III.
rank dropped flat upon the earth, and began to work his way to the cabin, taking every advantage of the inequality of the ground to screen himself from observation. The opposite bank of the stream being lower than ours, there was little danger of his being seen by the Indians, unless some of them were in the branches of the cotton-woods. I saw him arrive safely, and received a signal from Mr. Hopkins through a back window. An instant later Mr. Baldwin looked out of the back door and raised his hat. I was glad to see that his college career was still a possibility.
Retracing my steps to the ambulance and escort, I caused the animals to be grouped in charge of the driver and two soldiers, and with the rest of the detail moved in the direction of the ranch buildings.
It had become so dark that we might possibly have passed over the open space without being seen, but, for fear of accidents, we covered it on all-fours. The first persons I met were Baldwin and Frank, who took me to Mr. Hopkins. The ranchman greeted me with the assurance that the arrival of my party was a Godsend, and had probably saved their scalps.
I learned that the men at Date Creek, including Baldwin, numbered seven; that three were in the stable and four in the house. These buildings stood the same distance from the stream, and forty feet apart. The bank of the creek was perpendicular for nearly a mile either way, standing fully twelve feet above the surface of the water; but there was a notch with a sloping descent, midway between the buildings, down which the live-stock was driven to water. This slope afforded the only practicable point of attack, unless the Indians chose to move by one of the flanks over a long level.
Mr. Hopkins said he had crept out to a shrub on the edge of the precipitous river-bank to the left of the slope, just before my arrival, and had seen on the opposite shore a small party of men moving through the willow bushes to our left. He believed it was a flanking party intending to make a feint from that direction, and enable the main body to charge through the notch in the bank. Believing the repelling force to number but seven, the Indians could but count upon the certain success of such a movement. Their flanking party must be met, and to meet it would reduce the defenders of the slope to a number not worth considering.
I was convinced that Mr. Hopkins's inferences were correct; but in order that no mistake should be made, I sent two veterans in frontier service, Privates Clary and Hoey, to reconnoitre both flanks. They were gone half an hour, and returned with the information that no demonstration was being made towards our right, but that a dozen or more men had gathered on the opposite shore at a point where they could cross and turn our left flank.
Preparations to meet this movement were begun at once. Sergeant Frank was sent to the ambulance with orders for the men left in charge to bring in the animals, two at a time, and fasten them in rear of the stable and stack. This was easily accomplished in the darkness. The ambulance was left in charge of Vic.
While this was going on and I was overlooking the construction of rifle-shelters on the flanks, Sergeant Henry approached and asked if he could not be of some use. Something in the tone of the boy's voice showed me he felt he had been neglected, while his brother had been kept busy.