Bart watched them attentively, and still the figures did not move. At last, however, he saw that they had changed their position, creeping closer to the piled-up rocks, and at last, evidently encouraged by the fact that when the firing took place that evening there was no response, the two savages suddenly rose erect, and went to the piled-up stones that blocked the corral entry.
“How did they know the cattle were there?” said Bart, putting his lips close by Joses’ ear.
“Nose!” whispered back the frontiersman, laconically.
“But how could they tell that this was the entrance?” whispered Bart again.
“Eyes!” replied Joses; and he then laid his hand upon Bart’s lips, as a sign that he must refrain from speaking any more.
Bart rather chafed at this, and he was growing excited as well, for it troubled him that Joses and the Beaver should have let these two spies go right up to such a treasure as the cattle corral unchallenged; and though he would not have thought of firing at the savages, he could not help thinking that something ought to be done—what he could not say—for the low grating noise he now heard was certainly the Indians moving one of the blocks of stone that had so carefully been placed there that afternoon.
“They’re opening the corral, my lad,” said Joses just then, in a hoarse whisper; “and if we don’t stop ’em we shall be having ’em drive the whole lot of bullocks and cows right away into the plains, and never see a hoof again.”
“What’s to be done, then?” whispered Bart, whose face was covered with a cold dew, while his cheeks were at fever heat.
“Well, my lad, they seem to have found out the way easy enough by crawling over the cattle trail, and it’s a very unpleasant thing to do, but I suppose we shall either have to be robbed, or else we must stop ’em; so as the Doctor won’t like all our cattle to go, I’m going to stop ’em.”
“It’s very horrible,” whispered Bart.