“Yes, yes; all of it. Come, hurry!”
Pedro needed no other incentive, but sprung from his couch and grasped his rifle. Springing toward the door, he hoarsely said:
“Senor, here we go—altogether; Caramba!”
Before Robidoux could stop him he had flung back the trap-door and was standing outside, aiming at a slender Apache just entering a wagon. The broad, dusky back of the savage, in contrast to the moonlit, white wagon-cover, offered a good mark; and quickly sighting, the Mexican drew the trigger. The Apache, with a wild yell, sunk back on the wagon-tongue and hung suspended across it, killed immediately. This was a decidedly favorable event; for, awakened by the sight of his habitual foe, aroused by his successful shot, Pedro was himself again.
The Canadian smiled as Pedro darted back into the cave, at seeing a once more natural expression on his features. Should he retain his equanimity they had but little to fear beyond the plundering of the train, and that might be prevented for the present, as the whole line of wagons was commanded by the entrance.
The utmost confusion prevailed among the dusky plunderers as the fatal bullet ended their companion’s career forever. Some darted behind wagons; some flew to their adjacent mustangs; two clambered into a wagon; while the rest scattered like rabbits, not knowing by whom the shot was fired, or where the precise marksman was stationed.
They were thoroughly alarmed, inasmuch as, not belonging to Red-Knife’s band, they had accidentally fallen upon the train. They had been surprised at not finding a human being near the wagons; they were thunder-struck at the mysterious shot and its fatal effect.
Their alarm and surprise was somewhat dissipated very soon by Pedro’s firing from a chink in the trap-door. He had aimed at the prostrate form of a savage, lying on the ground behind a wagon; the bullet struck him fairly in the side, and, with a groan of mortal agony, he stretched himself prone, to speedily die.
Though by this shot Pedro had reduced his enemies’ number in some degree, still, upon the whole, the shot was disadvantageous, in this wise: when he fired, the chink being small, the force of the explosion had carried away a portion of the rotten planking, making the aperture distinctly visible from the wagons. The lynx-eyed savages instantly discovered this, and were instantly aware the hill was hollow—a mere shell.
A grunt of relief and gratification went around the line of skulking figures, speedily changed to one of alarm. A hole, black and wide, suddenly appeared in the hillside; a stream of flame shot out, a report sounded, and two savages yelled loudly, and, with their comrades, clambered upon the wheels in order to effectually conceal themselves, and protect their bodies from the murderous fire.