by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VI
HOPEFUL NEWS
When all the arrangements had been made for the departure of the raft,Will Harland said to Antonio: "Do you think that it will be absolutelyimpossible to approach the hacienda by daylight?"
"It could not be done, senor, and, indeed, I don't see that any goodcould come of it, for even if we could get in unobserved, there would beno one of whom we could ask questions or find out anything as to whathas taken place. It is just possible that in the confusion of the attacksome of the peons employed in the house, the stables, or our huts mayhave escaped and hidden themselves. The Indians are good searchers, butjust at first they would be anxious to make their success as complete aspossible, and doubtless a large party rode up the valley at once whilethe others started down it. It was important that they should surprisethe men with the various herds before they could gather together, foreven if twenty or thirty could have rallied they would have made a hardfight of it before they lost their scalps. Therefore, any who escaped inthe attack on the house may have hidden themselves from the firstsearch, and we may possibly come across them at night. They wouldassuredly never leave their hiding-places until darkness had fallen.
"I have some hopes of Sancho. If anyone has got out safe he has. He hada good deal of experience in Indian fighting some fifteen years ago,when he was farther east, and is sure to have his wits about him. He wasat our hut when I came along this morning. As you know, he got hurt by ayoung bull in the yard ten days since. He was nearly well again, but thepadre said he had better keep quiet for another day or two. I fancy thathe was the only man there except the peons, for it is a busy time. Atthe first war-whoop he heard he would make for shelter, for he wouldknow that it was no use his trying to fight the whole tribe. There is athick patch of brush twenty or thirty yards from the huts. I expect thathe would make for that straight. There is a tank in the middle that wasused at one time, but the water was always muddy, and the master had afresh one made handy to the huts, and since then the path to the oldtank has been overgrown, and no one ever goes there. If Francisco isalive, he is lying in that pond under the bushes that droop over it allround."
"He would not be able to give us any information as to what was done inthe house."
"No, senor. But he would be of great assistance to us if we follow thered-skins. He is up to all their ways, and is a good shot with therifle. At any rate, if we go down to the house I should like to try tofind him. We have been comrades a good many years now."
"Certainly, Antonio, you shall see if you can find him. He is a goodfellow, and, as you say, would be of great assistance to us. Do youthink that we could make a circuit and come down on the river again twoor three miles higher up, and cross there and get anywhere near thehouse?"
"We might do it, senor, but as we cannot get near enough to do any good,I think we should be wrong to move from here. You may be sure thatthere are some of the red-skins hiding on the opposite bank, keeping asharp watch on us. If any of us were to ride away, one of them wouldcarry the news at once, and they would be on the look-out for us. If weall stay here till it is dark, they would suppose that we have all gonedown with the rafts. That will be good for the rafts, too, for theIndians would be unlikely to attack them, believing that there were somefifteen or twenty men with guns on them; and, in the next place, theywill think that they are clear of us altogether and be less cautiousthan they might be if they were to suppose that we were still in theirneighbourhood."
"You are right, Antonio, and I will try and be patient."
As soon as it was dark the little party of fifteen men started, movingas noiselessly as possible. They rode two miles up the river to a pointwhere Antonio said they were opposite a path by which they could keepalong at the foot of the hills until in a line with the hacienda.
"You don't think that there is any fear of there being any red-skins onthe farther side?"
"Not the slightest, senor. Long before this they will have their fireslighted and be gorging themselves with meat. They know how small ourforce is, and will never dream of our venturing back into their midst."
As they rode into the river they slipped off their horses as the latterbegan to swim, holding on with one hand, and with the other keepingtheir guns, pistols, and ammunition above the water. The river at thispoint was some two hundred yards wide, and flowing with a quiet current.In a few minutes they were across. Antonio soon discovered the path,and, following it, they rode in single file for an hour. Then theyreached a spot where there was an opening among the trees, and Antoniosaid that they were abreast of the hacienda, which was some four milesaway; the building itself was not visible, but the number of fires whichblazed round it was a sufficient indication of its position. At variousother points up and down the valley fires also blazed, but there wasnone much nearer their side of the valley than those round the hacienda.
"Do you mean to go with me, senor?"
"Certainly I mean to go. How had it best be done?"
"I should say that we had better ride to within two miles; it would notbe safe to go with so large a party nearer than that; then we will takeone of the others with us to hold our horses, and, going at a foot-pace,we might get within half a mile of the house without their hearing us.There will be a good deal of movement in the valley; the cattle will berestless, having been chased all day, and the herds broken up, so Ithink that we can reckon on getting pretty close. Then we will goforward on foot. We had better make for the huts first; you see, theIndians are thick round the house; I don't think there is any chance ofanyone being saved there, because that would be the first point ofattack. If we do not find Sancho, possibly we may come upon one or twoof the peons, who would be likely enough to make for the same shelter;if not, we can try round the stables. Still, I am afraid there is nochance of hearing what has happened at the house--I mean, whether thesenorita is killed or a prisoner. If there is no other way we must gethold of an Indian and kill him; I will then dress up in his clothes, andsee if I can get into the house. As there are two tribes engaged, onewould have more chance of passing unsuspected than if they all knew eachother personally. At any rate, it must be risked. I know the Indian wayspretty well, and might pass muster, but you would have no chance,senor."
When they dismounted Antonio said:
"We had better leave our jackets and sombreros here; their outline wouldshow on the darkest night that we were not Indians."
Before leaving the raft Will had obtained from one of the head men apair of the Mexican fringed leggings, as their own white trousers wouldbetray him at once, and now, with a dark blanket thrown over hisshoulder, he might at a short distance be easily mistaken for an Indian.He had already left his riding-boots behind him, and had obtained a pairof moccasins from one of the peons.
"I will lead the way, senor, as I know every foot of the ground,"Antonio said.
Moving along noiselessly they came down upon the huts of the whiteemployes of the hacienda. As there were no fires burning here, they hadbut slight fear of encountering any of the Indians. Each, however,carried a long knife ready for instant action. They had left theirrifles and pistols behind them, for if it was necessary to fight, thecombat must be a silent one.
They crossed to the clump of bushes of which Antonio had spoken.
"You stop outside, senor; it is of no use two of us making our way intothe tangle."
As he parted the bushes before entering, a slight sound was heard.
"Good! there is someone here," he muttered; and then, making his way afew paces forward, he uttered Sancho's name. There was no reply, and herepeated it in a louder tone. At once there was a low reply: "Here am I.Is it you, Tonio?"
"Yes; I have come to look for you. I thought you would have made abee-line here as soon as you heard the red-skins."
"You were right, and there are two peons here. We were just going tostart to make our way down to the river. Are you alone?"
"I have the young senor with me."
"That is good. I was afraid that we
had all been wiped out."
In a couple of minutes the four men emerged from the bushes.
"I am glad to see that you are safe, Sancho," Will said warmly. "Now canyou tell me what has happened?"
"I know nothing whatever, senor. I was eating my breakfast when I hearda sudden yell, and knew that it was the Apache war-whoop, and that theremust be a big force of them. There was evidently no fighting to be done,so I caught up my rifle and pistols and made for the bush. These twopeons who were outside followed me. I told them to hide as best theycould, and I went on into the pool, found a good place under some thickbushes, hid my powder-horn and weapons handy for use close by, and laydown with my head out of water, listening. Already they were down at thehuts, and I heard the cries of the peons they caught there. Luckily Iwas the only Mexican above. A few shots were fired up at the hacienda,and I thought I heard screams, but, owing to the yells of the Indians, Icould not be sure. Presently it all died away. I don't fancy theysuspected that anyone had got away, the attack being so sudden; at anyrate, they made no search here. I made up my mind to lie down till mostof them would be asleep and then to make for the river, and I told thepeons that we must each shift for ourselves, as we had more chances ofgetting away singly than if together." All this was spoken in a lowvoice.
"The principal thing that I wanted to ask you is, do you know whetherthe senorita was killed, or whether they have kept her to carry off?But, of course, you don't know."
"They would not kill her," the man said confidently; "but so far as Iknow, they have not even caught her. I was at the stables maybe half anhour before the senorita came down and had her horse saddled. She had abasket with her, and told me she was going to ride up the valley to thatwigwam that remained when the Indians went away, carrying as much meatas their ponies could take. There were an old Indian and his wife leftthere--she had got a fever or something, and was too ill to travel, andthe senorita was going to take a basket of food and some medicine thatthe padre had made up for the old man. I have been thinking of her allday. I should say she was coming back when the red-skins rode up thevalley after the cattle. She could hardly have helped seeing them, and Iwondered whether she would take to the trees and ride on this way untilafter they had passed, or whether she had turned and ridden on. If shedid the first, she is pretty sure to have been captured when she gotdown near home; if she went the other way, she gave them a mighty longchase, for there is not a horse on the estate as fast as hers, and asfor the Indian ponies, she could leave them behind as if they werestanding still."
"Thank God, there is a hope, then!" Will exclaimed. "Now we must movefarther off and chat it over."
When they had gone a quarter of a mile from the house they stopped.Antonio told the two peons that the rafts had started fully two hoursbefore. "The current is only about a mile and a half an hour, and if youcross the river and keep on, you ought to catch them up before morning,and can then swim off to them. Don't keep this side of the river, thereare red-skins on the bank; but if you stay on this side of the valley,among the trees, down to the river, you will meet none of them. We havecome that way."
The peons at once started.
"Now, senor, will you go on to where the horses are? Sancho and I willgo back to the house; he understands the Apache language. We will crawlup near the fires, and I should think that we are pretty certain to hearif they have caught the senorita or not. However, we may be some time,so do not be anxious, and don't move if you hear a sudden row, for wemight miss you in the dark. We shall make straight to this tree, and fora bit my horse must carry double; you had better hand your jacket toSenor Harland, Sancho, and take his blanket."
"How far are the horses?"
"There are three of them about two hundred yards farther on."
"I will go there first, then," the man said. "This is a terriblebusiness, senor."
"Terrible, indeed. I am afraid there is no doubt that Donna Sarasta haslost her life."
"I reckon," the man said, "that except ourselves and any you may havewith you, there ain't a dozen alive in the valley; it is a clean wipeout. I never knew a worse surprise. How about the party by the river?"
Antonio related what had taken place there.
"Well, that is something saved," he said, "and with sixteen of us allwell armed we can manage to make a decent fight of it. We must getanother horse, but that won't be very difficult; most of the others aresure to have their lassos with them, there are a score of horses runningloose on the plains, and they cannot have roped them all in yet."
When they reached the horses he went on: "You had better stop here,Tonio; you are not accustomed, as I am, to them Injuns, and as you don'tknow much of their lingo, you would not understand much of their talk. Iwould much rather go alone."
"All right, old man!" the other said.
"Now for my toilet," Sancho went on; and, going up to one of the horses,he pricked it with his knife. "Steady, boy, steady!" he said, as thehorse plunged.
"It is for your good as well as mine, for you would not find life in anIndian village as pleasant as the life you have been used to." He dippedhis fingers in the blood, drew a broad line across his forehead andround his eyes, placed a patch on his cheek; then he cut off twohandfuls of long hair from the animal's tail, tied these together withstring and fastened them in his hair, so that the horse-hair fell downon to his shoulder on each side and partially hid his face.
"It is rough," he said, "but it will pass in the darkness. It is luckyyou have got a 'Pache blanket; that will help me wonderfully."
"Yes; I bought it from the Indians when they traded here a few weekssince. The man I got it of said that he had traded a good pony for itwhen he was hunting in the spring on the other side of the river."
"I will take your rifle, Tonio," Sancho said. "I must either have thator a bow and arrow. Now, good-bye!"
Without another word he turned and strolled away towards the hacienda.It was nearly two hours before he returned.
"The senorita has got away so far," he said. "The red-skins came acrossher half-way up the valley; she turned and rode straight up; a dozenwell-mounted men were sent after her. I heard that they sent so manybecause they were afraid that they might fall in with a party of theGenigueh Indians, who would certainly attack them at once."
"Thank God!" Will exclaimed fervently. "There is a chance of saving her,after all, for if they overtake her--and they won't do that for sometime--we can attack them as they come back again."
"Now let us join the others at once, and make up the valley."
During the time Sancho had been away he had been questioning Antonio asto the extent of the valley.
"It goes a long way into the heart of the mountains, senor, but none ofus know it beyond what we have learned from the Indians, for we werestrictly forbidden to go beyond the boundary for fear of disturbing thegame in the Indian country. They say that it runs three hours' fastriding beyond our bounds. After that it becomes a mere ravine, but itcan be followed up to the top of the hill, and from there across a wildcountry, until at last the track comes down on a ford on the Colorado.From there there is a track leading west at the foot of the SanFrancisco Mountain, and coming down on the Little Colorado, close to theMoquis country."
"How far would that be from here?" Will asked.
"I have never been across there, senor, and I doubt whether any whiteman has--not on that line. I should think that from what the Indians sayit must be some fifty miles from the end of our part of the valley tothe ford of the Colorado, and from there to the Little Colorado it mustbe one hundred and fifty miles in a straight line, perhaps two hundredby the way the track goes--that is to say, if there is a track thatanyone can follow. These tracks mostly run pretty straight, so that Ishould say that it would be about as far to the Moquis country as itwould be to San Diego from here; however, we may be sure that we are notgoing to make such a journey as that; the Apaches are not likely tofollow her farther than the end of this valley, or at most to theColorado ford."
As they rode along Will learned from Sancho how he had obtained thenews.
"There was no difficulty about that," the other said carelessly. "Iwaited till the fires were a bit low, and then sauntered about nearthose of a party of the Tejunas, and heard them talking about it. Ilearned that they had, as they believed, wiped out all our people exceptthose who crossed the river on rafts, and the senorita, though theyallowed that a few of the men with the herds might have got away, andthey were going to search the valley thoroughly to-morrow. Not a soul inthe hacienda escaped. The red-skins were exultant over the amount ofbooty they had taken, and were glad that the cattle were amplysufficient for both tribes, so that there would be no cause for disputeas to the division; and were specially pleased with the stores of flourand goods of all kinds in the magazines."
When they joined the main body Sancho was heartily welcomed by hiscomrades, who were delighted to hear that there was at least a chance ofsaving the senorita, of whom all hands on the estate were fond. It wasarranged at once that Sancho should ride by turns behind the others, andthen they started at a gallop up the valley, keeping close within theedge of the trees that covered the hillside.