“I reckon he will be there before us,”
Harry said; “that is if he got round the red-skins
all right and found the horses. There would be
no reason for him to wait, and I expect he would go
straight on, and is like enough to be waiting for
us by this time.”
CHASED
The party pressed forward as rapidly as they could.
The ground was rough and at times very steep, and
those on foot were able to keep up with the horses
without much difficulty.
“You think the Indians will follow, uncle?”
Tom asked.
“They will follow, you may bet your boots, Tom;
by this time they have got to the bottom of the mystery.
The first thing this morning some of them will go
up on to the ledge where you were, follow your tracks
down to the canon where you left the horses, and find
that you came up the valley and not down it.
They will have made out that there were two whites
and two red-skins, and that the two red-skins have
gone up the canon with the horses. Directly the
matter is all cleared up, they will be hotter than
ever for our scalps, for there is nothing a red-skin
hates worse than being fooled. Of course, they
will know that it is a good deal harder to wipe out
seven men than three, and I don’t think they
will attack us openly; they know well enough that in
a fair fight two red-skins, if not three, are likely
to go down for each white they rub out. But they
will bide their time: red-skins are a wonderful
hand at that; time is nothing to them, and they would
not mind hanging about us for weeks and weeks if they
can but get us at last. However, we will talk
it all over when the Indians join us. I don’t
think there is any chance of fighting to-day, but
whether we shall get out of these mountains without
having another scrimmage is doubtful.”
Tom noticed that in his talk with him his uncle dropped
most of the western expressions which when speaking
with the others he used as freely as they did.
He was now able to have a fair look at him, and found
that he agreed pretty closely with the ideas he had
formed of him. There was a strong likeness between
him and his brother. They were about the same
height, but Harry was broader and more strongly built.
His face was deeply bronzed by long exposure to the
wind and sun. He had a large tawny beard, while
Tom’s father had been clean shaved. The
sailor was five years the senior, but the miner looked
far younger than Tom could ever remember his father
looking, for the latter had never thoroughly recovered
his, health after having had a long bout of fever on
the Zanzibar station; and the long stride and free
carriage of his uncle was in striking contrast to
the walk of his father. Both had keen gray eyes,
the same outline of face, the same pleasant smile.
“Now that I can see you fairly, Tom,”
the miner said, when they halted once for the horses
to come up to them, “I can make out that you
are a good deal like your father as I can first remember
him.”
