The Argosy, November 1908 — page 38: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

604 “No. Didn’t I tell you they all go after Red Two Legs?” - . “But will they all go?” “Sure. Yaquis do that.’ ‘‘ And leave their women and children unprotected ? ” “They don’t need protection. No- body harms them if the men drive away the enemy.” It might have been good reasoning from his point of view. JI wasn’t sure of it myself. “There’s a cave up there on that ledge and another bear.” I pointed up to the ledge. ‘We'll kill him.” “He is dead. I killed him.” “Vou very great hunter. All know that.” “T didn’t know whether I’d find you,” I said, “and was going on alone. I imagined this stream might run into that lake you speak of, and I wasn’t going to get this far and go back without my wife. And I thought I’d cook plenty of bear meat and put that in the cave, and if I got my wife and Namona I could hide here for a while.” “Ah! You think, you. do as you say.” He straightway, after taking a drink of the pure water of the gorge, began hanging another piece of bear meat. ‘And we take the other, cut him, dry him. Very good.” I left this work to him, and took my ease, with my back against the side of the gorge. After the scare he had caused me it was just that he should do the work. We slept that night on the ledge. Billy told me to sleep without fear, and he would know if anybody came. I knew him well enough to feel confi- dent of this, and did sleep. After my experience I needed a good long rest. It was early morning when I woke. Billy was already up and was squat- ting near me eating some more bear meat. I did the same. We took the cooked meat into the cave. It was not a very large cave, and was light enough to see well, and we made a clean place for the meat on a kind of shelf. The carcass of the larger bear he had prepared in his own fashion, and had Yes. We'll THE ARGOSY, hung pieces on limbs of trees to dry, after smoking them a little over the fire and performing some other stunts by which Indians can keep meat a long time. ‘“Now we go,” he said. With our rifles ready for instant action we started, Billy leading the way. There was no conversation. He trudged along with that wonderfully silent and wonderfully tireless gait of his, and I followed in his steps, which were always the best and safest when the water of the gorge had to be crossed. In this way we walked for probably two hours, and possibly more. And the nature of the gorge was now constantly changing. It grew wider, and the depth was lessening. The water, too, was increased by the addition of another stream that fell in a cascade from the top. After a while we could see out through the wide mouth of the gorge, and beyond there was a pretty little lake. We could see only a small portion of the lake, and Billy stopped. “Come,” he said. ‘ Climb up.” CHAPTER XV. A GLIMPSE OF CONSUELO. CLIMBING was easy here. Billy led the way up a rude flight of natural steps in the rock, going in a slanting direction toward the mouth of the gorge as well as toward the top. And almost at the very end of the ravine he stopped again. We were now on a broader table of rock, and the top was within reach. ‘Keep still,” he said. ‘Tom Mud and Bill Faraway up here.” Getting a grip on the edge he pulled himself up. Then reaching down he helped me. There were three grunts when I was on top. The other two Moquis were there, just as he had said. “Now look there—that way,’ said Billy Barefoot. I looked. The lake was below us, and was surrounded by just such cliffs as formed the walls of the gulch through which we had come. It was a place of marvelous beauty. The water of the lake seemed as clear as that of the gorge, and was perfectly still. comicloooks.conn ; 4