CHAPTER XVI--A MOUNTAIN LION
Reuben was aware that if he permitted his pony to run, the beast wouldinstantly pursue him. He knew also that it would not be long before themountain lion would overtake the fleeing pony. As long as he movedslowly, he had been frequently informed by his companions, a lion,though it might creep close upon his trail, would not be likely toattack him. On the other hand, if he should show his fear by flight thecourage of the lion instantly would be strengthened and it would followand attack any man or animal that fled in this way from his presence.
The snorting and trembling of the pony he was riding were pitiful. Theflanks of the swift little animal already were wet, and its eyes wererolling and bloodshot with terror. By a supreme effort, however, Reubensucceeded in bringing the pony to a walk, and though there were momentswhen his mount was so terrified that it almost crouched upon theground, still he was able to prevent it from running. It was impossiblenow for the boy to reload his gun. The actions of the pony preventedhim from holding his rifle sufficiently quiet to enable him to ram homethe bullet.
Occasionally Reuben glanced behind him, and he was aware that the onelong leap forward which the mountain lion had taken when the pony hadfirst darted ahead had given place to a more wary and careful approach.The savage beast was creeping along the ground. For several yards itwould advance in this crouching manner, and then when Reuben lookedbehind him it would leap back into the bushes or seek the shelter ofsome huge crag.
Reuben was carrying his rifle in his hands, ready to defend himself ifthe beast should leap upon the flanks of his pony. The lion was now notmore than thirty feet behind him, and why it did not attack him theyoung trapper was at a loss to understand.
Reuben glanced anxiously at the sky, and his fears increased when hediscovered that already the afternoon sun was below the rim of themountain. Darkness would soon approach and would come, as he was aware,after the manner of the sunset among the towering mountains. Usuallythere was only a brief period of twilight. The day abruptly ceased andnight with equal abruptness swept over the land. Confident that hisperils would be greatly increased with the coming of night, Reuben wasat a loss how he was to prevent the lion from following him, until inthe darkness in some narrow defile it would leap upon its victim.
Again he glanced behind him at the beast, which now was motionless,crouched as if it had been a cat ready to spring upon a helpless andunsuspecting bird. A moment later, however, he saw it leap gracefullyinto the bushes and disappear from sight.
The young trapper was still compelling his horse to walk. His arms wereaching from the strain of the pull upon the bridle, and he was nearlyas wet as the horse he was riding. Several times he glanced back, butthe pursuing mountain lion was not to be seen. Could it be possiblethat the beast had abandoned the pursuit?
The attitude of the animal when last it had been seen was not such asto convince Reuben that there was any ground for such a hope. Suddenlyhe recalled a statement he had heard made by Kit Carson. One time whenthe young scout had been relating an experience which he had had withone of the savage mountain lions, he had told how the beast afterfollowing its victim for a considerable distance, sometimes disappearedwithin the forest and later was seen far in advance when theunsuspecting party it had been following had relaxed his watchfulness,believing himself to be safe because the pursuit had been abandoned.The thought was not reassuring, and instantly Reuben gave rein to hissturdy little pony.
The terror-stricken horse dashed forward. The ground was uneven, andseveral times the little animal nearly fell as it bounded ahead. It wasa wild and a mad flight, and Reuben not only did not hold back thepony, but continually urged it to a swifter flight. In this way he rodeforward for a half-mile or more until the heaving sides of his horsegave evidence that its strength was nearly exhausted.
At the time he was entering a narrow passage in the valley. The lightwas becoming dimmer, but he was able to see that still about onehundred feet of the defile was before him.
Soon after he had given a brief breathing spell to his pony he wasstartled when the horse suddenly emitted a snort of terror and oncemore bounded forward. Glancing swiftly behind him, Reuben's fears allreturned when he saw approaching from among the trees on themountainside the same mountain lion which had pursued him and whosesavage attack he had hoped had been abandoned.
Yelling loudly, Reuben once more urged his horse into its swiftestpaces. There was a scream of anger from the pursuing lion, and Reuben'sheart almost ceased to beat when he saw that the animal already wasleaping forward in swift pursuit.
Abandoning his grasp on the bridle, Reuben seized his gun by the barreland turning partly around in his saddle, with his uplifted gun heawaited the attack. The snarling beast advanced until it was within afew yards of the terrified boy. The pony, meantime, was runningswiftly, snorting with terror and groaning with every breath it drew.
Abruptly Reuben turned still farther about in his seat, and yelling inhis loudest tones shouted: "Get out! Clear out! Get away from here!"
He followed his words with a hissing sound, and to his delight thebeast suddenly stopped, gazed in surprise or alarm at what he hadevidently believed was a terrified victim, and then with long leapsinstantly turned, bounded into the forest, and disappeared from sight.
Whether or not the pursuit had been abandoned Reuben did not know. Hequickly gave all his attention to the horse he was riding, and as hepassed beyond the border of the defile and was unable to discover anysigns of the presence of his recent pursuer, he decided to continue theflight and do his utmost to escape from the savage animal.
For ten minutes the wild flight continued, until the pony no longer wasable to maintain its pace. Again and again Reuben had glanced behindhim, but not once had he seen the mountain lion. What pleased him stillmore was the fact that in advance of him he saw the end of the narrowvalley. Once there he would be able to move down upon the plains, andhe did not believe that the hungry brute would dare to follow himbeyond the protection of the mountain. However, he halted and withtrembling hands reloaded his rifle. He had decided that it would besafe as well as wise for him to take this precaution. If the beastshould appear again he would stop his horse and fire at the animal.Resuming his flight, not many minutes had elapsed before Reuben foundhimself upon the plains.
The night now was upon him, but the light was still sufficient toenable him to see, though somewhat indistinctly, the outlines of therocks and trees behind him. But the valley was no place of shelter,although he was aware that the Mission of San Gabriel was not more thanseven or eight miles distant.
Only a brief time had elapsed before the young trapper was convincedthat the mountain lion had abandoned its pursuit and turning back hadsought the shelter of the defiles of the mountain.
Satisfied now that he had nothing more to fear, Reuben allowed hishorse to proceed more slowly, though the manner in which the poor beastwas holding its head as it advanced clearly indicated how nearlyexhausted the pony was.
In this manner he moved steadily forward until he had come near to oneof the farms owned by the mission and cultivated by the Indians. A rudelittle house was plainly to be seen in the distance, but as no lightwas shining from its windows, the young trapper decided to push forwardand not stop until he had arrived at the destination he was seeking.
He had left the farmhouse far behind him and was moving forward overthe dusty road when suddenly he saw before him the outlines of anapproaching man. The man, however, was advancing in a strange manner.He was moving from one side of the road to the other, and yet as Reubenkeenly watched him he was sure that the stranger was not intoxicated.Why then was he approaching in such a strange manner? He was carryingno burden upon his back, and both hands were free.
Still keenly watching the man who was steadily coming nearer, Reubensuddenly was startled by a motion that seemed to him strangelyfamiliar. It reminded him of the companion whom he had lost among thefoothills of the Rockies. But not a word had been heard from JeanBadea
u.
Still believing that it was impossible that anything more than aresemblance had been discovered in the man, when Reuben came close tohim he halted his horse and peered intently into the face of thestranger. The face strongly resembled that of the missing Frenchtrapper. And yet it was so unlike his friend's that Reuben was at aloss to decide whether or not his former companion was indeed nowbefore him.
The strangest part of all was that the man appeared to be entirelyunaware of the presence of Reuben. He seldom glanced at him, and evenwhen he did so Reuben felt a shiver creep along his spine, for therewas something uncanny in the expression of the man's face. Reubensomehow had a feeling that the man was not so much looking at him aslooking through him. Indeed, his fear increased when he became awarethat the man not only did not reply to his questions, but that he didnot even seem to be aware of his presence.
"Jean, Jean!" called Reuben in a low voice. "Is that you?"
As no answer was given to his query, the excited boy in a tremblingvoice again said: "What are you doing here? How did you escape from theIndians?"
Either ignoring or unaware of the questions which had been asked, theman continued his zigzag journey and soon passed out of the sight ofthe perplexed young trapper.
Partly convinced that he had mistaken the strange man for Jean Badeau,and that it was impossible for his former companion to be among the menassembled at the San Gabriel Mission, Reuben quickly resumed hisjourney. His pony now was somewhat rested, and in a brief time, of itsown accord, it broke into the swifter gait it had maintained most ofthe way since the camp of the trappers had been left.
Reuben was still thinking of the two strange adventures which hadbefallen him on his ride when at last he drew near the walls thatsurrounded the old mission, and in response to his pull upon thebell-rope the gate was opened and he was admitted.
Scouting with Kit Carson Page 16