CHAPTER VI
ON THE LITTLE BIG HORN
N Troop, guarding, much to their emphatically expressed disgust, themore slowly moving pack-train, were following Custer's advancing columnof horsemen down the right bank of the Little Big Horn. The troopers,carbines at knee, sitting erect in their saddles, their faces brownedby the hot winds of the plains, were riding steadily northward. Besidethem, mounted upon a rangy chestnut, Brant kept his watchful eyes onthose scattered flankers dotting the summit of the near-by bluff.Suddenly one of these waved his hand eagerly, and the lieutenant wentdashing up the sharp ascent.
"What is it, now, Lane?"
"Somethin' movin' jist out yonder, sir," and the trooper pointed intothe southeast. "They're down in a _coulee_ now, I reckon; but will beup on a ridge agin in a minute. I got sight of 'em twice afore Iwaved."
The officer gazed earnestly in the direction indicated, and was almostimmediately rewarded by the glimpse of some indistinct, dark figuresdimly showing against the lighter background of sky. He brought hisfield-glasses to a focus.
"White men," he announced, shortly. "Come with me."
At a brisk trot they rode out, the trooper lagging a pace to the rear,the watchful eyes of both men sweeping suspiciously across the prairie.The two parties met suddenly upon the summit of a sharp ridge, andBrant drew in his horse with an exclamation of astonishment. It was apathetic spectacle he stared at,--a horse scarcely able to staggerforward, his flanks quivering from exhaustion, his head hanging limplydown; on his back, with feet strapped securely beneath and hands boundto the high pommel, the lips grinning ferociously, perched a misshapencreature clothed as a man. Beside these, hatless, his shoes barelyholding together, a man of slender figure and sunburnt face held thebridle-rein. An instant they gazed at each other, the young officer'seyes filled with sympathetic horror, the other staring apathetically athis rescuer.
"My God! Can this be you, Hampton?" and the startled lieutenant flunghimself from his horse. "What does it mean? Why are you here?"
Hampton, leaning against the trembling horse to keep erect, slowlylifted his hand in a semblance of military salute. "Despatches fromCheyenne. This is Murphy--went crazy out yonder. For God'ssake--water, food!"
"Your canteen, Lane!" exclaimed Brant. "Now hold this cup," and hedashed into it a liberal supply of brandy from a pocket-flask. "Drinkthat all down, Hampton."
The man did mechanically as he was ordered, his hand never relaxing itsgrasp of the rein. Then a gleam of reawakened intelligence appeared inhis eyes; he glanced up into the leering countenance of Murphy, andthen back at those others. "Give me another for him."
Brant handed to him the filled cup, noting as he did so the strangesteadiness of the hand which accepted it. Hampton lifted the tin tothe figure in the saddle, his own gaze directed straight into the eyesas he might seek to control a wild animal.
"Drink it," he commanded, curtly, "every drop!"
For an instant the maniac glared back at him sullenly; then he appearedto shrink in terror, and drank swiftly.
"We can make the rest of the way now," Hampton announced, quietly."Lord, but this has been a trip!"
Lane dismounted at Brant's order, and assisted Hampton to climb intothe vacated saddle. Then the trooper grasped the rein of Murphy'shorse, and the little party started toward where the pack-train washidden in the valley. The young officer rode silent and at a walk, hiseyes occasionally studying the face of the other and noting its drawn,gray look. The very sight of Hampton had been a shock. Why was hehere and with Murphy? Could this strange journey have anything to dowith Naida? Could it concern his own future, as well as hers? He feltno lingering jealousy of this man, for her truthful words had foreversettled that matter. Yet who was he? What peculiar power did he wieldover her life?
"Is Custer here?" said Hampton.
"No; that is, not with my party. We are guarding the pack-train. Theothers are ahead, and Custer, with five troops, has moved to the right.He is somewhere among those ridges back of the bluff."
The man turned and looked where the officer pointed, shading his eyeswith his hand. Before him lay only the brown, undulating waves ofupland, a vast desert of burnt grass, shimmering under the hot sun.
"Can you give me a fresh horse, a bite to eat, and a cup of coffee,down there?" he asked, anxiously. "You see I 've got to go on."
"Go on? Good God! man, do you realize what you are saying? Why, youcan hardly sit the saddle! You carry despatches, you say? Well, thereare plenty of good men in my troop who will volunteer to take them on.You need rest."
"Not much," said Hampton. "I'm fit enough, or shall be as soon as Iget food. Good Lord, boy, I am not done up yet, by a long way! It'sthe cursed loneliness out yonder," he swept his hand toward thehorizon, "and the having to care for him, that has broken my heart. Hewent that way clear back on the Powder, and it's been a fight betweenus ever since. I 'll be all right now if you lads will only look afterhim. This is going to reach Custer, and I'll take it!" He flung backhis ragged coat, his hand on the despatch-bag. "I 've earned theright."
Brant reached forth his hand cordially. "That's true; you have.What's more, if you 're able to make the trip, there is no one here whowill attempt to stop you. But now tell me how this thing happened. Iwant to know the story before we get in."
For a moment Hampton remained silent, his thoughtful gaze on thenear-by videttes, his hands leaning heavily upon the saddle pommel.Perhaps he did not remember clearly; possibly he could not instantlydecide just how much of that story to tell. Brant suspected this lastto be his difficulty, and he spoke impulsively.
"Hampton, there has been trouble and misunderstanding between us, butthat's all past and gone now. I sincerely believe in your purpose ofright, and I ask you to trust me. Either of us would give his life ifneed were, to be of real service to a little girl back yonder in thehills. I don't know what you are to her; I don't ask. I know she hasevery confidence in you, and that is enough. Now, I want to do what isright with both of you, and if you have a word to say to me regardingthis matter, I 'll treat it confidentially. This trip with Murphy hassome bearing upon Naida Gillis, has it not?"
"Yes."
"Will you tell me the story?"
The thoughtful gray eyes looked at him long and searchingly. "Brant,do you love that girl?"
Just as unwaveringly the blue eyes returned the look. "I do. I haveasked her to become my wife."
"And her answer?"
"She said no; that a dead man was between us."
"Is that all you know?"
The younger man bent his head, his face grave and perplexed."Practically all."
Hampton wet his dry lips with his tongue, his breath quickening.
"And in that she was right," he said at last, his eyes lowered to theground. "I will tell you why. It was the father of Naida Gillis whowas convicted of the murder of Major Brant."
"Oh, my father? Is she Captain Nolan's daughter? But you say'convicted.' Was there ever any doubt? Do you question his beingguilty?"
Hampton pointed in silence to the hideous creature behind them. "Thatman could tell, but he has gone mad."
Brant endeavored to speak, but the words would not come; his brainseemed paralyzed. Hampton held himself under better control.
"I have confidence, Lieutenant Brant, in your honesty," he began,gravely, "and I believe you will strive to do whatever is best for her,if anything should happen to me out yonder. But for the possibility ofmy being knocked out, I would n't talk about this, not even to you.The affair is a long way from being straightened out so as to make apleasant story, but I 'll give you all you actually require to know inorder to make it clear to her, provided I shouldn't come back. Yousee, she doesn't know very much more than you do--only what I wasobliged to tell to keep her from getting too deeply entangled with you.Maybe I ought to have given her the full story before I started on thistrip. I 've since wished I had, but you see, I never dreamed i
t wasgoing to end here, on the Big Horn; besides, I did n't have the nerve."
He swept his heavy eyes across the brown and desolate prairie, and backto the troubled face of the younger man. "You see, Brant, I feel thatI simply have to carry these despatches through. I have a pride ingiving them to Custer myself, because of the trouble I 've had ingetting them here. But perhaps I may not come back, and in that casethere would n't be any one living to tell her the truth. That thoughthas bothered me ever since I pulled out of Cheyenne. It seems to methat there is going to be a big fight somewhere in these hills beforelong. I 've seen a lot of Indians riding north within the last fourdays, and they were all bucks, rigged out in war toggery, Sioux andCheyennes. Ever since we crossed the Fourche those fellows have beenin evidence, and it's my notion that Custer has a heavier job on hishands, right at this minute, than he has any conception of. So I wantto leave these private papers with you until I come back. It willrelieve my mind to know they are safe; if I don't come, then I want youto open them and do whatever you decide is best for the little girl.You will do that, won't you?"
He handed over a long manila envelope securely sealed, and the youngerman accepted it, noticing that it was unaddressed before depositing itsafely in an inner pocket of his fatigue jacket.
"Certainly, Hampton," he said. "Is that all?"
"All except what I am going to tell you now regarding Murphy. There isno use my attempting to explain exactly how I chanced to find out allthese things, for they came to me little by little during severalyears. I knew Nolan, and I knew your father, and I had reason to doubtthe guilt of the Captain, in spite of the verdict of the jury thatcondemned him. In fact, I knew at the time, although it was not in mypower to prove it, that the two principal witnesses against Nolan lied.I thought I could guess why, but we drifted apart, and finally I lostall track of every one connected with the affair. Then I happened topick up that girl down in the canyon beyond the Bear Water, and pulledher out alive just because she chanced to be of that sex, and I couldn't stand to see her fall into Indian clutches. I did n't feel anyspecial interest in her at the time, supposing she belonged to OldGillis, but she somehow grew on me--she's that kind, you know; and whenI discovered, purely by accident, that she was Captain Nolan's girl,but that it all had been kept from her, I just naturally made up mymind I 'd dig out the truth if I possibly could, for her sake. Thefact is, I began to think a lot about her--not the way you do, youunderstand; I'm getting too old for that, and have known too much aboutwomen,--but maybe somewhat as a father might feel. Anyhow, I wanted togive her a chance, a square deal, so that she would n't be ashamed ofher own name if ever she found out what it was."
He paused, his eyes filled with memories, and passed his hand throughhis uncovered hair.
"About that time I fell foul of Murphy and Slavin there in Glencaid,"he went on quickly, as if anxious to conclude. "I never got my eyes onMurphy, you know, and Slavin was so changed by that big red beard thatI failed to recognize him. But their actions aroused my suspicions,and I went after them good and hard. I wanted to find out what theyknew, and why those lies were told on Nolan at the trial. I had anidea they could tell me. So, for a starter, I tackled Slavin,supposing we were alone, and I was pumping the facts out of himsuccessfully by holding a gun under his nose, and occasionally jogginghis memory, when this fellow Murphy got excited, and _chasseed_ intothe game, but happened to nip his partner instead of me. In the courseof our little scuffle I chanced to catch a glimpse of the fellow'sright hand, and it had a scar on the back of it that looked mightyfamiliar. I had seen it before, and I wanted to see it again. So,when I got out of that scrape, and the doctor had dug a stray bulletout of my anatomy, there did n't seem to be any one left for me tochase excepting Murphy, for Slavin was dead. I was n't exactly sure hewas the owner of that scar, but I had my suspicions and wanted toverify them. Having struck his trail, I reached Cheyenne just aboutfour hours after he left there with these despatches for the Big Horn.I caught up with the fellow on the south bank of the Belle Fourche, andbeing well aware that no threats or gun play would ever force him toconfess the truth, I undertook to frighten him by trickery. I broughtalong some drawing-paper and drew your father's picture in phosphorus,and gave him the benefit in the dark. That caught Murphy all right,and everything was coming my way. He threw up his hands, and evenagreed to come in here with me, and tell the whole story, but the poorfellow's brain could n't stand the strain of the scare I had given him.He went raving mad on the Powder; he jumped on me while I was asleep,and since then every mile has been a little hell. That's the whole ofit to date."
They were up with the pack-train by now, and the cavalrymen gazed withinterest at the new arrivals. Several among them seemed to recognizeMurphy, and crowded about his horse with rough expressions of sympathy.Brant scarcely glanced at them, his grave eyes on Hampton's stern face.
"And what is it you wish me to do?"
"Take care of Murphy. Don't let him remain alone for a minute. If hehas any return of reason, compel him to talk. He knows you, and willbe as greatly frightened at your presence and knowledge as at mine.Besides, you have fully as much at stake as any one, for in no otherway can the existing barrier between Naida and yourself be broken down."
Insisting that now he felt perfectly fit for any service, the impatientHampton was quickly supplied with the necessary food and clothing,while Murphy, grown violently abusive, was strapped on a litter betweentwo mules, a guard on either side. Brant rode with the civilian on asharp trot as far as the head of the pack-train, endeavoring to thevery last to persuade the wearied man to relinquish this work toanother.
"Foster," he said to the sergeant in command of the advance, "did youchance to notice just what _coulee_ Custer turned into when his columnswung to the right?"
"I think it must have been the second yonder, sir; where you see thatbunch of trees. We was a long ways back, but I could see the boysplain enough as they come out on the bluff up there. Some of 'em wavedtheir hats back at us. Is this man goin' after them, sir?"
"Yes, he has despatches from Cheyenne."
"Well, he ought ter have no trouble findin' the trail. It ought ter be'bout as plain as a road back in God's country, sir, fer there weremore than two hundred horses, and they'd leave a good mark even on hardground."
Brant held out his hand. "I'll certainly do all in my power, Hampton,to bring this out right. You can rely on that, and I will be faithfulto the little girl. Now, just a word to guide you regarding oursituation here. We have every reason for believing that the Sioux arein considerable force in our front somewhere, and not far down thisstream. Nobody knows just how strong they are, but it looks to me asif we were pretty badly split up for a very heavy engagement. Not thatI question Custer's plan, you understand, only he may be mistaken aboutwhat the Indians will do. Benteen's battalion is out there to thewest; Reno is just ahead of us up the valley; while Custer has takenfive troops on a detour to the right across the bluffs, hoping to comedown on the rear of the Sioux. The idea is to crush them between thethree columns. No one of these detachments has more than two hundredmen, yet it may come out all right if they only succeed in strikingtogether. Still it 's risky in such rough country, not knowing exactlywhere the enemy is. Well, good luck to you, and take care of yourself."
The two men clasped hands, their eyes filled with mutual confidence.Then Hampton touched spurs to his horse, and galloped swiftly forward.
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