The Motor Rangers Through the Sierras
Page 9
CHAPTER IX.
THE MIDNIGHT ALARM.
The boys would have been glad to explore the petrified forest thatnight had it been practicable. They had read of the mysterious stonerelics of ancient woods, which exist in the remote Sierras, but theyhad never dreamed they would stumble upon one so opportunely. However,even had they been less tired, it would have been out of the questionto examine the strange place more thoroughly that night.
As there did not seem to be any limit to the place so far as they couldsee, the boys decided to camp where they were for the night. The autowas stopped and the horse unhitched and turned loose at the end of alariat to graze, his rope being made fast round one of the more slenderstone trunks.
"Feels like hitching him to the pillar of the City Hall at home,"laughed Joe, as he formed a double half hitch and left the horse tohis own devices, first, however, having watered the animal at a smallspring which flowed from the foot of a large rock at one side of themysterious stone valley.
In the meantime, Cal had built a fire of sage brush roots, for therewas no wood about, every bit of it having turned to stone long agesbefore. The pile, on being ignited, blazed up cheerfully, illuminatingthe sterile, lonely spot with a merry red blaze. The spider was takenout of the utensil locker, and soon bacon was hissing in it and cannedtomatoes and corn bubbling in adjacent saucepans. A big pot of coffeealso sent up a savory aroma. Altogether, with canned fruit for dessert,the Motor Rangers and their friends made a meal which quite atoned forthe loss of their lunch. Even Ding-dong admitted that he was satisfiedby the time Cal drew out a short and exceedingly black pipe. Theformer stage driver rammed this full of tobacco and then leisurelyproceeded to light it. After a few puffs he looked up at the grouparound him. They were lolling about on waterproof blankets spread outon the rock-strewn ground, a portion of which they had cleared. Inthe background stood the dark outlines of the auto, and beyond, themysterious shadows of the petrified forest, the bequest to the presentof the long departed stone age.
"I've bin a thinkin'," began Cal, as if he were delivering his mind ofsomething he had been inwardly cogitating for some time, "I've bin athinkin' that while we are in this part of the country we ought to keepa good look out at night."
"You think that Morello's band may give us more trouble?" asked Nat.
"I don't jes' think so," rejoined Cal earnestly, "I'm purty jes' nat'lysure of it. They ain't the sort of fellers ter fergit or furgive."
"I guess you're right," agreed Nat, "that man Dayton alone is capableof making lots of trouble for us. We'll do as you say and set a watchto-night."
"I vind und set my votch every night," declared Herr Muller, proudlydrawing out of his pocket an immense timepiece resembling a bulboussilver vegetable.
"This is a different kind of watch that we're talking about," laughedNat.
It was ultimately arranged, after some more discussion, that Joe andNat should watch for the first part of the night and Ding-dong and CalGifford should come on duty at one o'clock in the morning. It seemedto young Bell that he hadn't been asleep more than five minutes whenhe was roughly shaken by Nat and told to tumble out of the tonneau asit was time to go on watch. Already Cal, who like an old mountaineerpreferred to sleep by the fire, was up and stirring. It took a longtime, though, to rout Ding-dong out of his snug bed. The air at thataltitude is keen and sharp, and being turned out of his warm nest wasanything but pleasant to the lad.
"L-l-l-let the D-d-d-d-dutchman do it," he begged, snuggling down inhis blankets.
"No," said Nat firmly, "it's your turn on duty. Come on now, roll outor we'll pull you out."
Finally, with grumbling protestations, the stuttering youth was hauledforth, and, while Nat and Joe turned in, he and Cal went on duty, or"sentry go," as they say in the army.
"Now then," said Cal crisply, as the shivering Ding-dong lingered bythe fire with his rifle in his chilled hands, "you go off there to theright and patrol a hundred feet or more. I'll do the same to the left.We'll meet at the fire every few minutes and get warm."
"A-a-all r-r-r-right," agreed Ding-dong, who stood in some awe of thestage driver. Consequently, without further demur, he strode off onhis post. Having reached the end of it he marched back to the fire andwarmed himself a second. Then he paced off again. This kept up forabout an hour when suddenly Cal, who was at the turning point of hisbeat, heard a startling sound off to the right among the tomb-likeforms of the stone trees.
Bang!
It was followed by two other shots.
Bang! Bang!
The reports rang sharply, amid the silence of the desolate place, andsent an alarmed chill even to Cal's stout heart. He bounded back towardthe fire just in time to meet Ding-dong, who came rushing in with ascared white face, from the opposite direction. At the same time Natand Joe awakened, and hastily slipping on some clothes, seized theirrifles and prepared for trouble.
"What's the matter?" demanded Cal, in sharp, crisp tones, of thefrightened sentinel.
"Indians!" was the gasped-out reply, "the p-p-p-place is f-f-f-full ofthem."
"Indians!" exclaimed Cal, hastily kicking out the bright fire andleaving it a dull heap of scattered embers, "are you sure?"
"S-s-s-sure. I s-s-s-saw their f-f-f-fif-feathers."
"That's queer," exclaimed Cal, "I never heard of any Indians being inthis section before. But come on, boys, it's clear the lad here hasseen something and we'd better get ready for trouble."
An improvised fort was instantly formed, by the boys crouching invarious points of vantage in the automobile with their riflesmenacingly pointed outward. Herr Muller snored on serenely, and theyallowed him to slumber.
They must have remained in tense poses without moving a muscle for halfan hour or more before any one dared to speak. Then Nat whispered,
"Queer we don't see or hear anything."
"They may be creeping up stealthily," rejoined Cal, "don't take youreye off your surroundings a minute."
For some time more the lads watched with increasing vigilance. Atlength even Cal grew impatient.
"There's something funny about this," he declared, and then turning onDing-dong he demanded:
"Are you sure you saw something?"
"D-d-d-didn't I s-s-s-s-shoot at it?" indignantly responded the boy.
"I know, but you actually saw something move?" persisted Nat.
"Of c-c-c-course I did. You didn't think I was go-go-going tos-s-s-shoot at a put-put-petrified tree, did you?"
"We'll wait a while longer and then if nothing shows up I'm going toinvestigate," declared Cal.
"I'm with you," agreed Nat.
As nothing occurred for a long time the Motor Rangers finally climbedout of the car, and with their rifles held ready for instant action,crept off in the direction from which Ding-dong's fusillade hadproceeded. Every now and then they paused to listen, hardly breathingfor fear of interrupting the silence. But not a sound could theyhear. However, Ding-dong stuck stoutly to his story that he had seensomething move and had fired at it, whereupon it had vanished.
"Maybe it was Morello's gang trying to give us a scare," suggested Nat.
"Ef they'd ever got as close to us as this they'd hev given us worsethan a scare," confidently declared Cal.
By this time they had proceeded quite some distance, and Cal stoppedDing-dong with a question.
"Whereabouts were you when you fired?"
"I-I do-do-do-do-don't know," stuttered the lad.
"You don't know?" indignantly echoed Nat, "you're a fine woodsman."
"Y-y-y-y-yes I do t-t-t-too," Ding-dong hastened to amend, "I washere--right here."
He ascended a small knoll covered with grass, at the foot of one of thestone trees.
"Which direction did you fire in?" was Nat's next question.
"Off t-t-t-that w-w-w-w-w-way," spoke Ding-dong. "Wow, there he is now!"
The boy gave a yell and started to run, and the others wereconsiderably startled.
From the little eminence
on which they stood they could see, projectingfrom behind one of the pillars, something that certainly did look liketwo feathers sticking in an Indian's head dress. As they gazed thefeathers moved.
"Shoot quick!" cried Joe, jerking his rifle up to his shoulder, but Calyanked it down with a quick pull.
"Hold on, youngster. Not so fast," he exclaimed, "let's look into thisthing first."
Holding his rifle all ready to fire at the least alarm, the formerstage driver crept cautiously forward. Close at his elbow came Nat,with his weapon held in similar readiness.
"There is something there--see!" exclaimed Nat in an awed tone.
"Yes," almost shouted the guide, "and it's that Dutchman's old plug!"
The next instant his words were verified. The midnight marauder at whomDing-dong had fired was nothing more dangerous than the horse of HerrMuller. It had broken loose in the night and was browsing about whenthe amateur sentry had come upon it. In the moonlight, and when seenprojecting from behind a pillar, its ears, which were unusually long,did look something like the head dress of an Indian.
"Wow!" yelled Nat, "this is one on you, Ding-dong!"
"Yes, here's your Indian!" shouted Joe, doubling up with laughter.
"Whoa, Indian," soothed Cal, walking up to the peaceful animal, "let'ssee if he hit you."
But the merriment of the lads was increased when an examination of thehorse failed to show a scratch or mark upon it.
"That's another on you, Ding-dong," laughed Nat, "you're a finesentinel. Why, you can't even hit a horse."
"Well, let the Dutchman try and see if he can do any better," rejoinedDing-dong with wounded dignity.