OLD FOUR-TOES OR HUNTERS OF THE PEAKS BY EDWIN L. SABIN AUTHOR OF " BAR B BOYS," " RANGE AND TRAIL," "CIRCLE K," ETC. Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow-gn . Hay-ah-hay ! Hay-ee-hay hah-ah-hay hah-ah-hay ! Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow-gh ! Hay-ah-hay ! Hee-ah hah-ah hi-yah-hah ! Whoo-oop ! ! Dance Song of Grizzly Dan, NEW YORK THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY PUBLISHERS Copyright, 1912, by THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY Fifth Thousand CHAPTER CAMPS PAOB I. INTO THE LTNKNOWN i II. IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN ... 12 III. OFF FOR LOST PARK 22 IV. THROUGH MEDICINE CANON .... 40 V. A TRIAL OF NERVES 54 VI. A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 69 VII. THE MAGIC LAKES 82 VIII. THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES .... 98 IX. BAD MEN IN THE PARK 112 X. WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 132 XI. THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS VISIT CAMP . 147 XII. HOSTILE SIGN 159 XIII. "DANCING MEDICINE" 171 XIV. ON THE WAR TRAIL 184 XV. OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE . . . 200 XVI. TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 215 XVII. THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS . . 229 M23084 vi CHAPTER CAMPS CHAPTER PAG2 XVIII. TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD .... XIX. "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED!" ..... 260 XX. MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE . . 274 XXI. WHITE MEN AGAINST RED ..... 290 XXII. THE DUEL OF THE Two CHIEFS . . 308 XXIII. Two OTHER OLD HEROES ..... 325 XXIV. THE GOLD-MINE MAP ...... 338 FRIENDLIES AND HOSTILES Old Lodges: CHET S.^s*" I -F^e Hunters, White Injuns, Moun- tain Men Wagh ! GRIZZLY DAN Their Captain on the Trail BUSTER Of the Former Bar B Cow Outfit, but now " Dude Wrangler " Gus Still Herding Sheep, under Difficulties KITTY His Dog, Who is Wiped Out BONITA White Injun Dog, Who Springs a Surprise PETE THE ROUND-UP COOK Now again a Guide CHERRY In the Wilds, but not a " Squaw " MOLLY Still "Romantic," but Quite a Brick THE PROFESSOR Cherry's Father, always Picking up Things CHIEF BILLY Whose Southern Utes Prove Unruly CHARLEY Pow-wow His Son, Sometimes White, Some- times Indian, often Both SALLY Grizzly Dan's Long Rifle, His Close Companion PEPPER AND MEDICINE EYE Relics from the Old Bar B Horse Herd, but now Become Mountain-Man Ponies COTTON-TAIL Also from the Bar B Herd, and a Fine " Pack-Hawss " New Lodges: OLD FOUR-TOES Great Medicine Bear of Lost Park THE RED MAN Poacher Whose " Ha'r is raised " THE BLACK MAN His Partner, Who Escapes to the Enemy FOREST RANGER Who Has a Large Country to Cover VIEJO CHEYENNE An Exile, Who Shows the Utes how a Cheyenne can Fight and Die THE THREE CITY HUNTERS Lawless, but Plucky BETTY The Wise Dun Mule THE SPOTTED PONY Grizzly Dan's Horse THE BIG BULL Last of the Buffalo UTES Good and Bad The Black Fox, the Black Wolves, Red Chief Moun- tain, Warrior Peak, and Other "Medicine" Things TRAIL AND RENDEZVOUS The Wild Lost Park Region of the Rockies OLD FOUR-TOES CHAPTER I INTO THE UNKNOWN THE scene was typically Western. Out of the high sky gloriously blue poured down the sun, generous to sage and pine and crest and stream, and to all the lesser folk, bird and chipmunk and ant, busy in the warmth of welcome May. In a valley ran a single- track railroad, looking small amidst the greatness of nature. The railroad entered and emerged by a canon so high and narrow that the portals seemed to be holes ; a stream followed the track or the track followed the stream; and midway of the valley was a lone station. Here the only sign of life was again thoroughly Western : two horses, saddled with the cow-puncher saddle of high horn and cantle and long-hung ox-bow stirrups; and a boy, in overalls, checked blouse, red kerchief, and wide-brimmed hat, upon his hands gaunt- let gloves and upon his feet spurred " center-fire " boots, the heels high and set well forward. The two horses, one a " blue " or iron-gray, the other a bright bay, stood with lines and heads down, dozing in the warmth; a black sheep-dog, white-collared and white- chested, nosed busily about, ferreting for chipmunks; 1 2 OLD FOUR-TOES the boy sat swinging his legs over the platform edge. Inside the station sounded a telegraph key, ticking busily. Suddenly there echoed among the enclosing hills a shrill whistle; and like the command of a magician it waked the valley world. The two horses lifted their noses ; Chet the boy scrambled to his feet, and Bonita the dog came and stood beside him. From the station door peered the agent, in shirt-sleeves. Out from the mouth of the east canon issued a belch of smoke, and, wearing this as a plume, charged civili- zation in shape of a train. With roar and whistle it rushed on ; and scarcely had it paused at the station when from the steps of the last coach sprang another boy. He dropped what he was carrying, and with a wild cow-puncher whoop he and Chet dived at one another. They shook hands. The newcomer was slighter in build than Chet; but he was broad-shouldered and trim and alert. He wore blue flannel shirt, sombrero hat, old coat and trousers and shoes ; things old but neat and respectable for a train journey into the heart of the hills. Thus, with a whoop and a dive and a shaking of hands, met for another season together Chet Simms of Colorado and Phil Macowan of Chicago: two who had shared the same blanket, in ranch and on range, while riding for the Bar B and herding for the Circle K. "Hello!" "How!" "Hello, Bonita! Hello, old girl!" Phil fondled the INTO THE UNKNOWN 3 black sheep-dog, who, after a brief sniff, barked and gamboled her delight. " She knows me, doesn't she ! Good old girl!" " Shore she does," grinned Chet. " She shore does," agreed Phil, as broadly, to show that he had not forgotten the language. "That all your stuff?" asked Chet, nodding at a suit-case, and a carbine in leather sheath. "Yes. When do we start?" " Soon as you're ready." " All right. All I've got to do is change my stuff to my war-bag." " Go ahead. Hawsses are waiting." " Good ! What are they? I see : Pepper and Medi- cine Eye. Hello, Pepper. Want to have another trip ? Hello, old Medicine Eye." The horses pricked their ears. " Which do I ride? Pepper? Reckon so, by the looks of the saddle." "Yes; he's yores." " Bueno. Now I'll change my stuff. Don't need chaps, do I ? " " No." " I'll leave my suit-case with the agent." " He'll take care of it. You can get it when you come out in the Fall." "Where's Dan?" called back Phil, from the door of the station. " Waiting for us, out in the hills." " Bueno. You sling the gun to the saddle, and I'll be ready in a jiffy." Bonita trotted faithfully into the station after her 4 OLD FOUR-TOES master. Although six months had elapsed since upon taking train for home and the city Phil had apparently deserted her and Chet had become her keeper, now she had immediately resumed the old bonds of loyalty. Phil was her master, once and forever. They had followed the sheep together; and it was to Phil that Luis the Californian had consigned her. Under Bonita's silky coat and behind her white chest beat a heart very true. Chet tied the carbine boot or scabbard to the sad- dle of the blue horse. The stock of the carbine, pro- jecting, showed a long gash in the wood, as if a bullet had plowed along through. And so it had, for this was a carbine with a history: the carbine once possessed by the outlaw man with the frozen smile, in Phil's first experience with the Bar B round-up; and the scar was a reminder of a scrimmage with the outlaw lame man, terrible Joe. Having slung the carbine, Chet fussed about the horses, patting their noses and tightening the cinches. But he had not long to wait, for in less than ten minutes Phil was out again. Now he, too, wore over- alls newer than Chet's ; he was in vest and blue shirt- sleeves, a blue kerchief at his throat ; on his hands were fringed gauntlets, on his feet were " center-fire " boots of cow-puncher service, their spurs clinking as he strode. He carried a canvas sack, which evidently con- tained his extra clothing, etc. " All right," he announced, tying the sack and an old canvas coat behind the saddle. " Whoa, Pepper." He gathered the lines, and turned the horse around INTO THE UNKNOWN 5 broadside. His left hand resting on the mane, with his right hand he turned the left stirrup so as to thrust his left toe through it ; then with his right hand shifted to the horn he deftly swung aboard landing plump in the saddle. He was no tenderfoot, was Phil Ma- cowan ; he had ridden the range. Chet of course had been born to it. At the squeeze of Phil's knee 'Pepper with a jump broke into a gallop, as if recognizing the fact that a previous master was upon his back; but Phil pulled him down to a trot, and patted his neck as Chet drew alongside. "Jiminy!" sighed Phil. "But this feels good to have a hawss between my legs again. Beats street- cars." " It shore must," confirmed Chet, gravely. "How far back is Dan?" " Ten miles ; he's over on the Big White, where he can't hear an engine whistle. He won't come near a railroad." " Guess not," agreed Phil, wisely. " Where's he going to take us? Do you know yet?" " Into the Lost Park country, maybe." "Whereabouts is that?" " Over across the Horsefly Range. Don't believe anybody's ever been in it, much. It's too rough all full of brush and gulches." "What's there?" " Bear and sheep and deer and elk ; and buffalo, too, people say. It's so rough hunters can't get in to kill 'em off." 6 OLD FOUR-TOES " Whew ! " gasped Phil. " Sounds good, anyway." " We'll see, all right. Dad says that if Grizzly Dan doesn't know what's in there, no one does." " How is your father? " " Fine. He's going to quit sheep this year. When that irrigating reservoir is finished, we'll ranch it, for hay and cattle and other stuff." "How's old Jess?" " Kind of stiff after his winter's rheumatism. He can't do much." " Well, he's done his share," asserted Phil " He shore has. Punched cows forty years." "Ever hear from Ford?" " He's home in Boston, but he doesn't like it. He's coming back he and Billy Adams. You remember Adams, that Box outfit herder? " Yes, Phil remembered him. He was the Yale man, herding sheep for his health. Ford (who was Ford Dexter of the Bar B and the Circle K) and he had played against each other in Yale-Harvard football games, before they met so unexpectedly, last summer, amidst the sage of the sheep range. "Where are Pete and Buster?" Pete was the tall, thin Irish round-up cook and ex- cowboy, part of the old Bar B outfit ; Buster was the small, wiry, pugnacious puncher who hated sheep. " Pete's been working in town, in a restaurant ; Buster's still with the Saddle X." " Wonder if we'll run across Cherry and the Pro- fessor again this year?" Cherry was the girl rescued by the Bar B from the INTO THE UNKNOWN 7 three rustlers and outlaws : the Man with the Limp, the Man with the One Eye, and the Man with the Frozen Smile ; and the Professor was her father, who lectured on archaeology, in a college. A very absent- minded man, he, who met with much trouble. " Don't know," answered Chet. " Pete says they're wanting to go on another camping trip this summer they and that girl Molly. He'll take 'em, if they do go." " Maybe we'll run across them, then." Chet shook his head, solemnly. " Not in Lost Park, I reckon. Old Dan says he'll take us where we'll have to be white Injuns in order to live. It won't be any place for girls or tender- feet." The prospect gave Phil a peculiar, delightful little thrill of anticipation. "White Injuns!" That sounded good. But he was ready for it. After having ridden after cattle and trudged after sheep, and met whatever crisis came from man, weather, and beast, Phil felt himself prepared to be " white Injun," what- ever that was. Exchanging reminiscences and calling over the roll of mutual friends (most of whom were personages of the open range), the two boys pressed on. They climbed the first ridge Chet leading, on the trail, lines loose and one foot out of the stirrup so that with his leg also loose he was half turned, in the saddle, to gossip. Phil on Pepper followed close. At the crest of the ridge Chet pulled short, and swung from the saddle to the sage. " Want a drink? " 8 OLD FOUR-TOES he queried, as he left Medicine Eye to stand panting after the climb. " Great spring up here." " Sure," answered Phil, leaving Pepper. The spring welled from under a ledge; it was a clear, bubbling spring and visitors had scooped out a basin for it and had furnished it with a battered tin can. " You first," bade Chet. " I'm not extra thirsty." The water looked very inviting. Phil brimmed the can and started on a long swig but with the first draught he abruptly quit, astonished. Chet laughed and chuckled. " What do you think of it? " he demanded. " Regular soda water ! " gasped Phil. " Go ahead and drink," bade Chet. " It's bully. Won't hurt you. You could drink a gallon. Isn't it fine?" " It shore is," affirmed Phil, again plunging his lips into the can. " Phew ! " He paused for breath and examined critically can and spring. [< Where does it come from ? " " Don't know. Follows some water-bearing rock from higher up, I reckon. Done ? " " For a minute." Phil surrendered the can. Yes, it certainly was fine, that water. It sparkled and fumed, and %as full of dancing motes like minute crystals; it was cold and crisp and stung the tongue, and tasted not at all unlike a lemon phosphate at the soda fountain. Oddly enough was it situated, here on the crest of the ridge, a thousand feet over the valley and track below. As Phil took another hearty swig, IXTO THE UNKNOWN 9 Bonita came crashing through the sage. She trotted to the spring, where as a little rivulet it flowed over the basin, and she started to lap. As the effervescence struck her nostrils, she gave a surprised jump back- ward. While the boys laughed, she tried in several places at last venturing to proceed and drink. She, too, seemed to like it, once she had swallowed a few tonguefuls. ' That's nothing, though," declared Chet, as he and Phil remounted. tf Grizzly Dan says that over in the Lost Park country there are all kinds of springs and lakes. He'll show them to us." The trail traversed the ridge which, gravelly and covered with only sage brush, gave a wide view of the country round about. A splendid country it was: of mesas or table-lands, brush-cloaked and pine-dotted, with white-rimmed mountains showing against the horizon north and west. " Lost Park's beyond that divide," pointed Chet. " See? Where the saw-tooth range is." " How do we get in? " "By Horsethief Pass there's a trail. Old Dan'll know other ways. But Horsethief is bad enough. It's a trail halfway along the wall of a canon and only about two feet wide; so one leg scrapes the rock and the other dangles over a thousand feet of nothing. If you meet a burro train or anything else, one of you lies down and the other jumps, I guess, like goats." The Horsethief Trail sounded attractive. The trail left the ridge; and down the slope the boys pressed at a trot, standing in their stirrups and io OLD FOUR-TOES leaning forward upon the saddle-horns, to ease the jar. Chet led right along, without asking his partner whether the gait was too hard ; and Phil, soft though he was after a winter in the city, desired no favors. The ten miles must be covered. So it was jog, jog, jog, by the winding cow-trail which ever before threaded sage and aspen and cedar and jack-pines. Chet followed it unerringly. Flop, flop, flop went the saddles, with steady cadence, and Bonita, tired, loped stolidly behind, tongue out. The trail had been skirting a stream, which rippled among willows and pines, lining the bottom of a gulch. " There are bear in here," volunteered Chet. " Some fellows from Oro caught two cubs on top the mesa last week. Treed 'em with dogs. The old mother ran off." " Didn't she stay with her cubs? " " Naw," said Chet. " They tried to make her come back they poked the cubs and hurt them to make them squeal, but she didn't come. So they roped the cubs and tied them and carried them down to Oro. One was hurt so it died, though. I don't believe in running bear with dogs. It doesn't give the bear a show. He climbs a tree and then you can shoot him out like a squirrel." Phil agreed. " Camp's right over beyond this point," volunteered Chet. " Hope supper's ready. That water made me hungry; didn't it you? " The trail had emerged from the sparse timber into a natural meadow, with flowers and grass; a side INTO THE UNKNOWN 11 valley must come in beyond, for a swell of high ground projected from the left, ahead. " That looks like old Dan himself looks like his hawss ! " exclaimed Phil, suddenly. " Tis." "What's he doing, then?" " Don't know. Making medicine, maybe. Acts as if he was chasing a mouse, doesn't he! " grunted Chet, curious. For upon the smooth swell or tongue, a quarter of a mile ahead, a man on a horse that even at the dis- tance could be picked out as a spotted horse, was per- forming oddly dashing furiously around and around in a series of loops. Now he halted and waved a blanket; and abruptly he came down at the full speed of his mount, directly for the two boys. CHAPTER II IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN " WHAT'S the matter? Crazy? " ejaculated Phil. " Don't know. Must be something the matter," muttered Chet, fumbling at the stock of his rifle. He spurred Medicine Eye off the trail and jerked out the weapon. Phil, imitating, spurred Pepper to the other side and extracted his carbine. "What had we better do?" " Nothing, till we see what he does." " Maybe he's just trying to scare us." " Well, we don't scare," grunted Chet, stubbornly. And they didn't not Chet, anyway; and if Phil sometimes " scared " inside, he was careful not to show it, outside! On came at headlong gallop the horseman. He stood in his stirrups, and one hand held high a long- barreled gun; a long white beard streamed in the breeze, and from under the flaring-back brim of a round-crowned hat streamed long white hair also. He was seen to be dressed in leathery stuff; across his lap was thrown a blanket probably the same which he had waved from the swell. And now from the muzzle of his gun, flourished high, puffed a whitish cloud, and a sharp report echoed past the boys' ears. 12 IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN 13 " Guess he means that for welcome," ventured Chet, in a tone of relief. " Guess so," agreed Phil. The white-whiskered, white-locked old rider emitted a long, shrill whoop, peculiar and piercing; and not until he was virtually on top of the waiting pair did he speak a word or slacken the pace. Between them he halted so sharply, cowboy fashion, that his pinto horse plowed the trail with its fore hoofs. "Wagh!" he grunted. " Hyar's how," and he reached out a sinewy hand to Phil. " How are ye, boy?" " All right," answered Phil, catching his breath again, after the moment of suspense. The newcomer nodded to Chet. He was an old yes, one might call him a very old man, as to years. His white locks met and mingled with his full white beard, his skin was yellow and wrinkled, his form spare ; but he sat his spotted, foaming horse easily, and through the hair of his lean face two blue eyes twinkled keenly. He was clad all in blackened, worn buckskin loose shirt like a coat falling outside of leggins-trou- sers open at the thigh and belted at the waist, with moccasins upon his feet. The buckskin shirt and leg- gins were fringed with thongs once stained scarlet, but now dingy brick, and shirt and moccasins were em- broidered with beads. Beneath the loose coat was a flannel shirt of the ordinary kind, open at the throat. The blanket across his knees was a black-and-white striped Navajo. One lean brown hand grasped easily a regulation old-timer muzzle-loading rifle; a flintlock, 14 OLD FOUR-TOES too; barrel three feet long, evidently, set to a slim- necked, well-dropped stock of polished walnut; the whole gun must have stood five feet. He swiftly re- loaded, as he said: " I been watchin' for ye. Did you read my signals ? " " Not exactly/' confessed Phil. " Thought mebbe you didn't, by the way you spread out when I come on," chuckled the old man. " Fust I rode zigzag to attract attention. Then I made the blanket signal to come along, game is waitin'. Then I rode to meet ye, full-dash, reg'lar trapper fashion; but when I see ye separating suspicious, I fired off my gun in the air to let you know I war a friend, comin' with gun empty." " Huh ! " grunted Chet. " We thought you'd gone crazy." " Those air signals those air sign," reproved the old man. " If you mean to be white Injuns, you got to read Injun an' mountain-man sign-talk. O' course," and he chuckled again, through his white whiskers, as they rode along at easy trot, " thar ain't game in sight, 'cept what's in the pot." " That's enough for me! " declared Phil. " I shore am hungry." " So am I," spoke Chet. " Leetle wolfish myself," averred Grizzly Dan. ' To-night we'll have a feast, so's to fill up 'fore we take the long trail. Pot's bilin'." Riding smoothly, but with short stirrups instead of long, and with knees well bent (a style opposite to the cowboy style), on his spotted pony, his long hair float- IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN 15 ing and his long rifle across saddle-horn, the old man led, just as he had led on wilder trails, in many a year gone by. At the point of higher land where he had first been sighted he turned, to ascend a side valley. This narrowed, on both sides of a rollicking stream, and opened into a small park, of aspens and cedars and grass, with a spring trickling from the hither slope. Evidently here was the camp. A raw-boned roan horse, with white tail, and a small clay-colored mule, picketed out, lifted their heads for a moment's survey of the arrivals, ere resuming their busy cropping. " There's Cotton-tail! " exclaimed Phil, recognizing one of them. " Yes. Dad let us take her. She's a boss pack hawss," explained Chet. " That mule is Grizzly Dan's pack animal. She's a dandy. Knows as much as a dog." In the open a fire was blazing around a large black kettle hung over it from a stout pole slanting, with one end stuck in the ground, against a crotched peg; from the tip dangled the kettle. Camp equipage of blanket rolls and tarpaulins, panniers, pack-saddles, and a few eating utensils, formed a pile, against which leaned the short-handled camp ax. " Off-saddle and turn out yore bosses," bade Grizzly Dan, hospitably, suiting the action to the word. " Hobble 'em or picket 'em, either. Reckon no hostiles air around to cut the ropes or stampede our stock. But I've seed the time when I daren't go to sleep without the bosses brought up to the fire, and the picket-rope in my hand." He had turned his own horse 1 6 OLD FOUR-TOES loose, and now stepped briskly to the kettle on the fire. He lifted the cover; a cloud of steam rose and it seemed to Phil, busy adjusting the hobbles on Pepper, that he could smell the aroma. " Wagh ! " muttered the old man, satisfied. " Hyar's fat meat a-waitin' ! How you feelin', compafieros still wolfish?" " You bet ! " The reply was simultaneous. " Draw nigh, draw nigh, then," invited the host. And he raised his voice like a crier : " Hibbolo, hibbolo ! Come everybody ! Vip-po-nah gives a feast to Veheo- kiss ! " He cast a sly glance at the boys' mystified faces, and chuckled as he removed the cover from the kettle. " Reckon you don't savvy yet," he vouchsafed. " Vip-po-nah is ' Lean Chief ' an' Veheo-kiss is Cheyenne for * young white man/ I war jest follerin' the custom when a man gives a feast in an Injun village. But draw up, draw up." Into the plates he ladled out an enormous quantity of whitish meat boiled to shreds, and forming a thick gravy in which floated dumplings of dough. " Hyar wait a minute. We must do this right, or our medicine on the hunt will be bad." He pulled from his shirt pocket a short black pipe, and filling it, lighted it. He pointed the stem down, and up, and to right and to left; then he took four puffs, blowing the smoke just as he had pointed the pipe itself. He passed the pipe to Phil. " I don't smoke, thank you," said Phil. " I don't, either," giggled Chet. " Wall, now, you needn't," answered Grizzly Dan. ' You're too young. I'll make medicine for the hull of us. Know what I war doin' ? " IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN 17 They shook their heads. " I war makin' medicine. I war offerin' the pipe to the 'arth, an' the sky, an' the four winds, wishin' 'em to give us good luck on our hunt. That's Injun way. But now let's fill our meat-bags. Wagh! " The old man ate in a peculiar style, using only his hunting-knife ; a style rather frowned upon by civiliza- tion. However, Chet had brought along camp knives and forks and tin plates, so that he and Phil were supplied with the requirements of table manners. The stew was bully ! Phil thought that he never had tasted anything better; and Chet also grunted approval. " Help yoreself. Fill up, fill up," encouraged Grizzly Dan. " It's fat cow to-day, but mebbe it's pore bull to-morrow. So fill yore meat-bags while you can. That's mountain way." " What is it ? " queried Phil, heaping his plate again. "Rabbit?" " Wagh ! " denied Grizzly Dan. " Guess agin. Did you ever hear o' givin' a feast o' rabbit? Dawg, boy, dawg. That's feast meat." * This isn't dog ! " Phil drew back from his platter, eying it. "Is it?" "Dog!" gurgled Chet, pausing with fork half lifted. ' " Dawg," nodded Grizzly Dan. " How you like it? If thar's any meat that runs, 'cept painter, can take the shine ofFn dawg, I'll eat my moccasins." Phil must stand. " I didn't know it was dog meat," he stammered, feeling queer. i8 OLD FOUR-TOES "I didn't, either/' said Chet, thickly. "Thought it was rabbit. Whose dog? " " Set, set/' chuckled the old man. " Needn't be squeamish. After all, it 's nothin' but pre-airie dawg, an' I guess thar ain't much difference 'tween pre-airie dawg an' rabbit. But a dawg feast's the only proper feast when guests arrive in camp, an' I come as near to it as I could." "Oh," gasped Phil. "Prairie dog!" He sat down, rather dubiously. Chet proceeded to eat. " It's good, anyhow," he declared. " I've heard of people eating prairie dogs. Buster always said they were fine. Don't see why they shouldn't be; they live on roots and grass, about the same as rabbits." " Of course," agreed Phil, starting in again rather gingerly, but with suddenly alert appetite. " You'd eat wuss, if you'd foller the beaver long," spoke Grizzly Dan, emphatically. " Everything's meat to the mountain man an' the white Injun. Wagh ! I've eat wolf an' I've eat coyote, an' I've eat magpie ; an' I've toasted my moccasins an' biled my trap-sack ; yes, an' I've eat crickets an' rattle-snake. Had to do it. But thar's nothin' shines with painter meat, which is cat ; an' after that comes fat dawg ; an' after that comes fat young hos; an' after that comes buff'ler cow, an' beaver tail an' antelope an' venison an' mountain mutton." " Is bear as good as venison? " queried Phil. " I never ate any." IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN 19 " I don't like it very well," announced diet. " Or elk either." " A yearlin' b'ar in the Fall when he's plump is same as pig, only he's redder an' he's got a game taste," declared old Dan. "Ain't ye never ate b'ar? Sho' ! Wall, you'll eat it 'fore I'm done with you. You'll eat him or he'll eat you, mebbe. Wagh ! Over in the country whar we're goin' lives Old Four-Toes. Ever hear of Old Four-Toes ? " "I have," exclaimed Chet. "Is that where he ranges now ? Nobody's seen him lately." " That's whar he ranges," confirmed Grizzly Dan. " I seed his tracks last fall." " Did you trail him? " asked Chet, eagerly. Grizzly Dan laughed his chuckling laugh. " No, boy, I didn't trail him. I crossed his trail, an' he went on one way an' I went on t'other. We let each other alone in that big country whar thar's room enough for us both." " Who's Four-Toes? " queried Phil. " A big old silver-tip big as a cow, and with only four toes on one foot," answered Chet. " He's been around for ten years, and he's plumb full of bullets, but nobody's been able to get him, yet. He's too tough and too smart. He lost a toe in a trap, is all. But I didn't know he was in the Lost Park country." Grizzly Dan nodded. " He's than I know his track. I've seed it on the Los Pinos, down south o' hyar, an' I've seed it in the Lone Cone country, at the Utah line, an' I've seed it as fur north as Wyoming. That b'ar has covered a heap 20 OLD FOUR-TOES o' country. He's a medicine b'ar. That's what the Injuns say, an' I sorter think so myself. Lead or flint or horn or steel never can tech him. He's medicine. He's a spirit in b'ar shape." " I'd hate to have to eat him," giggled Chet, the practical. " Real dog would be better. But I don't reckon we'll eat him or buffalo or beaver-tail or antelope, either. You 'don't often see those critters nowadays ; do you, Phil ! " " Wall, boy," mused Grizzly Dan, slowly, " we white Injuns are on the trail for a country whar you're liable to sight 'most anything. That thar's a country left pretty much as it war made, 'fore the settler an' the game butcher spiled it." "Lost Park? "asked Phil. Grizzly Dan nodded. " Over in what they call Lost Park. We used to call it our market, 'cause we could go in thar 'most any time an' come out with meat-bags filled an' pack- hosses loaded. We used to say, in lean time : * Let's go to market,' an* we warn't often disapp'inted. Injuns hunted thar, too; but it war sort o' neutral ground, whar a man white or red might go an' get strong for the beaver trail or the war path agin. But that war many years ago, though I've been goin' thar, occasionally, ever since." He shook the ashes from his pipe, and stood. The evening chores were to be done. But Lost Park also waited, and it was famed among old-time trappers and hunters, and it still was unexplored, unraided, a treasure-trove of wild things and the home of Old IN CAMP WITH GRIZZLY DAN 21 Four-Toes. The various pictures thronged Phil's mind, as now he and Chet washed the few dishes, and Bonita licked up the scraps, and old Dan attended to shifting the picketed animals to fresh feed. The kettle, with what remained in it of the stew, was set to one side. The beds were unrolled and spread : the ancient Navajo blanket, white and black, a quilt and tarpaulin, for Grizzly Dan ; blankets, a couple of quilts, and a tarp, for the boys. There was no tent. But this mattered not to Phil and Chet, who many and many a night had slept out on round-up, drive, and herd. And of course it mattered not to the hardy old trapper. " We're mountain men, wagh ! " he explained. " A buff'ler-robe, an' a spruce when it rains, air enough for us. But when we get to rendezvous in market country, thar's an old shack we can use to cache ourselves in. Water, wood, an' meat, an' plenty pelts that's rich livin'. Wagh! Now, don't you boys mind my movin' about in the night. I'm liable to get a leetle hungry agin. If you begin to feel wolfish yoreselves, thar's meat in the pot." CHAPTER III OFF FOR LOST PARK IT seemed good to be snuggled again beside Chet, flat on the ground, with the open air all around and the stars above; and Phil lay for a few minutes luxuriously awake, gazing up into the twinkling, sparkling ceiling overhead. He saw the Big Dipper, which was the Great Bear, and he found the North Star and the Little Bear. Thence his eyes wandered back to the Great Bear, which reminded him of Old Four-Toes ; and Old Four-Toes reminded him of Lost Park ; and Lost Park reminded him of beaver, buffalo, panthers (which Grizzly Dan had termed " painters : '), elk, and other creatures of fur, hoof, and horn, which he never had expected to see wild ; and these reminded him of the various delicacies of which old Dan had spoken beaver-tail, horse, " painter meat," etc. ; and these reminded him of the comfortable state of his own stomach, and set him to wondering whether Grizzly Dan really intended to make another meal ere morn- ing! Chet was gurgling and sighing, hard asleep. Chet never seemed to lie awake; he made bed a business, and settled down and closed his eyes and put in every minute. Phil was now too recently from city and mattress and room, to close his eyes and sleep at 22 OFF FOR LOST PARK 23 demand. But while in the midst of his mental wander- ings, punctuated by Chefs happy gurgles and the grunts of the dozing horses, and the rising and turn- ing around of Bonita, beside the fire (where she was curled, like a huge caterpillar), he also dropped off. He was aroused in the night by the figure of old Dan, blanket upon shoulders, Indian fashion, squatting in the flicker of the fire and scraping a plate! Eating again ! And he was aroused, a second time, in earnest, by the stir of Chet and the voice of Grizzly Dan declaiming, insistently : " Leve, leve, leve ! Get up ! All hands get up ! " All hands, and feet too, " got up " Chet on the one side of the bed, Phil on the other. Bonita already was up. The fire was blazing ; the kettle was simmer- ing and a coffee-pot was bubbling. With oddly silent movement Grizzly Dan, the same quaint, striking figure, in his moccasins was returning from the creek. " Hos guard out ! " he called. " You can be fetchin' in the critters whilst I get breakfast. That's fust duty : round up the stock an' scout for hostile sign. I been lookin' for beaver cuttin's in the creek" (and he chuckled) "but thar ain't none." " Better take our ropes," said Chet. " May have to rope Medicine Eye. He can run in hobbles faster than we can in bare feet, if he has the notion. He's mean, that way." But the ropes were not necessary. The picketed animals were of course easily caught; Pepper, seeing Phil approach, took only a few cramped, irresolute 24 OLD FOUR-TOES steps his snared fore-feet moving together in a hop, and Medicine Eye, after one brief spurt, halted at the swing of Chefs rope. The five were watered at the creek, and then were led close in and tethered short. " S'pose you didn't know jest what I war sayin', when I got you up this mornin' out o' bed, did ye? " asked Grizzly Dan, as they sat at breakfast. " We understood part of it, all right the last part," said Phil. " Guess we overslept." " Fust part war ' Leve, leve, leve ' ; that thar's the old trapper call, meanin' ' Rise/ I reckon it must be French, though some say it's Spanish. Thar's a ' French word ' levez,' an' thar's a Spanish word * laver,' one meanin' get up, t'other meanin' ' wash.' The French word's best for trapper ways; we could always get up, but we didn't always wash," and Grizzly Dan chuckled again. The breakfast was the same as the supper had been, except that coffee was added. And the stew tasted as good this morning as it had tasted last night ; certainly prairie-dog was not to be despised. " Empty the pot," bade old Dan. " We may have noon lunch an' we may not. Didn't hear any o' ye eatin' in the night, did I ? " " Not I," said Phil. " I either," said Chet. "I slept." " Wall, I got reel hungry 'long 'bout midnight," confessed old Dan, earnestly as if the fact was quite ordinary, even after the prodigious supper which he had stowed away. " So I riz an' 'tended to my meat- bag agin. Eat when you're eatin' is my theory. I've OFF FOR LOST PARK 25 seen three Injuns eat a whole deer at one sittin'. Yes, eat him all but his hide an' horns. Wall," he added, lighting his pipe and standing, " hyar's some for the dog. Now ketch up, ketch up! Souse the dishes an' scrape the kettle, an' we'll break camp. I'll be 'tendin' to puttin' on the pack-saddles." The work of cleaning the cooking and table utensils was brief ; and it was finished almost by the time that Bonita had gobbled the last vestige of the breakfast thrown to her. " All right-o! Ketch up, ketch up! " called Grizzly Dan, observing, from his operations among the horses. " Know what that means ? That thar's 'nother trapper order ; traders used it, too. Means to break camp, put on yore saddles or hitch yore critters to the wagons, an' be ready to move. Ketch up, ketch up ! " To saddle the riding horses was easy work for the boys although old Dan had his pinto ready first, to Chefs chagrin. Nobody likes to be beaten in saddling or unsaddling. But " I don't know whether we can throw on a pack so it'll stay, or not," he admitted candidly. " We never learned; did we, Phil?" " I never did," Phil answered. " Didn't ye ? " remarked old Dan, in quiet surprise. " Wall, it's every man to his own packs, but I reckon I can show ye. You hold the packs an' I'll do the tyin' till you've 1'arned how. Fust we'll hang these hyar panyards, or what air called alforjas " We know enough for that," claimed Chet. " an' then we'll put on the top packs. Got yore 26 OLD FOUR-TOES pack folded? That's right. Loose stuff inside the blankets, an' the tarp wropped around. Pack's got to be soft enough so the rope'll bite in an' hold it from slippin'. Now you stiddy yore pack on yore hos, an' watch me, an' you'll 1'arn how to do." The pair of panniers, or alforfas which were a pair of stiff, leather-covered, deep and narrow boxes, slung one on each side of the pack-saddle had been adjusted and filled with odds and ends; and to bulge over them had been lifted upon the saddle the top pack enveloped in the bedding and forming a large pad. Across the top pack and under the grunting Cotton- tail, back and forth, looping the pack at ends and middle, binding it closely, Grizzly Dan passed the lash rope ; with a final haul he tucked the loose end in a bow. He gave the pack and panniers a final shake, testing. " Thar ! " he quoth. " That thar's snug." " What did you throw ? A diamond hitch ? " queried Chet. " One of 'em, I reckon. The diamond war used by us trappers in the West long 'fore it war used by these hyar army packers. You'll 1'arn it, soon. 'Tain't hard. When you come to unpack, you jest pull that loose end an' the knots untie; an' to take up slack an' tighten the pack you run the knots an' haul on the same end. Now for my hos." Old Dan's packs were somewhat different from the packs belonging to the boys. He had two sacks, in- stead of the panniers. They were short and wide sacks of blackened, smooth, thick leather, to which clung a few tufts of matted brown hair; Phil remem- OFF FOR LOST PARK 27 bered to have seen, in an attic, hair trunks that looked somewhat like these sacks. He would have liked to ask what these sacks were made of, but he knew that in the open West an unnecessary question marked the tenderfoot; and he decided to waif If Chet also was curious, he likewise refrained from being over- inquisitive. But the old trapper seemed to read their minds. " Ever see sacks like these hyar? " he invited. " Hide, aren't they ? " ventured Phil. " Cow hide ? " Grizzly Dan chuckled, as he threw the lash rope. " Bull hide," proffered Chet. " That's nearer," said Grizzly Dan. " Bull, an' old bull, and buff'ler bull. These hyar sacks have lasted me thirty year, an' I had to get 'em of a Ute Injun, at that. Those panyards o' yourn are all right, but give me my trap sack an* my sack o' possibles, made out o' buff'ler bull. I'd feel lost without 'em. At a pinch, I can eat 'em, you know." And he chuckled again. " These must be the traps, over on my side," hazarded Phil, punching the thick and bulky cushion. "Bear traps?" " Wall, boy, they might be b'ar traps, an' they might be wolf traps, an' they might be beaver traps." " It's against the law to trap beaver," stated Chet, in his blunt way. He never minced words, did Chet; he said just what he thought. " Yes, it's agin the law," agreed old Dan. " It's agin the law o' man, an' sometimes I think it's agin the law o' God. But I've packed traps for sixty year, an* 28 OLD FOUR-TOES unless I hear 'em jinglin' I'm lonesome. I usu'lly get enough pelts, one kind or 'nothcr, to buy my supplies, an' that's all I want. T'other," he added, brightening, " on yore side, is the sack o' possibles. That's what we old-timers call our extra stuff moccasins, gloves, powder, lead, buckskin, etc. : possibles. 'Cause, I reckon, it's mighty possible that we'll need 'em. Whoa, now, durn ye," he addressed the mule. " Don't get fractious, Betty. You'll have plenty chance to move around, 'fore the day's done." Old Dan led, on his spotted pony. Chet followed, on Medicine Eye. Next came the dun mule, laden with the trap sack and the sack of possibles, and the top pack of bedding, with the iron kettle slung at one side. Cotton-tail, with the panniers and the top pack, obediently ambled behind. And closing the rear rode Phil, on Pepper. He was satisfied with the post, for the little cavalcade ahead of him, with the old trapper, in moccasins and buckskin, balancing his long rifle and sitting easily his pinto, was most picturesque. Sometimes at Pepper's heels, sometimes trotting into the brush at either side, with black silky coat, white collar and chest, bushy tail and sharp inquisitive nose, trotted Bonita, who must not be overlooked. Now did it seem that they fairly were launched for the wilds. Old Dan led unhesitatingly, up the draw, his pony treading, with quick single-foot gait like a fox-trot, the narrow bridle-path before. Without speaking they rode, always on the soft trail, through the trembling aspens and the fragrant pines, with flowers, pink, white, blue, and red, brushing the fet- OFF FOR LOST PARK 29 locks of horse and mule. Betty and Cotton-tail grabbed at them, in passing, and chewed them down along with mouthfuls of grass and weeds. The trail imitated the windings of the stream which rippled on the right. But the stream sank, and presently it was roaring and tumbling through a canon, hundreds of feet below them, while they entered upon a narrow wagon-road which had come in by a high bridge and skirted the wall halfway up between stream- bed and canon rim. " Is this Horsethief Trail? " called Phil. " Naw," replied Chet, over his shoulder. " I should say not ! " The way seemed to Phil perilous enough partic- ularly if they should meet another pack-train or a wagon. Bonita now also appeared to consider the situation grave, for occasionally peering over into the chasm, she lagged soberly in the wake of Pepper. The opposite side of the canon sloped sharply, and was white with slim dead pines, like untrimmed tele- phone poles. A dull " Boom ! " was heard. " Blasting," called back Chet. " They're putting in a big reservoir." The canon opened, as the trail lowered, and they rode out among a gang of foreign workmen, shoveling and drilling around a hole that looked like the mouth of a large sewer pipe. ' That's a conduit," explained the ready Chet. ' They're making a dam here, and the water'll back up to flow under the hill, through the pipe, and come 30 OLD FOUR-TOES out in the valley, for irrigating and power. It's going to open a lot of new country to ranching/' The Greeks and Austrians paused, and watched the little cavalcade pass just above them. Grizzly Dan seemed to strike them as a joke. One of them shouldered his pick, as if it were a gun, and pointing it, laughed : " Bang ! " Then they all laughed and jabbered, and pretended to shoot, with picks and crow- bars as their weapons. That this old man and these two boys should be crossing country with a pack-train outfit was to these jovial workers a great source of amusement. One of them even imitated a bear getting on all fours, and falling over dead when a comrade aimed at him with a pick! Grizzly Dan rode on without a single indication that he noticed, but Phil gave back laugh for laugh. The river turned sharply to the right, and the trail obliqued to the left, climbing a hill. At the top Grizzly Dan halted, as if to let the animals breathe; he could gaze down on the work gang, five hundred feet below. And gaze down he did, indignant. " Yes," he said, as Phil came on, to join him and Chet; " that's the way, air it? Hyar I've trapped an' fout over this country 'fore some o' those fellows war born, and now they're in hyar to laugh at me whilst they turn the country into farms. I've raised ha'r for less, I tell ye ! No man is so old he likes to be laughed at." And he angrily clapped the lock-plate of his rifle, shaking the priming under the flint. " Mebbe they made fun o' Sally, too. But she could show 'em." " They were only fooling," placated Chet, he and OFF FOR LOST PARK 31 Phil alarmed. "They didn't know what they were saying. They laugh at everybody." " Sure they do/' supported Phil. "They do, do they?" muttered old Dan. "Let's give 'em another chance then, Sally; shall we? " His keen, twinkling eyes, set amidst the white hair of thick whiskers and bushy brows, were roving over the slope across, beyond the gang. It was a slope covered with logs and short brush and rock ledges. " See that 'ere striped squirrel, on that 'ere rock? " he asked. "Yonder, settin' agin the patch o' rock wall?" He pointed. " I see him," said Chet. And Phil, last, could just make out a vague bunch, like a rat on its hind quarters outlined upon the yellowish background of the ledge. Grizzly Dan lightly lifted his long rifle, cocked it, and leveled the heavy barrel. The workmen below had been watching, curiously, and as the muzzle out- stretched they eagerly turned their heads to note the mark. Their voices floated up. " That's a hundred and fifty yards," spoke Chet and then, as it steadied, the muzzle also spoke with sharp, flat " Crack ! " A little puff of rock-dust, right where the squirrel had sat, answered, and tumbling, sprawling, the body of the squirrel itself ricochetted clown the steep slope, and struck the very edge of the stream, across from the workmen. Their excited jabber welled excitedly, and one of them recklessly waded, knee deep, and brought the squirrel to his mates. They crowded to examne it. " That's right. Look at it. You'll find it shot in 32 OLD FOUR-TOES the head, I bet ye," muttered Old Dan, grimly, as he swiftly reloaded. " Laugh some more." But the Greeks and Austrians, gazing up, and talk- ing, were not disposed to laugh. The token had been sufficient. Such a shot appeared almost miraculous. " That's shore some shooting," appraised Chet, soberly. " It shore is," agreed Phil. And it " shore " was, for a man of eighty-odd years, and a flintlock muzzle-loader with open sights. " Sally usu'lly throws plumb center/' observed Grizzly Dan. " She's had to, in her time, to save my ha'r. But hark 'ee! Hear them hounds? Runnin' b'ar, ain't they?" The spot where the halt had been made was on the top of a moderate ridge, whither the trail had climbed after it and the stream diverged. Now, down on the opposite side of the ridge from the river side, floated faintly, but growing louder as if the distance was being lessened, the barks and yelps of dogs. Bonita pricked her ears. All listened, except Betty the mule and Cotton-tail, her partner in service, who busily foraged. " Heading this way, aren't they? " queried Phil. " Come on," exclaimed Chet, as he rode forward, across the ridge, for a better view of the country beyond. " Come on ! Take down your gun, Phil ! Maybe we'll get a shot." He was pulling his own rifle from the scabbard, and Phil as he too spurred forward extracted his trusty carbine. Grizzly Dan followed leisurely, not at all ex- cited. OFF FOR LOST PARK 33 The clamor of dog voices increased. From the ridge, which fell away in a long rocky slope, the party looked out upon a wide valley, the end and the farther side of which were cloaked with brush and a few cedars. " They're right across! " announced Chet. " There they are! Hear 'em?" "Yes," remarked old Dan, quietly. "And thar's yore b'ar. See him? " He pointed, with the barrel of his rifle. Sure enough, a blackish object had emerged from a fringe of brush, diagonally across, and was galloping on, partially in the open, as if making for the slope of the ridge. " I see him ! I see him ! " gasped Chet, tumbling off his horse as if for better aim. " Wait ! Let him come near. Maybe we'll get him. He's too far now. Hang on to the hawsses, though. He's a little one, isn't he?" " Little black b'ar," confirmed old Dan, quietly, sitting his pony. " Young one, I reckon." His wonderful eyes pierced to every detail. " Wait," again warned Chet, as if fearful that Phil, now likewise dismounted and ready, would fire too soon. " Let Dan tell us when." " Wall," drawled Grizzly Dan, " you do yore own shootin'. I'm liable to miss the b'ar and hit a dawg or two. Chasin' a b'ar, like this, with dawgs, till he can't run no further ; and then havin' the dawgs hold him in a tree till men come on up and shoot him out ! " he muttered. " Look at the pore beast, will you ? Nothin' 34 OLD FOUR-TOES but a young one, anyhow, and ain't been out long enough to get reel strong. Guess the dogs must have routed him in the brush, and he hain't had sense to tree which war lucky for him. Thar come the hounds, too, on his trail." A bevy of specks had appeared, yonder where the bear had emerged. The bear himself, skirting the base of the ridge, was making hard work. Even at the distance could it be perceived that he was winded; and Phil fancied how his sides were heaving and his tongue hanging. But the bloodthirsty instincts of Chet the practical were aroused. The bear appealed to him not so much as a panting, frightened fugitive as a species of game. His eyes riveted upon it, as if hypnotized he slowly raised his rifle and took careful aim. Phil held his breath, almost hoping that Chet missed. The gun cracked spitefully. The ball threw up a spurt of dirt beyond the bear. " Aw, I shot too high ! " muttered Chet, jerking the lever angrily. " Shoot, Phil ! Aren't you going to shoot?" The rifle cracked again. The running bear halted abruptly, and sat up on his haunches, gazing about as if inquiring what that new attack might be. Then as abruptly he dropped to all fours, scampered clumsily a few steps, and vanished! " Aw, gee ! " complained Chet, regretfully, lowering his rifle. " Where is he ? I'd have got him, next time. Why didn't you other fellows shoot? What's the matter with you ? " OFF FOR LOST PARK 35 " I didn't want to shoot him," confessed Phil, who lowered his own carbine, which he had mechanically leveled. " What's the use ? It wasn't our hunt. He was having a hard time with those other hunters." " He's holed, I bet ye," said old Dan, statuesque, and searching with his puckered keen eyes. " He's holed. Now I reckon the varmints'll try to smoke him out. Thar's no get-away for a b'ar when dogs air called in to help humans. That's a double dose. Wall " " I know ! " exclaimed Chet. " He went into the conduit. That's where the other end is that's where it empties ! It runs under this ridge. Come on ! " he bade, as excited as ever. " Maybe he'll go right through. Come on and see the fun ! " And away he went, tugging at Medicine Eye, to recross the ridge, for a view of the gulch which they had just left. Phil followed; and with a chuckle Grizzly Dan leisurely rode after. The grading and blasting gang were working away, picking and shoveling and jabbering, before the entrance of the conduit. They did not now notice the return, above them, of the three spectators (four, in- cluding Bonita), who gazed down expectantly. On a sudden one of the laborers, stooping before the orifice, paused, with shovel poised, and half straightened, peering as if he might have heard an odd sound. Drop- ping his shovel he sprang back. His shrill voice echoed up to the watchers; his comrades, momentarily ceas- ing their methodical movements, turned their heads, curious over his action. Something was about to hap- pen! And it did happen! By one simultaneous jump 36 OLD FOUR-TOES the men before the hole cleared a path, right and left stumbling, sprawling, diving for safety, leaving their tools ; and into the cloud of dust bolted, as if fairly shot from a huge popgun, a round, furry object. A chorus of frightened cries, high-pitched and frantic, rose to the gazers upon the ridge. Head over heels tumbled one swarthy workman; another caught his heel and slammed flat upon his back ; and cleaving a lane through their midst sped the bear, as frightened as they, but with his ears back and his fur bristled play- ing the offensive. He reached the river, and dashed through. Dripping and refreshed he scrambled up the opposite bank, through the brush and rocks, for safety somewhere else. The loose earth and stones clattered behind him. No harm had been done, and the spectacle was entirely funny. Phil and Chet were doubled over, shrieking with laughter ; on his pinto Grizzly Dan was slapping his buckskin thigh and chuckling with open mouth. But " Shoot ! Shoot ! " he yelled down, in strong, pene- trating voice. " Shoot him with yore shovels an' yt>re picks ! Ya-a-a-a ! Thar's yore game ! We brought it to ye!" And he muttered, as he chuckled: "Make faces at us, will ye ! Twould a' sarved ye right if he'd a' clawed some o' ye ! " " Oh, shoot ! You can hit him, Dan. I can't I can't quit laughing," panted Chet. "Can you, Phil? Oh haw-haw, tee-hee! Oh, jiminy!" " Oh, h,i\v-lmv ! " echoed Phil, in the same fix. " The b'ar can go; but if a dawg comes out o' that OFF FOR LOST PARK 37 tliar hole, he's gone beaver, says old Sal/' announced Grizzly Dan. " Let's see about these hyar dawgs, any- how." He rode back across the ridge, to inspect the other side again, and the vicinity of the conduit there. Mounting hastily, the boys did the same. The dogs had arrived, and now spurring across the valley came the hunters also. The dogs had clustered about the exit of the conduit, and were nosing it, or were lying outstretched and exhausted, while they yelped for advice. " Reckoned they wouldn't go in thar, an' nobody can force 'em in, either," declared old Dan. " An' it air goin' to take some work to get 'em 'round the hill an' to t'other side, an' then thar's the river, to break the trail. I bet on the b'ar." The riders arrived. They peered into the conduit; as Grizzly Dan had predicted, the dogs refused to enter it far; and also as he had predicted, they refused to leave it, the trail was so warm. The men spied the three riders above them, and shouted questions ; but the words were indistinguishable, and as Dan did not reply, the two boys did not, either. A couple of the men (there were four) rode around the point of the ridge, as if to reconnoiter; they came back and with a dog apiece upon the saddle started off with them, by a trail which lower down took them to the opposite side. Even here, assisted by the loud talk- ing and the much pointing of the laborers, they had a difficult time. The dogs, upon the scent again, were bound to bay at the mouth of the conduit, evidently deeming the bear holed; carrying the two dogs, 38 OLD FOUR-TOES through the stream splashed the men, to pick up the trail at the opposite bank. However, the water had killed the scent, evidently; for the dogs were at fault and presently swam back, despite the efforts of their masters, to bay at the hole again. Old Dan chuckled. " Smart b'ar/' he remarked. " Will he get away, do you think? " queried Phil. " He's saved his scalp, this time. He war pretty nigh gone beaver, if it hadn't been for that tube. But he air good for another day, now." " Then I'm glad I didn't hit him," spoke Chet, im- pulsively. So was Phil. " Ketch up," prompted Grizzly Dan. " It's a long trail, yet. Never did see the fun in chasing b'ar with dogs, myself," he continued, as they rode for the pack animals, which had strayed, grazing. " This hyar idee o' routin' out a b'ar with dawgs, an' havin' them run him up a tree, ain't to my notion o' man sport. What chance had a b'ar, with a dozen hounds follerin' every footprint ? It's jest a question o' tuckerin' him ; an' to stand under an' shoot him while he waits is 'bout as brave as shootin' a squirrel. Anybody can do that an' you don't have to shoot straight, either. Drop him into the dawgs an' they'll help finish him. Wagh! 'Cordin' to my notion the average b'ar don't do any harm, anyhow. Some o' these hyar white b'ar, what you call grizzly an' silver-tip, need a pill in the head, occasional, to make 'em stand 'round ; but 'tween man an' b'ar it oughter to be a stand-up fight, when it air fight. When I see a b'ar chased by dawgs, I always OFF FOR LOST PARK 39 want to help the b'ar an' fight the dawgs. Yet no man livin' has killed more b'ar than I, I reckon ; I an' old Sal, hyar. But ketch up, ketch up. It's a long trail. Wagh!" They traversed the ridge, as it swung around to the head of the valley down which the bear had been chased ; and they left behind them the clamor of dogs and the fainter voices of men. CHAPTER IV THROUGH MEDICINE CANON THE top of the ridge was flat and gravelly, with a sprinkling of sage. It was traversed by several trails, and Grizzly Dan, leading, rode confidently on. The ridge swung in a great simicircle the river gorge on the left, the valley on the right. In about a mile the ridge ended, falling away into an open flat on the one hand and a stretch of timber on the other. From the flat up-wafted a melodious murmur of animal voices high and low, and mingled with the murmur the tinkle of bells. To Phil the sounds were familiar; they re- called with a rush his free herder life of the year be- fore, and suddenly he felt a little wave of yearning. After all, that had been a fine experience, with Gus, and Kitty and the foolish ewes, and " Sheep ! " called back diet. " See 'em? " Of course he saw them, down below, scattered like drab moles burrowing amidst the sage. The feeble blatting of the lambs could be distinguished ; the sheep showed whitish ; evidently they had been sheared, and this was a stopping place en route to the lambing range. Yonder was the herder's tent. Bonita's ears were erect and her head up, as if she also (trained sheep-dog that she was) recognized familiar sounds. At this moment, with furious bark 40 THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 41 and bristling back another sheep-dog a black dog, almost as handsome as she sprang from a couch in the sage and growling and wrathful rushed for her, bounding headlong, only to stop as Bonita responded bravely. This black dog struck Phil as being a dog that re- minded him of another dog or was it the same dog? It was ! It must be ! " There's Kitty! " he shouted to Chet. " Isn't she? Sure she is! Here, Kitty! Here, Kit! " Surprised, the black dog paused an instant, to turn her head; then she and Bonita continued to walk around one another and threaten. Kitty it certainly was Gus the herder's dog, of last summer; once Bonita's friend and fellow-worker, but by one fight changed, evidently, to deadly enemy. And now from the brush arose an angular, slouchy figure of a man Gus himself! He yelled at Kitty, and she regretfully obeyed. Chet and Phil waved at him, and he came forward, from where, on the edge of the ridge, he had been lying watching his sheep. " Hello, Gus." And Chet shook hands with him. Grizzly Dan nodded. Riding up, Phil also shook hands. "Still at it?" " Herding sheep," replied Gus, laconically. " Dis iss our lambing range." By his flat features, his scant, faded yellow mustache, his high cheek-bones, his blue eyes, and his broken speech, he was a Scandinavian. Last year he had been on the drive to the lambing range with the sheep of Mr. Simms, Chet's father. In his tent and company 42 OLD FOUR-TOES Chet and Phil had learned what they knew of the sheep-range business. " Thought you were in Wyoming." " I wass. I wass dere till winter. But now anodder fellow and I bring our sheep in here." " Herding for yourself, are you? " " Yes, I and anodder fellow. Have you quit the sheep business? " " No, dad's running a bunch of Circle K, again ; but he'd like to sell out," said Chet. " Phil and I are going hunting." "That iss the Luis dog, issn't she?" queried Gus. " I t'ought so. Kitty remembers her. If she don't keep away some day Kitty will kill her. She iss no good, anyhow." Phil flamed up, to retort for Bonita was the best dog in the world ; best sheep-dog, best dog every way. But he checked himself. Let Gus cherish the old grudge, from last year when the fight between Bonita and Kitty led straight to the fight between the mas- ters also. Gus always had been jealous of Lois's dog. " Yes, she's my dog now," he only warned. " They surely remember each other, though." " Ketch up," spoke old Dan. " Better be movin'." He started on. " Where are you going, you t'ink ? " asked Gus, as the boys lifted the noses of their horses, to follow their guide. " Lost Park, maybe." " Perhaps we move in dere, too, for the summer," THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 43 vouchsafed Gus. " I do not know. We got permit to graze dere, but it iss pretty brushy." " Some bear, too," said Phil. " We are not afraid of bear," replied Gus. " Well, adios," called Chet. " Adios," bade Phil. " So long," responded Gus. And he called, after : " That iss the trail to Lost Park, odder side, over dere," and he motioned to the left. But Grizzly Dan, in the advance, veered down upon the right of the ridge, for the timber, and of course the little procession followed. On they jogged, across country, down the slope, and entered the timber cloaking the vale. It was a pleasant change; the pines and spruces were thick, their fresh tips gave forth a warming, pungent scent, and upon the dried needles covering the sun-flecked ground the hoofs of mule and horses fell with scarce a sound. Among the myriad clean trunks wound the cavalcade and suddenly Phil realized that they were upon a trail, little trodden, but distinct. Grizzly Dan drew rein and waited for the pack train to close up on him. " That sheep-herder told us the trail to Lost Park was t'other side the ridge, didn't he? " he asked. And he chuckled. " Wall, we don't need any sheep advice. This hyar's a trail made before he or you war born an' 'fore I war born, either. It's the old North Trail, whar the Injuns traveled 'twixt New Mexico and clean up in Montana. It war the trail for war parties an* peace parties both. It air two thousand miles long; but only a few of us know about it, now." 44 OLD FOUR-TOES "Does it go through Lost Park?" asked Chet. " It goes through one end ; but thar's an old trapper's trail forks off, whar we go in." " Don't we go by Horsethief Trail, then? " queried Phil, disappointed to be deprived of hair-raising thrills. Grizzly Dan chuckled softly. " Hosthief Trail air the trail that sheep-herder p'inted us to. I'll show ye wuss'n the Hosthief Trail, boy, if you're hankerin' so. We'll go in at t'other end o' the park, whar thar's elbow room." He rode on. With gentle jogging, and scarcely a sound, save of leather creaking and canvas occasionally rasping upon twig, the pack-march proceeded. Ever the ancient trail, pressed so often in the old days by moccasined foot and by nimble-hoofed pony, reached on before, threading the mazy trunks. Sometimes it was quite broad, and well-defined, making an aisle; sometimes it was narrow and almost imperceptible, where the brush and younger trees had crowded into it ; and where it crossed the small open places, or parks, it could not be descried by Phil at all. But Grizzly Dan, seemingly not guiding his spotted pony, never hesitated ; and always the trail appeared again, under hoof. The sun was behind ; so the route was due north. The timber grew patchy, interspersed with rocks, ledges, and boulders ; the way pinched to a little canon, carpeted by grass and flowers, hedged by walls of lime- stone, and strewn with oddly shaped rock-masses like statuary. The masses, some large, some small, on end, were made of hardened blue mud stuck full of large pebbles, like raisins in a pudding. The weather had THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 45 carved the masses, set on end, into shapes of old women, old men, dwarfs, and animals; and amidst them jogged the pack-train. Among the limestone ledges of the side walls the red marmot, or Western ground-hog, was whistling. An enormous fellow, as large as a spaniel, sat up ahead, erect on a protruding shelf, about one hundred yards distant. Phil was just going to exclaim at his size, when without an effort, and scarcely checking his pony, Grizzly Dan swung his long rifle; it cracked, echoing in the defile, and down pitched the ground-hog, to lie in a crumpled heap at the base of the wall. Chet spurred over. "Right through the head!" he shouted. "Good shot! Want him?" " Fetch him hyar, o' course," bade old Dan. " Do 'ee suppose I waste powder an' lead ? That's our sup- per." "Aw who eats ground-hogs?" grinned Chet, re- turning with the limp, headless carcass. Yes, old Dan's bullet had struck true. " I do, and so do you," assured old Dan, as with hunting-knife he deftly disemboweled the spoil, then hung it at his saddle horn. " Do 'ee think I kill ani- miles for fun? That ain't white Injun way. I war wrong to shoot that 'er chipmunk back a ways an' I'd oughter eat him. But I war mad. You'll find this hyar hawg air prime when he comes out the pot. An* after you boys have been white Injuns awhile, an' trav- eled the lean trail, you'll Tarn to make sartin o' yore meat-bag as you go along." 46 OLD FOUR-TOES " I guess you always hit them in the head, when you shoot/* volunteered Phil, from the rear. " I tries to, boy," responded Grizzly Dan. " To hit 'em in the body spiles good meat; an' it air pore shootin', too. No mountain man shoots his meat in the body, unless it air bufFler or sheep, mebbe." Brushing against one of the agglomerate masses, as they rode on, Phil reached and plucked a piece of flint. It was an arrow-head an Indian arrow-head! He called, and Chet and old Dan looked back. " Where'd you find it? " asked Chet. " Sticking in the clay and pebbles." " Must have been shot in." " Uh huh." It was white flint two inches long and one wide. " Here's another," shouted Chet, swinging from his horse and picking up a small object. He held it to view. It appeared to be a duplicate of Phil's arrow- head. Now, in a few more yards, the little defile opened out, and as from a gate the riders might gaze forth upon a round basin, set at the farther edge with a lake, gleaming like a great opal. Beyond were hill after hill, rising wooded and bare, surmounted by a snowy range ; and through a cleft could be descried one triangular peak of brightest crimson. The spectacle of such an unknown world made Phil draw a breath quickened by admiration. Even the practical Chet murmured: * There's some country, all right ! " Old Dan had halted, surveying. He sat quietly, motionless, as if he also was impressed by the scene. THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 47 " Yon's Lost Park," he announced, with outward sweep of his buckskin-clad arm, " behind that snow range. Let's see yore arrow-heads." He examined. "War arrows," he said. " Mebbe Ute, mebbe Sioux. But they air war arrows, by the barbs. Huntin' arrow points air smooth, mostly. I reckon these hyar arrows war shot in that big fight in the canon, in Forty. Know about it?" The boys shook their heads. " This air Medicine Canon, and more'n ground hawgs have been killed in it. 'Twar in the spring o' Eighteen-Forty that nine Pawnees from the South- west plains come 'way up through hyar on a hos- stealin' expedition among the Sioux o' the Laramie country o' Wyoming. Those Pawnees war the wust hos-stealers of the plains, an' they war the wust fighters, too. Yes, they war terrible fighters. But the Sioux got after 'em, an' traveled faster, 'cause the Paw- nees wouldn't drop their herd they'd stole, an' they overtook 'em hyarabouts. The Pawnees corraled in this canon, an' thar war a big fight. The Pawnees war nine, the Sioux war thirty ; but the Pawnees war behind these hyar rocks, an' the Sioux had to drive 'em out if they could. They fout all day, an' all the next day. The Sioux war afraid o' the Pawnees ; an' after they'd got the hosses agin, they war ready to quit. They sent in word to the Pawnees to call off the fight an' they'd give 'em a hos apiece an' let 'em go their way home; for they war brave men. But the Pawnees sent back word that they'd come into the country to fight, an* 48 OLD FOUR-TOES fight they would. Then the Sioux sent word that they'd give 'em two hosses apiece; an' the Pawnees jeered. The Sioux raised the offer to five hosses apiece, an' the Pawnees called the Sioux old squaws an' cowards an' dogs, an' dared 'em to close in. That made the Sioux mad; an' they proceeded to wipe out the Pawnees. Then the Pawnees knew they had to die, an' they war glad, an' they sung their death songs an' thar war an all-day fight agin. The Sioux air ter- rible fighters, too. They all fout nine agin thirty till only two Pawnees war left alive. Then 'cordin' to custom one of 'em war chosen to bear the news to the village. This war the way : when a party war wiped out in battle, the enemy usually let one go, to tell the tribe how an' whar its party had been licked. This war to make the tribe feel bad. So one Pawnee war allowed to pass an' he hated to go; he'd rather stay an' die. But he took this message : * Tell our people not to mourn ; for we have fout like warriors, an' we have gone to the beyond chock full o' Sioux, clean up to the neck.' Yes, I reckon those air Sioux arrow- points." So this canon, oddly peopled with the bluish monu- ments, warm in the sun and peaceful with its whistling red marmots, once had resounded to savage war- whoop and scalp-halloo, to shriek of rabid anger and triumph! But Phil's thoughts were interrupted by old Dan continuing: "You see that 'ere red tip? That's Red Chief Mountain, in Lost Park. He's an old-time landmark. We pass him. I'll show you some lakes wuth seein', THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 49 when we get to him. Can you see the cross on his face ? He's called Cross Mountain, by some. See it ? " " No," said the boys, squinting and peering. " I can't, either," chuckled old Dan. " That moun- tain's sixty mile from hyar, and the cross is on t'other side. We'll ride along a bit, an' make noon camp by the Beaver Cache, yonder. Who's that comin' ? Wall, we don't care. If he wants to speak to us, he'll know whar to find us." And Grizzly Dan rode on, making diagonally across the basin, as if for the lake at the farther edge. " That " was a speck which had emerged from the rocks and scattered growth at the end of the basin, and was moving out into the open. Dan had desig- nated it as " he," so probably it was a horseman though as yet it was but a dot. " Man on a hawss, and wearing a black hat, all right," declared Chet, seconding old Dan. But to Phil's eyes, not yet released from city bonds acquired during the winter, man and hat and horse were one. As the pack-train veered to the farther side of the basin, the dot also veered, to intercept. It evolved into a horse and rider and sure enough the rider wore a black hat, of broad brim and high crown. Grizzly Dan appeared not to notice his approach. They arrived at the lake and beautiful it was : em- erald in color, right against the base of a great mass of oddly bright yellow, clayish hummocks for one half the opposite shore line, and of a slope of serried pines for one half. " Jest loosen yore cinches a little, an' we'll turn the 50 OLD FOUR-TOES critters out to graze around," quoth Grizzly Dan, dis- mounting at the upper end of the lake, opposite the pines. " I'll get the pot on the fire an' we'll fill our meat-bags on this hyar hawg, so he won't spile." While they were making the fire, the horseman rode up at last. He was a slight, boyish man, with smooth though tanned face, complexion sandy, and eyes hazel. His horse was a chestnut with white breast. Phil noted the greenish drab shirt and the metal badge on the breast. The newcomer therefore was a forest-ranger. " Howdy," he accosted, reining by the fire. " Howdy," responded the boys ; old Dan grunted, not uncivilly. " Packing through?" queried the youth. " Mebbe," grunted old Dan. " Prospecting, I take it," pursued the youth, his hazel eyes roving over the equipage. " Sorter," vouchsafed old Dan, busy with the fire and the pot. The youth glanced at the two boys and smiled. He threw a leg over his saddle horn and sat at ease. " Excuse my questions," he proffered. " I'm ranger in this district, and I have to keep tab on what's going on. You don't strike me as liable to set the woods on fire or do anything else against the law, but if I hadn't ridden over I might have got the dickens later for what I didn't do. Savvy?" " Boss in hyar, air ye? " put in old Dan. The youth laughed. "I? No. These mountains are the boss. I'm day and night herder for 'em. But I've got several hun- THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 51 dred square miles of country to check up and with these Eastern tenderfeet hunting bear and shooting wild and getting lost, it keeps me busy dodging bullets and looking for fires. But you needn't be huffy, Dan." " Thought I knew ye," admitted old Dan, straight- ening, and eying him. " Met ye over in the Box Canon country, didn't I ? " " You sure did. Where you bound for now? " " I'm taking these hyar boys into Lost Park," ad- mitted Dan, mollified. " When I see you ridin' up, I thought mebbe you war some game warden who'd want to arrest me for shootin' a ground hawg, to eat. Seems to me a man can't shoot enough, any more, to keep life in him." " Well, if it wasn't for the game laws, there wouldn't be anything to shoot," retorted the ranger. " You know that. Is that ground hog, in the pot? Smells good." " Get down an' eat. Get down, get down," bade old Dan. " You'll find hawg'll shine 'longside most any meat." " No, I'll ride on. Have forty miles to make yet. How you going into the park? Not the Horsethief Trail?" " 'Round by Red Chief." " Oh, I see," said the ranger, thoughtfully. " That's a bad trail. It's been washed out, I hear. But I guess you'll get through if the boys have their nerve. Expect to trap any ? " " Might" " Black wolves are in the park, I hear. I saw a 52 OLD FOUR-TOES couple, at the other end, only last month. They're killing considerable cattle, on the Horsefly Range. Must have come up from New Mexico." " That so ? I ain't heared of a black wolf so fur north in eight or ten years," answered old Dan, inter- ested. " Wall, now, we might ketch a few of the crit- ters. Must be a bounty on 'em? " 1 Twenty dollars on the gray, thirty on the black." " Pelt's wuth consider'ble, too," communed old Dan. " While you're in the park, better keep your eyes open for the black fox, too," advised the ranger. " That black fox that used to be around the lower coun- try has moved on in, so a sheep-herder was telling me. Guess the sheep drove him out," and the ranger laughed. 1 That fox air medicine," replied Grizzly Dan. " That air a medicine fox. He can't be trapped, shot, or pizened. He war one of those Pawnees killed back in Medicine Canon. An' Old Four-Toes air another. An' mebbe those black wolves air others." " They're all in there together, then," laughed the ranger. "Seen or heard anything of Four-Toes?" asked Chet, anxiously. The ranger shrugged his shoulders. "The big silver tip? Nada; not I. No care for him. Not much of the park is in my district, glad to say. I ride on the edge and look over, once in a while ; but I've got plenty troubles, without inviting more. If Four-Toes is in there, it's a good place for him; THROUGH MEDICINE CANON 53 but it's a mighty poor place for me when I haven't any business there." This appealed to Phil as sense. Many persons come to harm by being where they have no business to be. " Wall," remarked old Dan, " we got big business thar, ourselves. Wagh! We have. We're white In- juns, we air." And half straightening, from feeding the fire, he began to circle it, with a dance and a song : " Owgh-owgh hi-yah hi-yah owgh ! Hay-a-hay he-ah! Owgh! Owgh! Ow-owgh! Whoop!" Grotesque was old Dan, with knees partially bent, moccasined feet stamping, body stiff, face uplifted, circling the fire and uttering strange guttural sounds. Even Bonita gazed, astonished. The boys had to laugh. " Bueno ! " applauded the ranger. " That'll fetch (he game. So long. I'll travel on." He raised his horse's head and settled in the saddle. " Wish you luck." " Same to you," answered the boys. " So long." " So long." And he rode away. Old Dan had settled down to his pot again. " Draw up," he bade. " 'Tain't fat cow, but it's fillin'; an' after you've eat it if you don't say good ground-hawg shines 'longside most anything you've sot yore teeth on, I'm a hos." CHAPTER V, A TRIAL OF NERVES THE ancient iron pot of Grizzly Dan's was a magic pot, for whatever came out of it tasted good. Phil found that the ground-hog meat was not dissimilar to the prairie dog, in appearance, but was rather more greasy; yet it slipped nicely over his palate into what Dan termed the " meat-bag." And by the frequency with which Chet also helped himself to the stew, he had no complaint to make. " What was that dance, Dan? " ventured Phil, com- fortable inside and out. " Sioux? " "That? That war Cheyenne, boy, I reckon," as- serted old Dan, promptly, lighting his short black pipe. " Never see anybody dance genuwine Injun afore, did ye ? Didn't dance enough of it to know what it war to be, myself but I reckon I started in on Cheyenne. Wagh ! When I war young like you, many a time I've danced all night long with the bucks, 'round the fire, helpin' 'em celebrate somethin' or t'other. That war my dancin'. Like as not you've done yore dancin' dif- ferent." "When do we get into the park, do you think?" asked Chet. " We'll camp on the edge of it to-night, if the trail air not too bad. So let's rinse these dishes an' then 64 A TRIAL OF NERVES 55 ketch up. You boys 'tend to the dishes an' I'll tighten the packs a bit." The preliminaries were quickly done. Mounted, the little party rode on again. " All this hyar basin war once a big beaver pond," quoth old Dan, turning in his saddle, as they circuited the lake. " Twenty of us trappers under Kit Carson one Fall took two thousand beaver outer this pond. It war hard on the beaver, but we sold their pelts in St. Joe. We had an easy time. A village o' Utes war camped near, an' the squaws skinned the beaver an' dressed the pelts for a little sugar and the car- casses." "Are there any beaver where we're going?" put Phil. ' Yes, but it's agin the law to trap 'em, and agin the law to buy their pelts. Beaver air increasin' agin, though, now that they air let alone. We got this hill to climb. Timber too thick on t'other end o' lake. We'll tackle the slumgullion." This was the yellow mass which hedged the lake on the south. It rose in a series of high dunes, meeting to form narrow passages winding between their rounded slopes. Having made circuit of the end of the lake, up one of these inlets Grizzly Dan turned his spotted pony. Chet followed, and followed the dun mule and Cotton-tail, while Phil, as customary, closed the rear. As if subdued by the strangeness of the surroundings, Bonita trotted soberly at Pepper's heels. The slumgullion proved to be fine ashes packed by weather until they were like clay. They were yellow 56 OLD FOUR-TOES ashes, mixed with streaks of gray, white, and red, combining or distinct. The hoofs of the animals sank fetlock deep, and made no sound. Now upon right and left and before and behind rose the dunes, shutting in. A coyote had traversed the narrow defile, and old Dan either was taking it as a guide, or was pushing ahead by instinct. The slumgullion was moist, there- fore no dust uprose; but the way was weird beyond any trail yet traversed by Phil in all his riding of the West. It reminded him of the ashy desolation at- tributed to the moon. The ride along the bottom of the crooked passage between the high yellowish mounds continued for fif- teen minutes, when rounding a curve the tracks in which Pepper trod swerved, and ascended. The pro- cession climbed the right-hand slope horses and mule slipping and toiling, almost like the frog in the well until they gained the top. Pepper was puffing, but Grizzly Dan had forged right ahead, and the rest had to follow or be left behind. The top proved to be a level plateau, formed by one great mass of the ashes, and stretching onward to the base of another series of hilly formations. Grizzly Dan seemed bent upon crossing the plateau ; he spurred his pinto into a trot; trotted all the packs swaying upon the mule and Cotton-tail. The plateau was yellow, with flakes of white ash and with black slag like clinkers from a furnace spotting it. On either hand, in the distance, were high, wildly jagged mountains, and before was that series of hills almost mountains, smooth and rolling like a pass. And A TRIAL OF NERVES 57 above them towered the crimson cap of Red Chief. " What do you think of it? " yelled back Chet. " Great ! " answered Phil. " Must have had a big fire here once." " Shore did," agreed Chet. " You mix this ash with some buff'ler tallow and it makes trapper soap," informed Grizzly Dan, over his shoulder. " Used to call this hyar ' Soft Soap Flats/ When we wanted to wash, once or twice a year, we come hyar ! " Having dipped into several shallow gullies, and hav- ing been obliged to make a detour around several deeper ones, after half an hour's ride (so vast was the ash deposit) they reached the edge of it. Now the plateau fell off steeply, like any ash-heap, with a well- defined edge; below, after a succession of banks or terraces, five hundred feet, was a wide, flat valley, cut by arroyos and a crooked stream. By the tinkle of bells, the barking of a dog, and the white spot of a tent was plainly signaled the presence there of sheep. No place too remote or too isolated for sheep and their herders. On the edge of the ash plateau old Dan halted for a moment, and the cavalcade bunched beside him. " Yes," he mumbled, surveying from under his bushy brows, " thar they air. If it ain't sheep it's cattle, an' if it ain't cattle it's prospector or rancher or homesteader or reservoir gang openin' the country for all the rest. So thar's no place whar an old fellow 58 OLD FOUR-TOES like me can go. They air raisin' oats whar I trapped the beaver, an' whar fifty year ago I broke the trail a lot o' foreign Injuns laugh at me. An' now you say that 'ere Swede back thar thinks o' takin' his woollies into Lost Park! Then this air my last year in the mountains." He spoke so sadly, that Phil would cheer him up. " Sure not. You're good for a lot of years yet." Old Dan slowly wagged his head. " I'm over eighty. All the men I used to know Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, the Sublettes, Colonel Fre- mont, Joe Walker, they all air gone under. I'm good yet, but the country an' the people aren't my kind. They got no use for the flintlock rifle an* the beaver- hunter who opened the trails. We prepared the country for these hyar sheep an' cows an' ranchers an' ditches an' fences! an' it air time we quit. We all have our work to do ; mine is done, an' I reckon I can step aside an' let the others go ahead with theirs. Sometimes I think the old days war the best but the world is better off for these new days. For us it war the beaver an' the roamin' ; for you boys it air the ranch an' the home. An' you will do more good with one acre o' the land which the Lord has provided than we did with a thousand. But ketch up, ketch up. Let's be movin'. Too much talk; heap too much; talk like squaws, wagh ! " They did not try to descend the ash-heap, but rode along the edge, which curved in a mighty sweep to- ward the rolling high hills and the beacon of Red Chief. The air was mellow, yet clear and thin, almost crisp, A TRIAL OF NERVES 59 the sunshine was warm, the view was inspiring, the trail was level ; and thus, alone and aloof, they rode at an amble for the unknown. Soon the ash and slag grew less pronounced, and the trail entered upon the side of a gravelly hill. How- ever, trail it scarcely was, except as they made it. There were only traces that the way had been traveled a long time ago; in a slight crease it stretched on before. The hill grew steeper, and a long slant of grayish, loose, shaly rock extended above and below. Should the hoof of horse or mule slip, then down would animal and man or pack toboggan, indefinitely, to the far bottom, with the chances of landing in a damaged condition. " How do you like it? " called back Chet. "Great!" assured Phil. " Dan says this is nothing ; there's worse ahead. Says he'll show us something that'll make the Hawss- thief Trail look like thirty cents ! " " All right," challenged Phil. " We can go where he can go." Now they were traversing the middle of a tre- mendous long slope of the gray slide rock. The trail was a mere crease like the mark made by a stick drawn across the side of a heap of cinders. Snow lay in patches; above was the monotonous expanse of the shale, below was the monotonous expanse of the shale, and across arose another expanse of the shale, and be- tween, and away below, was the separating gulch, not more than twenty feet wide. As the pack-train passed along, hurrying as fast as was safe, a constant stream 60 OLD FOUR-TOES of the loose rock, dislodged by the movement, went rattling down. Phil realized that if any horse or per- son rattled down, too, he was likely to stay there. After about a mile of this dangerous slide-rock, the trail changed and, as Chet had predicted, changed for the worse. They entered a region of granite chunks nothing but chunks, fallen from the cliffs above, and spattered thickly, as if a wall of gigantic bricks or blocks had fallen flat and burst. Phil heard Chet exclaiming and complaining, before; but he had enough to do to attend to himself and Pepper, and watch Cotton-tail. The trail was only a few scratches on the rocks. Among the huge sharp-cornered frag- ments it led, twisting and turning; occasionally man and animal had to climb over, where there was not space to pass between. Some of the masses were as large as a cottage ; some were as large as piano-boxes, and some were no larger than easy-chairs. With scrape and scramble and shout and snort the cavalcade made its way. Phil had dismounted, to relieve Pepper and to save himself from a broken leg, should Pepper stumble ; and a view ahead showed him that Chet also was wisely afoot. But not old Dan. He was sticking to his spotted pony. Somehow, with scraped shins, but without broken limbs, they all achieved this giants' quarry, and emerged into a brief interval of sod and flowers. Here old Dan was waiting; and here the heaving animals were halted. " Got to strip to top packs, now," quoth Grizzly Dan, dismounting. " Thar's a leetle trail ahead whar A TRIAL OF NERVES 61 we hain't much room to spare, 'cept up and down. Jest loosen up that pack on that bald-tailed critter, will you, whilst I overhaul my old mule." " Must be a mighty narrow trail, then," volunteered Chet, " if a pack mule can't follow it." " You'll see," grunted old Dan, shortly, tugging at the lash-rope. Betty's side packs were taken off, and only the top pack was left; even this Grizzly Dan refolded more snugly, so that it did not project much on either side. He tied it fast with a lashing different from the diamond hitch, and a very simple knot it seemed to be. " That's a tie older'n I be," he observed. " That's the squaw hitch, an' we used to call it the trapper's hitch, too. Now lemme get at yore critter. Thar. We'll have to double up. We'll take these hyar packs over, an' then come back for the rest." Leaving the panniers and the two buffalo-hide sacks, with old Dan as usual leading, they started on, the line forming. " You two boys'd better both ride behind," he ordered. And Chet fell back, to join in again between Fhil and Cotton-tail. From the small park, which was an oasis in the midst of the rocks and steep slopes, the trail resumed its difficult character. Now ensued a wide patch of hard, icy snow, slanting for a quarter of a mile and ending in the gulch below. It was a lovely place for a mile-a-minute coast if a fellow did not mind how he ended; but it was better fitted for runners than for 62 OLD FOUR-TOES hoofs. However, they were in for it; and old Dan, with lines hanging slack, let his pony pick its slow and straddly way across; the pack animals followed, and Chet and Phil were not to be bluffed. The hoofs cut in just enough for a foothold. " Had to do it now whilst the snow is soft ; if we waited till the sun was off it, we'd be held up till to- morrer noon unless we chopped a trail for the crit- ters," called back old Dan. He rounded a corner or elbow of the hillside. The pack mule, next, hesitated (" Gwan! " yelped Chet at her) and proceeded also. Cotton-tail rounded the turn, Chet rounded the turn " Say ! " echoed back his as- tonished voice and Phil rounded the turn. Whew ! Well had the mule hesitated ; well had Chet exclaimed; for beyond the rock elbow was nothing nothing but a yawning canon, and a rock wall, and a slight shelf, midway, forming a narrow platform for the trail. Ahead was old Dan, on his spotted pony, his rifle carried against his thigh, he and pony appear- ing stuck like a large bug against the side of the cliff. After him, walking carefully, head and tail lowered, trod the two pack animals by their packs forced so to the edge that it crumbled under their hoofs. After them rode Chet. He looked back at Phil and grinned. " How you like it? " he queried. " We can go where he can go," retorted Phil. But assuredly this was no fun. Five hundred feet above the flimsy trail rose perpendicularly the gray rock wall ; below fell off in sheer drop or in successions A TRIAL OF NERVES 63 of abrupt slopes a thousand feet of jagged crags min- gled with loose sifting whereon grew a few stunted cedars and bushes. And away at the bottom rushed a stream. Phil's left foot scratched against the canon wall ; his right dangled out over the abyss. Pepper was obstinately bound to tread upon the very edge, and to send bits of the rock trickling or bounding into the depths. Pepper walked thus because he feared scrap- ing against the wall, himself, and perhaps being forced off. But the sensation of dangling one leg over noth- ing was not pleasant, to his rider, who tried to rein him further in. As this made no impression, Phil could only hug Pepper with his inside foot, and must lean inward, under the impression that if Pepper fell, he would fall inside and not outside. Chet also leaned ; but old Dan rode straight up, ap- parently unconcerned. So, with rattle of the loosened fragments and occa- sional snort of anxious horse and mule, the cavalcade proceeded along the peril-proffering trail. The trail dipped and wound; sometimes it inclined down until the roar of the torrent could be heard, as a murmur ; and then it climbed again until the murmur was lost and the only interruption was the scream of a magpie winging dizzy flight across the tremendous chasm. Sometimes the trail bordered a slope choked by debris of various character, so that a slip might result only in a long slide instead of in a sheer drop and a deadly thump at the bottom. And again underneath was prin- cipally an edge bordered by space. Phil grew more confident, and actually was admiring the grandeur, 64 OLD FOUR-TOES when suddenly all the method and peace of the march was rent asunder by a loud cry from old Dan. Chet ex- claimed. Phil looked quickly, his heart in his mouth. He witnessed a strange sight. Trotting rapidly toward the leader came two objects that looked like burros. They of course occupied the whole width of the trail ; Dan upon his spotted pony also occupied the whole width of the trail; and to turn out or to turn around was impossible. " Sheep! " announced Chet. " Oh, jiminy! Some- thing's chasing 'em, too! See? Bear! A bear!" " Hi ! " yelled old Dan, waving his arm frantic- ally. His spotted pony had halted, uncertain and alarmed. The sheep also had paused to gaze back- ward, and then, with frightened jumps, .to come right on. " Mountain sheep! " informed Chet; and he added, energetically : " A big bear ! Take down yore gun ! Don't let 'em force Dan off the trail ! " But Dan had been lightning quick. His own long rifle had sprung to his shoulder. The smoke puffed ; and the sharp crack echoed flatly among the canon walls. But almost before the report had reached the ears of the boys the first sheep had plunged head first over the edge, to roll and bound unresisting down the uneven slope. The other sheep, with a mighty and desperate leap, plunged after; and turning over and over reached the bottom as soon as its companion. Both seemed to land dead. The eyes of the boys left them, for the worst was not yet over. There was the bear! Yes, a bear he A TRIAL OF NERVES 65 proved to be ; an enormous burly fellow, dark brown, occupying all the trail, blocking it to passage. He came at fast trot, head up, sniffing. " Look out ! " cried Phil, uselessly ; for his voice was small and thin in this great space of canon, and old Dan was far ahead. "Give it to him!" implored Chet. "Give it to him! Shoot him up! I can't. The hawsses are in my way." " I can't, either," replied Phil. Meanwhile old Dan was valiantly trying to reload. But his pony, backing and trembling and swerving, and the proximity of the wall, seriously interfered with his movements, besides putting him in more danger. Twice he and pony together tottered upon the very edge. Scarcely hesitating, the bear trotted forward. The trail was almost straight, and he partially was cov- ered by the pack-animals and by Dan and his pony. Phil and Chet strained to sight and to shoot ; from the rear Bonita growled fiercely. "We'll scare the horses, won't we?" queried Phil. " Don't care," answered Chet. " Shoot! " Old Dan emitted another piercing whoop. The bear, right upon the spotted pony, reared tall and vicious and wide-mouthed. Now the whole line of animals was weaving and jostling. Unable to load in his cramped quarters and upon the uneasy saddle, old Dan leaned forward and smote at the bear's head. Chet's rifle spoke with a bang sounding like a cannon, startling Phil, and startling Pepper. Over the edge toppled the bear and bang ! bang ! bang ! hammered away at him, 66 OLD FOUR-TOES in his rubber-ball course, both the boys. But beware! For over that same edge slipped the spotted pony, and down they plunged, man and horse! " Oh, say! " groaned Chet. Phil was unable to utter a word ; his tongue was par- alyzed; and he watched, stiff as in a nightmare. At the instant of the slip, marvelously quick in his mind and muscle, old Dan had thrown himself clear; casting, as it were, the spotted pony from him, and falling in the opposite direction, free of it. He landed on his side ; but in a flash he had turned upon his back, and with arms outspread clutched right and left while he dug in with his heels. The slope was very steep, but fortunately this was not a precipice drop from the trail ; it was one of those long slants of loose rocks and earth and brush. In an avalanche of rocks and dirt and almost hidden from view, hoofs and stirrups flying, now one end up, now the other, down slid the spotted pony ; but old Dan stayed. " Come on ! " bade Chet, excited, to his comrade be- hind and " Gwan, you! Gwan! Hi! Gwan!" he ranted, at the pack animals before. The dun mule, ears back, balked a moment, then stepped gingerly forward, snorting and smelling to make certain that the coast was clear ; Cotton-tail imitated. The boys might move forward. " He's alive! " cried Phil, gladly. Chet did not answer. However, old Dan was alive. With heels and hands he had stopped his progress, and about thirty yards below he was cautiously adjusting himself to a firmer posture. The two pack animals con- A TRIAL OF NERVES 67 tinued on past, but the boys halted their horses above and called down: "Hurt?" " No," answered old Dan. " Jest lost a leetle hide, air all. But you stay up thar. Don't you try it. Did you see that 'ere b'ar? " Of course they had. " Sure. Maybe we killed him, too." " No, you didn't kill him," contradicted old Dan. " That war a she cinnamon, he war." "Didn't I hit him?" " Fust shot struck two foot over her head. I heared it an' I saw it " We were afraid of hitting you," explained Chet. " An' next shots didn't count for much, I reckon, tho' I war too busy to watch 'em. See my hos ? " " Yes. He's standing guess he isn't much hurt, either." " How are you coming up ? We can rope you, maybe," suggested Phil. " Ropes ain't long enough. Only forty foot, ain't they? Wall, I'm out o' reach. I ain't comin' up; I air goin' on down. Thar's a hos an' two sheep an' a b'ar down thar." Old Dan turned painfully and peered below. " Yep. My old paint hos is on four legs. Wagh ! But he can't fight b'ar, an' he can't eat sheep; so jest wait till I get Sally, an' we'll go on down." He crawled, carefully, for his rifle, which had stopped above him a few yards. He managed to haul himself up that far, by a bush. 68 OLD FOUR-TOES " You keep on to the end o' this hyar canon," he called up. " Then you unpack an' go back an' get the rest o' the camp stuff, an' I'll meet you when you come out agin. So long! " and in a flurry of the loose slope he plunged for the bottom. CHAPTER VI A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET " COME on," spoke Chet to Phil. " We've got to hurry." And he stirred Medicine Eye into a walk as fast as practicable upon such a trail. On Pepper, Phil followed close. The trail continued narrow and terror-inspiring, along the wall extending above and the canon extend- ing below. But the need of haste, and the unconcerned manner with which old Dan had received his fall, rather blunted the edge of the perils that threatened. Recklessly urging their horses, on pushed the two riders; and just as the canon opened into a shallow valley, and the trail merged with the ground, they over- took the two pack animals, cropping and waiting fur- ther orders. " Unpack 'em and drive them back," prompted Chet. " There's the rest of that stuff to bring through." " Think we'd better not look for Dan ? He may need help," proposed Phil, eying the exit of the gulch which marked the existence of the canon beyond. " No. He'll take care of himself. He said to get the rest of the stuff over, didn't he ? " That was enough. They were under orders. So, working rapidly, they stripped of their packs Betty the dun mule and Cotton-tail the horse, and turning them 69 70 OLD FOUR-TOES around drove them upon the back trail. Now the whole length of that narrow shelf suspended between sky and rocks had to be retraversed not once, but twice ! " Gwan ! " urged Chet, driving. " Gwan, mule ! Cotton-tail ! Close up, there ! " "Will we make it?" asked Phil, suddenly noticing that the sun was low, and likely to touch the opposite rim before they could complete their round trip. "Got to," answered Chet, succinctly. "Gwan! Hi!" That was Chet, in action. He never considered the " might ; " he always considered the " must." When he had been assigned to do a thing, he went ahead and did it. Now all his attention was bent upon bringing back those other packs; he did not stop to wonder whether he could or not. So they pushed on. The shelf was bathed all in light from the afternoon sun, now opposite. It cast the bottom of the canon in shadow. They could not see the details, down there; Phil looked and looked for old Dan and his spotted pony, but never was certain that he saw them. They would be having a hard time to make a way, amidst the rocks, brush, and stream. But as, driving the two pack animals, he and Chet hurred along, faint and clear was wafted to them from below the crack of a rifle. It sounded like the voice of Sally. " There he is ! That's Dan ! " asserted Chet. " See him? He's over against that other side." Chet pointed; and Phil could descry the dot of the A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 71 spotted pony, and as if leading it, the speck that de- noted Dan. "He's going- out," announced Chet "He's all right." Chet's eyes were sharp. So were his wits. " That's just a signal. Let's answer it," and jerking out his rifle he fired : " Whang! " The echoes chased back and forth and died. Phil waved his arm and hooted; then he quit, half ashamed. What were hoot and wave of arm, amidst such distances ! Old Dan could not hear, and whether he could see and had waved back, who might say ? The return trail, to the snow-slide place at the beginning, did not seem so long as when traversed the other way. " Gwan! Hurry up, there, you! " urged Chet; but at the edge of the snow the dun mule balked, refusing to advance. " Gwan ! " shouted both boys, to no purpose ; and Chet impatiently flung himself from Medicine Eye, to forge to the front. Even as he did so he uttered a little cry of dismay; for across the slant of icy-snow crept a shadow, and into the air crept a sudden chill. The sun was behind a jagged crest in the west; and while the canon trail, higher along the face of the wall, still was illuminated, the snow field would receive the beams no more until the morrow. " It's getting hard already,^' proclaimed Chet, stamp- ing the edge with his heel. " That's what ails the mule. She isn't shod, and she's afraid." Smart mule, she. The trail across the sharp slant, broken by hoofs 72 OLD FOUR-TOES only two hours before, was clearly defined, and wait- ing. But instantly, as the sun had left it, all the little particles crystallized; and now as Chet afoot ventured upon it, his soles crunched and slipped, with an omi- nous sound that caused the animals, incited by the action of the dun mule, to prick their ears. " I'll chip these chunks loose, for a foothold," called back Chet. " Wish we had a hatchet, but old Dan's got it with him." Chet pulled out his stockman's knife and opened its big blade. " Look out you don't slip, yourself," warned Phil, anxiously, to him as he crouched and chipped. " Want me to help?" " No, suh ! You stay there and rope me if I get stampeded," ordered Chet, half jokingly, half grimly. Phil accepted the suggestion. " I shore will," he agreed ; and going to Pepper he took his rope from the saddle. Re-coiling it, he squatted, watching his partner at work. The animals fell to cropping in the little area here between the snow patch and the commencement of the canon trail. What happened, of excitement, happened very quickly. Whether Chet stumbled first, or slipped first, was not argued; but his worn high heels were illy suited for mountaineering, particularly on a glacier. Phil saw the misstep he saw Chet pitch and grab, with exclamation ; and he called, sharply, but in vain : " Look out, Chet! You'll " But Chet already had ! The edge of the slight trail crumbled under him, and sprawling and clutching he A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 73 had started down the smoothish, glary slope. Phil's eye, hand, and mind worked together and so fast that he scarcely knew how they did it. He sprang to his feet, and flipped his noose casting it from the ground, as he had learned to cast, without preliminary whirl- ing, for calf or post. " There ! " he cried hopefully to Chet. It was a beautiful throw. The noose sped, opened, and fell true just in Chet's course. His feet actually entered it, and if he had not flung up an arm and grabbed, he might have gone right through it. Phil involuntarily braced himself, cow-puncher fashion, turning his side, with rope against his hip, heels dug in. The rope tautened, the noose tightened ; Phil's heels bit deeper into the dirt, but he stayed firm; and Chet stopped where he was. His knife went sliding on, faster and faster, with skip and whirl, down to the far bottom. Chet was pale as he looked up and grinned. " Good throw," he praised. " If you hadn't stopped me I'd have been going yet. Can you haul me up? " "Guess so," grunted Phil. " Go ahead. You're cutting me in two, but I don't mind. It's better than being ground and hashed." Phil tugged, but his footing was bad and Chet weighed more than he did. " Wait," he panted. " Don't move ; be as easy as you can." He reached with one hand and caught Pepper's trailing lines. It was fortunate that either Pepper or Medicine Eye was near. " Come here," he bade, tugging. He swung Pepper about. 74 OLD FOUR-TOES " That's right. Take yore dallies," approved Chet, below. Phil made a half hitch with the lash end of the rope about the saddle-horn. At the sensation of the drag- ging rope Pepper, trained cow-horse, obediently set himself, keeping the rope stretched. Thus having an- chored Chet, Phil climbed aboard and breathed easier. Leaning slightly to the right, with the rope running across his left thigh, he pointed Pepper up the hill, and steadily, at a walk, they hauled Chet (who kept himself head up by a grasp on the rope) into the trail. "Whoa'p!" he called. "That's enough, I'm all right." He loosened the noose and wriggled out of it. "Whew!" he gasped, with a glance down at the glacier slope. " I'd have landed hard. Much obliged. That shore was a good throw. You're a boss roper." " Oh, it was just accident," stammered Phil, sheep- ishly. " But," he added, " I'm mighty glad." " So am I," confessed Chet. " I lost my knife. Lend me yours, will you? " "Why yes," and Phil felt in his pocket for it. "Why?" " Want to cut the rest of the trail." "Aw, look here" objected Phil. "I'll do it. You've had your dose." "No, sir; I'm going to finish it," declared Chet, doggedly. " I've fooled the hoodoo now, and I'm safe." " Better let me," hinted Phil. But Chet shook his head, and reached for the knife. 'IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL THROW." A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 75 Phil gave it to him. He knew that Chet meant what he said, and he admired his nerve. So he only remarked : " All right. But let me keep a rope on you. I'm liable not to make a throw like that, again." " Snub me if you want to," answered Chet. " But I'm not afraid." He suffered Phil to knot the rope about his waist; and proceeded boldly on out. The sun had sunk per- ceptibly, even in the brief interval, and Chet now worked hard, although cautious of his footing. As Chet advanced, Phil paid out the rope, keeping the lash end fast to the saddle-horn. Soon he must unite his rope to Chefs rope, from Medicine Eye. And he breathed a sigh of relief when finally without accident his plucky partner reached the farther verge of the snow slope. " All right now," proclaimed Chet, returning with more careless tread. " I'll lead the old mule over, and the rest of them will follow. Horses will always follow a mule. You can drive them, too." Betty the dun mule paused, ere venturing upon the glacier trail, and dropping her head, with her long ears erect, sniffed at the path. But at the tug of Chet on the lead-rope she gingerly stepped forward, testing. The icy particles crunched under her hoofs, giving her a foothold. And still dubious and slow, but nevertheless with more confidence, she proceeded. Cotton-tail, de- clining to be left, with a little whinny next took the trail, joining Chet and Betty at the other end. Round- ing up Pepper and Medicine Eye, Phil forced them into the same trail, and drove them ahead of him, that 76 OLD FOUR-TOES he might be out of their way should they slip. And trudging behind, he also joined Chet. Chet was rather hurriedly gathering the remainder of the packs, and assorting the lot, preparatory to slinging it upon the animals. " Don't know exactly how to tie this stuff on," he muttered; " but on it goes, just the same. We ought to get a move, too, or the trail will be plumb dark." The two boys worked hard. But the job was diffi- cult for them. The packs when made up were singu- larly many-cornered and slippery, and insisted upon projecting more than the law of the canon trail would allow. Meanwhile the glacier trail grew more faint, in the glamorous twilight ; and in the midst of the per- spiring, and the tugging with fingers that were numb with the keen air, Chet vented a fresh cry of dismay. The sunshine had faded from the canon trail, and a line of shadow was swiftly climbing the canon wall above it. But Phil exclaimed with relief. " There's comes Dan ! " he announced. Grizzly Dan it was, riding toward them, his spotted pony a welcome figure outlined against the rock-face. He came on at a fearless trot, which spelled aid. The sight of him was good. He halted at the edge of the glacier, and hallooed across : " What's the matter? Anything wrong? " They paused to reply. ;< We had to cut the trail over again, and now the packs won't stay." " I'll be thar," volunteered the old trapper. A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 77 As customary with him he did not dismount, but rode his pony along the crunching path. His nose bore a fresh scratch, and his buckskin pantaloons were rent at one knee; otherwise he appeared uninjured. As for the spotted pony, it exhibited both knees some- what torn, and it moved rather stiffly. " Hyar I'll show ye," proffered Grizzly Dan, at once dismounting. " Must get them packs right, in a hurry, 'less you want to stay hyar all night." With marvelous precision of touch he readjusted the ropes and parcels, tightening and aligning, while the boys tried to help. " Did you get the bear? " queried Phil. " Thar's no time to talk, now," answered old Dan. " Trail's gettin' dark. Fust thing we know we'll have to camp right hyar an' eat our moccasins an' shiver ourselves warm till mornin'. An' thar's moun- tain mutton an' a bed waitin' for us at t'other end. Wagh!" He mounted, leading off across the glacier, which glimmered cold and eerie in the half light. The dun mule followed, Cotton-tail fell in behind, and as before, Phil, preceded by Chet, brought up the rear. Now the canon trail was cloaked in dusk; only the very tips of the wall and of the mountains about were touched with the shine reflected up from the west be- yond the ranges. If the trail had been perilous by daylight, it was thrice perilous now, by the uncer- tain dusk. However, where old Dan went, others could go. " Mountain mutton an' warm bed," he encouraged, 78 OLD FOUR-TOES back over his shoulder. " Campin' hyar till mornin* don't shine with this coon." " Not with us, either," declared Chet. Under the hoofs of the little train the crisp bits of snow and ice crunched keenly. A great stillness had settled over the heights and over the valleys; already in the sky had the first star appeared ; the air was chill and penetrating; and the stillness, and the star, and the chill, and the long, whitish slope of the snow, made the scene very lonesome. Phil was heartily glad that they were not to camp here, supperless and bedless. In safety they retraversed the glacier ; and rounding the elbow they entered upon the canon trail itself. Below lay the gulch, scarcely distinguishable in the gathering dark : lay as a great mysterious void with- out bottom. The trail itself could be made out, before ; but as they pressed on, old Dan leading boldly at a fast walk which verged upon a trot, Phil noted that even the trail was growing indistinct. But ever and anon the vista ahead disclosed the landmark of Red Chief Mountain, upon whose crimson tip, standing forth like a beacon, the last beams of the sun still lingered. Not a word was said ; and Phil merely heaved a sigh of relief and of gratification when unexpectedly to him the trail of the train emerged into the shallow valley which formed the terminus of the canon route ; and beside the glimmer of the top packs, where he and Chet had hastily deposited them, old Dan had halted. " Thar ! " grunted the old trapper, off his pony. A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 79 " Hyar's meat, wood, an' water, an' that makes camp. Let's off with those packs; then you boys picket out the stock an' I'll be puttin' the pot on the fire. Now you're in Lost Park, an' you can be white Injuns as long as you like. Nobody's liable to bother ye." Camp was made right speedily. The saddle animals and pack animals were stripped; and while the two boys led them away to grass, old Dan's ax rang upon a pine stump. When they returned the fire was flicker- ing, the kettle was suspended over, and Dan was busy with his knife at a dun carcass. " Got a sheep, did you ? Good ! " exclaimed Phil. " Hyar's fat meat, an' teeth to chaw it," answered the mountain man. " Yep, the goat war waitin' for me, an' so war the hos." "How about the bear?" " He war not waitin'." " He wasn't Old Four-Toes, was he? " " He ? No. He war a she, anyhow, an' she war a cub beside o' Four-Toes. When I show you a Four- Toes' track, then you'll not be mistakin' t'other for him. But out with yore Green Rivers, an' help me butcher. Know what Green River is ? " ' Yes. It's up in Wyoming and flows down into Colorado," replied Chet, promptly. " It does, an' it war prime beaver country, too. But a Green River air a knife, too ; it war what we called our scalpin' knives, 'cause they war stamped ' G. R.' up next the hilt. Now hyar, you be a slicin' some o' this shoulder, an' I'll be unj'intin' him for the pot. No, not that way, boy! Do 'ee want to spile good 80 OLD FOUR-TOES meat? Whar war you brought up? Slice him with the grain an' not acrost it, so yore juices won't run out!" ' Yep," continued old Dan, as they worked ; " when we reached the bottom, Sally an' me, we found the paint hos waitin', an' one sheep carcass, but the b'ar had left an' carried off t'other sheep carcass with her. It bein' dark, an' I bein' a leetle anxious over you two lads, I didn't foller Mrs. B'ar to get back my t'other sheep, but I jest loaded Paint an' made tracks out o' thar. We'll camp hyar to-night, an' to-morrer we go on to Red Chief an' camp thar' for a day or two, to let my old paint hos rest a bit. He's not feel- in' very pert after his fall." ' Then the other sheep was killed, too, was it ? " " Sartin." Old Dan seemed surprised at the ques- tion. " Sally took 'em both with one pill. She never wastes powder an' lead, Sally doesn't, an' she had to cl'ar the trail. Now, we won't wait for the pot to bile; we're too wolfish for that. The pot'll do for mornin'. We'll roast our meat by holdin' it in the blaze, an' we'll chaw it that way, while Injun fashion, I got Sally's ramrod, but you boys can cut sticks." Imitating old Dan, they squatted by the fire, toast- ing their slices of meat, spitted on sticks. So hungry were the two boys, that they ate the first slices when these were barely heated through ! Phil had about de- cided to overhaul the packs and find some salt, when the grizzled trapper read his mind. " Salt it if you want to," observed old Dan, " but for me it spiles the flavor, an' it ain't white Injun way, A CLOSE SHAVE FOR CHET 81 either. We used to go year after year an* not taste salt more'n once in the twelve-month. Injuns an' trappers never used salt; an' onct you've grown to eat meat without salt, you'll like it better. Salt ain't natural, anyhow." Hunger was sufficient salt. The mutton was good without it. Dan's method of slicing it with the grain instead of across did keep in the juice, and was a great scheme. Phil ate five big flaps ; Chet ate either five or six; and Old Dan must have devoured eight or nine, before, with a grunt of contentment, he wiped his knife upon his buckskin breeches and tucked it into its sheath. The pot was bubbling, and from it escaped the rich steam of more mutton. A shoulder and a ham were boiling away, for the morrow. Near by Bonita was licking her chops; and farther away, out in the grass, the horses and Betty the mule could be heard munching busily. 'Twas a rude camp, but a camp of plenty and contentment. Overhead the sky was black velvet studded with brightly sparkling stars. The camp-fire blaze made a circle of red light, forcing back the darkness and the chill. The stream rippled, and in the willows across something rustled. Bonita growled fiercely, and a horse snorted. " May be she b'ar nosin' about," remarked old Dan, composedly, knocking the ashes from his short pipe. " But she air full o' mutton, like us. She's takin' her cubs out for a leetle airin', I reckon, an' teachin' 'em man smell. I'll go an' see how the critters air doin', an' you be spreadin' the beds. Then we'll turn in." CHAPTER VII THE MAGIC LAKES " FAT meat in camp an' no hostiles about," had murmured old Dan, as he composed himself under his Navajo and tarpaulin. By this he had indicated peace of mind. However, it was the most lonely camp that Phil, despite his experience on ranch and range, had yet occupied. On the one hand was the deep gorge, skirted by the perilous trail; on the other hand were the mysterious recesses of Lost Park, overlooked by the weird Red Chief peak. A bear had rustled in the brush ; the camp had supped white Injun fashion ; and the animals had been turned out, unhobbled and un- tethered because they had no place whither to stray if they would. Now another rustle sounded, in the willows; and from afar drifted a strange, moan- ing cry perhaps of owl, perhaps of four-footed beast. Chet snored, roundly snored. Phil, in fancy re- traveling the canon trail, and heartily glad when he reached the end, joined him wakening once, as the night before, to see old Dan, blanket-shrouded, squat- ting by the fire and toasting more meat! Old Dan was not alone. Betty, the wise dun mule, had drawn close and was standing, with ears drooped and eyes closed, blissfully dozing by the warmth ! She and the 82 THE MAGIC LAKES 83 eld trapper her master made a picture. Then Phil fell asleep again. Mindful of their duties as horse guard, the boys were astir early, without waiting to be roused. In fact, Dan himself was under his tarp when they rolled out. But when they returned from rounding up the horses and Betty, and picketing them for ready use, the old trapper had mended the fire, and the kettle and coffee-pot were steaming. " Thar you air," quoth Grizzly Dan, greeting them. ' Thar's fresh sign for ye ; but we're on our way to rendezvous an' we won't stop to set traps." And he chuckled. He had indicated a stick, willow or aspen, about a foot long, from which the bark had been peeled. The wood bore the mark of teeth, as if gnawed or scraped by a large rat, and the ends had been chipped. " Beaver," said Chet. " Yep an' fresh sign at that. It war floatin' down to me, when I war at the creek. Thar's beaver above, an* thar's beaver right in these hyar willows, too, or I'm mistook. But 'tain't beaver time with us." "It's late for beaver, anyway, isn't it?" queried Phil. " Nope. I've cotched prime beaver, Number One, as late as June, whar the weather keeps cold. Beaver season air two: in the Fall, from September till the streams freeze; an' in the spring, from the time the streams open till into May. 'Long about June the trappers lifted their caches, whar they'd cached their pelts, an* took the trail for rendezvous, whar every- 84 OLD FOUR-TOES body gathered to meet the traders an 5 trade in their pelts for another year's supplies. Yes, an' spend all their wages in advance, on whisky an' cards an' gam- blin'. Wagh! We went to rendezvous pore already, an' we left it porer still. But eat, eat; fill yore meat- bags, so's we can start." The sun was not yet shining into the valley, al- though his first rays were gilding the many peaks round about. Against the pink sky glowed Red Chief, his hither face purplish, but his farther face irradiat- ing a halo. By the time the breakfast contents of the pot had been thoroughly sampled and more than sampled (and never did meat taste better, after sim- mering so long), the few dishes washed, and the ani- mals packed and saddled, the valley was bathed in the day's warmth. " Beaver sign an* b'ar sign," repeated Grizzly Dan, as they mounted. " That old she cinnamon an' her cubs war prospectin' round in the willows last night, jest as I told ye. I found their tracks thar, this morn- in'." Dan seemed to have been everywhere, in the short interval. " But we can't get beaver an' we don't need b'ar. So ketch up, ketch up, for market." He led off ; and with Chet next, and Phil closing the rear, as usual, the cavalcade again took the trail. The spotted pony was stiff, and moved grudgingly, at first ; but at steady pace they all filed away for the next camp, beside Red Chief. There was now no trail, but Grizzly Dan rode con- fidently, piloting through the pines and spruces which cloaked the flank of the valley. The sun rose higher, THE MAGIC LAKES 85 streaming in among the trees and low brush. Here foot of man or of horse apparently never had pressed, and to Phil it seemed that they must be traversing a real wilderness. He was too interested to talk, and so, evidently, was Chet. They rode all in silence, save for the sounds made by the passage of the animals, and the ripple of the stream, always within striking dis- tance. Then, after about two hours' travel, rounding over a slight swell, suddenly they were full in sight of Red Chief. There he up-lifted, the noble peak, right at the end of the valley, a mile before. He was bare, like any Indian, from foot to head ; his lower portion was dull maroon, but his body was streaked with paint, and his face and scalp were covered with vermilion. A chief indeed was he, here alone and remote ruling over the country yet free of the white man. Chet exclaimed at the sight; exclaimed Phil; but Grizzly Dan, reining in briefly, made no sound, only he raised his arm and shook his rifle as if in salute. " Thar's the chief," he said, as the two boys ap- proached him. " I gave him the peace signal but I reckon he hasn't anybody to answer for him. But he knows. See those two lakes at his feet one yaller, one blue?" " N no, I don't," admitted Chet, squinting. " Do you, Phil?" " No." " I don't, either," chuckled old Dan. " But they're thar, an' that's whar we camp. They war thar last year, an' they war thar in Forty-eight, when I fust 86 OLD FOUR-TOES saw them; an' they'll be thar, same as the mountain, till somebody drains 'em off to water with." Mammoth Red Chief loomed larger and larger, as now they rode straight for him, through the basin which formed his footstool. Presently, from a little rise, was sighted a gleam of water, which must be one of the lakes. The spotted pony and Betty the dun mule quickened their pace, as if they had been here be- fore and were glad to be here again; they knew that camp was at hand. And at a trot the little cavalcade descended the rise, crossed the last bit of country, and making straight for the water, upon the edge of it suddenly were arrived in camp. Grizzly Dan alertly halted, and again raised high his long rifle, in salute to the mountain towering vast, directly across. " How ? " he quoth ; and he dismounted. " Hyar we air," he announced. " Wait, you boys. Would you spile our chances? This is Red Chief country, whar live Old Four-Toes an' the black wolves, an' a heap o' other medicine folk. Wait, I say." He pulled his ancient black pipe, stuffed it, and sitting cross-legged lighted it. Thus he sat, for five minutes, solemnly puffing, and making strange motions with stem and bowl, and muttering in words which might have been Indian. " Thar," he spoke, rising, and shaking the ashes from his pipe. " Now go ahead. Off packs an' saddles, turn out the animiles, an' make camp. Wagh, but I'm wolfish. Thar's meat in the pot, an' thar's more in the lakes an' in the hills." The ride had ended at a little patch of cedars and grass close to the water. By evidence of charred wood, THE MAGIC LAKES 87 other camps had preceded this one and probably they were camps of which Grizzly Dan knew. It did not take long to strip the animals and turn them loose to roll and graze; and whither the dun mule led, they all followed like sheep. Old Dan had gathered a small quantity of cedar chips and a bunch of dried grass; and squatting over, with his knife blade he dropped a shower of sparks from a piece of flint into the grass bunch. He blew, and blew, and fanned with his hat ; and the smoke burst forth. The fire was started as quickly as if matches had been used. Lifting his head, he saw that Phil had been watching curiously. " That's right : watch an' you'll 1'arn," he remarked. " Matches air man-made, but I can pick up a flint al- most anywhar. White Injuns have got to be independ- ent. That's why I stick to old Sally, hyar. Yore new- fangled breech-loader guns air mean shooters, an' they shoot often ; but when you're out o' ca'tridges or caps, whar air ye? With my old flintlock, as long as I have powder an' lead loose about my possibles, I kin pick up a pebble for the spark, an' thar I be. But while pot's bilin' you boys might as well be ketchin' a few fish outer those thar lakes. Take yore ch'ice yaller or blue. Got any tackle?" " I have," said Phil. " Are there trout here? " " Sartin. Trout or somethin' else. All you need is a forked bone an* a piece o' string, an' a red rag for bait." This sounded promising. Phil hastily overhauled his canvas " war-bag," or sack of " possibles," and ex- 88 OLD FOUR-TOES tracted some line and a couple of hooks. He divided with Chet. " You go one way and I'll go the other," he directed ; so with the hand-tackle and some of the boiled sheep for bait, they separated. The water of the lake whereon the halt had been made was indeed an intense blue. But Phil had skirted the shore only a short distance, looking for a likely hole wherein to cast, when upon passing a little point sud- denly he was astonished to see that the water was yellow! He recalled the words of old Dan which he had accepted as perhaps a joke. Now he investigated, and he discovered a wonderful thing. The point did not end in the water, but con- tinued on out, and formed a low, narrow wall, or cause- way, dividing the water through the middle. It was a rock causeway, about two feet wide; and walking out upon it as upon a dam, he saw that on the right the water was yellow, and upon the left it was blue. Yes, here were two lakes, separated only by the low wall : and the water of the one was a perfect azure, as if tinged deeply with blueing ; the water of the other was clear amber, as if dyed by pine needles. And both lakes drained apparently from the same territory. Across, rose the mighty form of the painted Red Chief. No wonder that trapper Dan had " made medicine " before such enchantment. The causeway (it was a dike, thrown up by some ancient volcanic action) crossed through the deep water; and peering down into the transparent depths Phil witnessed the shadowy forms of great fish. He THE MAGIC LAKES 89 dropped in his baited hook and it was grabbed so quickly, by a darting form, that he almost was jerked overboard, so to speak. There was no place, on the narrow ridge, to land the fish and he towed it along to the shore. It proved to be a fish weighing at least four pounds a round-bodied fellow, mottled gray on the back, yellow on the belly, and provided in its capacious mouth with a myriad needle teeth. Phil had quite a time ex- tracting the hook. He left the fish tethered to a bush, at the shore, and returned to try again. This first fish had been taken from the blue water. But the yellow water responded as quickly, with a fish even heavier than the first, but totally different. The first had resembled a species of pike. This second resembled more a species of bass, being flatter, and wider; and it was differently marked. It was striped in wavy black lines, like a perch, and its belly was bluish instead of yellow. Now, that was odd : in the waters of the yellow lake the fish were bluish, and in the waters of the blue lake the fish were yellowish ! As these two big fish would be enough for a meal, and as it would be easy, no doubt, to catch others, Phil strung his prey together and lugged them off for camp. He was " wolfish " himself, and he began to appreciate how it was that Grizzly Dan could eat so much and so often ! He arrived about at the same moment with Chet, who was empty-handed but visibly excited. " Oh, jiminy! Look at the fish! " ejaculated Chet. "What are they?" 90 OLD FOUR-TOES " Don't know." " One out o' the blue water, one out o' the yaller, eh? " observed Grizzly Dan. " That's the way." " Didn't you get any, Chet ? " asked Phil. " I didn't fish. But I saw some big old bear tracks. They looked like Old Four-Toes! Long as my arm and wide as my hat ! " " Wharabouts, boy? " asked Grizzly Dan, interested. " Down toward the other end of this lake." "It mought be Old Four-Toes," granted Grizzly Dan. " Or it mought be that she cinnamon. Any cub tracks?" " Didn't see any." " We'll go an' take another look," said Grizzly Dan. " Leave the pot a-bilin an' hang up yore fish." He stood, and shouldering his long rifle Sally, strode off; grabbing, Chet his rifle, Phil his scarred and trusty carbine, the boys followed. " It was in a little sandy spot, almost at the other end," directed Chet. " I know," answered old Dan. " Thar's an old log thar what makes good fishin' place for b'ar. I know." And know he did, for he went straight to the very spot. The tracks were plain, and they were nearly as large as Chet. had asserted. They were immense twelve or fourteen inches long and eight wide ! Tracks like the print from the foot of some huge naked black man, roaming about. " Whew! " muttered Phil. " That's shore a big bear," averred Chet, wisely. THE MAGIC LAKES 91 Bonita, smelling the tracks, cowered and slunk closer to her master. " Four-Toes, sartin," declared Grizzly Dan. " See the sign? Toe missin' on the left hind foot. Four- Toes it air. Wagh! Now I hope he don't get mad 'cause we're campin' on his stampin' ground. Wah- pi-ho ! " he called. " No-ko-dag u-u-tum-wah-pas. We are friends, brother. We camp here to rest our ponies, and to ketch a few o' yore fish, for we air hungry. Give us a little grass, an' a little wood, an' a little meat, an' we will move on. We will catch a few fish for you, too, brother, an' lay them by this log. Ah, yah-to-mo- kum veheo-pas. Thar," he added, lowering his voice, to the boys. " I reckon I fixed him. One o' you jest run back to camp an' fetch those two fish an' lay hyar." " I will," said Chet, much impressed ; and away he trudged. He brought back the two fish, and leaving them upon the sand, by the log (as old Dan had engaged to do), they returned to the camp. " Yes, sir, that war Old Four-Toes, sartin," reiterated Grizzly Dan, as they prepared to dine from the pot. " I knowed he war in hyar." " Do you think he heard you? " queried Phil, with a wink at Chet. " Sartin he did. Those war fresh sign the edge whar he'd stepped in war muddy yet an' thar war drops spatted on the log. He war 'round close, watchin' to see what kind o' people we air. Now he knows we don't mean harm. He air a medicine b'ar, o' course. 92 OLD FOUR-TOES To-day he may be hyar, tomorrer he may be a hun- dred miles on t'other side." " Then he won't bother us, you think? " " Not if we don't bother him." " I shore'd like to see him, but I shore'd hate to meet him if he's as big all over as his feet are," said Chet. " Wall," observed the old trapper, composedly, " this air peace country ; this air the general market, whar we come for meat, not scalps, an' whar we only kill to eat. If you do meet up with Old Four-Toes, make the peace sign an' go yore way an' he'll go his." They ate dinner, and the dishes having been washed, Chet seized his rifle. " Come on. I'm going down and see if Old Four- Toes has come for his fish." " Easy, easy," warned Grizzly Dan, lying and puff- ing at his pipe, as the two boys strode off. " If he hasn't come, he will. He don' want to be hur- ried." They approached the place of the log cautiously ; for if the great bulk of the bear was there, they preferred to heed old Dan's advice and be " easy." Discretion was the better part of valor, in case of an animal who could make such a track. Besides, Grizzly Dan claimed that he was a " medicine bear ! " However, as they moved slowly, peering ahead over the scanty brush and between the cedar tops, the coast appeared clear. Only, as they at last emerged upon the shore, Phil exclaimed : "They're gone!" They were. The two fish which had been kft beside the log had vanished. THE MAGIC LAKES 93 " No bear took them, though," asserted Chet. " Don't see any more tracks of him; do you? " There were no fresh bear tracks, no portentous im- prints renewed to tell of a return visit by Old Four- Toes. But, looking closely, the boys made out just a few scratchy marks which they thought had not been there before. And again looking closely, they dis- covered a faint impression of pads as if a child had slightly dented the sand with four finger-tips close to- gether. That was all. But whatever was doubtful, the fish were gone, and all the spying and ransacking about by the boys and Bonita failed to roust out the thief. " A varmint; likely a marten or a fisher or a mink," declared Grizzly Dan, having heard the report. " Took 'em both, do 'ee say? Wall, now, Old Four- Toes he won't stand for anythin' like that. But he can't lay it up agin us. Next fish we ketch, we'll ketch for ourselves. An' if I war you, I'd be ketchin' 'em right away, 'fore they all know about it. Thar be the chance that those thar two fish, 'stead o' bein' et, got back in the water agin, an' pretty quick now you can't get another one, to save ye." " They were dead ; they'd been cleaned," scoffed Chet. " Yes, I know, boy. But this hyar is medicine country. Did you ever see or hear of a blue an' yaller lake, side by side, fed by the one red mountain, an' containin' two different kind o' fish, before? This hyar is medicine country. An' it air a question in my mind whether some varmint did steal those fish, or whether 94 OLD FOUR-TOES they warn't changed into a varmint themselves, or else put back into the water. This hos has seen many queer things in his life, an' he knows Injuns who has seen more. But go ketch some fish for supper. We got to fill our meat-bags. That's 'lowable, anywhar. That's law." " I'll show you where," volunteered Phil, to Chet. [( There's a kind of dam, where I caught those two big ones." But although he and Chet both fished, cast- ing their baits down amidst the fish swimming slowly about along the causeway, not a single one would pay the slightest attention! And only two or three hours before, they had fought for the privilege of biting! " That's mighty queer," said Phil, disappointed. " You'd almost think that old Dan was right, and that those two fish had got back in and told the others! Let's cross over and try from the mountain side." They crossed; and separating, skirted north and south Phil following the shore of the blue lake, Chet following the shore of the yellow lake. Over here the aspect was stranger than upon the other side ; for the reddish rocks of the mountain were reflected in the indigo blue of the water, causing pur- plish shadows. All was quiet, as if indeed this were a land of enchantment. The rasp of Chet's progress died away, and Phil heard only his own noise as he scrambled and leaped, making his way from point to point. At places the shore was bordered by cliffs, from whose overhanging brows he dropped in his bait and line; and again he threw in from behind detached boulders. THK MAGIC LAKES 95 At one likely place he ensconced himself to fish until he had at least a nibble. There must be a fish, among the hundreds, who had not heard the news or else was imprudent. This open, rocky shore was not bear country, it seemed to Phil; and he somehow did not feel afraid of Old Four-Toes, anyway, who was a " medicine bear," and had no need of attacking boys. Besides, Grizzly Dan had told him that they were friends. But when a little clatter sounded, among the rocks behind him, Phil's heart leaped into his throat and he turned his head with a jerk. He was just in time to glimpse a black shape darting around a corner; it was not a large black shape, so it was not a bear, and he rushed to get a better view of it. But when he, too, had rounded the rock corner, the shape was nowhere in sight, and all his stretching of neck and clambering upon view points near at hand failed to disclose it. All right ; let it go, then. It was not big enough to harm him, and he had no desire to harm it. Besides, a more important matter took his attention. He had hastily left his line, wound upon a stick, lying upon the rocks; and he arrived back just in time to grab the stick as it was floating swiftly away towed by an invisible power. A fish ! Yes, another four-pounder the blue lake kind, round bodied with yellow belly. Hurrah! There was no good place here to tether the fish ; and having killed it quickly by a blow upon the head, Phil laid it carefully in a shaded crevice by the shore, while he fished more. He was not favored with even another 96 OLD FOUR-TOES bite; and he tried a little further on, and still a little further, always hoping to repeat the success. But not another nibble rewarded him; apparently this had been the only foolish fish in the lake. He returned to get it and he could not find it ! Had he made a mistake in the location? No. Of course, such a mistake was possible, but here was the very angle in which he had been sitting, when he cast his hook; yes, here were the marks of his boot-heels, and here was the little draw up which he had run. And here, in this crevice, was the slime from the fish itself ! But the fish itself was absent ; spirited away ex- actly as had been spirited away those two other fish by the log! Humph ! Phil searched about, keenly. " All right," he spoke, to the waters of the blue lake. " All right, brother fish, if you got in again. Hope you did. Your medicine is bigger than mine, I reckon. And howdy to you, brother Four-Toes. You're all pretty smart, around here. If you don't want us to have any fish, I guess we don't get 'em. I'm going back to camp." So around the end of the blue lake he tramped, and through the brush, for camp. And hither came Chet, with one fish, but a monster weighing fully ten pounds ; a fish almost as long as he was tall. It was the yellow lake kind bass-like, with blue belly. " It was the only bite I had," announced Chct, proudly. " He thought he'd caught me, and I thought I'd caught him, and there we had it, nip and tuck. Didn't know but what I'd have to snub him to the THE MAGIC LAKES 97 mountain and shoot him, but finally he tuckered and quit. Where are yours ? " " Mine came out, and went in again, like those two others, according to Dan." And Phil explained what had happened. " But this is big enough for a meal, if Dan isn't too wolfish ! " Grizzly Dan had not been in camp when the boys arrived; but now he came trudging from quarter unknown, his long rifle upon his shoulder and Bonita at his heels. " Wagh ! " uttered the old trapper, at sight of the giant fish. " Hyar's meat, such as it air. White meat don't shine, with me, 'longside red meat 'less it be beaver tail or bufFler fat; but fish air good, for a change, an' I air gettin' wolfish agin. Who ketched him?" " Chet. I caught a smaller one, and left him a minute, and he disappeared," said Phil. " Wall, now, I told you this air medicine country," remarked the old trapper. " 'Tain't safe to leave things lyin' about. This hyar whole camp is liable to be swallered up or snaked away. But we'll cache that fish in a cedar an* wropped in a sack; an' if he disap- pears afore we eat him, then we'll know it air Old Four-Toes himself that air up to mischief. It air too big a morsel for ornery varmint, same as left this hyar sign that I found. Lookee ! " and he held out a fish- head, newly gnawed. CHAPTER VIII THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES " WHERE'D you find that ? " asked Phil ; and Chet asked, "What about it?" " After you'd gone I went 'round to yore log, whar the fust fish had been left for Four-Toes our brother, an' I seed whar some varmint or image of a varmint had been down an' dragged somethin' off. So I jest follered that trail back a ways, me an' the dawg; an' we come to this hyar fish-head, in the brush." " But we hadn't seen any trail," expostulated Chet. " We looked, too." " Wall, I reckon you ain't been educated to sign, yet," replied Grizzly Dan, indulgently. " It war plain enough to me some bent grass, some slime from the fish, an' so forth. This air a fresh-gnawed head, but what did it I'm not sayin'. Maybe it air the head o' one o' yore fish, an' maybe it air not the head o' one o' yore fish. But if thar air varmint 'round that think to fool us, I'm goin' to see if they can fool a trap. If they air medicine, I can't trap 'em; if they ain't medicine, they've got to trade me in a pelt for those 'ere fish. But fust we'll make the oven ready for the fish we've got, an' he can be cookin'." Following the lead and directions of old Dan, the boys helped to scoop out, in the soft soil, a trench about THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES 99 as long as the fish and about twice as deep as the fish was thick ; and into this was changed the fire. Here it burned for the next two hours, while the camp rested, and while the shadows grew longer and longer as the sun sank into the west. But as old Dan waxed ever more " wolfish," and as the boys as well felt the on- stealing pangs of hunger, the fish was early sacrificed. It was coated thickly with moist clay the adobe of the West; the fire was scooped out of the trench and the fish was laid in; then the coals were heaped upon it. The thought of what was happening to that fish made Phil's mouth water. Even Bonita was in- terested. Grizzly Dan overhauled his sack of traps ; he dumped the traps upon the ground and poked at them with a stick. " An* I saw beaver sign, too/' he mumbled, as if to himself. " Hyar don't 'ee touch those traps, boy. Less man smell we get on 'em the better. Yep, I saw beaver sign, too, whar one old beaver lives under the bank. He air a bachelor what we call a bum, I reckon. Used to be plenty beaver, t'other end o' the blue lake, an' down the stream. But they war all trapped out by a gang o' half-breed butchers, twenty year ago. Maybe this old feller war left, somehow; an' he's come back to settle whar he war a boy." " That's queer," vouchsafed Phil. " Beaver are smart," declared Chet, wisely. " They air," agreed Grizzly Dan. " Beaver air humans in animile form. That's all. When beaver get too bad persecuted, the rest o' them light out for ioo OLD FOUR-TOES other parts ; but occasional one will return agin. So I reckon that war the case with this hyar fellow." " Did you see him? Are you going to trap him? " asked Chet, eagerly. " No, I didn't see him ; but I see his hole, an' I see the canal he's made through the brush. He air a bum, a bachelor, an' he don't live in any lodge. He lives in a hole under the bank, like a mink or a rat. That air pretty low down for a beaver. No, why should I ketch him? He air the last of his tribe, like I be, tryin' to enjoy what's left to him of a country that war once his. This air his sanctuary. But I'll ketch that var- mint that's stealin' our meat if I can." The fish baked for about an hour. When the coals were removed and it was raked with sticks out of the trench-oven, it was as hard as paper-mache but at the first blow it cracked open and a cloud of fragrant steam welled forth. Good ? It was immense! It was a mass of sweet, fine, pink flesh threaded upon the back-bone ; and when the clay was peeled off it took the scales with it, and when the back-bone was lifted out, like a core, the next operation was to eat and eat and eat again. " That's shore some fish," remarked Chet, his mouth crammed. " It air," concurred old Dan. And it " war." The fish having been given time to settle, old Dan concluded his after-supper pipe, and lazily rising threw a couple of traps in a gunny sack, over his shoulder, took up his long-barreled rifle, without which he never stirred abroad, and started. THE SECRETS OF THE 1 LAKES 101 " Sure; come if you want to,' : he bade. " But tie up the dawg, an' keep in my trail an' don't go scatterin' yoreselves all over creation though whatever stole those fish don't seem much scared o' man smell, I jedge. I still think it war a medicine animile o' some kind, an' I mought as well try to ketch some beaver who's up to trap. But I can find out." Leaving Bonita to whine at being tethered in camp, the two boys, carrying also their guns, followed Grizzly Dan, as with long stride he proceeded through the twi- light, skirting the shore of the blue lake. In the brush a little way back from the log he set one trap. He dragged it, by a forked stick, in the water, first, and placed it and set it, by means of the stick ; and with his hat he carried water and plashed the ground around about it as if to wash away any odor. Over the trap he suspended a piece of fish, from a wand of brush, so that, reaching for the fish, the animal would step upon the pan of the trap. And here and there he scattered other bits of the fish, as a trail. When he was through, the trap could not be seen, the pieces of fish were naturally strewn, and for a radius of a yard or more around the trap man smell probably was lacking. A second trap was set, with similar pains, among the rocks across the blue lake, where Phil's fish had disap- peared. Then the party returned to camp, to make ready for the night. Speedily all the low country was enveloped in shadow, and swiftly the line of sunshine ascended to cloak the mountains also. Through some far rift possibly through the canon-trail itself the beams 102 OLD FOUR-TOES lingered longest upon Red Chief. After all else was dark, he stood forth, with his purple and maroon figure illuminated softly. Regretfully, gradually, the line of light dividing day and dusk crept up over him, also, until only his banded chest and his crown were lighted. The boys watched, breathless, while his chest faded into shadow, and finally only his crown remained in shine the last bit of shine in the world, it seemed. Just the tip of him was now plain just the crimson tip; and slowly it too merged with the sky, and Red Chief was dull and slumbersome against the starry background. He had pulled his robe around him, and slept. Quiet reigned. Fish plashed in the lakes, an owl hooted, a little breeze sighed through the few cedars ; but these sounds did not disturb, they comforted. Then, just as the camp had settled into bed, sounded from the water a loud, smart " whack! " as if some- body had spatted the surface with a paddle. " Beaver," announced Grizzly Dan, from his tarp. " That's him, playin' or makin' believe, an' flappin' his tail as a signal. Wagh! Ain't I heard the same a million times ! It air the trapper's lullaby." Phil lay, waiting for further slaps (which did not come), and fearing that he would hear the crisp click of a sprung trap. He was not certain that he could hear either of the traps, at this distance ; and he hoped that he couldn't. The more he thought about those traps, the less he favored them. To kill an animal, even instantly, was bad enough, although sometimes advisable; but to catch one in a trap, and hold it by THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES 103 crushed foot or leg, and torture it for hours, was hor- rible. However, he fell asleep to be wakened, as custom- ary, by old Dan moving about. Dan did not appear to be eating; he appeared, rather, to be sitting, with his Navajo blanket over him, smoking and mumbling, be- side the flickering fire. "What's up?" asked Phil. The old trapper did not answer, but continued his mumbling and strange motions. In due time he ex- plained. " I war makin' fresh medicine. Nobody can ketch that thar varmint, boy. I knowed it can't be done. Didn't I say I could jest try ? " " How do you know ? " demanded Phil. " 'Cause the trap air sprung, an' he ain't in it. I heard it spring, an' I went down. It war the trap back from the log. Yep, it war sprung but it had cotched only a stick an' all the bait war gone ! That thar var- mint had reached in with a stick, an* sprung the pan, an' had gone off laughin'. Wagh! Heap big medi- cine ! When an animile is up to trap, like that, it air no use foolin' with him." "Aw! Didn't you catch anything?" stammered Chet, sleepily, waked by the conversation. " Just a stick, he says," replied Phil. " An' a stick is all we'll find in that thar other trap, acrost the lakes," asserted Grizzly Dan. " You mark my word. I heared it spring, too, a minute ago." " I'm going to see," said Chet, rolling out. " Go easy, an' I'll show ye a beaver," advised Grizzly 104 OLD FOUR-TOES Dan. " He's out, in the moonlight. He's been splashin' an' slappin' with his tail, like a whale or two. Hyar follow me." A quarter-moon was shining, with ghostly light ; and behind old Dan, in his buckskins and moccasins, flint- lock rifle in hand, trod the two boys, as if upon a scout. Bonita, still tied (to keep her out of the traps), stared after and mildly whimpered. Through among the shadows of the cedars they stole, and bending low, made a circuit, to approach the blue lake at a point selected by Grizzly Dan. He cautioned them with his hand ; and at last, lying flat, they peered out at the water which glassy spread before, at the feet of the slumbering Red Chief. But the glassy surface was wrinkled by a succession of ripples; and now ap- peared a round black head, with the back trailing off like the tail of a comma, as some animal swam leisurely about. It must be the beaver as was verified by old Dan's muttered : " Shht ! " The beaver, circling aimlessly and alone, swam to the hither shore, waddled forth, disappeared amidst the brush, and presently reappeared with a stick in his mouth. This he bore through the water, and then vanished close to the bank at another point. " Storin' it away in his burrow," whispered old Dan. " He air a big bachelor. Shht ! " The beaver had reappeared. He swam about again, and climbed out upon a rock, where he sat like a spaniel in the moonlight. He evidently was fat and sleek, and probably was gray-whiskered, and perhaps was lone- some. But as he sat there he had an odd, unnat- THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES 105 urally sleek outline, at which Phil caught himself puz- zling. " Wagh! " suddenly ejaculated Grizzly Dan, stand- ing. Down dived the beaver leaving a loud slap of his tail as a memento. But old Dan paid no attention to that. He stared, with mouth open, or probably open, under his shaggy whiskers. " Did you see that, now ? " he invited, as the two boys also rose. " Did you see that, now? War thar anything remarkable about that 'ere beaver, to you? " " Awful fat? " hazarded Chet. " Something queer, though; but I don't know what," added Phil. " He warn't all thar," asserted Grizzly Dan, still astounded. " That's what air the matter : he warn't all thar. He had only one leg ! He war sheared o' the other three!" " Must have been trapped ! " " Sartinly. He air an old bum beaver, an' he's been trapped three times, an' gnawed himself free every time. He's got one hind foot an' three stumps, air all. But he air pork fat, at that ! " " How does he swim and dive, then ? " gasped Phil. " He does ; he's 1'arned which air another wonder- ful thing. Jest as I told ye, he's one of the old colony, come back." " Well, he's earned his life," said Chet, stoutly. " The man who'd tech an animile like that is meaner'n a pizenous Digger Injun," avowed Grizzly Dan. " But I shouldn't wonder if this beaver had got to be a medicine beaver, an' it would be bad luck to io6 OLD FOUR-TOES tech him, anyhow. He's livin' in the blue lake, you notice, too, don't ye? Never war no beaver in the yaller lake, which is another funny thing. Always lived in the blue lake, never in the yaller. Must be bad medicine about that 'ere yaller lake." They waited a few minutes, but the crippled veteran of a beaver did not emerge. So, in response to old Dan's reminder, " Wall, we'll look at that other trap, over yon," they crossed the causeway. The path was plain; on either hand the water of the two lakes lay silent and dark. The trap was found; but it had been sprung, and nothing was in it but a stone, which old Dan declared had been dropped, on purpose, by the mysterious " var- mint." " I told ye 'twarn't any use," he alleged, as he lifted the trap to carry it to camp. " That varmint air a critter who knows more'n I do. He's up to trap. I 'spect he an' that beaver an' Old Four-Toes air one. Who ever heard of a beaver swimmin' an' divin' and gettin' fat with only one foot ! " Thus mumbling and wagging his head, Grizzly Dan took his trap and retraced the route to camp. ' The springing of those traps didn't wake you up, did it ? " asked Chet, curiously. " If it did, you've got powerful ears." " I war awake, anyhow," confessed old Dan. " I ain't like I used to be. I used to set twenty beaver trap, an' go to sleep, knowin' I war drownin' maybe fifteen beaver, or else war holdin' some by the leg till I could kill 'em with an ax in the mornin'. But now THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES 107 when I set a trap, lots o' times I can't get it off my mind. I air sorry I tortured so many aniiniles an' I reckon that sorter lays heavy on me when I'm ready for sleep. Trappin' air the crudest work that man does. I tell 'ee, boys, a trapper has got to shut his eyes an' ears an' heart. So when I set these hyar traps, for this hyar varmint, I jest lay thar, listenin' for the spring, so's I could hurry out an' put the critter out o' his misery. But he war too smart, an' I air glad." "But you're a trapper, aren't you?" put in Chet. " That's what I always thought." Old Dan chuckled, rather sheepishly. " Wall, I s'pose maybe I go 'round as one," he said. " O' course, I do carry these hyar traps, in my old trap sack. If I didn't, I'd miss 'em. I've packed a trap sack for sixty year, an' I want to hear the jingle. An' o' course I set a trap onct in a while. Thar air animiles that's got to be trapped like wolves what kill cattle. But that air self-defense. No, I don't reelly trap, any more. Thar's blood enough on my hands, as it is, from beaver days." Bonita, by force of circumstances on guard over the deserted beds, was glad indeed to have company again. " Then you really believe those traps were sprung on purpose, do you?" ventured Phil, as they all crawled in. " Do you, Dan ? " "What traps?" u These two we set, for that varmint." " Sartin sure, boy. Anybody who's trapped much knows that. When an animile's up to trap, onct, he'll cut all sort o' capers. Yes, sir. I've never seed it io8 OLD FOUR-TOES done, myself; but I've heard old Bill Williams, who war the greatest trapper of us all in beaver days, tell how he's sot an' he's seen an old beaver approach a trap, with a stick in his two front paws, an' poke the pan an' spring the trap, an' then go away shakin' his sides!" "Aw !" scoffed Chet. "Wall, it's been done to my traps, time an' time agin," retorted Grizzly Dan. " An' you've been hyar to-night, to know what happened. So believe it or not, as you please. But how air yore meat-bags? I'm wolfish, after that walk." Chet and Phil decided that they would prefer sleep. For a brief time Phil drowsily watched the old trapper as, wrapped in his ancient striped Navajo blanket, he squatted by the fire, which lighted his ragged outlines. As Phil watched, he cogitated upon matters in general and the mysterious " varmint " and the veteran footless beaver in particular; just as he drifted away, he heard the sharp slap of the beaver's tail upon the surface of the blue lake, to which the veteran by the fire, with a wave of his pipe, uttered " Wagh ! " Morning came soon. Phil was awake unusually early, for the thin moonlight had given place to only another thin grayness. The air was chill and moist ; the fire was out ; the bed amidst the blanket and quilts, under the tarpaulin, was comforting and warm; but mindful of yesterday's defeat Phil slipped out from his cosy nest beside Chet, and with fishing tackle and carbine (for who knew what might be abroad, at this hour when animals returned from the night's foray?) THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES 109 and Bonita for company, he sought the water, and fish. Possibly the fish had forgotten, or would not expect anybody so early. He came out, Bonita trailing behind him, at the hither end of the causeway; and just as he did so his eye sighted a black object racing across, making for the other end. It was not a large object not so large as Bonita, who likewise saw it and with a spring was in pursuit. Phil's carbine automatically leaped to his shoulder; but the black object had vanished no, there it was again, scurrying over the rocks across the water. Bonita was halfway across, herself a bouncing bundle of energy. If Phil was to shoot, he must shoot quickly. The black thing was so far, and was moving so erratically, and the light was so bad, that he had no idea of hitting it ; however, taking quick aim he blazed away, at a venture. Scarcely had he pressed trigger when the bullet spatted roundly against the rocks, over there; and through the slight haze of the powder the black thing had disappeared. But on raced Bonita; and now after her ran Phil, calling to her to come back. She, too, disappeared among the rocks. Just as he reached the other end of the narrow causeway separating yellow lake and blue lake, she came trotting to meet him, carrying the black thing ! He must have hit it, then ! " Here, Bonita ! Drop it, Bonita ! " he ordered, advancing. Bonita dropped it, but stood guard over it, and gave it a nip or two, to warn it. Phil stooped to examine. no OLD FOUR-TOES It was a furry little animal black furred fur long and soft, tail bushy, nose pointed like a coyote's ; but it was of course not a coyote ; it looked like a fox ! He heard a " Whoo-ee! " and there was Chet, at the other side of the water, calling across. You could de- pend upon Chet's following close the report of the little carbine. Phil took the black furry carcass (which was lifeless, the bullet having passed through the neck) across to that side, Bonita walking proudly in his wake, her nose against the drooping bushy tail. " What is it ? " queried Chet. " Don't know, exactly. Fox, isn't it? " "Of course black fox. Oh, say! A black fox! He's worth money, too! How'd you shoot him? Where was he? " " He was on that side and I was on this. He was running among those rocks. Didn't think I'd hit him. Shot just for luck. And I didn't know I had hit him till Bonita brought him out. She found him." " Take him to camp and see what old Dan says," proposed Chet ; and this was the natural thing to do. " That air a black fox," concurred old Dan. " That air the black fox who's been 'round these parts for three or four years, an* nobody could get him. I reckon he air the varmint who stole those fish an* sprung those traps. He air a medicine animile. What'd you shoot him with lead ? " "Yes; and he made a dandy shot, too," answered Chet, vigorously. " It was accident," explained Phil. " I scarcely aimed." THE SECRETS OF THE LAKES in " Don't know how ye did it, but yore medicine war the strongest, this inornin'," muttered the old trapper. " You must ha' kctchcd him when he war weak. Any- how, that thar pelt's wuth a hundred dollars. You don't often find a reel black fox. Pelt's in good con- dition, too. We'll case it an' tan it, an' when we get back you can sell it." ' You can have it. I don't want it. I didn't want to kill him," replied Phil. " Then you hadn't oughter shot," decreed old Dan. " If you go along doin' things by accident you're liable to get into a heap o' trouble. 'Specially if you shoot for luck. That's why I stick to my old Sally, hyar. She has only one load in her, an' so I got to make every bullet count. But we'll see about this fox pelt. Maybe I'll buy it of ye, an' maybe I'll make some kind of a swap, an' maybe nobody'll get it. We ain't out o' Lost Park yet, an' we got our own pelts to take keer of." CHAPTER IX BAD MEN IN THE PARK OLD DAN'S spotted pony seemed to be well recovered from that long roll in the canon; and it was evident that Dan himself had determined to move on farther into the Park. He had folded his bed, and arranged the pack saddles, and made other preparations. " Hos guard out," he reminded. " Leave yore animile ; I'll case him for ye. You get after the hosses 'fore the Injuns drive 'em off an' put us afoot." And he chuckled. They drove to camp the three horses and Betty the mule, and as customary tethered them near, in readi- ness. The pelt of the black fox had been stripped, by turning it inside out like a glove, as one skins a rabbit, and was hanging on a branch. It was kept open and stretched by a frame thrust into it a frame made by a long twig bent into an oval shape. " Haven't time to dress it now," quoth Grizzly Dan. *' Do it later. It air a good pelt, for this time o' year. Eat. Fill yore meat-bags on what thar air, an' we'll push on for next camp." So they sat down to the remnant of the big fish. " Where is the next camp? " asked Chet. " Forty mile from hyar, boy. It air an old camp I've knowed of more years than you two air old. It 112 BAD MEN IN THE PARK 113 air a white Injun camp o' beaver days, an' I air about the only one left who knows it, now. Thought we'd go in to it." " Must be 'way in the wildest part of the park, then." " It air. But ketch up, ketch up, if you're done. Let's travel. Thar's a long trail an' a short day. Douse the fire an* wipe off yore dishes, an' I'll be puttin' on the packs. Time war," continued old Dan, as he adjusted the pack-saddles, " when white Injuns didn't stop to douse fires* We left 'em whar they war an' I 'spect we burned a heap o' timber. But that didn't matter to us. It war a big world, out hyar, an* when timber burned, thar war other to take its place. We wasted more o' nature than we used, which war hard on the buff'ler an' the beaver an' drove us all out o' business, at last. To-day timber air timber, meat air meat, an' fur air fur. Wagh! You boys'll have to 1'arn the lesson we didn't 1'arn, an' be keerful o' the animiles an' the land, so it'll keer for you." The route upon which old Dan now led off followed down along the yellow lake, and turning the end passed around the base of Red Chief. A long valley, gradually climbing to the crest of a wooded ridge, extended be- fore ; and entering this, the little cavalcade bade good- by to the strange yellow and blue lakes, watched over by the mighty crimson peak, to the veteran beaver and the great fish; but they bore away with them the un- fortunate black fox, overcome when, according to Grizzly Dan, " his medicine war weak." But they did not leave behind them him who Grizzly Dan declared was the presiding genius of the enchanted H4 OLD FOUR-TOES place; for as they paralleled a small stretch of moist ground, where seepage from the slopes had soaked up, with a short exclamation to call attention the leader pointed down beside the trail. Enormous bear tracks were here imprinted ; they lacked a toe on the left hind foot; they headed up the valley, for the distant ridge. " Aw, Old Four-Toes! " cried Chet. " He's going in, too." " Yep; an' they war made this mornin'. They air not more'n two hours old," pronounced Grizzly Dan. " I reckon those thar tracks date from the minute when the black fox died. 'Cordin' to my idee, that black fox war Old Four-Toes, changed shape ; he'd lost his medi- cine an* war hustlin' to get it, when the boy shot him ; an' then he changed back again, o' course, into b'ar, an' he took the trail for the inside country. If he air medi- cine, that war easy for him. He's more'n human an' he can't be killed." " How do you know these tracks were made this morning? " invited Phil, from the rear. " 'Cause when they show on the dry spots it air plain that they war made after dewfall an* 'fore the sun war high. They bent the grass when it war wet, an' they turned over pebbles an' sticks so that the wet side air underneath. That's what I got off, onct, back thar, to see. O' course," and old Dan chuckled, "that he changed into b'ar agin when the black fox war per- forated, I only guess at." " We'd better watch that pelt, then," advised Phil. " It's liable to vanish, or something." " It air liable to turn into a stick or a dried leaf on BAD MEN IN THE PARK 115 ye," agreed old Dan. " That's what it air." But it didn't. They were riding along the faintest of trails a trail so faint that it could not be traced underfoot, and only appeared as a scarcely perceptible line, like an impres- sion, on before. For this is the way with trails when faint: they may be seen before and behind, but not underneath. This trail traversed the valley which from the base of Red Chief gradually conducted to the crest of the ridge beyond. The valley was thickly timbered ; amidst the timber was much brushy growth, in places a thicket, where the trail was no trail at all. But old Dan rode right on- ward, never hesitating, forcing his spotted pony through the interlacing branches, and the rest of the train followed. " Should hate to run cows, in this country," called back Chet. " They'd all go wild. It's a regular maver- ick country." " It shore is," concurred Phil, out of his cow-puncher experience. " Guess they call it Lost Park because any- thing that once gets in it is lost." " Let a cow be over in here once and she sure is lost," declared Chet, sagely. " Lost to the owner, anyhow. I've heard there's a lot of wild stock in the park cows and horses both. But nobody can get 'em." " Wolves get 'em," replied old Dan. " Some years I've seen plenty beef an' hos hyar, an' agin the varmints have cleaned 'em all out." When finally they reached the top of the ridge, well were they paid for their exertions. Here a glorious ii6 OLD FOUR-TOES sweep of country burst upon the view. Old Dan had reined in, and waited for the rear of the train (which was Phil) to join him and Chet. The crest of the ridge was bare of trees except as a few spruces were scattered about. All around were other ridges, and jagged peaks, some snow-seamed. Behind, ten or twelve miles, rose the beacon of Red Chief, at whose further base were the two medicine lakes and the last night's camp. The sun shone upon him gloriously, bringing out a white cross on his hither face. Before, clear and sharp, jutted against the blue sky in the eastern horizon a black pinnacle fringed along the top with teeth. Old Dan had removed his hat, as if worshiping; even the animals pricked their ears, and gazed abroad until the irreverent dun mule, always with an eye to the practical rather than to the fanciful, began industriously to graze. Cotton-tail fol- lowed her example, and the saddle horses did the best that they also could. " I have climbed hyar as many times as I have ha'r in my whiskers," alleged Grizzly Dan, somewhat ex- travagantly, " an' I always find something new. This air called Trappers' Lookout. I've passed hyar with Jim Bridger, an' Bill Williams, an' Kit Carson, an' Jim Beckwourth who war the mulatto Crow chief, an' the Sublettes, an' many another o' the mountain-man crowd; an' not a one of us but took off our hats an' made medicine that we war alive an' in God's great world. Now they all air gone Bridger an* Carson an' Fremont an' the rest, an' only I air left. But the country is left; the mountains an' the hills an' the BAD MEN IN THE PARK 117 valleys an' the sky an' the sun an' the free wind air left. An' when I'm gone, too, they'll still be hyar. That saw-tooth yon/' and he pointed to the black peak, " is Cockscomb Peak; it air sixty miles from hyar. An* now you see the cross on Red Chief. That knob, with snow on top, is Buffalo Lodge Peak; it air shaped like a buffalo-robe lodge. That peak to southward, thirty mile, air Warrior Peak. Look at it a minute, an' you'll see it air a big Injun, laid out on his back, under his robe, sleepin'. The Injuns say he air the guardian o' the park, an' some day he'll wake up an' all the white men will be driven out o' the country an' the Injuns'll be boss agin. See him ? " Sure enough. Misty blue was the crest indi- cated ; but it took shape of the Indian, asleep ; his arms were folded on his breast, his knees were slightly bent, his moccasin toes up-thrust, all underneath a blanket or robe ; and clean-cut against the sky was the profile of his upturned face a profile very Indian. There he lay, motionless, gigantic, indeed like some mighty warder, enchanted and slumbrous, at his post above the vast region, slope and vale and crest, round about. Should he ever stand, he would tower into the sky and could stride a league at a step. It would then be a sorry day for the whites ! Only a thirteen-inch cannon could per- haps cripple him; and this would be a difficult country for a thirteen-inch cannon. " We camp right under his toes," resumed old Dan. " But I reckon he ain't goin' to tread on us," and as customary with him, the trapper chuckled. " We'll risk it agin. Hyar's whar we turn off. See that old n8 OLD FOUR-TOES blaze on that thar big spruce? That blaze dates back further'n I do. It war thar when I fust came through hyar, sixty years ago, an' we've kept the bark open ever since. Ketch up, ketch up! Wait! Do 'ee see that smoke yon? Somebody air in hyar ahead of us. Wagh ! It air hostile sign. All sign in a wild country air hostile till you've proved 'em friendly. Injuns, mebbe. Mebbe rival trappers. Wagh ! " Grizzly Dan was staring fixedly into the distance, toward the sleeping Indian. Here, in a jumble of lower ridges, of craggy uplifts, rock-fanged, and of dark- green evergreens blotched with the emerald of the quaking aspens and topped by snow-patches, with the broad blue sky overhead, spread a land apparently with- out human being therein, and never before visited by human being; a wild land, the wildest that Phil ever had beheld. " I see it," proclaimed Chet, suddenly. " It's curling against the Indian's nose." " Right you air," said Grizzly Dan. " Somebody's camp-fire ; it air no forest fire, an' it air no signal fire. Wagh ! " His chin was thrust forward belligerently, his jaws were working as he cogitated, and from under his broad brim he peered along, leaning slightly for- ward in the saddle upon his spotted pony. " Have to look into that," he muttered. " Sech smoke don't shine with this coon. If some one air cached away in thar, I want to know." Strive as Phil did, he could not distinguish the smoke. "See it? "asked Chet. BAD MEN IN THE PARK 119 " No," Phil had to confess. " Rises right against the Injun's nose," directed Chet, impatiently. "Aw, jiminy! It's as plain as your own nose." " We'll scout down thar," declared old Dan. " We'll leave this hyar high ground an' keep our eye out for sign. Whoever it air, must have come in by t'other trail. Nobody but us an' Old Four-Toes have traveled this trail." They rode on, just below the crest of the ridge, so as not to be outlined against the sky (although it oc- curred to Phil that across such a distance they would not be larger than fleas), with old Dan, in the lead, sit- ting his saddle straight-up, his eyes darting right and left and scrutinizing the ground, and even the clutch upon his rifle betokening especial new vigilance. Thus they wound through the spruces and cedars. Once a clatter was heard; and reining sharply old Dan peered into the brush, his long rifle poised. " Spike buck," he announced. " Wagh ! Thar goes meat an' I'm wolfish, too. But a man air a fool to fire rifle when thar air hostile sign about, an' his ha'r air in danger." They rode on. Phil too was feeling " wolfish," as old Dan expressed himself, and was beginning to wonder, despite his hardihood, when the next meal was due and where it was coming from. They were making diagonally down, and presently were in a draw, thick with brush and young pines, aspens and willows, in great confus- ion. Through it coursed a stream. Old Dan dexter- 120 OLD FOUR-TOES ously leading, the pack train threaded the draw, up the stream, and at the juncture of this and another stream Dan suddenly dismounted. " Thar's sign," he announced guardedly. " Some- body's passed along hyar, up this t'other branch, an' they're not fur above. The smoke war in that direc- tion, an' hyar air chips that no beaver has gnawed, an' hyar air bones that no animile ever thro wed away. Thar's a camp up a little way, an' it air a trapper's camp, too. Hyar's a mark whar a trap war set; an hyar air plenty entrails an' meat that proved too much for the fish. Trout air gettin' fat livin'. Wagh ! We'll go up an' see. One o' you boys climb a tree, an' look round for that thar smoke." " You go up one and I'll go up another," challenged Chet. " I'll beat you." " Choose a high one, choose a high one," warned Grizzly Dan. Phil sprang for the branches of a tapering spruce, which seemed to promise well; and he heard Chet grunting and scrambling in rival feat. The spruce fulfilled its promise. From the swaying top a clear view was given : of the ridge which they had left, of the timber jungle around, of Warrior Peak whither they were bound, and of a bluish haze curling from the evergreen sea, about a quarter of a mile south- east, in the direction of Warrior Peak and probably up the branch of the stream which had been followed. " All right," called Phil, guardedly, " I see it." He descended. Chet descended at the same time, and scratched and puffing made similar report. Griz- BAD MEN IN THE PARK 121 zly Dan was smoking his short black pipe, and taking things easy. " Wall," he said, " I reckon we'll chance it. It may be a question o' eatin' our moccasins or losin' our h'ar, so we'll chance it. They air white folks, says Betty; for that 'ere mule can smell Injun a mile away, like any mule can. But when we strike the camp, you watch me, what I do, an' don't you let loose o' yore shootin' irons. An' if old Sal speaks, give it to 'em whilst I'm reloadin', but never let all the guns get empty at onct. That's trapper gospel." Then "Shht!" he cau- tioned, with a little clack of the tongue. He nodded at Betty the mule, and hastily dumping the ashes from his pipe into the water, ceased smoking and was motion- less. Phil noted that the dun mule's ears were pricked for- ward, as she stared across the brush, and that Bonita also was listening, as she sat. He thought that he could hear a twig crack, as if something might be approaching, down a trail which, now he ob- served, emerged from the undergrowth, for the stream. It was a cow-trail or game-trail and prob- ably both. After an instant of silence, the sound of steps was plain, unmistakably made by boots; and with all the animals pricking their ears, and the rest of the party equally alert, the form of a man appeared, coming on through the brush, for the water. He saw the horses, and hesitated, startled; but old Dan stood erect, and accosted shortly: "How?" 122 OLD FOUR-TOES The man resumed his course. "Howdy?" he answered, surveying the group. He was a tall, stooping-shouldered man, with bright red hair and reddish whiskers, and small blue eyes set close together. His black shirt was open at the throat, uncovering more of the reddish hair there. His small blue eyes had a peculiar wavering, nervous expression as they darted from one face to another. He was not a handsome man ; he was even unwholesome .and un- pleasant. Over his shoulder he carried a couple of traps, which he carelessly dropped into the brush, as if to ease him- self. " Fishin' ? " he asked. " Packin' through, I see." " Yes, jest packin' through," drawled old Dan, gently. " Pretty rough traveling too. How do ye get out o' this hyar? We're all tangled up." " Where you bound for ? " demanded the man. "Is this hyar Snake Creek?" parried old Dan. " No, should say not. Snake Creek's other side of the divide, uncle. You're away off. You want to get out of here and cross that ridge yonder, and go down. This is Lost Park country." " It air? " exclaimed old Dan, comically bewildered. " Whar air we, then? It air the wust travelin' I ever got into. How do we get out, stranger? " : * You can follow this trail, and aim for that saddle in that ridge ; see ? " and the red man pointed to the space between the toes and the knees of the sleeping Indian brave who formed Warrior Peak. " After that you've got another ridge to cross, 'fore you strike BAD MEN IN THE PARK 123 Snake Creek. You're sure lost if you think you're near Snake Creek now." " Should jedge you aren't fur from camp," hazarded old Dan. " How air you-all fixed for meat ? We air plumb starved. Mought we borrow or buy a little grub, you think? " " There's plenty o' meat runnin' wild through this brush," hinted the red man. " You needn't suffer." " Wall," returned old Dan, drawling, " it ain't run over us, yet. But o' course if you can't 'commodate us " " Sure, we can help you out a bit," answered the red man. " You follow this trail a bit, and take the first turn to your right, and edge in toward the creek again, and you'll find the camp. My pardner's there; he'll fix you out, I guess. Where's your fish ? " " The creek air so brushy, we can't ketch fish," ex- plained old Dan. " Maybe you don't know how, uncle," grinned the red man. " Ought to shoot 'em with that flintlock," and he winked impudently at Phil and Chet. " Mebbe so," agreed old Dan, meekly. " But we'll be right glad of a chance at reel meat o' some kind." " There's real meat," insisted the red man, " if you don't mind horns." " Agin the law, ain't it, to shoot deer now ? " asked old Dan. "If you go according to the law, you're likely to be hungry again," said the red man. ' This is a free country. Who owns it ? I do, and you do, and so do I2 4 OLD FOUR-TOES we all. Nobody's got any right to say I can't shoot a deer when I want to. They're my deer and your deer, as much as anybody's deer. If I don't shoot my share, some one else will." " Yes, but if thar ain't no law, won't anybody have any share, pretty soon," drawled old Dan. " Seems to me the law had to be made so folks would shoot their share an' stop. But ain't thar other meat hyar- abouts?" " I was only talking about the deer," claimed the red man, hastily. " Of course, deer aren't good out of season, anyway; and as you say, there must be laws. Yes, there's other meat. Once in a while a maverick cow. No law against killing a maverick." " Yes, there is," denied Chet. " AH these mavericks belong to the State." " No, they don't, sonny," corrected the red man. " They belong to the fellow who gets 'em first in here. But there ain't many left. Black wolves cleaned 'em out. And now we're after the wolves. Don't happen to have seen any ? " "That's what those thar traps air for, air they?" remarked old Dan. " I war wonderin'. What'd you say? Black wolves? No, ain't seen any. Air they dangerous? " " Worst varmints in the mountains. The govern- ment sent me and my pardner in here to see what we could do. Those black wolves come up from Mexico, and if they spread they'll eat the country alive! Yes, sir. I tell you what! We get fifty dollars for every one we catch, and our expenses, besides." BAD MEN IN THE PARK 125 " You must be some trappers," praised Chet, ad- miringly. " That's right, sonny." " Do ye want any b'ar? " asked old Dan, " or jest wolves ? " " Seen any bear? " " Saw a thunderin' big track ; looked like a b'ar track." "Near here? How big?" ' 'Bout fourteen inches long an' ten wide." " Get out, uncle ! " scofYed the red man. " You saw where a rabbit had sat down." " I'll show him to ye," retorted old Dan, earnestly. '' You look at that thar mud patch, in the stream, an' you'll see." They all looked, quickly the two boys as well as the red man. Midstream was a small flat, whence the waters had receded after a rise; and the sun shining upon it brought into relief a single imprint of what certainly appeared to have been a bear foot. ' That ? " spoke the red man, as if to scoff again. " You call that a bear track, uncle? " He plashed in; Chet and Phil plashed after; the old trapper stood quietly waiting a chuckle working inside him. " Jumpity Jones ! " gasped the red man. ' That ain't one bear track ; it's two ! If that's a bear track, it's the biggest bear I ever heard tell of." " It's Four-Toes ! " cried Phil to Chet. " See? One toe's gone! " " Fresh, too," averred Chet. " Four-Toes, ain't it? " queried old Dan. 126 OLD FOUR-TOES The boys nodded. The red man was scratching his head. " Seems your uncle is right," he said. " Set yore traps, set yore traps," chuckled Grizzly Dan. " Thar's yore b'ar. Fresh track. Mebbe he's 'round hyar yet. You'd get more'n fifty dollar out o' him wouldn't ye ? " " 'Fraid his pelt wouldn't be worth much so late in the spring, uncle," stammered the red man. " There ain't any bounty on bears. Can't afford to monkey with him." " Guess you ain't trappin' that size o' b'ar, stran- ger," chuckled old Dan. " But I thought I'd jest show ye the track. Wall, boys, we'd better be movin' on. Fust turn to the right, do you say, stranger? Thank 'ee. Good-day." " So long," replied the red man, still midstream and dubiously scratching his thatch, over the huge track. And this was the last they saw of the red man, alive. They rode away, up the trail. Phil, at the rear as customary, saw that the brush was cut by a number of trails, converging to this the main one, narrow trails, made by four-footed animals probably coming down to drink. At the first fork to the right Grizzly Dan turned, as directed. A ride of a quarter of an hour through the dense brush, where bushes of various kinds and low willows were crowding out the few pines, brought them into a little open space ; and here Grizzly Dan, who had been leading at an easy pace, occasionally chuckling, but his long rifle across horn and his eyes BAD MEN IN THE PARK 127 "(as Phil could tell by the angle of his facej searcli- ing right and left, halted, to communicate his thoughts. " Smell smoke/' he said, in a low, monotonous tone that did not penetrate far. " That thar man with the pre-airie fire ha'r, he thinks I don't know, do he ? " And Grizzly Dan chuckled more. " Wall, we'll see. You boys keep yore mouth shut an' yore eyes open, an' I'll do the rest. We air goin' into a beaver camp, but you needn't know it. Those war beaver traps, if ever I seed a beaver trap before, an' men who air breakin' the law don't relish havin' vis'tors; so we won't stay longer'n necessary. Wagh! I'd ruther ride into a hostile Injun camp than into a bad white man's. But come on." The camp proved to be only a short distance, now. Presently the curl of smoke indicated its location, in a bend of the stream, amidst some spruces and at one side of the trail. However, another trail had been broken through the brush, and they followed it. They were in plain sight of the camp, as they ap- proached, for a man stood awaiting them. He was a short, thick man, with black whiskers as shaggy as the whiskers of Grizzly Dan himself, and black, matted hair. His eyes, too, were very black and piercing, under shaggy brows. His appearance generally was wild and unkempt ; and although appearances often are deceiving, Phil felt that he was not a man whom one would like to meet on a lonely trail. Old Dan rode right into the camp, and 'dis- mounted. 128 OLD FOUR-TOES "Howdy?" he greeted. "I reckon we met yore pardner back a ways. He told us we might get a little meat hyar. Red-haired man, warn't he ? " " Might have been," assented the black man. " Where you bound?" " Travelin' on, I reckon. This hyar creek ain't Snake Creek, I understand. Snake Creek air across yonder ridge." " Yes, and then some," answered the black man. " Do you want Snake Creek? " " If we get thar," asserted old Dan, guardedly. " But we want meat, fust. Can you spare any? We're plumb out." " Lots o' meat 'round," declared the black man. " Yes, can let you have a little." He went to a tarpau- lin, and lifted a corner, and dragged out a chunk. " This be enough ? We killed a maverick the other day." "Beef, eh?" queried old Dan. "Wall, now! Wild beef! That'll be plenty an' more'n plenty." " Take it," bade the black man. " Nobody's cat- tle is everybody's cattle, ain't they? We can get more." " Thank 'ee," and old Dan wrapped the chunk of fresh meat in a gunny sack and tied it on behind his saddle. " It air hard travelin' on an empty stomick, an' it air hard at the best, in this hyar brush. But we'll get through, we'll get through." The camp was simple. A lean-to of spruce and pine boughs constituted the shelter; some blankets and quilts were hung out to air; a fire smoldered; around BAD MEN IN THE PARK 129 it sat some dirty dishes ; saddles, both pack and riding, denoted the presence of horses or mules ; and there was in the air an unpleasant odor of decomposing flesh an odor that reminded Phil of a sheep camp where pelts were drying. " Thank 'ee," proffered old Dan, again, as he mounted. " Now we'll get out o' this brush. Have to cross that thar ridge, do we ? " " Yes," answered the black man. He had not asked them to stop, and rest or eat. He stood watching them, briefly ; but when Phil turned and looked behind again, he had vanished. But this was not the last they saw of the black man, alive. Old Dan led on, by another game or cow trail which pointed for the peak. He did not say a word until they all were safely out of sight and hearing of the camp ; then twisting in his saddle, he opened his mouth for speech and a chuckle. "Didn't I tell ye?" he demanded. "Wagh! That war a beaver camp, an' those air beaver thieves. They air ketchin' beaver. Couldn't ye smell the pelts ? An* did ye see those 'ere willow hoops, for stretchin' ? Thar war a dozen o' them hoops layin' about, in the brush, an' any man who's up to beaver knows what that means. Never heard o' ketchin' wolves in beaver traps, 'cept by accident, an' never heard o' stretchin' wolf pelts on hoops! Wagh! Can't fool this hos. That sort o' talk don't shine with him." " What can we do about it? " asked Chet. " They ought to be arrested." 1 30 OLD FOUR-TOES " Nothin'," answered Grizzly Dan. " Nothin' now, anyhow. They air safe enough, in hyar, for a time, but they do pollute the atmosphere. Ketchin' animiles agin the law air as bad as robbin' another man's cache. Both air stealin'. If it warn't for you two boys, I'd show them fellers a trick or so, myself." " We'll help," ventured Chet, eagerly. " Sure," supported Phil. " Wall," drawled old Dan, thoughtfully, " we'd bet- ter do fust what we come in to do, an' that's to make camp under Warrior Peak. 'Tain't a good plan to spread out too thin; an' we've sot out to camp an' be white Injuns. We'll keep to that, an' get settled; an' then if somethin' else turns up for us to do, we'll do it. I always like to finish one plan, 'fore startin' into an- other. If you follow every side fork, you'll never cover the main trail. An' I've noticed that these hyar thieves an' liars reach the end o' their rope without much urgin'. Like as not those two fellows won't keep that camp long, now. Old Four-Toes'll prove too much for 'em. That one track'll be enough. A thief an' a coyote have the same kind o' courage they'll run when they can." "It was fresh, wasn't it?" asked Chet. "Looked so." " Made this mornin'," assured Grizzly Dan, with his chuckle. " Made after sun-up, when the mud had been thawed out a little. So I reckon the big b'ar air travelin' as we travel. Stream air risin' now, with the snow water from the hills, an' the track'll be washed out agin 'fore night. These hyar mountain streams all BAD MEN IN THE PARK 131 rise durin' the day, when the sun's at work on the snow, up above, an' fall durin' the night, when the snow freezes. But ketch up, ketch up; it air fifteen miles to camp, an' fm wolfish. Wagh! " CHAPTER X WHITE INJUNS AT HOME THE traveling had been bad, before, but it was worse and more complicated now. The brush continued thick, on the slopes and in the bottoms, and was criss- crossed by many narrow trails, intersecting and con- fusing. But old Dan rode confidently, and ever the outlines of Warrior Peak became clearer. So it was an all-day ride, this, without eating be- tween morning and evening; but if an eighty-year-old man could stand it, Phil thought that a boy should. Besides, he and Chet had made such rides before. The brush seemed deserted by animals, except rab- bits, and they were few. The sun shone hotly upon the jungly wilderness, which appeared to be resting under the same spell that enchanted the sleeping giant. At the top of a minor ridge halt was made again, amidst a grove of scrub-oak and laurel, as well as evergreens. While the horses breathed, and Betty the mule and Cotton-tail cropped, and Pepper and Medicine Eye grunted and breathed, and Bonita lay panting, Grizzly Dan as customary sat at ease in his saddle, and looked abroad. " It air a fine country," he mused. Far behind, across a rolling ocean of brush and tim- ber, was the camp of the beaver poachers, and game 132 WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 133 thieves ; and much closer, across a vale of more timber, was Warrior Peak, the upturned toes of the slumbering guardian being directly opposite. There he lay upon his lofty scarred and weather-beaten bier, until the hoped-for call should arouse him to action. Fleecy clouds swept his face, but they stirred him not. " It war a fine country, anyhow," continued Grizzly Dan, " 'fore game hawgs got into it. An'," he added, as if apologizing for his deprecating remark, " it air a fine country yet. But thar's somethin' wrong. Did 'ee notice, boys? Thar war not a fresh track nor a sight o' runnin' meat in all that thar brush? No, not a fresh track ! " " Didn't see even a wild cow, did we ! " supplemented Chet. And the peculiar fact dawned upon Phil also. " I reckon it must be the black wolves, an' mebbe the gray, too," said old Dan. " But the black air the wust. An' that's why Four-Toes air travelin' on. See thar? When a big b'ar like him, whose medicine air strong, gets down to doin' that, he air pretty hard put." And Grizzly Dan nodded at one side. The boys looked, expectant. An ant-hill, as large as a bushel basket, had been torn open. The multitude of ants were racing angrily about, covering it. Chet tumbled from his horse, and Phil followed suit. Some strong paw, armed with long claws, had raked open the hill, as by one fell scoop, and in the dust was a single track : the naked foot, again, as of some enor- mous being, half-human, with flat, long sole, and three short toes, and a gap, and then another toe. No ex- i 3 4 OLD FOUR-TOES clamation was required from the two boys, but they made it. Old Dan smiled indulgently. " I knowed it," he responded calmly. " That b'ar air headin' same way we air, for the inside country; an' this air the trail. Thought I'd seed his sign, several times, in the brush as we came along. He stopped up hyar to eat a few ants an' when a big b'ar does that, he air hungry. An' he ain't fur ahead, neither ; those thar ants air heap mad, yet. Wagh! Lucky for us they ain't big as he air." The horses were sniffing the atmosphere, their ears pricked, their nostrils dilated, and even Betty the mule paused in her industrious grazing, to snort and stare. Her tail between her legs, her fur ruffed, Bonita growled and slunk against Phil. The shadow of the huge bear seemed to envelope the place, and Phil in- voluntarily kept hand upon horn, ready to vault into the saddle. But old Dan was unperturbed. " No, he airn't hyar. Betty knows. She's gone to foragin' agin. Jest watch my old mule an' you'll 1'arn all the news." Sure enough, Betty was cropping, satis- fied that the alarm was false. " 'Spect you boys air some wolfish, an' so air I ; but we'd better push on for camp, whar thar's water. I got a spring that can't be beat." "Do you suppose Old Four-Toes or the wolves cleaned out the game?" asked Phil, as the line was formed for the march. " Wolves, I reckon an' hawgs. I count people like those thar beaver-pelt an' hide thieves wuss'n wolves. But the black wolves air in hyar, everybody says, an' WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 135 it doesn't take long for a pack o' sech varmints to cover a country an' eat it up. 'Specially after a hard winter, like last winter war, which leaves critters weak an' makes varmints desperate. An' men who'll steal beaver'll steal anythin' fur, feather, an' hide. But this air only one end o' Lost Park. Whar you an' I an' Old Four-Toes air headin', thar'll be meat runnin'. But ketch up, ketch up. Want to get thar 'fore dark." Down from the vantage point they rode, on the trail again, with camp to make. After steady travel (so steady and so blind, to all except the old trapper, that Phil must shift irksomely in the saddle and wonder when and where they were coming out) through the continued thick growth, just as the sun was dropping behind Red Chief Peak miles and miles behind in the hazy west, Grizzly Dan quickened his pace, Betty the mule quickened her pace, the remainder of the caval- cade had to quicken, and with a whoop and a rifle shot from Grizzly Dan, into a little park they all emerged. Straight across it charged Grizzly Dan, long rifle held high, white locks streaming. "Hiyi! Whoop!" he greeted. " Hi yi ! Whoop! " joined in Chet, flipping his rifle from scabbard and firing " Bang! Bang! " as he too galloped. And "Hi yi! Whoop!" with a "Bang! Bang ! " from his carbine, joined in Phil also, now galloping at the tail of the lumbering pack animals. At the other side of the peak Grizzly Dan halted ab- ruptly, before a sagging-roofed, dilapidated log cabin, and was on the ground. ' That's the way to come into camp," he panted. " Hyar we air, at home. Wagh ! 136 OLD FOUR-TOES Off packs, unsaddle, turn the critters loose, an' let's eat. My old meat-bag air plumb empty as a trapped- out beaver pond." The camp spot evidently was perfect for the purpose. The timber, dense on the west whence they had come, here opened like a * U/ against the base of Warrior Peak, providing a little park rich in grass and flowers, over which, from the forest aisles, now streamed in long shafts of golden light the last beams of the setting sun. The park was still warm from the day's bounty. Birds twittered among the near-by pines and spruces, some of which towered gigantic and aged. And over, high and sparsely wooded and stern, rose Warrior Peak, his toes, now seen to be twin knobs with a saddle for the space from toes to knees, being directly above. The sun shone full upon them, limning their reddish-gray outlines. " This is swell," asserted Phil, and he and Chet stripped the animals, while old Dan nimbly prepared the fire. Chet grunted assent. As if showing her new friends the sights, Betty the dun mule led the animals off stalking with conscious dignity a few steps, smelling the ground, and throwing herself down for a good roll. Her associates imitated. Then all filed behind her to another part of the park, where they drank hesitantly out of a little basin, then separated to graze. Beside the old cabin was a spring, welling from a ledge of the mountain base. Here, having finished with the animals, hastened Chet and Phil, overpowered by a sudden thirst. The spring came bubbling and clear ; WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 137 on a stake near it hung a rusty can. Chet seized the can ; Phil squatted and plunged in his hands, as a cup and he jerked them out again, mighty quick, at the same time that Chet dropped the can. " Wow ! " they exclaimed together. " That's hot ! " "Did you know?" asked Chet. " No, I should say not ! Did you ! " A chuckle from Dan apprised them that he knew it. " Leetle warm ? " he queried. " Wall, now, that's too bad. What ye goin' to do about it? " " Try it lower down," suggested Chet, alertly. " Come on." They tried it lower down, where it flowed in a chan- nel and even here it would not take a finger-tip! " That air a pity," quoth old Dan. " It air good water, if only you get used to it. Guess I'll take an- other swig, to show ye." And dipping in a can which he held, he drank heartily. " Yep, it shore air good water. Cold water air unhealthy, they say; ain't it? I've drank this hyar water for sixty year, and I reckon that's why I'm still livin' ! " " Pshaw ! " complained Chet. " Well, we'll let some cool, till we're used to it ourselves. You could boil eggs in that! " Phil also was puzzled ; and thereupon old Dan burst into a real laugh. ' Yes, it air a pity," he repeated. " You mought try down whar the animiles drank. But I tell 'ee try it hyar fust. Take this canful. Keerful, now." Chet accepted gingerly. He tested and drank. 138 OLD FOUR-TOES " Jiminy, that's good," he gasped. " Aw, try it, Phil. It's ice cold. Honest it is. Go ahead." Old Dan passed over another canful, and Phil, un- believing even though the can was cold to the touch, tested it with a ringer. Yes, it certainly felt icy. He drank, long and deep. It was icy, pungent and tickling, and never did a draught taste so delicious. It tasted even better than had the water upon the hilltop, above the station, when he and Chet had set out from the railroad. But what was the secret of this sudden change from hot to cold? " I'll tell 'ee," proffered old Dan, much gratified by the success of his joke. " Thar air two springs in this white Injun camp. You look an' you'll see. Thar air one spring, hyar, whar you fust tried. She air hot. But you dip whar this other water comes out, right 'longside, an' she air cold. That's all. Now, I call that heap medicine, don't you? It air heap medi- cine like those thar blue an' yaller lakes. This hyar cold spring air a gas spring, mixed with iron an' sul- phur. That thar hot spring air a gas spring, too, but it ain't got the sulphur. What that black stain is, I don't know. Down below in that thar pool whar the critters drank, the two springs air mixed, an' it air a powerful fine bathin' place, winter an' summer. Didn't I promise you I had a boss camp waitin' ? Cold water for drinkin', an' water already cooked, for the pot! An' free bathin', whar it ain't too hot nor too cold ! Wagh ! But I air glad to be back agin." He was rummaging about, muttering and wagging his shaggy head. The boys investigated. They found WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 139 things exactly as he had stated. Instead of there being the one spring, there were the two, only a foot apart, apparently the same spring, but flowing with different water down two parallel channels, through the brush, forming little twists and pools, until they joined and continued on into the larger pool where the animals, led by wise Betty the mule, had drunk. The temperature of the pool was blood warm. " You could keep butter in one spring, and boil eggs in the other," suggested Phil. "Yes; it air all thar but the butter an' the eggs. Plenty water," responded old Dan. And "Hooray!" he continued, rejoiced, "cache air hyar, too, jest as I left it a year ago. Nobody's teched it. I war afraid, after seein' those thar game thieves, that nothin' would be safe any more. Wagh ! " and he wagged his head, " now we're fixed, heap fixed." He had opened a cave, under a ledge. The mouth of it had been cleverly concealed by a slab of stone, and by branches and soil and dried needles of spruces; from the cave hole he was dragging various articles a brass kettle, battered and sooted, a huge roll of what ap- peared to be buckskin, another big roll of pelts, tanned, a red canister of powder, a bunch of moccasins, and more traps, and a box of packages. Having delved into these, fondly counting them over, and probably checking them off, while the boys watched curiously, he abruptly let them lie, and with a last chuckle of good-humor turned his attention again to a more im- portant matter supper. The fire was burning briskly in an improvised and I 4 o OLD FOUR-TOES much-used fireplace made of flat stones plastered with mud for the sides, rusted sheets of metal for the top, and a short pipe, by its battered appearance evidently rescued from some neglected camp elsewhere, for vent and draught. " Doesn't take much to start that 'ere hot-spring water to bilin'," explained old Dan. " Whar's the meat? We'll cut her into hunks. An' you boys can be pickin' out yore beddin' for yore bunks. You'll find it in that thar roll o' pelts. Wagh ! " he ejaculated, as he hauled from its covering the meat obtained at the beaver poachers' camp. " Wagh ! Wild beef, they call this ? It air the wildest beef you ever saw. Can't fool this coon. This air what you s'pose?" "Sheep, isn't it?" guessed Chet. "Elk!" guessed Phil. " Wagh ! " was muttering the old trapper, as he cut off a small piece with his knife and scrutinized it closely. " Wagh ! Can't fool this coon. He knows meat when he sees it, he do! This air cow, mebbe but it air a cow that never war branded." " Maverick," said Chet. " Maverick, an' more'n a maverick, boy," assured old Dan, earnestly. " It war a cow with wool. If this ain't buff'ler meat, then I'm a hos. That's what it air buff'ler meat, an' a hump roast at that. Wagh ! Do 'ee hear what I'm sayin' ? " "How'd they get it?" exclaimed Phil, excited. ' ; Are there buffalo running wild in here ? " " Of course there are. Didn't I tell you? " corrected Chet. WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 141 " How'd they get it ? Butchered it, boy ; stole it like sech Injuns'll steal any thin' that runs or flies or swims. Yes, thar air buff 'ler in hyar ; that is, thar war, last year. Thar war two; jest two: an old bull an' a youngish cow. Used to be quite a bunch, but wolves an' other varmint, human an' unhuman, and weather, has been killin' 'em off." " It's against the law to kill buffalo. There's a big fine for it," asserted diet. "These were about the only wild buffalo in the country, too. I've always heard there were some buffalo left in Lost Park." " Sartin it's agin the law," agreed old Dan. " I've been watchin' these hyar critters for twenty year. I used to kill one or two a year, when it war allowed for meat ; then I quit. Now," he said mournfully, " these human varmints air killin' 'em anyhow. Wagh, but it air a shameful thing. That's the way, though: the scurcer things get, the more anxious some folks air to hunt 'em out an' make 'em scurcer. It's agin the law to eat this meat, too, I reckon ; but we'll have to do it. I 'spect those thar pelt thieves found this cow, pore tho' she war after the winter, an' killed her, an' now they air glad to get rid o' the meat 'fore anybody ketches 'em with it. They sized us up as not knowin' buff'ler flesh when I've et buff'ler meat for nigh fifty year." And old Dan chuckled, in his indignation. ' 'Spect the hide war 'round that same camp somewheres, cached away. But hyar goes to pot; an' you can say that you've et the best meat in the world, for onct in yore life." So saying, old Dan, who had been working over the I 4 2 OLD FOUR-TOES chunk, cutting it into several pieces, dropped it all into the bubbling pot. " Now there's only the old bull left, then? " queried Phil. " If nobody's butchered him, too. He air so old only his hide air good for anything, to make lodge- covers of, or bull boats or moccasin soles, or shields. These ain't the reg'lar plains bufFler in hyar, anyhow. They air what we call mountain bison a critter a good bit smaller, with hair a bit darker. I'm thinkin' they air jest plains bufFler drove back into the hills, an' bred to conditions, like a long-horn cow grows to short horns after she's lived in the timber awhile. But bufFler meat air bufFler meat, as you'll find out. Wagh ! Why ain't you pickin' out yore beddin', as I told ye?" So Chet and Phil bent to the interrupted work. The roll of pelts had been kept together by a buckskin thong. This they untied, and the roll fell apart. Simultane- ously they cried out with wonder as they laid off pelt after pelt : a mountain lion pelt, a bear pelt, bobcat pelts, lynx pelts, pelt of gray wolf, of coyote, of animals hard to name, and all satiny and flexible, with the fur soft and warm. The last, enveloping because the largest, was a wide, shaggy pelt, rich brown, curly, heavy a buffalo robe tanned with the hair on ! " Gee ! " whispered Chet, admiringly, but not daring to say much. " See this ? More buffalo ! " Phil nodded. The old trapper had heard, and he guessed what was unsaid. WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 143 " Needn't spare my feelin's," he chuckled. " Sar- tin, it air a buff'ler robe, an' a cow robe at that. But the animile war killed 'fore you war born, either o' ye, an' I got it of a Cheyenne chief. It air Cheyenne- dressed; the Cheyenne an' Ute squaws war the best dressers o' skins, an' an Injun-dressed skin air better'n white-man-dressed. Yep, I got that of a Cheyenne, twenty year ago. Undo that t'other bundle, an' I'll show ye somethin' else another kind o' bufFler robe, dressed on both sides." So they untied the roll of buckskins, or what ap- peared to be buckskins. It contained a number of the skins, bleached and scraped and free of hair, some of them as velvety as chamois-skin sold in drug-stores for polishing; and as in the first roll, the enveloping hide was wide and thick but in this case snowy white, smooth, and embroidered with colored beads, red and blue, and with red and blue porcupine quills, in tasteful designs. " Buffalo hide, again," hazarded Phil. " Isn't it? " " That's a 'Rapahoe robe, boy," instructed old Dan. " OfFn a young bull, I reckon. Some squaw worked on that for a month, soakin' it an' scrapin' it, an' bleachin' it, an' puttin' in those thar designs. That robe war wuth a pony; to-day it air wuth a hundred dollars, or more. I got it in Sixty-seven. Some o' those others air buckskin, some air doeskin, wuth a leetle money ; but that 'ere buff 'ler robe, squaw-dressed an' bleached an' embroidered, never'll grow agin, in this world. Yet I've seen thirty o' sech robes, leetle heavier, mebbe, stitched together for a lodge-cover ; an* 144 OLD FOUR-TOES I've seen a hundred lodges, that kind, pitched in a bunch an' lookin' like a patch o' snow. I've sort o' saved this stuff, an' cached it away don't know why. But do 'ee think you can find beddin' 'mongst it ? " " It's too good for bedding," declared Chet, soberly, as he and Phil fingered the rich pelts and robes. " Blankets are enough." "No, sir," chuckled old Dan. "This air white Injun camp, an' we'll live high, whilst we live. It air my last season in the mountains; I air old, an' the country air gettin' away from me, an' I can't use these hyar things when I cross the last divide. We'll use 'em, an' enjoy 'em, now. Make your ch'ice; an' what we don't sleep under we'll walk over, so's not to ketch cold. Wagh ! What air a few pieces o' fur ? " So, to please him, and tempted mightily themselves, they laid aside some of the skins : a glossy black-bear skin, two big gray-wolf skins, and a lion skin " Hyar ! " interposed old Dan, who evidently had been watching, out of the corner of his eye. " What's the matter? Didn't I tell 'ee to get beddin'? " " We have," answered Phil. " Isn't this all right? " " Beddin ! " snorted old Dan, striding to them from the fire. " I'll show 'ee." And he recklessly threw out skins. " Thar you sleep on them, an' pull that thar bufFler robe with the wool on it over you. That other warn't a bed ; it warn't fit for a dawg." " We left the buffalo robe for you," Phil and Chet explained. Old Dan had returned to his fire, grumbling. " That chief's robe air enough for me, ain't it? An* thar's WHITE INJUNS AT HOME 145 plenty skins for all. Pack 'em in to the bunk, an' we'll eat. Wagh, but I air wolfish. My belt's at its last hole, an' fat meat air in the pot or kinder fat, that is." Sitting around the fire, they ate hugely. The buf- falo stew tasted not unlike beef; and Phil had to re- mind himself all the time that he was feasting on buffalo a rare dainty and not on cow or steer. Chet mumbled appreciation; and they both assured the old mountain-man that the supper was " great." So it was. After Dan had lighted his pipe, and the dishes had been cleaned, and firewood piled for the night and for the morning, they put the shack in shape. Their light was a blazing slice of fat which Dan had mysteriously produced, propped in a tin dish. Such beds! The interior of the log shack was furnished with a rude stool or two, an equally rude table manufactured from rough-hewn slabs for a top and crooked branches for legs, and two bunks, which were only boxes with low sides, on the floor, head to foot against the wall. These still contained a layer of dried boughs of spruce and pine. In their own bunk the boys spread their blankets, and upon them about a foot of furs, massed at one end for a cushion, and at the other for a pillow. Old Dan prepared his own bunk, adjoining, in similar fashion; and upon the earthen floor, hard-beaten by long usage, incited by the trapper they strewed other furs, to make a series of rugs fit for a king. The night had fallen black and chill ; over the timber and over dim Warrior Peak the stars were shining, as they had shone through ages uncounted. Grizzly Dan I 4 6 OLD FOUR-TOES yawned ; the boys yawned. It was bed-time. So they crawled in. Sinking luxuriously among the furs of their unique mattress, Chet pulled the buffalo robe over him and Phil. What a bed ! The embroidered robe, over the form of the old trapper, gleamed white and spectral. Outside flickered the fire, with the pot for breakfast simmering where it was set deep into the coals. Bonita slipped into the cabin and curled up on the buffalo robe, at the boys' feet. She would not stir till morning. Yes, this was luxury, and being white Injun with pleasure. CHAPTER XI THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS VISIT CAMP PHIL was awakened by Bonita whining. The door of the cabin had been pulled to, and fastened by a staple, for air in plenty wafted freely through the chinking and high unshuttered window, and down the chimney, whereas an open door invited porcupines, pole-cats, and other inquisitive prowlers. The cabin was pitch dark, as if the moon had not risen or as if the sky might be overcast with clouds. Bonita was whining; she had left her post upon the foot of the bunk (her weight was gone therefrom) and by the sound she was at the door. Phil lay blinking, confused, only half aroused, trying to connect the past with the present, and meanwhile annoyed by her whin- ing. " Wheet! " he whistled, softly as possible. " Come here!" Bonita pattered across; her fore feet pressed the edge of the bunk, and back she went again, to whine more. "Shut up, Bonita! Lie down! Come here!" whispered Phil. She whined ; and as if betokening the cause, outside the cabin was an answering whine, and the " sniff, sniff ! " of a nose. Then there was a brushy patter of 147 148 OLD FOUR-TOES furry pads, as something passed around against the cabin walls. " What is it, Bonita? " asked Phil, interested. "What's the matter with you-all? Go to sleep," grumbled Chet. He too had been awakened and thus sleepily protested. " Bonita wants to get out. There's something out- side." " I'm not going to get up and let her out," mumbled Chet. " Go to sleep." " List " began Phil ; but he did not finish, for his warning was unnecessary. They could not help but listen, as from the near timber, apparently within stone's throw of the cabin, welled long and mournful and penetrating the howl of a wolf. " Ow-ow-ow-ooooo-ow-ow-ooooooooooo-ooooooo ! " it pealed, rising and falling, wailing like a calliope; and joined in the voices of others, until the air fairly vibrated with the call of the gaunt, wild pack. It was repeated ; and under the covering of buffalo- robe the boys involuntarily joined hands. "Hark! Do 'ee hear that!" from his bunk pro- tested old Dan. " Thar they be. Thar be the trappers' hounds." Bonita was growling ; but presently her whining be- gan again and she could be heard pawing at the door. And now the horses, somewhere abroad, were snort- ing. " Shall I let her out? " asked Phil. " She's liable to get killed." THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS 149 " Let her out, let her out," bade old Dan. " Do 'ee s'pose we want to be pestered by her all the night? Let her out an' leave the door ajar." Again welled the long howl, farther off; and again there were the whimpering and the scratchy trotting just upon the other side of the logs. " Some o' the varmints air scoutin' 'round hyar too close," complained old Dan. " If they go spilin' my cache thar'll be trouble. Wait a bit, now, till I find a match." And he grunted as he moved about. He lighted the piece of fat, and holding it, threw open the door abruptly and tossed the torch out kito the night. It fell, flaring, and continued to blaze after it landed. A rustle sounded; straining, sitting up in his bunk, Phil thought that he glimpsed a slinking shape and a pair of coldly glinting eyes, amidst the dimly outlined background. He was certain that he saw Bonita slip across the threshold and disappear around the corner of the door. " Black hounds, this time," observed old Dan, stand- ing fully exposed and careless, as he peered forth. " Thar air yore black wolves, boys. I saw two. An' yore dawg's gone." " Shucks ! " bemoaned Phil ; and he whistled, Chet helping. But although he whistled and called from the threshold, into the night where the blazing fat had faded and died and where darkness had again settled close, no Bonita responded. The horses, however, con- tinued to snort. " She'll come," comforted old Dan, back in his bunk. " Leave the door ajar an' she'll come. Let her be." ISO OLD FOUR-TOES So, reluctantly, Phil obeyed, and crept in beside Chet upon the soft furs, under the buffalo robe. " Black wolves they be," reasserted old Dan. " But we won't stand any nonsense from 'em. If they want to clean up our camp for us as decent wolves should, all right an' proper; but they got to let valuables alone, or we'll have to 1'arn 'em. Don't like these hyar black foreign wolves, anyhow. They ain't got manners." Thus mumbling, he lapsed into a snore; Chet gurgled significantly as if he, too, were resuming his interrupted snooze; and Phil, after trying to keep awake until the return of Bonita, joined the majority. The pattering and sniffing outside had ceased; the howling had ceased; the snorts had ceased; and the cabin was surrendered to its occupants, and the night. Up over Warrior Peak slowly drifted the remnant of a moon. Naturally, the boys' first thought, upon awakening to day, was Bonita. No Bonita was curled up on the bed. Phil rolled out, and in his bare feet (to which the furs of the floor felt good) trudged for the door. No Bonita was in sight, asleep by the apparently life- less stove, or nosing about in the park; and to his whistle no Bonita came. The world, despite the fresh beauty of the brush and the timber and the pink sky, looked very empty. " She'll come back unless she air changed into some medicine animile," quoth old Dan, noting Phil's endeavor. " Hos guard out ! " he reminded. " Fust thing for white Injuns in camp to do air to round up THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS 151 the stock an' circle for hostile sign." And he chuckled. " Beaver traps ought to be run, too, 'arly but I reckon 'tain't necessary this mornin'. See hyar," he continued, as he observed the boys dressing, a simple matter requiring only the donning of trousers and shoes and stockings and boots "why don't 'ee lay aside them store clothes an' rig yoreselves proper? Thar's the shirt an' leggins in that bundle, an' thar air moccasins plenty." " But you'll want to wear them sometime, won't you? " spoke Phil. "What's the matter with the clothes we have? They'll do," spoke Chet. This of course was politeness; for who would not prefer buckskin to jeans or overalls! " Buckskin, boy, buckskin," insisted old Dan. " Leggins, shirt, an' moccasins that air the garb for white Injuns. That air what the red Injun wore, an* what he found the best. When you air in a country, act 'cordin' to it, way the natives do. They know. Help yoreselves. I got more possibles than I'll ever use. Besides, I made those thar suits specially for you. They air too small for me. Want 'em? " " Sure ! " and the two boys jumped for the bun- dle. There was not much choice between the two suits. Phil donned a pair of leggins with red thongs along the seam, and embroidered with blue porcupine quills down the thigh, and took the shirt that matched, diet's leggins and shirt were likewise red-thonged, but were embroidered with yellow porcupine quills. The moo 152 OLD FOUR-TOES casins were plain, except for a small design over the instep, in red and blue beads. The soles were stiff, and the uppers were like a high slipper. The suits were about the same size ; but there were moccasins enough to accommodate almost any feet. "Feel queer?" asked old Dan, his eyes twinkling. " Will, at fust. But you'll get used to 'em." " Feel loose and light," suggested Phil, strutting about, with Chet seconding. " Moccasins'll tire ye for a bit, 'cause you've been havin' yore feet helped out by stiff leather. But you'll walk easier in 'em, an' you'll 1'arn to ride in 'em, too. Elk hide makes a stout shirt, but it air porous an' gets soggy. That thar buckskin air smoke-tanned, through an* through. When it gets wet, rub it with yore hands while it's dryin', an' it'll come out soft as ever. Wagh ! Now you're fixed. Four-Toes won't object to 'ee. Brush won't ketch on 'ee, an' you can walk through the timber an' never crack a stick. Moccasins air cheap for the makin'. When you air dryin' one pair, you can be wearin' another. But they'll tire yore toes, at fust. Those air Crow moc- casins, in shape." " Did you make the whole outfit, Dan?" queried Phil. " Sartin. Thought mebbe you'd need somethin' o' the kind, if you took the trail with me this summer ; so I made 'em last winter. Had nothin' else to do. Winter air the time when the mountain man fixes over his possibles. Wagh! That embroidery air squaw Work, but I ain't got a squaw, so I do it myself. Now THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS 153 you ought to have a hat out o' she-beaver or beaver-pup skin; but you can tie a 'kerchief 'round yore head. That air white Injun way." " Jiminy ! These are fine, though ! " praised Chet, prancing lightly. " Wall ; hos guard out," reminded old Dan again ; " keep yore eye an' ear peeled for Blackfeet or Sioux. They used to come in hyar, for plunder. But," he added in an undertone, " they don't now." The buckskin garments, over woolen shirt and underclothing, sat light and cool and flexible ; and, as Phil well knew from hearsay, they would be wind- proof and everlasting. As with Chet he sallied forth, carbine in hand (precaution against the mythical "hostiles"), into the grass, the cold dew which had gathered over night tickled his ankles ; and through the open places at his hips, where the flaps of the leggins did not meet, the breeze wandered. But this was liv- ing ! This was great ! And when the fresh air of the park and timber permeated his lungs, and over the out- stretched figure of Warrior Peak, dusky and purplish above, the pink glow of the rising sun streamed glorious, he drew another deep breath of keen delight. He felt as though he could walk at top speed for twenty miles. White Injuns in very truth were they now, thanks to Grizzly Dan. Separating to right and left, he and Chet made the prescribed circuit of the park; keeping just back in the timber, and examining the park and the timber reaches, both. The four horses, with attentive eye and ear upon 154 OLD FOUR-TOES Betty the dun mule, whom they much respected, were quietly grazing. Phil occasionally whistled softly and chirruped for Bonita; but no Bonita came. He saw Chet emerge, across a picturesque figure (like himself) in the trapper costume, brand-new but fashioned for business by hands that knew how and what and he saw Chet beckon to him. So on he went, in the circuit. Chet was standing by the little reservoir where the waters of the two springs mingled in the pool, set where a slight outcrop of rock made a basin amidst the brush and flowers. Here stood a single red spruce. " Saw quite a lot of wolf tracks back nearer the cabin, where the springs make the ground wet," in- formed Chet. " Don't see any here, though." " No," agreed Phil, also examining, wisely, as he stalked about the spot. But he caught his breath, with sudden shock, and stopped short. " Look ! I know why ! Look ! " he cried, impulsively cocking his car- bine. The click of Chet's rifle-lock sounded at once, and he came forward. " Where? " " There ! That same old bear Four-Toes, isn't it?" The customary single track imprint of a huge flat sole was pressed into a patch of sand at the pool's edge here. The edge was upon the timber side, and both boys glanced quickly and apprehensively back at the fringe of forest. But it lay peaceful in the first beams of the morning sun; and Betty the mule was grazing near it. THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS 155 " Seems like that Four-Toes bear has only one leg," communed Chet. " Shore must be a medicine bear!" " Traveling through, I reckon, and stopped for a drink," reasoned Phil. " See that? He was here after the hawsses drank, last evening. He stepped right on top of a hoof mark." " Now they're coming to drink, themselves," in- formed Chet. " They've seen us here, and they know it's all right. They were afraid before. That old mule's wise, isn't she ! " " She shore is," agreed Phil. " And the wolves were afraid, too. This was Four-Toes' pool. Don't savvy why he didn't eat a horse or so. Maybe he ate Bonita." " Naw," denied Chet. " She can keep out of his way, and so did the hawsses. But we heard 'em snort*- ing, remember. A bear won't take after a hawss, much; lions do, though. Remember that one we killed, after it had killed the chestnut yearling? " " I shore do," replied Phil. " We'd better go back to camp and tell old Dan," suggested Chet, striking off. " Say, if you walk straight-foot in these moccasins they don't tire you so much. Then you get purchase with your toes. How you like 'em? " " Feel as if I was wearing slippers or tennis shoes. But they're great, just the same." Old Dan was pottering about the fire, outside, get- ting breakfast. He scarcely looked up as the boys, almost noiseless in their soft footgear, walking 156 OLD FOUR-TOES straight-footed, approached, Phil behind Chet, across the park. " All quiet, but there's a big bear-track in the edge of the pool," reported Chet. " We think it's Old Four- Toes again." " Do 'ee, now ? " responded Grizzly Dan, unmoved. " Mebbe so. But lookee hyar, will you ! Those thar pesky wolves 'most spiled our breakfast, they did. Sech black varmint I won't stand for, anyhow. They got no manners." "What'd they do?" " Do ! They warn't content with what scraps war lying round, but they must root at this hyar pot an' shake the kivver loose an* let ashes in ; an' they chawed a piece o' good buckskin I left out. I tell 'ee, won't stand for it. Thar's traps to be set, this night; thar air! Sech doin's don't shine with this coon, they don't." And old Dan continued to wag his shaggy head, and mutter, much incensed. " Perhaps the bear did it." " He ? No. Old Four-Toes has got some sense, he has. Saw his track, did you?" " Looked like the same track, anyway," asserted Phil. " Reckon it war, reckon it war," said Grizzly Dan, straightening. " He passes through hyar, an' drinks out o' that medicine pool. Sartin he do. An' thar he be, now, yonder; see him? " And old Dan nodded in the direction of the mountain-side. "Where!" Phil and Chet stared, breathless. " On that thar p'int o' rock, settin'," directed the old THE TRAPPERS' HOUNDS 157 trapper, casually, and proceeded with his breakfast preparations. Was it or wasn't it? The eyes of Phil following the gaze of Chet fastened upon a dark spot, like a boulder lodged apparently a third the way up the long slope of Warrior Peak. Here a ledge or shelf out- jutted. Over Warrior Peak streamed the sunshine, throwing the hither flank into relief of lights and shade. The formation was reddish, granite or sand- stone; and this spot was the one prominent dark spot amidst a little area of shine. Peculiarly shaped, and prominent because of its position, it was readily picked out by roving eye. "See him? "asked old Dan. " I do ! " exclaimed Chet. " There right over that clump of cedar." " So do I! " exclaimed Phil. " That is, I think I do." " Been settin' thar ever since I came out," remarked old Dan. " Don't you want to get him? " invited Chet, eager as usual, when game was in sight. " Come on shall we?" " Get him ? No, I don't want to get him," chuckled old Dan. " He's all right, whar he air ; we're all right, whar we air. He ain't meddlin' with our cabin, an' we ain't meddlin' with his rock! An' thar's country enough for all. Now he's given us a good look, an' he's seen we're white Injuns, an' he's travelin' on. Adios, brother," and calling, the old trapper waved his arm. " Pah-wah-to ee-no-ut oo-thay. Wagh! " 158 OLD FOUR-TOES Yes, that was a bear and a big bear; for the boulder had moved; it had turned into a bear sitting on his haunches, as if gazing down at the camp ; then into a bear on all fours. He paused, as if stretching or yawning ; and turning broadside with a backward look, at Grizzly Dan's words went lumbering off, a bulky creature the size of a cow, on up through the stones and brush of the mountain-side ; occasionally halting, to look back or to sniff about, until he disappeared in a little defile which he seemed to be threading. " I might have reached him with this thirty-thirty," declared Chet, boastfully. " Only ye didn't," observed Grizzly Dan, flatly. " An' he might have reached you last night, only he didn't. So you're even." " Was that Old Four-Toes ? " asked Phil, tingling with the sight. " O' course he war." " What did you call to him? " " Jest a leetle talk, wishin' him good luck, boy, an* thankin' him for leavin' us be. Now mebbe he'll 'tend to those thar black wolves for us, so they'll mend their manners. If they don't, some of 'em air liable to get hurted. Won't stand for bad manners, this chile won't. Pity a man can't leave a pot on the fire without havin* it messed up! Wagh! Pore doin's. But let's eat. Hyar's fat cow for the meat-bag, an' more to come tho' (and he chuckled) I don't know whar from. Didn't find yore dawg?" " No," said Phil, with another glance about. CHAPTER XII HOSTILE SIGN " SHE'LL come back," reassured old Dan. " She'll come back. Now what you want to do, rest o' the day?" " Anything. Whatever you think we'd better/' said Phil. st This air a free trappers' camp; every man do jest what he feels up to doin', 'cept killin' critters he don't need to use," instructed old Dan. " This coon thinks he'll take a bath in that thar medicine pool. It air great medicine for stiff j'ints, an' I got plenty. So this coon'll soak, an' he'll sun, an' he'll lie 'round camp, an' make medicine, an' mebbe patch up a saddle or two, an' overhaul his possibles, an' sorter look into camp matters gener'ly, an' mebbe keep the pot bilin', case thar's meat to bile; for he ain't so spry as he onct war. An' to-night thar's traps to set." " Guess I'll look for Bonita, then," announced Phil. " I'll look for Four-Toes," announced Chet. " He shore's a big bear." " Wall, reckon you can do both at same time," vouchsafed old Dan. " Two an' two that's white Injun way. One can help t'other; an' in a scrimmage one rifle's always loaded. Don't s'pose you'll have a scrimmage," he added, with his chuckle, to him- 159 160 OLD FOUR-TOES self; " but the lone trail ain't the safe trail, 'cordin' to trapper law. An','' he added further, brightly, " if you do chance to get more meat'n one o' ye can carry, you can tote between you." "What?" " Wall 'tain't deer season, an' 'tain't sheep season 'less they try to butt ye off the trail, an' 'tain't bufFler season, an' 'tain't elk season, an' b'ar air pore. But it always air rabbit season an' ground-hawg season an' pre-airie-dawg season an' wolf season an' cat season." " Aw, shucks ! " bemoaned Chet. " We can't eat that stuff." " No ? " mused old Dan. " I was jest showin' you how white Injuns air fixed, these days. Thar's 'bout one month in the year when reel meat can be killed, an* for t'other 'leven months we eat ground-hawg or starve. But I tell 'ee : I don't want any breakin' o' laws. Laws warn't made for good or ill o' any one person, or two or three persons ; they war made for a whole people an' it ain't for individuals to say whether or no they shall keep 'em. Go you now an' do what you can, but don't 'ee sneak. A law-breaker air a thief, 'cause he steals rights that don't belong to him; an' a thief an' a liar air hated in this country, like they air every whar." " What's on the other side of the mountain ? " asked Chet. " Jest country heaps of it. The Hosthief Trail comes in at t'other end ; but don't many people get as far as Warrior Peak, an' mighty few get on the side whar we air." HOSTILE SIGN 161 " Guess we'll go up over, and see what it looks like,'* said Chet, business-bent. " Go ahead," chuckled old Dan. " Go ahead. You won't ketch up with Four-Toes, but you may come upon yore dawg. One place air as good as another, for that" " Reckon where the bear can go, our hawsses can go," called back Chet, as with Phil he hastened to bring them in. " Sartin. White Injuns don't walk 'less they have to." Pepper and Medicine Eye were quickly saddled. It seemed queer to be riding in moccasins but Phil was sure that he and Chet made a striking picture, as in their gay fringed buckskins, bandanna handkerchiefs binding foreheads, heads bare, with rifles held across horn in approved trapper style, they rode away for the slope of Warrior Peak. A series of little draws ran up, as is usual on mountain-sides, toward the crest ; and turning into one of these, single file they followed it. Here was to be discerned, also, from time to time, a trace of a trail an old trail overgrown with grass and moss. Very likely Old Four-Toes had been pursuing this trail as the easiest ascent, for Pepper and Medicine Eye, with ears constantly pricked forward, occasionally snorted. The riders grasped their trusty guns and maintained keen watch, as might Grizzly Dan himself. Higher and higher led the draw a cool, fragrant draw, thick with bushes, squaw-berry, currant, and raspberry, just budding into bloom. The horses were 162 OLD FOUR-TOES puffing, when at the head of the draw the riders turned them out, and all emerged upon a little plateau, over- looking the camp below. " Here's where he was ! " exclaimed Chet " Wagh ! See?" " Wagh! " confirmed Phil, gravely. " Hunting for grubs." For by evidence of a large stump freshly overturned (as proved the raw earth, scratched up or sticking to its roots) some powerful animal had lately stopped here, foraging. " He war," agreed Chet. " Heap big b'ar." Phil nodded. The two horses were staring about, apprehensively ; but seeing nothing, in the warm sunshine, save peace, they gazed down into the region which they had left. Gazed down also the boys, lounging at ease in the saddles, while the horses breathed. There was the park, set at the edge of the mountain's base; a faint film of smoke arose from it, betokening old Dan's fire. They could descry Dan himself moving about, and they waved an arm at him from their eyrie. He paused, and probably waved back. Pepper, as if yearning for the sweet pasturage from which he had been taken, and the companionship of Betty the mule, whinnied loudly and foolishly; but no answering whinny no, nor bray either was wafted back to show that he was missed. Medicine Eye drooped dis- consolate ears, and philosophically began to graze. Far beyond the camp, and park, spread the rolling timber and brush, with Red Chief, unmistakable in his HOSTILE SIGN 163 war-paint, standing like a solitary sentinel at the utter- most edge. It was a magic world; but " Come on," bade Chet ; and they resumed their climb. Here in the open the trail had disappeared, but now and then the sign of the roving Four-Toes was seen. The climb waxed harder ; in places steep, among ledges and loose rock, where the boys trudged afoot, leading the horses; but again across short level spots and through little swales, where they might ride. They aimed for the saddle of the mountain between the warrior's toes and knees. It promised a pass. Anon they halted briefly, to gaze about. The world was dropping away, lower and lower; and every halt and survey brought the crest at the saddle nearer, until, with a final scramble, all puffing, over a stretch of gravel they had reached the top. Now they stood upon the legs of the warrior, who was so vast that at close range he lost much of his figuration. The park and the camp, down amidst the country which they had left, merged with the general landscape; and whether old Dan, with his wonderful eyes, could distinguish such small object as two boys, a mile or so across from him and almost a mile above him, was doubtful; but they waved their arms, at a venture. Drifted snow was still lying, unmelted; but in the thin air the sunshine was warm and dazzling, flooding from overhead so that they had to shade their eyes (in approved fashion, like scouts) with the hand, as they stood leaning upon rifle and carbine, monarchs of the wild yet peaceful world outspread around. 164 OLD FOUR-TOES " Somebody else has been up here ! " said Chet, quickly. " Looks like an old fort. See ? " They left their horses to heave and grunt and to pick up the scant herbage, and strode aside to examine a rectangle, breast high, of flat rocks piled up in four walls. The rectangle was large enough to accom- modate a dozen persons. A number of stones had fallen from the upper layers; in one corner were the marks of a fire, with bits of charred wood still present. " Bones, too ! " asserted Chet. " Wagh ! " " Wagh ! " echoed Phil, as they examined the brittle splinters, which told nothing, save that probably they were the debris from some meal cooked over this fire. "Here, though! " exclaimed Chet; and plucking at a crevice in one of the walls he pulled therefrom a rag no, an old moccasin ! An old, flimsy, tattered Indian moccasin, the sole worn through, but a little of the beading still visible on the toe. " Wagh ! " said Phil. " Hostile sign." " Wagh ! " agreed Chet. " Ute." The moccasin told nothing, save that it must have been left there a long, long time ago, so weathered and brittle was it. Somebody Indians, probably had erected this fort, and camped here, and had gone on; one of them with new moccasins in place of old, or with none at all, possibly. Chet thrust the relic into the breast of his shirt, for the buckskins had no pockets. " Come on," he proposed. " Nothing more here. Let's go over." The other, or east side of the peak, flowed down HOSTILE SIGN 165 in a series of slopes, much as the west flank had risen. Beyond stretched again a country of green timber and brush, rolling and interspersed with scraggy spurs and knobs breaking above the surface, like reefs in an ocean. Forming a barrier, as it were, against the out- side world, in a semicircle, surrounding, swept a snowy range, blue and white and beautiful. " Those are the Hawssfly Mountains ; the Hawss- thief Trail comes in over 'em somewhere. But I never saw 'em from this side," stated Chet. Down upon this the thither side of Warrior Peak they plunged, riding again Pepper and Medicine Eye. Their scarlet fringes flew in the little breeze, as with keen white Injun glances they kept sharp outlook for other " hostile sign." The tracks of the heavy bear, imprinted in the moist gravel and soil, and occasionally in snow, were not difficult to follow; but never a glimpse of him was given. Frequently he had paused and nosed about, but in the main he had traveled right along, and faster than they upon their horses, for he had no need to watch ahead. Lower they descended, and lower, and the timber began to thicken. They lost the trail of Four-Toes and Phil did not particularly care. The timber was no place, he believed, to explain to Four-Toes why they were persistently following him. But they continued, for it was pleasant, here at the base of the mountain, in the unknown forest, which ought to be thronging with wild life (but which wasn't) and which must harbor many an adventure. i66 OLD FOUR-TOES Silently they rode, threading the trunks of spruce and pine. The ground was soft, the air warm and still, a few squirrels and jays chattered. " Wish we could come on some buffler," said Chet. " This chile's getting wolfish." " Wagh ! So air this," replied Phil, entering into white Injun spirit, as before. " But supposing we did see that old bull? What'd we do? " " Might rope him and let him go again." " Huh ! Roping an old buffalo bull doesn't shine with this coon," confessed Phil. " We'd just say 1 howdy ' to him, and pass by. But we ought to have brought a lunch." " Shoot a rabbit when we see one," grunted Chet. " Have to shoot his head off, or there won't be any- thing left of him, with these soft-nose bullets ! " " Wagh ! " warned Phil, pulling Pepper short. " More sign ! Heap sign ! " The timber had thinned, the brush had thinned, and riding side by side they were entering upon a narrow plateau which lay like a giant's highway diagonally with their course. The flat was well sodded, and spangled with flowers; and crushing deeply flowers and sod, ran, straight away along this the hither edge, twin wheel-tracks, broken also by the track of hoofs. " Emigrants," alleged Chet. " Two-hawss wagon and a little stock. We'll follow to the end of the flat, and if we don't catch sight of 'em we'll go back. Wagh ! " "Wagh!" Vigilant, at easy trot they rode in the trail. As Chet HOSTILE SIGN 167 had said, the hoof marks indicated a two-horse (or four-horse) team, hauling a heavy wagon, and some saddle horses or loose horses following all together making quite a trail, the hoof marks confused between the wheel marks, and an occasional animal pacing outside. " Fresh sign, all right," claimed Phil. " Must have been made yesterday." " Wish we could strike their camp, with the pot on the fire. I'm wolfish." " Eat yore moccasins," advised Phil. They reached the end of the flat, without incident. What appeared to be an ancient wood-road continued on, through the increasing brush and timber. Peering ahead, from under his turban 'kerchief, Chet spoke cautiously : " Thar's camp ! See a wagon, anyhow." But although, now watching eagerly, they rode on, not a moving object, near the wagon, met their gaze. The camp seemed to be deserted ; and only the waiting vehicle, at one side of the trail, indicated that here might be a camp at all. "Huh!" grunted Chet. Then they reached the spot. Here had been a camp, indeed: a spring trickled from a ledge, and before it had halted the party. A heap of embers bespoke a fire; there were several emptied tin cans, a few cut boughs; and there was the wagon. By the marks it must have been equipped with a hood; but the canvas and the frame had been torn away apparently, leaving only splinters. This left the wagon in a dilapidated i68 OLD FOUR-TOES state and the more the boys viewed the camp as a whole, the more desolate and mishandled did it impress them. Only bullet marks or traces of other missiles were lacking. " Took kingbolt and braces and single-trees, too," observed Chet, practical-minded. " Ripped 'em off or tore 'em loose. Must have been in a hurry." " More sign," quoth Phil, dismounting. " Woman's shoe made this print. Small heel. And here's man sign, wagh ! " And he picked up a battered black slouch hat. " White brave left this." " Hawss tracks go on," observed Chet, soberly. " Don't savvy about the wagon. Looks queer, to me. But I guess we'd better turn back. Maybe their har- ness broke, or the team was sick. Anyway, if we don't hustle we won't get to camp before dark. It won't be any fun crossing that mountain in the dark. You don't want that old hat, do you ? " " I'll take it to Dan. Might come in handy." Phil tied it to his saddle, and they started back. Now they rode faster, pushing on at a trot and lope, anxious to cross the mountain before dusk fell. Noon had passed, for the sun was in their eyes as they back- tracked ; and while they were climbing the peak again, he sank behind it. At the top he burst into view, over Red Chief; and he was behind Red Chief also, and the last shadows had faded, when, glad to be home, on stumbling Pepper and Medicine Eye they rode into the park where the smoke of Grizzly Dan's fire welcomed them. The old trapper stood awaiting them, as if expectant. HOSTILE SIGN 169 " Aw ! " gasped Chet. " We didn't bring any meat! \Yhafll he say?" " I forgot all about it. I was thinking about that deserted camp and stripped wagon," answered Phil. Tired white Injuns, they approached the waiting trapper. They did not ride at a gallop, with discharge of rifle and with whoop of voice; only Pepper and Medicine Eye, at sight of Betty and Cotton-tail and the spotted pony, across, whinnied impatiently. " Thar's the pot; whar's the meat?" demanded Grizzly Dan. The boys dismounted as alertly as possible, not to give a hint of their stiffness, and particularly of their aching feet, almost blistered by the stirrups. Riding in moccasins had its disadvantages, at first. " We'll get some rabbits, as soon as we unsaddle," engaged Phil, limping to loosen cinches and remove bridle. " Didn't stop to hunt, much. We were 'way across the mountain." " I should say! " endorsed Chet, likewise limping. " Wall, now, I tell 'ee this hyar's a pretty wolfish camp," informed old Dan. " Empty meat-bags, an' nothin' to fill 'em! I sorter thought you'd come in loaded with b'ar or buff'ler. Have to kill a hos, won't we?" " Chet brought you an old moccasin," proffered Phil. " Found it on top the mountain. Might eat that! " " And Phil brought you an old hat," retorted Chet, not to be outdone. Grizzly Dan glanced quizzically at the articles. 170 OLD FOUR-TOES " Thank 'ee. I see you air big hunters. Old Ute moccasin, that air." " It was stuffed in among the rocks of an old fort, on the peak/* explained Phil. " War it, now ! " crooned Grizzly Dan, interested. " 'Spect then it's been thar thirty year or more. I remember that old fort. It war a signal station. This hyar hat might do for patching in case I get hard up." He was fingering it carelessly. Suddenly his expres- sion and his voice changed. " Whar'd you get it, boy?" rang his sternly excited tone. "Whar'd you get it ? Tell me, quick ! " " Clear across the mountain, in a deserted camp. Why?" "Why? It air Injun! It air Injun! Smell it? That air Injun smell ! Wagh ! " CHAPTER XIII HE passed the hat to Phil. It was a greasy, battered hat, such as might be consigned to ash-heap or vacant lot. Phil wrinkled his nose over it ; it certainly exhaled a musty, peculiar odor but not one to be unexpected, from its character; and he passed it to Chet Chet sniffed long and carefully, like some anxious set- ter dog. "Kin savvy. May be Injun, may be plumb dirt, for all I know," he confessed. " Does smell some like a gang of Injuns, though. Smells like Charley Pow- wow, a little." Instantly across Phil flashed a reminiscent tang of the Ute village, and the Ute cavalcade, with which he traveled, a captive, before ever he had met Chet! That odd, pungent, burning-leaf odor? Why, cer- tainly ! " Injun! I've smelled Injun too often to be fooled, boy!" declared old Dan, taking the hat. "If you don't believe, try my old mule. She'll say an* she's never seen much Injun. But whar'd you get it? Quick!" Phil and Chet together told of the tracks, and the recent camp, and the abandoned wagon, stripped of its hood and iron and single-trees. 171 172 OLD FOUR-TOES " I know jest whar you war," asserted old Dan, promptly. ' That camp air in the pack-trail made by us beaver-hunters in Forty-seven, to take carts through with supplies for tradin' with the Snakes. Snakes had a big village up north. But trail ain't used nowadays. Somethin' queer, thar," and he wagged his head. '* Injuns don't travel these hyar mountains with wagons, an' I don't savvy what anybody else is doin' in hyar, anyhow, with a wagon. Strippin' that hood off looks like Injun work. Take the hickory ribs for their bows, an' canvas for a blanket or lodge kivver. Wagh! Many's the wagon I've seen, plundered an burnin'! Didn't burn this one, you say? Saw heel- marks, did ye ? Woman's ? Wagh ! " " Looked like woman's small and pointed rather," explained Phil. " Woman shoes an' Injun hat don't go well to- gether," muttered old Dan. " Didn't used to, anyway. Squaw feet'd be moccasined feet. Wagh! These air hostile sign, to my notion. Have to look into that to-morrer. But we needn't go over the mountain yore way. Thar's a better trail, over Blackfoot Pass, I'll show ye. Can't do anythin' to-night, though, but eat an' sleep." A waft of fragrance smote Phil's nostrils. It came from the faithful black pot, bubbling on the fire. " But what do we eat? " he cried hopefully. " Hur- rah ! Meat in the pot, Chet ! Smell it ? " " I shore do," drawled Chet. " Hawss or moc- casins ? " " Yep, meat in the pot, an' yore dawg's back," "DANCING MEDICINE' 1 173 blurted old Dan. " Won't keep ye guessin' any longer." " Where is she ? When did she come ? " " In the shack. I've shut her in, 'cause I've got wolf- traps set. But she ain't 'specially frisky. She's back from the long trail an' she's tired." " When did she come? " asked Phil again, over his shoulder, as he and Chet made for the cabin. " Soon after you left. Keep to the trail an' watch out for traps." Sure enough, there, curled up at the foot of the bunk, upon the buffalo robe, was Bonita ; a dusty, bedraggled, burry-coated, most disreputable and very weary Bonita. She barely raised her nose, opened her eyes, gave a wiggle of the tail, and then settled to sleep again. " Shame on you! " rebuked Phil and Chet, petting with the hands and reproving with the voice. " Shame on you, to go off like that, and let us hunt for you ! " But save for a little shiver of content, which showed a great longing to be let alone until morning, it would be doubted if Bonita heard. So they let her stay and passed out, walking carefully, mindful of the wolf traps, around the shack to wash at the springs. " Look ! " exclaimed Chet, nodding toward a spruce which stood beside the cabin. " More meat ! " "Venison, isn't it?" " Sure." For part of a carcass of a deer was hanging from a branch. No attempt had been made to conceal the nature of the carcass. The hide was still on, and the head and feet. 174 OLD FOUR-TOES " Huh ! " commented Chet. " Must have jumped up there and killed himself ! Too bad ! " " That's right. Wonder what kind of a story old Dan has about it?" And they felt a little aggrieved that the old trapper had lectured them on keeping the game laws, and had broken the laws himself. But Dan was ready. " 'Spect, now, you won't want to eat this hyar nice boiled shoulder after you've seen what war growin' in the spruce yonder," he chuckled. " Hadn't ye better go an' get a rabbit ? Or did 'ee have yore mouth made up for a dawg feast? Pshaw! Wisht I'd known!" Phil flushed; Chet flushed; but each helped himself to a liberal slice of the steaming chunk. "Where'dyougetit,Dan?" "Went to market; jest went to market. Didn't I tell 'ee this air trappers' market?" And he chuckled more, while he dug with his hunting-knife, and chewed, and smacked his whiskered lips. There was no doubt about the deliciousness of the meat. It was fat and juicy and cooked to perfection, slightly flavored with some species of wild herb. But Phil could not help feeling ashamed and guilty as he ate although eat he must, or starve. However, old Dan speedily put him and Chet more at ease. " Wall, s'pose I ought to square myself with you boys. You see, I'm an old man, an' I live out in the hills all the year, an' meat air my diet. I don't kill for fun; I kill to eat. So, to help me along, the game authorities give me a permit to get meat when I air lackin' an' air wolfish. Reckon they know I don't kill "DANCING MEDICINE" 175 more'n I need, an' don't waste what I get, an' don't kill any oftener'n I have to. Seemed to me this war liable to be a lean camp to-night, an' I went to market." " You did well, too," praised Phil, his mouth now gladly full. " Gee ! Wish I had that permit," said the blood- thirsty Chet. " Oh, no," drawled old Dan. " No, you don't. I air old, an' I air keerful, an* the game don't suffer, whar I am. I need it, too, bad. But most white people can't be trusted with game. They got to kill it all, for the pelts or the horns or the tusks. The Injun killed for meat, an* the game never got less ; then the whites come in, killin' more'n they used takin' jest the tongue out of a buff'ler an' leavin' a ton o' good meat to spile, an' takin' jest the tusks of an elk an' leavin' the rest o* the carcass an' whar is the game to-day? Gone, boy, gone ! I helped do it, for I war foolish, too. Now I air old, an' I kill as seldom as I can get along with, an' what I kill I use. I've had this hyar camp for thirty year, an' to-day I can go, same as thirty year ago, to a sartin spot within a mile, an' always find a deer. Why? 'Cause I've been keerful, an' I take jest what I need an* leave the rest." " Where is that? I'd like to go sometime! " invited Chet, all eagerness again. " Wall," chuckled old Dan, " I'll never take ye an' you'll never find out. Those thar cattle belong to Sally an* me, an' one shot, occasional, is all we ask. You an' yore seven-shooter gun'd go crazy, like other 176 OLD FOUR-TOES white folk do. No, boy; you obey the law, as it's written." " What was it a buck? " asked Phil. " Fine young yearlin' black-tail. I've been watchin' him for some time. I knowed his mammy." " Didn't see any horns on the head in the tree." " He dropped 'em, sonny, long while ago, an' the new pair air jest pokin' through. Prime condition he war, too, 'fore fly-time. Flies air liable to make deer lean, in summer, an' the new horns, in the velvet, irri- tate 'em. But I knew he'd be prime, yet. Wagh! Thar come the hounds ! " continued the old trapper. " Listen ! Now I 'spect they'll be 1'arned some man- ners, this night, if they snoop 'round this hyar camp an' muss things up." " Traps ? " queried Chet. " Yes, traps. I tell those thar black varmint I won't have 'em near if they don't behave. No, I won't." The long howl of the wolf, aided and abetted by the yap of coyotes also, drifted through the dusk. The sun had drawn the last vestige of his royal mantle of pink and gold behind the western ridges, the twilight was paling, and the chill hosts of dusk, advance skirmish line of the frosty night, were stealing across through the timber and into the little park. " Wagh ! " said old Dan. " With a bath an' a full meat-bag this chile feels like dancin' Injun. You boys clean up, an' I'll see to the bosses, an' then we'll make a little medicine for the war-path to-morrer. Don't like that thar hat sign, anyhow," and as, carrying his "DANCING MEDICINE" 177 long rifle, he strode away for the horse herd, he wagged his head. When he came back, the dishes had been put ship- shape, the pot set one side, and the fire raked together. "Ha-yah-ta!" he called through the dusk. " O- nee-tuk soo-pi ten-o-wiss. Pile on the wood, white men. Let's dance. Wagh!" and arriving, he laid down his rifle, doffed his hat, and with a " Whoo-oop " began. " Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow-gh ! Ow-ow-gh ! Hay-ah- hay! Hay-ee-hay hah-ah-hay hah-ah-hay! Whoo- oop! Ow-ow-gh! Ow-ow-gh! Hay-ah-hay! Hee- ah hah-ah hi-yah-hah ! Whoop ! " chanted old Dan, with bent body and crooked knees and flat moccasins, in steady stamp circling the fire. " Fall in, boys. Every one dance Injun. Make yore medicine strong for the morrow. Whoo-oop! Ow-ow-gh! Hay-ah- hay!" And so " Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow-gh ! Ow-ow-gh ! Hay-ah- hay ! Hay-ee-hay hah-ah-hay hah-ah-hay ! " joined in the two boys, Chet first, then Phil close behind, follow- ing old Dan and imitating his movements and his chant. " Thud ! Thud ! " and " Scrape ! Scrape ! " went the moccasins ; and with " Whoo-oop ! " and " Hay-ah- hay ! " rose the voices ; and around and around the fire moved the buckskin-clad figures; until, when all were streaming with perspiration, old Dan gave a final " Whoo-oop! " and, with a great leap aside, quit. " Thar ! " he gasped, satisfied, as the boys, panting, 178 OLD FOUR-TOES staggered from the circle. " Did the best we could, anyhow. That war quite a dance." "Cheyenne? "asked Phil. " Mostly. Now this coon air ready for bed after he eats a leetle more, to fill up whar he shook down. An' he'll haul that thar carcass up a few notches, an' burn a leetle powder round it, to keep varmint off. Used to be that wolves'd eat the saddle out from under yore head; but nowadays they've 1'arned the smell o' powder. Needn't help me. Might step in a trap." The boys paused to watch him raise the carcass, hung on a pronged pole, a couple of feet higher, and sparingly scatter powder from his horn flask. He touched coal to the slender train, which flared with a " Pff ! " leaving a strong odor of sulphur and brim- stone which for a wolf probably would be enough till morning. Chet yawned. Phil yawned. The dusk had been succeeded by the main army of the night, the stars were twinkling, the fire had burned low, and to the boys, their stomachs comfortable, their feet again weary, the bed called mightily. So they went into the cabin. Old Dan lingered without; but just as they were crawling under covers, in the dark, he entered, bearing a blazing splinter for a light, and with the other hand wiping his knife upon his buckskin thigh. His jaws were moving busily; so he had been eating again ! Bonita had not moved. Glad of her weight upon his feet, and luxuriating in the softness beneath him, Phil almost beat Chet to the goal of gurgle and long breath. "DANCING MEDICINE" 179 That was well. It had been a long day, and another long, perhaps more exciting day was ahead. Hostile sign had been discovered, and the war-trail (according to old Dan) had been propitiated by a dance. Wagh! So soundly slept the cabin, that neither howl of wolf nor click of trap wakened it. Phil was aroused only at daybreak, by Bonita sniffing and fussing around the door. Evidently it was time to get up, anyway; and he might as well let her out heigh-hum! What a great sleep ! He yawned and stretched, causing Chet to grunt protest at the movement and to burrow face under the covers, for another forty winks. " Hawss-guard out," warned Phil. And" Wait a minute, Bonita. I'll be there." " Hold on," grumbled Chet, slumbrously. " Better not. Traps." " That's right, I forgot," admitted Phil, glad to be reminded. He sprang up. " Wonder if we caught anything? " " Hyar ! " called old Dan. " Keep yore dawg back, an' I'll tend to those thar traps." In manner pro- vokingly leisurely he rolled out, donned his outer gar- ments and moccasins, and threw open the door. " Yep, got one," he announced instantly, as he peered around. " Thought I would, if they didn't mind what I said an' stay away or else behave. Thar's one." Phil and Chet (Phil holding Bonita by the collar) looked over his shoulder. "Where?" "T'other side the shack. Wall, lemme lift these hyar other traps, an' we'll go over." 180 OLD FOUR-TOES He shuffled out, bareheaded, but carrying Sally the rifle, and at two points in the brush sprang two traps. " All right," he summoned. " Let her loose an' come along, if you want to." They grabbed carbine and rifle, and with Bonita, her ears pricked, fur rising, head high, trotting before as if she knew exactly where to go, they hastened to over- take him. Leaning upon his long rifle, Grizzly Dan was looking upon what might have been a heavy-coated black dog, fast by one fore foot in a trap, on the timber side of the spruce wherein hung the deer carcass. The animal was standing quietly. At the approach of the two boys it made one short ineffectual struggle, and lapsed again. Bonita trotted forward, hair bristling. The animal, at sight of her, crouched fawningly, and writhed and whimpered, puppy-like, as if beseeching; but she snarled harshly, and after sniffing as near as she dared, but at a distance, slunk back and sat down. Grizzly Dan was addressing the captive whose sharp nose, bushy tail, prick ears, and obliquely set eyes proclaimed him a wolf. But such a wolf ! Coal black, large, glossy ; a king. " Now, brother, didn't I tell 'ee all thar war trouble in store for 'ee if this hyar messin' 'round warn't quit?" was saying old Dan. "This air white Injun camp. I've had this 'ere camp 'fore ever you war born. The gray dawgs know it, an' they know what to do an' what not to do. But very fust night I come in, this time, you black dawgs must chaw a piece o' my buckskin, an' knock the kivver off o' my pot so the "DANCING MEDICINE" 181 ashes blow in. Why warn't ye content to do wolf work o' cleanin' up the camp without messin' things? Then we'd all got along peaceable. Couldn't ye have let my meat alone? This hyar meat war well killed an' it war well needed. Thar air meat for you black dawgs some'eres else. But you come prowlin' an* thievin'. I heard you. I heard you, last night again, mischief bent. An' you air ketched. Now, brother, you must die." The wolf, struggling not at all, had stood with head and tail drooped, eyes half closed, patiently taking Dan's scolding. Having concluded, the old trapper placed his rifle against a tree, and turning, sought amidst the brush a moment, until he found a stout club. This weapon seemed to Phil rather perilous for close quarters with a trapped wolf ; but he said nothing. Chet likewise silently, soberly looked on. " Brother, you must die," again addressed old Dan, walking straight for the captive. " I will kill you quick, but you shall die as a lesson to all black dawgs that they must mind camp law. Stand quiet now, an' die like a warrior." At Dan's movements in the brush the wolf had shot one quick glance, from his narrow yellow eyes, around the circle ; Bonita met the glance with a snarl as of con- tempt. Now at the trapper's approach with the club the wolf stiffened slightly, and turned his head away. He made not a move, neither cringing for mercy nor opposing the blow. Old Dan struck suddenly and strongly, bringing his club down upon the wolf's head just where it joined the neck. Down sank the wolf, 182 OLD FOUR-TOES uttering never a sound, to lie quivering and stiffening as if killed instantly. " Thar ! " grunted old Dan, tossing aside the club of execution. " That air for you, brother. An' now we'll hang yore pelt on the shack for a scalp, so yore tribe'll know. Wagh ! You war a brave wolf, after all." " He never looked at you," exclaimed Phil. " Varmint don't, boy. When you kill a crippled deer or antelope it'll look into yore eyes with its eyes, an' cry cry reel tears, like a baby. I declar', sometimes puttin' sech a pitiful critter out of its misery, even, air hard. An' even a rabbit'll watch ye to its last breath. But b'ar an' wolf, warrior animiles, when they know they got to die, they'll never look ye in the face an' watch the blow or bullet. No ; they look off, calm, to one side, an' don't dodge or flinch. They die like braves. Only a cat'll watch ye an' take its end, in trap or pen, hatin' you an' defyin' you, and biddin' you do yore wust. Cat an' dawg air two different kind o' braves." Bonita strolled up, sniffed of the dead wolf, and withdrew, growling, her tail between her legs. Kneel- ing, Dan whipped out his long " Green River " (his general utility knife, thrust into a leather sheath fas- tened to his belt at his right thigh, and resembling an ordinary wooden-handled butcher knife) and began deftly to peel the wolf's lax body. " Don't need help," he informed. " Hos guard out! Fetch up the critters, to have 'em ready. War-path waits, jedgin' by the smell o' that old hat." " Going to take the packs? " asked Chet, first. "DANCING MEDICINE" 183 " No. Those who travel the war-trail travel light. We'll leave mule an' bald-tail hos, cache what we can't carry in our meat-bags an' on saddle, an' live off the country. That's white Injun style." CHAPTER XIV ON THE WAR-TRAIL BY the time the saddle animals had been rounded up, driven in, and tethered, Dan was busy at the fire and the pelt of the black wolf had been spread-eagled, skin side out, against the front of the cabin. The breakfast, for boys and man, was fried venison and boiled coffee. For Bonita it was the remnant of the cold shoulder, from the evening before. They made a good start, for the sun was not much more than an hour high over Warrior Peak, and the time was not later than six o'clock, when, old Dan leading, Chet next, Phil at the rear, and Bonita now upon one flank, now the other, they took the trail out- ward. The contents of the cabin had been returned to the cache, and in the cache had been placed the other stores. The door of the cabin had been closed, the entrance of the cache had been sealed. And leaving the pelt of the black wolf to guard the premises, while Betty the dun mule and Cotton-tail the Bar B horse oversaw the vicinity beyond, the white Injuns rode away upon the scout. With buffalo-robe and meat behind the saddle, with rifle across the saddle and buckskin in the saddle, they might cut loose without misgivings. But at the edge of the little clearing old 184 ON THE WAR-TRAIL 185 Dan hesitated, to wag his head and glance behind, at a shrill bray from the dun mule. The horses whinnied back. " Don't know as that critter o' mine'll stay put, after all," complained old Dan, querulously. " She likes to come along, she do; an' she follows a scent, good as any dawg. Listen at her ! Lonesome already ! " But he rode on. As old Dan had stated, the route was not up the mountain and over, by the route which the boys had taken yesterday. Pursuing a winding trail, in the lead he skirted the base of the mountain, through the ancient timber where stood primeval spruce and pine apparently untouched by hand of man, until, at a gulch running down, he turned in. So did the trail. Evidently this was a trail traveled by him many a time. It took them higher and higher, by way of the gulch, and brought them out upon a long ridge forming one edge of it. Now the vegetation already was growing scant; for the gulch evidently had been a short cut. Ahead, at the end of a magnificent rolling incline ex- tending in a swale to the curve of a shallow ' U,' was the crest of Warrior Peak. Behind and below was that other world where the black wolf pelt, like a token, guarded a dilapidated cabin, and where, it had been expected would be grazing and resting Betty the dun mule, attended by Cotton-tail her satellite. Grizzly Dan peered down, earnestly ; peered also the two boys. He shook his head. " She'll come," he said. " She's runnin' 'round with i86 OLD FOUR-TOES her ears up, now. Wall, can't be helped. That bald- tail hos o' yourn'll come, too, then." "Does she always follow you up?" asked Phil, amused. " Who ? Betty? Always when she can. She air a pesky critter, that way," declared old Dan; but he chuckled, as if not so much displeased as he would assume. The sun still was far from the zenith when, at the summit, Dan's spotted pony halted, and converging upon him, Pepper and Medicine Eye also halted. The animals heaved sighs ; Bonita sat down ; the boys, imi- tating old Dan's attitude, rested in the saddle and gazed abroad. " Is this Blackfoot Pass? " asked diet. " This air Blackfoot Pass, whar the Blackfeet from the north crossed on their way south to steal hosses from the mountain Injuns. Sioux used it, too." " And we're on the upper side of the Warrior's knees ? " queried Phil. * That's how I calkilate. Yesterday you war on lower side, on his shins. But this air the easier pass over. Thar's an old Ute trail, down below, that we'll strike. I know all these hyar trails ; they never change, till they fade out. An' it takes a long time for a trail, once made, to fade out although Nature does her best. Elk keep this hyar Blackfoot trail open; an' deer use lots o' the trails. Reckon deer used 'em fust deer an' elk an' buff'ler. Wagh ain't that thar smoke, over yonder, 'bout whar we're headin' ? " He shaded his eyes, and peered into the country below. 'WHERE D YOU GET THAT PIECE O WAGON-HOOD FRAME?" 1 ON THE WAR-TRAIL 187 "Where?" " Over yonder. Above that patch o' timber, whar we're bound for." "This first patch?" " No, boy, no ! Yonder, across, 'bout twenty mile, near whar you found that plundered camp yesterday. Airn't that smoke camp-fire smoke? " " Huh ! " muttered Chet, chagrined, as he gazed hard. " Don't believe I see it." Phil, likewise straining his eyes, to focus them upon the farther woodland, had to confess that he believed the same of himself. And who could distinguish, from a mountain-top, camp-fire smoke distant twenty miles air-line across a wilderness of trees and ridges! In such an expanse a burning business-block would make scarce a smudge. But old Dan saw. " Smoke," he declared. "Whar air yore eyes? It air plain as this mountain. Have to look into that. Ketch up, ketch up. We be warriors, not talkin' squaws." And down from the summit plunged old Dan, the two other white Injuns falling in behind him. It was a glorious ride superior to that of yesterday. The sun seemed brighter, the sky even bluer, the air even crisper and clearer, the vistas even wider; and the pace was surer, for there was no need to think upon getting back before dark. And before was a mystery perhaps danger ! Phil drew deep, happy breaths ; and he and Chet sat erect, carbine and rifle across horn, and from under their handkerchief turbans kept keen out- look, as white Injuns should. Verily, this was trapper life at its best. i88 OLD FOUR-TOES Nothing escaped old Dan. The slope of the mountain gradually flowed into the lower country; and having crossed a last little rise, into a draw which skirted its foot, emerged from this old Dan suddenly pulled short his spotted pony and raised a fringed arm as warning. He beckoned to the boys to join him. " Wagh ! " announced old Dan, nodding before him. "Thar it air! Thar's sign, to go with yore Injun's hat ! Party has passed by hyar no long time ago. See those thar pony tracks ? " The faint trail which they had been riding, over the crest and down, crossed here at right angles another and stronger trail and a trail which anybody might know had recently been traveled. Hoof marks were impressed upon it. However, hoof marks were nothing at which to be astonished. " They shore are hawss tracks," agreed Chet. " But we leave hawss tracks ourselves, don't we ? " " Tracks like these on this old Ute trail don't shine with this coon," muttered Grizzly Dan, blinking hard tinder his bushy brows, as he studied the prints. ' 'Specially after that plundered wagon an' that hat. 'Course, hyar air lodge-poles," and he pointed at the trace of a heavy stake or similar object having been dragged along, making a furrow. " But sign air bad, boys. This hyar trail leads straight for that flat whar you come onto the wagon tracks, an' they all j'ine to- gether for that old pack-trail whar you found the camp. It air four mile yet. Let's ride on a bit an* study this out." ON THE WAR-TRAIL 189 So, at one side of the trail, as it traversed the brush and sod, they proceeded slowly. " Unshod ponies," commented old Dan. " All keepin' to the trail, an' must have been a dozen. Wagh ! What air that ! " he exclaimed, whirling quickly in his saddle. Whirled also the two boys, with click of Phil's carbine lock. But " It air Betty!" chuckled old Dan, as with bray and clatter the dun mule, followed by the faithful Cotton-tail, came trot- ting fast, protesting at being deserted. " It air Betty ! An' she smells Injun. She knows! An' hyar," he said abruptly, " if you want other proof." And reaching aside he plucked from a bush a strip of woolen cloth. "Government blanketin'! That's what it air!" He sniffed at it. " Wagh! That trail air Injun trail for sartin. Only one lodge, 'less they carry tents, too ; so mebbe only one or two squaws, rest bucks. Looks like htintin' party, with squaws to do the butcherin' ; or perhaps goin' on a visit. But spring air a ticklish time with Injuns. When the cottonwood buds on the plains, an' when the aspen leaves out in the hills, then some- thin' bids the Injun ketch his pony an' travel, for by the sign he knows thar's grass for pony feed. Used to be that the spring war the time for the young men to go hos-stealin' an' scalp-huntin', to make good their winter struts 'mong the young squaws. Nowadays Injuns have to take it out in visitin' but the young men still air bustin' for excitement, some o' them; an* thar air old men who ain't forgot days gone by. That's only natteral." " Do you think these Indians on this trail attacked 190 OLD FOUR-TOES that camp?" asked Chet. "They wouldn't do that, would they ? " " Wall, white men make trouble ; why shouldn't the Injuns? They're both only human," replied old Dan. " This air a wild country in hyar, an' Injuns had it fust, an' some o' them think they ought to have it yet. But we'll see, we'll see, if we ride the ride to the end. That smoke'll tell us a heap." " These are Utes, are they? " asked Phil. " Reckon so. Off their reservation, on a leetle trip." At steady jog, with old Dan maintaining keen eyes upon the sign in the trail and upon the country to right and left, the three scouts continued Betty, Cotton-tail, and Bonita trotting soberly behind. The trail, dis- playing those unmistakable tokens of recent use, course now winding, now straightaway, extended through brush and timber, and gradually the base of Warrior Peak was put farther in the distance. Then, after an hour of the silent, steady riding, with each turn of the trail revealing only the same peaceful stretch ahead through an apparently peaceful country, old Dan again reined his pony short and pointed down. " Told ye," he said. " Thar's the wagon-track, an' tracks o' the hosses; an' hyar's whar the Injun trail j'ines it. See? They go on together. Wagh! I knowed it. Injuns stopped a minute, on the edge, to consider; see? Then they turned in sharp, to follow it. Reg'lar trail turns a leetle further on ; but I reckon they war curious over a wagon trail in this hyar place, an' after it they went." " And they attacked the camp! " ON THE WAR-TRAIL 191 Old Dan was clapping the lock-plate of his long rifle, to settle the priming in the pan. " Wall," he drawled quietly, " mought have been, onct. Day o' massacree air past, now but I shouldn't wonder if some white folks travelin' through hyar got powerful scared. Injuns have a heap o* fun out o' scarin' greenhorns, they do. But we'll ride on. They don't scare this chile. He's fout Injun before, an' he's half Injun, himself. Wagh ! " Chet was a little pale, under his tan ; and Phil sur- mised that his own color was suspicious. Instructed by the old trapper's words he could read the sign for himself ; and he could picture that here, on the edge of the brush, where cut the flat which further on he and Chet had encountered, the traveling Indians had sud- denly come upon the wagon-tracks ; that the foremost (perhaps the chief) had halted at once, and that the others had gathered about him, in a council ; that, as if by agreement, they all had turned into the wagon-track, and had proceeded with it, instead of continuing by the older trail which crossed it. Utes! Phil could imagine the motley line men in buckskins or overalls, with slouch hat or ornamented sombrero ; with quirt and rifle ; women bareheaded and blanketed ; children astride or in blanket folds ; ponies of all markings, and dogs of mongrel breed. For with such a rude cavalry had not he himself traveled, as his initiation into the West? " Maybe it's Chief Billy and his band again," he vouchsafed to Chet. "Maybe," grunted Chet. "That Chief Billy is 192 OLD FOUR-TOES shore bad. They say he's worse thar,. ever since he got cured up from his last fight." " When Hungry Joe shot him? " " Yes." " That was a long shot." Chet nodded. He and Phil were not tenderfeet ; not they! They had not fought the battles that old Dan had " fout," but one Indian scrimmage was upon their battle-list the scrimmage when, down in New Mexico, during the great cattle-drive of the Bar B two summers before, the raiding Utes and Apaches had been stopped by the Bar B and the New Mexican Rangers. Not many boys of this day and age have taken part in a real Indian battle, and now riding the hostile trail, in his buckskins and handkerchief turban, Phil felt like a veteran. Old Dan might not be ap- preciative, but nevertheless he was being well sup- ported. Presently they passed the spot where the trail of yesterday entered from the brush into the flat, and also joined the trail of the wagon. Now it was not far to the end of the flat, where the timber began, and where, beyond a short distance, by the old pack-trail which looked like an abandoned wood-road, had been the camp. Old Dan rode at the steady jog, his white hair floating in the breeze, his fringes lifting and falling, his deadly rifle across saddle-horn. Chet and Phil followed; and Betty and Cotton-tail thudded con- tentedly at the rear. The leader needed no directions ; he had been here- abouts many a time before. Besides, the wrecked ON THE WAR-TRAIL 193 wagon showed plainly, as yesterday, and he saw it as soon as did the boys again. At the camp site he halted ; halted Chet and Phil. All surveyed. " Wagh ! " muttered the old trapper, his eyes rov- ing rapidly over ground and wagon. " Signs don't tell much. Warn't no fracas, I jedge. We'll ride on a bit. This coon 'spects he'll know more further along. In- juns passed on see? Wagon stayed. But if you'll look sharp, you'll read pony tracks both comin' an' goin'. Thar's another campin' spot, 'bout two mile ahead; better one than this 'ere. This spring carries sulphur, an' Injuns and trappers didn't use it." They retook the trail, old Dan peering alertly. The trail was just about wide enough for a wagon to pass. The thickly growing timber hedged it close, so that it seemed a lane among the serried trunks of fir and pine. Occasionally was visible, upon a trunk beside the route, a gash or wound almost closed over, as if de- noting a guiding blaze. The soil was soft to the foot ; the timber around was mysteriously silent ; and Phil wondered if this was not an excellent place for an ambush. He fingered his car- bine, and he noticed that Chet also rode nervously. But old Dan apparently was not fearing a surprise, and revealed no especial symptom until, in the midst of the route, he stopped for his companions to hear what he was about to say. " This coon thinks he'll do a leetle reconnoiterin' afoot," informed old Dan in monotonous undertone. " Sign air gettin' too fresh. He smells smoke, an* I 9 4 OLD FOUR-TOES barefoot ponies have passed hyar this mornin'. So this coon knows a short cut which'll take him whar he can see a heap o' country." Mumbling to himself, he slipped from his pony. Again looking into the priming of his rifle, he closed the pan and with scarcely a sound plunged amidst the brush and timber bordering the trail. He moved so rapidly and so smoothly that almost at once was he lost to sight; and the boys, upon Pepper and Medicine Eye, were left with only his spotted pony as re- minder. Betty, pricking her long ears, gazed after anxiously, as if tempted to follow. But she re- mained, sighed, and nibbled at the bordering bushes, for forage. The horses tried to crop ; Bonita wandered away, up the trail; and relaxing, Phil and Chet dismounted, to ease their muscles. They strolled idly, keeping pace with the horses, and holding to the dangling bridle- lines. For this was " Injun " country, and there might be instant need of saddle in this soft, silent, lonely forest avenue. " Look at Bonita ! " suddenly warned Chet, sharply. " What's the matter with her? Scared by something, isn't she?" "Acts that way. Here, Bonita!" " Mule notices, too ! See her ears ? " As he spoke, Chet was already swinging aboard Medicine Eye; and gathering his lines, Phil hastily swung aboard Pepper. Chet held the lines of the spotted pony. For here came, at skulking trot, back down the trail, Bonita. Anon she paused, briefly ON THE WAR-TRAIL 195 looked behind her, and dropping her ears resumed her pace, as if in retreat from some alarming ob- ject " Bear, maybe," muttered Chet. " Watch sharp for a stampede." "May be Old Four-Toes!" added Phil, tensely. " About time for him to show 'round again. What'll we do?" " Depends on what he does," answered Chet, stub- born. " Horses hear it or smell it." Bonita had arrived, to take stand almost under Pepper, whence she growled angrily; all the animals pricked their ears up the trail, and stared with lifted heads either following blindly the suggestion of Betty or else actually aroused by their own instincts. As for Betty the mule, she stood planted, nostrils dis- tended, great ears jutting forward, eyes wide, her whole being intent upon what, yet unseen, was ap- proaching. It was an uncertain moment but only a moment, for now around the turn in the trail, beyond, appeared at rapid trot two horsemen. And " Injun! " exclaimed Chet, instantly. "Ute?" " Reckon so." Betty the mule snorted, and backed to one side, showing symptoms of flight. Bonita growled. The two riders, at the turn, had pulled up, surprised; but now they came on again. " Young bucks," muttered Chet. " I'm going to 196 OLD FOUR-TOES talk with them. You back me up so they don't get past." Young bucks they were, proving Chet's quick eye- sight; two youths about seventeen or eighteen. They were naked from the waist up, their bronze-tinged, smoothly muscled bodies showing finely in the vista of the trail. The lower half of each was clad in old trousers with fringes sewed on, for the legs, and in moccasins for the feet. One wore a cartridge belt and carried a rifle; the other carried a short bow. Their black hair, drawn tight into long braids down the shoulders, was painted at the part with red vermilion, and their faces were decorated, by streak and spot, with vermilion and blue. They rode jauntily down the green forest trail, be- traying no inclination to stop; but as they arrived Chet spurred Medicine Eye farther out into the road ; Phil turned Pepper broadside ; and the way was closed. Bonita growled, Betty snorted and backed, Cotton- tail imitated her, but, holding Medicine Eye in place, Chet greeted gruffly : "How?" " How-do ? " grunted the two Indians, halting. "How?" proffered Phil The opposing pairs, red and white, examined one another curiously. " Where is camp? " asked Chet. The two Indians shook their heads. " No savvy," they grunted. "Ute?" asked Chet. They nodded. ON THE WAR-TRAIL 197 "You know Chief Billy?" "No savvy," replied one, slender and coppery; a handsome lad, with regular features ornamented by blue half-moons and circles of vermilion. "Where's Charley Pow-wow?" " No savvy," persisted the spokesman. " Goocl-hy," attempted the other, square-built (like Chet), dark, sullen-looking, his flat face striped and daubed. He forced his horse forward a few steps, as signal. But Chet had been growing flushed, token of exas- peration. " No savvy, your grandmother ! " he blurted rudely. " You understand English as well as I do. Where's camp ? Isn't there a camp around here somewhere ? " The face of the good-looking Indian he with the half-moons for decoration betrayed just the glimmer of a smile ; but the face of his companion, the stoutish, dark youth, clouded more. " No," he grunted. " No savvy. Good-by." And he again kicked his pony with moccasined heel, forcing him forward. " Good-by/' chimed in the other, likewise attempting passage. But Chet was now thoroughly aroused. He held Medicine Eye squarely across the trail, and Phil oc- cupied the space behind him. " No, you don't ! " informed Chet, his chin thrust out. He sat solidly w r ith his knees clasped against Medicine Eye's sides. " You don't get past here till you act decent. 'Twon't hurt you any to answer a 10,8 OLD FOUR-TOES civil question. We want to find a camp. Where's a camp, 'round here? " Both Indians now flushed darkly " No, you don't ! " repeated Chet, cocking his rifle. "Look out, Phil! Watch the slim one!" And he addressed the Indians again, broadly as when excited : " You keep yore fingers off knife an' trigger, savvy that? An' don't yuh butt into us with those hawsses, either ! Yuh won't move an inch till we know what's what. There's a camp 'round here ? Where you from an' where you going ? An' where'd you get that piece o' wagon-hood frame, for that bow ? " The click of Phil's carbine lock had answered the click from Chet's rifle. With Pepper obliquely turned to breast the Indians' advance, he was determined to support his partner to the limit. What that limit might be was dubious, save that things looked squally. Chet was as dauntless and as obstinate in defense or offensive, when he thought himself right, as was that veteran plainsman and rancher Mr. Siinms, his father. For the bow in question sure enough it did bear suspicious resemblance to a section of hickory or ash wagon-hood frame! The eyes of both Indians were blazing, their forms were tense, and a few guttural words passed from one to the other, as of exhortation. Phil watched the hand of his special opponent creeping toward the knife in the trousers' belt, and was about to stop it (if he could), when the tableau was interrupted by a keen hiss from the brush skirting the trail. The eyes of all involuntarily jumped for the spot ON THE WAR-TRAIL 199 Phil saw, to his relief, the figure of the old trapper rising behind the muzzle of Sally, which pointed like an accusing finger at the group. " Wagh ! " spoke Grizzly Dan. " Do'ee boys back up a leetle, an' do 'ee young bucks stay right whar you be. Now, what air this fracas about ? " The two Indians evidently did understand English, for they obeyed old Dan's words and moved not. " It's about that bow carried by that slim one," an- swered Chet, bluntly. " That's made from a wagon- hood frame, and we want to know where he got it. Says he doesn't * savvy.' But he does, all the same." " I've seen ha'r-raisin' for less'n that, in my day," quoth Grizzly Dan, stepping warily out. " Hold 'em, till I get on my hos. Wagh ! Now lemme talk." And in throaty accents he addressed the two youths. The slim one sullenly replied, while the dark one glowered back at Chet. A short conversation in Indian ensued, between Grizzly Dan and the one youth. " We asked them where camp was, too," explained Phil. " It's yonder, over the hill. I saw it," announced the old trapper. " He says he got this hyar hickory by trade, from 'nother Injun. They war jest ridin' down the trail a piece, when you stopped 'em hyar. We'll go on to the village. Guess we'd better take 'em along." The two Indians nodded, and wheeled their ponies ; and side by side with Grizzly Dan rode back up the trail, Chet and Phil side by side behind, Betty and Cotton-tail disgustedly following, Bonita ambling at one side. CHAPTER XV OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE THE aisle through the quiet timber extended onward for half a mile. Chet and Phil did not speak a word, but Grizzly Dan occasionally exchanged a low word or two in Ute with the Indian boys beside him. So they jogged, three in buckskins, two half-naked, with rifles and with bow, the unsaddled horse and mule, and Bonita the dog, soberly following: a little party such as must have often ridden the trail when the trail was new. Now the timber opened, and from the old trail a fresher trail, recently trodden by many hoofs, veered to the right. Into this Grizzly Dan, with the two boys, turned off. He quickened his spotted pony into a faster trot. The trail rounded over a swell, and before and below lay a sagy park, dotted with a dozen dingy tents and alive with many figures, persons and horses. From camp-fires smoke ascended lazily. Through the brush flowed a stream, as evidenced by the line of clump willows, from above resembling a row of large gooseberry bushes. " Indians! " exclaimed Chet. " Lot of 'em, too! " Now down at full gallop plunged the two young bucks, riding recklessly. " Gwan, then!" called old Dan after them. 200 OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 201 " You're too young to have manners, anyhow ! " And he warned, to Chet and Phil, " Keep back, now, whilst I make the proper signs." Rapidly tugging free the buffalo robe which he car- ried tied behind his saddle, shaking it out with one sinewy hand he flourished it like a banner. White it gleamed in graceful circle and sweep, as he repeated. Suddenly he tucked it across his lap, enfolding the lower part of his body. " Thar! " he grunted, as if satisfied, although Phil could not see that any answering signal had come from the camp. " The old Injuns in camp'll know we airn't heathen. Wagh ! Come on, lively. Whoopee ! " And down the hill plunged Dan, hair streaming, spotted pony leaping stiff-legged, while the iron pot thumped him lustily! " Wagh ! Come on ! " bade Chet, to Phil ; and after the old trapper bolted the two boys, imitating. It was hard riding this galloping downhill ; as hard as sitting a bucking horse. But if it was trapper eti- quette, to enter a camp on the run, then who cared for the jar? "Bang!" sounded Dan's rifle, into the air; and "Bang! Bang! " spoke the rifle of Chet and the car- bine of Phil. However, as he rode, at breakneck pace, Grizzly Dan reloaded. It was not his policy to be long with empty gun. The bottom of the slope was reached, and old Dan pulled his spotted pony to a trot. " Close up," he ordered, over his shoulder. " Close up an' keep to- 202 OLD FOUR-TOES gether. We've showed 'em we come as friends, but thar's no use invitin' 'em to take our scalps. Keep together, an' don't act afraid ; an' have yore ears turned both ways an' eyes in the back o' yore head." Their spectacular approach seemed not to have oc- casioned any great excitement in the camp, except among two persons and the dogs. As for the rest, the squaws, busy about camp-fires, only glanced covertly, the bucks, lounging about in blankets or trousers and shirts, gazed stolidly, and here and there children and babies stared, unwinking and shy. The two persons were two girls, in khaki skirts and dark blue blouses, who were dancing up and down before a tent and were waving handkerchiefs; and a score of dogs rushed, growling and bristling, for the abashed and bristling Bonita. " See the girls! " said Phil, to Cher. "White girls! Say!" And " Say ! " agreed Chet, interested and astonished. But from the center of the camp, which was at the stream, had advanced, with waddle and wheeze, yet with dignity and strength, a fat, bow-legged Indian, pigeon-toed in his moccasins. Ragged trousers and a soiled gingham shirt united by a silver-studded leathern belt completed his attire, to a long-barred feather stuck through the juncture of braids and scalp. "There's Chief Billy!" exclaimed Chet. " Quiet! " rebuked old Dan. " I'll do the talkin'." Sure enough it was Chief Billy, head chief of all the OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 203 Southern Utes: a little fatter, maybe, a little older, than when, three years before, Phil, about to enter Bar B life, had first seen him, but nevertheless the same burly, heavy-featured, thin-lipped dignitary. Dan dismounted and stood waiting. "How?" grunted Chief Billy. He shook hands, and reaching up shook hands with Phil and Chet, as if they might be strangers. His face betrayed not a symptom of recognition. " How ? " answered Grizzly Dan ; and followed with a sentence in guttural Ute. Chief Billy grunted a short answer, and turned away. " Get off yore hosses an' leave 'em an' come with me," bade Grizzly Dan to the boys. " We're goin' to the chief's lodge. Everything's all right. He'll have the hosses taken keer of." But there occurred an interruption. The two girls in the khaki skirts were running forward, now waving hands instead of handkerchiefs, and apparently over- joyed. "Phil! Chet!" they called. " That's who it is, all right! " ejaculated Phil. " I know it ! " replied Chet. " There's Cherry and the other one's Molly, isn't it?" " Shore is," confirmed Phil. " We're prisoners ! You must rescue us ! " panted the first girl to arrive. She was an alert, tanned girl, with blooming cheeks and a pair of brown eyes as wide and as direct as Chet's only softer. This was Cherry Bronson, who had been adopted by Chet's father, on 204 OLD FOUR-TOES the Bar B ranch, before she found her father the professor. " Yes ; and so glad to meet you again. So romantic ! " panted the second girl, who was slenderer, with oval face and long-lashed violet eyes. This was Mistress Molly Gibson, Cherry's friend, met for the first time last summer on the summer sheep range of the Circle K. " Come along, come along," growled Grizzly Dan. " How air ye, gals ? But come along, boys. Can't stop to talk now. Must get in the chief's lodge, once ; then all'!! be safe. No time for squaw talk now." " See you later. Got to go with Dan," explained Phil, hastily. " Yes. Don't worry. We'll look after you," added Chet, as with Phil he grandly fell in behind Grizzly Dan. " Squaw talk ! " retorted Cherry, indignant, as the boys left. " We aren't squaws, I'd have you know. And we think you're real mean ! " " Maybe you thought we wouldn't know you, in those clothes," chimed in Molly. " But we did ! We knew you just as well as could be! Anybody could tell you were just white boys, dressed up romantically." Thus rebuked, Phil and Chet felt it beneath their dignity as trappers and white Injuns to make further reply; and imitating Grizzly Dan they strode on, in his tracks, carrying their rifles in crook of left elbow, and trying not to notice the snarling dogs that stole behind, sniffing at their calves and moccasins, and threatening even Bonita. OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 205 Chief Billy had thrown open the flaps of his tent, and standing there motioned to them to enter. At the same moment he issued an order to a young Indian, which sent the latter back as if to attend to the horses. The tent was not very large, and was merely a strip of old canvas stretched upon a circular, cone-shaped frame of poles the butts spread wide, the tips gathered together crisscross, forming the apex. The canvas was rudely painted in red and yellow figuring. Before the door burned a fire, upon which an old squaw, wrinkled and bent, in a dingy calico wrapper, was hustling an iron pot So much for the outside. But the inside contained another surprise as great as that furnished by the girls. Two persons were seated here, on blankets, against the wall ; and at sight of them, in the half sunshine, Phil and Chet uttered a simultaneous gasp. " Hello, Pete ! Hello, Professor ! " With answering gasp and exclamation the two persons stood or partially stood, and there was a great shaking of hands. One was a lean, lantern-jawed, and freckled-faced individual, with Irish gray eyes and a huge black slouch hat. He wore black shirt, overalls, and cow- puncher boots. This was Pete, ex-cowboy, round-up cook for the Bar B, cook in town when not cooking on the range or else taking out camping parties. Full of spunk, and a fighter, was Pete. The other was a middle-aged man, rather heavy-set, with head partially bald but with close-trimmed full brown beard and mild brown eyes behind spectacles. 2o6 OLD FOUR-TOES He wore high-laced boots, corduroy trousers, and blue flannel shirt with black tie. This was Professor Bronson, who taught archaeology in some college and who was the father of Gwen, otherwise known as Cherry. Three times Chet and Phil and others of the Bar B cow outfit had rescued Cherry from the outlaws who would kidnap her, and once they had rescued the Professor, too. So they all were good friends. " Glad to see you ; glad indeed to see you. But why those clothes ? " greeted the Professor. " And this is the old trapper, too, is it? All trappers together. Well, well." ' You shorely come jest in time," declared Pete. '"Dyuh see the girls?" " Yes. But what's the matter? " " We've been massacreed," said Pete, wagging his big hat. " Plumb massacreed. These blamed Utes busted our wagon an' took our hawsses an' fetched us along in here, an' I dunno whether they're goin' to scalp us or jest eat us." " Well, I tell him and the rest that it was very rare for the North American Indian to indulge in can- nibalistic habits, except upon ceremonial occasions," announced the Professor, genially, gazing about very much as if in the lecture chair. " Scalping was of general prevalence in the West, but was done more in the heat of conflict the scalp being a trophy of prowess. I do not think that we are in any danger." " Says that because he's past scalpin'," grumbled Pete. " No, he ain't," corrected old Dan, shortly. " Injuns OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 207 can get half a dozen scalps ofFn him. They'll scalp his whiskers." "Oh! Is that so?" murmured the Professor, curious. " Did you ever " Wagh ! Heap too much talk," grunted old Dan. " Thar comes eatin'. Let's fill our meat-bags. That's etiquette; that's the way. An' Fin wolfish." Chief Billy had not entered with them; but now in bustled the old squaw, with grunts, to hand about a couple of battered tin platters and others of rude wood. She next lugged in the pot, and with additional grunt- ing set it down in the middle of the circle. Then she retired. From the pot rose a fragrant steam of stewed meat, and there projected the handle of a large wooden spoon. This handle old Dan promptly grasped. " Hold yore plates," he bade. " None for me , thank you," quoth the Profes- sor. " We had a meal not an hour ago and a very good one, too. Some of that very stew, I should judge." " Don't care," rebuked old Dan. " Hold yore plate. Got to eat agin; got to. It air Injun custom to set a feast afore guests, an' they got to eat an' eat plenty. You figger as guests along with the rest of us, I reckon, by the way the pot war put down." " All right," agreed the Professor. " I don't want to offend anybody." " What is it? " queried Phil. " Dog? " "Looks like it," affirmed Chet. "Tastes like it, too. Good." 208 OLD FOUR-TOES " Dawg air proper," said old Dan. " This chief hasn't forgot the old customs." " Dog! " gasped Pete. " What you talkin' about? Is this dog this here? " "You ought to know; you're a cook," reminded Phil. Pete had turned a ghastly pale, under his rugged tan ; he placed aside his platter and began to rise. Chet couldn't hold back any longer, and choked with a sudden laugh. " Aw, it's rabbit," he said. " Such jokin' spoils my appetite," complained Pete, settling again. " Well-bred domestic dog ought not to be objection- able as flesh," remarked the Professor, amiably chew- ing away. " It was a favorite dish with the American aborigine of the West." " We've eaten dog," informed Chet. " Grizzly Dan gave us a dog- feast, first night in camp." " Prairie dog," explained Phil. " But we'd rather eat real dog." They had finished the first platterfuls, and now to Phil occurred the fact that it was high time the Pro- fessor and Pete related their adventures, and that maybe he and Chet should tell theirs ; but the entrance of the tent was darkened, as by a figure. 'Twas Chief Billy, looking in and old Dan stood, with a sigh. " Wants me," he said. " Humph ! Must be some- thin' mighty partic'lar, when he interrupts a man who ain't half filled his meat-bag. Wagh!" And thus complaining, although he had emptied two platters to OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 209 the others' one, old Dan seized his long rifle and padded out. " How'd you folks come here, anyway?" now in- vited Phil, of the Professor and Pete. " The girls met us outside and told us you were prisoners." " Was that your wagon, by a camp about ten miles from here?" asked Chet. " Guess so," answered Pete. " Top stripped off an' iron ripped out? " " Yes." " That's ourn. Why, we were jest campin' through the Professor an* the girls an' me, with wagon an* some saddle-hawsses (like last summer, yuh know), an' we'd made camp back there a ways, on an old trail, an' 'bout twenty o' these Utes rode in on us ; an' fust thing we knew they'd took possession an' we weren't in it. They were mostly young bucks. They rode on through, after hanging 'round an' takin' what- ever we'd give an' everything else that was loose ; an* then they come back for the wagon an' the rest of the stuff!" " Why'd you let them?" demanded Chet. " Let them! " snorted Pete. " If it hadn't been for those two girls, there'd 'a been shootin' ! But what can a feller do with a Professor an' two girls to look after?" " The two girls were the problem, of course," agreed Professor Bronson. " As I understand it, the chief of the tribe did not countenance the outrage; it was the work of some irresponsible members, who were up to mischief. We had not harmed them in the slightest. 210 OLD FOUR-TOES In fact, we had been very courteous. I even had loaned one of them my knife and he hasn't returned it yet. When I saw them riding back to us, I thought maybe it was to return the knife." "Yes, that's what old Billy says/' scoffed Pete. " Says his ' young men ' did it, and he's not to blame. We rode on with the bunch, partly to look after our stuff and partly because they seemed to be particular we should, and after we'd all joined the main band Chief Billy took us in charge. 'Spect old Dan'll settle their hash, though. He savvies Injun. I'd like to get out in the sage with a hawss an' a gun, an' I'd settle some of it, myself. Next Injun war that comes, yuh can count on me." "Are the girls scared?" queried Phil. "They didn't act so." ' They seemed awful glad to see us, just the same," reminded Chet. " Naw, they weren't scart. Yuh can't scare that Cherry; an' that other girl, Miss Molly, she finds it all ' so romantic/ Yep, 'so romantic/" repeated Pete, with added sarcasm. " She's the most romanticky young maverick I ever did run acrost. Everything ' romantic.' Huh ! " " I really think that we all would quite enjoy the opportunity to travel with a genuine Indian camp," stated the Professor, " if we were under no duress and had not been deprived of our property." " Wagon was wuth a hundred dollars," interjected Pete. " When I travel with an Injun outfit I like to invite myself an' choose my own time. Sheep outfit or OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 211 Injun outfit look alike to me. Don't care about payin' to go 'long. But these Injuns think he's crazy," and Pete jerked his head aside at the Professor. " Yuh ought to see him pokin' 'round." " But tell me : what are you boys doing? " asked the Professor. " Out in the open, as usual, I see. Not herding sheep or cattle, though ? " "No, sir; we're Injuns, ourselves. We're white Injuns," explained Chet. " No red Injuns bother us! " " Grizzly Dan made these suits for us," added Phil. " How'd you happen to find that wagon ? " prompted Pete. " We're camped on the other side of the mountain. Phil and I found the wagon yesterday; and then we went and told Dan, and we all set out on the trail till we came to the village. Dan knew. You can't fool Dan." At this moment the old squaw appeared again, and removed the pot and the platters ; and next Grizzly Dan himself, followed by other persons crowding in after, hastily entered. " Get out o' hyar," he bade. " Lodges air comin' down an' village air on the move. No time to lose." Something in old Dan's manner betokened occasion extraordinary and " What's the matter ? " demanded both boys, at once. " Medicine air bad. Camp's bustin'," answered old Dan, shortly. " Better get out o' this hyar lodge or it'll be down on yore heads." " Bless my heart ! " ejaculated the Professor. Among the Indians who had pressed in after Grizzly 212 OLD FOUR-TOES Dan were Chief Billy and one- even older, enveloped over his head with a blanket, so that only his wrinkled visage, with a few wisps of gray hair, peered out ; and another, who stepped forward with a " How-do-do ? " "How, Charley?" responded the boys, and shook hands with him. He was an Indian young man of about twenty-five, in calico shirt and buckskin trousers and moccasins, his hair short, not braided. This was Charley Pow-wow, son of Chief Billy. He had been East at school, and was a curious mixture of red and white. Sometimes he was one, and sometimes he was the other. Just now he was white and affable. " Better get out," he warned. With impatient gesture and word Chief Billy turned and made exit; the older man, in the blanket, without a sound trod after ; and they all followed to the outside. Here the old squaw already was hastily loosening the canvas from the pins jerking the loops free while a younger squaw pulled up the pins themselves. Throughout all the camp the process was in vogue; there were pulling of pins, shrill exhortation, bustle and excitement, and Phil was reminded of circus grounds after the show. " What's the matter, Charley? " he and Chet asked again. " My father think it bad medicine here." "Why? Where you going?" But now came with a rush the two girls. " Did you hear? " cried Cherry. " We're going with you ! " cried Molly. OLD FRIENDS RED AND WHITE 213 " We aren't prisoners any longer ; we've been rescued ! " they both cried. " But you didn't do it ! " "Who did? What's the matter, then?" implored the boys, for the third time. " A big bear did it. They found his tracks ! " "Who?" " That oldest Indian, in a blanket. He found them and came in and got other Indians, and they're all scared. Want to see ? " "How far?" " Right there in the willows. Grizzly Dan saw them. We went down with him and the big fat chief and the old other one." "Come on," bade Chet, to Phil. "We'll hurry. It's that Four-Toes again, I bet you." Led Sy the two girls, who tripped eagerly in ad- vance, they crossed a little neck or bend of the stream to a point where a group of Indians mainly young men and boys were gathered, staring curiously at the bank. Straight through them, amidst the willows, the two girls fearlessly conducted, and stopped short. ' There ! " they said breathlessly, pointing down. "Didn't we tell you?" The half a dozen Indian youth here collected drew aside, murmuring low among themselves as they watched the white arrivals. Two of the youth were the twain encountered by the boys on the trail in the timber. The dark one glowered, but the lighter one smiled. " Big bear," he said in good English. He had his bow, as before. 214 OLD FOUR-TOES " That's shore Old Four-Toes," asserted Chet, gravely, to Phil. " It shore is," agreed Phil, as gravely. " Oh, how'd you know ? " exclaimed one of the girls. " Somebody told you! " " Wagh ! That air his track that air his sign, gal," reproved Chet, in his best language of white Injun. " We can read sign. We air mountain men, wagh ! " confirmed Phil. " How romantic," murmured Molly. " Fiddlesticks! " commented Cherry. The track was plain, the imprint of the huge flat paw, lacking a toe, in the plastic sand of the stream- shore among the willows. Here the big bear had crossed. " Fresh," grunted Chet to Phil. Phil nodded wisely. " It air," he grunted back. " Bad medicine. We all go," spoke the lighter young Indian, with the blue paint and the bow ; and he stole lightly away, after his companions. " He's a real nice boy," informed Cherry. " His name is I forget." " He's so romantic-looking; like a Hiawatha," added Miss Molly. "Come on," said Chet, energetically. "We'll be left." For suddenly, without word and without sound, all the Indians here had disappeared. CHAPTER XVI TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES WHERE the Indian camp had stood a great change had taken place. The sagy flat along the stream had been swept clean of human habitation, as if a tornado had leveled the village; all the tents or lodges were down, most of them folded and packed ; and around and about the mounted bucks scuttled the women, shrieking at children and at each other, and lashing fast their household goods to ponies or upon frames of lodge-poles. " There are our hawsses over with Grizzly Dan and the chiefs," directed Phil, as he hurried along with Chet and the girls. " Ours, too," exclaimed Cherry. But before they reached the spot Grizzly Dan and Chief Billy and the older Indian had started; behind strung out the procession of other Indians, mainly men, with just a few women who seemed favorites en- titled to do little, while the mass of the women, with the children and the packs and the dogs, fell in behind. Yes, Pepper and Medicine Eye were waiting, still saddled, tethered loosely, their ears pricked, their whinnies ready ; near them were the two saddled horses which must be for the girls; but Betty the mule and 215 216 OLD FOUR-TOES Cotton-tail, her faithful follower, had trotted on to join Dan and the spotted pony. " Want help? Can you get on? " asked Phil. " Certainly," retorted Cherry, indignant. " We don't want any help from boys ; do we, Molly ! We'll be on before they are." Phil had expected this answer from Mistress Cherry of ranch training, but he had not been so sure of Molly. However, thus challenged he and Chet must make for their own steeds. But the girls' were the nearest, and as he and Chet hastily swung into the saddles Cherry and Molly were dashing away. They raced after, at best trapper seat, their fringes flying, their rifles held across saddle-horn, like Grizzly Dan's. "Isn't this grand!" appealed Cherry, overtaken. " So romantic," declared Miss Molly. The boys solemnly nodded. And it was both " grand " and " romantic," to be skirting the column of Indians, in the free, sunny, sagy open; to be on the way somewhere, anywhere, with horse and " pos- sibles," and with this wild, mobile company. " I see papa and Pete," cried Cherry. " Anyway, I see Pete's big hat! " Four together, they dashed on, rapidly passing the various members of the procession, until they arrived at the head. Here rode Grizzly Dan between Chief Billy and the older Indian, with Pete and the Professor ambling behind. At the sound of the hoofs all turned heads. It seemed to Phil that he and Chet, in their buckskins, hair and fringes flying, and the two girls, braids flying, TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 217 cheeks aglow, ought to make a pleasing picture as they galloped up; but the old Indian (who had dropped his blanket from around his face) scowled, Chief Billy grunted with a guttural sentence of disapproval, and old Dan called shortly : " Fall in thar. The lead air no place for young warriors an' squaws." " The idea ! " sniffed Cherry ; but abashed, the boys turned in, with the girls, where just behind the Pro- fessor and Pete the column opened obediently for the purpose of receiving them. " Well, we're on the move," greeted Pete, over his shoulder. " Got scart at a bear track, didn't they? " " A most singular occurrence," remarked the Pro- fessor ; who, as he rode with lines hanging, was with a pocket microscope examining pieces of rock which he extracted from his clothes. " There appears to be a superstition in it. The bear evidently is a fetish, or a deity of some sort, with the tribe." " That is a medicine bear," interrupted a soft voice. " He has been known to my people for many years." 'Twas Charley Pow-wow, the educated Indian; he had ridden up, and was pacing easily along, on a clay- colored horse, beside the girls. He now wore a som- brero with a black-and-white woven hair band, and carried a rifle. " Shore; that's Old Four-Toes. He air medicine," confirmed Chet. " I suppose that his appearance is a portent, of some meaning or other," invited the Professor, interested. 2i8 OLD FOUR-TOES Charley looked upon him soberly, but understood. " Yes. We do not like to stay around where he is. It is better to leave. The old men know this. Viejo Cheyenne says so, too." " Is that that old Indian, with your father? " queried Cherry. " Sure; ' Viejo ' (he pronounced it, as had Charley, "vee-a-ho") means old, in Mexican; doesn't it, Charley? " put in Chet, wisely. Charley nodded. " He was taken prisoner by my tribe many years ago, when he was a young man ; he has been with us ever since ; but he is not a Ute ; he is a Cheyenne. We used to be at war with the Cheyenne people. We call him Viejo Cheyenne, which means Old Cheyenne." " And he found the bear track," proclaimed Cherry. Charley nodded again. " It is what we say * bad medicine ' it is a bad sign," he resumed gloomily. " Whenever that track with only four toes is found near us, something bad happens. That is why we are moving out." " How romantic ! " declared Molly. " Guilty conscience," declared Cherry. " You broke our wagon and stole our property and stole us, too, and made us come out of our way; and now you're afraid!" Charley's broad, dark features settled into a stolid mask. " It was some young men who thought to play a joke," he replied gloomily and simply. " My father is sorry. Now he lets you go, when he can." TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 219 "Well," returned Cherry, frankly, "you all ought to be frightened, and those men ought to be ashamed. It would serve them right if the bear would chase them up trees and keep them there all night!" " Yes, an' it would be a mighty good thing if he'd climb up after 'em, too," chimed in Pete. " There's a good wagon tore to pieces that some o' this band have got to pay for." Charley did not respond, but turned his horse and trotted along the line. Occasionally gazing back, the boys could see that the Indian cavalcade extended almost a quarter of a mile. Really, it made quite an impressive and more than quite a picturesque sight. The main column consisted of the men, some in blankets, some in semi-civilized costume of shirt and trousers, some half naked, many painted, and all with braids hanging from their bare crowns or from beneath various shaped hats. A number rode without saddle; a number carried guns; a few had bows and arrows. Then there were the women ; some, young and gaily decorated with paint and bright ribbons and dangling trinkets, mingled with the men ; others, older but buxom still, sitting amidst household packs piled before and behind the saddle, and bearing at their backs babies enveloped in blanket folds as in a sling ; and others, older yet, some with babies and some not, farther to the rear, poorly mounted, or else trudg- ing beside travois of lodge poles, on which were fastened lodges, etc., and on which rode small children and puppies. While anon to one side or another were 220 OLD FOUR-TOES constantly swooping young men, showing off, or boys chasing dogs or rabbits. The march had continued for about a mile, up the flat or shallow valley, and diverging from the stream to ascend gradually a little divide. Here on the top the three leaders Grizzly Dan, Chief Billy, and Vie jo Cheyenne drew to one side, and halted ; Grizzly Dan beckoned with a single motion of his hand to the other whites ; so they also the Professor, Pete, the two girls, and the two boys turned out, aside. The procession filed on past, across the plateau. " Hyar," directed Grizzly Dan, " trail forks. We ride yonder. Thar come yore camp stuff an' pos- sibles." Chief Billy's old squaw, leaving the cavalcade, ap- proached with two horses pack-laden. " That's all you get hyar," said Grizzly Dan to the Professor. '' Thar'll be things missin', I reckon, an' you'll have to count 'em as presents. 'Cept the wagon, an' for that you'll have to talk with the agent in the Ignacio country, whar the reservation air. That air what the chief says." ' They're a set o' blamed robbers, that's what they are ! " burst out Pete, red-faced and explosive. :< They've spoiled fifty dollars wuth o' provisions an' a hundred dollars wuth o' wagon." " Wall, I've done the best I can. You're lucky to get back what you do," answered Grizzly Dan. " Certainly," agreed the Professor. " Of course, some damage was to be expected; but under slightly different circumstances I should not object at all to TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 221 traveling further with these Indians. A very interest- ing people." " Told you he was plumb crazy," observed Pete, crossly, to the two boys. Chief Billy and the ancient Cheyenne wrinkled, hook-nosed, curving mouthed, gray-haired, in his ears dangling brass circles like curtain-rod rings, his eyes meshed and peering but keenly bright like old Dan's had been waiting without emotion. " All right. G'by," grunted Chief Billy, extending his hand. He gravely shook, beginning with the Pro- fessor, ending with the girls. Viejo Cheyenne hastily shook, as if he hated to; and he drew his blanket around him coldly. Chief Billy spoke a guttural sentence to Grizzly Dan, who responded with a sign of the hand; and the chief and Viejo Cheyenne galloped away for the head of the onward-moving procession. " I'm sure we're exceedingly obliged," proffered the Professor, probably addressing Grizzly Dan, but gaz- ing as if regretfully after the Indian cavalcade. " I suppose er they would have taken us to some place of safety, en route ? " " I can take you thar quicker," said old Dan. " Pick up yore trail-ropes if yore hosses won't follow, an* come along." " They'll follow," asserted Pete. " Lucky we took a four-hawss team; with the two saddle hawsses for the girls that gave us plenty in case of emergency. But where's that wagon? " " Have to leave the wagon whar it air. It won't fly off." 222 OLD FOUR-TOES " Couldn't haul it out, anyhow, I reckon," admitted Pete, dolefully. " Those plagued Injuns plumb foundered it. And say, I'm lost. I'm shore lost. Where we at? Never did know this park very good." " Coin' to show ye," answered old Dan, shortly. " Well, we're all right now," sighed Cherry. " Mr. Dan knows." Now numbering seven riders and four pack animals, they made somewhat of a procession, themselves. With old Dan and the two girls leading, the others strung out in file, and Chet and Phil closing the rear, the march was taken across the plateau. The course diverged sharply from that of the Indians, and the space in the angle grew wider, until presently the Indians had dipped below some ridge veiled by timber. The last flutter of blanket vanished. Grizzly Dan led along the edge of the plateau, which was rolling and sagy; from here the park looked strange to Phil, as it had to Pete, for the tip of Red Chief seemed to be hidden by surrounding hills and the outlines of Warrior Peak were different. But as Cherry had said, " Dan knew." Once or twice the girls dropped back, to ride with the two boys ; and once or twice the Professor halted his horse, and dismounted to pick pebble or flower, examine it, stuff it into a pocket, and catch up again. Finally, at a curve in the plateau Grizzly Dan sud- denly pulled his horse short, and as the procession gathered around him he pointed across the lower country. " See that 'ere gap? " he asked of Pete. TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 223 Pete nodded his big hat. " Thar's yore trail, then. You leave this hyar table, an' travel straight acrost the draw for that gap. In that gap you'll strike a trail, an' in one day more o' travel you'll be at Hosthief Pass." " All right," said Pete. " Can't get us out o' here any too quick for me." " But aren't you coming? " asked Cherry, in much concern, of Grizzly Dan. " No, marm," replied Grizzly Dan. " Got our own trail to make." " How romantic," murmured Miss Molly, rather sillily. " We can get out by that gap, then, can we ? " queried the Professor. " Can if you don't stop too often to pick up stuns." " It's perfectly safe, I assume," ventured the Pro- fessor again, unabashed. " The Indians will go on their way, and we can go on ours." " Those thar Injuns," quoth Grizzly Dan, scratch- ing his whiskered jaw, " those thar Injuns I had a talk with Chief Shawanah, the one you call Chief Billy, about those thar Injuns. It war jest as well I come along, 'cause Injuns air peculiar. Shawanah says he war doin' the best he could for you, but some o' his young men war bad, an' some o' the old men war eggin' 'em on, an' it war a question whether he could manage 'em or not. They'd plundered yore camp, an* they war afraid to let you go an' they war afraid to keep you. I moughtn't have got you off without a big present myself ; but lucky, they looked on the Professor 224 OLD FOUR-TOES hyar as crazy, an' crazy folk air big medicine to Injuns ; they heap respect crazy folk; an' then when Vie jo Cheyenne found that thar track o' Four-Toes in camp, that settled it. Wagh ! They know Four-Toes air big medicine, an' they knowed they war in his country an' had been doin' wrong. So they called me out an' got together what possibles o' yourn they had, an' bid me say for you to come down to the reservation an' talk about the wagon." " Well. That's all right, then," quoth the Professor, satisfied. " We'll look upon it as just a piece of mis- chief." " I dunno, I dunno," responded old Dan, shaking his shaggy head. " Look on it as you like but those thar Injuns air liable to make trouble yet. They say they air goin' on a visit to their friends up north ; but thar air a lot o' young men bustin' to do somethin* that'll make warriors of 'em, an' thar air some old men encouragin' 'em by tellin' 'em stories o' the war-trail when they war young. Thar air some old men who hate the whites as much as ever ; they air bad at heart, an' they'd like to make the young men bad, too. O' course, young men get restless; they don't think farmin' an' workin' air as excitin' or as honorable as the hunt an' the scalp trail. They want to be warriors. You take my advice an' get out to the settlements, straight." " Thank you. We will, we will," assured the Pro- fessor, heartily. " We shore will," confirmed Pete. The parties shook hands. TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 225 " I should think we could go with you," protested Cherry, with a pout, to the boys. " It's real mean, to send us off this way, when you're having such fun." " But we're white Injuns," explained Phil; " and our camp's the other side the mountain." " Can't have squaws 'round," added Chet. " We may have to take the war trail again. Squaws don't go on the war trail." " How romantic, to be living that way ! " breathed Miss Molly, admiringly. But Cherry tossed her head. " We aren't squaws, and we could live that way with you-all, just as well as not. Can't we, Mr. Grizzly Dan?" " Too much squaw talk," grunted old Dan. "Puck- a-chee. Adios to 'ee. Wagh ! " He turned his spotted pony, and left at a trot. With parting wave of hand the two boys also must leave; Betty the dun mule and Cotton-tail the pack-horse snatched final mouthfuls of herbage and came on after. Phil looked back just in time to wave again at Cherry, as she disappeared over the crest of the slope for the draw below. Grizzly Dan rode at fast rack or pace, as if making up for lost time; and after him trotted pack animals and his white Injun companions, with Bonita loping, tongue out, through the brush at one side or the other. This route also slanted down from the little plateau, into a valley, sparsely wooded, and inclosed by thicken- ing timber which rose high to the ridge on either hand. Through the valley trickled a small stream. 226 OLD FOUR-TOES Now the sun was behind a ridge to the west, quarter- ing before; for the day was almost done. Phil noted that they were following again one of those half- obliterated trails which old Dan so unerringly could strike. Now, while he was wondering if Dan was bent upon riding clear to the cabin, without a halt for camp, the valley opened to a basin, and upon his ears fell, in this wilderness, the familiar tinkle of bells! " Sheep ! " shouted he and Chet together, and Bonita loped with pricked ears. " Sartinly," called back old Dan. " Been hearin' 'em for an hour." The white dot of the herder's tent could be seen, where the canvas had been pitched at the farther edge of the basin, beside some pines and aspens. Over, jutted darkly in the twilight a bare mountain- wall, grim and lofty. Faintly sounded the herder's voice and the barking of his dog, as together they rounded up the sheep for the night. Phil and Chet looked for him, and could just descry his dark figure, trudging through the brush and rocks beyond the tent, while before him flowed the sheep. " May be Gus," said Chet. " Shouldn't wonder," agreed Phil. " Got here quick, didn't he!" At the tent Grizzly Dan dismounted. " Off packs," he bade. " Hyar's whar we camp. This coon smells mutton. He air wolfish. Old venison don't shine 'longside fresh mutton, wagh! Not for him." So speaking, he was busy at the lash rope of Betty, TROUBLE FOR FOUR-TOES 227 and the boys fell to at the lashings of Cotton-tail. With clap of the hand they turned the two animals loose, and followed them with the saddle-horses, stripped likewise. By this time dusk had descended, flowing from the hills; and across the sage, for the tent, rushed a dog, barking, shouted at and called in by its master the herder. "That's Gus all right!" exclaimed Phil. "And Kitty, too ! " And Gus it was, who now approached, crashing through the brush, in overalls and blouse and battered slouch hat, " hook " in hand and Kitty his dog im- patient at his heels. Bonita bristled, and growled; growled and bristled Kitty. "Shut up!" bade Gus. And " Well, how are you? I t'ought it wass you, by dose clothes," he greeted. " How'd you get in here so soon ? " " Joost trailed in. But I didn't come over Horse- t'ief Pass. Dere iss a better pass. Mebbe I have to get out, though." " What's the matter ? Injuns ? " " Naw. I am not afraid of Injuns. But dere iss a big bear. He iss eatin' up my sheeps, and I have not- ting to kill him with, and Kitty, she iss afraid of him." " What kind of bear? " demanded the two boys at once. " A very big bear," informed Gus, phlegmatic. " About as big as t'ree bears. If I had my gun un- 228 OLD FOUR-TOES busted I would fix him ; but now I am glad to see you come in, because you can fix him for me." " Wagh! " ejaculated old Dan. " This coon air too wolfish to talk o' killin' b'ar. What's in pot? " " Well," remarked Gus, calmly, as he gathered an armful of wood, " if you do not kill him for me den I can get some odder hunters. Dere iss a bunch of dem over yonder, looking for bear. That cowboy Buster is with dem, and they are killing everything in sight. I have been t'inking of going over and telling dem about my bear. So I guess mebbe I will." " Wagh ! " again uttered Grizzly Dan. " Heap talk on an empty meat-bag. Whar's yore carcass? I'll butcher some off while pot's bilin'. If yore pot ain't big enough, hyar's another." " Dere iss a wether hanging in that spruce yonder," directed Gus. " Help yourself. Yes," he continued, making a fire in his stove, " it iss a big bear. I heard dere wass one in here, and I t'ink he iss it, with four toes." " Old Four-Toes ! You'd better leave him alone. He's a medicine bear," warned Chet, as he and Phil peeled potatoes while Gus proceeded to make bread. " Well, he iss medicine that my sheeps don't like," claimed Gus, unmoved. " So I must get him killed." CHAPTER XVII THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS " WHAT war that about a big b'ar ? " invited Grizzly Dan, now after they had seated themselves upon ground and bedding, about the stove in the corner of the tent, and he had finished his first plate of mutton steak, fried potato, canned corn, etc. Bonita and Gus's sheep-dog had been tied short, apart, to avoid any fighting which might involve the masters also, as last year on the Circle K range, and that all attention might be given to the supper. " What war that about a big b'ar? " " He has been eating my sheeps," stated Gus. " It's Old Four-Toes," explained Phil. " Sartin," nodded Grizzly Dan. " What'd you bring yore sheep in this hyar park for? " " It iss a good park for sheeps," said Gus, coolly. " So I pay the goovernment to let my sheeps graze dis summer ; and my partner he tries anodder place. But I do not pay to let my sheeps be eat up by a bear." ;< That b'ar war in hyar fust. Besides, he owns this hyar country. He air a medicine b'ar. He ain't b'ar an' he ain't human ; he air more. If you pay the gov- ernment, you ought to pay him, too." " I pay the goovernment because sheeps eat goov- 229 230 OLD FOUR-TOES ernment grass; but the bear does not need the grass. He does not eat grass," argued Gus. " Wagh! Yes, he do," returned old Dan. " Least- wise, he eats roots an' he eats grubs that live on roots ! Yore sheep skin a country so nothin' can live thar. I tell 'ee, doesn't seem as if thar war any place whar a decent b'ar can live in peace, anyhow." " Well, dese are my sheeps, and I pay to be in here," declared Gus, unconvinced. " I don't trouble dis bear and if he troubles me more I will have him killed." "How many sheep has he taken, Gus?" asked Phil. " T'ree. The last time it wass right on the bedding- ground, 'fore dark, and I see him. Kitty would not go near him and my gun iss busted and so I drive him off with a stick. I tell him that if he come again I will kill him, and maybe he understand, for he has not been back. That wass night before last. He wass a very large grizzly bear, about as large as a cow. His foot- print show only four toes. I find the print in some mud." " What'll you kill him with ? " demanded Chet, wax- ing excited. " I do not know. But I guess I get dose hunters over yonder to kill him. They want bear. Or would you like to kill him? You can have him. I t'ink his pelt iss pretty good." Chet wriggled and twisted, torn between his natural desire and his acquired respect. " I dunno," he mum- bled. " I dunno as we'll stay." " He did us an awful good turn, back there with THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 231 some Injuns; and he helped some friends of ours," ventured Phil. " That air a medicine b'ar," rebuked Grizzly Dan. " He air not to be teched with steel, lead, or silver, by blade or bullet." " I will hit him on the nose with a club, then," in- terrupted Gus, stubbornly. " He had better keep away from my sheeps." " Wall, you handle him, an* don't call on us. But best thing you can do is to take yore sheep out o' hyar, an' leave him his roots an' his grubs. Whar air those campers you speak of? " ' Yonder, about five miles. They are foolish ; they leave fires and they almost shoot me from a mile away. They have no sense. And that cowboy Buster, who is their guide, I t'ink he has least sense of any," con- cluded Gus, vengefully. The night passed peacefully, much to Phil's relief. He and Chet slept out, under their buffalo robe; but old Dan, whose age seemed to be telling on him, slept in with Gus, under canvas and out of the little breeze. No Four-Toes disturbed the bedding-ground, near at hand. " Now for camp," spoke old Dan, as after break- fast they mounted. " This coon air half- frozen for a hot bath. But fust I reckon we'll ride through that 'ere camp I heared told of. Whar do you locate it? " ' 'Round that point and nort' t'rough the timber, into the next draw," directed Gus, pointing up the basin. " Shore, I see smoke in the air," replied old Dan, 232 OLD FOUR-TOES peering. " Wall, adios to 'ee. Take my advice an' let that 'ere b'ar be. He air big medicine." " So am I, if he does not leave my sheeps alone," re- torted Gus. " I will rap him on the nose." With a wave of the hand, to which Gus briefly re- sponded, the boys rode after Grizzly Dan ; and Bonita came gamboling, as if egging Kitty to follow and be thrashed. Betty and Cotton-tail ambled more deject- edly, for with the remark, " Hyar, now, can't have so many loafers trailin' along," old Dan had transferred to Betty the robes bedding, with some other " plun- der," binding them fast with the squaw hitch applied by his own rope. He retained custodianship of his precious pot and a chunk of meat ; but the slight load caused Betty's ears to droop, and Cotton-tail evidently feared for himself also. " Do you think Gus will kill him? " hazarded Phil, as they rode on. " He shore will, if he has to," asserted Chet. " You know he's heap bull-headed, Gus is. He's a Swede and he's not afraid of anything, when it comes to fight- ing for his sheep. Bear or blizzard, he'll tackle 'em singly or both at once. Wagh ! " "Wagh!" concurred Phil. " That b'ar don't calkilate to lose his scalp to any sheep-herder," said old Dan. " But sech things do happen. You got that black fox when his medicine war weak." Phil sincerely hoped that Old Four-Toes would not fall to the vengeance of the wrathful Gus; and he wished that Four-Toes would let the sheep alone, for THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 233 Gus, as Chet declared, was stubborn and fearless in de- fense of his flock. And as for these hunters, in the camp ahead that looked bad, too. It seemed a pity that in all this vast, unsettled country, not yet neces- sary to man, a big bear had no place into which he might retire and live unmolested, molesting nobody. Even Chet the bloodthirsty appeared to be feeling friendly toward Four-Toes, who now had grown to be rather of a personage, almost a partner. They rounded Gus's " point," and turned up a little gulch into the timber. They climbed to the top of the ridge here, and riding along for perhaps an hour, sud- denly were halted by an exclamation from old Dan. " Bear bait. Smell it? " he spoke. " I tell 'ee, this coon won't stand for sech doin's. It air off yonder an' not fur, either." Upon the nostrils of Phil, and by their wrinkled dis- gust upon the nostrils of Chet also, wafted a strong effluvium of decaying flesh; and as with Bonita and Betty and Cotton-tail, all faithful, they followed the gray trapper to the right, the scent waxed stronger. " Thar ! " declaimed old Dan, pointing before. " I did tell 'ee, didn't I! I s'pected. Thar it air good meat gone to earth, when it mought ha' been afoot or in the pot. Wagh! That sort o' work don't shine with us white Injuns." Here, in a little opening amidst the spruces, was a pile, partially torn apart, of what once had been car- casses, but which now was chiefly bones and hide. However, 'twas plain to be seen that they were not cattle carcasses ; hoofs and skull showed this. 234 OLD FOUR-TOES " What are they? Deer? " gasped Phil. "Elk, boy, elk!" corrected old Dan, gravely. " The noblest critter that ranges these hills. Can't you read sign any better'n that? Thar's horn an' head an' hoof an' hide for 'ee." " May be lion work, or winter killed ; got snowed in," ventured Chet, trying to be wise. " Bear bait, boy," reproved old Dan. " Jest shot down an' piled up an* left for bait." He dismounted. " Hyar's the trail whar they dragged 'em in ; I see some of it 'way back, an' it war what made me lookin'. Wagh! An' hyar's whar somebody climbed the tree, to wait for the b'ar to come. But he didn't come, I reckon don't see no sign o' butcherin'." " You mean somebody killed elk and piled them up, just to attract bear?" demanded Phil. "Shore they do," confirmed Chet. "And it's a mighty low-down trick. There's a law against shoot- ing elk, anyway; and they're no good in the spring, either." " Good b'ar bait ; that's what b'ar bait," growled old Dan. " Jest lookee hyar air four o' these noble animiles murdered, plumb murdered, left lyin', not used, to make a b'ar come 'round so's he can be killed, too. An' some fellow sits up in a tree an' shoots him. Now, I tell 'ee, that ain't Christian; 'tain't manlike, either. Wouldn't blame that 'ere sheep-herder for killin' b'ar in a stand-up fight, with a club, when the b'ar war eatin' his sheep or for shootin' him, for same reason, open-handed ; but this 'ere b'ar-baitin' wagh ! It air wuss'n chasin' 'em down with dawgs, it air. THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 235 Wall, they didn't get the b'ar. They fed the coyotes, air all. But we'll have to see 'bout this." " I call it a plumb shame," denounced Chet, flushed. " Wagh ! " growled Grizzly Dan. " It air not only hard on the b'ar, but it air a waste o' good meat which ought to be let run or else put in pot." He mounted abruptly, and with hasty hand turned his spotted pony, to retake the trail. And they left the disagreeable spot. From the verge of the downward slope forming the other side of the ridge they looked upon what probably was the draw spoken of by Gus. Here they paused, momentarily, for a survey; and scanning, eager to be keen-eyed, Phil thought that he could perceive, below, a thin film of smoke, as betokening a camp ; but Grizzly Dan, waving his hand at one side, directed brusquely : " More bait." " Ravens? " queried Chet. " Sartinly. Ravens air sign." They veered toward a hollow indenting the slope a spot where large black ravens were alighting or flutter- ing. It was not necessary to stop here; the evidences did not require a close inspection. But in the leafy hollow were several more carcasses of deer or elk, or both ; these a little fresher, as if being a later attempt. The ravens were feasting upon them. " Wagh ! " muttered Grizzly Dan. " It ain't Chris- tian, an' it ain't manlike." They descended the long, sparsely wooded slope, and at last, guided by the sound of voices, they rode into the camp itself. It consisted of two tents one large, 236 OLD FOUR-TOES with a vestibule or porch, wherein stood the dining- table; the other smaller. Much wood had been chopped; saddles, pack and riding, were lying about; guns and clothing and bedding were hanging in the trees ; and tin cans and bottles and other rubbish, relics of meals, were widely strewn. Remnants of deer and of grouse, discarded or held for consumption, also were visible. Horses snorted and cropped, in a meadow be- yond. The members of the camp were four three men, in khaki and corduroys, stretched in the sun, lazily smok- ing, and another, squatting by the fire and washing dishes. Breakfast was just finished. " Howdy," greeted Grizzly Dan, reining in at the edge, and surveying. " Good-morning, good-morning," responded the three men, surveying back, in curiosity. The squatting figure looked over his shoulder. " Hello, Buster," cried the boys. " Got a job? " "Well, if there isn't Chet an' Smith-Jones!" ex- claimed the figure, straightening and walking over to extend a browned hand. He was a small, wiry youth, with tow hair and blue eyes. Clad in gingham shirt, suspenders, overalls, and pointed-toed high-heeled boots, he bespoke the cow-puncher. " What yu doin' in this country? " " We're camping with Grizzly Dan." " Hardly knew yu in that rig. Look like yu might be runnin' a Wild West show or workin' for Buffalo Bill. Quit woollies?" This Buster, cow-boy and former rider for the Bar B cattle ranch, had the utmost THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 237 contempt for sheep ; and when, last year, the Bar B had become the Circle K of the sheep range, he had refused to join. ' Yes. Have you quit punching? " " Don't know. Say " and he lowered his voice, with a glance backward, " I'm dude wranglin', now. Got the blamedest outfit yu ever see. Wait a minute," and he raised his voice again, as he turned to the camp. " Here, gents, is yore bear-killer. This is the famous Smith-Jones this leetle feller. He doesn't wait to kill bear; he eats 'em alive." Thus designated, Phil must blush and squirm. As a tenderfoot at the ranch he had been dubbed Smith- Jones because this wasn't at all his name, and he had been invested with this reputation as a fierce bear- slayer because he knew nothing at all about bears. Now he knew more, in every way but he was not bragging. " Is that so? " queried two of the three men, while all stared. And the third bade : " Get down. Get down and have breakfast. While you're waiting you can tell us about it. We're after bear, ourselves. Cook, hustle these men some breakfast." He was a stout, florid man, with full face and baggy eyes and a crisp grayish mustache. His companions were younger one was slim and languid, the other was chubby. All were attired in the best of hunting costumes buttoned or laced leggins, knickerbocker corduroys, khaki skirts, visored caps, hobbled shoes. "We've had breakfast, thanks," blurted Chet; and Phil, too, felt annoyed at the imperative words di- 238 OLD FOUR-TOES rected to them and to Buster. Buster grumbled under his breath. " Have some more, then. How about bear ? Seen any?" " We aren't hunting- bear," replied Chet, curtly. 'There's a big old fellow in here we're trying to get," volunteered the slim man. " Seen him? " " We've seen how you're tryin' to get him ; an' it ain't Christian," addressed Grizzly Dan, direct. "Wagh!" " What's that, old man ? " The first of the three, the florid-faced, baggy-eyed one, spoke up sharply. " I say we've seen yore b'ar bait, an' it don't shine with us. It air no way to use a country." " It's against the law to kill elk, anyway or deer either, this time of year. Buster knows that as well as the rest of us. Everybody knows it," added Chet. " Shore," agreed Buster. " I didn't kill 'em." " There's no law in here," retorted the slim man, coolly, but with a laugh. " Who are you, old man mayor of the city ? " " I air a mountain man, wagh ! " replied Grizzly Dan, from his saddle facing the three. " I've traveled this hyar country over from the Missouri to the Co- lumbia, 'fore you war born some o' ye ; an' I never yet come to a spot whar thar warn't law. If it warn't the law o' man it war the law o' God which began when these mighty hills began an' which won't end till they end. When God made the world He meant some laws should be natteral to it, I reckon; an' one war, that it shouldn't be abused. I call killin' critters, without use THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 239 for 'em, an' leavin' 'em to rot, like you leave that 'ere b'ar bait, breakin' law. Yes, I do, I tell 'ee." Phil felt like clapping his hands; and Chet's eyes were sparkling steelly. Buster nodded his head. They all thought alike upon this subject. ' You're putting that rather strong, old man," an- swered the chubby one of the hunters, now speaking for the first time. " You've doubtless done a lot of such killing, yourself." " Mebbe so, mebbe so," assented Grizzly Dan. " I've wasted a heap o' meat, in my day. Thar war so much of it, an' so few of us. But now I know better an' I'm tryin' to tell 'ee. You come in hyar, from outside, an' you break: laws that people livin' in the country aim to keep. You think 'cause you air from a distance, an' won't stay long, 'twon't harm you an' what it do to harmin' the country you don't keer. I tell 'ee, that sort o' work won't shine ; it won't. If you can't live decent an' abide by the law o' the land, you ought to stay out." " We want that big bear, uncle," explained the florid- faced hunter. " He's a whopper, they say. We saw his track and it's as large as a coal scuttle ! " " Lend us your bear-hunter. Will you come, boy ? " invited the slim man. " Aw, I'm no bear-killer," stammered Phil, embar- rassed. " That was a joke. They just call me that, for fun." " Wagh ! " growled Grizzly Dan. " You'd better let that 'ere big b'ar be. He air no b'ar to be ketched by dead bait, an' he'll lead you into trouble. He knows what he air doin'; he air a medicine b'ar. Thar air 240 OLD FOUR-TOES Injun 'round, I tell 'ee, an' this country air no place for greenhorns. You get out, straight, or you'll lose ha'r!" " Oh, you're joking," laughed the men, easily ; but they glanced at Buster, and Buster eyed the two boys. " That's right," said Phil, aside, to him. " Chief Billy's Utes are in here. They had Pete and the Pro- fessor and Cherry." " They shore are liable to be bad," added Chet. They briefly recounted to Buster, but old Dan inter- rupted by a last hasty warning, as impatiently he started his spotted pony. " We'll risk the Indians, uncle, if only we get the big bear," had said the florid-faced man. " You're liable to get more Injun than b'ar, 'less you air mighty keerful," returned old Dan. " You'd all better pull out, straight, I tell 'ee. This coon knows sign when he sees it." " Got to tend to the hosses," vouchsafed Buster, back, and walking between the boys as they rode after Dan. " Say," he communicated, as soon as they were beyond hearing of the camp, " I've got the limit, for a job. Dude wranglin' is what I name it. Did yu hear him call me * cook,' an' tell me to rustle grub for yu ? Shore I'm cook; but I'm on day-herd an' night-herd both, an' they make me sleep in a separate tent, besides. When they ain't settin' the timber afire, they're shoot- in' holes in the atmosphere with guns that kill in the next state. Got about a ton o' ammunition. Wust set o' tenderfeet ! I was shore glad when the old man lit into 'em. That's what they think 'cause they're out THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 241 West here they can do as they please. I didn't pile that bear bait. Told 'em it was agin the law to do it. Now I hope they decide to pull out. They're scared, all right. Say, are all city folks like that? " " No," said Phil, " I should say not ! There was Ford, you remember, with the Bar B." "That's so," mused Buster. "I reckon there's a difference between people, the world over: some are O. K., an* some don't learn. But I don't want ary more job like this, where I'm bossed 'round an' treated like a servant, an' have to do all the work, an' nobody won't listen to what I tell 'em. Why, when they're out o' sight o' camp, they're plumb lost ; an* they start off in three different directions, an' each expects me to find him first. Jest had breakfast, when you fellows came, an' it was six o'clock or after, wasn't it ? " By this time they had come to the horse pasture, and Buster stopped to catch the animals. " So long," he said. " I'm nothin' but a dude wrangler. Hear 'em shootin' ? " A bullet whined overhead, glancing from a limb. " That's what they do shoot at a mark, never knowin' what's behind it ! Awful likely to coax a bear, ain't they! Won't be any game in the whole park, 'fore we get out! " So they left him dolefully chasing the horses. As if still irritated, old Dan led straight away, up the draw, at a smart pace of his spotted pony, his pre- cious kettle bobbing ; and as customary the little caval- cade formed behind him : Chet, and Phil, and Betty, and Cotton-tail, and Bonita panting at the rear. Now it seemed to Phil that they were actually on the 242 OLD FOUR-TOES home stretch for the cabin, and it also seemed to him that they had been gone from the cabin a long time. " Do you think those Injuns will give trouble, Dan? "he asked. " I do/' replied Grizzly Dan. " They won't get over the mountain, though," as- serted Chet, sagely. Dan grunted. " When do we get over? " queried Phil. "What mountain?" " Warrior Peak." " 'Most over now." That was a surprise; but as old Dan did not vouch- safe further explanation, as usual neither of the boys invited it. They knew that if they waited they would find out. So it was trot, trot, trot, down hill or on the level, and puff, puff, puff, up hill; with little conver- sation. The timber continued, from ridge to ridge, but old Dan never faltered in his course; and unex- pectedly emerging from one long stretch climbing a cedar slope which ran up between two hills, the two boys gazed forth upon the distant landmark of Red Chief! There he was, once more, lifting his crimson and shaven crown above the jungle, to the west; and in- stantly they looked for Warrior Peak. This was he, immediately on their left; they were now skirting his inner flank, for below and before lay the open patch that must be the park where stood the cabin! Mi- raculously enough, they were across Warrior; but really they had not crossed him, they had come around THE TENDERFEET BEAR-HUNTERS 243 him. And as if reading their amazement, old Dan grunted his significant grunt. " Thar it be," was all he said, and down they pressed. They struck a trail, which proved to be a fork of that trail which had taken them up over Blackfoot Pass ; for following it they came out at that edge of the little park exactly where they had made exit. Cotton-tail whinnied foolishly, as if in greeting to the familiar grazing ground; and Betty, trotting for- ward, shook herself vigorously, as if to shake off the dust of travel. " Wagh ! " cried old Dan, breaking his spotted pony into a gallop. " Hyar's home ! " But as he dashed for the cabin, across, flourishing his long rifle, about to fire his salute, craning his neck he peered right and left and cautioned to the boys just behind him : " Save yore ammunition an' spread out a leetle ! Hadvis'tors!" CHAPTER XVIII TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD OBEDIENTLY the boys deployed to right and to left, so that now in a line, with old Dan occupying the cen- ter, the home-comers galloped across the little flat. The cabin looked peaceful and untenanted ; no haze of noon fire upfloated ; but as they swung around and the front opened upon them, Phil saw that the wolf-pelt was gone. This probably was what old Dan had noted. Grizzly Dan did not slacken. He rode boldly, as if reckless of any rifle muzzle that might be waiting to stop him. Phil, peering for sign of friend or enemy, momentarily held his breath, thinking that he saw, from shuttered window or loosened chink or the brush of the background, a spurt of powder-smoke foretelling warning report. But each time he was deceived; and uninterrupted, unhailed by voice or shot, they rode at the gallop right up to the cabin door, where in white Injun fashion they pulled their horses short to the haunches. Old Dan alertly dismounted. "Wagh!" he said, scanning things rapidly. "Didn't I tell 'ee? Pelt gone, door forced, hyar air tracks! Wagh! What air this country comin' to? Sheep, an* b'ar baitin', an' shack robbin' I tell 'ee, people air gettin' too thick. Country air gettin' too civilized.'* 244 TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 245 " I should say ! " agreed Chet, much indignant. " Wonder if they took anything? Didn't break open the cache," said Phil. " Nothin' much to take," mumbled old Dan, ferret- ing about, inside and out. " No, didn't lift the cache. This coon doesn't build caches to be lifted. Took the wolf pelt. Can get plenty o' them, though. But sech doin's don't shine bustin' into a lodge an' makin' a mess of it." "Weren't Injuns, were they? Don't see any fresh moccasin tracks," argued Chet. " Might have been those beaver poachers we met, below, when we came in," proposed Phil. " Reckon it mought," mumbled old Dan. " Thar war two, but they did a heap o' trampin'. Wall, no great harm; but ha'r has been taken for less. Off saddle, off saddle, if you like, whilst I make a leetle circle for sign. Better be startin' a fire. 'Spect ye air wolfish. I'll leave you the pot." So saying, he untied his beloved kettle, and set it aside. Then he climbed again into the saddle, and turned his spotted pony (disappointed at the new chore) for the edge of the timber. This he rode, mak- ing circuit, his eyes upon the ground ; and while Chet and Phil were busy he vanished from their sight. The boys had a good fire going, and the pot almost boiling, before he appeared again, at a point upon which they had not figured, and galloped across the park for the cabin. " Plenty sign," he announced. " Found whar they come in ; two of 'em an' two pack animiles ; found whar 246 OLD FOUR-TOES they went out, in t'other direction." He hastily unsad- dled. " Come from below, an' air travelin' on through. Back-tracked 'em 'most to those pelt-thieves' camp, so I reckon it air they. Wagh ! I'm wolfish ! What's in pot?" " Water," giggled Chet. " You went off with the meat." " Pshaw, now ! " bemoaned the mountain man, dole- fully. " I do be gettin' old, that's a fact. Wall, hyar 'tis," and he unrolled the chunk of venison that he had been carrying. " Clap her in. Thar'll be more by night, after I've been to my corral." By the time that the meat was boiled, the cache had been opened, the housekeeping articles extracted, and the cabin refitted to its previous comfortable, even lux- urious state of furs ankle-deep. " Change yore moccasins," bade old Dan, as he suited action to the word. " That air what those gals'd have had to do, if they'd come along: had to set out the warm water an' the fresh moccasins, for the men folks. It air the squaw work." " Don't think they'd like that, extra well," answered Phil, imagining Cherry's prompt refusal. " Wall, we can fit on our own moccasins, an' hyar the warm water's waitin'," grunted old Dan, as he bathed his feet in the flow below the cabin. The boys imitated him. Thus refreshed (having bathed not only feet, but also face and hands) they ate all the meat, trusting to Dan's promise that there would be more by night. The afternoon passed with all feeling much at home, TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 247 loafing in the sun or in the shade, and soaking in the pool. Here the boys plashed around, casting off the effects of the long ride. The water was exactly warm enough, and was as soft and as caressing as a June breeze from the fields. The bottom of the pool proved gravelly, so that the mud did not stir up. Bonita also enjoyed the pool not once, but several times. And toward evening old Dan took a bath. As if rejuvenated, next he saddled his pony, and with his long rifle across his lap rode away. Asking him no questions, the boys let him go. Within about half an hour they heard the faint crack of his rifle ; and in about another half-hour he reappeared, trotting in with a deer carcass behind his saddle. He had been to his corral, as he called it. That evening they had venison steaks for supper. Behind distant Red Chief, in the west, sank the sun, his last beams lighting the mighty form of the sleeping warder of Warrior Peak. Thus assured that he had not moved or deserted, with plenty of " meat for pot " (as old Dan said), with the cabin as shelter, and with a bath and fresh moccasins and change of stockings and even of underclothing, the inmates of White Injun Camp might be content, ready for a peaceful, satisfy- ing night. Afar was trouble; afar were sheep and bear-baiters and marauding Utes, and the beaver poachers who had meddled with the shack and stolen its black wolf pelt. " Wagh ! " grunted old Dan, rising from where he had been squatted, smoking his after-supper pipe by the fire. " Bath an' fresh moccasins an* full meat-bag an* 248 OLD FOUR-TOES stars make this chile want to dance medicine, it do." He stowed his pipe in his buckskin shirt. " Come on," he invited. " Come on, now Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow- gh! Hay-ah-hay! " And he started in. Started Phil and Chet, joining behind him; so that again they three circled the fire; knees bent, flat soles thudding, bodies swaying, to the chant : " Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow-gh ! Hay-ah-hay ! Hay-ee-hay hah-ah-hay hah-ah-hay ! Whoo-oop ! Ow-ow-gh ! Hay-ah-hay ! Hee-ah hah-ah hi-yah-hah ! Whoo-oop!" "Thar! " panted Grizzly Dan, exhausted, as he quit. " Reckon I mought eat a leetle, 'fore turnin' in. That 'ere dancin' shakes down yore meat-bag an' leaves too much space." " Anything special on hand for to-morrow ? " queried Phil. " No ; reckon we'll keep camp, an' let the hosses rest for a day or so. I'll dress out that fox pelt a leetle bet- ter for 'ee, an' thar air some patchin' to do, an' bullets to run. When Injuns air 'round, this chile likes to keep plenty bullets on hand, for Sally, case she calls for 'em." ' " Shan't follow up those pelt thieves, then?" prof- fered Chet. " No. Let 'em go, boy. Tain't for us to seek trouble, 'less we air needed in it. 'Sides from that thar wolf pelt, which war wuth nothin' 'cept as a medicine to keep other wolves away, we ain't got more reason TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 249 to chase 'em up than we had before. Time to have in- terfered war when they war in camp an' ketchin' beaver. Ought not to make a pussonal matter of it, now, jest 'cause they meddled with us." That sounded like sense, and like right; and yawn- ing, the boys staggered for their bunk, leaving old Dan toasting a slice of meat as a night-cap, so to speak. They sank amidst the soft furs which made their bed, and drawing the buffalo robe over them, had time only for one more big yawn, apiece, and they were asleep so soundly asleep that they did not know when Bonita curled up on their feet, there to be present at the morn- ing. The day passed. Old Dan pottered about, attending to odds and ends ; and he melted and molded into bul- lets a bar of lead. This he performed deftly, with long- handled ladle and mold, the grip of both protected by being wound with hide, charred in spots. From the mold the bullets were dropped into a pan of water, to hiss and sink. About this hiss was something ominous ; and about the steadily increasing layer of the bright pellets was again something ominous. " Won't need all those, will you? " asked Phil, idly. " If I do, it air better to need 'em when you got 'em than to need 'em when you haven't got 'em," informed the old trapper. Thus he pursued his warlike preparations; but his spirit seemed greater than his flesh, for he plainly was worn from the late jaunt beyond the mountain. Yes, old Dan needed the rest as much as did the horses, and speaking for them he had spoken for himself also ! 250 OLD FOUR-TOES However, here were time and place for resting; and above rested likewise Warrior Peak. Phil and Chet wandered about on foot, inspecting various nooks. Toward evening all took another bath in the warm pool. At supper Grizzly Dan, as if wax- ing uneasy again, broached further plan of action. "How air ye rested up?" he asked craftily. " Fine," they replied. " I war thinkin'," he said, " I war thinkin' o' talon' another leetle trip acrost country. Seem' that old Cheyenne reminded me. He and I air old acquaint- ances, from a time when we both war young. Wagh ! " "Vie jo Cheyenne?" " Yep. But his name air Chief Woopotsit, which' means white wolf. We fout agin each other in Forty- one, over yonder 'bout fifty mile. It war a big trap- per-Injun battle, an' it war when Frapp war killed* Mought ride over an' see the place, to-morrer or next day." " All right," they agreed, glad. And "Who licked? "queried Phil. " Nobody. It war even, but they killed Frapp. We war forty trappers, makin' meat in the Little Snake country, after beaver season, summer o' Forty-one. Frapp war a German an' he war our captain. Makin' meat air killin' buff'ler, understand. Wall, we war startin' out from camp, in the mornin', when over the hill came a big herd o' bufFler, in a stampede, an' we knew what war up. We dived for timber; half started in fallin' trees, for a fort, whilst rest of us stood guard. Our squaws ran screamin' for another TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 251 hill. An' sure enough, close after the bufFler came the Injuns more'n three hundred Sioux an* Chey- ennes, in their war-paint an' war bonnets, with a beauti- ful Cheyenne gal leadin' 'em. The bufFler didn't do us much harm, 'cept they did stampede with 'em a few loose mules an' hosses that we didn't have time to gather. But we war forted, an' we war mountain men, wagh ! Injuns know better'n to charge mountain men. Costs 'em too much blood. But we fit all day. They surroundin' our willows, shootin' in; an* we shootin' out. We killed 'bout sixty o' them, an' they killed four o' us but one war Frapp. He war complainin' that he couldn't see nary Injun to get, an' stuck his head out from behind his stump, an' a bullet hit him in the eye. 'Bout four o'clock the Injuns quit, an* rode off, for the north. They'd been down hyar to fight the Utes an' Snakes. We went out an' scalped those we'd killed, an' our squaws came off their hill an' helped us. Then we buried our men, in a cache with some o' their possibles, an' we lit out mighty quick for safer quarters. Wagh ! But it war a great fight ! Woopotsit remem- bers." " I should say ! " uttered Chet, excited. " Have you been there since ? " asked Phil. " Onct. We buried Frapp with eighty dollars in his pockets, an' 'bout twenty year after I went back to look for it. But somebody had got ahead o' me. Any- way, 'twarn't thar, though I found his bones. But thar war somethin' else. He knew of a gold mine 'round hyar in this country, an' he'd made a map of it, an' I wanted that map. Didn't find it." 252 OLD FOUR-TOES ' The other'person got it," proposed Phil. Grizzly Dan shook his hairy head. "Nope; they war after the money, I reckon. If they'd found that 'ere map they'd been prospectin' 'round hyar, an' I haven't seen anybody. Only few of us knew 'bout that map, anyhow if he had it. Mought have carried it in his head. We trappers 'didn't need maps on paper; we made our own trails, without dependin' on maps." " Gee, I'd like to go over and see that battle-field, anyway ! " exclaimed Chet. " There'll be arrow-heads and bullets and things, to find." "Yep; an' the old fort air thar, yet an' the hill whar the squaws stayed an' screeched. 'Twar a big fight. Guess mebbe we'd better go to-morrer, then," Thus was it agreed. Therefore in the morning they cached away the camp equipment, except what they would take. For this trip they took more than upon the war-trail when they traveled light. 'Twould be two days over, and a day or so there, and two days back even if they came straight back. With the bedding, and provisions, and the iron pot (which Dan, rather unwillingly, resigned to the back of Betty) the packs were quite respectable in size. Inasmuch as Betty and Cotton-tail would fol- low anyway, an ample outfit, if not too heavy, might as well be put upon them. So good-by was said, once more, to the cabin and the pleasant little grazing spot with its hot and cold springs and its pool. Old Dan, leading, entered the timber at a different spot from that entered for the TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 253 trip over the mountain by Blackfoot Pass, and all the morning they rode, up slope and down, through tim- ber and brush and open the boys without the slight- est idea of their location. Occasionally showed Red Chief, in the one direction, and in the opposite showed \Vnrrior Peak each where the other ought to be! But Grizzly Dan knew. After the noon halt for lunch and for rest all round, they traveled until late afternoon, when, veering to one side, old Dan abruptly halted at a spring trickling down to join a stream which they had been following. "Thar!" he grunted, swinging stiffly off. " Thought I'd make it 'fore night. This air one o' the best springs in the country." " Medicine spring? " " Nope. Jest plain cold spring." And cold it was icy so that it stung the tongue, and sweet and clear. " Thar's a trail from whar the cabin stands, to the old battle-field; a trail runnin' on up into the Green River region," volunteered Grizzly Dan. " But we air takin' a short cut." They were too tired to " dance medicine " this night. They slept, beginning early Chet and Phil under their buffalo robe, which was so much better than common tarpaulin; Dan under his; Bonita upon the boys' feet. Past noon the next day old Dan, halting upon the brow of a low hill, pointed before him. " Thar it air," he announced. Miraculously, almost, had they arrived, then. They were upon the verge of a shallow, gently rolling valley, 254 OLD FOUR-TOES shimmering in the sun, blue-misted ranges forming the far horizon. The valley was green with herbage; through it wound a stream, hedged in spots by willows and aspens. Not a sound arose. The valley might have rung to shot and whoop and yell, but to-day it was as peaceful as any Illinois or New York farm- land. " Knew I could find it," remarked old Dan. " This air it. Wagh ! Through that little pass yon, at upper end o' the valley, is whar the buff'ler came down, fol- lered by the Injuns. The biggest clump o' aspens an' willows, middle o' the valley, is whar we had our camp, an' whar we forted. That meadow war our hoss-pasture, an' thar war beaver in the stream, an' buff'ler feedin' on the grass 'fore we killed 'em off. That round hill, above camp, toward t'other side o' the valley, is whar the squaws went, to look on an' see which licked. Wagh ! We'll go in." So saying, he urged his spotted pony down the slope. All eyes, the two boys followed. This was a romantic spot. Phil grasped tighter his carbine; and he felt a martial thrill as, trapper himself (at least, in trapper garb), he rode for the trapper-Indian battle-field. " Hyar ! Lookee this ? " bade old Dan, pausing at the bottom, on his way to the stream and the aspen clump. They trotted for him. " Hyar's yore Injun skull." " Is it ! " exclaimed Chet, eagerly; and he was off his horse to pick it up. It certainly was a skull a human skull, browned and ancient. TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 255 "Aw is it?" queried Phil, doubtfully. Chet climbed aboard with it, and together they ex- amined as they rode. " Sartin, sartin," assured old Dan. "Round us war the Injuns, in the rocks an* brush an' trees. 'Tain't more'n hundred an' fifty yards from the fort to hyar, an' I reckon some o' us popped this fellow; or mebbe he crawled this fur. Thar war a big Injun in red breeches right about hyar, an' shouldn't wonder if it's his. Is thar a hole in the middle o' the fore- head?" " Looks like one," they answered. " Wagh! It air one o' my Injuns, sartin," asserted old Dan, satisfied. " He stuck his head up an' I saw him, an' so did Sally." "This Sally?" "No, boy; Sally Fust; this rifle air Sally Second. That war over sixty year ago, remember." Chet fondly carried the skull ; Phil in vain kept his eye out for another. " Hyar's whar we forted," resumed old Dan. " You'll see the fort, too, or I'm heap mistaken." They forded the stream, and entered the copse. Grizzly Dan dismounted. " In hyar," he directed, as afoot they fol- lowed him. " Hyar's an ax mark. An' see this aspen trunk, how it's layin' ? We aimed to fall 'em so they'd drop to make a sort o' pen." The outlines of a rude enclosure, thick-grown in- side as well as out, could be traced; the trunks of as- pens and of a few pines, forming it, being scarred and crumbling. 256 OLD FOUR-TOES " Where was the grave?" prompted Phil. " I'll show 'ee. I'll show 'ee the very stump whar Frapp war posted, when he war killed," declared old Dan, now much interested. " This way " and he trudged through the brush. " Hyar ! " he called ; only to add sharply : " An' somebody's been at it, too ! Somebody's been liftin' it. Thar air more cache-lifters about. Wagh!" They hastened to him, and found him standing, lean- ing upon his long rifle, and looking upon a small area of recently trampled and overturned earth, in an open- ing amidst the willows. " Do 'ee see ? " he complained. " They've been dig- gin', they have. They have mixed up those thar bones. Do'eesee?" ' That's right," said the boys, nodding, and prop- erly indignant. " Wagh ! " " Pore doin's," muttered old Dan, now busily ex- amining. " Can't they let bare bones be. Hyar war Frapp, an' Scofield an' Morris an' Jones brave men all, an' I don't reckon they object to bein' mixed ; but it air a desecration. Those thar beaver poachers ! It war those thar beaver poachers ! Wagh ! It war ! Same tracks as back at the shack. Have to see 'bout this." Like a dog on a scent he threaded away, through the brush, the boys after. " Hosses out hyar," he called back. " Hosses out hyar, not many hours ago ; an' a camp a night camp! Hyar's the trail they came; hyar's the trail bearin' away. Sech doin's don't shine with this coon, an' he air goin' to see about it." "Trail'em?" asked Phil. TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 257 " Sartin." " Do you think they got anything in the cache? " " What war thar to get, 'cept bones? " " I didn't know. But what made them dig it open again?" " Kin savvy, boy. I air the only one alive 'cept old White Wolf, who fout hyar on that day ; an' I air the only one alive who helped bury Frapp. But those thar pelt thieves must have had it handed down to 'em, some way, 'bout that gold mine an' they war lookin' for the map. Or niebbe they war lookin' for the eighty dol- lars. That story o' the eighty dollars has gone fur an' wide ; the story o' the gold-mine map has been limited. So I don't know which. Wall, thar war nothin' for 'em to get ; I've been hyar ahead of 'em by many a year. They can break open my cabin, an' I let 'em ; but when they break open this other cache an' don't have decency to close it up agin, over the bare bones o' brave men I've eat an' trapped an' fout with, I gets riled. So we'll jest take the trail. It air warm. It air this mornin'." " Better cover the grave again, hadn't we ? " sug- gested Chet. " We had, boy." They did laying the few bones back, and filling the loose soil in on top of them. Old Dan removed his hat, a moment; the boys had no hats to remove, for they were still riding in handkerchief turbans; but they bowed their heads, as the grayed mountain man bowed his, and all stood in silence. " Thar," breathed Grizzly Dan, presently. He 258 OLD FOUR-TOES brightened up. " Now 'spose you want to see that stump. Come along. It ought to be over hyar. It war hyar once. It war a big stump; a big pine stump." Sure as a bee to the bee tree was Grizzly Dan, for " Found it," he announced ; and they went to him. He was standing beside a venerable stump, stripped of its bark, chipped and bored by bird and worm; a stump disintegrating and partially buried in its own debris. * This air it," declared the old trapper. " Frapp war forted behind this, an* he war peekin' out, that- away, try in* to get sight o' some Injun out yonder. Thar war an open space through the willows. The bullet came, an' struck him in the eye, an' over he fell without a word. It war one o' the last shots o' the day." To put himself exactly in the place, Phil stepped be- hind the ancient stump, and there squatted, in his buckskins and moccasins, another Frapp. He, like- wise, peered out imagining, all in an instant, the scene : the trapper leader, couchant, longing for a shot at the enemy; the smoke, the yells, the long-haired mountain men within, the painted, feathered reds without, the squaws upon the hill, and the valley in up- roar and turmoil. But while he was picturing, and seeking to be that very Frapp, his line of sight, pene- trating the brush before, encountered an unusual ob- ject. Was it? Or wasn't it? Up he sprang, and with TROPHIES OF A BATTLE-FIELD 259 an exclamation, while Grizzly Dan and Chet witnessed, curious, he strode for the spot. It was and he grasped it I " Here's an old rifle flintlock, too! " he cried. CHAPTER XIX " HAVs BEEN LIFTED ! " THE rifle was lying wedged in the fork of a pine around which aspens were thickly springing. This one pine was fifty yards from the stump ; and only by the merest accident, only by chance as he happened to glance aside a little and a tiny vista opened through the many twigs and branches, did Phil notice tree and weapon. Now reaching in, he carefully lifted the gun from its resting-place. Eager as usual, Chet was pressing close behind him. "Let's see," he begged. "Say! It's an old one, isn't it?" The rifle must have been there many years. In out- line it was almost the counterpart of Grizzly Dan's Sally ; but rust coated with heavy layer the barrel, lock, butt-plate and all other metal; and the curved stock was pitted and dull. However, in drawing it forth from its niche Phil discovered that it had been pro- tected by the pine branches interlacing above it, and that it was a solid frame still. " Maybe it's a trapper rifle left from the time of the fight," hazarded Phil, gloating over his treasure. " A regular old flintlock. Wish it would shoot." " Hammer's down into the pan, boy," said old Dan. 260 "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED !" 261 " She's been shot an' warn't reloaded. That air queer. Wagh! Makes me think it air Frapp's gun, his-self. Only a dead man leaves his gun go unloaded, in Injun country. If that air Frapp's gun, it air a Hawkins an' it air marked with an ' F ' on the stock." " Might be an ' F/ here; see? " traced Phil. " Lemme have it," bade old Dan. " Wagh! I be- lieve she air a Hawkins. Hawkins rifles war a leetle shorter in the barrel than the ornery run o' rifles but they had an awful long tongue to reach with ! Sartin that air an ' F.' Yes, sir," and he examined the piece further ; " that air Frapp's gun, it air. Now, I declar' ! My old capting's gun." " What made you think it might be his, at first?" asked Phil. " 'Cause his gun war a Hawkins, an' it war liable to be saved ; but I never could find out who got it. The guns o' the other three warn't anything special, but I war always curious to know whar Frapp's went to, an' nobody could tell me. I 'spect some fellow tucked it in thar, while we war makin' the cache after the battle; an' in the hurry to get away 'fore the Injuns mought return he forgot it an' left it. An' he mought have died 'fore he could come back in after day. So thar it's been. Time I war hyar, I never poked 'round much ; it air bad medicine to meddle with a place like this. Wagh ! Let's get out." ' Trade you my skull for your gun," proposed Chet, to Phil. " No, you won't," answered Phil, satisfied. " Don't 262 OLD FOUR-TOES know how I'll carry it, though. Tie it on a pack, I guess/' "Can you cock it?" " Afraid to try. When we get it home we'll oil it good and see." " It's been hyar sixty year an' more," reminded old Dan. " But I reckon those thar locks air good yet ; Hawkins locks war prime. 'Spect you'll find some grease an' patchin in that patch-box in the stock." " Can't get the cover up ; rusted fast," complained Phil, prying with finger-nails, and then with a twig, at the brass disk which in the right side of the stock de- noted the patch-box. Verdigrised by age and damp- ness, it refused to budge. However, there was no time now in which to apply knife-point, or to fuss further with the historic weapon, for old Dan was impatient. " Thar's a warm trail waitin'," he reminded, at the outskirts of the copse, seizing the lines of his spotted pony. With Chet's aid Phil stowed the rifle in under the ropes of Cotton-tail's pack, and Chet tucked his skull into the slicker behind his saddle. Old Dan barely waited. He led off diagonally from the face of the copse, and turned abruptly for the ridge beyond. Fol- lowing his course, the boys found that he was parallel- ing a line of fresh hoof marks, pointing for the ridge. Thus were they again upon the war trail, this time in pursuit of the red man and the black man, to see what other mischief was being done. Grizzly Dan rode at a trot. After him rode in single file Chet and Phil, and trotted Betty, Cotton-tail, and "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED I 1 ' 263 Bonita. The trail conducted across the meadow, for the foothills opposite those foothills from which the cavalcade had approached, an hour before, to inves- tigate the battle-ground and to find the cache dis- turbed. The ground was soft with seepage; the trail of the horse hoofs was plain. Phil glanced back, half turning in his saddle, for a look at the battle-field. Copse and attendant willows along the stream, and the meadowy valley flanking, and the hills beyond, again lay lonely and silent, as they were accustomed to lie throughout the days and nights since beaver times. When he faced about, old Dan had halted with lifted hand, and upon his pony headed across the trail at right angles was gazing down intently at the ground beside him. " Fat meat in the pot an' none to eat it ! " exclaimed old Dan, as the boys arrived. " Hyar's whar the trail changes, an' it's this coon who knows the reason why. See that thar new track? " From the right had come into the trail a single line of tracks ; and the trail, bending sharply to the left, had joined with it, as if following it. The boys nodded. V Cow track," muttered Phil Grizzly Dan snorted. " Wagh, boy! Do 'ee think you're on a farm? It air cow kind that never knew a brand 'cept feather an* lead. See how those 'ere fore hoofs sink in?" "Buffalo!" ejaculated Chet. " Buff'ler an' old bull at that," approved Grizzly Dan. " One track whar thar used to be thousands. One track an' bloody-minded pelt thieves on its trail. 264 OLD FOUR-TOES See how these hyar fellows turned off? They know, well as I do ! " " It is buffalo, is it? " ventured Phil, scarce believing. "You ask me that, boy? Wagh! It air buff'ler, 'cause it carries all its weight on its fore hoofs ; it air bull, 'cause it sinks deeper'n cow; it air old, 'cause its hoofs air chipped an' splintered an' it air alone." " Has to be alone," prompted Chet. " Right, boy. I forgot. It air alone 'cause it air the last o' the race in hyar." " Must be the old bull you told us about." " Sartin. I knew it war over in this section. 'Spect mebbe those pelt an' meat thieves knew, too, an' that air why they struck for hyar. But he's been rangin' further into the hills." " Must have come out to visit the battle-field, the same as the rest of us," suggested Phil. " Aw, he wasn't living sixty years ago," scoffed Chet. " Dunno, dunno," mused Grizzly Dan. " He air heap old." " Then what do they want to kill him for ? " pro- tested Phil. "Who?" " Those two men." " Wagh ! 'Cause they can ; an' they'll try to sell his hid an' head. Thar'll be other folks willin' to break the law, an' buy. But we talk squaw talk. Ride, ride ; they won't kill him if we get thar fust an' show 'em what we think." " We'll day herd him and night herd him, so they "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED!" 265 won't get a chance/' declared Chet. " There's a thou- sand dollars' fine to kill a buffalo." " Fine's not the idee," corrected old Dan. " The idee air this breakin' o' the law, an' this killin' a critter that has a right to live." " The last buffalo, too. His meat's no good, any- way," chimed in Phil. " It's a shame ! " Changing direction with the new trend of the trail, they rode. The trail now followed the base of the hills. Only occasionally could be noted the split hoof prints of the buffalo amidst the solid hoof prints of the horses; but no side trail branched off, and evi- dently the poachers were hard upon the heels of the quarry. At the head of the valley the combined trail veered, to enter a side draw, for the hills. Therefore veered also the second squad of pursuers. Up the draw, and into another and up, led the trail, ever ascending, choosing as by animal instinct the easier route; and finally it struck a low pass which, crossing this divide water-shed for the battle-field valley, opened into wooded country below. Not always had the trail been plain to the eye, as in the boggy ground at first. It traversed grass, hard soil, and rock; but even though at times it seemed to have disappeared utterly and they themselves seemed to be riding blind, as often as they lost it so often they found it again, right underhoof. The old trapper was an expert trailer. Evidently experts also were the two riders preceding. Phil was impressed with the realiza- tion that with such a pair upon his path the poor old 266 OLD FOUR-TOES buffalo bull stood small show, as small as Old Four- Toes with the bear baiters luring him. Upon the pass over the divide Grizzly Dan halted his pony and rested in the saddle, to survey the landscape before. Up here the sunshine was strong, streaming level from the west ; but below lay the shadow of even- ing, for the afternoon was almost ended. " That buff'ler aims to get out o' the country, shore," commented old Dan, as the boys drew up beside him. " Acts as if he smelt Injun, he do, an' war in a heap hurry to cache himself. Trail airn't much fresher'n when we started on it, either; so I reckon he'll be killed, butchered, an' tanned 'fore we arrive. Wagh! An' we'll have to camp soon, we will. Light's failin', an' this chile air powerful wolfish for the pot." "There's a smoke!" announced Chet suddenly, pointing. Phil's eyes leaped to the spot; for he and Chet had had it drummed into them by their leader that to white Injuns smoke in .the wilds was important token. In- stantly a more explosive "Wagh!" than customary burst from Grizzly Dan's bearded lips. " Signal smoke ! " he declared shortly. " Watch, now ! Injuns at work ! " The smoke was ascending in a spiral, interrupted by distinct puffs; and distant though it was, across the stretch of timber falling away below and rising again, apparently from another ridge beyond it wafted clearly outlined against the northern sky by the setting sun. Another explosive and guttural " Wagh ! " of intense "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED!" 267 emotion issued from the old trapper, " A coup ! " he exclaimed. " Some Injun air signaling a coup! It air a coup smoke, boy ! Ha'r's been lifted ! I tell 'ee, that air a coup smoke ! " Phil's blood ebbed, and in the second before it surged back again he felt an odd chill; for the old trapper's voice and mien carried even more alarm than did his words. " Aw " attempted Chet, incredulous, and was in- terrupted. " It air ! " repeated Grizzly Dan. " This chile knows a coup smoke when he sees it. He's seen it too fre- quent in his life. Thar air hostiles about, I tell 'ee. Ha'r's been lifted. Some o' those young bucks have broken loose, jest as I feared, an' thar's bad work afoot." He paused, as if planning, while his twinkling eyes swept right and left. " What'd we better do, then? " invited Phil, trying to keep his voice steady, and to be steady himself. Where were the Professor and Pete and the girls; and defenseless Gus ; and Buster's party ? But Buster's party were well-armed, and did not have Cherry and Molly, or sheep. " I war thinkin'," mused old Dan, simply. " We air three mountain men leastwise, we air playin' at bein' three mountain men ; an' when hostiles air out, an' emi- grants an' greenhorns air on the road, mountain man's duty, like duty o' any man, air to ride an' j'ine in the fightin', on the white side. Wagh! But you air two boys, after all an' I don't reckon as I ought- course, we can jest cache ourselves " 268 OLD FOUR-TOES " No, sir ! " protested Chet, stanchly. " You tell us what to do and we'll help you do it." " That's right," supported Phil, at once, and was relieved to say so. "Good!" approved the old trapper. "Wagh! That's talk; that's mountain-man talk for 'ee." Still he hesitated. " Ought to follow round by this hyar ridge," he muttered. " High ground air the best. But thar's the trail ; two men a-ridin' it ; they may be meat thieves an' wuss but they air human bein's an* they may not know Injun sign. We can follow the ridge an' get 'round into the country whar we left them thar gals an' that thar Professor or we can get into it jest as quick by the low ground whar these two fellows we're after air headin'." Again he hesitated, doubtfully. " One way is as quick as the other, then ? " queried Phil. " High ground air the safer for us ; an' hyar air the place to quit the trail, if we quit it ' " I guess, if it's all the same, we'd better follow the trail as long as we can and try to catch up with those two men and warn them," said Chet slowly, flushing. " We don't want to forget those other people, in that first country but we can do both by the ride, you say." " Sartin. That air, we can try." " The trail and the lower route, then, sure ! " spoke Phil. " Doesn't matter which is the safer for us; we ought not to think of ourselves, especially only to get through." "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED!" 269 " Wagh ! " grunted Grizzly Dan, nodding approv- ingly. " Come on." He clapped the pan of his flint- lock, to shake the priming firmer, and digging his moccasined heels into his spotted pony's ribs plunged down from the verge where they had been halted. After him filed the cavalcade. " Wish I'd brought more cartridges," deplored Chet. Cedars here predominated. The trail of the buffalo and of the horsemen was plain in the litter of dried fronds. Old Dan led at rapid pace, half trot, half springy walk, and the succession of shorter slopes forming the one long slope flowed by rod after rod in quick succession. The mountain man rode fearlessly, evidently not expecting immediate danger ; but his eyes, as indicated by the slight movement of his head, were busy peering from side to side, exploring the silent recesses of the fragrant, low-branched cedars amidst which descended the trail. Noting his attitude, reas- suring though the half-careless pace was, Phil likewise kept eye and ear acute, thumb upon hammer of carbine held across saddle-horn. Before him " plugged " in the wake of their leader the more stolid Chet (but he, also, watching alert) ; behind followed the two pack animals and Bonita. At every open space affording any outlook Grizzly Dan slackened, a moment, to sweep the horizon. No fresh smoke or other sign ap- peared. From the sunshine they entered the shadow of the lower levels. An hour's ride brought them to the bottom, apparently, of the divide. Here must Grizzly Dan halt again; for the trail divided, as if buffalo and 270 OLD FOUR-TOES horseman had turned in the one direction, through the intercepting valley, and horseman with perhaps a led animal or two had turned in the other. " That air bad," mused Grizzly Dan. " We must take ch'ice. BufFler changes direction like as if he mought have smelt Injun or somethin' else hostile ; his trail war warm, an' one man goes on to run him down, an' t'other takes t'other way, with the hosses; likely to make camp or to meet his partner 'round the hill. Wall, we'll have to let the buff'ler go ; trail o' the man with the pack-hosses air the trail for camp, an' it air the direction o' the country beyond, too. But keep yore senses primed for sign. I tell 'ee, Injuns air been hyar'bouts. See that mule's ears ? " Sure enough, Betty the dun mule was staring about with ears erect, nostrils widened, tail stiffened. Yet her attitude was not so much one of real alarm as it was one of strong suspicion. And so her master inter- preted. " They've been hyar'bouts," he repeated, " but they air not close. Wagh! Come." Now obliged to abandon the buffalo bull to his fate, whatever that might be, they turned to pursue their rescue of human beings. As Dan had intimated, be- yond the possible camp of the two poachers lay perhaps those other camps also. For an hour they rode in the new direction. The valley narrowed but not to pinch out entirely ; it gave way like a pass to another valley or draw joining at an angle, as if indeed the trail was leading around the hill. The narrowing was dark and brushy, with a thick "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED!" 271 bunch of pines shading it; the sunlight long had left it, so that it brooded chill and somber. At slackened pace they approached it, old Dan and the two boys alike impressed with a certain serious aspect which seemed to enshroud the place. However, neither Indian nor Indian sign had again appeared. Phil told himself over and over that he must not be nervous old Dan might have been mistaken Indians did not go raiding, in this day and age, Nevertheless, as a mountain man he realized that this was a good place for an ambuscade. Suddenly an energetic snort from Betty the mule made him fairly rise in his stirrups. Simultaneously old Dan reined his spotted pony. The cavalcade halted short, and the riders hastily turned in their saddles. Long ears jutted forward, eyes bulging, nostrils swelling, sides heaving, fore feet braced and haunches aquiver, Betty was standing stock-still, tense, as if she might have seen a bear in the trail. " Wagh ! " muttered Grizzly Dan cautiously, craning and peering, while he slightly shifted his rifle, in readi- ness, and hitched forward his powder-horn. An odd trembling pervaded Phil, as they waited, expectant. But he saw that Chet was sitting firmly, knees pressed to his horse, gun poised easily, and horse and self turned a little sideways for better sight and action ; and so he himself advanced Pepper just enough to provide space and extend the firing-line, and sat as firmly his heart thumping. " Stay back," bade old Dan, in undertone. " Drat that 'ere mule. I don't sense Injun. She do. That 272 OLD FOUR-TOES smoke may have been hyar, some'eres ; but if thar war any coup counted Injuns'd be fur away, by this time. They'd be too scared at what they'd done. Doesn't seem natteral they'd be waitin' in thar. I tell 'ee : you boys take the pack hosses 'round, up above ; I'll scout on t'other side. Can't be many Injuns thar; if you come on pony tracks, signal me; if you get attackted bad, fort by shootin' the pack animiles an' layin' be- hind 'em/' " What about you, though? " asked Phil, as he and Chet seized each a lead-rope. " I air a mountain man, an' can take keer o' myself. If I get thrown cold you'll have to take keer o' your- selves, best you can. But I reckon I can out-Injun any Injun o' to-day, an' in case o' trouble we'll make a j'inin', somehow. Old Sally an' I'll get through. Go on up the hill. We'll cover each other, acrost an* acrost." He branched off, descending as for a detour; the two boys turned up, for their detour. As they rode, they watched him and the little patch of timber. Old Dan crossed the sagy, brushy gulch, for the farther side. With trickle of earth and clatter of occasional dislodged stone, the boys led their pack- animals along the opposite or hither side. The pine clump bided silent and dark, betraying not its secret. And the suspense was painful. Proceeding slowly, with eye and ear and even finger- tips set to respond to the least alarm, they had arrived above the foot of the little grove, when Chet, in ad- vance, stopped. With a warning " Shht ! " he pointed "HA'R'S BEEN LIFTED!" 273 at the ground before Medicine Eye's nose ; Phil looked, and saw tracks hoof tracks! If hoof tracks, they probably were the pony tracks about which old Dan had cautioned. They were heading right into the patch of trees. CHAPTER XX MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE IT was not a single-file trail; it was a trail broader and more confused, as if several horsemen might have ridden down, in a hurry, two or three abreast or in irregular formation, picking each his own route. Chet raised his arm, to catch old Dan's eye if possible ; and then might they see that old Dan was off his horse, its bridle-lines about his elbow, while he scrutinized the clump of trees. He made a fair mark, but he did not seem afraid. He instantly noted Chefs sign; and pointing down again Chet with a motion of the hand indicated that here was a trail running into the trees, and by four fingers would indicate also that the horses numbered four. That was clever of Chet. Grizzly Dan nodded. He advanced a few steps, as if looking for sign there likewise; and suddenly mounting, he rode straight down for the clump. " Aw look at that! " gasped Chet. " Cover him! Hold yore gun on those trees an' fill 'em full o' lead if they make a whimper! " With their guns at their shoulders, along the barrels they tensely watched both Dan and the copse. " Don't shoot him/' murmured Phil. " Bullets are liable to glance." " I'll take care and so'll he," answered Chet, grimly. 274 MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 275 On down his flank of the narrow draw rode Grizzly Dan at plunging trot; now he was near the timber patch he was almost inside the first outlying pine or spruce. Phil held his breath, for the shot that should be coming now if ever. But neither shot nor wild yell broke the utter silence ; and in among the trees them- selves entered the fearless old trapper. The growth was dense enough to swallow him amidst its shades of eve, and his picturesque figure on the spotted pony disappeared. With the muzzles of their guns the boys continued to cover the ambush place. Phil strained eye and ear for token of any struggle, but naught alarming be- trayed itself, naught more alarming than the fact that old Dan stayed in. He did not reappear from those somber depths. They waited, more and more uneasy, and Chet began to growl and fidget. Slowly they lowered their weapons. " What's the matter, you think? " said Chet. " Don't know. Don't hear him or see him. Do you ? " replied Phil, now alarmed again. " Uh uh," muttered Chet. So they stared vainly at the rapidly darkening timber patch. " I'm going down/' declared Chet, abruptly. " You stay up here and cover me." "No, sir!" protested Phil. "I'll go. You're a better shot than I am. You stay up here and do the covering, yourself." " Both go, then. Leave the pack animals here and 276 OLD FOUR-TOES spread out," grunted Chet; but just as they had dropped the lead ropes and were heading Medicine Eye and Pepper down for the mysterious copse, at the lower edge old Dan rode out. With a circular motion of his fringed arm he waved them to come on, below him. Re-grasping the lead ropes of Betty and Cotton- tail, gladly they rode down, Betty still snorting and afraid. Grizzly Dan met them, about two hundred yards below the timber patch or about where they and he had separated for the reconnoiter. Now the sun had long sunk and twilight was fading. In the dusk the old trapper's bushy but lean visage bore a strangely 'drawn, set, and well-nigh fierce expression. " What's the matter? Any Indians? " asked Chet, quickly. " None thar." " Didn't that trail go in ? We found a fresh hawss trail, pointing right in, down the hill." " Went in, an' went through. How many went in ? " " Four, we thought." " Nine came out." " Nothing in there, then? " " You stayed so long we started to go in after you," added Phil. " Wall, I had to look round," explained Grizzly Dan. " Let's off saddle an' packs, an' camp a bit." " How about that other trail ? " "Which one?" ' The one we were following when we struck Injun sign. This one." MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 277 " Wall," said old Dan, hesitantly, " it's petered out/' " Where? Doesn't it hit the timber? " " Some. But off packs, off packs ; an* unsaddle. Time to camp." " Shucks ! Hate to quit," deplored Chet, as they proceeded to strip mule and horses. " No water here, either." " Wall, we airn't quittin', boy," answered old Dan, still hesitant. " But the man we're trailin' has quit." Something in Dan's tone halted their fingers in their tasks ; and with an " Oh ! " the two boys looked upon him. " Why ? Did the Indians take him along? " queried Phil, awkwardly. " Not exactly, boy ; not all of him. I found him. He's in thar. They took his hosses, though, I reckon." A chill that was not only the chill of the night swept in upon the little group. Phil felt it. "Was that the coup?" demanded Chet, in odd, carefully even voice. " It war," replied old Dan ; and Phil caught breath as if braced against a dash of cold water. Now he and Chet knew. Old Dan continued : " You see, when you sighted four hosses goin' in an' I sighted all, an' more, makin' a trail out, rememberin' that coup smoke I pretty nigh could guess what mought have happened. So in I went an' all I was afraid of war that you boys mought come after me. What war done must have been done 'bout this noon. 'Spect a couple o' Injuns lay in that thar timber patch, an' when 278 OLD FOUR-TOES the man we war trailin' rode in, unsuspecting they wiped him out. They made a coup smoke to signal the rest o' their band, who rode over that ridge on yore side, an' down, and all lit out in a hurry, up t'other side. They took the plunder 'long with 'em. Wagh ! They did!" "Did they take him?" ventured Phil. It was time to know the truth. " Nope," said old Dan, simply. With trembling fingers he unfastened a knot in a lash-rope. " That's what war the trouble that air what kept me so long. They didn't take him; wisht they had. But I did the best I could." " Oh ! " gasped the boys. " Who was it? " queried Chet. " That thar red man. I 'spected it mought be either he or the black man. Black man must have gone 'round t'other way, after the buff 'ler. He's safe ; or he air not. May have got him, too." Chet interrupted. " Come on ! " he exclaimed, aflame with purpose. " What do we stop here for ? Aren't we going to warn those other people, in the park ? Come on ! We don't camp, do we ? Throw yore saddle on, Phil ! " "Wait, now; jest keep cool," reproved old Dan. " Got to camp but not for all night. Half an hour from now, an' nobody can follow a trail 'cept on hands an' knees, feelin* for it. Thar'll be a moon, boy, after a bit; an' with hosses freshened we can take the trail at a trot. So I reckoned we'd turn the hosses out, an* fill our meat-bags, an' cache our packs ; an' by the time MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 279 we war ready agin the moon'd help us, an* we'd get thar all the quicker." Chet simmered down as swiftly as he had boiled over. " All right," he said reluctantly. "How far is it?" asked Phil. "Whar?" " Over across ; the other side the mountain, where we saw those parties." " 'Bout thirty mile." " Are the Indians heading that way? " " Mought an' mought not. Hard to tell jest whar they're headin'. They'll travel fast, at fust; they're scared at what they did. Scalpin' airn't common with this generation ; an* it war done by young bucks, too, 'cause it war done very clumsy. Wagh ! They'd better not have tried it at all. I tell 'ee, sech doin's don't shine, for e ther red or white blood, whichever it air that goes bad. But now one o' you lead a couple o' the bosses down further into the bottom o' the gulch. Thar's some water tricklin' through, I noticed. An' t'other can be collectin' wood, an 1 we'll eat. I'm wolfish." " No danger here, then, is there ? " remarked Phil, as he took a rope, to make the trip with the horses. " No. Injuns air scared, I tell 'ee," assured old Dan. " Scared as any white man'd be. They wouldn't stay 'round hyar." Nevertheless, it was with a creepy feeling, and a comforting grip on his carbine, that down in the deeper gloom of the gulch-bottom Phil waited a moment while his horses noisily sucked at the thin stream. The 280 OLD FOUR-TOES flicker of fire, above and awaiting him, looked good; and lie willingly returned to it. Chet and old Dan had started supper, and the camp was almost cheery. Nobody referred again to the tragedy in the timber patch ; their thoughts were upon the future rather than upon the past. Thirty miles or more away were Gus and perhaps Buster and camp and perhaps, oh, perhaps, Cherry and Molly and the Professor and Pete. To hard-riding Indian outlaws, thirty miles was little. " Eat, eat," bade old Dan. " Eat for all night an' mebbe all to-morrow. We've got business ahead that won't let us stop till we ride to the end or leastwise " (and he attempted his old-time chuckle) " till we get stuck plumb in the middle." " Strip, do we ? " asked Chet, succinctly. He was not much of a talker, at a crisis, was Chet ; he acted. " Cache everything 'cept what we carry in us or on us," replied old Dan, succinct, himself. " Pack animiles'll follow; but packs can't." So, after a hearty supper of the venison brought from the shack, they three went to work upon a cache. With that marvelous sense which seemed to overlook nothing, Grizzly Dan ha'd evidently marked a spot near by, where a shelving rock out-thrust from a slope ; and here in the dimness they dug with ax and knives and sharp sticks and shoveled with tin plates, until they had made a cave, the shelf left as roof. Toiling, they stuffed it full with the camp equipment retaining only a buffalo robe apiece, for bedding, behind the saddle. Even Grizzly Dan's beloved pot must be resigned. MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 281 " That air a terrible pore cache," criticised the old trapper, dubiously, as they did their best to scatter the earth and to make the covering of brush inconspicuous. " Blind man'd see it in the dark. Cache ought to be leveled smooth an' a fire built on it; or live sod plao-d agin its mouth ; or some sech trick. But don't reckon many folk'll pass this way 'fore we come back. Wagh ! It air leetle to risk an' leetle to lose, anyhow, in a case like this." " There's the moon," warned Chet, alert. " Saddle up," responded their leader, as they hoped that he would. Before the moon was fully above the horizon, they were crossing the shadowed bottom of the gulch and were en route to climb the opposite slope, into the brightness now flooding the high ground. Grizzly Dan of course had slightly the advance, to pick the trail. Horses' noses to his girths, the boys, eager, pressed after, one on either side; and as had been expected, Betty and Cotton-tail, declining to be deserted, fol- lowed, traveling bare and light. Bonita soberly trotted after, a shaggy shape scarcely to be seen in the sage. The top of the ridge was in the full shine. Changing direction upon it, they rode along it until they crossed the trail from the timber patch. Without a word old Dan turned in the deep, plain hoof tracks of that hurrying, guilty band, and the stern ride was actually begun. Across the broad level minor divide, here, and down into the next draw, where already the moonbeams were 282 OLD FOUR-TOES penetrating, led the pony trail. At steady trot which would eat up the miles faster than any mixture of spasmodic rush and enforced rest, the little cavalcade pursued those who had made it. " Wonder if we'll get there? " spoke Chet. " May not be needed," reminded Phil. ' That thar party with the two gals ought to be out o' the park, if they did as I told 'em to," grunted old Dan. " Cowboy acted as if he war goin' to take his party out, too. O' course, they can give a pretty good account o' themselves, in a scrimmage, if they have a chance. Sheep herder air likely to lose his ha'r." " Pshaw ! Gus ! " bemoaned Phil. " Well, he won't either, if he has any chance," de- clared Chet, stanchly. " But his gun was busted." " It air jest a few bad hearts doin' this bad hearts in some o' the young fellows who don't exactly reelize, an' who air egged on by some o' the old men who don't keer," volunteered Grizzly Dan. ' They air layin' up a heap o' trouble for themselves." Had the ride been upon an errand less serious than that of saving lives, Phil would have enjoyed it greatly. Even as matters were, he could not help appreciating the strangeness and the beauty of it. The light of the moon almost full flooded the open brush of flat and of draw, streamed in among the timber, and everywhere evolved tender light and startling shadows. The world was silent. Miles of its rolling landscape was deserted, apparently until, again, rabbits nibbled amidst cedars and sage, occasionally deer went trotting MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 283 and bounding, a coyote surveyed from hillock or rock, and shapes unlisted slunk and vanished. Little more had been uttered, when in a silvery draw old Dan checked his pony. " Nigh one o'clock," he said. " Can tell by the Big B'ar. It points like a clock. An' I'll tell 'ee 'nother thing ; the trail air pinchin' out. We've been followin' nine hosses; now we air followin' five. Did 'ee see whar they've been adroppin' off, back thar? " " No ; 7 didn't/' confessed Phil. Chet grunted similar acknowledgment. This brief halt bothered him ; he wanted to move right along. " Wall, I did," drawled old Dan. " That air Injun way, when they think they'll be followed. These fellows'll be droppin' off, an' droppin' off, till we'll be on the trail o' jest one, an' that air likely to be a loose hoss, of no 'count. Wagh! Don't this chile know sign ? He do. We'll quit this hyar, or we'll be ridin' cl'ar into Canady on a wild goose chase. We'll quit this hyar, an' we'll make a shorter trail to warn those thar white folks. That air our bus'ness, anyhow." With that, he turned at right angles, up a side draw. " We shorely ought to warn 'em," agreed Chet, soberly; and he and Phil turned also. As for Phil, he was utterly lost; and he presumed that Chet was in the same fix. They could only depend upon Dan to use his best judgment and get through by the quickest route. Making their own trail, they three, with Betty and Cotton-tail and Bonita toiling after, now rode again, in the moonlight, amidst timber and sage and in frequent grassy park, sometimes high above 284 OLD FOUR-TOES a slumbrous land, and sometimes inclosed by rock and slope equally as slumbrous. Slowly the moon de- scended into the west, marking, for Phil at least, the passing of the hours ; slowly, as waned the moonlight, the sage and timber and meadow and eastern sky brightened with another light ; and with limbs stiffened by the saddle and faces stiffened by the chill of the night air, in the pink of the dawning, to twitter of the wakening birds, upon a piny crest the little party halted their stumbling horses, while old Dan peered over the country below. " Wagh ! " he exclaimed instantly. " Somebody's on the move." And he pointed. Below, amidst the misty morning which barely re- vealed their outlines, two mounted figures were travers- ing the valley. "Indians?" " No. Whites. 'Spect we'd better head 'em off. May need 'em." And down upon weary pony dashed old Dan ; and down dashed the others. But the two horsemen were traveling at rapid gait and bade fair to keep their distance. Not until, half- way, old Dan's ready flintlock spoke with sudden pene- trating " Crack ! " as signal, did the horsemen ap- parently notice the efforts at pursuit; but now inter- preting the summons, they paused and waited. Upon them thudded the little squad buckskin-clad scouts bearing important tidings. "How?" greeted old Dan, reining short as he arrived, and reloading. " How, yourself? " retorted one of the riders. MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 285 He was the hazel-eyed ranger, the forest ranger who had been met beyond the slumgullion, outside the park and oh, ever so long ago as it seemed. The other rider was he was the black man! The black man who with the ill-fated red man had occupied the beaver camp, and who with the red man had (accord- ing to sign) been trailing the buffalo. The ranger was drawn-faced, weary-eyed, and alto- gether worn, but resolute. He carried a carbine across his saddle-horn; in holster at his right thigh, a six- shooter. The black man was sullen, behind the thick sable whiskers which characterized him. His arms were fastened by a rope passing across his back from elbow to elbow. And now it could be seen that his rifle had been transferred to the ranger's sad- dle, for balancing the empty carbine scabbard, at the opposite side was slung a scabbard with weapon in it. " Traveling early, aren't you ? " remarked the ranger, glancing from old Dan to Chet, and from Chet to Phil, and evidently noting the telltale condition of man and horse. " So air you," retorted old Dan. " Do you want this man's pardner ? " " I shore do. Seen him? " " Yes, I've seen him. But you don't want him." "Why?" " Somebody else got him." "Who?" " Injuns." "What? Frank?" It was the black man who 286 OLD FOUR-TOES spoke, as if the words had been startled out of him. " Where'd yot* see him? " "Yonder," informed old Dan, briefly. "Beyond whar you an' he separated. We know all about you. We know whar you been an' what you war doin' ; an' we war on yore trail, stranger. Wagh, we war ! But now thar air a hotter trail." "You say Indians? Did they have him or ?" and the ranger stopped significantly. " He'll never steal another pelt," answered old Dan. The bound poacher muttered through his beard, strongly moved. " Pshaw ! " murmured the ranger. " It's an end I don't wish for any man. I'd rather have turned him over to the law. But what's that about Indians ? Have some of 'em gone bad? " " Bad 'nough to lift ha'r. An' what's wuss, thar air more white folks in hyar or thar war. Seen any sign?" " Why yes. At least, Gus the sheep-herder (we passed his camp yesterday) said there were a couple of other camps across the next ridge. One had some girls in it." "Oh, jiminy!" breathed Chet; and Phil's heart sank. " Wagh ! " grunted old Dan. " That air about ten mile yon, then." He gathered his lines. The boys settled in their saddles, again. " Hain't seen Injun sign, have ye? " " Knew they were in here three or four days ago, traveling through. Yes, and we saw some smokes last MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 287 evening. Didn't we? " and the ranger appealed to the black man. The black man nodded, darkly. " Looked as if somebody was trying to signal shore did. I didn't have time to answer. Might have been Indians, or might have been campers or surveyors." "Where?" " Over there." " Wagh ! " said old Dan. He whirled his drooping spotted pony. " Come "on," he bade, to the two boys. "Wait," called the forest ranger. "What's the matter with our going, too ? " He urged after them his mount and the mount of the black man. " If there's any work ahead, we're in it." " Better untie me, then," grumbled the black man. " I'll untie you soon enough." Now they all rode on together. " I was taking this man out," explained the ranger, amidst the jolting trot. " Been trailing him off and on for a month. Caught him with the goods on yesterday noon. Beaver pelt behind his saddle ; mighty suspicious deer carcass tied fast ; was after that old buffalo bull too or I'm much mis- taken. Now have got him dead to rights. Catching beaver killing deer killed buffalo cow this spring. Was hurrying to get him out so could come back in and corral his pard and the plunder. Guess Injuns got ahead of me." " Reckon they did," agreed old Dan, shortly. " An' if they don't do more I'll be heap glad." " Told Chief Billy when I saw him he'd better not trail so far with his crowd. Couldn't watch 288 OLD FOUR-TOES him. Big country to be ranger and game warden both in." " That's right," said Chet and Phil. The black man rode without opinion voiced or mani- fested. The route led down the valley, retracing the course along which the ranger and his prisoner had been hur- rying. The dawn brightened in sky and amidst pine and spruce scattered along the valley's slopes, and over sage and brush and meadow forming the bottom-land. In a golden glow so strong that it almost cast a shadow in that glorious moment just as the sun is heralded by a fanfare felt rather than heard, old Dan turned and through trembling aspens scaled a little rise which might form the one end of the valley. All fol- lowed. At the top the sun burst upon them. A widely rolling sweep of brush and timber hedged by snow- seamed peak and mighty rock-wall lay before. It looked familiar to Phil. Was that not Warrior Peak, against the western horizon? " I know ! " began Chet, evidently thinking similar thoughts ; when from among the straggly jack- pines of the very swell upon which they were hesitating bolted a wild figure afoot, to stagger, gasping and half blindly, uttering urgent hails, for them. "Wagh!" exclaimed Grizzly Dan. " Hyar's trouble." It was Gus the herder: Gus, with torn blouse and overalls, with no hat, with leg crimsoned as by a wound, with lungs heaving and lips dry, with face wet MOUNTAIN MEN TO THE RESCUE 289 by perspiration and scratched by twigs, and with scarce breath or strength for panting : * " Quick! Injuns dey raid my camp and shoot me, and dose odder peoples are 'bout t'ree miles yonder. I run to tell dem. Quick, you ! " CHAPTER XXI WHITE MEN AGAINST RED QUIVERING with exhaustion, Gus clutched at a saddle-leather and steadied himself. Old Dan's queries came short and quick. "When did it happen ?" " Last night. My dog, and my hoss, and my sheeps, dey gone. I run " "How many?" " Four or five. Dey " " Where are those other people? " " 'Bout t'ree miles across, over dere. I run " "Who are they?" " Two camps togedder : that cowboy Buster and his party and a party with girls in it. I run " " Wagh ! Get on hyar." And old Dan was off his spotted pony. Chet and Phil protested simultaneously with: " No. Give him my horse. I'll ride bareback." But old Dan stayed not. He was swiftly fitting a rope loop about the jaw of Betty the mule (who stood patiently), and by the time that Gus had climbed pain- fully into the saddle of the spotted pony even before the boys were fairly alive to the change the old trapper had vaulted upon her. " Wagh ! " he uttered, clamping her with his buck- 290 WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 291 skin legs. " I rode Injun 'fore any o' you war born. Come ! " And clapping Betty with his moccasined heels, forth to the lead he sprang. Down from the billowy swell they all hastened after, at a trot. Grizzly Dan sat well his naked mule, guid- ing her with the rope loop which encircling her lower jaw supplied him with a single rein; and Betty acted as if trained to the emergency. The black man, elbows still tied behind his back, rode stolidly. And last, save for Cotton-tail and Bonita, upon the back of the spotted pony Gus sat lax and uncertain, but holding hard, with occasional mutter as his wounded leg twinged, or as he thought upon Kitty, horse, and sheep. " Thar's smoke," called back Grizzly Dan. " Thar air two smokes one camp, one signal ; one white, one Injun. Come on." " Come on ! " echoed Chet. And they pushed their flagging mounts. The sun was well up, flooding with golden beams the vast rolling expanse of timber-land, park-land, and crag-land into which they were plunging. Before, over the tree line at a mile or more distance, up-wafted the bluish haze of smoke ; and to the right, not more than a mile, as from a ridge arose a column, heavy and substantial, and as distinct as a water-spout. "Coup smoke, again?" asked Phil, as he urged Pepper to the spotted pony's tail. " No, boy. Jest a sort of assembly smoke, I reckon. But it means hostiles." Old Dan seemed to indicate, by his persistent pace, 292 OLD FOUR-TOES that if they would reach the camp they must hurry. The route through an uneven country necessitated numerous little detours, to pick the easier way; but Phil well knew that the easier way was the quicker way. Nevertheless, the ride seemed interminable. At each open place and from each vantage point he peered expectantly, only to be disappointed ; and it was at last a glad surprise when on a sudden they rounded at a trot a timber shoulder, to witness almost within hail before and slightly below, beside a few aspens and a little stream, the tented camp and the moving figures of men and girls. " There they are ! " exclaimed thankfully he and Chet together. And the hard-riding squad raced gal- lantly down. The campers had seen them coming, and were curiously eying. Breakfast was just over. Cherry and Molly appeared to be washing the dishes, but they stopped and stood and waved welcome. Buster was not in sight. However, his three hunters were there, with their tents; and the Professor could be dis- tinguished and Pete's big hat. " Hello," greeted the girls, frankly glad, to the two boys. " We thought you were away off, by this time." " Anything the matter ? " queried the Professor, blandly. " Bear must be after them," remarked one of the Buster party, lightly and lazily. Old Dan paid no attention to comment. " Got to get out o' hyar," he ordered abruptly, almost ere he WHITE MEN AGAINST RED had drawn rein. " Thar air hostiles 'round an' this air no place." " What do you mean, old man ! " demanded, amidst the quick astonishment, the elder of the three city hunters. " I mean yore ha'r air in danger ; an* the ha'r of every one of us, if we stay hyar. Get out, pronto. Hurry, now," and old Dan was off his mule. " Oh, Phil ! " appealed Cherry, wide-eyed, gazing upon him. "Is it so? " "Yes. SeeGus?" " Nonsense ! " attempted the spokesman of Buster's party. " You meant " but he, also, noted Gus's ex- haustion and wound and paused to listen to what Gus was saying. " Yes ; and I had no gun. And dey killed my dog, and my sheeps, and shooted me in my leg, and took my hoss. It was last night. I run to tell you peoples ; I run all night, and den I met up with dis party." " Oh, how romantic ! " gasped Molly, scarcely know- ing what she said, and clinging to Cherry, both white- faced. But they were not the only white-faced mem- bers of the camp. " I'll go tell that Buster an' help him fetch in the hawsses," said Pete, acting at once ; and away he ran. " Found my pardner scalped, too, they say," in- formed the black man, morosely, to the city hunters. Now convinced, they scrambled to their feet. The words, coupled with the entrance of this party led by an old man on a naked mule and conveying a wounded refugee, began to pierce the first natural doubt. 294 OLD FOUR-TOES " I declare ! " uttered the Professor, helplessly. " What do you want us to do, uncle ? " invited the spokesman of Buster's three, poised ready for any answer. They were all right, those visitors, in this crisis. " Can't we fight 'em off? " " Not hyar." Grizzly Dan, leaning his rifle against a limb, was bustling to collect the scattered baggage. The boys and the girls helped, and the ranger fell to. " Not hyar. Bad place to fort; it air over-looked by too much high ground, an' cover air pore. We must get out, quick." "All right. Where to?" And they, likewise, joined the workers. Now the Professor, finally rally- ing from his bewilderment, gathered, in haphazard fashion, various odds and ends. " Don't I get untied an' off this hoss ? " complained the black man. " Might as well sit where you are/' returned the ranger. " Whar to ? " repeated Grizzly Dan, answering the other question. " Fur as they'll let us ; can't tell how fur that may be. We've these two gals an' a wounded man to look after." " Whew ! Wish we had more cartridges ! " said a second one of the Eastern hunters. There was trampling of hoofs, and in across the meadow galloped the horse herd of the two camps, Pete and Buster driving them on. Buster was pale and excited, but wasted no words. " Now, wouldn't this beat yuh ! " he scolded, as he and Pete rapidly threw on the pack saddles and ad- WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 295 justed them. " Ought to have saved some o' that tin can ammunition." " Why? You short? " asked the ranger. " Short ! " snorted Buster. " Those fellows shot off about ten thousand shells, so's not to pack 'em home again ! Now they've got as much as five apiece, they've jest discovered." Pack saddles were on; so were the other saddles. " Leave anything you want to, of ours," suggested the stout hunter, " if there isn't time or if we're to travel light." " 'Twon't be necessary. We're about cleaned out, anyhow. These other folks ain't got much," grunted Buster, as with Pete and the ranger he built a pack while old Dan and the boys built another. "What's that?" questioned old Dan, suddenly, of the Professor, who was laboriously tying to his saddle a lumpy sack, for which he seemed scarcely to have space. " These are various specimens, mainly mineral and geological," answered the Professor, mildly. " I be- lieve if I can fasten them securely they will ride all right ; don't you ? " "Wagh!" exploded old Dan. "Rocks, you say? Better leave sech useless plunder, anyhow." Obediently the Professor detached the heavy sack but he opened it and selected several of the specimens apparently dear to him, for thrusting into his already bulging pockets ! Now old Dan was again upon the bare back of Betty the mule, and was waiting impatiently for the march 296 OLD FOUR-TOES to form. There was mounting by all ; and saying not a word, but seeing that the company were ready, out he rode in the open away from the few aspens, to pause a moment and survey around about. " 'Nother smoke yonder," he muttered. And he said, to the serious faces clustered behind him : " Pack animiles, gals, wounded man, an' that 'ere prisoner in the center; rest o' yuh flankin' an' closin' the rear. Ought to keep bunched. We'll get through, but may have to stop a bit an' fort. Fust thing air to strike high ground. Wagh! It air." He led off, straight across the meadowy little flat; and at an amble the company fell in : Phil and Chet on right and left, as next flankers ; then the Professor (who had been awarded the black man's gun) and the ranger; then two of the city hunters; then, at the rear, in a line, Buster and the third hunter and Pete. Thus the three pack animals and Cotton-tail (who traveled free), and Cherry and Molly, Gus and the black man poacher, were surrounded by an armed cordon. " Why didn't you folks go on out, after we told you to ? " asked Chet, rather irritably, of the girls. " We told you thar war likely to be trouble." " Fiddlesticks ! " retorted Cherry, with surprising smartness. " You didn't tell us anything; it was Griz- zly Dan. I suppose we ought to have minded him; but you're just boys dressed up, and I think we know as much as you do. Anyway, papa wanted to stay and look for more stones; and then we met those other campers ; and so we all stayed in together." WHITE MEN AGAINST RED " And it all was very romantic, until you came and interrupted," sighed Molly. " We couldn't help interrupting. We didn't bring the Indians," reminded Phil. " And we've been riding all night and most of this morning to rescue you. That's a great way to talk about being * interrupted ! ' Wagh ! " "Wagh!" agreed Chet "Such talk don't shine with this chile. We're savin' yore h'ar, gal." " Fiddlesticks ! " again retorted Cherry. " We don't have to save our hair, yet. And I don't believe these Indians are so bad. They were nice to us, and the boys were very polite, and real handsome." " Yes, indeed," sighed Molly. " And romantic, too." The company were ascending the southern flank of the shallow valley wherein had been pitched the com- bined camps. At the top stretched before an undulat- ing plateau, open and sagy, bounded at the farther side by a long wall of rim-rock red in the sunshine. Old Dan briefly turned his head, to enjoin, with crisp warn- ing: " Injuns yonder. I feared it. Close up an' do as I say." And he added : " Hyar come a couple. We'll keep on a bit an' see what air wanted." Mounted figures were visible against the sky, on the crest of the rim-rock; and searching, the boys could descry two figures making way at a gallop through the brush, as if to intercept the company. Old Dan slightly changed the course, almost to parallel the rim-rock, and continued as if not noticing; 298 OLD FOUR-TOES until, as the mounted figures arrived within two hun- dred yards, he threw up a hand as token for them to halt. They did so. " You two boys come with me ; rest o' you watch sharp, an' don't be scared," bade old Dan. With Chet and Phil he rode forward and he looked more Indian than the two Indians themselves, for they were equipped with saddle and bridle, and he sat bare- back, with only the rope thong. But Sally his faith- ful and deadly rifle lay now shifted to the hollow of his left arm, convenient to his shoulder. " Whilst I talk, keep yore eyes on me, an* on these Injuns, an' on those other Injuns; an' at the fust sign from me or the fust suspicious movement 'mongst any of 'em, hyar or thar, hold with yore guns quick as light- nin' an' don't let these two fellows stir an eyelash," were Dan's injunctions. "All right," answered Phil; and Chet, assenting with his characteristic short nod when undertaking important work, added : " One of them's Charley Pow-wow ! Wonder if he's gone bad." With old Dan slightly in the advance, between them, they rode'at a trot, then at a walk; and the two Indians approached at a trot, then at a walk. Yes; one was Charley Pow-wow, in his wonted overalls and shirt and hat and moccasins. The other was a youth of about the same age, but wearing only moccasins and leggins, naked from the waist up, painted with zebra stripes of red and yellow diagonally laid from shoulder to waist, while one half the face was of the red, the WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 299 other of the yellow. His white horse also was daubed with the paint. Altogether he was a fearsome ob- ject. Both Indians carried rifles and wore full cart- ridge belts. When within about twenty feet old Dan halted and again threw up his hand; the two Indians halted. Old Dan spoke a sentence in Ute; but Charley replied in English. " My people say that you must go the other side of the mountain," he announced, without preamble. " All this shall be Indian country like it used to be. We never gave it up ; it has been stolen from us. Now we have come back in to stay." " You tell yore chiefs that we air on the trail out an' we do not want to be stopped," answered old Dan. The painted Indian broke in with a long and furious speech, punctuated at the end by a sweeping gesture. The boys could not understand a word of it, but they understood the gesture which spelled destruction and defiance. Old Dan, swaying in his seat as the guttural syllables rolled from his tongue, replied in the same language. And Charley then resumed: " No. It is best for you to turn about and go as fast as you can to the other side of the mountain. You cannot pass this way. The figure on the mountain has spoken to our old men and has said that this side shall be the hunting grounds of the Utes again. No white persons shall be allowed. There is room for the white people somewhere else. The Indians have very little room, and no place to hunt. My people have waited a long while for the mountain spirit to 300 OLD FOUR-TOES wake up and speak to them. But he has done so. You had better go quick. I mean it." " Bah ! " grunted Chet. " What's the matter with yuh, Charley! You're loco." Charley gave no indication that he heard or even that he noticed these two boys with whom he had ridden and worked and even slept " You gave me that medicine bag, remember," re- minded Phil, calling up an incident of his Bar B days. " I've got it yet." "Wagh!" reproved old Dan. "I'm doin' the talkin'." And he addressed the Indians again : " You say to go to the other side o' the mountain. Then why have you killed that red-headed man, over thar ? An' why have you raided that sheep camp, yon- der?" " I do not know about any red-headed man," replied Charley, calmly. " And we do not want any sheep, or anything white, on this side. The mountain is angry, say our medicine men. This is to be red country, not white. That is why it was made. We do no harm here. We can hunt and live as we used to live, and not bother anybody." " The soldiers will come in an' drive you out. You tell yore chiefs that the quicker you get back to the reservation, the better. Yore medicine men talk fool talk. Thar air no red country any more, an' never will be, 'cept on the reservation. I'm an old man, old as any of 'em, an' I know." " If it is fool talk, we will see," answered Charley, soberly. " Nobody is using this country ; we would WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 301 like to use it ; the soldiers will be a long time driving us out, it is so wild and so full of game and wood and water. We might as well die here, fighting, as die by sickness and poorness and laziness, on a reservation that we did not choose. You must turn back; you must turn back quick, for the other side of the moun- tain, and we will let you go ; but if you keep on, you will get hurt, for some of the young men are anxious to please the mountain and fight and become warriors." Charley spoke so seriously and so determinedly the red spirit using the white tongue, as if better to be un- derstood that Phil was deeply impressed with the sense of danger. This was real; this was no joke; the Utes actually meant it, and no " Bah ! " by Chet or by himself could break the spell. He held himself tense and anxious, waiting for Grizzly Dan's reply. The old man spoke strongly: " Wagh ! Then the young men will be killed an' the old men will die off, an' thar'll be no Ute nation. You tell yore chiefs we air goin' out this way an' we will not turn back. Our hosses air tired; the other trail air too long. This air shorter, an' so we take it, an' thar air not warriors enough in the Ute nation to stop us. No, thar ain't. We air plenty men an' have plenty guns an' good shots; an' if we air interfered with we will kill a heap o' young men an' old men too. An' after us will come in the soldiers; an' the Ute nation will be wiped out. Wagh! I have spoken." Charley reined back his pony, as if to turn; but his companion, the painted Indian, burst forth again into violent, guttural declamation; at the close, his voice 302 OLD FOUR-TOES rising, he urged his pony forward a step, and shaking high his rifle, as if in invocation, at Warrior Peak, with his other arm he extended rigid, quivering, defiant clenched hand at the group before him. So fierce was his harangue and sudden attitude, that the boys' guns leaped of their own accord, apparently, half to the shoulder. But old Dan, with jerk of his head, mo- tioned them down again. "Bah!" he ejaculated, himself. " Gwan back. Wagh! Fool talk," and with another contemptuous " Bah ! " like a spit he backed his pony, token that the conference was ended. " We speak truth, just the same," insisted Charley, earnestly; and whirling their ponies he and his angry painted comrade went galloping for the other Indians upon the rim-rock crest. As they galloped the painted youth again flourished high his rifle, while a shrill whoop drifted back from him. Now old Dan turned his mule ; with wave of his arm he motioned to the main party, awaiting so anxiously, to start on. With the two boys he shaped his course to join the party as they marched. " That paint was some angry," commented Chet, coolly. "What did he say?" queried Phil, endeavoring to keep as cool and not betray his throbbing pulses. " Wasted a heap o' breath," grunted old Dan. " He did. What'd he say? War tryin' to tell me, an old mountain man, wagh, what he'd do to me if I didn't mind orders! Him, a boy who never's seen a scalp or struck a coup, like as not, thinkin* to scare me, who's WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 303 lived when Injun war Injun an' who's fout more scrimmages than he's shot pee-rairie dwags. He won't 'mount to much. That 'ere white-bred Injun, son o' the chief, talked more sense. But the sum an' sub- stance air this : Those thar Utes think now they've got a message from that figger on Warrior Peak tellin' 'em this park can be theirs. O' course, it air some dream o' some medicine man, or some yarn by the old men who want to make trouble an' work up the young men ; but it air enough. All this hyar park on this side o' the peak air to be Ute country agin, to live in an* hunt in, an' white people air not to be allowed. Wall, don't blame the Injuns for wantin' it. They see it ain't being used by settlers ; an* it air full o' game an* wood an' water. But the government never'll let 'em stay." " We go on, do we? " asked Phil. " Shore we do/' growled the belligerent Chet. " We do," replied old Dan. " Got to. Mustn't let' those Injuns think we're afraid o' them. Never let any Injuns think you air 'fraid o' them. Only talk they respect air big talk. Besides, these hyar bosses of ourn never'd get acrost the mountain without a long rest an' if we stopped much we'd be in trouble. Further back toward the mountain we go, wuss we'd be stuck. Best chance air to go on out by shortest way." That was true, especially about the horses ; for Pep- per and Medicine Eye and the spotted pony were about done for, after their incessant travel of practically a day and a night ; yes, and more, for now was it after- noon of the second day! Phil must hold Pepper up, 304 OLD FOUR-TOES by the bit, and lift him with heel and cluck as well, as now they jogged for the party; and Chet was working constantly with the faltering Medicine Eye. Betty the mule was of course fresher ; but the tough little spotted pony labored on with drooping head, as exhausted as his rider Gus. " What is it ? " demanded several voices, as the three scouts rejoined the march. " We go on, to camp," informed Grizzly Dan. " It airn't fur. Got to rest these hosses." "But weren't those Indians threatening?' 5 de- manded the spokesman of the city hunters. " Some. Heap talk," grunted old Dan. " What did they say, Phil ? " asked Cherry, appeal- ingly. " One of them was Charley Pow-wow. They say this country in the park is theirs, and they want us to turn around and go the other side of that mountain. But we can't; and so Grizzly Dan told them we'd go on out by this trail." "Didn't they like that?" " No. Can't help it, though." * They seem to be forming in council, over there on the cliff," called one of the Buster hunters. " Suppose we can fight 'em off if they try to make trouble? " " They'll not make trouble yet ; got to hold a talk fust," answered old Dan. " Ain't afraid of 'em in open country. Young men mought like to charge us, but old men know better." " Suppose they'd rather surprise us in a camp." " Humph! " grunted Dan. " Surprises don't shine WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 305 with this chile. Thar air a campin'-place 'bout a mile ahead whar he's fout Injuns afore, an' the surprise war on the outside 'stead o' the inside. We'll jest go thar, an' stop a bit." " Good ! " applauded the city man. " We're back of you." " Don't I get untied, so I can defend myself ? " queried the black man. " Soon enough. What's your hurry? " retorted the ranger. " Who'd have thought these Utes would take to ghost-dancing again!" he addressed generally. " Warrior Peak told 'em to," explained Chet. " How terribly romantic ! " sighed Molly. " That old peak yon ? What'dituse? Telephone?" asked Pete. " Wouldn't that kill yuh ! " grumbled Buster. " Most interesting ! " remarked the Professor. " I'd like to know more of such a phenomenon. And one of those Indians looked to be educated, too." " Did it tell 'em to kill my dog and my sheeps and 'most kill me ? " complained Gus. " Wall, you're liable to know considerable more o' Injun phenomenon, 'fore we're out o' hyar," answered Grizzly Dan, to the Professor. " Guess they aren't afraid of Old Four-Toes, any more," hazarded Phil. " Forgot to ask 'em." " Is that the big bear? " inquired one of the Buster hunters. " Did you get him ? " " No. We weren't after him." " We were after him, but we didn't get him," announced the man, cheerfully. 306 OLD FOUR-TOES " Wagh ! His medicine war too strong," grunted Grizzly Dan. " And we're mighty glad you didn't, too ! " informed Chet, flatly. 1 Those Injuns shore are meditatin' mischief," com- mented the black man, glumly. " An' here I be tied like a hawg ! " ' You'll get untied at proper time," instructed the ranger. " Just at present we can use your gun better than we can use you. See ? " Glancing aside, apprehensively, the boys could note that the council upon the rim-rock edge was over, and that the Indians had divided into two parties. One followed along the rim-rock, where they made sil- houettes against the sky; the other descended to the plateau and rode in a detour as if to cross the trail, before. " Wagh ! " commented old Dan, keenly observant. " Let 'em meditate, an* do their ridin'. Hyar's camp." He turned sharply to the left, and at best pace of toiling, sluggish trot led for a clump of cedars now distant about three hundred yards. Reaching the spot, he alertly dismounted from his mule. " Off packs, now, an' tie yore critters," he bade, starting right in at the work. " Ought to be a spring in thar, an* some grass, an' remains of a fort corral. Anyhow, can't go further till to-morrow. Mustn't get down on the low ground for night." All acted. The camp seemed to be splendidly chosen. The cedars, mingled among a few scrubby pines, oc- cupied a point behind which the gravelly ground fell WHITE MEN AGAINST RED 307 away in a long open slope, to a valley below ; so that up and down, or to right and to left, was given a view. Before was the level plateau. Attack from any direc- tion would be difficult. Chet, penetrating amidst the clump, called back in- stantly. " Somebody's forted here, once before. Regular breastwork of timber and brush. Grass, too! And there's some water but not very much." CHAPTER XXII THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS " DON'T I get untied ? " again voiced the black man poacher, plaintively. " Reckon you do," responded the forest ranger, now pausing to slip the knots and release his elbows. " But if you want to keep your scalp I'd advise you to stay in pretty close. You wouldn't last long outside." " I watch him," volunteered Gus, weakly, sitting with gun across knee. " Am I a prisoner, then ? " queried the black man. " All right. Then I don't work," and he also seated himself, with glum, determined mien, and rubbed his arms. " A-a-ah, look at that, will yuh ! " snorted Buster, incensed. But the others let the black man be, for more im- portant matters pressed. " You two boys post yourselves one at either side o' this hyar timber an' watch Injuns," directed old Dan. " You two guides be hos guard ; take another man an' water the critters an' stake 'em out to grass an' be ready to round 'em up quick in case it air needed. Other men an' I'll chop what timber air needed for fortin' an' fire. Wagh ! It air pot time. This chile air wolfish." 306 THE DUEL OF Til 1C TWO CHIEFS 309 Suddenly Phil was keenly conscious that he was "wolfish," himself. He and diet and old Dan had been riding hard and under a great strain of muscle and mind since ten o'clock the night before; yes, almost continuously since the previous morning ; and they had had little to eat and no sleep, and now it was late after- noon of the second day! But in response to Grizzly Dan's orders came dis- maying reports. Buster announced, instantly, from where he had penetrated in search of the spring : " Yu got to go mighty slow with this water. By time hawsses are through with it there won't be any left! " And Pete declared : " Say, if you people didn't fetch any grub to speak of you'd better snub your appetites short, 'cause our camp was about plumb out. We were ready to go home." In the midst of the expostulations which greeted the news the boys trudged away, to post themselves at right and left of the little brush-and-timber area. The Indians were acting strangely. Settling down to the companionship of his veteran carbine (and of his hunger) Phil could see that the band of Indians which had ridden following along the edge of the rim-rock were continuing on and were almost out of sight! They had left the rim-rock wall and had entered upon a long stretch of country beyond ; this they were cross- ing, in a file not unlike a file of ants, and even while he watched the head of the column disappeared over a partially wooded shoulder. The other band, which had ridden diagonally out into the plateau, as if to cut off the march of the whites, 310 OLD FOUR-TOES had now halted, and a squad had turned back, at a gallop. On they came, a dozen, riding hard, blankets flapping, braids flying, to flourish derisive weapons op- posite the camp and shake insulting fists, while the chorus of their shrill jeers echoed from the rim-rock wall behind them. As this squad turned, the other squad started upon a similar spurt, so that, about op- posite the camp, the two squads passed only, at the further end of their course, to turn, each, and repeat the performance. Thus they shuttled back and forth, seemingly taking great enjoyment in such wasteful activity. They were a good quarter of a mile away, but Phil was confident that with his trusty little car- bine he could reach them. However, he had no in- structions to shoot; no one was shooting; and. anyway, the Indians were doing no harm. So as they main- tained their child's play he began to give them only casual attention, while he bestowed eyes and ears upon the country round about, in case this diversion in front masked an attack from elsewhere. But the slope behind him, leading down into the lower country, betrayed no movement of sneaking figure, and the plateau likewise was free save for those racing squads before. The sun sank behind Warrior Peak ; the outlines of the guardian showed black and sharp against the glow. Apparently he had not stirred ; he had not turned over, nor sat up; he was slumbering, and if he had spoken to the Utes he must have spoken in his sleep. The odor of smoke wafted from the camp; voices and chopping sounded; one by one horses were THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 311 staked out, to graze at the edge of the brush, on the slope side. Dusk settled; out between camp and rim- rock the Ute band had subsided from frantic racing and jeering, and had located as if for the night; at any rate, now the twinkle of their fires, in two places, shone through the gloaming. Presently amidst the trees and brush Cherry has- tened, calling : " Come on in, Phil. Mr. Dan says to come on in and eat. Somebody else will do the guard- ing." And " There isn't very much," she confessed, breaking the news, as he joined her. " I expect you're awfully hungry. Maybe we'll all have to eat horse, Mr. Dan says ! But they shan't eat Pepper ! " " Can eat Bonita. Dawg air good," proposed Chet, solemnly and wearily following Molly. " Never ! " vowed MoLV. " Bonita is too romantic. The way Phil got her was -very romantic, I think." As they passed in, toward the fire and supper, the ranger and two of the city hunters were hastening out, for the sentry duty. ' You can have," informed Cherry, *" two biscuits apiece, and this much of your own meat, and one cup of coffee instead of water, because the water is scarce, too. But if you chew very fine and swallow very slowly, you can make it last longer. That's the way Molly and I did!" Now indeed the company were in worse plight than anticipated. That the place had been used before was evident. Trees had been felled to form a barricade around three sides ; the trunks, many of them crumbled away, still remained. Within the barricade was a 312 OLD FOUR-TOES tiny spring, which trickled away and was lost in the sod to reissue, no doubt, below. There was some grass, among the trees and amidst the sage. But old Dan was disappointed. " We forted hyar, sixteen of us trappers, thirty- nine year ago," he said. " The spring war plenty, for man an' beast. I ain't been hyar for over twenty year, but last time I came the water war still plenty. Any- how, thar air no other campin' spot, safe, that we could have reached 'fore dark. Injuns can't rush us hyar; that air sartin. We air forted proper, 'cept for grub for ourselves an' water for animiles. We mebbe can eat some o' the animiles, but then we air bad fixed. Travel afoot air pore travel, 'specially with two gals an' a wounded man. An' this cowboy party air short of ammunition, too ! " " Will the Indians attack us to-night, do you think? " " Nope ; don't think so. In my opinion one band o' them have voted to be a peace band an' air ridin' off. Chief Billy war with it. I see him. He took what members he could. This t'other band, out yonder, air the young men an' other fools who want to play at fightin' an' be outlaws. 'Tain't likely they'll attack in middle o' the night. Moon doesn't rise till late; an' 'tain't Injun custom to attack 'fore 'arly mornin'. But we'll keep guards out an' be ready. To-morrow we'll have to get away. Can't stay cooped up hyar with no grub an' little water, till our critters die or we eat 'em an' air put afoot. Wagh ! " Phil was rather relieved to learn that he and Chet had finished their guard-duty for this night, and might THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 313 sleep. They were too tired to pay much interest to the discussion which continued, around the campfire, and to the strains of Indian chant as the besiegers, out to- ward the rim-rock, danced and whooped and thus en- couraged themselves. So worn out were he and Chet, that under the buffalo-robe they slept the night through, without waking to see if all were well; and were much chagrined and astonished, when they at last opened their eyes, to behold the morning. The camp was safe. Then, as they blinked stiffly, in the gray chill, arose a sudden series of exclamations. " Where's that black whiskers ? " It was the sharp voice of the ranger. " I don't know." It was the voice of one of the city hunters. " Here's where he slept," continued the ranger. " Iss he gone? " quavered Gus. " I t'ought he wass tied." " No ; not again. I wanted to give him a chance, in case of trouble. And he's skipped. Anybody seen him this morning? " Nobody had, evidently. "Aw !" stammered Chet, as he and Phil rolled out, to aid in the search. " He's got nerve ! " " Suppose he figured he might escape the Indians, but he couldn't escape the penitentiary," explained the ranger, after the area of brush and trees had been thoroughly ransacked, without success. " He knew that I knew, and he knew that what I didn't know you and Grizzly Dan knew. Well, he's just postponing 314 OLD FOUR-TOES what's coming to him. Makes one less to feed, too." So they had to let the black man go; for gone he had, during the night ; slipping away, and out between the guards (probably by the slope behind), while the moon perhaps was veiled by a cloud. The horse guard attended to the animals. Red-eyed and stiff- featured, the last shift of night sentries (the Professor, a city hunter, and old Gus himself) came in, while Pete and Buster remained out to watch the Indians as well as the animals, during breakfast. "Those Injuns air some in doubt," declared old Dan. " They sorter suspect they air takin' a big con- tract, to start out on the war-trail in this hyar day an' age. So they air of two minds, like the wolf lookin' at bait set atop a trap. Wagh ! Hear 'em palaverin' an' dancin'! It air fun for the young bucks. They think they air doin' a heap, when they airn't doin' nothin' ! " The Indians were in about the same positions as they had been when dusk fell ; out there, in two camps, across the plateau toward the rim-rock. Having taken a survey, through the misty atmosphere now being thinned by the eastern glow, the boys might sit at breakfast. Breakfast was not more lavish than the supper; in fact, it was even slimmer, for the flour was about gone and the water was not responding to the demands, and old Dan's venison and the other parties' bacon had divided poorly among fourteen and thirteen persons. But they chewed and sipped without complaint from THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 315 even the girls. In fact, Cherry and Molly proved en- tirely matter-of-fact and brave. "What a yarn to tell when we get home!" ex- claimed one of the city hunters. " Held up by Indians in the Rocky Mountains reduced to short rations almost had to kill the horses fought our way out etc., etc. Used to read about such things when I was a boy, but never expected to take part. Always wanted to, though! Confound it, if we'd only saved some of that ammunition, now ! " " How are you, Gus ? " asked Phil. " Well, I am not very good," said Gus. " My leg iss bad. It iss the leg of the same foot that wass frozen part off, and it does not like to be hurted twice or more." Gus evidently was in much pain. " Let me see, again," suggested one of the city hun- ters. c< That leg ought to have a doctor," he reported, after examination. " We'll have to get out o' hyar," spoke old Dan, de- cisively. " We will, that. When a camp air failin' o' grub an' water an' part of it air failin' o' powder an' lead too, times air hard." " Mebbe I cannot ride a hoss with dis leg," hazarded Gus, reflectively. " It hurts even to t'ink of riding." " Make a litter for 'ee," returned old Dan. " Oh, dear ! " murmured Cherry. The voice of Buster called, from outside, " Injuns are comin' ! " " Wagh ! " ejaculated old Dan ; and right and left everybody seized his gun, to rush to the front. Thus they crashed through the brush, and gained the edge 316 OLD FOUR-TOES of the timber patch, whence from the barricade of trunks and limbs old and new they could see out into the open. The sun was just up, casting his golden-pink beams athwart the sagy, gravelly plateau. Across it were advancing, in solid front, a line of Indians, their ponies almost touching. Behind them glowed the red rim- rock wall. Some of the ponies were white, some dark, some spotted ; the Indians bore weapons, chiefly guns, a few bows; all were naked from the waist up, the majority painted and feathered; they were sing- ing a hearty chant which weirdly rose and fell, as onward the ponies ambled, in that knightly, stately line. The horsemen numbered forty; the sight was imposing and threatening; along the stockade rifle- locks clicked and sounded from Cherry (she and Molly excitedly peeping) a round " Goodness gra- cious ! " " Steady, thar ! " warned old Dan. " This air no time for shootin'. Those Injuns air up to somethin' else." A lone Indian was leading the line. His white pony pranced; even at the distance could be seen that his face was bright vermilion; and from his crown down his back floated and jostled a great crest of feathers. It was not Chief Billy; no, it was not fat enough for Chief Billy, who anyway had gone with the peace band. Suddenly he lifted a hand, as if in token ; the line stopped, but out he galloped, on as for the fort. " Wagh ! Viejo Cheyenne," informed old Dan; and THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 317 he warned, again: " No shootin'. Steady, now. Let him come." Yes, Viejo Cheyenne, the old Cheyenne adopted by the Utes, it was. "Got on a war-bonnet," said Chet "See it? I know; I've heard dad tell. Those are eagle feathers. Wagh ! " "Wagh!" echoed Phil. " Oh, are they, Chet ? How romantic ! " murmured Molly, who with Cherry was crouched close behind the boys. The feathered crest was plainer and a magnificent crest it was, of long feathers set butt in and sewed to- gether in a wide strip which extended from the crown of the rider to the haunches of the horse. And now could it be seen that only one half of the Cheyenne's face was vermilion; the other half was black. He was armed with bow and quiver and a pure white round shield. Abruptly he halted, two hundred yards away, and his strong voice boomed across to the rude fort. A striking figure he made, in the morning sunlight. Out from the barricade promptly leaped old Dan, and stood fearlessly in the open. " Ten-o-wast, Woo- potsit?" he demanded. ("What is wanted, White Wolf?") Again the aged Cheyenne boomed with words which sounded like a challenge, in which the syllables " Hib- bo-lo ! Hib-bo-lo ! " and old Dan's Indian name of " Vip-po-nah (Lean Chief) " seemed repeated. This was followed by a staccato harangue every part, al- though foreign all, being clearly distinguishable 318 OLD FOUR-TOES through the crisp, calm air. Grizzly Dan spoke back ; the Cheyenne spoke further. With quick gesture of his hand old Dan answered shortly. Then he turned to face the company behind him. " Don't reckon any o' ye understand Cheyenne," he proffered gravely, as he stood with rifle butt upon the ground, while the muzzle jutted above his shoulder. " But this hyar White Wolf an' me, we air 'bout to have a leetle scrimmage, to settle matters." "What!" " Yep. The spirit of Old Four-Toes the b'ar an' the spirit o' the mountain don't exactly agree on whether this hyar country air ready yet for the Injun, or no; but Four-Toes has told White Wolf to fight it out with me, an' we'll decide it." " W T on't permit it, won't permit it! " cried the city hunters, excitedly. And other voices joined in as emphatically. " What all did he say? " queried Pete, curiously. " It air sense. We air both old, an' we have outlived people an' country, an' we air 'bout the only ones left. Let us fight, he said, 'stead o' you young others, an' lives will be saved. That thar black-whiskered rascal air in the Injun camp, an' they know we're short o' grub an' water, an' shy o' powder an' lead." "The traitor!" " That's how he saves his skin, is it ! " " Think o' that, will yuh ! " Thus loud welled the angry chorus denouncing the black man. " But you must fight no duel, just the same. The THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 319 idea is preposterous," uttered the Professor, much con- cerned. " We cannot allow it." " Should say not," chimed in all. " Don't you do it, Dan." But amidst the arguments and pleadings old Dan merely smiled; and turning again, he shouted a sen- tence or two at the aged Cheyenne, waiting, statuesque, where he had halted. Vie jo Cheyenne answered by a single dignified gesture. " I have told him I air comin'," announced Grizzly Dan, simply. " It air an easy way to settle matters. We air in a fix, anyhow. A march acrost country with short rations an' gals an' a wounded man, fightin' young warriors armed like these hyar fellows air armed, doesn't shine with this coon. No, it don't. Hosses air beat out, too. It air an ancient custom to decide a battle by pussonal combat 'twixt two chiefs, an' soon as I get my pony I'll see if I can't fetch in that thar war-bonnet. Wagh ! " He strode for the horses. "Here! Stop him !" cried several voices. Buster and Pete hastened after. " Aw, you can't stop him," informed Chet, as dis- tressed as any, but knowing the old trapper's stubborn character. And nobody did; for within a shorter time than might have been expected Grrzzly Dan, followed by the helpless twain, came trotting his pony along the edge of the timber fort. " Isn't it dreadful ! " sighed Cherry, well-nigh weep- ing. " Too horribly romantic," sobbed Molly. 320 OLD FOUR-TOES Grunting with pain, Gus dragged himself forward from where, back by the fire, he had been propped. " Mister Dan, you wait," he called weakly. " I fight him. I t'ink I be half dead already, so I fight him. You lend me your hos." " Wagh ! " reproved old Dan, to the company. " Would you have me a squaw, an' let an Injun dare me to come out an' take his scalp? I air a mountain man, wagh! I air Vip-po-nah; I war a big chief 'mongst the Cheyenne nation 'fore you war born. White Wolf knew what he war doin' when he called for me. We air both chiefs, an' we will fight. Then when I fetch in his war-bonnet his young men will go one way an' we all will go another. An' if he raises my ha'r, instead, you will not be harmed, but I reckon you will have to turn back for t'other side the moun- tain. That air the agreement." " But, by thunder ! " expostulated o*e of the city hunters. " Wagh ! " grunted Grizzly Dan, impatiently ; he whirled his spotted pony and rode forth. At the sight of him, from the line of mounted In- dians pealed instant again the chant; but high above it rang the quavering whoop of the Cheyenne, an- swered in equal quaver, like the howl of a wolf, by old Dan. Now the Cheyenne was singing a martial rhythm; and with white shield set and body cowering behind, he had lashed his white pony to a run, in course diagonal to old Dan's. Into a run leaped the spotted pony of the trapper; his long rifle leveled the two hundred THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 321 yards swiftly lessened. Everybody in the stockade breathed hard. The two hundred yards were only one hundred, only seventy-five. The white pony swerved, Grizzly Dan suddenly dodged low, even with the saddle, a streak appeared to pass across, right above him, and the dull " Twang ! " of the Cheyenne bow- string drifted to the fort. "Missed him!" Old Dan straightened; short stopped his spotted pony Sally the long rifle leaped to his shoulder, the muzzle puffed white, but down completely out of sight behind his speeding, scurrying mount had Vie jo Cheyenne thrown himself, only his white shield left, to cover his pony's neck. As he, too, straightened into the saddle, his shrill whoop of defiance pealed exultant. " Missed ! Oh, shucks ! " deplored Chet. Around pivoted the white pony ; on came the Chey- enne, his head-dress streaming, his shield slipped high, his bow bent. * Twang ! " it sounded ; the arrow, another streak, cut the spotted pony's mane, so close it passed the neck. Old Dan, clinging with moccasined heels, lying low along the saddle as he scudded, was frantically reloading. The Cheyenne pursued. " Oh, hurry ! Hurry ! " cried Cherry, dancing up and down, calling to old Dan. "Twang! Twang!" So fast worked the bow, speeding arrow after arrow ! The white pony was the better for the spotted pony was still tired and had been under-watered, under-fed. The white pony drew on rapidly; the bow twanged; the withered face of White Wolf could be seen, fierce and avid, as he plied 322 OLD FOUR-TOES his weapon loosing string, plucking arrow, bending bow, and loosing string again. " Oh, hurry ! Hurry ! " implored Cherry. Now in mid-course old Dan turned in his saddle, aiming backward ; the long barrel of Sally leveled like a finger Viejo Cheyenne loosed one last shaft and flung before him his shield as he swerved his pony. The arrow pelted into the twisted left side of old Dan, and stood quivering under the leveled barrel but as behind his buckler the chief cried triumph, the muzzle of Sally spoke. Before ever the smart " Crack ! " reached the breathless fort, down plunged the white pony, and lay kicking. " Hurrah ! Hurrah ! " cheered the forted company all. " Wagh ! " approved Chet, smiting Phil on the shoul- der. " That air some shooting! " " It shore air," agreed Phil. From his fallen pony Viejo Cheyenne, agile as any spider, had extricated himself ; his head-dress went far, but he had clung to bow and shield ; and now scram- bling to his feet, fitting arrow to string, singing a wild chant he ran straight for Grizzly Dan. Grizzly Dan was reloading. How quick were his motions ! He did not use ramrod; he tilted powder-horn (muzzle of rifle held low), he primed pan, and from his lips he dropped the bullet into the bore! He carried bullets in his mouth ! The arrow was in his side, but he checked his spotted pony and swung Sally upon Viejo Cheyenne. Puff, and " Crack ! " Viejo Cheyenne called loud, THE DUEL OF THE TWO CHIEFS 323 and staggered; but now he ran again, singing, bow twanging. Ah! The spotted pony reared and stum- bled was it hit? and Grizzly Dan pitched sideways, to drag a few yards, to lose his rifle, and finally to fall sprawling. Away dashed the pony. " Look out ! Dan ! Dan ! " they called vainly. "By jiminy!" exclaimed one of the city hunters. " Pot that Injun, one of you good shots." " Yu shut up ! " ordered Buster, sharply. " It's their fight." From the line of Indians distant welled a paean of savage joy. Vie jo Cheyenne threw aside bow and shield (a gallant action) and drawing knife rushed faster. His gray locks floated back from his painted temples. " Dan ! Dan ! Look out ! " wailed the forted com- pany. Dan realized all. He raised himself upon an elbow, and fumbled hastily at his belt. The old Cheyenne was within thirty twenty feet. How set were his wrinkled features, how scowling were his eyes, how grim his curving mouth! " Vip-po-nah ! Vip-po-nah!" and "Woopotsit! Woopotsit ! " he was chanting, mingling Dan's title and his title with other words. At twenty feet he was. Terribly near! His knife was plain in his right hand. Now suddenly the right hand of old Dan, propped on his left hip and hand, jerked back and forward; his own knife darted through the air (scarcely was it seen), and landed upon the Cheyenne's breast with distinct " Thud ! " 324 OLD FOUR-TOES Vie jo Cheyenne faltered, mid-stride; staggered, and momentarily standing straight and stiff, clapping hand to mouth for one last, tremendous, tremulous whoop, fell face down, moving not again. Old Dan rose to a knee, and lifting high an arm as signal of victory, gave a long halloo. CHAPTER XXIII TWO OTHER OLD HEROES Now the combat was two days back. A slowly moving little cavalcade again, the two boys and Grizzly Dan, the horses, Betty the dun mule, and Bonita the black sheep-dog were traveling for the cabin. The other parties, taking Gus, were traveling in the op- posite direction for the world outside. At old Dan's shout of victory, when oncoming Vie jo Cheyenne had stopped and fallen, there had been a simultaneous rush from either side, for the field. The combat was ended; and Viejo Cheyenne, known in his youth as Woopotsit, White Wolf, no longer was an exile among the Utes. He had shown the Utes how a Cheyenne could fight, and he had gone to join his kindred and friends. The Utes, wailing, had borne off his lax body; and gathering head-dress, bow, shield, and quiver, the dele- gation from the fort had borne off old Dan. Only the white pony was left, stripped of his trappings, there upon the field. The trapper's wound was severe but not fatal. The arrow had struck him in the left side, but had turned upon the ribs, and had made a long rather than a deep hole. Under Dan's directions they had pushed the arrow on a few inches, for the head was barbed and 325 326 OLD FOUR-TOES could not be pulled backward ; and having cut off the shaft, they extracted the head by the new place where the point appeared. The spotted pony also was wounded; an arrow from Viejo Cheyenne afoot had struck it in the shoulder, causing it to rear; and this arrow, too, had to be extracted " butchered out," as old Dan expressed it. As had been promised, the combat being decided in favor of the whites the Indians had withdrawn, and the trail out of the park was open. Grizzly Dan had insisted upon being taken to the cabin; and of course the timber patch was no place for any of them to stay in, unless forced. So to Cherry and Molly had been awarded Viejo Cheyenne's war-bonnet, a wonderful creation of eagle feathers sewed to buckskin cap and red flannel tail-piece six feet long. Phil had been given the shield, a buckler of thick, stiff cowhide painted with white clay. Chet had been given the bow and quiver, the bow being of short, thick hickory, reinforced with rawhide glued upon the back. " He war a true warrior an' he died like a chief," commented old Dan, as with the boys he painfully rode along. " That war his death chant you heard, for he war already killed. * Lean Chief, Lean Chief,' he sung, after I shot that last time, ' you have killed me, but I, White Wolf, come to take you with me. Lean Chief, Lean Chief! White Wolf ! White Wolf ! We have shown the young men how the old men met in battle when we too were young. I come, Lean Chief. Wait a minute. I, White Wolf, who am already killed, I come.' Wagh ! " and Grizzly Dan shook his head. TWO OTHER OLD HEROES 327 " I knew Sally had gone plumb center, for I drew bead as fine as ever I drew ; but like a chargin' b'ar he only staggered a bit ; his spirit \var too big an' too brave to stop when his heart stopped ; his medicine war strong, heap strong, an' carried him along. It did. He 'most raised my ha'r. Ought not to've tumbled off my hos, that way; ought to rosin my legs," and old Dan chuckled. " Will, next time. Legs don't work like they used to." Travel was slow. Dan rode Betty the mule, for the spotted pony, limping, could scarcely carry its own weight. Upon Betty, at a walk, old Dan sat stiffly bandaged, but with his rifle still across horn. For the first day they had to cook and eat steaks from the white pony ; and as he was plump and young and ten- der, the chunk which at old Dan's suggestion they had taken with them did not taste as horse-flesh might be presumed to taste. But on the second day they had come upon several of Gus's scattered sheep, so that now they were provisioned with mutton. The course was back by way of the Red Man's Gulch (as they had grown to term the spot of the first tragedy), where they had cached their equipment ere riding by night to warn and rescue. Here were wait- ing (they hoped) Chet's Indian skull and Phil's Frapp rifle and Dan's beloved pot and minor other articles. And who could tell but that the traitorous black man might there be sighted might there be sighted and perhaps rearrested and held and informed as to what the party thought of him. Indeed, he might be drawn back to the spot, looking for his comrade's grave, and 328 OLD FOUR-TOES he might further be mean enough to " lift " the cache if he found sign of it! However, impatient as were the boys, and as was old Dan himself, to arrive at the cache, and thence make for the cabin, a rate of walk and amble and rest mingled did not cover the ground as quickly as had that outward hard, constant trot up hill and down, through the long night. But now as they rode old Dan pointed ahead, and announced cheerfully, " Over yon ridge air the place." " Don't believe we can make it, this afternoon, can we? " asked Chet. " I hear thunder." So did Phil a low, rumbling mutter. And old Dan, reining in, cocked his ear. " Wagh! " he murmured. He scanned the horizon over the engirting trees and crests. " Wagh ! Now, whar do that storm be comin' from ? That's no thun- der, I tell 'ee. That's no thunder, I tell 'ee. It air bull, boy! It air. This coon's heard sech thunder afore. You foller me. Mebbe I'll show you some- thin'." Aside from the trail they turned. At more sprightly pace old Dan pushed through among the trees; and after him pushed the others all Chet, and Phil, and Cotton-tail, and the limping spotted pony, and Bonita panting. The rumbling indeed waxed louder, as if old Dan might be right (as usual). They climbed ob- liquely a shoulder which from the left jutted into the draw that they had been threading. The rumbling grew more and more pronounced. Across the rounded top of the shoulder they filed. Midway old Dan TWO OTHER OLD HEROES 329 swerved for an upturned stump. The boys could easily see that this was not a natural upturning; for although the stump was ancient and decaying, more than wind or weather had wrenched it to its side. The rotted wood lay scattered round about; the great stump had been torn asunder; and in the soft earth which had fallen from the roots or had heaved along with them, was a familiar imprint. But it was not the imprint of any split hoof; it was the imprint of a huge naked sole, with only four toes where five should be! Grizzly Dan silently pointed, but he shook with a chuckle. The boys gravely nodded. " Thought it war 'bout time we come acrost medi- cine sign agin," vouchsafed old Dan. " That air Four- Toes, sartin." " But you said bull," reminded Phil. " What's the rumble, then ? " " Show ye, show ye," answered old Dan, blithely. " Shouldn't wonder if I showed 'ee more'n I 'spected to when I started out. Wagh! Thar air trouble yon- der." And he started on. The rumbling was distinct, ahead as if really a thunderstorm might be preparing, under cover, as a band tunes up and makes ready before a parade starts. But the horizon gave no indication of any storm. Grizzly Dan, apparently unmindful of his wound, and much interested, traveled at a trot across the rounded shoulder, which was thinly timbered and warm in the sunshine. At the edge of the farther slope he reined in, to peer eagerly, and then turned at 330 OLD FOUR-TOES right angles, and rode along the verge. Finally he raised his hand and waved the boys to him, and rode slowly, and halted again, sitting at ease and gazing down as if playing spectator. They hastened. The rumbling mutter was continu- ously loud ; it was nearer ; and it had a curious under- strain of harsher note, heard meanwhile. They reined in beside Grizzly Dan, and peered also. The ground fell away in a shortish, smooth slope, to a basin, or shallow box canon below, forming a pocket hemmed by shelving rock, clay bank, brush, and the slope itself. Against the shelving rock was backed an enormous, shaggy creature a buffalo bull! And before him, swaying on four feet and evidently menac- ing him, was another enormous, shaggy creature a bear! There welled to the spectators the mingled notes of bellow and growl, so furious that the sound was a constant rumble. " Thar you air," announced old Dan. " This chile knows bufFler when he hears him. Thar's yore bull an' thar's Four-Toes himself. Wagh! It air a bigger combat than when Woopotsit an' I fout our leetle scrimmage." The boys gazed, panting and amazed. The horses roundly snorted, in alarm. But the twain below were so intent upon one another that the presence of human spectators mattered not at all to them. By token of the torn, trampled sod of the arena, the duel had been in progress for some time. Evidently the big bear had been foraging along, over the FOUR-TOES GAVE AN UNDIGNIFIED JUMP AT A TANGENT." TWO OTHER OLD HEROES 331 shoulder, where he had upturned that stump, and by accident sighting the big bull in the warm, cosy re- treat of the little basin, had irritably descended upon him. Now the bull was backed against the shelving rock end ; he was at bay. His curly-fronted head, with its shortly curved horns half hidden in the thick brown hair, was down; his eyes were staring; his tongue hung from his mouth, dripping froth; and at the rear of his tapering, low- set body his short little tail stood out as if broken in the middle. His bellowing was hoarse and incessant, and with a fore hoof he flung high the dirt. So this was the old buffalo bull, last of his wild race in Lost Park, was he! But nevertheless it was upon the bear that the boys gazed the more curiously. He was Four-Toes, the famed Four-Toes, had said old Dan. As large for a bear as the bull was for a buffalo appeared Four-Toes. His head also was down, sway- ing as swayed his body, and he snarled harshly, wrinkling savage nose and lips. The fur along his back, particularly between his fore shoulders, was erected into bristles. Of a blackish gray was he, burly and lumbersome, compact, low to the ground, but of the size of a Jersey cow. At least, enraged and swollen, he looked to be that size. Suddenly, as he stood swaying and snarling, the bull made a rush at him. It was astounding how quickly the bull sprang forward, moving that solid bulk with ease. And Four-Toes was as nimble. Sprily as any heavy-weight boxer he leaped to one side, as he did so recoiling to his hind feet and striking like a cat. With 332 OLD FOUR-TOES a blow that appeared a mere tap he had sent the mas- sive bull sliding and sprawling. Instantly he charged after but the old buffalo was alert to the danger. Even while staggering he checked himself, and with a frantic snort and bellow whirled upon four feet as a pivot (no dancer could have been more agile) ; and the charging bear was met by the lowered horns again. Whereupon Four-Toes gave an undignified jump at a tangent. Charged the bull but only as a feint, for thus he regained his position where the shelf rock protected his weak rear. So now the two combatants resumed their original posts. " Wagh ! " grunted Grizzly Dan. " Those two old fools! They'd better quit." " Do you think the bear will kill him? " panted Phil, somehow siding with the buffalo. " If he hits him fair I bet he will," panted Chet, as breathless. " One whack will break his neck." "Wall, I dunno," drawled old Dan. " Buffler bull's neck air pretty tough, under all that ha'r. He doesn't keer for his neck; it air his hinder end that bothers, mostly. An' his nose. Let a b'ar onct get a paw on his back, or a grip on his nose, an' he air gone bufFler." " Wish they would quit," exclaimed Phil, fervently. "Why? It's a fair fight!" protested Chet, more bloodthirsty. " They air liable to fight for a week, if they want to/' declared Grizzly Dan. ' That air a medicine b'ar, an' that must be a medicine bufFler ; an' as long TWO OTHER OLD HEROES 333 as their medicine air strong, they can fight an' fight. Like as not they have font before, 'cause they have lived together in this hyar park some time. It air a sorter what you call it ? tournament. Wagh ! ! " This concluding syllable was called forth by a sud- den increase of the bellowing and snarling below. The tumult rose to crescendo. Four-Toes had tilted himself to his hind feet, as if for attack; the bull threw more soil, defying him; Four-Toes dropped, stalked a few steps, seeking an opening, snarled fiercer and fiercer, and rushed. High he towered, reaching over and by a mighty spring sideways evading the thrust of the anxious horns, he caught the buffalo with fore arms, over and under, around the shaggy neck, and clung, hauling and biting. Around were twisted the black nose and the red tongue and the staring eyes. The buf- falo's bellow was choked and wheezy, as he strained and wrenched and tugged, bracing his fore feet, striv- ing to toss his head and free himself. Down he sank, to his knees, as if to roll upon the bear and crush him. He sank, the bear slightly shifted when as if renewed in strength by the touch of the earth the bull straight- ened those yielding legs, and by a violent bellow and wrench swung his burden more before him; and only by releasing hold and with a smothered, disappointed roar leaping backward did Four-Toes escape the horns. Forward charged the buffalo; now he caught the great bear off balance, and with a distinct grunt from the impact as shaggy boss met shaggy flank, Four- Toes, overtaken in hasty retreat, went head over heels a dozen yards. 334 OLD FOUR-TOES " Hurrah ! " cheered Phil. " Rush him ! Rush him, bull ! Now's your chance." " Look out, bear ! " warned Chet. Four-Toes had gathered himself up and like a monstrous cat had whirled to protect his own rear. His snarling growl rose furious. The buffalo had halted ; instead of following up his advantage he stood, panting and murmuring. Plainly enough both animals were badly winded, for the sides of the big bear were heaving and his growling waned to a peevish whine. " Better get back, bull," admonished Phil. " Better both quit while their medicine air strong," observed old Dan. But even as the spectators upon the hill watched and warned, a strange thing happened. The big bear slowly settled, as if tired; slowly settled, while he whined, until with his four legs under him now he was upon his stomach, his nose outstretched along the ground before him. His whine ceased and he seemed to be asleep. The buffalo bull bellowed joyously and took a hesitant step, for a charge. But he faltered, while lower drooped his nose; his legs also doubled under him ; and he sank with his chest to the ground. Then, accompanied by a grunt, down toppled his hind quarters; and he rolled upon his side, where he lay lax. "Aw tuckered out!" jeered Chet. "One can't and the other isn't able ! " " That's a drawn battle," commented Phil, but not certain. " Wagh ! " muttered old Dan. " Medicines war too TWO OTHER OLD HEROES 335 strong." He started Betty. [< This chile's goin' down thar." They followed. Betty objected, but old Dan forced her ahead; and objected Medicine Eye and Pepper, but their riders forced them likewise ahead. Cotton- tail and the limping spotted pony reluctantly came after, their ears pricked, their nostrils quivering. And last came Bonita, hair bristled, body slinking, nose querying. Neither of the prostrate animals moved a muscle, at the approach of the party. Old Four-Toes lay like a dog asleep ; the buffalo bull lay like a lazy horse prone in a field. Grizzly Dan forced Betty nearer, and cran- ing his neck, finally halted, waiting for the boys. " Wagh ! " he said, still eying the two animals, as the boys cautiously and expectantly arrived. " Hyar's fat meat an' no pot to cook it in ! Hyar's great doin's ! I tell 'ee, you'll never see the like agin." " Both asleep ! " exclaimed Phil. " Yep; but you needn't tread light, for fear o' wakin* 'em. An' you can uncock yore gun. 'Sleep, boy? Do 'ee see 'em breathe? They air wiped out, natteral; they air gone for good." " Well ! What do yuh think o' that ! " exclaimed Chet, round-eyed. " Fought till they couldn't stand, an' then lay down and died, facing each other." " Don't see any wounds," commented Phil. Grizzly Dan painfully dismounted, and passed his bridle lines to him. " Nope, airn't any to speak of, I reckon," he said. Fearlessly he bent over the big bear carcass, and lifted the limply hung head. " Lookee 336 OLD FOUR-TOES hyar," he bade, as he parted the pendent upper lip. " Jest as I suspected. No teeth ! Wagh ! He war too old, an' his tusks air worn down to stumps. That air why he war always huntin' ants an' grubs ; an' that air why he didn't hurt that 'ere buff'ler. Lemme see that 'ere buff'ler, now. He air old, too." And from the bear he trudged to the bull. He investigated, and parted the curly hair from the horns. " Same case hyar," he reported. " Horns air stubs so blunt an' busted they wouldn't dent a board. Mought knock the breath out o' somethin', but couldn't gore. That air why he couldn't hurt the b'ar. An' as they couldn't hurt each other, they fout till they war all in, an' then they died anyhow. They war too old." Off their horses tumbled the two boys ; and fastening the lines to the brush, examined the fallen monarchs. Here was the celebrated Four-Toes, to be felt of and inspected and appraised; and here was the last of the buffalo, to be felt of and inspected and appraised. What bulks, what hair, what claws, what heads and hoofs ! What years of roving ! " Going to cut 'em up, or anything?" asked Chet, excited. " Ought to take part of 'em along, oughtn't we? Ought to have the pelts. Wouldn't fine us for eating buffalo meat or packing out his head, would they? Big old claws on Four-Toes, too! Wagh! " "Old b'ar an' old bull," replied Grizzly Dan, thoughtfully surveying, as he leaned upon his long rifle. " Pelt o' one air no good, meat o' t'other air no better. Leave 'em lie, boy; leave 'em lie. We won't stick knife into 'em, or tech 'em to muss 'em up. Leave TWO OTHER OLD HEROES 337 'em hyar, as they be. They've arned the right to be let alone, an' keep their scalps. Injuns don't scalp old men or bravest men; an' we air white Injuns. What good would it do you to take pelt, claw, or horn? We respected 'em livin', an' we'll respect 'em dead. Leave 'em." So they rode away ; and amidst the sunset beams the mighty Four-Toes and the last of the buffalo lay peaceful and asleep upon the torn sod of the secluded little basin. The chances were that no human being would find them, to desecrate their venerable frames. CHAPTER XXIV THE GOLD-MINE MAP AGAIN White Injun Camp is occupied ; for the day after the bloodless battle of bear and buffalo the party arrived in the Gulch of the Red Man, and found the cache undisturbed. No black man was in sight; no black man had left traces; and with glad hands Chet resurrected his historic skull and Phil his historic rusted rifle and old Dan his historic precious pot. These, with the other " possibles," were packed anew upon Cotton-tail and the spotted pony (lightly upon the latter), and the trail was taken for the shack. On the second afternoon the cavalcade filed out from the edge of the timber, before which were the little park, and the warm pool and the cabin, all waiting. No intruders had been here. " Wagh ! " grunted Grizzly Dan, eagerly, his keen old eyes scanning for sign. " Hyar's home. Now for pot on fire. I air half froze for biled meat. This coon air wolfish, he air." The willing animals were turned loose, and led by Betty the mule trotted away, to roll, to drink, and to nose about for the best grass. Speedily the cabin was strewn once more with the furs, and the bunks were piled soft and warm; the hanging of shield and bow ought to have come next, but before the fire which he had made old Dan grumbled querulously. 338 THE GOLD-MINE MAP 339 "Need more water," he announced. "Wagh! It air pot time, not sleep time. Fust fill yore meat-bags ; then can fix up the lodge. Do 'ee want to starve? " So they must fall to, in this the middle of the after- noon, and help get the meal of mutton. Indeed, as old Dan had said, this snug little park, with the battered log shack, and the flowers and grass and hot and cold springs and warm pool, surrounded by the evergreen forest, with slumbering Warrior Peak close over and with the crimson crest of Red Chief up- jutting above the leagues of rolling timber in the opposite direction, was home for the wandering white Injuns. And here they stayed, resting from the trail and the scout, until old Dan should be whole and well and ready for more adventures. Dan mended not rapidly. His active outdoor life had rewarded him with marvelous energy ; but he was eighty years of age. The hard riding, and the anxiety, and the shock of his fall and his wound made him content to sit in the sun before the cabin door. He did muster strength to steal off to his " corral " and bring back the inevitable deer; for he would risk no danger, could he avoid it, of being " wolfish " without remedy therefor. He never was unable to eat, was old Dan. As for the boys, they easily occupied themselves, climbing the peak and exploring it from end to end, scouting through the timber, bathing in the pool, living the white Injun life of buckskin and moccasins. Thus the weeks passed, with astonishing ease. Then the even existence was broken by two events which supplied fresh excitement. 340 OLD FOUR-TOES The rusted rifle of Frapp the trapper captain was handled frequently. Old Dan had scoured it and oiled it, the best that was practicable, so that even the locks were freed. Hammer could be raised to cock; trigger set and pulled; whack! But the bore was so rusted and the powder passage from pan to chamber so clogged, that they did not dare to load the gun and fire it. However, the stock and the outer metal were scoured clean; but although the brass lid in the stock was scraped and polished, also, they were unable to open it. Nevertheless, there in the stock was revealed plainly the letter ' F ' ; and there in the lock-plate was revealed the word " Hawkins." So a regular " Hawkins rifle " was this; and it had belonged to the trapper captain Frapp and had taken part in the big " scrimmage " at Battle Mountain. Wagh! Oft they fondled it; Chet even chose it, at times, instead of his cherished skull; and Chet it was who, late one afternoon, returned from a " scout/' and casually picking up the old piece discovered its secret. " Here ! " he cried gleefully. " I've got the patch- box open! And there's something inside." Phil ran to him. " How'd you do it ? What is it patches ? " " Why, I pressed on a spring. Secret spring see ? That's what was the matter spring held it tight, is all. Yes ; guess they're patches. Wait a minute," and Chet pried carefully, with knife-blade, while Phil jealously watched. THE GOLD-MINE MAP Old Dan joined them, where they sat at the thresh- old. He squatted, white Injun fashion, near. ' That air so," he nodded. " It air one o' those thar guns with a secret spring patch-box, or cap-box when they got to usin' caps. Remember now; I'd forgot. Shorely it war. But that airn't all patches, boy. Keerful, now." Chet had pried out of the round shallow cavity a hard-pressed layer, stiff and thickish, like doubled yellow paper. A few yellowed linen wafers stuck to it; they were patches, but it was of different texture from them. " Let's see," invited Phil, as Chet gingerly handled it ; and Chet passed it along. It felt greasy; for the grease of the patches had soaked the cavity, and the brass lid had been absolutely tight. But it was stubborn, with folds so tightly pressed that they seemed cemented. " Lemme have that," bade old Dan, and he took it in his gnarled fingers. " Hide, it air," he announced. " A piece o' hide scraped thin an' 'iled, I reckon. Wagh, now! Mebbe if this coon works slow he can open it up. He suspects it mought be the map o' that thar gold mine." Cautiously he limbered the folds, and spread them further and further. The material was tough; it yielded, until upon his knee he had spread the sheet, deeply creased but at their service. " Say! " ejaculated Chet. " Is it? " " It air or map o' somewhar else." 342 OLD FOUR-TOES "Wagh!" applauded Phil. "We weren't up to trap, or we'd have found it before." " Time enough, time enough," crooned old Dan, poring over the sheet, while the boys gathered closer. It was oiled skin or hide, traced with black and red lines faint upon the yellowed surface. Old Dan transferred it to the threshold, as a flatter, more solid place, and they all held it down, although, sooth to say, it was not more than six inches square. " Thar," quoth Dan, pointing with trembling old finger. " See that? That air Red Chief Mountain." " Looks like a volcano," commented Phil, studying. " It air Red Chief. 'Cause why? 'Cause that what you take for smoke is a feather, boy a red feather stuck atop what means to be a mountain. Feather air sign o' chief, an' color says ' Red Chief.' Trappers' maps didn't waste words. Yon's the trapper trail, 'round the mountain; an' hyar air the two lakes; an' hyar is a hand pointin' down, at a leetle cross nigh up to top o' the second saddle. An' hyar's a pair o' thumpin' big goat horns, with three curls to 'em. Wagh ! Never saw goat horns o' that size." " That shore is some map," declared Chet, solemnly. " Better go there, hadn't we ? " proposed Phil, eagerly. " I air a trapper, I air a mountain man, wagh ! " answered old Dan, slowly. " We never paid much attention to sech things as minerals. We war after pelts, an' the sign we looked for war beaver, an' wood an' water an' meat, an' hostiles. Gold warn't wuth the carryin' 'round; lead war our mineral lead for THE GOLD-MINE MAP 343 bullets ; an' iron an' steel, as traps. This hyar mine o' Frapp's war lyin' up thar all those years. He come on it by accident, but I reckon he never went back. It war an old Spanish mine, I heard tell, worked 'fore white men entered the country. Frapp never went back ; he kept after the beaver. An' now I air old an' won't have much use for gold if I get it." " Do you think we could find the mine ? Could you help us, if you don't want it yourself? " queried Phil. Of course, his gun had contained the map, but some- how he felt as though old Dan, as brother trapper to the bygone Frapp, was entitled to the mine, first. " That's a mighty big mountain to prospect over," mused Chet, doubtfully, gazing off at the bright crest of Red Chief. " I war thinkin'," resumed old Dan, still slowly. " I air no prospector; beaver sign air my sign, not float sign. But I reckon my day as trapper air past. This park air not what it used to be. Buff'ler all gone, Four-Toes he air gone; campin' parties comin' through, even gals an' tenderfeet ; an' sheep air grazin' on the pastures o' the elk an' deer. I'll go with ye, I'll go with ye, if you want to try that 'ere mountain. But I never war on it; I've always heard it air heap mountain, full o' tough places an' queer sign, an' we trappers let it alone, mostly. But I'll go with ye ; only you must give me a leetle time to make my medicine strong. That 'ere arrow wound somehow went deeper'n it looked to go, an' my pony airn't done limpin', either. Besides, we ought to feed up, plenty, fust " (he had been eating five times a day for over a 344 OLD FOUR-TOES month!), " an' we ought to make meat, to carry 'long, in case meat air scarce up thar on top." So it was agreed. While old Dan rested further, they turned to upon the venison and proceeded to " jerk " it, or dry many strips of it in the sun. And then, when preparations were well along, occurred another delay ; for Bonita disappeared, a second time ! Wolves were not about, howling and inviting. The wolves evidently were hunting elsewhere. Neverthe- less, at evening no Bonita could be found in camp; amidst the dark no Bonita responded to calls and whistling ; and no Bonita had appeared at morning. Now this was odd, and alarming; and although old Dan maintained, with great assurance : " Don't you worry. She'll come back; " adding, with his chuckle: "But not afore she's ready!" they diligently sought her. The camp was not camp without Bonita's sharp nose and bright eyes and pattering feet and silky black coat. To find one black sheep-dog in fifty or more square miles of timber and mountain and canon is uncertain work. The days passed; and while old Dan, with persistent reiteration that " She'll come back, when she air ready," stayed close to the cabin, Phil and Chet rode and trudged the country round about. It seemed to Phil that he himself had explored every inch within two miles of the shack ; but no Bonita, no silky, bright- eyed, lovable Bonita, was sighted; no, nor any trace of her. On the fourth day after the disappearance he was riding the brush amidst the timber, when quite by THE GOLD-MINE MAP 345 accident he turned Pepper into a miniature draw that ran like a shallow arroyo for a few rods. It was carpeted thick with fallen leaves of the squaw-berry and sumac bushes. Here Pepper snorted, with ears pricked; halted, and stared; and peering through the bushes Phil descried a black bunch. Phil cocked his carbine, and reining Pepper strove to get a better view. Was this wolf? Or Bonita, dead! No, not dead, for it moved. " Bonita ! " he spoke. " Why, Bonita! Is that you, girl ? Here ! Come here ! " At the words the black bunch stirred more, and from it now pointed a familiar sharp nose, surmounted by two bright, friendly eyes. It was Bonita! But sick ? Wounded ? Down from Pepper tumbled Phil, and stepped hastily forward. Bonita was lying luxuriously curled in a nest of leaves and dried grass, protected by the brush, at the head of the little draw; she merely wagged her tail and did not rise ; but she was not ill nor wounded. Her excuse, dumbly proffered, was four helpless, squirm- ing, whimpering things which to her probably were the most beautiful babies that ever were born; and Phil was inclined to agree with her assertion as indicated by tail-wags and nosings. They did not look at all like her (yet), and whether they resembled their father, he, Phil, was unable to judge. Now when Phil spread the glad news, there was a great howdy-do. " Wolf pups, eh ? " commented old Dan. " Wall, I 346 OLD FOUR-TOES told 'ee she war goin' to come back when she war ready." And he too rode out to inspect her. " Wagh ! " he addressed. " Heap squaw ! Heap young warriors ! " Whereat Bonita seemed much pleased. " She's been white Injun for herself doing her own foraging. See?" commented Chet, pointing to rabbit-fur in the leaves near her. " Wonder if they'll be mostly wolf or mostly dog? " hazarded Phil. " Hard to tell which, yet." " Wolf strain air the strong strain, in dawg an' wolf mixed breed," answered old Dan. " Injun dawgs air gener'ly part wolf. So war our trapper dawgs, after a time. O' course, these hyar pups' daddy war black wolf, I reckon, so they won't look much different from black sheep-dog pups, ornery kind." " Can we take them into camp? Eyes aren't open," said Phil. " Better, if you want to save 'em," recommended old Dan. " Weasel or cat or other varmint's liable to get 'em, when the mammy's absent foragin'." So Phil and Chet, Bonita anxiously hovering by, needs must take each a pup under arm, and trudge with them a mile through the brush (an undignified proceeding for buckskinned, moccasined white Injuns) for camp ; ever and anon stopping to set the pups down so that Bonita might smell them and see that they were all right. In camp the little family was cosily quartered upon gunny sacks, under a thatching of boughs, dose against the cabin wall. This was all very lovely; but by not having con- THE GOLD-MINE MAP 347 suited the other inmates of the camp, before she had the babies by not telling of her own plans, Bonita had seriously interfered with the general plans. For how was it possible to start off now and explore Red Chief? Could they take a mother and four babies along ? No ! Nor could they leave her. Again no ! Not for a gold mine would Phil, or Chet, or, you may believe, would old Dan himself, have left Mamma Bonita and her babies to struggle for existence amidst the infested wilds of Lost Park. " Aw what are we going to do ? " queried Chet, puzzled. " Thought she had more sense than that ; didn't you ? " " All we can do is wait, I suppose," answered Phil, regretfully. " But it sure would be hard luck if after sixty years somebody discovers that gold mine while we're stuck here waiting for pups to grow." " Yes ; like as not that black man is trying to trail it down. Don't want to forget him," reminded Chet. " He lifted that battle-field cache, you know." " Wall, I tell 'ee," proposed old Dan. " Pups air pups, an' you can't hurry 'em. It'll be eight weeks 'fore they air able to travel 't all. I war thinkin', any- how, we airn't outfitted for prospectin'. Need picks, an' mebbe candles if we explore old workin's, an' sech things; an' more coffee or tea an' like provisions wouldn't be a bad idee. If you two boys'll go out, an' get proper stuff, I'll stay hyar an' keep the lodge-fire bright an' help raise those thar pups. I airn't right pert even yet; an' my pony airn't right pert; but by time you get back we'll be dancin' medicine. Yep, we 348 OLD FOUR-TOES will. Whoooop! Ow-ow-gh! Hay-ah-hay! " and old Dan took a few dance steps. " That will give me a chance to write to my folks or I'll telegraph them first and say that we're all alive and happy," said Phil, quickly. " By the time this Indian scare gets into the Eastern papers it'll be a regular massacre! The folks may want me to come home for a week, or else meet them in Denver. I can be looking up things for the new outfit, too." " And I ought to tell dad about the scrimmage ; he'll be worried," admitted Chet. " He's off on the range and he'll hear all sorts of rumors. He's fought Injuns, himself. I can tell him about Gus's sheep in here, too. Might run some of ours in the park, next year, if we don't go to ranching." So was it decided, that the two boys should go out but should come back. " Hyar ! " bade old Dan, in the midst of the hasty preparations. " Can't go out bar'. That airn't white Injun way. Ought to have a pack o' pelts." And from his cache he hauled out the rolls of furs and lavishly threw aside skin after skin. " Take these, an' you needn't be ashamed, an' nobody can p'int finger an' say: * Wagh! Pore mountain men those thar be. Airn't up to trap, 'cause they come out empty.' ' "But those aren't ours; they're your skins," pro- tested the boys. " Keep them. You'll need them." Old Dan was obstinate in his generosity. " Take 'em, take 'em," he ordered. " I got more. Don't 'ee know how the shack's loaded with 'em a foot deep ? Wagh ! What use I got for so much fur, THE GOLD-MINE MAP 349 nowaday? Powder an' lead, lectio coffee an' flour, an* I air fixed. No; take 'em along to the settlements, companeros, an' use 'em as you like." " We can buy some of the stuff for the outfit with 'em," proposed diet. But he knew, and Phil knew, that one of those fine pelts, so softly tanned and dressed, would be worth more than all the picks and provisions they could pack. Such furs were for gifts, not for sale. " Sartin ; trade 'em in. That's what they air for : to trade in for powder an' lead an' coffee an' a pint or two o' sugar, beads an' brass an' red cloth an' blankets," approved old Dan. Strange did it feel to don again stiff boots and flimsy overalls or thick corduroys, and binding hats. But thus must they two dress; for moccasined, buck- skin-clad, 'kerchief-turbaned hunters did not to-day ride the trails into the " settlements." " Wagh! " giggled Chet. " People'd take us for a Wild West show ! " They shook hands with old Dan, and swung aboard the saddles. Bonita wistfully whined. Fain would she go along but she knew that she must not. " Never mind, girlie. You stay and be good doggie and have those kids big and strong for the gold-mine trail, when we get back," instructed Phil, reaching down to pat her. " We'll be back in three or four weeks," called Chet, as they started, to old Dan f We'll make a smoke, as soon as we get in, to let you know we've come," engaged Phil. 350 OLD FOUR-TOES " All right. At the fourth week I'll be watchin'," promised old Dan. Headed now toward Red Chief and the canon trail and the outside country, from the farther edge of the little park they waved hand, once more, at old Dan, standing, a tall, picturesque figure, Bonita beside him, before the doorway of the log cabin. Then into the timber they plunged, at trot, Chet leading, Phil in rear, Cotton-tail (reluctant to part from Betty and the spotted pony) between them. They had left much of their " plunder," that they might travel fast and light ; they took their buffalo robe and a few pounds of jerked venison and the pelts upon Cotton-tail. They asked no help ; they knew that they would get through ; for they were white Injuns tanned and hearty and inde- pendent, the real thing. The Great West Series THE BOY SETTLER; or, Terry in the New West In the frontier days of the West, when Terry Richard drove his ox team across the plains, he opened to himself and his boy reader friends a wide sweep of adventures all narrated so naturally and realistically, that you feel they must have been true. THE GREAT PIKE'S PEAK RUSH ; or, Terry in the New Gold Fields Terry and his dog, Shep, accompany Harry Re- vere on a six hundred mile trek across to Colorado, spurred on by the lure of gold. It is the great "Pike's Peak or Bust" rush of 1859, when boys were called upon to play the part of men. ON THE OVERLAND STAGE; or. Terry as a King Whip Cub Here we have the next phase of Western devel- opment in the rise of the overland stage route leading from St. Joe clear across to Sacramento. With Terry, who helps drive stage, we meet Buffalo Bill, Sam Clemens, and other worth while people also some not so much worth while, but no less to be reckoned with. OPENING THE IRON TRAIL; or, Terry in the Great Railroad Race As a logical sequel to the stage coach came the building of the Union Pacific Railroad an under- taking so fraught with danger and romance, that no single book could hope to compass the entire picture. This book is a fine achievement a really big story. A Boy Scout Story PLUCK ON THE LONG TRAIL; or, Boy Scouts in the Kockies How a patrol of Boy Scouts took an important message one hundred miles across the Colorado mountains, and the perils they successfully with- stood, is the subject of this lively story. Each Book Strikingly Illustrated and Trail Series BAR B BOYS; or, the Young Cow Punchers Phil, an Eastern boy, goes West to regain his health. He misses a train, is picked up by Indians, joins a ranch of cowboys, and after a variety of adventures learns to throw a rope with the best of them. RANGE AND TRAIL ; or, The Bar B's Great Drive Phil and his chum, Chet, after a hard winter on the ranch, go with other cowboys to drive up a fresh herd of cattle from New Mexico. Scenes of the long trail are replete with color and excite- ment. CIRCLE K; or, Fighting for the Flock The Bar B outfit go in for raising sheep, and through the medium of their new adventures the reader learns many interesting facts regarding this great industry. There are thrills a-plenty, leading up to the introduction of Grizzly Dan, the old trapper. OLD FOUK-TOES; or, Hunters of the Peaks Phil and Chet go with Grizzly Dan on a hunting trip among the passes, peaks, and precipices of the Lost Park country. They have brushes with hostile Indians, and get on the trail of a famous grizzly bear, "Old Four-Toes." With them we see another graphic phase of Western life. TREASUKE MOUNTAIN; or the Young Prospectors Here the boys turn their attention in still an- other important channel that of gold mining. They set out to locate a lost mine on a Rocky Mountain peak, and find but the reader must fol- low their varied adventures for himself. It is a story of surprises. SCARF ACE RANCH; or, the Young Homesteaders Here we bid farewell to Phil and Chet and their friends. The boys have taken up another great branch of Western life, that of the homesteader, who stakes his claim, clears his ground, and tills his soil. Like all the preceding stories, this has a wholesome, inspiriting flavor. Each Book Strikingly Illustrated THE "SILVER FOX FARM" SERIES BY JAMES OTIS THE WIRELESS STATION AT SILVER FOX FARM. Illustrated by Charles Copeland. 8vo. A bright, vividly written narrative of the adventures of Paul Simpson and Ned Bartlett in helping- the former's father start a farm for raising silver foxes on Barren Island, twelve miles off the Maine coast. THE AEROPLANE AT SILVER FOX FARM. Illustrated by Charles Copeland. 8vo. An absorbing story of the building and working of an aero- plane on Barren Island. BUILDING AN AIRSHIP AT SILVER FOX FARM. Illustrated by Charles Copeland. 8vo. Encouraged by their success in aeroplane-building, the boys of Silver Fox Farm go in for a full-fledged airship. AIRSHIP CRUISING FROM SILVER FOX FARM. Illustrated by Charles Copeland. Svo. A further account of the marvels performed by the Silver Fox Farmers, including the story of the thrilling rescue of a shipwrecked yachting party by means of their great air-cruiser. BOY SCOUT BOOKS BOY SCOUTS IN THE MAINE WOODS. BOY SCOUTS IN A LUMBER CAMP. 12mOg illustrated. Other Books by JAMES OTIS DOROTHY'S SPY. JOEY AT THE FAIR. TWO STOWAWAYS. i2mo, illustrated. SHORT CRUISE. HOW TOMMY SAVED THE BARN. OUR UNCLE THE MAJOR. Svo, illustrated. THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY NEW YORK CIVIL WAR STORIES BY WARREN LEE GOSS IN THE NAVY, (7th Thousand) Illustrated, 399 Pages, A Story of naval adventures during the Civil war. ilf lhc Marine Journal*' says of it: "The author, takes as usual for his fiction, a foundation of reality, and therefore the story reads like a transcript of real life. There are many dramatic scenes, such as the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and the reader follows the adventures of the two heroes with a keen interest that must make the story popular especially at the present time.*' TOM CLIFTON, A story of adventures in Grant and Sher- man's armies. (13th Thousand) Illustrated. 480 pages. 12mo. cloth, "The Detroit Free Press'" says of it, ' 'The book is the very epitome of what the young soldiers, who helped to save the Union, felt, endured and enjoyed. It is wholesome, stimulating to patriotism and manhood, noble in tone, unstained by any hint of sectionalism, full of good feeling; the work of a hero who himself did what h saw and relates." JACK ALDEN: Adventures in the Virginia Campaigns. 1861-65. (12th Thousand) Illustrated, 404 pages. ll The Ne c w York Nation"" says of it: "It is an unusually interesting story. Its pictures of scenes and incidents of army life, from the march of the 6th Massachusetts regiment through Baltimore to the surrender at Appomattox, are among the best that we can re- member to have read.'* JED. A boys adventures in the army.( 28th Thousand) Illu- strated, 402 pages. 12mo. Cloth, "The Boston Beacon"" among other complimentary remarks about this book says: "Of all the many stories of the Civil War that have been published and their name is legion it is not possible to mention one which for sturdy realism, intensity of interest, and range of narrative, can compare with Jed." A LIFE OF GRANT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, tl Tbe Christian Advocate" (Cincinnati) says of it: "One of the best lives of U. S. Grant that we have seen clear, circumstantial, but without undue and fulsome praise. The chapters telling of the clouds of misfortune and suffering over the close of his life are pathetic in the extreme." THE BOYS LIFE OF GENERAL SHERIDAN. Illustrated 12mo. cloth, The "Living Churh (Milwaukee) says of it: "The story of the dashing officer in his war career and also afterwards in his campaigns among the Indians, form a thrilling story of American leadership. The book contains a thorough review in thrilling language of the various campaigns in which Sheridan made his mark." Order from your bookseller. Send for Catalogue THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY, NEW YORK 14 DAY USE RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 25^65 DVl' REC'D LD JUN281963 APR 2 a 1969i3 MAY 3'69-Ul \ mm * LOAN DEP T. ?D!tt7VB M u-SSggBL-. Y.C ! 06645 R2U084 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY