St. George Rathborne

“ Dick and the guide exchanged hasty glances. Apparently they were feeling something of a similar nature, but could not lay it to the same cause as Roger.
“It is getting much worse now,” cried Mayhew, “and I can hear a terrible grumbling down underneath me that I must say I don’t like over much!”
All of them were by this time aroused to a sense of their sudden peril; but it was Dick who voiced the alarming truth.
“Run for your lives!” he shouted, “it must be a boiling fountain about to burst, and we are right on top of the crater!” ”

“ Roger fixed himself so that he could see everything that went on without making the slightest movement. He knew those keen eyes of the red sons of the forest were quick to detect a suspicious movement, no matter how slight, and that, if he so much as lifted his hand, discovery would follow.
The Indians were coming forward in a string, or what the trappers of that day called “Indian file,” one stepping in the footprints of the brave ahead of him. In this fashion it would be difficult for any enemy on finding their trail to know whether three or twenty had passed. ”

“ Tell me if they are not different from the feathers the Blackfeet wear!”
It was the frontiersman now who uttered a cry.
“Yes, yes, you are right, boy! These are not Blackfoot braves!”
“They are Sioux warriors, and, it may be, fresh from the village of our friend, the chief, Running Elk!” said Dick.
Roger found his voice at hearing that glorious news.
“Try them, Dick!” he exclaimed, excitedly. “Give them the sign the chief taught us! Let them know we are friends, and not enemies! Yes, I can tell the feathers are those of our friends, the Sioux. It is going to be all right after all!” ”

“ When other things failed, Dick could always interest him by referring to the wonderful luck that had befallen them, in giving them a chance to stay all winter at the Mandan village with the exploring expedition, so as to go on into the Golden West when spring came around.
The uncertainty that lay ahead seemed to appeal to the spirit of adventure that lay deep down in the hearts of the young pioneers.
“When we break camp in the spring and leave here,” Dick went on, as though he had mapped it out in his mind, “we will have to head into the Northwest, Captain Lewis told me.” ”

“ To the whites there was no mystery in regard to the fright of the ignorant and superstitious Blackfoot braves, for before them they saw a mighty column of steaming water gushing fully a hundred feet up into the air, to descend in an imposing flood. As if an unseen hand had directed it, the giant geyser had spouted just in time to come between the hostile Indians and their intended victims! ”

“ They must be on the warpath, to have put the paint on, and the feathers, too.”
“But look, Dick, there is one of them who wears clothes like a white trapper or borderman!” declared the excited Roger. “Do you see what I mean, Dick?”
“Yes, it certainly looks that way,” answered the other boy, shading his eyes with his hand in order to see better. “It is a white man, too, for he is wearing some kind of fur cap, and his hunting shirt is fringed like our own. There, he turned his face this way then, and he is no Indian, I am as certain as that my name is Dick Armstrong!” ”

“ They were all picked men, if one could judge from their appearance; they were lithe, active as cats, alert, and at the same time muscular. Those swelling bronzed arms could doubtless paddle a dugout or a skin canoe at tremendous speed. Among them there must be braves who had won an enviable reputation for speed at foot races; or, it might be, renown as long distance runners, capable of keeping on the trail at a dog-trot for days and nights at a time.
It was therefore with considerable respect, and not a little anxiety as well, that Dick and Roger watched them coming nearer. ”

“ Other arrows were bound to be fired, and at any minute one better aimed than the rest might find lodgment in a human body.
Roger gritted his teeth savagely as he crept on. How he wished Mayhew would come to a pause, thus signifying he had done all he could to further their escape, and was now at the end of his rope! Then they could rise up, and use their guns upon the crafty enemy, following with the pistols they also carried, and which at short range would count for just as much as the rifles. ”

“ It sometimes seems to me as if we were guarded by some invisible power, we have so many wonderful escapes!”
“It may be that we are, Roger, because we know that not a day passes but that our mothers, far away down the Missouri, are praying that we may be spared to come back to them. But, now that the coast is clear, let us head once more for Fort Mandan, as we call our camp.”
Of course both these wide-awake lads knew how to find their way through the densest woods, or over unknown ground, by using their knowledge of woodcraft to tell them the cardinal points of the compass. ”

“ Roger thus remarked after they had been struggling along for some time, without seeing a living thing save some crows that flew over the tree-tops, cawing at the three palefaces as though scornfully demanding to know what they were doing so far away from their kind.
“If you mean the small animals, such as rabbits, foxes, mink and such,” Dick answered, “I suppose it is so, though in time they must work their way through the snow or die. But elk can move around still. They are broad-chested and able to bound over or break through the drifts.” ”

“ They knew that it was useless to pay any further attention to the faint trail of Jasper Williams and his two companions. They must trust partly to luck in order to once more run across the man they so urgently desired to see.
“One thing we must remember,” said Dick, as they again set forth on their way.
“What is that?” asked Roger.
“We have come to know Jasper fairly well since joining the exploring company, and helping him to escape from Running Elk’s Sioux. We even know some of his signals, and if we have any reason to believe he is around we can make use of them to communicate with him.” ”

“ It was in the heart of Roger to hint that they would be delighted to accompany the ranger; but a look from Dick caused him to bite his tongue and refrain. Afterwards, when they had seen the three men start forth, and cheered them on their way, Dick consented to explain his reasons for motioning to his cousin to say nothing about going along.
“We can’t expect to be in everything, you see, Roger,” he said. “After all, we are only boys, and some of the men here still look on us as inferior to them in ability to accomplish things, because they are so much stouter and stronger. ”

“ We can find plenty to occupy our minds and hands while they are gone. Perhaps, who knows? should they come back, one of the men may not want to return with Jasper, and that would be our chance to try for an invitation.”
“I suppose you’re right, Dick,” grumbled Roger. “You nearly always hit the nail on the head. But it would have been a fine trip for us. And, now that I’ve met with and killed one of these terrible grizzly bears we’ve heard such tales about, I’m burning with eagerness to shoot one of the strange mountain goats Jasper was telling about, that have such immense, curved horns.” ”

“ If the food supply ran short they must depend wholly on what game they could bring down with their rifles.
Most boys of to-day would view such a limited bill of fare with alarm, and think starvation was staring them in the face. These lads of the frontier, however, were accustomed to privations. They faced empty larders every time stormy weather prevented hunting. And early in life they learned that it does no good to borrow trouble.
The night closed in around them. Dick and his cousin lay in their blankets and conversed in whispers, while Mayhew continued to busy himself over his tiny fire. ”

“ Roger sprang down from his perch, in his usual reckless fashion; but there was no longer any danger, for the bear was dead. The boy placed his right foot on the huge bulk, and waved his hat in triumph; for, after all is said and done, he was but a lad, and this marked the highest point in his career as a hunter of big game.
“They’ll never believe it, Dick,” he exclaimed, “unless we carry back something to prove our story. And that means we’ve got to slice off these claws to show. After this we can have necklaces made of them, and the Indians will look on us as mighty hunters.” ”

“ What could a horse be doing here? Do you think any of our men are out after fresh meat to-day?”
“There are a few horses among some of the Indian tribes around here, and it might be—there, look, something is coming yonder, Dick!”
“Don’t move again, Roger; it is an Indian brave, and there follows another, treading in his trail.”
“They are not of our friends, the Mandans, Dick, and they don’t look like the Sioux we met a while ago. There come three more, and now I can see the horse!”
“H’sh! Not a whisper now, and lie as still as a rock. They have sharp eyes, even if they are not on the warpath.” ”

“ Roger smiled faintly, while even Mayhew condescended to let some of the worried look pass away from his face.
“I should not like to roam about this terrible country after nightfall,” said Roger, shuddering; “for there is too much danger of stepping into some bottomless pit, or having a deluge of boiling water thrown over your head. It’s a question up here in the winter-time whether you are going to be frozen to death in a bitter storm, or roasted by the fires that are under the earth. I think we must be getting pretty close to where the Evil One lives, Dick. ”

“ And, as if that were not enough, Jasper Williams, the only one who can save our parents’ homes, is a prisoner and will be sent into the wilderness, never to be seen again.”
Dick could understand what a weight rested on the mind of his cousin. Was he not himself fighting against the same depression, and conquering it only because he would not give in?
“Listen, Roger,” he said, impressively, “there is only one way for us to win this fight, and that is by making up our minds nothing can ever best us. Brace up, and shut your teeth together in the old way.” ”

“ Stop and think, and you will remember that he must be the one who had chased after Mayhew, and came back with a bullet wound in the muscles of his shoulder.”
“Which you dressed as neatly as any doctor could have done it,” said Roger.
“At the time the brave gave little sign that he was grateful,” continued Dick, as he figured things out; “but you know that all Indians practice hiding their real feelings. They think it weak to show signs of fear or anything like that. But, at the same time, an Indian can be grateful, and I believe that brave proved it.” ”

“ History has recorded the facts, and the young pioneer in stating his opinion was only saying what other men have conceded.
A few days after Mayhew left the camp, well provisioned and armed for his dangerous trip over the back trail, winter set in in earnest. The boys were well satisfied to be so comfortably housed and among friends, instead of wandering amidst those strange scenes of which [332] they never seemed to tire of talking, where the earth appeared to be on fire deep down under the outer crust, and continually spouted those colossal streams of steaming water. ”

“ Who was the man you saw, Roger?”
“It was surely Thomas Hardy, one of the men who accompanied Jasper Williams,” said Roger, showing much concern. “And I believe the other to be Mordaunt, the second frontiersman and trapper. But there is no third in the party. What can have become of Williams? If he is dead there is an end to all our hopes. Oh, Dick, I am afraid!” ”

“ When the wily French trader had conveyed his suspicions to some of the Blackfoot braves there was a concerted dash toward the clump of bushes.
Some of the Indians started to circle around, evidently in the expectation that, if the whites were concealed, they would attempt flight, and the idea of these runners was to forestall any such dash.
“We must hold them back or all is lost!” exclaimed Mayhew, who, being an experienced Indian fighter, doubtless knew the weak and strong points of the red men, no matter to what tribe they belonged. ”

“ Vegetation grew all around the hot stream and pool, showing that it never overflowed its banks at any time.
“There’s one good thing about it,” remarked Dick, turning to the frontiersman; “after this, [82] if these hot springs are common here, you will never need to build a fire in order to make a pannikin of tea.”
“I can believe almost anything after this,” muttered Roger, as he dabbled his hand in the pool, and quickly snatched it out again, for the water seemed to almost scald his flesh. “Of course nothing can live in such a stream. I wonder what next we will run across. ”