Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 272 — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

22 ~~ CHAPTER XXYV. THE BULL BOAT, THE two comrades, as soon as they heard the crashing above, leaped up and took post behind as many sturdy cottonwood trees, which shel- tered them from the rush. For several minutes the terrified ponies came tumbling down the bank, head over heels, and quite a number blundered into the river, to be _ carried away like corks by the rapid current. Then the rush paused, and the animals that were left alive scrainbled up and began to neigh to each other; as if congratulating them- selves on their escape, George and Slocum remained by their trees perfectly still, listening for human voices, and soon heard Indians calling to each other in the Sioux Longe. of the herders assuredly had escaped Some and were in the wood. George drew close to Slocum, whispering “ They don’t know who we are, I hear ** 'W hat are they saying?” ' “Calling names and asking who’s there.” “Then we'd better get out of the way.” “You're right there, and now’s our only time while the noise is loud. We don’t get another such chance, Keep your eyes skinned if we meet any one, and be ready to knock him on the head, We daresn’t fire a shot. Only got twelve between us, and there’s twenty of them easy. The stole quiet'y of, away from the sound of voices, till they came to a hollow in the baok, where some enormous tree, whose top rose above the bank, had been torn up by the roots and now lay with its head in the river, the butt having excavated in its fall a cavern that was capable of holding two men. ‘*Hyar’s our place,” whispered George. ‘‘ We kin hold ’ero here, if anywhere, Oh, if we only bad a couple of rifles! But they hain’t got any nuther; that’s one comfort.” “ How do you know?” ‘We'd ha’ seen or heard from’em! Hush! Hyar comes one. Sock it to him when he gets close enough.” The step of a man crackling among the dry sticks was audible, and they saw an Indian slonching along by the shore, between them and the river. He did not see them, and bad his face to the river which he was watching. As he arrived opposite them a loud call from up the stream attracted his attention, and he turned round to call back some words in Sioux, which opened a loud interchange of calls, and oar? led to another man coming up to join the t. em,” Neither was over ten feet away from the hol- low in which crouched the whit men, and Montana George had already dra 1 his pistol and held it elubbed for a blow, when the first n turned round anc walked away, still calling, aud the second fullowed him: Outlined as they had boon against the river, Slocum bad noticed that both were unarmed, and whispered to Georg: ‘* What did they say?” “Hunting for Sitting Bull,” was the startling reply. ‘They must have see’d his robe on you and took you for him. They think he was blowed into the river,” “What do you suppose they’!l do?” “* Make a fire and stay out the norther.” ** How long will it last?” “Three days, 1 reckon. To-morrow will be the worst of it. The wind will get higher’n ever when the sun rises.” “Yes, ’'ve heard signal service men say this is where all the cold in tho Union comes from,” said Slocum, thougbtfully. ‘*! begin to believe it, George.” “Cold! You bet your boots it’s going to be cold, Mr. Slocum. [It ain’t nothing yet. It’s only cold in the wind to-night, but when she ets good and going it won’t make much ifference where you are. It’s going to be cold, even bere, without a fire.” ‘* Will the river freeze, think you?’ ‘‘ Shouldn’t wonder.” “What river is this, do you suppose?” a looked round doubtfally. “TI? 1 warn’t afraid of bein’ called a fool, Mr. Slocum, I'd say "twas the Little Missouri river. It’s ey ink that way.” “The Little Missouri! Why, that’s nearly a aungres miles from where we were this even- Weve come a heap of a way, Mr. Slocum, "Hst! keep still. What's that?” | A twinkling light in the underbrush, some little distance off, broadening into a flame, and settling into a regular camp-fire, round which gathered quite a little ay of Indians. Montana George rub is hands. “They baven’t the least idea we’re here, or they wouldn’t light that fire. Lucky it ain’t er y ‘Why! ’Cause they’ll oP on us, fust pop, @S soon as day dawns, if we let ’em.” “ How can we prevent it?’ ‘There's only one way, Mr. Slocum.” The plainsman’s tone was serious, and Slo- _—— > <— ~~. 68 eye eee oe me See ee rn a RR RR RR a | a RR mmm meme I cum saw him thoughtfully feeling the edge of his knife. “We've got to wipe out those Injuns when they’re asleep, or they’ll wipe us out when they wake up.” Slocum shuddered slightly. He had not yet, like his companion, become hardened to the emrgene 3 of blood, and it seemed to him terrible to think of killing men in their sleep, even Indians, ‘*Can’t we do any other way?” he said. Montana George pointed to the distant fire. **Count how many there are,” he said. Slocum counted thirteen men, and spied pis- tols in the belts of four or five, the rest seeming to be unarmed. ** Couldn’t we steal the arms of some of these men,” he whispered, ‘‘and get away, after stampeding them?” Montana George shook his head. “You won't stampede ’em far. Remember that they won’t leave this shelter anyhow, and no man fights like an I[njun who's cornered. We've got to wipe ’em all out, or get wiped ouy ourselves, as I told ye,” Slocum eyed the Indians at the fire in a thoughtful way, saying: “Su we could get away ourselves, do you thiok they would follow us?” ‘*Follow us? I reckon not, while this here norther blows; but we wouldn’t be any better off ourselves.” “Why not?” fe ‘Cause we'd freeze to death, if we went out. “Suppose we made a boat, and sailed off down the river, where should we come to?” Montana George scratchea bis head. ‘Come to? Why, Gladstone of course, But how are we to make a boat?” “Why not take this robe of Sitting Bull, and make a bull-boat of it? There’s plenty of wood for a frame.” Montena George made no answer fora mo- ment. When be spoke, it was with an accent of sincere admiration. “Mr. Slocum, you’ve got a head on you, fit to be a mountain-man, some day. That there robe’s big enough to hold a dozen Injuns, at a! pinch. I’ve see’d six go at a time, and think nothin’ of it. Yes, if we could get a boat and keep from freezing, there’s no saying but what we'd get the best of these cusses, “George,” said the young man earnestly, ‘*“T've on y one ambition left, which is to get home safely with this book. If 1 get killed, take the book to Mr. Russell, and he’ll make you independently rich.” ‘‘Why, how much is that book worth?” the plainsman asked curiously. “There are subsidies in money and land- grants depending on that book, to the amount of ten millions of dollars, George. If Mr. Russell gets it, the money is safe; if not, all the money the company has spent so far will probably be thrown away. Now you see what the book's worth. You can ask what you please, if I’m killed, and [Pll see von get all that you can de- sire, if [live through y ur efforts.” * S'pose I was to ask a couple of thousand do!lars, and a pair of fust-cless bosses,” asked George doubtfully, “d’ye think they‘d give it me, Mr. Slocum?’ “I think so, George, if they saw you had the right boo!:.” George said no more; but sat watching the distant Indians, and listening to the bow] of the norther overhead, till the nwise of talk by the fire ceased, and one by one the Indian herders lay a to rest, quite exhausted by ‘be night’s work. Most of the ponies bad long ago done the same, very few retaining energy enough tocrop the cottonwood twigs and bark, so that the sheltered bank of the iver was very soon quiet, save for the moan of the wind above, When all was still, and Slocum was about to nod, overcove with weariness, George touched bis arm and said: *'l'ney’re fast, now. If ye want tomake that bull-boat, jow’s the time. We got to work quick, and quiet, too, or it?s allup. Hyar, Ive only ene knife. I cnt—you weave.” ey stole out of the hollow of the roots, and set to work at once. George, with the Indian hunting-knife, cut down long, slonde: boughs from the hazel bushes which abounded, and Slocum wove them up, with long bramblo creepers, into a sort of basket, shaped like half an egg, and strongly compacted, He did it as he had seen it done before, by first making a row of arches, the ends of the sticks in the ground on either side, and then weaving thinner twigs in and out, till the struc- ture was firmly framed. He wad to work with the utmost silence; for only the snorting of horses was there to keep the noise of his proceedings from the sharp ears of the Indians. He well knew that the Indians sleep lightly, and that unusual noises, however slight, awaken them instantly to look for an enemy. He could not hear Montana George cutting the sticks, so wary was the plainsman. George would wait, witty is band on a withe, Seth Slocum, Railroad Surveyor. | | | till be saw a pony pulling at a twig, and make the snap of bis own crack seem but a partof the noise made by the pony. : They worked on in this way till the basket was made, when Slocum looke! toward the east and saw the red streaks of dawn. He pointed it out to George, who said hastily: ‘Time we was off, then. They won’t sleep arter it’s light. Hurry on the bide.” ‘They took the famous painted robe of Sit- ting Bull, and spread it out on the ground, with the basket in the center. When they wrapped it up and brought the ends in over the gunwale, they had a perfect boat of its kind—rather of a baggy kind—but quite capable of holding four or five people, and perfectly seamless, They secured the edges by cutting thongs off the border of the skin and sewing it to the earn: and by that time the top of the sun peeped over the horizon, and the borses began to get up, stamp, and snort to each other. ‘‘ Now,” said Montana George, “‘ we’ve ‘em, Mr. Slocum, if they’ll keep still jest three minutes, while I get a pole. Take ber down behind the tree, and keep your eyes skin- ed for those cusses over there, If it comes toa fight, give it to em over the tree.” The plainsman stole away up the bank, and Slocum saw bim cutting steadily away at the foot of a tall sapling, nearly two inches thick at the butt, Montana George cut away with all his force, using the knife with both hands like a cooper’s spoke-shave, and cutting round and round the tree, with marvelous rapidity. : At last be had got it cut nearly in half, and paused to glance over at the Indians by the fire. No sooner had he done so than he utt+red a ery of alarm, snapped off the sapling with a loud crack, and plunged down to the river, call- ing to Slocum as he went: ‘Put berin! Hyar they come!” At thesame moment ‘‘crack! crack!” went a whole volley of pistols, and a dozen Sioux cams wey Tie the tree, yelling like a pack of wolves and firing as they came. CHAPTER XXVI. | DOWN STREAM. THE bull boat lay on the ground at the side of the tree, away from the Indians, and Siocum saw them coming in a bunch, all yelling bo- gether, as if wild with rage. They bad caught sight of George’s white face, and seemed to realize what bad happened, The plainsman came plunging down the bank, still clinging to the sapling be bad cut, and threw himself down behind the prostrate tree, saying breathlessly: ‘‘ Keep ’em busy while 1 trim the pole—coax ’em to fire. Don’t throw away a shot,” Slocum needed no warning on the point. He was naturally cool and cautious, and he thor- ougbly appreciated the fact that he had no re- serve ammunition, He saw the Indians rushing on, the men with istols in front, firing as they came, and trust- ng to take evorything with their first rush. e kept himself well hidden bebind the trunk of the buge tree, close to the butt, only the sice of his bead visible, till the foremost man madea leap on the great bole, as it lay Not till then did he fire bis pistol, almost touching the Indian, who staggered and fell headlong, inside the barricade. stone dead, That shot checked the rush instantly, and the rest besitated, when Seth Slocum leveled bis revolver over the tree, and shot down a second Indian, within six feet of the front of his forti- fication. That turned the rush, and they ran like bares to cover, while Montana George, who was b trimming his long pole, observed gleefully as he cut: ‘Mr. Slocum, you was born for a plainsman. Couldn’t ba’ done better myself. e’ve made two revolvers out of that. Keep a look out, and 1’ll s’arch the dead one, when I get this pole trimmed,” | Slocum remained on the watch movement of the Indians for nes r| but saw no ¥ a minute. During all that time, the dead Indian in front . of the barricade lay where be had fallen, on bis face, a revolver in each hand, still clutched tightly. - Presently Montana George said in a low tone: “Thar, the pole will do, I reckon, and we made two pistols. Hooray! bvar’s a box of cartridges in the brute’s belt. Now we're fixed. You watch, while I load up.” Slocum watched and caught sight of two In- dians flitting from tree to tree, to geb round to the flank of the fortification. | He told George. ** Give the n one a shot. if you’re sure vou won’s miss him,” was the reply. “One bit’s worth a million misses with Injuns. Watch “ tree and pull the moment be sticks out his ead. Slocum followed the advice by watching a single tree through the sights of bis pistol. ) An Indian put out bis head once and drew it back. The next time it was protruded it remained comicbooks . CO 4 é » ts. "s \ {