The Border Boys with the Texas Rangers
Page 6
CHAPTER V.
JACK’S CHANCE.
“You mean that there is a chance of our being attacked?”
Jack put the question in rather an anxious tone. But for some reasonBaldy only grunted in reply.
“I’m going back to camp to git you a gun,” he said; “you stay righthere till I get back.”
“Very well, Mr. Baldy,” rejoined the boy, in as conciliatory a tone aspossible.
“Don’t mister me. I ain’t got no handle to my name and don’t neverexpect to have,” grunted Baldy, as he swung his pony and rode off.
As Jack listened to the retreating hoof beats he felt strangely lonely.It was very dark down in the cañon, and the steely blue stars seemedvery far away. Only the rushing of the water of the river disturbedthe boy’s thoughts while he awaited Baldy’s return.
“He’s not very lively company,” he admitted to himself, “but it’sbetter than being all alone. Wish Ralph or Walt had been ordered toshare my watch.”
But the next moment he was scolding himself.
“For shame, Jack Merrill,” he said, “here’s the first bit of dutyyou’ve been put to, and here you are complaining already. It’s got tostop right here and now, and—hello, what was that?”
The boy broke off short, as through the darkness of the cañon he caughtan odd sound from the river.
“What can that sound be?” he said to himself. “It seems familiar, too.Where have I heard something like it before?”
Then all of a sudden it dawned upon him what the odd noise was.
It was the splash of oars. But what could a boat be doing on the riverat that time of night, and in such a place? Jack was asking himselfthese questions when he became aware of some words being spoken at ashort distance from him. He recognized the language instantly. The menwho were conversing were talking in Spanish, of which tongue Jack had afair working knowledge, as we know.
He was in the darker shadow of the cañon wall and therefore, of course,quite invisible to whoever was on the river, and who had apparentlycome to a stop almost opposite to his station. He quickly slipped fromhis pony, and taking advantage of the brush that grew almost to thewater’s edge, he crawled along on his stomach in the direction of theunseen men.
At last he gained a position where he could hear them quite distinctly,and could even see their figures bulking up blackly in the generalgloom. But what they were doing he could not imagine, and when hefinally did find out he received the surprise of his life.
Listening to their talk, Jack heard them speaking of Rosario, theleader of the insurgents in that quarter of the Mexican Republic, andapparently they were discussing some mission on which they had beendispatched.
He heard the Rangers mentioned, and then came some information that wasnew to him. The Federal troops of Mexico were hot on the heels of theinsurgent army, and the rebels were planning to bring the coming battleon to American soil if possible, in order to force the interference ofUncle Sam.
Evidently the men knew of the presence of the Rangers in the locality,and, by listening, Jack soon learned that they were there acting asspies in order to find out how strongly the Border was guarded at thatpoint. Finally they strode off cautiously into the darkness, apparentlywith the object of reconnoitering the vicinity.
This was Jack’s chance. Without a moment’s hesitation he made his wayto the river bank and found that a large raft had been moored there. Itwas evidently on this that the spies had made their way down the streamfrom some point above. The raft was formed roughly of tree trunks, butappeared to be of stout construction. Some long oars for navigating itlay on the logs; but Jack, in his hasty search, could not see anythingon board that might be of interest to Captain Atkinson.
He had just completed his examination and was preparing to go back onshore when something happened that changed his plans. As if by magicthe figures of the men who had left the raft reappeared at the water’sedge.
At the same instant that Jack spied them the men became aware of theintruder on their raft. They did not dare to fire the weapons theycarried, owing to the nearness of the Rangers; otherwise they wouldundoubtedly have done so. Instead, they made a simultaneous leap atJack, the leader aiming a savage blow at him.
The boy dodged the man’s swing, springing backward on the raft. Thecontrivance had not been securely fastened to the bank. In fact, ithad merely been tied carelessly up at the water’s edge. Jack’s suddenspring gave the raft a violent jolt. The current caught it and whirledit round as the strain came upon one side of it.
Before either Jack or the Mexicans exactly realized what had occurred,the raft was swept out into midstream, the current hurrying it alongswiftly.
But Jack was not alone on the swaying, pitching craft. The Mexican whohad aimed the blow at him had had one foot on the raft when Jack’sbackward spring caused it to drift from the bank. By a desperate efforthe had managed to maintain a foothold, and now he was crouching backon his haunches like a wild–cat about to spring, while in his handsgleamed a wicked looking knife.
Jack had just time to see this when the fellow, hissing out a torrentof Spanish oaths, sprang at him. Jack dodged the knife blow, and beforethe Mexican could recover his equilibrium the boy’s fist had collidedwith the lower part of the Mexican’s jaw.
The blow was a heavy one, and had landed fair and square. With a gruntof pain and rage the fellow reeled backward, almost pitching off theraft. But in a jiffy he recovered from his shock and rushed at Jack,snarling like a wild beast.
The boy realized that he was in for a fight for life, and in thatmoment he bitterly regretted the curiosity that had caused him to boardthe raft, although he had done it with the idea of performing a servicefor the Rangers. Now, however, he found himself facing a desperatesituation.
Unarmed, and alone, he was on a drifting raft with an armed andsingularly ferocious foe.
“Yankee pig!” snarled out the Mexican, as he flung himself at the boy.
Jack’s blood boiled at the insult. It acted as a brace to his sinkingheart. As the man lunged at him the boy’s hand struck up the arm thatheld the knife and the weapon went spinning into the night. But theMexican, a large man of uncommon strength and activity, did not ceasehis attack. He rushed at Jack as if to annihilate him.
This was just what Jack wanted. The angrier the Mexican was the worsehe would fight, as Jack knew. He met the onrush with coolness, andsucceeded in planting two good blows on the man’s body. But muscular asJack was the blows appeared to have little effect on the Mexican. Hetore in more savagely than ever.
Without his knife the Mexican was not much of a fighter. He knewnothing of the art of boxing, and Jack’s “gym” training stood him ingood stead. At last, in one of the Mexican’s frantic rushes, Jack’sfist met the point of his chin with deadly effect. With a wild swingingof his arms the fellow reeled backward.
He would have fallen from the raft into the current had not Jack leapedforward and saved him. But the Mexican was a formidable foe no longer.Jack’s blow had effectually stunned him for a time, and as the boysaved him from pitching overboard he sank in a heap on the floor of theraft.
In the first opportunity he had had for observation of his situationsince the raft had got loose, Jack looked about him. Then, for thefirst time, he realized that the rough craft was proceeding at anextremely swift rate. It was spinning round dizzily, too, as thoughcaught in some sort of whirlpool.
Jack was still wondering how far they had come and what was to bethe outcome of this odd adventure, when something happened thateffectually put all other thoughts out of his head.
The air became filled with a roaring sound, and spray began todash upon the floor of the raft. With a sharp thrill of alarm Jackrecognized that the roaring sound was the voice of a waterfall, andthat the raft was being swept toward it at lightning speed. He seizedup one of the oars and attempted to head the raft for the shore. Butthe oar might have been a straw for all the effect it had against thatrapid current.
All at
once it snapped, almost hurling Jack overboard. The next instantraft, boy and unconscious man were swept into a vortex of waters.Jack felt himself falling through space. Simultaneously there came acrashing blow on his head. A million constellations seemed to swimbefore his eyes, and then, with a blinding flash of fire, his sensesleft him.
THE NEXT INSTANT RAFT, BOY AND UNCONSCIOUS MAN WERESWEPT INTO A VORTEX OF WATERS.]