“Putty nigh sure; an I’ll gie you my reezuns. Fust, do ’ee see thur’s been no lightnin this mornin to ’a made the fire? Seconds, it’s too fur west hyur for any settlement o’ whites—in coorse I speak o’ Texans—thur might be Mexikins; them I don’t call white, nohow-nosomediver. An then, agin, it kin scace be Mexikins neyther. It ur too fur no’th for any o’ the yellur-bellies to be a straying jest now, seein as it’s the Mexikin moon wi’ the kimanchees, an both them an the Leepans ur on the war-trail. Wal, then, it’s clur thur’s no Mexikin ’bout hyur to hev sot the paraira afire, an thur’s been no lightnin to do it; thurfor, it must ’a been did eyther by a Injun, or thet ur dodrotted spuntainyus kumbuxshun.”
“One or t’other.”
“Wal, being as this child don’t b’lieve in the kumbuxshun nohow, thurfore it’s my opeenyun thet red Injuns did the bizness—they did sartint.”
“No doubt of it,” assented Garey.
“An ef they did,” continued the old trapper, “thur about yit some whur not fur off, an we’ve got to keep a sharp look-out for our har—thet’s what we hev.”
“Safe, we have,” assented Garey.
“I tell ’ee, Bill,” continued Rube in a new strain, “the Injuns is mighty riled jest now. I never knowd ’em so savagerous an fighty. The war hez gin ’em a fresh start, an thur dander’s up agin us, by reezun thet the gin’ral didn’t take thur offer to help us agin the yellur-bellies. Ef we meet wi’ eyther Kimanch or Leepan on these hyur plains, thu’ll scalp us, or we’ll scalp ’em—thet ’ll be it. Wagh!”
“But what for could they ’a sot the parairy on fire?” inquired Garey.
“Thet ere,” replied Rube,—“thet ere wur what puzzled me at fust. I thort it mout ’a been done by accydent—preehaps by the scattering o’ a camp-fire—for Injuns is careless enuf ’bout thet. Now, howsowever, I’ve got a different idee. Thet story thet Dutch an Frenchy hev fetched from the rancherie, gies me a insight inter the hull bizness.”
I knew the “story” to which Rube had reference. Lige and Le Blanc, when at the village, had heard some rumour of an Indian foray that had just been made against one of the Mexican towns, not far from the rancheria. It had occurred on the same day that we marched out. The Indians—supposed to be Lipans or Comanches—had sacked the place, and carried off both plunder and captives. A party of them had passed near the rancheria after we ourselves had left it. This party had “called” at the hacienda de Vargas and completed the pillage, left unfinished by the guerilla. This was the substance of what the messengers had heard.