CHAPTER XVIII--A FIGHT
Instantly a silence that was tense and could almost be felt fell uponthe entire camp. All the trappers gazed in surprise first at the tall,awkward boaster and then at Kit Carson, who in comparison with theother man seemed to be little more than a boy in size. Brawls andquarrels were not uncommon among the lonely men, but this was the firsttime any one had known Kit Carson to join in the petty bickerings ofthe camp.
Reuben, startled at first by the quiet manner in which his friend hadspoken, now looked at him in alarm. It did not seem possible that soslight and light a man as the guide would be able to defend himselfagainst the braggart, who was known as the bully of the West. It istrue Rat had no friends among the trappers. Every one had looked uponhim as one who talked much but whose deeds were lacking. It wascommonly reported that he was better able to tell other men how to trapthe beaver than he was to secure the little animals in his own traps.
To the excited Reuben the huge shoulders of the bully looked broaderthan ever he had seen them before. And yet for some strange reason Ratdid not leap forward to attack Kit Carson when the latter in his quietmanner had demanded that he take back his remark that he could "switchany American in the camp."
The silence, however, was soon broken. Rat hesitated a moment and then,turning abruptly, with long strides walked to his tent. At the actionsof the bully Kit Carson also started for his own tent, and every manpresent understood at once what was about to occur. The two men, whoseemed to be so unequally matched, were to fight, and each had gone tohis tent for his weapons. This method of settling quarrels was the onecommonly used on the border.
With this thought in mind, every member of Kit Carson's band was eagerto see the coming contest. At once they all drew more closely together,and although many were fearful for the life of their brave littleleader, there was no one that ventured to express his opinion.
In a few moments the swaggering Rat, holding his rifle in his hand, andhis face fierce in its expression of rage, rushed forward on hispowerful horse. Almost at the same moment Kit Carson, light andgraceful in every movement, approached on horseback from the oppositeside of the camp. He carried no rifle, but from his belt thereprotruded the stock of his pistol.
Kit Carson had always been a lover of good horses. Several times in thejourneys along the streams and in the valleys of the mountains he hadturned aside a part of a day from his regular task of trapping and hadcaught the leaders of several bands of wild horses. The horse uponwhich he now was mounted was one of these captives. Its black coat wasshining in the sunlight and its expression of intelligence almostseemed to convey the idea that it understood the peril of its masterand was determined to do its utmost to aid him. Carson rode without anysaddle. No man in all the camp was considered a better rider, or moreable to compel the animal he was riding to obey his every word. At fullgallop the young scout advanced swiftly toward Rat, who, as has beensaid, was also mounted upon a powerful horse.
Suddenly checking his horse as he approached Rat, Kit Carson in a lowvoice said: "Am I the man you are looking for?"
For a moment the two men gazed steadily each into the face of theother, and then Rat replied, "No."
As he spoke, however, he lowered his rifle, and although his actionsapparently were without any design, his gun was pointed directly at theheart of the scout.
But Kit Carson was not to be taken unaware. He had heard Rat'sdeclaration that he was not looking for trouble, but the action of thetreacherous boaster when he had lowered his rifle so that it was aimeddirectly at his heart did not escape him. He understood fully what theplan of the treacherous man now was likely to be.
Like a flash he pulled his own pistol and fired at his enemy. True tohis aim the bullet struck the arm of Rat, even while his fingers werealmost upon the trigger of his rifle. Indeed, as Kit Carson fired,Rat's rifle also was discharged, but the wound which he had receivedcaused his arm to turn and the ball which he had intended to send intothe heart of the scout passed harmlessly above his head. Instantly themen of the camp ran forward and surrounded the two fighters.
Kit Carson smiled quietly as he saw his friends approach, and thenwaving them back, said in a low voice: "I have done just exactly what Iplanned to do. I have prevented him from shooting me, and I think Ihave given him a lesson that he will remember for some time, and yet Ihave not killed him."
"That's right, Kit! That's right!" spoke up Jack. "We know that you'renot quarrelsome, and this is the first time I ever saw you draw a gunon a white man."
Meanwhile the bully, groaning loudly and holding his wounded arm in hishand, was led from the spot, while two of the trappers, with water fromthe spring, washed his wound and bound up his hand after the fashionemployed by the men of the frontier. In the days that followed Reubenwas not able to induce Kit Carson to refer to the fight into which hehad been drawn.
Not many days elapsed, however, before Rat declared that he would nolonger stay in the camp, and true to his word, he soon afterwardwithdrew from the place. Nor was he seen again until several months hadelapsed, and then it was under conditions that caused every member ofthe band to remember his coming.
"It's time for us to be turning back," said Kit Carson early onemorning, not long after the contest which has just been described.
"Go back where?" inquired Reuben quickly. "To Pain Court?"
"No. I don't intend to go back there for years."
"Where are we going?"
"To Taos."
"We'll have to come back here again," suggested Reuben. "We have cachedour furs."
"Oh, we shall come back," replied Carson, smiling as he spoke. "Verylikely we'll be back here the next trapping season."
In accordance with the word of the leader, it was not long before thefew wagons in which the trappers had brought their provisions, inaddition to the supplies which had been carried on the backs of theirponies and mules, were loaded with the furs which had been securedafter the cache had been made. Then following the course which alreadyhad been decided upon, the men slowly made their way down the Colorado,trapping as they went, until they at last arrived at the Gila. Then,turning once more in their course, they trapped along the banks of thelatter river and finally, well laden with the skins they had taken, setforth on their journey to Taos.
After their arrival there and in the days that followed, Reuben Bentonmade many visits with his friend Kit Carson among the Indians, untilhe, too, had learned much of their language and also had learned enoughSpanish to express his wants in that musical tongue. He shared fully inthe feeling of respect and love which the Indians manifested for theyoung scout, who now was becoming famous among the scattered people onthe border. In this manner the days passed until at last the time hadcome when once more the trappers were to return to the region fromwhich they had recently set forth.
As they advanced, the friendly Indians gave place to those who weremore hostile. The fame of Kit Carson already had preceded their coming,and many of the redmen, although they hated the whites, neverthelesswere fearful of an encounter with them. Indeed, the trappers were notmolested throughout their long journey, until at last there came anight which was long remembered by Reuben.
At that time, when the trappers had gone into camp, they hadestablished a guard for their horses. This guard was on duty throughoutthe hours of the day, being shifted several times so that no one manwould be compelled to serve an undue length of time. When night drewnigh the horses were hobbled. Frequently, however, the fear of theprowling Indians caused Kit Carson to direct his men to tie the animalsto stakes which had been driven into the ground.
All these precautions, however, did not avail. There were times whenprowling Indian bands stealthily crept near the camp, and while the menwere sleeping the redskins cut the ropes by which the horses werefastened to the stakes and either led them quickly away or tried tosecure a larger number by driving some of their own horses directlythrough the camp, the Indians themselves closely following thefrightened animals and yelling
in their loudest tones. At such timesthere was danger that even the picketed horses would break away andjoin the herd that was rushing upon them.
And this very event occurred on a never-to-be-forgotten night. Beforemorning dawned Carson, having discovered the loss, quickly selected ahalf-dozen of his followers and upon the backs of the horses that werestill left in the camp hastily followed the fleeing Indians.
Reuben, who was permitted to follow the men, although his friendsstrongly urged him to remain in the camp, was soon aware that theIndians were well armed and were not inclined to give up the prizesthey had taken without a struggle.
Many of the Indians now were armed with rifles, and the members of thethieving band far outnumbered those of the little party that waspursuing them. Several times among the mountains the Indians stoppedand from behind huge rocks fired upon the approaching white men.
Reuben was aware soon after the party had set forth that the night wasto be intensely cold. Indeed, his fingers soon were so numb that he wasscarcely able to hold the reins of the pony he was riding. However, hewas determined not to give way to his suffering, and without a word ofcomplaint steadily maintained his place in the line.
The men were confident that the Indians were not far before them.Already they had had two brisk encounters, in which each party hadfired at the other, but whatever the results may have been among theIndians, no one among the whites as yet had been hit.
Kit Carson's men were making greater haste than they would had they notbeen so eager to recover the horses they had lost. Because of this factthey had advanced boldly into a long and narrow valley and had notstopped to make sure that a part of the force they were pursuing hadnot been left at the entrance while others had gone in advance to drawthe white men forward.
When the angry trappers had arrived at the place midway in the valley,suddenly shots were heard not only in front of them but also from therear. In an instant it was plain that an ambuscade had been made andthe whites had been caught between the two lines of their foes.
As the party still continued on its way, Kit Carson ordered every manto hold his fire. Suddenly one of the trappers, who was riding onReuben's right, uttered a loud cry and, dropping his rifle as he threwup his arms, almost fell from the back of his horse.
"Go on, men!" called Kit Carson, instantly, while he himself droppedback to assist his companion in his peril.
An instant later, however, a cry went up from all the trappers when itwas seen that Kit Carson himself had been hit by a rifle ball and wasreeling on the back of his pony.
Scouting with Kit Carson Page 18