A quarter of an hour passed without any movement on
the part of the Indians. Then a large party of
horsemen appeared from the trees below, and were greeted
by them with a yell of satisfaction.
“There must be well-nigh fifty of them,”
Jerry said. “I reckon it’s the party
that came down the hill. They must have picked
up a good many others by the way. Now the fun
is going to begin.”
After five minutes’ consultation some twenty
of the Indians dismounted, and dividing into two parties
ascended the slopes of the valley and began to move
forward, taking advantage of every stone and bush,
so that it was but occasionally that a glimpse of
one of their bodies was obtained.
“They are going to skirmish up to us,”
Jerry said, “till they are near enough to make
it hot for us if we show a head above the rocks to
fire. As soon as they can do that, the others
will charge. I think they are not more than four
hundred yards off now, Tom. That is within your
range, so you may as well begin to show them that we
are awake. If you can bring one down it will
check their pace.”
Tom had just noticed three Indians run behind a clump
of bushes, and he now levelled his rifle so that it
bore on a spot a foot on one side of it. Half
a minute later an Indian appeared at the bush and began
to run forward. Tom pressed the trigger.
The Indian ran a few steps, and then fell forward
on his face.
“Bravo, Plumb-centre!” Jerry shouted.
“We said that you would do the rifle credit,
Tom, and Billy the Scout could not have done better
himself.”
“Young white man make great hunter,” the
chief remarked approvingly. “Got good eye
and steady hand.”
The lesson had its effect. The Indian advance
was no longer rapid, but was conducted with the greatest
caution, and it was only occasionally that a glimpse
could be caught of a dusky figure passing from rock
to rock. When they came within three hundred
yards the two Indians and Jerry also opened fire.
One fell to a shot from the chief, but neither of
the others hit their marks. Tom indeed did not
fire again, the movements of the Indians being so
rapid that they were gone before he could bring his
sight to bear upon any of them.
“Go now,” the chief said. “’Rappahoes
fire soon; run quick.”
It was but a few yards to shelter. As they dashed
across the intervening space two or three Indian rifles
rang out, but the rest of the assailants had been
too much occupied in sheltering themselves and looking
for the next spot to make for, to keep an eye upon
the defenders, and the hastily-fired shots all missed.
A moment later the party mounted their horses and
rode up the ravine, the yells of the Indians ringing
in their ears.
[Illustration: “A Moment Later The Indian
Fell Forward On His Face.”]
IN SAFETY
“We have gained half an hour anyhow,”
Jerry said, as they galloped up the ravine, “and
I reckon by the time we overtake them we shall find
them stowed away in some place where it will puzzle
the red-skins to dislodge us. The varmint will
fight hard if they are cornered, but they ain’t
good at advancing when there are a few rifle-tubes,
in the hands of white men, pointing at them, and they
have had a lesson now that we can shoot.”
