CHAPTER VIII. DODGING INDIANS.
The night after Jack's capture by the Piegans passed quietly and very early the next morning they continued their journey, travelling fast, but very cautiously. At every considerable rise of the prairie which gave a wide view over the country, Hugh halted Jack and the animals, and went alone to the top of the hill, from which he scanned the prairie with care before showing himself. Once or twice signs of people were seen, but in each case the trail was an old one, made in spring when the ground was wet and the grass just starting.
One day after they had made camp, Hugh left Jack to watch the horses, and climbed on foot to the top of a lofty butte nearby. When he returned to camp he told Jack that they must move on as soon as it was dark, and they gathered up the horses and brought them close to camp, and soon after the sun had set, packed and rode away.
"There's a camp of people down the creek, not very far off," Hugh said. "From the top of the hill I saw two sets of hunters carrying their meat to camp, and two or three miles below here I saw an old woman gathering wood. I don't know who the people are, likely enough they're Crows, and friendly; but they may be Sioux or Cheyennes, and I don't want to take no chances; so we'd better pack up and light out. Them Piegans will think they missed a great chance when they didn't stay with us."
"I suppose there's some danger that some of these hunters might walk right into our camp at any time," said Jack.
"Yes," said Hugh, "I'm kind o' surprised they didn't do it. We'll be lucky if we get off without them seeing us. From now on, until we cross the Yellowstone we've got to go pretty careful; that'll be in two or three days though, I hope."
"Why," said Jack, "are we as close to it as that?"
"Yes," said Hugh, "if we could go straight ahead, and travel fast without stopping, we could get there in two days."
They travelled almost all the night, and toward morning Jack grew very sleepy. By this time the pack horses were so well trained that they needed no driving whatever, but kept along close behind the horse that Hugh led; so Jack dozed in his saddle through the latter half of the night. Toward morning it grew quite cool, and he put on his coat. The country had now become rough with high hills, and they were following the valley of a river, on either side of which steep buffs stood outlined against the sky. Suddenly Hugh stopped his horse, all the pack horses came to a stand, and Jack was aroused from his doze by the sudden halting of his horse. He could see the animals just ahead of him, but could not see Hugh. Presently, however, he heard a horse's tread, and in a moment Hugh stopped beside him and said, "We've got to get out of this; there's a camp down the creek; I just heard a dog bark. We'll turn up this side ravine, and travel until it gets light, and then cache in the brush, or in the timber, if there is any."
An hour later, with the horses they were hidden in a great patch of plum brush and pine trees, near the head of the ravine. Not far away was a high conical hill which overlooked the valley that they had left, and Hugh, climbing to the summit of this, walking all the time among the pines, looked up and down the valley. Almost beneath him, so near that it seemed as if he might fire a rifle ball into it, stood the lodges of a camp, all unknowing of the watcher.
Hugh stayed there for a long time, to see what the Indians were doing, and, also, to learn, if possible, what they were likely to do; that is to say, whether they would probably stay where they were, or were getting ready to move.
They had been there a long time. All through the camp the grass was worn from the ground; well-beaten trails led about through the sage brush and a course for playing the stick game had been cleared of brush and stones. All about the camp were drying-scaffolds, hung with strips of meat, some of it dry and brown, some bright red, and some almost white. Hugh wished that he had Jack with him, so that he might point out to him all the features of the camp. He was too uneasy, however, to think much about that. He watched the direction taken by the men as they left the camp, and saw that most of them went off up and down the creek, though some crossed it and rode up a broad valley that came down through the bluffs on the other side. On the tops of some of the lower hills he saw, standing or sitting, the figures of men wrapped in their robes or summer sheets, but all had their faces turned toward the valley, or up or down the stream; none looked back toward the hills. Hugh grumbled a little to himself, as he lay there, and said, "Yes, that's all right, but suppose some old squaw, with her dog and travois, should come up our ravine after a load of wood. Then where'd we be? The dog would sure smell us, and we'd have to catch the old woman, and maybe kill her, or else she'd have the whole camp buzzing about that brush patch, like a nest o' bees."
About the middle of the day he turned to go back, and before he had got half way to the horses, he saw just what he had feared. An old woman, followed by a dog dragging a small travois, was slowly making her way up the ravine.
Hugh travelled along among the pines, watching her to see what she would do, and it was with great satisfaction that he saw her stop more than a mile below the horses, and commence to attack a fallen pine stick, with the great stone maul that she carried. She worked for more than an hour, and at length, having collected a large pile of wood, she bound a part of it on the dog travois, made up another huge bundle which she lifted on her own back, and then started down the ravine to return to the camp.
When Hugh reached the horses Jack was not there, but presently he crept into camp through the brush, looking anxious and worried. His face lighted up when he saw Hugh, and he said, "What was that hammering and chopping I heard down below, Hugh? I listened to it, sitting here, until I couldn't stand it any longer, and then I crept out to the edge of the brush to see what it was."
Hugh told Jack about the woman, and said, "Now, just as soon as it gets dark, we've got to start over to the other creek, and take down that. I want to put fifteen or twenty miles behind us before we stop, but when we do stop we've got to let these horses feed, and give 'em some water. I believe the best thing we can do is to keep on the divide, after we get up there, and not travel down these river valleys. The country seems to be full of Indians. Just as soon, though, as we can get across the Yellowstone we'll be out of the range of these people and not likely to meet anybody, except Piegans, and maybe Crows or Gros Ventres; they'll all be friendly."
The horses had been tied up to trees all day long and had had no chance to eat, though their packs had been taken off so that they were pretty well rested. As it grew dark they were packed again, and Hugh led the way up onto the plateau, along which they rode almost the whole night. Toward morning they came to a little stream, and camped in the underbrush on the edge of a little park, where they let the horses feed until day, and then brought them into the brush and tied them up. After the sun had risen they built a small fire, cooked some food, and then put the fire out.
"Now, son," said Hugh, "you lie down and go to sleep, and I'll go up onto this hill, and stand guard. I'll call you about the middle of the day, and let you watch till nearly night. I feel pretty sleepy, myself." Jack took his robe, and spreading it out of sight in the willows, was soon fast asleep.
The sun was well toward the west before Hugh's hand on his shoulder awoke Jack, who sat up, bewildered for a moment, not knowing where he was.
"Come, son," said Hugh, "it's near the middle of the afternoon; you go up on that hill and watch for awhile, and I'll sleep. Just about sunset you come down and wake me, and we'll eat, and pack up and go on. Keep a good lookout, and don't show yourself, and if anybody should come right close, just slip down through the gulch and come back here to me. These people ain't got no idee that we're around, and I don't want 'em to have." Jack took his gun and started up the hill, and Hugh took his place in the bushes and went to sleep. For some time nothing was to be seen from the hill-top, but an hour before sunset Jack saw three horsemen come in view, riding across the plain, as if they were going from the river bottom on the east, westward toward to camp. They rode slowly, leading two pack horses, apparently loaded, but they were so far off that he could not be sure of anything about them, except that they were people.
A little later he saw something move on the hillside close to him, and for a moment was startled; then, as the object came into view, he saw that it was only a little kit-fox. The first that appeared was followed by three others, and the four moved up over the grass, quartering the ground, and smelling here and there, almost like hunting dogs when they work ahead of their masters, searching for birds. Now and then one would make a sudden pounce in the grass, and then toss up its head and seem to swallow something. They worked around the hill, most of the time in sight, but sometimes hidden by elevations of the ground, until they had passed from Jack's left hand almost to his right; then they stopped on a little level bench of the hill, in plain view, and while the largest of the four lay down, the other three had a game of romps, just such as three puppies might have. One sprang upon another, caught it by the back of its neck, and seemed to shake it, while the one so attacked turned on its enemy, caught the skin of its shoulder in its teeth, and the two rolled over and over, seeming to fight fiercely. After a moment or two of this, the third puppy plunged at the squirming pair, which at once separated and dashed away, running as hard as they could, while the third pursued. They kept this up for some little time and then, seeming to weary of the play, all three returned to the larger one, and all lay down close together, so that they formed just a mass of fur, almost the exact colour of the prairie grass.
Jack waited and watched, but nothing happened. High in the air he heard the squeaking cry of the prairie night-hawk, and every now and then the rush of its wings, as it stooped toward the earth. One of the birds which he was watching, darted to the ground, close to where the little foxes lay, to their evident astonishment and alarm, for all four sprang to their feet and looked about as though greatly startled. From the hillside below him the song of the meadow lark rang out sweet and clear, and in the brush where the horses were tied and Hugh was sleeping, there were faint songs and twitterings of birds that were resting there, or seeking their evening meal. No more people were seen, and when the sun had reached the tops of the high bluffs to the west, Jack slipped cautiously down the ravine, and went through the brush to where Hugh lay. As he approached the spot, Hugh threw off the robe and stood up, and with a glance at Jack and at the sky, shook himself, and said, "Well, did ye see anything?"
"Yes," said Jack, "about an hour ago I saw three people leading two pack horses right over toward where the camp is; but that is all I saw."
"Well, I guess we'd better pack up and make tracks, without lighting any fire. The chances are no one would see it if we did cook, but we won't take no risks."
They went into the brush, untied the horses, watered them, and put on the packs, tying up each horse after his load was secured. When this was done, Hugh said, "Now I'm going up to the top of the hill to take another look, and if there ain't nothing in sight, we'll move."
Hugh was not gone long, and when he returned he said, "It's all right, I guess, but before we get out of this brush we'll stop and take a look from the other side." They mounted and passed slowly along, crossing the brook and climbing the opposite hill. Before riding out of the willows, however, Hugh dismounted, walked to the edge, and looked over the plain before him. After a moment he turned and signed to Jack to dismount and to come towards him. Jack did so very carefully, and Hugh pointed out into the open, where Jack saw a large dog trotting along. "That dog belongs to the camp," said Hugh, "and likely there are people right around here. We'll have to wait here until it gets plumb dark. There may be two or three lodges camped here on this creek, though I can't hardly believe it. Anyhow, we won't take no chances; we'll stop here till dark. You go back and stay with the horses, and leave me here to watch."
Jack returned to the horses, and taking the bridles of the two saddle horses, he stood there with them at the heads of the pack horses, waiting and listening. It grew darker and darker, and presently a voice at his elbow said, "Well, that dog's gone off, and I haven't seen or heard anything; we might as well go too;" and with that they mounted and rode out over the plain.
They travelled all night, stopping for two or three hours about midnight to let the horses feed, and when day broke next morning, they could see far before them the low line of green timber which marked the course of the Yellowstone River. A little later Hugh rode down into the valley of a small stream, and they made camp and turned all the horses loose on the bottom.
"We've got to stay here and watch them horses feed until they get their bellies full," said Hugh, "and then we'll take and tie 'em up. I'm going to start to-night, and not stop until we've crossed the river. After we get on the other side I'll feel that we're safe."
All through the day they watched the horses, and rested and slept, and at night they set out again on their journey. The next morning found them riding down into the wide bottom of the Yellowstone, and over toward the water. It looked deep, swift and turbulent to Jack, but Hugh, turning to the right, rode down the stream for a mile and a half, and then descending through a little ravine, rode out into the water. Here Jack could see that there was a long bar running diagonally across the river, over which the water rippled, showing that it was not deep. Just before he entered the stream, Hugh called back, "Keep the horses well up, son, and don't let them turn off up or down stream. The water's deep on either side of this bar, but if they follow me they'll go through all right."
Jack watched Hugh as he rode along, and saw that the water scarcely came up to his horse's knees until he had nearly reached the opposite bank, when it suddenly grew deeper and came half way up the horse's side, so that Hugh had to take his feet out of the stirrups and hold them up, to keep from getting wet. The water here appeared to run with great violence, and Hugh turned his horse's head a little up stream so that the full force of the current would not strike the animal broad side on. Jack had kept the pack horses close behind Hugh, and they followed him well, and at last all hands crawled out on the bank.
"Now," said Hugh, as he drew up his horse, "I feel easier in my mind. We've got past the only place I was anyways nervous about, and from now on we'll have straight, easy going, if I ain't mistaken."