The golden west boys, "Injun" and "Whitey": a story of adventure

by William S. Hart

One trial sufficed to demonstrate that the raft would not carry both boys, and Injun quickly divested himself of his clothes and rolled them into a bundle and handed them together with his rifle to Whitey, who was having his own troubles trying to keep afloat.

"Here," said Whitey, "I don't know why you should do all the hard work! Maybe we both better swim back of the raft and put our clothes and rifles on it?"

Injun shook his head, and gently pushed the raft with Whitey on it into deeper water. Whitey found some difficulty in using the paddle, as the slightest tip sent the logs awash; but after a few moments, he got the hang of it, and progress became easier, though by no means very rapid.

"Say, Injun," said Whitey, after they had proceeded for some distance, "you're headed in the wrong direction! We left the horses up that way—toward the end of the lake. You're going to land way below."

Injun nodded, as though he knew what he was doing, and made no change in his course. This he laid by the silhouette of the trees on the mainland, as the night was almost pitch dark, and only the faint lighter tint of the sky was visible above the line of their tops. The ever-cautious Injun seldom believed in going straight to his objective, but preferred to come to it in a somewhat roundabout way, and therefore, an unexpected way. If the enemy expects that you will approach him from the south, and you actually come from the north, you have just that much advantage. It is he who will be surprised, not you.

Suddenly Injun stopped swimming and listened; but before he could give a warning signal, a dark object ranged alongside of the raft, and a light from a quickly uncovered lantern flashed in Whitey's face, and the boy looked down the muzzle of a Colt forty-five less than six feet away.

"Poot up ze han's!" said a menacing voice, and Whitey complied without any objection, though in doing so, the raft tilted alarmingly and the water swept over it, first this way and then the other; and that discomfiture might be complete, both the rifles and Injun's clothes slid from the raft and settled into the depths below! Fortunately, the clothes and the two rifles were at one side and a little behind Whitey on the raft, and not in the range of Pedro's vision. If he had seen them he would have known that he had to deal with two boys instead of one. But Pedro did see the raft tilt, and he realized that Whitey was helpless.

A mocking laugh came from the canoe, and the voice continued: "Ah, zis ees too much lucky! Again I meet my yo'ng frien' what geeve me such keeck in ze belly an' rap on my haid wiz steek at ze Croix an' Cercl'! I haf' not forget—no, no! How yo' lik' tak' nize bath wiz ze feesh in lak'? Huh?" Straining his eyes and peering into the darkness back of the lantern, Whitey saw the grinning face of Pedro.

Whitey did some rapid thinking. It was evident that Pedro believed him to be alone, as the latter kept his eyes on him and did not seek to find his companion. Pedro had evidently found the canoe where Injun had drawn it up on the bank and for some reason had gone back to his cabin before starting for the mainland. The southern end of the lake was somewhat bare of tall timber, and it was probable that Pedro's attention had been attracted by the splashing of Whitey's improvised paddle, and had been able to make out his figure against the lighter background of the sky. At any rate, no matter how Pedro had discovered the raft, the fact remained that he had discovered it, and now had both boys in a most precarious situation.

Whitey's only hope lay in the probable overlooking of Injun, and he felt that this circumstance might, in some way, turn the tables in their favor, provided Pedro did not make an end of him immediately. There was no doubt in Whitey's mind that Pedro meant, eventually to kill him, but seemed to be in no hurry, preferring to taunt the boy and to gloat over his apprehension, and thus make his revenge as frightful as possible. He calculated his chances of throwing himself from the raft, but knew that Pedro would fire before he could possibly accomplish this. Nor could he make a jump at the menacing muzzle of the revolver, for the raft afforded a most unstable and slippery take-off for a leap of any kind.