CHAPTER XXI.
THE WAY OF ESCAPE.
IN the darkness Olive kept tight hold of Carlos' hand. They ran swiftlyand softly, like frightened hares, each moment dreading to hearfootsteps behind them. But the darkness hid their tracks and a wind wasblowing, which shifted the sand and whirled it into hills and hollows,so that not even an Indian could find the print of any passing foot.Besides, old Laska slept soundly and she had not stirred when Olivestole out from her tent.
Carlos marched toward the east, where the sky looked less dark, untilthe cold dawn broke. Before the sun was well up the boy saw somethingglinting and glimmering ahead of them like a long steel serpent. He gavea cry of victory. Breaking away from Olive, Carlos ran ahead. For amoment he stood balancing himself on the track rails, waving his thinbrown arms and crowing like a young chanticler.
"We will rest here by the iron trail," he announced happily. "I willbuild a fire and we will eat. By and by the great wagon will pass by,roaring and snorting like an angry buffalo. It will take you with it."For a moment the boy's face clouded. Then, as Olive reached his side, helaughed at the thought of her joy.
"But, Carlos," Olive whispered. She was weary and almost frozen from herlong tramp across the plains. "You have brought me to the railroadtrack, but where is the station? Did you not know that the white man'strains will not stop unless there is a little house set up by a woodenplatform, where a man at a window sells you small squares of paper?"
Carlos shook his head in confusion. He had no idea what Olive wastalking about, for he had never seen a railroad depot in the twelveyears of his wandering life. But he saw Olive's disappointment and knewthat something in his beautiful plan for his friend was wrong.
"Never you mind, girl," Carlos insisted, shaking his straight, blackhair, like a little foreign king, "I will see that the wagon stops foryou here, where we wait."
Olive dropped down on the ground, too tired to argue or to explain anyfurther. Carlos ran along the track, finding a few odd sticks and piecesof wood. He made a little fire, into which he stuck one long stick, likea staff, which he had carried from the camp; but he saw that only theend of it burned.
Hungrily Olive ate. She believed that she must follow the railroad trackuntil she came to a depot. She had no way of guessing how many moremiles she must walk, nor how many trains passed over this iron pathwaythrough the desert; but she did know that she must save whateverstrength she had, as her only hope was to reach a city somewhere. Shehad not Carlos' faith, that the train would take her straight into thearms of her beloved friends, yet she knew that once in a town, she couldprobably find a way of communicating with them.
Carlos and Olive did not dare to talk. Olive was listening for the soundof a horse's hoofs, knowing that the journey, which had been so long onfoot, could be made on horseback in a little while, if old Laska everguessed the route they had taken. But Carlos listened for a loudernoise and one to him far less familiar.
The boy and girl heard it at the same instant and both sprang to theirfeet. Olive's face grew white and rigid with disappointment; but theboy's eyes flashed with excitement. The train was coming along the trackpast the spot where Olive and Carlos rested. Olive feared that her onlychance of escape for that day was gone. She had hoped to reach a depotbefore a train went by them.
Nearer the roar of the engine sounded. It was in sight far off acrossthe desert, but a very few minutes brought it close.
Olive stepped quickly back to be out of danger and seized Carlos by hiswoolen shirt to drag him with her. The boy jerked away, and before Olivecould dream what he intended to do, he grabbed his burning stick fromthe fire. "I'll stop the train for you," he shouted valiantly. "Only bequick. You must get on when I command it."
Like a flash, the brave, brown figure ran along the track, waving histiny torch and facing with all his feeble strength the great monster ofiron and steel that was driving toward him. The blood of many centuriesof Indian chiefs must have been back of little Carlos. He dared theunknown force of this engine to-day, as his ancestors had the bulletsand powder of their white enemies, with the same blind belief in his ownpower against the forces of civilization.
Olive saw Carlos go, with a feeling of sickening horror. The boy was sosmall, so stupidly audacious. Olive's, "Come back, come back!" was lostin the noise of the train, but Carlos would not have heeded her. WhatIndian chief has ever obeyed a woman? There seemed to be but one fatefor him,--he would be crushed to death in an instant.
The engineer saw the boy running toward his train, and the fire whichOlive and Carlos had built near the track. He had but one thought: theremust be danger somewhere ahead of them and these children had come towarn him.
Fortunately for Carlos, the train which he had chosen for Olive's escapewas not one of passenger coaches, but a freight train. The engine wasgoing at far less speed, and quickly slowed down and stopped.
"Come, come, Olive," the boy shouted triumphantly, this time waving hisburning stick like a conquering hero.
Olive ran toward the car, dazed, breathless, hardly knowing what hadtaken place, nor what she was doing. The Indian boy's spirit had somehowseized hold on the situation.
"What has happened, imp?" the engineer roared out of his car window. "Issomething wrong ahead on the track?"
Carlos danced up and down, as though he did not understand what theengineer asked. He had only a dim idea of the man's meaning as he knewso few English words. Olive was slipping by him and Carlos saw that shemeant to do what he had planned. The engineer was climbing out of hiscab, his back being turned, so that he did not see Olive swing herselfup into the next car. In an instant the girl had hidden herself in themidst of great piles of boxes, unobserved by the other trainmen, whowere also interested in Carlos.
The engineer was determined to find out what the Indian lad had to tellhim. If the boy had fooled him and there was nothing for them to fearahead, he should get the punishment he deserved.
Carlos guessed the engineer's meaning from the expression of his face.The boy made a dart that was almost as swift as the first plunge of anarrow from a bow. He was a small brown spot some distance off, when theengineer made up his mind to run after him. The man did run for a fewrods, but the idea of catching the boy was ridiculous. He was like abreath of wind, blowing this way and that across the prairie. He couldlead the engineer off into the desert, so that he would not know how toreturn, and the man realized this. He climbed slowly back into hisengine, determined to watch out himself for trouble along the track;believing, however, that Carlos had played an ugly trick on him. Itwould have gone hard with Olive if she had been discovered at this time.
The train went tardily on. Olive could hear the men moving on the top ofthe coach over her head. Once or twice a dirty-faced trainman stuck hishead in the open door of the freight car, but he saw nothing of thefrightened girl huddled between the boxes. Olive of course had noknowledge of where she was going. Her plan was to crawl out of the caras soon as it stopped at a town and then try to find some one to helpher.
But the car did not stop and Olive finally fell asleep.
The Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge Page 21