by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER X.
THE LOST CATTLE.
A fortnight passed without the slightest incident or alarm. Therules which Mr. Hardy had laid down were strictly observed. Thesheep and cattle were carefully secured at night; two or three ofthe native dogs were fastened up, down at the fold; one of themastiffs was kept at the men's hut, while the other's kennel wasplaced by the house; the retrievers, as usual, sleeping indoors. Aflagstaff was erected upon the lookout, with a red flag inreadiness to be run up to summon those who might be away on theplain, and a gun was kept loaded to call attention to the signal.The boys, when they went out for their rides, carried theircarbines instead of their guns. The girls fulfilled the duties oflookouts, going up every half-hour from daybreak to dusk; and thecall of "Sister Anne, do you see horsemen?" was invariably answeredin the negative. One day, however, Mr. Hardy had ridden over toCanterbury to arrange with his friends about hiring shearers fromRosario for the united flocks. The boys and Terence were in thefields plowing, at a distance of half a mile from the house, whenthey were startled by the sound of a gun. Looking round, they sawboth the girls standing upon the tower: Maud had just fired thegun, and Ethel was pulling up the flag.
"Be jabers! and the Indians have come at last!" Terence exclaimed,and they all three started at a run. Maud turned round and wavedher hand to them, and then she and Ethel continued looking over theplain. At this moment they were joined on the tower by Mrs. Hardyand Sarah.
"It is all right," Charley, who was of an unexcitable temperament,said. "The Indians must be a long way off, or the girls would bewaving to us to make haste. Take it easy; we shall want to keep ourhands steady."
So they broke from the headlong speed at which they had startedinto a steady trot, which in five minutes brought them up to thehouse.
"What is it?" they exclaimed as they gained the top of the tower.
"Oh, dear, oh, dear!" Ethel said. "They have got all the animals."
"And I fear they have killed Gomez and Pedro," Mrs. Hardy added.
It was too evidently true. At a distance of six miles the boyscould see a dark mass rapidly retreating, and numerous singlespecks could be seen hovering round them. Two miles from the housea single horseman was galloping wildly. The girls had already madehim out to be Lopez.
The boys and Terence stood speechless with dismay. The Irishman wasthe first to find his tongue.
"Och, the thundering villains!" he exclaimed; "the heathen thieves!And to think that not one of us was there to give them a bating."
"What will papa say?" Hubert ejaculated.
Charley said nothing, but looked frowningly, with tightly closedlips, after the distant mass, while his hands closed upon hiscarbine. "How was it, Maud?" he asked at length.
"I was downstairs," Maud said, "when Ethel, who had just gone up,called down, 'Come up, Maud, quickly; I think that something's thematter.' I ran up the steps, and I saw our animals a long way off,nearly four miles, and I saw a black mass of something going alongfast toward them from the left. They were rather nearer to us thanthe cattle were, and were in one of the slopes of the ground, sothat they would not have been seen by any one with the cattle;then, as they got quite near the animals, I saw a sudden stir. Thebeasts began to gallop away, and three black specks--who, Isuppose, were the men--separated themselves from them and went offsideways. One seemed to get a start of the other two. These werecut off by the black mass, and I did not see anything more of them.Lopez got away; and though some of the others rode after him forabout a mile, they could not overtake him. Directly I saw what itwas, I caught up the gun and fired, and Ethel ran up the flag.That's all I saw."
Ethel confirmed her sister's account, merely adding that, seeingthe two bodies in the distance, one going very fast toward theother, she suspected that something was wrong, and so called atonce to Maud.
The animals were now quite out of sight, and the whole party wentdown to meet Lopez, who was just riding up to the enclosure. He wasvery pale, and his horse was covered with foam.
"Are the peons killed, Lopez?" was Mrs. Hardy's first question.
"I do not know, signora; but I should think so. The Indians caughtthem; I heard a scream," and the man shuddered. "Santa Virgine"--andhe crossed himself piously--"what an escape! I will burntwenty pounds of candles upon your altar."
"How was it that you were surprised, Lopez?" Charley asked. "Youwere so particularly ordered to keep a good lookout."
"Well, Signor Charles, I was keeping a good lookout, and it islucky that I was. I was further away than I ought to have been--Iknow that, for the signor told me not to go far; but I knew thatthe rise that I took them to was the highest in that direction, andthat I could see for miles away into the Indian country. So I gotout there, and Pedro and Gomez had got the sheep and cattle allwell together, and there was no fear of them straying, for thegrass there is very good. So the men lay down for their siesta, andI was standing by my horse looking over the campo. Some of thebeasts seemed uneasy, and I thought that there must be a lionsomewhere about. So I got on my horse, and just as I did so I hearda noise; and looking behind, where I had never dreamed of them, Isaw a lot of Indians coming up at full gallop from the hollow. Thecattle went off at the same instant; and I gave a shout to the men,and stuck my spurs into Carlos. It was a near touch of it, and theygave me a hard chase for the first mile; but my horse was fresherthan theirs, and they gave it up."
"How many Indians were there?" Charley asked.
"I don't know, Signor Charles. It was only those in front that Icaught sight of, and I never looked round after I started. Some ofthem had firearms, for eight or ten of them fired after me as Imade off, and the arrow, fell all round me."
"What do you think, girls, about the number?"
The girls were silent, and then Ethel said: "They were all in alump, Charley. One could not see them separately."
"The lump seemed to be about the size that our cattle do when theyare close together at the same distance. Don't you think so,Ethel?" Maud said.
"Yes," Ethel thought that they were.
"Then there must be from a hundred to a hundred and fifty of them,"Charley said.
"I wonder what papa will do! One of us had better ride off at onceand fetch him."
"I will go," Hubert said, moving away to saddle his horse.
"Stop, Hubert," Charley said; "I think you had better take Lopez'shorse. I don't know what papa may make up his mind to do, and it isbetter to have your horse quite fresh."
Hubert agreed at once, and was mounting, when Maud said: "Wait amoment, Hubert, I will run up to the lookout. I may see papa; it isnearly time for him to be home."
Hubert paused while Maud ran up to the house, and in a minuteappeared at the top of the tower. She stood for a moment lookingacross the stream toward Canterbury, and then held up her hand. "Ican see him," she called out. "He is a long way off, but he iscoming."
Hubert was about to alight again, when Mrs. Hardy said: "You hadbetter ride to meet your papa, Hubert. He will be very much alarmedwhen he sees the flag, and it will be a great satisfaction to himto know that we at least are all safe."
Hubert at once galloped off, while Maud continued to watch herfather. He was about two miles distant, and was riding quietly.Then for a little while she lost sight of him. As he came up on thenext rise she saw him suddenly stop his horse. She guessed that hewas gazing at the flagstaff, for there was not a breath of wind,and the flag drooped straight down by the pole, so that it wasdifficult to distinguish it at a distance. Then she was sure thathe made it out, for he came on at a furious gallop; and as he camenearer she could see that he had taken his gun from its place andwas carrying it across his arm in readiness for instant action. Ina few minutes Hubert met him, and after a short pause the two rodetogether back to the house at a canter.
Mr. Hardy paused at the men's hut to give Lopez a hearty rating forhis disobedience of orders in going so far out upon the plain. Thenhe came up to the house. "This is a bad affair, my dear," he saidcheerfully;
"but as long as we are all safe we can thank God thatit's no worse. We shall get some of our beasts back yet, or I ammistaken. Ethel, run down to Terence, and tell him to drive thebullocks that are down with the plows into their enclosure, and tofasten the gate after them. Maud, give all the horses a feed ofIndian corn and some water. Boys, tell Sarah to put some cold meatand bread into your hunting-bags. Load the spare chambers of yourcarbines, and see that your water-gourds are full."
Mr. Hardy then retired with his wife--who had been looking onanxiously while these orders were being given--into their own room,where they remained about ten minutes. When they came back into thesitting-room Mrs. Hardy was pale, but composed, and the childrencould see that she had been crying.
"Your mamma and I have been talking the matter over, boys, and Ihave told her that I must do my best to get some, at least, of ouranimals back. I shall take you bath with me. It is unfortunate thattwo of our friends at Canterbury have ridden over early thismorning to Mr. Percy's, and will not be back until late to-night.Had they been at home, they would, I know, have joined us. Ithought at first of sending over for Mr. Farquhar, who is at home,but I do not like losing the time. I shall send Lopez over with anote, asking him to come and sleep here to-night. We shall not beback till to-morrow. There is no fear of another alarm to-day;still I shall be more comfortable in knowing that you have some onewith you. Do not go beyond the enclosure, girls, until we return.Terence, too, is to remain inside, and can sleep in the houseto-night; so also can Lopez. You will therefore be well protected.Let us have something to eat, and then in ten minutes we will be inthe saddle. Charley, fetch down three blue-lights, two signalrockets, and two of the tin rockets. Maud, fill our pocket-flaskswith brandy. Hubert, you boys will each take your carbine and arevolver; I will carry my long rifle, and the other two Colts."In ten minutes they were ready to mount, and after a final embrace,and many a "Be sure and take care of yourselves" from their motherand sisters, they started off across the plain at a long, steadygallop.
"They have got just an hour's start, boys," Mr. Hardy said. "Yourmother said that it was exactly half an hour from the first alarmto my arrival, and I was in the house a minute or two under thattime. It is about half-past twelve now."
"It is very fortunate, papa, that we had our horses safe up at thehouse."
"Yes, boys. If we had been obliged to wait until tomorrow morningbefore starting, our chance of coming up would have been veryslight. As it is, we shall be up with them in three or four hours.The sheep cannot go really fast more than twelve or fifteen miles,especially with their heavy fleeces on."
Half an hour's riding took them to the scene of the attack. As theyneared it they saw two figures lying upon the grass. There was nooccasion to go near: the stiff and distorted attitudes weresufficient to show that they were dead.
Mr. Hardy purposely avoided riding close to them, knowing that theshocking sight of men who have met with a violent death is apt toshake the nerves of any one unaccustomed to such a sight, howeverbrave he may be.
"They are evidently dead, poor fellows!" he said. "It is no use ourstopping."
Charley looked at the bodies with a fierce frown upon his face, andmuttered to himself. "We'll pay them out for you, the cowardlyscoundrels."
Hubert did not even glance toward them. He was a tender-hearted boyand he felt his face grow pale and a strange feeling of sicknesscome over him, even at the momentary glance which he had at firsttaken at the rigid figures.
"I suppose you do not mean to attack them until night, papa?"Charley asked.
"Well, boys, I have been thinking the matter over, and I have cometo the conclusion that it will be better to do so directly we getup to them."
"And do you think, papa, that we three will be able to thrash thelot of them? They must be a poor, miserable set of cowards."
"No, Charley; I do not think that we shall be able to thrash thelot, as you say; but with our weapons, we shall be able to givethem a terrible lesson. If we attack at night they will soon findout how few are our numbers, and having no particular dread of ourweapons, may rush at us, and overpower us in spite of them. Anotherthing, boys, is, I want to give them a lesson. They must know thatthey shan't come and murder and steal on our place with impunity."
Scarcely another word was exchanged for the next hour. At a long,steady gallop they swept along. There was no difficulty infollowing the track, for the long grass was trampled in a wideswath. Several times, too, exclamations of rage burst from the boysas they came across a dead sheep, evidently speared by the savagesbecause he could not keep up with the others. After passing severalof them, Mr. Hardy called to the boys to halt, while he leaped offhis horse by the side of one of the sheep, and put his hand againstits body and into its mouth.
"It's quite dead; isn't it, papa?" Hubert said.
"Quite, Hubert; I never thought it was alive." And Mr. Hardy leapedupon his horse again. "I wanted to see how warm the body was. If wetry again an hour's ride ahead, we shall be able to judge, by theincreased heat of the body, as to how much we have gained on theIndians, and whether they are far ahead. You see, boys, when I wasyoung man, I was out many times in Texas against the Comanches andApaches, who are a very different enemy from these cowardly Indianshere. One had to keep one's eyes open there, for they were everybit as brave as we were. Don't push on so fast, Charley. Spare yourhorse; you will want all he's got in him before you have done. Ithink that we must be gaining upon them very fast now. You see thedead sheep lie every hundred yards or so, instead of every quarterof a mile. The Indians know well enough that it would take a wholeday out on the edge of the settlements to collect a dozen men forpursuit, and would have no idea that three men would set off alone;so I expect that they will now have slackened their pace a little,to give the sheep breathing time."
After another ten minutes' ride Mr. Hardy again alighted, and founda very perceptible increase of warmth in the bodies of the sheep."I do not think that they can have been dead much more than aquarter of an hour. Keep a sharp lookout ahead, boys; we may seethem at the top of the next rise."
Not a word was spoken for the next few minutes. Two or three slightswells were crossed without any sign of the enemy; and then, uponbreasting a rather higher rise than usual, they saw a mass ofmoving beings in the distance.
"Halt!" Mr. Hardy shouted, and the boys instantly drew rein. "Jumpoff, boys. Only our heads have shown against the sky. They canhardly have noticed them. There, hold my horse; loosen thesaddle-girths of yours too, and let them breathe freely. Take thebridles out of their mouths. It seemed to me, by the glimpse I gotof our enemies, that they were just stopping. I am going on to makesure of it."
So saying Mr. Hardy again went forward a short distance, going onhis hands and knees as he came on to the crest of the rise, inorder that his head might not show above the long grass. When hereached it he saw at once that his first impression had beencorrect. At a distance of a little over a mile a mass of animalswere collected, and round them were scattered a number of horses,while figures of men were moving among them.
"It is as I thought, boys," he said when he rejoined his sons."They have stopped for awhile. The animals must all be completelydone up; they cannot have come less than thirty miles, and willrequire three or four hours' rest, at the least, before they arefit to travel again. One hour will do for our horses. Rinse theirmouths out with a little water, and let them graze if they aredisposed: in half an hour we will give them each a double handfulof Indian corn."
Having attended to their horses, which they hobbled to preventtheir straying, Mr. Hardy and the boys sat down and made a slightmeal. None of them felt very hungry, the excitement of theapproaching attack having driven away the keen appetite that theywould have otherwise gained from their ride; but Mr. Hardy beggedthe boys to endeavor to eat something, as they would be sure tofeel the want of food later.
The meal over, Mr. Hardy lit his favorite pipe, while the boys wentcautiously up the hill to reconnoiter. There was no change; most ofthe anim
als were lying down, and there was little sign of movement.Two or three Indians, however, were standing motionless and rigidby their horses' sides, evidently acting as sentries. The boysthought that hour the longest that they had ever passed. At last,however, their father looked at his watch, shook the ashes out ofhis pipe and put it in his pocket. "Now, boys, it is five minutesto the hour. Examine your carbines and revolvers, see thateverything is in order, and that there is no hitch. Tighten thesaddle-girths and examine the buckles. See that your ammunition andspare carbine chambers are ready at hand."
In another five minutes the party were in their saddles.
"Now, boys, my last words. Don't ride ahead or lag behind: regulateyour pace by mine. Look out for armadillo holes--they are moredangerous than the Indians. Remember my orders: on no account usethe second chamber of your carbines unless in case of greaturgency. Change the chambers directly you have emptied them, butdon't fire a shot until the spare ones are charged again. Now,boys, hurrah for old England!"
"Hurrah!" the boys both shouted as they started at a canter up therise. As they caught sight of the Indians everything was quiet asbefore; but in another moment they saw the men on watch throwthemselves on to their horses' backs, figures leaped up from thegrass and ran toward their horses, and in little over a minute thewhole were in motion.
"Surely they are not going to run away from three men!" Charleysaid in a disgusted tone.
"They won't run far, Charley," Mr. Hardy said quietly. "By the timethat we are halfway to them they will see that we can have no onewith us, and then they will come on quickly enough."
It was as Mr. Hardy said. Keen as had been the watch kept by theIndians, in spite of their belief that no pursuing force could besent after them, it was some little time before they could get theweary animals on their legs and in motion; and even at the easycanter at which Mr. Hardy approached, he had neared them to withinhalf a mile before they were fairly off. A small party onlycontinued to drive the animals, and the rest of the Indians,wheeling sharp round, and uttering a wild war-cry, came back atfull gallop toward the whites.
"Halt, boys-steady, dismount: take up your positions quietly. Don'tfire till I give you the word. I shall try my rifle first."
The well-trained horses, accustomed to their masters firing fromtheir backs, stood as steady as if carved in stone, their headsturned inquiringly toward the yelling throng of horsemen who wereapproaching. Mr. Hardy and the boys had both dismounted, so thatthe horses were between them and the Indians, the saddles servingas rests for their firearms.
"Five hundred yards, Charley?" his father asked quietly.
"A little over, papa; nearly six, I should say."
Mr. Hardy waited another ten seconds, and then his rifle cracked;and a yell of astonishment and rage broke from the Indians, as oneof their chiefs, conspicuous from an old dragoon helmet, takenprobably in some skirmish with the soldiers, fell from his horse.
"Hurrah!" Charley cried. "Shall we fire now, papa?"
"No, Charley," Mr. Hardy said as he reloaded his rifle; "wait tillthey are four hundred yards off, then fire slowly. Count tenbetween each shot, and take as steady an aim as possible. Now! Welldone, two more of the scoundrels down. Steady, Hubert, you missedthat time: there, that's better."
The Indians yelled with rage and astonishment as man after mandropped before the steady and, to them, mysterious fire which waskept up upon them. Still they did not abate the rapidity of theircharge.
"Done, papa," Charley said as the two boys simultaneously firedtheir last shot, when the leading Indians were about two hundredand fifty yards distant.
"Change your chambers and mount," Mr. Hardy said as he again tookaim with his rifle.
The enemy was not more than a hundred and fifty yards distant, whenthey leaped into their saddles and started at a gallop.
"Steady, boys, keep your horses well in hand. Never mind theirballs; they could no more hit a man at this distance from the backof a horse than they could fly. There is no chance of theircatching us; there won't be many horses faster than ours, and oursare a good deal fresher. Keep a good lookout for holes."
Both pursuers and pursued were now going over the ground at atremendous pace. The Indians had ceased firing, for most of thosewho had guns had discharged them as Mr. Hardy and his sons hadmounted, and it was impossible to load at the speed at which theywere going.
During the first mile of the chase Mr. Hardy had looked roundseveral times, and had said each time, "We are holding our own,boys; they are a good hundred yards behind; keep your horses inhand."
At the end of another mile his face brightened as he looked round."All right, boys, they are tailing off fast. Three-quarters of themhave stopped already. There are not above a score of the bestmounted anywhere near us. Another mile and we will give them alesson."
The mile was soon traversed, and Mr. Hardy saw that only abouttwelve Indians had maintained their distance.
ONSET OF THE INDIANS.]
"Now is the time, boys. When I say halt, draw up and jump off, buttake very steady aim always at the nearest. Don't throw away ashot. They are only a hundred yards off, and the revolvers willtell. Don't try to use the second chamber; there is no time forthat. Use your pistols when you have emptied your carbines. Halt!"
Not five seconds elapsed after the word was spoken before Charley'scarbine rang out. Then came the sharp cracks of the carbines andpistols in close succession. The Indians hesitated at thetremendous fire which was opened upon them, then halted. The delaywas fatal to them. In little over half a minute the eighteen shotshad been fired. Five Indians lay upon the plain; another, evidentlya chief, had been carried off across the saddle of one of hisfollowers, who had leaped off when he saw him fall; and two otherswere evidently wounded, and had difficulty in keeping their seats.
"Now, boys, change your chambers, and take a shot or two afterthem," Mr. Hardy said as he again reloaded his rifle.
The boys, however, found by the time they were ready that theflying Indians were beyond any fair chance of hitting; but theirfather took a long and steady aim with his deadly rifle, and uponits report a horse and man went down. But the rider was in aninstant upon his feet again, soon caught one of the riderlesshorses which had galloped off with its companions, and followed hiscomrades.
"Well done, boys," Mr. Hardy said, with a hearty pat on theirshoulders. "You have done gallantly for a first fight, and I feelproud of you."
Both boys colored with pleasure.
"How many have we killed?"
"I think seven fell at our first attack, papa, and six here,counting the one they carried off, besides wounded."
"Thirteen. It is enough to make them heartily wish themselves back.Now let us give the horses ten minutes' rest, and then we will stirthem up again. We must not lose time; it will be sunset in anotherthree-quarters of an hour."
Half an hour's riding again brought them up to the Indians, who hadstopped within a mile of their former halting-place.
"The moon will be up by one o'clock, boys, and they mean to remainwhere they are till then. Do you see that hollow that runs justthis side of where they are? No doubt there is a small streamthere."
This time the Indians made no move to retreat further. They knewnow that their assailants were only three in number. They werearmed, indeed, with weapons which, in their terrible rapidity offire, were altogether beyond anything they had hitherto seen; butin the darkness these would be of no avail against a sudden rush.
But if the Indians did not run away neither did they, as before,attack their assailants. Their horses had been placed in the middleof the cattle, with a few Indians standing by them to keep themquiet. The rest of the Indians were not to be seen, but Mr. Hardyguessed that they were lying down in the long grass, or wereconcealed among the animals.
"The rascals have got a clever chief among them, boys. Except thosehalf-dozen heads we see over the horses' backs, there is nothing tosee of them. They know that if we go close they can pick us offwith their guns an
d bows and arrows, without giving us a singlefair shot at them. Don't go any nearer, boys; no doubt there aremany of their best shots hidden in the grass."
"We could scatter the cattle with a rocket, papa."
"Yes, we could, Hubert, but we should gain nothing by it; they havegot men by their horses, and would soon get the herd togetheragain. No, we will keep that for the night. Halloo! to the right,boys, for your lives."
Not a moment too soon did Mr. Hardy perceive the danger. The chiefof the Indians, expecting another attack, had ordered twenty of hisbest mounted men to separate themselves from the main body, and tohide themselves in a dip of the ground near the place where thefirst attack had taken place. They were to allow the whites topass, and were then to follow quietly, and fall suddenly upon them.
Complete success had attended the maneuver; and it was fortunatethat the party had no firearms, these having been distributed amongthe main body with the cattle, for they were within forty yards ofMr. Hardy before they were seen. It was, in fact, a repetition ofthe maneuver which had proved so successful in their attack uponthe cattle.
They were not immediately in the rear of Mr. Hardy, but rather tothe left. As Mr. Hardy and his sons turned to fly, a number ofIndians sprang upon their feet from among the grass, and dischargeda volley of guns and arrows at them. Fortunately the distance wasconsiderable. One of their arrows, however, struck Mr. Hardy'shorse in the shoulder, while another stuck in the rider's arm.Another went through the calf of Hubert's leg, and stuck in theflap of the saddle.
There was no time for word or complaint. They buried their spurs intheir horses' sides, and the gallant animals, feeling that theoccasion was urgent, seemed almost to fly. In a mile they were ableto break into a steady gallop, the enemy being now seventy oreighty yards behind. Mr. Hardy had already pulled the arrow fromhis arm, and Hubert now extracted his. As he stooped to do so hisfather, who had not noticed that he was wounded, saw what he wasdoing.
"Hurt much, old man?"
"Not much," Hubert said; but it did hurt a good deal nevertheless.
"I don't want to tire our horses any more, boys," Mr. Hardy said;"I shall try and stop those rascals with one of my revolvers."
So saying, he drew one of his pistols from his holster, and turninground in his saddle, took a steady aim and fired.
At the same instant, however, his horse trod in a hole and fell,Mr. Hardy being thrown over its head with tremendous force. Theboys reined their horses hard in, and Hubert gave a loud cry as hesaw his father remain stiff and unmoved on the ground. The Indiansset up a wild yell of triumph.
"Steady, Hubert. Jump off. Pick up papa's pistol. Arrange thehorses in a triangle round him. That's right. Now don't throw awaya shot."
The nearest Indian was scarcely thirty yards off when Charley'sbullet crashed into his brain. The three immediately following himfell in rapid succession, another chief's arm sank useless to hisside, while the horse of another fell, shot through the brain.
Both the boys were pale, but their hands were as steady as iron.They felt as if, with their father lying insensible under theirprotection, they could not miss.
So terrible was the destruction which the continued fire wroughtamong the leaders that the others instinctively checked the speedof their horses as they approached the little group, from whichfire and balls seemed to stream, and began to discharge arrows atthe boys, hanging on the other side of their horses, so that bytheir foes they could not be seen, a favorite maneuver withthe Indians. As the boys fired their last barrels they drew theirrevolvers from the holsters, and, taking aim as the Indians showeda head or an arm under their horses' necks or over their backs,their twelve barrels added to the Indians scattered over theground.
"Now, Hubert, give me the two last revolvers, and put the two freshchambers into the carbines."
Seeing only one of their foes on the defense, the Indians againmade a rush forward. Charley shot the two first with a revolver,but the others charged up, and he stooped a moment to avoid aspear, rising a little on one side, and discharging with both handshis pistols at the Indians, who were now close. "Quick, Hubert," hesaid, as he shot with his last barrel an Indian who had just drivenhis spear into the heart of Mr. Hardy's horse.
The animal fell dead as it stood, and the Indians with a yellcharged at the opening, but as they did so Hubert slipped a carbineinto his brother's hand, and the two again poured in the deadlyfire which had so checked the Indians' advance.
The continuation of the fire appalled the Indians, and the seventhat survived turned and fled.
"I will load, Hubert," Charley said, trying to speak steadily. "Seeto papa at once. Empty one of the water-gourds upon his face andhead."
Hubert looked down with a cold shudder. Neither of the boys haddared to think during that brief fight. They had had many fallsbefore on the soft turf of the pampas, but no hurt had resulted,and both were more frightened at the insensibility of their fatherthan at the Indian horde which were so short a distance away, andwhich would no doubt return in a few minutes in overwhelming force.
Great, then, was Hubert's delight, when upon looking round he sawthat Mr. Hardy had raised himself with his arms.
"What has happened?" he said in a confused manner.
"Are you hurt, papa?" Hubert asked, with tears of joy running downhis face; "you frightened us both so dreadfully. Please drink alittle water, and I will pour a little over your face."
Mr. Hardy drank some water, and Hubert dashed some more in hisface. "That will do, Hubert," he said with a smile; "you will drownme. There, I am all right now. I was stunned, I suppose. There youare," and he got up on to his feet; "you see I am not hurt. Andnow, where are the Indians?"
"There, papa," said the boys with pardonable triumph, as theypointed to thirteen dead Indians.
Their father could not speak. He grasped their hands warmly. He sawhow great the danger must have been, and how gallantly his boysmust have borne themselves.
"The Indians may be back in a few minutes, papa. Your horse isdead, but there is one of the Indians' standing by his dead master.Let us catch him and shift the saddle." The animal, when theyapproached it, made no move to take flight, and they saw that hismaster's foot, as he fell, had become entangled in the lasso, andthe well-trained beast had stood without moving. In three minutesthe saddles were transferred, and the party again ready for fightor flight.
"What next, papa?"
"We turned to the right, and rather toward home, when we started;so the Indian halting-place is to the southeast of us, is it not?"
"Yes, papa; as near as may be," Charley said, making out the pointswith some difficulty on the pocket compass, one of which they eachcarried, as the danger of being lost upon the pathless pampas isvery great.
"We had ridden about two miles when I got my fall, so we are a mileto the west of their camp. We will ride now a couple of miles duenorth. The Indians are sure to send out a scout to see whether wehave returned home, and our track will lead them to believe that wehave. It is dusk now. We shall get three hours' rest before we have tomove."
It was perfectly dark before they reached their halting-place. Thesaddles were again loosened, a little Indian corn, moistened withwater, given to the horses, and another slight meal taken bythemselves. The boys, by Mr. Hardy's orders, though sorely againsttheir own wishes, then lay down to get a couple of hours' sleep;while Mr. Hardy went back about a hundred yards along the trailthey had made on coming, and then turned aside and sat down at adistance of a few yards to watch, in case any Indian should havefollowed up their trail.
Here he sat for over two hours, and then returned to the boys.Charley he found fast asleep. The pain of Hubert's wound had kepthim awake. Mr. Hardy poured some water over the bandage, andthen, waking Charley, gave them instructions as to the part they wereto play.
Both of them felt rather uncomfortable when they heard that theywere to be separated from their father. They raised no objections,however, and promised to obey his instructions to the letter. Th
eythen mounted their horses--Hubert having to be lifted up, for hisleg was now very stiff and sore--and then began to retrace theirsteps, keeping a hundred yards or so to the west of the track bywhich they had come.
They rode in single file, and they had taken the precaution offastening a piece of tape round their horses' nostrils and mouth,to prevent their snorting should they approach any of their ownspecies. The night was dark, but the stars shone out clear andbright. At starting Mr. Hardy had opened his watch, and had felt bythe hands that it was ten o'clock. After some time he felt again.
It was just half an hour from the time of their starting.
"Now, boys, we are somewhere close to the place of your fight. Inanother ten minutes we must separate."
At the end of that time they again closed up.
"Now, boys, you see that bright star. That is nearly due east ofus; go on as nearly as you can guess for ten minutes, at a walk, asbefore. You will then be within a mile of the enemy. Then get offyour horses. Mind, on no account whatever are you to leave theirbridles, but stand with one hand on the saddle, ready to throwyourself into it. Keep two blue-lights, and give me one. Don'tspeak a word, but listen as if your lives depended upon detecting asound, as indeed they do. You are to remain there until you seethat I have fairly succeeded and then you are to dash in behind thecattle and fire off your revolvers, and shout so as to quickentheir pace as much as possible. I do not think there is the leastfear of the Indians following, the rockets will scare them toomuch. When you have chased the herd for about two miles, draw asidehalf a mile on their side, and then listen for the Indians passingin pursuit of the cattle; wait ten minutes, and then blow yourdog-whistle--a sharp, short note. If you hear Indians followingyou, or think there is danger, blow twice, and go still further tothe right. God bless you, boys. I don't think there is much fear ofyour falling upon any scouts; they have been too badly cut upto-day, and must look upon our guns as witches. I need not say keeptogether, and, if attacked, light a blue-light and throw it down;ride a short way out of its circle of light, and I will comestraight to you through everything. Don't be nervous about me.There is not the least danger."
In another minute the boys lost sight of their father, and turningtheir horses proceeded in the direction he had ordered. Every nowand then they stopped to listen, but not a sound could they hear.Their own horses' hoofs made no noise as they fell upon the softturf.
At the end of the ten minutes, just as Charley was thinking ofstopping, they heard a sound which caused them to haltsimultaneously. It was the low baa of a sheep, and seemed to comefrom directly ahead of them. Charley now alighted, and Hubertbrought his horse up beside him, keeping his place, however, in thesaddle, but leaning forward on the neck of his horse, for he feltthat if he got off he should be unable to regain his seat hurriedlyin case of alarm.
"About a mile off, I should say, by the sound," Charley whispered;"and just in the direction we expected."
The spot Charley had chosen for the halt was a slight hollow,running east and west; so that, even had the moon been up, theywould not have been visible except to any one in the line of thehollow.
Here, their carbines cocked and ready for instant use, theyremained standing for what appeared to them ages, listening withthe most intense earnestness for any sound which might tell of thefailure or success of their father's enterprise.
Mr. Hardy had ridden on for, as nearly as he could tell, two miles,so that he was now to the southwest of the enemy; then, turningwest, he kept along for another mile, when he judged that he was,as nearly as possible, a mile in their direct rear. He now advancedwith the greatest caution, every faculty absorbed in the sense oflistening. He was soon rewarded by the sound of the baaing of thesheep; and dismounting and leading his horse, he graduallyapproached the spot. At last, on ascending a slight rise, hefancied that he could make out a black mass, at a distance of aquarter of a mile. Of this, however, he was not certain; but he wassure, from an occasional sound, that the herd was exactly in thisdirection, and at about that distance.
He now left his horse, taking the precaution of tying all fourlegs, to prevent his starting off at the sound of the rockets. Henext set to work to cut some turf, with which he formed a narrowsloping bank, with a hollow for the rocket to rest in--calculatingthe exact distance, and the angle required. During this operationhe stopped every minute or two and listened with his ear on theground; but except a faint stamping noise from the distant cattleall was quiet.
All being prepared, Mr. Hardy took the signal rocket, and placingit at a much higher angle than that intended for the others, strucka match and applied it to the touch-paper. In a moment afterwardthere was a loud roar, and the rocket soared up, with its train ofbrilliant sparks behind it, and burst almost over the Indian camp.Five or six balls of an intense white light broke from it, andgradually fell toward the ground, lighting tip the wholesurrounding plain.
A yell of astonishment and fear broke from the Indians, and in amoment another rocket rushed out.
Mr. Hardy watched its fiery way with anxiety, and saw with delightthat its direction was true. Describing a slight curve, it rushedfull at the black mass, struck something, turned abruptly, and thenexploded with a loud report, followed instantly by a crackingnoise, like a straggling fusillade of musketry.
It had scarcely ceased before the third followed it, greeted, likeits predecessors, with a yell from the Indians.
Its success was equal to that of its predecessors, and Mr. Hardywas delighted by the sound of a dull, heavy noise, like distantthunder, and knew, that the success was complete, and that he hadstampeded the cattle.
He now ran to his horse, which was trembling in every limb andstruggling wildly to escape, soothed it by patting it, loosed itsbonds, sprang into the saddle, and went off at full gallop in thedirection by which he had come. He had not ridden very far beforehe heard, in the still night air, the repeated sound of firearms,and knew that the boys were upon the trail of the cattle. Mr. Hardyhad little fear of the Indians pursuing them; he felt sure that theslaughter of the day by the new and mysterious firearms, togetherwith the effect of the rockets, would have too much terrified andcowed them for them to think of anything but flight. He was,however, much alarmed when, after a quarter of a hour's riding, heheard a single sharp whistle at about a few hundred yards'distance.
"Hurrah! papa," the boys said as he rode up to them. "They havegone by at a tremendous rush--sheep and cattle and all. We startedthe moment we saw your first rocket, and got up just as they rushedpast, and we joined in behind and fired, and yelled till we werehoarse. I don't think they will stop again to-night."
"Did you see or hear anything of the Indians, boys?"
"Nothing, papa. When the first rocket burst we saw several darkfigures leap up from the grass--where they had been, no doubt,scouting--and run toward the camp but that was all. What are we todo now?"
"Ride on straight for home. We need not trouble about the animals;they won't stop till they are back. We must go easily, for ourhorses have done a very long day's work already. They have beenbetween fifty and sixty miles. I think that we had better ride onfor another hour. By that time the moon will be up, and we shall beable to see for miles across the plain. Then we will halt tilldaybreak--it will only be three hours--and the horses will be ableto carry us in at a canter afterward."
And so it was done. In an hour the moon was fairly up, and,choosing a rise whence a clear view could be obtained, the horseswere allowed to feed, and Mr. Hardy and Hubert lay down to sleep,Charley taking the post of sentry, with orders to wake the othersat daybreak.
The day was just dawning when he aroused them. "Wake up, papa.There are some figures coming over the plain."
Mr. Hardy and Hubert were on their feet in an instant. "Where,Charley?"
"From the north, papa. They must have passed us in their pursuit ofthe cattle, and are now returning--empty-handed, anyhow; for thereare only seven or eight of them, and they are driving nothingbefore them."
By t
his time all three were in the saddle again.
"Shall we attack them, papa?"
"No, boys; we have given them quite a severe lesson enough. At thesame time, we will move a little across, so that we can get a goodsight of them as they pass, and make sure that they have gotnothing with them."
"They are coming exactly this way, papa."
"Yes, I see, Hubert; they are no doubt riding back upon theirtrail. They will turn off quickly enough when they see us."
But the newcomers did not do so, continuing straight forward.
"Get your carbines ready, boys; but don't fire till I tell you.They must belong to some other party, and cannot know what hashappened. No doubt they take us for Indians."
"I don't think they are Indians at all," Hubert said as the figuresrapidly approached.
"Don't you, Hubert? We shall soon see. Halloo!"
"Halloo! hurrah!" came back to them; and in another five minutesthey were shaking hands heartily with their three friends fromCanterbury, the Jamiesons, and two or three other neighboringsettlers.
They told them that Farquhar, as soon as Lopez brought news of theattack, had sent mounted men off to all the other settlements,begging them to meet that night at Mount Pleasant. By nine o'clockthey had assembled, and, after a consultation, had agreed that theIndians would be satisfied with their present booty, and thattherefore no guard would be necessary at their own estancias.
A good feed and four hours' rest had been given to their horses,and when the moon rose they had started. Two hours after leavingthey had seen a dark mass approaching, and had prepared for anencounter; but it had turned out to be the animals, who were goingtoward home at a steady pace. There seemed, they said, to be a goodmany horses among them.
Assured by this that some encounter or other had taken place withthe Indians, they had ridden on with much anxiety, and were greatlyrelieved at finding Mr. Hardy and his boys safe.
The whole party now proceeded at a rapid pace toward home, whichthey reached in four hours' riding. As they came in sight of thewatch-tower Mr. Herries separated himself from the others, and rodethirty or forty yards away to the left, returning to the others.This he repeated three times, greatly to Mr. Hardy's surprise.
"What are you doing, Herries?" he asked.
"I am letting them know you are all well. We agreed upon thatsignal before we started. They would be able to notice one separatehimself from the rest in that way as far as they could see us, andlong before they could make out any other sort of signal."
In a short time three black spots could be seen upon the plain inthe distance. These the boys very shortly pronounced to be Mrs.Hardy and the girls.
When they approached the rest of the party fell back, to allow Mr.Hardy and his sons to ride forward and have the pleasure of thefirst meeting to themselves. Needless is it to tell with what afeeling of delight and thankfulness Mrs. Hardy, Maud, and Ethelreceived them. After the first congratulations the girls observedthat Mr. Hardy had his arm bound up with a handkerchief.
"Are you hurt, papa?" they exclaimed anxiously.
"Nothing to speak of--only an arrow in my arm. Old Hubert has gotthe worst of it: he has had one through the calf of his leg."
"Poor old Hubert!" they cried. And Hubert had some difficulty inpersuading the girls that he could wait on very fairly till hereached home without his being bandaged or otherwise touched.
"And how did it all happen?" Mrs. Hardy asked.
"I will tell you all about it when we have had breakfast, my dear,"her husband said. "I have told our friends nothing about it yet,for it is a long story, and one telling will do for it. I supposethe animals have got back? How many are missing?"
"Lopez came in from counting them just as we started," Mrs. Hardysaid. "He says there are only four or five cattle missing, andabout a couple of hundred sheep; and, do you know, in addition toour own horses, there are a hundred and twenty-three Indianhorses?"
"Hurrah!" the boys shouted delightedly, "That is a triumph; isn'tit, papa?"
"It is indeed, boys; and explains readily enough how it was thatthere was not the slightest attempt at pursuit. The Indian horsesevidently broke their lariats and joined in the stampede. I supposeLopez has driven them all into the enclosure?"
"Oh, yes, papa. They went in by themselves with our own animals,and Terence shut the gate at once."
In another quarter of an hour they reached the house, received bySarah and Terence--the latter being almost beside himself with joyat his master's safe return, and with vexation when he heard thatthere had been a fight, and that he had not been able to take partin it.
Orders had been given to Sarah to prepare breakfast the instant thereturning party had been seen, and their signal of "all safe" beenmade out. It was now ready; but before sitting down to it Mr. Hardybegged all present to join in a short thanksgiving to God for theirpreservation from extreme peril.
All knelt, and as they followed Mr. Hardy's words, they were sure,from the emotion with which he spoke, that the peril, of theparticulars of which they were at present ignorant, had been indeeda most imminent one.
This duty performed, all fell to with great heartiness tobreakfast; and when that was over Mr. Hardy related the wholestory. Very greatly were Mrs. Hardy and the girls amazed at thethoughts of the great peril through which their father and the boyshad passed, and at the account of the defense by the boys whentheir father was lying insensible. Mrs. Hardy could not restrainherself from sobbing in her husband's arms at the thought of hisfearful danger, while the girls cried sore and kissed theirbrothers, and all their friends crowded round them and wrung theirhands warmly; while Terence sought relief by going out into thegarden, dancing a sort of jig, and giving vent to a series of wildwar-whoops.
It was some time before all were sufficiently calm to listen to theremainder of the story, which was received with renewedcongratulations.
When it was all over a council was held, and it was agreed thatthere was no chance whatever of the Indians returning to renew thecontest, as they would be helpless on foot; but that if by a spythey found out that their horses were there, they might endeavor torecover them. It was therefore agreed that they should be drivenover at once to Mr. Percy's, there to remain until a purchaser wasobtained for them. In the afternoon the party dispersed, with manythanks from the Hardys for their prompt assistance.