The Pioneer Boys of the Yellowstone; or, Lost in the Land of Wonders

by St. George Rathborne

  CHAPTER XXVIII

  WITH HOPEFUL HEARTS

  FORGOTTEN at that minute were all their other troubles, as each madehurried efforts to get away from the spot. The trembling of the rockstold plainly enough that some convulsion of nature was about to takeplace; and Dick's words gave evidence that he himself had discoveredwhere the yawning crater of the boiling spring lay amidst the halfmelted snow.

  Hardly had they gone back some thirty or forty feet when there burstforth a vast volume of spray and steaming water that ascended high intothe air, reaching an altitude of possibly five score feet before itlost its velocity, and began to rain downward.

  Immediately the snow around the entire vicinity commenced to meltwith the heat of the falling water. With the sunlight falling on thewonderful fountain the two boys thought they had never in all theirlives seen anything so sublime.

  Mayhew was more alarmed than pleased by the spectacle. Its terrorappealed more to his backwoods nature than any beauty connected withthe display. Indeed, had he been there alone, the chances were Mayhewwould have taken to his heels, not being desirous of such closeacquaintance with things he could not comprehend.

  After staring at the magical fountain for a brief time Roger once moreallowed his other nature to have sway.

  "We are losing precious minutes, Dick!" he called out, for the roarwas so great that it was impossible to be heard unless the voice wereelevated. "This may be all very fine, but it doesn't seem to satisfythe gnawing sensation inside me."

  When Dick gave the word, Mayhew only too gladly once more led off.

  "That buffalo must have known of this hot fountain, because he camestraight up to where it is," Roger remarked, after they had left thespouting geyser behind them.

  "Yes, but it seems that it rises only at long intervals," Dickexplained. "It may be that days pass without an outburst. That accountsfor the snow around, which disappeared so fast once the flow of hotwater began."

  Roger seemed content to accept this version of the strange happening.In fact it was now a past matter with him; his most urgent necessitydid not concern wonderful fountains at all, but provender. He had aconstant reminder with him that "nature abhors a vacuum," and that anempty stomach gives its owner no peace.

  "If we had stood where we were," said Dick, "the chances are some of usmight have been well cooked. My heart seemed to jump up in my throatwhen you stumbled, Roger; but you managed to recover your balance andcome on."

  "I confess that I was a bit worried myself about that time, Dick; butas a rule I'm not so clumsy. Just now my legs seem weak and wobbly. Itmust be that hunger is getting a good grip on me."

  "All's well that ends well, they say," ventured Mayhew, stealing abackward look over his shoulder at the still spouting geyser thatfilled him with such uneasiness.

  "When the buffalo found this place all covered with snow," continuedRoger, "so he could get not a mouthful of grass or fodder, he startedoff again in the same general direction. Where do you reckon he isstriking out for now, Dick?"

  "Oh, I suppose he knows of other places where he can feed, and isheaded for one of them," was the answer Dick gave.

  "There, the noise is dying down back of us," Mayhew announced. "Itseems as though the show is over for this time. Yes, the column of hotwater and steam is only half as high, and getting less right along."

  "It may lie quiet for another spell, perhaps days, before it breaksout again," suggested Dick, which remark proved that he was arrivingat some conclusion respecting these remarkable geysers, in that hebelieved they all had regular cycles for displaying their activities,some frequent, others at much longer intervals, but all working withclock-like fidelity.

  Roger had already quite forgotten all about the recent scare. Once morehe was keeping his eyes on the alert for signs of that lone buffalowhich would mean so much to them.

  He had pictured the animal so many times in his fancy that pretty soonthe tortured boy began "seeing things" that did not really exist.

  "Look yonder, Dick," he would say huskily, "and tell me is that theold bull just alongside that rock? Seems as though I can make out hishead as he stands there. Hadn't we better spread out, so as to surroundhim?"

  When Dick assured Roger that what he took to be the head of the buffalowas only an outcropping of the massive rock the other seemed deeplydisappointed.

  "I was dead sure it must be our game, Dick, indeed I was. But now Isee you are right, and it is a part of the rocky spur. How about thatbrush heap ahead there; I may have been mistaken, Dick, but I thought Icould see something moving. It is too low down to hide a big buffalo,but Indians might be lying there, waiting to knock us over. I hope theyhave some pemmican along with them, for we could take it away, you see,Dick; and even dry pemmican would taste pretty good now."

  Dick began to feel a little worried about his cousin. It seemed to himas though Roger was getting light-headed on account of his privations.

  "Oh! if only we could catch up with that miserable buffalo bull," Dickmuttered to himself as he tramped along. "Either that, or else runacross an elk. Something has got to happen soon, or I'm afraid Rogerwill keel over, or perhaps go out of his mind."

  The situation was getting more desperate. Try as he would, Dick coulddiscover no way in which it might be alleviated. They must keep onconstantly and hope that before long they would come up with the animalthey had been tracking with the pertinacity of wolves.

  He knew they were not making anything like the progress they could havehad to their credit if they had partaken of their customary portion offood. Weakness had seized upon them, and, while the spirit was willing,the flesh seemed to be lacking in the power to obey as promptly as theywould have liked.

  Roger continued to discover suspicious objects from time to time.Then his mood would change, and he could be heard laughing softly tohimself, as though the whole thing was appearing to him now in theguise of a great joke.

  "Poor fellow!" muttered Dick, when one of these spasms had passed off,leaving Roger more morose than ever; "somehow he seems to feel it somuch more than either of us. I've got to the last hole in my belt now,and I hope there may be no need of my making a fresh one."

  When he looked toward Mayhew he saw that the scout's face had begunto show signs of renewed eagerness. This gave Dick a thrill, as hopeonce more commenced to flutter in his breast. Certainly Mayhew wouldnot look like that unless he had good reason to believe they were nowclose upon the heels of the roving buffalo.

  Then Mayhew raised a warning finger; at the same time he nodded hishead toward the muttering Roger. Dick comprehended the action; it meantthat some means should be taken to keep the other quiet, lest he warntheir quarry of their coming long before there was any necessity ofsuch a happening, and thus endanger the success of their stalking game.

  Accordingly Dick hastened to get alongside his cousin. He laid a handon Roger's arm, and the other, raising his head, turned a pair of redeyes upon Dick.

  "Keep still, Roger!" hissed Dick, holding up a finger. "Mayhew says weare right on the heels of the game. You must not speak a single wordabove a whisper, or all may be ruined. Do you understand what I amsaying?"

  "Of course I do, Dick," began the other, cautiously, as though arousedby the joyous news, and coming back to his senses again. "I hope youare not thinking me silly just because I've been complaining of feelinghungry?"

  "Never mind, now, it's going to be all right," said Dick, soothingly,for he was afraid Roger might want to argue the matter with him. "Asyou have an empty gun you must let us do the work."

  "Oh, never fear about me, I understand!"

  "Well, keep still now, Roger. Not another word, but hold yourself readyto start that fire soon. If you listen hard you may hear the horn blowfor dinner like it does at home when we are out in the field. Silencenow, Mayhew must think he sees our game."

  Indeed, the actions of the guide would give any one to understandsomething like that. He was moving along with his body bent over, andgripping his faithful rifl
e in both hands. Although both of the boysused their eyes to the best advantage they could not see anything tohearten them; but then the strain on their nerves, because of all thatblinding snow, may have had something to do with this failure.

  Mayhew turned quickly toward them. He said not a word, but his lipsmoved, and he nodded his head in a manner that thrilled the boys.

  It had long ago been decided just what their tactics should be in casethey were so fortunate as to come up with the quarry. Neither of themmeant to fire until they had managed to get so close to the game thatone shot alone would be necessary to bring the animal down.

  Of course, when their presence was discovered, the buffalo would startoff at as brisk a pace as possible, in order to escape from his humanenemies. They believed, however, the animal must be nearly tired outfrom breasting the deep drifts so long, and that its burst of speedcould not last any great while.

  If it became absolutely necessary, they were prepared to riskeverything on a long-distance shot, and the hope of wounding theanimal. This would hasten its halting at least, when it could bedispatched at their pleasure, even though they used knife and hatchetto accomplish this.

  Roger must have been greatly impressed with what Dick had said to him,for he remained perfectly still after that, at least so far as givingvoice to his feelings was concerned.

  Dick had pushed on ahead of his cousin, as he had announced he intendedto do on account of holding one of the loaded guns. Side by side withMayhew he now advanced along the fresh trail. Even a novice could seethat some animal must have passed only a few minutes before, for therewere places where snow actually fell over into the tracks, as thoughit had been balanced on the edge of the depression.

  The anxious waiting that almost made them sick at heart ended at last.Dick caught a scuffling sound that came from beyond the next line ofbushes. Something was moving there, and he could easily imagine thatthe hungry buffalo, scenting some sort of grass under the snow, mightbe trying to get down to it.

  Bending lower still, they pushed on, with eyes glued on the spot wherethose significant sounds came from. In another minute they would beable to look over the tops of the bushes and see what lay beyond. Then,if all was well, a lucky shot would procure them the meat of which theywere in such desperate need.

  No one made a sound so far as Dick could tell, so it could not havebeen that which gave warning to the suspicious buffalo. Perhaps a shiftin the wind carried some taint of their presence to his sensitivenostrils and aroused his fears.

  However that might be, Dick heard a sudden snort, and then there camea shout of dismay from Roger, who, standing more erect than the rest,must have been able to see what was going on beyond the bushes.

  "He's on the run, Dick! Oh! hurry, and shoot, or he will get away fromus!"

  As Dick and Mayhew cleared the bushes with great bounds they saw thebuffalo plunging into a deep drift and scattering the snow in everydirection. But what thrilled the two hunters was the fact that, indashing headlong into the drift, the beast had entered a trap fromwhich escape would not be easy.