CHAPTER XIII
ON THE BILLOWY PRAIRIE
DURING this day there was hardly a stretch of half an hour but Dick andRoger made some new and interesting discovery. Now it was a little herdof antelope that, scenting the presence of human enemies on the wind,sprang from the grass where they had been lying, and went off withgraceful bounds that awoke the ardent admiration of Dick, while Rogeraimed his gun after them, though he was not foolish enough to wasteprecious ammunition when his good sense told him he had not a ghost ofa show to bring the game down.
A little later they stumbled upon a village of prairie dogs, the firsteither of the boys had ever set eyes on. In fact, the first sign theyhad of the settlement was when one of the horses broke through into aburrow, and came near throwing its rider, or breaking a leg.
Then there was a great clatter as scores of the queer little fellowsstarted to bark, and then vanish inside their burrows, from which theylater cautiously thrust their noses, curious to see what these strangeintruders were like.
"Better slow down to a walk until we are clear of this place," warnedDick, as he suited his action to his words. "Did you ever see such asight, Roger? There must be thousands of these little chaps aroundhere; and hear the fierce way they bark at us before they run indoors."
"I wonder if they are good to eat?" asked the practical Roger, for theelk meat was all gone, and he had begun to wonder what they might findnext.
"I'm sure I don't know," his cousin replied; "and I wouldn't like totry before I saw some one else eat one. The Indians are very fond ofbaked dog, you know; but I never heard that it was this breed. Bettergive that idea up, Roger; a little later we may find a chance to knockover one of those fast-running antelope, or else get a young buffalocalf for a change."
"That sounds good enough for me," remarked the other; "and so I thinkI'll let the prairie dogs alone just now. But look there, isn't that arattlesnake lying in the sun outside that burrow?"
"Just what it is," Dick answered, quickly. "Which reminds me that I'vebeen told that the snakes seem to occupy the burrows along with thedogs. Perhaps they've got some sort of arrangement between them; orelse the prairie dog isn't afraid of the poison of the rattlesnake.See, there's another, yes, and even a third one, much larger than anyof the rest!"
"Ugh! wouldn't I hate to have to walk through this village in thedark!" Roger exclaimed, with a shudder, as they passed several moresnakes lying in the warm sunshine, not at all bothered by the thud ofhorses' hoofs.
"It's a bad job going through it, even on horseback, and in thedaytime," Dick observed, "because you have to watch closely to keepfrom having the animal break through the roof of a burrow; and, firstthing you know, one of those nasty rattlesnakes might be striking atthe horse's legs. It would be a shame to lose so valuable an animal inthat way, when we need them both so badly."
That caused Roger to awaken to the fact that he was not paying as muchattention to his progress through the populous town as he should; and,having had his fears aroused, he now began to keep a close watch forsigns of trouble ahead.
Being thus fully on their guard they were able to reach the border ofthe prairie dog settlement without having met with any disaster; and,the last they saw of it, several of the boldest of the natives hadcrept out of their burrows, and seemed to be "barking them a farewell,"as Roger laughingly said.
While they were jealous concerning their ammunition, hoarding itagainst a possible emergency, they seldom lost an opportunity to wet aline in the great river, whenever their camp was close by the bank.
Roger always carried hooks and lines along with him, so that on thepresent occasion he was well equipped to capture all the finny prizesthey needed for food.
Many a night, while Dick slept, the other would sit on the riverbank, with his line in his hand, waiting for a bite, and seldom didhis vigilance go unrewarded, so that they had fish for breakfast onnumerous occasions.
It happened that once again they discovered a place where undoubtedlythe expedition they were following must have waited over night. Therewere the plain tracks of horses' hoofs, and also the ashes of severalfires, for, being in such numbers, the explorers of the Missouri didnot feel compelled to hide whenever they made camp, in order to keeptheir location a secret from spying eyes.
Of course Roger asked his companion to try to find out from varioussigns, which could be readily picked up, whether they were now anycloser to the column than on that other occasion, when they rested inthe abandoned camp of the explorers.
This Dick did in a most thorough fashion, and, after concluding hislabors, he announced it as his belief that they had indeed gainedanother day.
"Is that all?" remarked Roger, evidently disappointed; and from hismanner one might believe he had expected to hear Dick say they wouldovertake Captain Lewis by another day or so.
"On my part," declared Dick, "I think that we are doing as well as weought to expect. All I ask is that things go right along as they havebeen doing. We are seeing some wonderful sights while we keep on themove each day. And, besides, you forget, Roger, that the sooner wecome up with the expedition, the sooner we must be taking the backtrail. Now that we're away out here in this strange country I'd like tosee all I can of it."
"Yes, that's so," Roger replied, nodding his head to show that he quiteagreed with his cousin; "and, do you know, Dick, if only we could findsome safe way to get that paper home, after it has been signed byJasper Williams, I'd like nothing better than to keep right on withCaptain Lewis, and go with him all the way to the ocean. Oh! what aglorious thing that would be; and what strange sights we would see whenwe got to the mountains we've heard so much about, that they say reachfar up into the clouds, and abound in all sorts of game, such as can befound nowhere else."
Dick himself heaved a sigh, on hearing his companion speak in that way.
"Yes, that would be almost too good for us to enjoy, Roger," he said,"much as we might wish it to come true. Our first duty is to make surethat the paper gets to our grandfather, since so much depends on it.I wouldn't take any chance about its safe delivery, because we wouldnever forgive ourselves if it went astray."
"But, Dick, if we found that Captain Lewis meant to dispatch some ofhis men over the back trail, with an important message of his own,telling President Jefferson what success he had met with so far,couldn't we trust the paper in their charge?"
"Well, we won't discuss that unless the opportunity comes," theother remarked; for, to tell the truth, the temptation was almostirresistible, even to steady, reliable Dick Armstrong. Both boyspossessed a strong yearning for exploration, and during their varioushunts they had sought out new fields in every direction, whenever itwas at all possible.
Another temptation had come to Roger with almost every hour of the day.This was the presence of innumerable prairie hens that were flying upfrom the long grass in every direction, as the horses passed along.
Roger kept his bow and arrows handy, and was frequently tempted to makeuse of them in trying for some of these plump and edible fowl, whichoften presented what looked like easy shots; but Dick was for hurrying,and did not wish to delay, at any time, long enough for his companionto creep up on the "chickens."
But when they rested at noon, or in the early evening stopped to makecamp, Roger would be denied his pleasure no longer, but started tostalk some of the ever present birds.
Nor was success wanting, for he succeeded in sending his featheredshafts through a brace of plump hens, which they managed to cook overa fire that was built in a hole dug in the ground, so that the flamemight not be seen afar and draw the attention they sought to avoid.
Another day saw them crossing a wide stretch of the prairie, to avoida slough that seemed to extend for many miles along the border of theriver.
It had been a rather warm day, and several times they had eyed theheavens, as if half expecting that the clouds would gather and senddown a deluge of rain. Up to now they had been singularly fortunate inhaving escaped many storms, and it chanc
ed that those that did come hadfound the young explorers in some snug shelter. To be caught out on theopen might not turn out to be such a pleasant thing for them.
Although they had now been on the march for weeks, neither of theboys seemed to feel in any way anxious for their journey to end, savethat Roger's impatience occasionally leaped beyond bounds; for he keptwondering whether they would find Jasper Williams after all, and theirmission prove a success.
There were so many new sights to look upon as they went on, thatit seemed as though they were continually expecting novel things.Around the settlement it had been pretty much all woods, so that thiswonderful prairie was a source of never-ending delight to both lads,filling them with something of the same awe that one who is accustomedto the interior feels when first he sets eyes on the great ocean.
"I hope, though, we can make the river by to-morrow," Roger was sayingwhen the sun seemed to be well down in the sky, and it looked certainthat they were to make camp again in the open.
"Chances are that it lies away over yonder, where you can just see afringe of something that must be trees," Dick observed, pointing as hespoke.
"And miles away at that, so there's no use in trying for it to-day,"Roger said.
He was feeling a little provoked, for, after begging his companion tohold up half an hour for him, when he thought he saw a chance to stalka small band of antelopes that afternoon, Roger had spent considerabletime and energy in creeping through the grass, and getting behind a_motte_ of timber that grew around some little slough, only to see thetimid animals flying away when he thought he must be close enough touse his bow.
He had taken revenge, however, in shooting several prairie chickens,although, having once "made up his mouth" for venison, this was apoor substitute, good eating though the birds had proved on the otheroccasion.
"It lies to the west of us," Dick chanced to say, as they looked towardthe low fringe along the horizon which, as he had said, must be trees,and evidently bordering the river.
Later, Dick had occasion to congratulate himself that he had takennotice of the exact quarter where those trees seemed to lie, as he sawthem just before sunset.
Once again they dug a hole, in which Roger expected to cook the prairiefowl which had fallen to his skill as an archer. Dick saw to thestaking of the two horses, and made them additionally secure.
The clouds still hung overhead, and it would be strange if the nightpassed, he believed, without some sort of storm breaking over theprairie. The boys began to wish that they had their Indian tent along,for, old though it was, in a heavy downpour not a drop of waterpenetrated it.
Dick made preparations looking to a change of base if the threateningstorm proved severe. He insisted that the bundles be kept almostintact, so that they could be fastened on the backs of the horseswithout the customary delay. That proved to be another fortunate moveon the part of the boy, and for which he had much cause to be thankful.
The supper was finally prepared, though the fire had to be made asbefore from dead grass and dry buffalo chips, and was anything but ajoy to Roger, accustomed as he had always been to plenty of good fuel.
Though they might have had the benefit of a fair moon but for theclouds, the latter were so dense that the night seemed inky dark. Theusual noises of crickets and katydids and other insects appeared to behushed, so that a strange silence rested on the wide expanse aroundthem.
They were tired, and lay down soon after eating, not knowing how longthey would have a chance to sleep before the coming of the stormdisturbed them again. Dick, in fact, hardly expected to even doze, forhe felt that some sort of watch should be kept; but, after lying therea while, his eyes gradually closed, and almost before he was aware ofwhat was coming he went to sleep.
Neither of the boys ever knew how much time passed in this way whenthey were aroused by the growling of thunder, as they believed; and,sitting up, Dick called out to his companion:
"It's coming at last, Roger!"
"Yes, I heard it; but what are we going to do?" answered the other,fretfully; for the prospect of getting a wet jacket was not veryinviting.
"We'll have to stand it, I guess; grin and bear it, as father says,"Dick returned, being much more philosophical than Roger.
"But some of our bundles will be soaked," declared Roger.
"We can't help that; and I've made sure to wrap our extra ammunitionin the waterproof cloth, so as to save it. Both of us have our hornsfilled with powder, which will be sure to keep dry, no matter how weare drenched. I think I could jump into the river, and stay there anhour, without a drop getting into that good old horn father gave melong ago, and which he used himself when a boy."
In this fashion did Dick seek to buoy up the low spirits of hiscompanion.
"It's getting closer, Dick, and that thunder is rattling pretty steady,seems to me. I'm sorry for both of us, because we're due for a fineducking. I hope the horses don't get frightened, if the storm is abad one, and break their ropes. Hadn't we better bring them in closeby, Dick? Looks like we've got to worry over our mounts, one way oranother, right along. First it's Indians stealing them; then the chanceof some panther jumping the beasts for a meal; and now a stampede, ifthe lightning flashes too brightly, or the thunder breaks over us witha roar. How about it, Dick?"
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to get them in here, and keep hold of theropes," the other replied; "horses are always more contented if theyfind themselves near human beings in a storm, so I've heard. So comeon, then!"
They were now on their feet. The blackness of the night still heldgood, only every little while a flash of lightning along the horizonwhence the storm was coming dispelled it for a brief interval, whenthey could see a long distance away.
Just as they started to get the horses Dick noticed that the distantrumbling sound had grown heavier. Suddenly he stood still, and clutchedthe sleeve of his companion's tunic.
"Roger, perhaps that isn't thunder we hear, after all!" he exclaimed,with a catch in his voice, as though the presence of some new and neverbefore experienced danger influenced him.
"Why, what could it be then?" demanded the other, instantly.
"Oh! look! look yonder!" cried Dick.
Just then another friendly flash of lightning illuminated the heavens,and for the space of several seconds the prairie was lighted up almostlike day. And the two pioneer boys, staring toward the region where thestorm seemed brooding, saw a spectacle that chilled their blood, it wasso wonderful, so full of tremendous possibilities for evil!
The Pioneer Boys of the Missouri; or, In the Country of the Sioux Page 16