And he emitted the low, vibratory whistle, like the call of a nightbird. It could be heard but a short distance away, though capable of being made much louder and more penetrating.
“Freeman will be certain to hear it. He must be wondering at my delay and won’t tarry in coming to me. It may be that the Apache is listening for something of the kind and will read its meaning. If he does he is welcome.”
The officer compressed his lips and held himself ready for any demonstration from the dusky miscreant, who never would have given up his attempt on his life unless compelled to do so by a fear of his own safety. Glancing here, there and everywhere, the officer was prepared to fire the instant the opportunity presented, and was a trifle disappointed that it did not appear.
He had gone through too many perils, brief as was his service in the Southwest, to throw away any opportunity by impatience or carelessness. He repeated the signals several times, at intervals of a few minutes, and watched and listened for the reply from an enemy instead of his friend, but none came.
“The fellow has left, beyond a doubt,” was the decision reached; “he has gone to join his companions and nothing further is to be feared from him. There’s no saying, however, what some of the others may be doing.”
The distance to the spring was short. The lieutenant showed the effects of the heat by lying down on his face and taking another deep draught of the tepid water, after which he donned his hat and looked around in the gloom.
“Since the Apaches must know of this supply, I shouldn’t be surprised, if some of them came here to quench their thirst, which being so, I’ll locate a few paces from it. What the mischief can be the matter with Freeman?” he asked himself, with a feeling of vague uneasiness; “I thought he would be quick to respond to my call, but he hasn’t even answered it.”
It was well that Decker took the precaution of withdrawing from the spring and ensconcing himself among the surrounding boulders, where he could peep forth, and, by the exercise of a little precaution, see without being seen.
He had hardly taken this position when he caught the sound of footsteps and the murmur of voices. In the stillness he plainly heard the words spoken. Their surly, guttural tones, the very few sentences uttered, and the fact that he could not understand a syllable, were proof that the new arrivals were his old enemies, the Apaches. The carelessness displayed by them was proof also that they had no suspicion of the presence of any whites near. When anything of the kind is apprehended, the cunning and caution of those red men cannot be surpassed. It is almost impossible to approach them undetected, and they never indulge in the carelessness shown in this instance.