On to the Rescue
“Fainted,” Bug Eye remarked, and leaped from his horse. Pulling his canteen from his saddle, he doused the man’s face with the water in it, desisting at the first sign of returning consciousness. Replacing the top on the canteen, Bug Eye flung it down beside the silent figure and remounted.
“You-all heard what he said?” Nick asked excitedly. “Ike Natick was right! Sholo Caves! Come on, boys! Let that snake lie. He’ll be all right with the water. We’ll get him later. He’s too badly shot up to move an’ his horse is gone. Yow! We’re off!”
With the news that they were on the right trail, came bounding hope and a joy that expressed itself in vigorous denunciation of Reltsur and his gang. With scarcely a backward glance, the five rode swiftly up the trail toward the falls that roared in the distance. They were not callous, but something more important than wounded outlaws sent them rushing forward.
“If we can only find dad!” Teddy yelled, as he guided Flash with a sure hand. “This blame darkness! We shan’t be able to see a thing in a few minutes!”
“Can’t help it,” Roy answered. “If we don’t meet dad, we’ll go on ourselves. Guess we can handle any bunch of kidnappers that rides. How about it, boys?”
“You said a mouthful!” Gus roared. “Let ’em come shootin’! The more the merrier! We’ll smoke ’em out, if we have to! No—guess we can’t do that, on account of the girls. But we’ll sure send some hot lead buzzin’ ’round their ears!”
The full darkness of the canyon night came upon them as they rode, and, of necessity, they had to dismount and lead the ponies. Teddy fretted at the delay, but it was unavoidable, and they hurried as fast as was compatible with safety—and perhaps a little faster.
They soon reached Gravestone Falls, and all knew that the other side of the canyon was not two hundred yards across. To reach the caves, they had to turn sharply to the right and double back slightly on their trail. Had they known it, they could have come a much shorter way, as had the girls and their guard, who did not ride near the falls. But since they had arranged to meet Mr. Manley here, it was necessary that they take the longer route, even had they known of the shorter. At this point the canyon curved, the walls coming closer together, until, a short distance below the caves, they met.
The falls proper were not a part of the canyon itself, but, nevertheless, being near it, they fed the stream at its bottom. The roaring, while not tremendous, was loud enough to prevent any one on the other side of the canyon from hearing a call, however loud.
Teddy waited until the others were around him, then declared:
“I reckon we shan’t find dad to-night! He may be across there, and he may not. Shouting won’t do a bit of good. And we can’t shoot—the rustlers might hear us and take alarm. Boys, it’s up to us. Do we go on?”
“We do!” Roy exclaimed. “And not in the dark, either! Look!”
He pointed to the sky. Over the rim of the mountain a dull red crescent arose—the first of the full moon.
As the orb turned gradually from ruby to silver white, flooding the canyon with its glow, the five looked to their firearms. Then they slowly made their way along the rocky path. They had remounted again, knowing the ponies could see their way by the light of the moon, and, as they rounded the curve, following the gorge, the noise of the falls increased, then faded to a sullen murmur. They had left the meeting place behind, and with grim resolves to prove the caves could be taken by five determined men, all riding together, they urged their horses forward.
They remembered what Pop Burns had told them—that the caves were practically inaccessible unless attacked from both sides of the canyon at once. Yet this did not deter them. Their hearts high with hope, they felt capable of conquering any stronghold, no matter how well fortified. The girls were there—not half an hour’s ride away! Could they stop now, with success almost in their grasp?
“Either we bring Belle out of here or we stay in ourselves,” Roy whispered, as though to himself. But Teddy heard him, and nodded silently. They would fight—they would die—but they would not be beaten back!
“Almost there,” Nick said in a low voice. “Let’s stick together, boys. We can’t afford to get separated. Roy, suppose you take charge.”
“Right. Now let’s see. Who knows anything about the layout of those caves?”
“I know they set pretty near the edge of the gully, Roy,” Nick answered, in a doubtful voice. “An’ I think you can come at them from either end. But we can’t, ’cause the only way to get to the other side from where we are, is past them. So we’ll have to depend on surprising that gang of rustlers before they know what’s up. Once they discover us, we’ll have to move fast.”
Roy thought for a moment.
“If we only had a few more men! But we haven’t, so what’s the use of wishing? Teddy, some one suggested, a way back, that we send a man on ahead to investigate. What do you think about it?”
“Not much, Roy. If you want me to, I’ll do it; but I can’t see that we’d gain much. They’ve got a guard out—maybe two. I’m pretty sure of that. What we ought to do is to get up on them as quietly as we can, knock the guard off cold, if we have to, then depend on our guns for the rest.” As he spoke the boy’s eyes flashed and he breathed faster. When the time for action came he would be ready to do his part.
“Sounds good to me,” Gus drawled. “Roy, when we start, we got to shoot as we go. I heard the bunch has two New York gunmen along. Well, we’ll see how they like a taste of Western methods,” and he smiled grimly.
“Then it’s settled?” Roy asked, looking from one to the other. “We ride on together. When we get near, we slide off the broncs and nab the lookout, if there is one. Then—what’s in our way we take out! I don’t know how many men they’ve got, but unless it’s an army we’ll go through ’em. All set, boys?”
“All set!”
The answer came in tense whispers from men who were ready to face death—and expected to. Guns were loosened in holsters. Belts were tightened. Rifles were moved toward the rear of saddles to allow a quick descent from the pony. Long-barreled guns were useless in a hand to hand fight, and the boys put their faith in their automatic pistols.
As they started on this last leg of their journey toward an end none could foretell, each rider felt a great relief surge through him. The time had come. Ahead of them lay Sholo Caves, and within them the three girls were captives. They must be rescued. If some of the boys lost their lives—well, at least they could take some in payment. No matter what happened, they would go on to the end. Their task lay before them.