“Would you advise a bold charge through the Indian encampment?” asked Clancy. “Do you think we would be likely to accomplish our object in that way?”
The scout thought not. The savages might be on the look-out for some such movement as that, as they would probably expect that an attempt would be made to rescue Vinnie, in which case they would run great risk of falling into some trap set for them by the Indians, if they approached the encampment boldly and in the full glare of the sunlight. Their party was too small to hazard being taken at so great a disadvantage. They dared not show themselves openly in the camp of their enemies. The odds would be too great against them.
“No!” said Wimple, emphatically. “We mustn’t try such a plan as that. It would be worse than useless! What we do must be done by stratagem. There’s a steep bluff, only ’tain’t a bluff, neither—thar ain’t no river under it—jist back of the Injin camp. This hill’s all grown over with low scrub-oak and other stuff so thick ye can’t see a rod any way. If we could only git up there and hide till arter dark, and then two or three of us jist step quietly down and release the prisoners, leaving some one to have the horses ready to mount at an instant’s warnin’, I think we could git the gal cl’ar without much blood-lettin’, and maybe the other prisoners, whoever they are. It’s the best plan I can think of now.”
Darke agreed with the scout that nothing could be done by daylight, but he was getting very impatient.
“I think,” said the big hunter, “as how ye’re partly right in yer calkerlations and mayhap partly wrong. I don’t believe as how us four rushing into the imps’ nest would do much good. We’d be very likely to git our little lump of lead, every one on us, and that’d be the end on’t all; but instid o’ climbin’ the hill, if ye’ll jist take the advice of one who has fit Injins some, and stop in the border of the wood, down level with the edge of the prairie, and wait and see what happens, I b’lieve we can do suthin’ as ’ll amount to suthin’. I’ve knowed some of the best kind of jobs to be did in gittin’ away prisoners from the reds, jist by watchin’ and takin’ advantage of accidents and the like. If you’ll all do jist as I say and not git flustered or go to gittin’ away up there on top of the hill, I’ll promise that every prisoner in the Indian camp shall be safe before sundown—yes, in less than two hours. You don’t know what amazin’ helps accidents is sometimes, in sich cases as this one!”
“Can you do it?” asked Darke, eagerly.
“Yes.”
“What do you mean by accidents?” inquired Pete Wimple. “What d’ye expect’s goin’ to happen to-day?”
“Thar’s no tellin’ exactly,” replied the big hunter. “A feller can’t most always tell what is goin’ to take place. But I’m safe in guaranteein’ thirty or forty of them reds one of the tallest accidents in a little while—’bout as soon as we can git to their camp—they ever had any ijee of!”
“Do you expect to kill as many as that?” asked Clancy, in some wonderment.