In the Hands of the Cave-Dwellers

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER IX

  RESCUED

  He threw himself down on the platform, which was entirely deserted, andlay there for five minutes; then he unwound the coil of leather-thong,and threw the weighted end over. He knew that he had allowed amplelength, and drew it in until he felt a slight strain; then came threejerks. The party below had hold of the thong; two more jerks told thatthey had fastened the end of the lariat to it; in a couple of minutes itwas in his hands. There was a parapet some eighteen inches high alongthe edge of the platform, intended doubtless to prevent the childrenfrom falling over. Seeing no place to which he could fasten the lariat,he tied it round the middle of the two poles, laid these on the groundclose to the parapet, put his feet upon them, and then leaned over. Twopulls on the lariat told him that the next man was tied on, and he beganat once to haul upon it. He found the weight much less than he hadexpected. Not only was the vaquero short and wiry, but he was using bothhis hands and feet with such effect that in five minutes he stood besideWill.

  The work went on quickly now. One after another the men were pulled up,and in less than an hour all were assembled on the platform, where, savethree engaged in pulling their comrades up, they had laid down as soonas they reached it. Will had been glad to relinquish the work to others,for his hands were cut and bleeding. He had crawled along, keeping bythe wall of rock until he reached the point where the bulge or bend inthe face of the cliff enabled him to see to the other end of theplatform. To his surprise not a soul was visible, but, peering over theparapet, he saw four figures standing as sentinels at the points wherethere were breaks in the path, and the moonlight enabled him to make outthat the ladders had been pulled up and laid beside them.

  He could hear a confused hum of voices from the principal cave, but,though most anxious to know what was going on there, he dared notventure farther until all the men were up, as anyone coming out of thecave would at once see him. He therefore rejoined the others. Each manas he came up gave him a silent grip of the hand, and the Indian chiefmuttered something which Sancho whispered meant "heap great brave". Assoon as the last man was up they moved silently forward. Every man knewthe part he had to play. Sancho and three others crept forward on handsand knees, under shelter of the parapet, to the other end of theplatform, where they were to await the signal, the rest halting at thefront of the main entrance to the cave.

  Here a sight met their eyes that filled them with horror. The entranceopened into a wide hall, which was lighted by a dozen torches. At thefarther end was a hideous idol carved from a solid rock; in front ofthis was a sort of altar, upon which lay a figure, which they at oncerecognized as that of Donna Clara. Beside her stood two men, naked tothe waist, with their bodies painted with strange figures. They hadknives in their hands, and, rocking themselves to and fro, were utteringsome sort of prayer or incantation.

  "You take the fellow to the left, Antonio, I will take the other."

  THE FIGHT IN THE CAVE]

  The shots rang out together--the distance was but sixteen or seventeenyards--and without a cry the two priests or executioners fell dead. Aterrible cry of astonishment and dismay broke from the crowd, and beforethey could recover from their surprise, the vaqueros and the twoIndians, headed by Will, burst their way through them. Will had givenstrict orders that there was to be no general firing, as men, women, andchildren were likely to be mixed up together, but as they entered theycaught the sound of four rifles outside, and knew that the sentries hadbeen disposed of. Will caught up the girl, who was evidently insensible,and threw her over his shoulder, and, surrounded by his men, made hisway outside the cave. Here he handed her over to Antonio, who was a verypowerfully built man, and the latter, without a word, started for thesteps.

  "Now, my men," Will shouted, as with cries of fury the Indians followedthem, "don't spare one of these bloodthirsty wretches, but don't touchthe women."

  The fight was short, half the Indians being shot down as they poured outon to the platform; the others, however, maddened by the loss of theirexpected victim and the capture of their stronghold, fought desperatelyto the end, the Mexicans using the butt ends of their rifles, while thesavages fought with knives. After the fight was over, the cave wasthoroughly searched; many of the women had fallen, for they had joinedin the fight as fiercely as the men, and in the darkness and confusionit was impossible to distinguish them apart. The rest, with thechildren, were forced to descend the steps. The ladders had beenreplaced by Sancho and his party, who, having finished their work, hadrun off at once to bring up the horses.

  Clara was still unconscious when they returned. Will mounted, andAntonio handed her to him. Sancho and two of the men accompanied him,while the rest in charge of the captives followed more slowly. Fireswere blazing high at the Moquis village, and it was evident that theattack had been eagerly watched, and that the firing on the platform hadshown that the caves had been taken, for on the still night air camethe sound of horses, drums, and loud shouting. Will at once urged hishorse into the water, his companions swimming by their horses close tohim so as to render assistance, if necessary; but the distance wasshort, and it was not long before the horse felt the bottom again. Thesudden chill of the water had roused the girl from her faint.

  "Where am I?" she murmured.

  "You are safe in my arms," Will said. "We have got you safely out of thehands of those wretches. All danger is over."

  "Is it Will," she asked, "or am I dreaming?"

  "It is I, sure enough, Clara," he said; "and I am glad that for once youhave dropped the don. I followed you with Antonio and Sancho andthirteen other vaqueros. We were joined by the Genigueh chief, Teczuma,and one of his tribe, who have been invaluable in following your track."

  "Holy Virgin, I thank you!" the girl murmured, and then lay silent for atime.

  "Where are you going now?" she asked presently.

  "To the Moquis village, where you will be most kindly received, andwhere we shall stay till you have got your strength again."

  "Zona, my gallant Zona! Is she safe?"

  "Yes. She seemed pretty nearly recovered from her fatigue when we foundher this morning, and will be ready to carry you back again."

  As they approached the hill they saw a number of people coming down thezigzag path, with torches, who welcomed Will on his arrival with loudcries of triumph. The horses could go no farther, as the path, like thatup to the caverns, was at several points cut away, the breaks being inthe daytime filled with long planks. As the girl was altogether unableto walk, some of the boys ran up the hill, and in a quarter of an hourreturned with some poles, with which a litter was speedily improvised.In this she was laid, and four Moquis carried her up the hill, Willwalking beside her and holding her hand. The whole of the villagerswere assembled on the top of the hill, shouting and dancing with joy atthe destruction of their enemies, for Sancho had already made the chiefsaware that all the men had been killed, and the women and the childrenwere being brought in as prisoners.

  The Moquis houses surprised Will, as they had neither windows nor doorson the ground floor, and entrance was only obtainable by a ladder to theupper story. Clara was here handed over to the care of the principalwomen of the village. Half an hour later the rest of the party came upwith the prisoners. These were for the time confined in one of thehouses, two armed Moquis keeping guard over them. The women would,Sancho explained to Will, be used as servants and to fetch water fromthe springs at the foot of the hill. The children would probably beadopted into the tribe.

  It was ten days before Clara was strong enough to think of starting. Shehad for twenty-four hours been in a high fever, but the care lavishedupon her, and her fine constitution, speedily brought her through this,and two days later she was able to see Will.

  "Tell me all that has happened," she said. "I feel sure that mother hasbeen killed, for the valley was full of Indians, and I know that therewere but few men at home."

  "I am afraid that there is no doubt about that," Will said gently. "Wemay be thankful, Clar
a, that your father and Juan were both away, orthey, too, might have fallen."

  Then he related very briefly how those by the river had been saved, howthey had learned from Sancho that she had been away at the end of thevalley, and how they had started in chase; and then, in a few words,told how he had scaled the face of the cliff, had assisted his followersup, and had arrived just in time.

  "I will tell you about my journey another time," she said. "I do notlike to think of the last part of it; we were both worn out, Zona and I,and if we had not come down upon the river we should have both died. Itook a long drink, and then fell down and went to sleep. I was awakenedby being lifted up, and found that I was being carried by two Indians,and that others were all round me. I was too weak even to struggle, butI remember being carried up a very steep path on the face of the cliff.As soon as I was laid down I went to sleep, and I suppose slept allnight. In the morning they gave me food and water, but left me alonetill it was dark again; then they led me into a large cave lit up bytorches, with a horrible idol at the end. They laid me down on a greatstone in front of it, and two men with knives came beside me. Then Isuppose I fainted, and I remember nothing more till I woke up feelingstrangely cold as we were swimming across that river."

  Almost the whole of the inhabitants of the village paid a visit to thecave on the morning after the fight, and when shown the ropes, stillhanging, by which the party had been drawn up, could at first hardlybelieve Sancho and the two Indians who assured them that Will hadclimbed up there unaided. After Clara's illness had taken a turn, andthere was no longer cause for anxiety about her, Will was greatlyinterested in the Moquis village. He was taken into one of theunderground rooms that served as temples, and was horrified at findingthat hundreds of rattlesnakes and other venomous serpents were keptthere, and still more astonished when he saw the priests handle themcarelessly and take them in their mouths. He could not believe that theyhad not been rendered harmless until shown that they still retainedtheir poison-fangs. He was told that once a year there was a greatfestival in which all the men in the village took part and performeddances, holding the snakes in their mouths.

  The villagers endeavoured to show their thankfulness at the destructionof their enemies by profuse hospitality to their guests, and the latterthoroughly enjoyed their stay. On starting on the return journey Clararode with Will, the two vaqueros, and the Indian chief to the foot ofthe cliff, and was shown the spot where Will had climbed up. Afterlooking at it for some time she suddenly burst into tears.

  "It is dreadful even to think of your going up there, Will," she said."I should never have forgiven myself if you had been killed when riskingyour life in that way to save me."

  "You would never have known it," he said.

  "I should have known it," she said earnestly, "when we met in theHereafter."

  The journey home was conducted in easy stages. Wolf, the Indian, and oneof the vaqueros had been sent off the day after Clara rallied from herattack of fever. If they found the Apaches still in the valley, theywere to return to warn them; if not, they were to ride on until they metSenor Sarasta and told him of his daughter's safety.

  When half-way back they met Juan with ten well-armed vaqueros. Themeeting was a joyful one, although saddened by the loss, now confirmed,of their mother.

  "Ah! Will," Juan exclaimed, after his first tender embrace of hissister, "you are tenfold my brother now. You have saved Clara's life aswell as mine; your messengers have told me how you scaled a cliff thatseemed to all of them so impossible that none had the slightest hopethat you could succeed."

  "And how are things in the valley?"

  "Better than might have been hoped. The red-skins only remained threedays; some ten thousand of the cattle have been recovered; many werefound in the woods in the hillsides, more still had gone right up thevalley, and when the red-skins tried to follow them they were assailedwith such showers of arrows by the Geniguehs that they fell back, havingindeed already as many cattle as they could drive away. Two of the menfrom the raft brought us the news to San Diego, and the commandant atonce told off one hundred cavalry to accompany us, and in future a fortis to be built near the hacienda, and fifty soldiers are to be stationedthere. The commandant was rather reluctant to agree to this until he hadreceived orders from government, but on our undertaking to supply thegarrison with bread and meat, he consented, seeing that it would be adistinct saving of expense. So we need have no fear of the red-skinsmeddling with us again. My father has already sent down to Monterey toarrange for the purchase of ten thousand head of cattle from the ranchesthere, so in two or three years we shall be in full working order again.We found twenty of the vaqueros assembled at the hacienda; they hadtaken to the woods at the first attack, and had remained in hiding untilthey found that the red-skins had gone."

  A messenger was at once sent on ahead to inform Senor Sarasta of thetime at which the party would arrive, and he met them at the upper endof the valley. The meeting was an affecting one. After embracing hisdaughter the Mexican threw his arms round Will with as much affection asif he had been his father.

  "I did not think," he said, when the first emotion was over, "when Ileft you in charge that the duty would be such an onerous one, but youhave nobly fulfilled your trust, most nobly, and I thank you from thebottom of my heart."

  On arriving at the hacienda they found that great efforts had been madeto remove all signs of the visit of the Apaches. Donna Sarasta had beenburied in the little chapel near the house. The broken and torn-upshrubs had been replaced, and although inside the rooms were bare, forthe furniture had been hacked to pieces by the red-skins, everything wasspotlessly clean. Will did not enter with Senor Sarasta into the house,but went straight to the stables with the vaqueros and saw his horse andZona cared for. When he went to the house, Don Sarasta and Juan went outto him.

  "We have been talking together, Will," the Mexican said, "and the resultis this: I do not know what your sentiments may be, but I haveascertained those of my daughter. We have been as one family for sevenor eight months. We all wish that we shall continue to be so in reality,and I now offer you formally the hand of my daughter, Donna ClaraSarasta, in marriage. I know that I can intrust her happiness to you,and the match will afford both myself and Juan the most livelysatisfaction."

  "It would be altogether beyond my hopes, senor," Will said, greatlymoved. "I will not deny that I have from the first had a profoundadmiration for your daughter, but I should never have spoken of it,seeing that I am at present a penniless man, and am, indeed, much belowthe age at which we think of marriage in the States."

  The Mexican smiled. "According to Spanish law, and our own policy, thelegal age for marriage is fourteen for the man and twelve for the woman,and although it is not often that marriages take place quite so young asthat, they are very frequent when the man is sixteen and the girlfourteen or fifteen; therefore, that is no obstacle whatever."

  "Then, senor, I accept your generous offer most gladly and thankfully,and shall consider myself the most fortunate man alive in winning such abride as Donna Clara."

  "Well, you had better go in and tell her so," the senor said. "I thinkthat that will be more in accordance with your American customs than forme to go in and formally hand her over to you."

  Three months later a double marriage took place at San Diego. DonSarasta settled a large sum of money upon his daughter, and, with Juan'scordial assent, arranged that at his death the hacienda and ranch, and,indeed, all of his property, should become the joint property of his sonand daughter, with power to make any future division of it that theymight think fit. After remaining a week at San Diego, Will sailed withhis wife to Panama, crossed the isthmus, and took ship to New York,where he astounded his father and mother by presenting to them his wife,and mentioning casually that she had a fortune of $200,000, and wasjoint heiress to estates and property worth at least $2,000,000, whichcaused Mr. Harland, senior, to acknowledge that Will's mania for the seahad not turned out so badly after all.

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  HISTORICAL TALES BY G. A. HENTY

  The Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt.

  For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem.

  The Dragon and the Raven: or, The Days of King Alfred.

  A Knight of the White Cross: The Siege of Rhodes.

  The Lion of St. Mark: A Story of Venice in the 14th Century.

  A March on London: A Story of Wat Tyler.

  At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris.

  St Bartholomew's Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars.

  By England's Aid: or, The Freeing of the Netherlands.

  The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus.

  When London Burned: A Story of the Great Fire.

  A Jacobite Exile: In the Service of Charles XII.

  Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden.

  At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War.

  With Frederick the Great: The Seven Years' War.

  True To the Old Flag: The American War of Independence.

  In the Reign of Terror: The French Revolution.

  A Roving Commission: A Story of the Hayti Insurrection.

  At Aboukir and Acre: Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt.

  Under Wellington's Command: The Peninsular War.

  Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Riots.

  One of the 28th: A Story of Waterloo.

  On the Irrawaddy: A Story of the First Burmese War.

  Maori and Settler: A Story of the New Zealand War.

  By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War.

  Out with Garibaldi: A Story of the Liberation of Italy.

  The Dash for Khartoum: A Tale of the Nile Expedition.

  With Roberts To Pretoria: A Tale of the South African War.

  LONDON: BLACKIE & SON, LIMITED, 50 OLD BAILEY, E.C.