hooks, which I can make from ramrods. Do you see just in themiddle of that ledge, where the large square entrance is, the cliffbulges out, and I should say the ledge was twenty feet wide; this islucky, for if there are sentries on the steps they would not be able tosee beyond that point. If they could do so, I should not have muchchance of getting up, for it will be a bright moonlight night. When Iget to the top--that is, if I do get there--I shall lower down a rope.You can fasten the lariats together. They would hold the weight of adozen men. The lightest and most active of you must come up first. Whentwo or three are up we can haul the rest up easily enough. Now you cango. I shall be here another half-hour at least. I must see exactly thebest way to climb, calculate the number of feet along each of thoselittle ledges to a point where I can reach the one above with my hook,and get the whole thing well in my mind."
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p; Antonio went away shaking his head. To him the feat seemed so impossiblethat he thought that it was nothing short of madness to attempt it. Suchwas the opinion of the rest of the vaqueros and the two Indians when, onarriving at the fire, he told them what Will proposed doing. Theirleader, however, when he joined them, had a look of confidence on hisface.
"I am more convinced than ever that it can be done," he said. When themeal of bear's flesh had been eaten, he lit his pipe and began to smokequietly. The chief came up and spoke to him.
"What does he say, Antonio?"
"He says that you are a brave man, senor, but that no man could do whatyou are talking of, and that you will throw away your life."
"Tell him I will bet my horse against his that I shall succeed, and youshall be witness to the bet in case I don't come back again."
The chief nodded gravely when the offer was made to him. Indians of alltribes are given to wagering, and as the horse Will was riding was a farbetter one than his own, he regarded the matter rather as a legacy thana bet.
An hour later Sancho came down, accompanied by several of the MoquisIndians, leading four sheep as a present, and followed by women carryingpans of milk, baskets of eggs, and cakes of various descriptions. Sanchopresented the chief to Will.
"They are quite friendly, senor; they hate the cave-dwellers, who areconstantly robbing them, and who compel them to keep guard over theanimals at night. I can understand them pretty well; they bid me tellyou that they would gladly assist you against the cave-dwellers, butthat it is impossible to reach the caves."
Will shook hands with the chiefs, and asked Sancho to explain by signsthat he was much obliged for their presents.
"Tell them, Sancho, that I am going to try to scale the cliffto-night."
"You are going to scale the cliff?" the vaquero asked incredulously.
"I did not say that I was going to scale it, but that I was going totry; and I may add that I hope that I shall succeed. Will you ask if thecave-dwellers poison their arrows?"
"I have already asked that, senor, but he said no. The cattle have oftenbeen wounded by them, and unless the wound is a mortal one, theyrecover."
"That is very satisfactory," Will said, "for I own I have more fear ofbeing hit by a poisoned arrow than I have of scaling the cliff."
"The chief says that if you will go up to their village he will place ahouse at your disposal, senor."
"Tell him that I am much obliged, and that to-morrow I may accept theirinvitation. Our horses will require three or four days' rest beforestarting back, and I can hardly hope that the senorita will be fit totravel for a good deal longer than that."
Although they had but just eaten a meal, the vaqueros were perfectlyready to begin another. A number of eggs were roasted in the ashes, andwashed down by long draughts of milk. The chiefs then left them, but anumber of the villagers came down and watched the proceedings of thestrangers with great interest. Will at once proceeded to carry out hisplan of bending the ramrods: a hot spot in the fire was selected, andtwo of the vaqueros increased the intensity of the heat by fanning itwith their sombreros. Three others went down to the river and brought upa large flat boulder and two or three smaller ones, and, using the largeone as an anvil, the ends of the hooks were hammered into sharp, broad,chisel-shaped blades. Sancho had explained to the chiefs that two poles,some fifteen feet long, were required, and when these were brought downthe ramrods were securely bound to them with strips of wetted hide.Other strips were, by Will's directions, bound round the pole so as toform projections a foot apart.
"That will greatly assist me in climbing it," he said. "I don't say Icould not do without it, but it will make it very much easier."
In order to lull the cave-dwellers into security, the camp was shiftedin the afternoon to the foot of the Moquis hill, and there Will gave hismen instructions as to the operations.
"We will cross the river on the horses a mile above the cave," he said;"we must use them, or we could not keep our rifles and pistols dry. Youmust all remove your boots as soon as you dismount, and we will now tearup two or three blankets, and twist strips round the barrels of theguns, so that, should they strike against the rocks, no sound shall bemade. You had better do the same with the barrels of your pistols."
Then he chose the lightest of the vaqueros to follow him. Anotherlight-weight was to be third. Antonio was to follow him, and thenSancho, and the order in which all the others were to go was arranged.Lariats were securely knotted together, and the knots tied with stripsof hide, to prevent the possibility of their slipping. The men carriedout his orders, but it was evident from their manner that they had notthe slightest hope that his attempt would be successful. An hour aftersunset they started. It was two days after full moon, and they had,therefore, as many hours to reach the foot of the cliffs before it rose.
An hour was sufficient to traverse the distance, and they thereforerested for that time, after darkness set in, before starting, swam theriver, and after removing their boots made their way noiselessly along,keeping some distance from the river bank until they reached the spotwhere the cliff rose perpendicularly; then, keeping close to its foot,they held on until they arrived at the spot Will had fixed upon. Thereall lay down among the boulders close to the rock wall, and remainedthere until the moon rose.
There had been several discussions as to the best way to get the lariatup, as it was agreed that, whether carried in a coil over the shoulderor wound round the body, it would hamper the climber's movements. Thequestion was finally solved by his taking a coil of thin hide, which,while little thicker than string, was amply strong enough to support theweight of the lariat. Four or five bullets had been sewn up in a pieceof skin and attached to one end. A strap was fastened to each pole sothat these could be slung behind him, so permitting him the free use ofboth hands where it was not needful to use them.
"The saints watch over you, senor!" Antonio whispered, as Will preparedto start, and he and Sancho gave him a silent grip of the hand, whilethe Indian chief laid his hand on his shoulder and muttered, "Ugh, heapbrave!"
For a short distance the ascent was comparatively easy. Then he arrivedat the first of the ledges he had noticed. It was some ten inches wide,and, keeping his face to the wall and using his hands to grip the mosttrifling irregularity, or to get a hold in small crevices, he made hisway along until he arrived at a projection which barred fartherprogress. Slipping one of the slings from his shoulder, he reached upuntil the hook caught the next ledge, and obtained a good hold there. Hethen climbed the pole until his fingers got a grip of the ledge, when hehauled himself up to it. It was some fifteen inches wide here, andwithout difficulty he obtained a footing, again slung the pole on hisshoulder and went on. The ledge narrowed rapidly, and he was now at oneof the points which appeared to him the most difficult, for from wherehe had been lying the ledge seemed almost to cease, while the next ledgeabove it was also so narrow that he knew he could not obtain standingroom upon it.
As he approached the narrow path he took the poles, one in each hand,and obtained a grip of the upper ledge. He now made his way along ontiptoe, having his weight almost entirely on the poles, shifting themalternately. To a landsman this would have been an extraordinary feat,but, accustomed to hang to the ropes by one hand, it was not sodifficult for him, especially as he obtained some slight support fromhis feet. Without the poles it would have been impossible for him tohave passed, as the ledge in some places was only three inches wide. Atthe end of some thirty feet it again widened; the next forty or fiftyfeet upward were comparatively easy, for the rock sloped to some extentinward, and there were many fissures in which he was enabled to get afirm grip with his fingers. Then came several difficult places, but hewas confident now in the hold the hooks had on the rocks, and, alwaysworking with great caution and using sometimes his hands, sometimes thepoles, he reached the top in half an hour after starting.
