"INJUN" 
 
 and 
 
 "WHITEY" 
 
 STRIKE OUT FOR 
 THEMSELVES 
 
 I 111 AM S, HART
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES

 
 AN INDIAN STEPPED OUT AND COVERED THEM WITH HIS 
 
 GUN (page 174)
 
 THE GOLDEN WEST BOYS 
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY 
 
 STRIKE OUT FOR 
 
 THEMSELVES 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM S. HART 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY, 
 INJUN AND .WHITEY TO THE RESCUE, ETC. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 HAROLD CUE 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PUBLISHERS NEW YORK 
 
 Made in the United Sutei of
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1931, BY WILLIAM S. HART 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Across the sky were fleeting clouds which seemed 
 to blend in with the thoughts of a boy that stood, his 
 hands clasped in the hand of his father, on a small 
 station platform in the Dakota Territory in the 
 early eighties. 
 
 As the boy stood silent and afraid, waiting for the 
 big giant of the rails that was to come and take 
 him far away from the country of which he was a 
 part, he could hear the cluck of the prairie chickens 
 as they walked unmolested within fifty yards of the 
 station; he could see a mile distant a low line of 
 poplars that fringed in yellow waves the young 
 river that leapt down the gorge and smiled in happi 
 ness as it passed. He could see along the great line 
 of the horizon wild geese flying swiftly south, for it 
 was the late fall of the year when the buffalo grass 
 sighed and looked from right to left waiting for 
 Nature, the Boss Reaper, to come along and take 
 her toll. He could see the red sun wending its down 
 ward course where it was to set alone in silence, 
 
 iii 
 
 625074
 
 PREFACE 
 
 O God! the greatness ; the bigness of it all! That tre 
 mendous prairie was the only mistress this boy 
 would ever know. 
 
 Then there came to the boy a seeming vibration 
 in the air as though Nature was trembling and 
 knew not why. But it was the giant of the rails that 
 was coming. It was the end. 
 
 "Dad, aren't we ever coming back?" asked the 
 boy. 
 
 "/ don't know, son. Only God knows that." 
 
 And the giant came, and the boy went away, and 
 the poplars waved, and the river smiled, and the 
 boy never did come back but he is trying to now 
 through 
 
 THE AUTHOR
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 I. A TELEGRAM 
 II. THE BOYS GIVE A PROMISE 
 
 III. A FOREST FIRE 
 
 IV. A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 V. ANOTHER MYSTERY 
 
 VI. ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 VII. CAUGHT 
 VIII. THE GOLD-MINE 
 IX. JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 X. A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 XL CROWLEY 
 XII. TREED BY A GRIZZLY 
 
 XIII. A FRIEND INDEED 
 
 XIV. CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 XV. IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 XVI. BILL JORDAN RETURNS 
 XVII. PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 XVIII. INJUN'S NOBLE LOYALTY 
 XIX. WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 XX. THE REWARD OF BRAVERY 
 XXL THE RESCUE PARTY 
 XXII. WHITEY'S SURPRISE
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 AN INDIAN STEPPED OUT AND COVERED THEM WITH 
 HIS GUN Frontispiece 
 
 WHITEY MADE A GRAB FOR A SMALL BUT TOUGH 
 SHRUB 64 
 
 INJUN FACED HIM, READY TO SLASH AT THE PAWS IF 
 THEY FOUND A HOLD 136 
 
 THE LUST OF BATTLE WAS IN HIS VEINS 218 
 
 Drawn by HAROLD CUE
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY 
 
 STRIKE OUT FOR 
 
 THEMSELVES 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 "WELL, if that isn't hard luck," said Whitey 
 Sherwood, disgustedly, as he went over and 
 leaned against a post of the corral, "then I'd like 
 to have somebody tell me what is!" 
 
 To those who have followed the adventures of 
 Injun and Whitey in the first book of "The 
 Golden West Series," it will be remembered that 
 they had planned to explore the wild region over 
 beyond Moose Lake, where they had succeeded 
 in capturing Pedro, after a desperate struggle 
 in the waters of the lake and had brought him 
 back to the ranch, and, eventually, had secured 
 the reward offered for his capture. When they 
 had mentioned their intention to Bill Jordan, 
 
 I
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 the foreman of Mr. Sherwood's ranch, he had 
 immediately become interested in the expedition. 
 Bill had, at one time, been a gold prospector, and 
 once the lure of gold-hunting gets into a man's 
 system, it is hard to get it out, and it usually re 
 mains with him until the end of his days. 
 
 Bill had shown them a piece of gold ore, which, 
 singularly enough, had come from this very re 
 gion; although, he had added, lest the boys 
 might imagine that they could walk over there 
 and locate a mine any afternoon, "This here 
 piece o' ore is prob'ly th' only chunk o' gold the 
 good Lord ever put in them mountains! No 
 body's ever bin able t' find any more of it, an' 
 prospectors has bin givin' th' place th' go-by fer 
 th' last ten years." 
 
 But as the main object of the boys' expedition 
 was not the finding of gold, but rather adven 
 ture, they were not particularly discouraged. 
 What they were looking for was excitement, in 
 any form that it might present itself; though, of 
 course, if a good, healthy gold-mine came along, 
 they would probably stop long enough to pick 
 it up. 
 
 2
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 But now, the whole project seemed to have 
 been knocked in the head. Mr. Sherwood, 
 Whitey's father, had been called East to attend 
 to some business, and had left Whitey in Bill 
 Jordan's charge; and while Bill wasn't by any 
 means a strict disciplinarian and allowed Whitey 
 to do about as he pleased, yet he considered that 
 it was, perhaps, inadvisable to allow two fifteen- 
 year-old boys to go alone into so wild a region 
 as that beyond Moose Lake. And for this reason 
 he decided to accompany them. The ranch, as 
 Bill said, was a good deal of "a pianola proposi 
 tion " it ran itself. Walker, one of the hands, 
 was a most capable man to fill Bill's shoes, for a 
 time, at least; and then, probably, not the small 
 est of the reasons that induced Bill to decide to 
 accompany the boys was the itching he had to 
 get back into the prospecting game, even if but 
 for a few days. 
 
 The cause of Whitey's disgusted exclamation 
 was a telegram which had just been handed to 
 Bill within a few hours before the expedition was 
 scheduled to start. It was from Mr. Sherwood, 
 in New York, and requested Bill to take the first 
 
 3
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 train for the East to help him in some negotia 
 tions in regard to the ranch business. 
 
 Judging by the look on Bill's face he was 
 about as disappointed as the boys, and he stood 
 for a moment, the telegram in his hand, thinking 
 it over. 
 
 "Wai," drawled Bill, "I'll say it is, too! But 
 orders is orders, you know, an' when the Boss 
 fiddles, we all gotta dance, whether we like the 
 tune er not! I ain't none too stuck on roamin' 
 'round thet Big Camp-on-the-Subway,bein' some 
 nervous an' timid like. Them tall four an' five- 
 story buildin's never looked t' me t' be safe, 
 an' th' sidewalks does shore hurt my feet!" 
 
 "Were you ever East before, Mr. Jordan?" 
 asked Whitey, grinning. 
 
 "Sure," said Bill, with a blase air; "I was way 
 back East as fur as Cheyenne, one time. But I 
 didn't cotton to it none no effete civilization 
 like they got in Omaha an' them places fer mine ! 
 Me an' th' West .is wedded, an' when I git on 
 that train I'll feel like I was elopin'! I ain't 
 gonna feel comf'table fer a minnit, messin' 
 'round 'mong them hoss-cars an' Henry Fords 
 
 4
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 an' p'leecemen an' sech. It's takin' too many 
 chances fer a man like me, an' I won't feel real 
 safe till I'm back here runnin' down cattle- 
 rus'lers er breakin' hosses, er mebbe extermi- 
 natin' grizzlies an' rattlers." 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances Whitey would 
 probably have laughed at Bill's idea of safety, 
 but he couldn't raise anything more than a 
 sickly smile on this occasion. 
 
 Injun stood near by, and gave vent to no ex 
 pression of disappointment either in his face or 
 by words; that is an Indian's way, and he is 
 seldom very demonstrative; but there could be 
 no doubt that he didn't like the turn matters 
 had taken. The going into the wilds was, to him, 
 an everyday affair, and had been, almost since 
 his infancy. He had always taken care of him 
 self and he would have no misgivings about 
 riding into the mountains beyond Moose Lake 
 alone. But he felt that with Whitey the case was 
 different, though he couldn't quite understand 
 it. White folks have a lot of strange ideas about 
 boys, anyway, according to Injun's way of think 
 ing, as he, himself, was beginning to find out. 
 
 5
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 When the reward of two thousand dollars for 
 the capture of Pedro had been paid to the boys, 
 Bill Jordan had been appointed the Indian boy's 
 guardian to care for his share, which was a 
 thousand dollars. Of course, Injun had no idea 
 of the value of money and would have scattered 
 it to the winds in no time had the disposal of it 
 been left to him; probably a thousand dollars' 
 worth of red flannels or fish-hooks would have 
 been his idea of getting the worth of his money! 
 But Bill Jordan and Mr. Sherwood had con 
 sulted about the boy's future, and had deter 
 mined that the bulk of it should be used for 
 Injun's education at Carlisle or some other good 
 school. 
 
 It was natural that Bill, being guardian of the 
 boy's money, should extend a little of his guard 
 ianship to the boy's person as well. For Injun 
 was popular with the ranchmen, not only be 
 cause he was a likable boy and Whitey's pal, but 
 because of the great service he had rendered 
 them at one time or another. And so, in addi 
 tion to being Injun's "banker," Bill acted in a 
 parental way, too. Bill did not believe in for- 
 
 6
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 bidding a boy to do things; his method was to 
 reason it out with him and show him why a cer 
 tain course was either good or bad then let 
 the boy decide for himself. (I am not saying 
 whether this is the right way or the wrong way 
 every parent or guardian must decide that him 
 self; but if results count for anything, it seems 
 to me a pretty good way.) 
 
 So the three sat out by the corral and looked 
 at each other. At length it seemed to Whitey 
 that Bill might be waiting for a suggestion, and 
 a faint hope revived within him. 
 
 "I suppose that settles our going, doesn't it, 
 Mr. Jordan?" he asked. 
 
 "Wai," said Bill, slowly, "I dunno. What do 
 you think about it? I don't like to say y' can't 
 go. Fact is, I guess I ain't got no right t' say 
 it! Yo're yer own boss I'm only actin' in a 
 'dvis'ry c'pacity, like I said when yo'r pa went 
 East. I will say thet there's a heap o ' onciviliza- 
 tion out there 'mong them mountains over be 
 yond Moose Lake. Why don't yo' all ride over 
 to th' junction an' get 'bout two dollars' wo'th 
 o' lollypops an' go an' set into a movin'-pitcher 
 
 7
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 show instead? Now th' las' time I was over 
 there, I seen a swell pitcher it was all about a 
 fluffy-ruffles liT gal thet " 
 
 "Well, we've taken pretty good care of our 
 selves up to date, haven't we?" interrupted 
 Whitey, ignoring the lollypop-moving-picture 
 proposition. 
 
 "Wai," said Bill, deliberating for a time, "out 
 side o' causin' me an' yo'r pa to sprout a consid- 
 er'ble crop o' goose-flesh an' gray hairs 'count o' 
 bein' oneasy in our minds, I reckon yo'r record's 
 fair better 'n some, mebbe." And to Whitey's 
 practiced eye, Bill seemed to show signs of 
 weakening. 
 
 "We didn't get the worst of it when we tackled 
 Ross and the rustlers; nor with Pedro, either! 
 We aren't going to run up against anything 
 worse than that. We aren't going to go up and 
 kick a grizzly in the ribs or try to twist a moun 
 tain lion's tail just to hear him yowl ! And after 
 my experience with rattlers, I'm not going to try 
 to make a pet of one! What else is there that 
 can hurt us? Besides, if somebody has to go with 
 us, why can't Walker or Charley Bassett go?" 
 
 8
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 "Oh, Lord!" said Bill, hastily, grinning at 
 Walker, who stood near by, "Walker an' Bas- 
 sett ain't nuthin' but two innercent an' do-cile 
 growed-up men, an' 'twouldn't be fair to use 
 'em all up follerin' yo' two r'arin' catamounts 
 into all kinds o' dangerous peril an' sech ! Have 
 a heart! Them two men was brung up pets an* 
 ain't used t' bein' spoke harsh to an' treated 
 rough an' all like thet!" 
 
 "Yes," said Whitey, with a grin, "Walker and 
 Bassett are a couple of delicate little things!" 
 (Both men were more than six feet tall and 
 weighed in the neighborhood of a hundred and 
 ninety!) "It would be a shame to subject them 
 to any hardships following Injun and me! Please 
 forget it, Mr. Jordan ! What I want to know is, 
 do we go, or don't we?" 
 
 "Wai," said Jordan, slowly, "it's like I said 
 first-off I ain't sayin' y' can't. I dunno but 
 I'm runnin' a heap more resk goin' down t' Noo 
 Yawk 'mong them hossless hoss-cars an' railroads 
 set up on top o' sticks, an' th' hull place chuck 
 full o' financeers an' pick-pockets an' Republi 
 cans! Whut do yo' think 'bout it, Walker?" 
 
 9
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "Who? Me?" said Walker, as he rolled a 
 cigarette. "'F yo' askin' me whut I think, I 
 think Fd a heap sight ruther hev th' kids' 
 chanst 'n I would yo'rn. Them boys'll come 
 through 'ith spangles on 'em; but some galoot '11 
 take yo' 'fore yo' bin in th' Big Town long 
 'miff t' register. 'F them Fo'ty-Second Street 
 pirates gits word yo're comin', I kin see 'em 
 gittin' out the gol' brick an' polishin' 'er up, an' 
 workin' overtime printin' oil-stock an' green- 
 goods circ'lars. 'Tain't no hundred t' one some 
 o' them smooth guys don't sell yo' th' keys t' 
 Central Park!" 
 
 "Was yo' speakin' frum experience?" asked 
 Jordan, innocently. 
 
 "Wai," answered Walker, after a pause, look 
 ing skyward, and blowing out a big whiff of 
 smoke, " 'twouldn't s'prise me none 'f we hed a 
 fine day, t'-morrer, mebbe." 
 
 "Haw, haw!" laughed Bill, as he softly 
 hummed : 
 
 "The Bowery! The Bowery! 
 I'll never go there any more! " 
 
 "Wai," Bill went on, "now 't yo've warned 
 
 JO
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 me, I won't buy no keys t' no parks, ner no 
 near-gold bricks, ner no oil-stock ; an' 'f I kin only 
 remember not t' blow out th' gas an' not walk 
 no place but in th' middle o' th' road, mebbe 
 I'll come through 'thout losin' my back teeth." 
 
 "Bill," said Walker, solemnly, "the' 's guys 
 in Noo Yawk c'n steal th' vest off'n yo' while 
 yo' got a overcoat on!" 
 
 "Haw! I'll fool 'em!" laughed Bill. "They 
 can't pull thet one on me, anyhow ! I don't wear 
 no overcoat ! " 
 
 "Yeah! I know!" said Walker. "I s'pose 
 thet'd make it harder! An' 'f yo' was t' stick 
 yo'r head in th' sand like a ostrich, they couldn't 
 see yo' neither?" 
 
 "All very interesting, if true," said Whitey, 
 "but what about Injun and me? Do we go?" 
 
 "Son," said Bill, "an' yo', too, Lo," looking 
 at Injun, "yo' all hes heard Walker tell how 
 calam'ty an' deestruction overtakes them as 
 rushes in where fools dares t' tread, as the Good 
 Book says. Yo' all jest heared how this here 
 Walker person done rushed int' Noo Yawk an* 
 they slipped him th' work an' he cum away frum 
 
 II
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 there a heap sadder, but 'tain't likely he was no 
 wiser him bein' thick an' hard t' learn. So, ef 
 in th' face of a harrowin' an' heart-rendin' narra 
 tive like his'n, yo' all is plumb sot on lammin' 
 over t' them mount'ns, I ain't th' one t' say yo' 
 nay. Ef yo' all done cast th' dice, th' bet goes as 
 she lays." 
 
 "I reckon all them languages he jes' spilled 
 means f yes,'" said Walker. "Bill is shore some 
 prodigal when it comes to sheddin' parts o' 
 speech' some folks'd call it bein' windy." 
 
 "I've took notice frequent thet folks as never 
 hed no eddication whatsumever," said Bill, 
 looking haughtily at Walker and winking at 
 the boys, "is jellus of an' scoffs at them as hes." 
 
 "Is thet so?" drawled Walker. "Why, I seen 
 a fellow down t' San An tone thet had a eddicated 
 hog c'd give yo' cyards an' spa " 
 
 "Jim," said Jordan, playfully jamming Walk 
 er's hat down over his eyes and ducking a swing 
 that the latter made at him, " I can't set here an' 
 listen to none o' yo'r fambly hist'ry, tho' I'm 
 glad t' know one of 'em was eddicated, even 'f 
 he did live in San An tone! I gotta go an' see 
 
 12
 
 A TELEGRAM 
 
 'bout gittin' these here two Ramrods grub 
 staked fer the trip." 
 
 "Haw!" roared Walker, sarcastically. "Ram 
 rods, eh?" 
 
 "Whut's th' matter 'ith 'Ramrods'?" asked 
 Bill. "Thet's whut they call hunters, ain't it 
 Ramrods? Somethin' t" do 'ith a gun, ain't it? 
 An' they use guns fer huntin', don't they?" 
 
 "Thet eddicated hog down t' San An tone tol* 
 me 'twas 'Nimrods,'" said Walker; "an' hue- 
 cum yo' t' set yo'se'f up t' compete 'ith him?" 
 
 "I reckon yo' an' th' hawg wins, Walker," said 
 Bill, scratching his head; "mebbe 'tis 'Nimrods,' 
 now 't I cum t' think of it; but not havin' yo'r 
 nacheral advantages o' knowin' hog-talk, I guess 
 I'll hev t' take my hat off t' yo' an' yo'r friend." 
 
 And before Walker could think of a hot come 
 back, Bill had gathered a boy under each arm, 
 and was hurrying toward the ranch house.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 THE BOYS GIVE A PROMISE 
 
 IT took but little time to complete the outfit for 
 the boys, only such food being selected as was 
 compact and substantial, but there was enough 
 of it to last about three weeks. Whatever they 
 were to eat in addition to this they must get for 
 themselves from the woods and streams. One 
 change which Bill Jordan suggested and which 
 was quickly adopted by the boys was the sub 
 stitution of larger caliber rifles, a 30-30 taking 
 the place of the former .22; and in addition to 
 this, a shot-gun for small game, and two .38 cali 
 ber six-guns were added. The equipment was 
 securely strapped upon the back of a sturdy 
 pack-horse, and the expedition was ready to 
 start. 
 
 The ranchmen gathered around to give the 
 boys a send-off, and many were the suggestions 
 made and much advice, good and bad, given to 
 them. 
 
 "Now, remember," said Walker, "'f a grizzly
 
 THE BOYS GIVE A PROMISE 
 
 gits yo' all treed, jes' send me a postal-cyard, 
 an' I '11 come over an' give yo' all a hand ! " 
 
 "Well," promised Whitey, grinning, "if a 
 grizzly does get both*of us up a tree at the same 
 time, I'll telegraph you by wireless!" 
 
 "'Tain't likely yo' all'll run acrost our ol* 
 friend Pedro over there," said Charley Bassett, 
 who came up at that moment, having just ridden 
 in from town; "but 'f yo' do, bring him back an* 
 we'll photograft him ag'in, like we done." 
 
 "Whut d' y' mean ' photograft him ag'in'?" 
 asked Jordan. "Pedro's in jail, waitin' t' be 
 hung." 
 
 "Not so's y' could notice it, he ain't!" said 
 Bassett, dryly. "He were a few days ago 
 but he kissed 'em all good-bye an' vamoosed. 
 'Pears like they can't find hide ner hair o' the 
 skunk!" 
 
 "Is there another reward offered for his cap 
 ture?" asked Whitey, eagerly. Injun, too, moved 
 up closer; he was as much interested as any one; 
 perhaps more so, as it was against him that 
 Pedro's wrath had first been directed. 
 
 "Wai, will y' listen t' thet there kid!" ex- 
 15
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 claimed Bill Jordan. "An' look at this other one 
 edgin' in! l Are there any reward offered !' Can 
 y' beat it? I b'leeve them two kids'd start right 
 out now an' try t j corral thet hombrey 'f I was 
 t' let 'em which I ain't ! Thet's one place whar 
 I puts my foot down! 'F yo' all don't promise 
 me yo' won't go messin' 'round 'ith thet varmint, 
 right here's where th' hull expedition ends!" 
 
 "Well, if we did run across him, oughtn't we 
 to go get him and bring him in?" asked Whitey. 
 " It looks to me as though it would be more dan 
 gerous to try to avoid him than it would be to 
 go get him." 
 
 " Yo' said somethin', kid! "commented Walker. 
 "But 'f yo' meets up 'ith him, don't waste no 
 time capturin' him settle him, right thar! 
 Like we should 'a' done when we had him, 'f it 
 hadn't 'a' bin fer ol' Law-an '-Order here!" look 
 ing reproachfully at Jordan. "Now, it's gotta 
 be all did over ag'in ! " 
 
 (It will be remembered that the ranchmen, 
 Walker in particular, were anxious to lynch Pe 
 dro when Injun and Whitey captured him and 
 brought him back to the ranch. But Jordan had 
 
 16
 
 THE BOYS GIVE A PROMISE 
 
 interfered and prevented this, claiming that Law 
 and Order must be preserved.) 
 
 "I done whut was right, an' yo' know it, 
 Walker!" said Bill, a little hotly. "Th' trouble 
 is with them jail-people they must be a fine 
 outfit t' let thet bird giv' 'em th' slip! But thet 
 ain't neither here ner thar th' p'int is, these 
 here kids has got t' gimme their word they 
 won't go lookin' fer th' critter! O' co'se 'f they 
 meets up with him, th' onlies' thing t' be did is 
 t' plug him first then they kin go an' capture 
 him all they want! I dunno's I oughta let 'em 
 go a-tall," he added, doubtfully. 
 
 Alarmed at this latter remark, Whitey hastily 
 promised that they would not seek a meeting 
 with Pedro, and he turned to Injun for corrobo- 
 ration; but Injun seemed in no hurry to comply, 
 but sat stolidly on his pinto and grimly fingered 
 the lock of his rifle. 
 
 "Me plug 'im!" he growled. 
 
 "Hurrah!" shouted Bassett. "Yo' plug him, 
 kid, an' plug him good ! " 
 
 "Ef thet kid starts out to git Pedro, I'll take 
 a ticket on th' kid," announced Walker. "He 
 
 17
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 knows more ways o' trailin' an' hidin' an' am- 
 bushin' an' all sech 'n Pedro er his hull fam- 
 bly'll ever know ! " 
 
 "Mebbe!" said Jordan, with firmness and de 
 cision. "But jest recollect t' remember thet 
 Whitey's with him. 'F yo* was t' giv' Injun an* 
 Pedro a gun apiece an' turn 'em loose in th* 
 mount'ns, I hain't a doubt Injun'd git him 
 shore. But I don't intend fer them two to 
 do no stalkin' an' capturin* o' thet pizen critter, 
 an' thet settles it! 'F they runs onto him- an' 
 'tain't 't all likely they will Pedro's done beat 
 it North all right let him have it, pronto! 
 Empty them guns into his pizen carcass an' then 
 climb a tree an' set thar fer 'bout a hour. 'F he 
 don't make no move by thet time, come down 
 frum th' tree an' beat it th' other way's fast 
 as yo' kin leg it. Them's my instructions! But 
 as fer startin' out an' tryin' deliberate t' cross his 
 trail nuthin' doin'! An' yo' all gotta promise 
 me thet, er th' start o' this here trip is apt t' be 
 delayed right consider'ble! Is it a bet?" 
 
 After some urging on Whitey's part, Injun 
 grudgingly agreed that he would not seek a 
 
 18
 
 meeting with Pedro, and this satisfied Jordan. 
 But it was certain that neither of the boys would 
 avoid a meeting with the man, and, in fact, would 
 welcome it. And ifc was not altogether without 
 misgivings that Jordan saw the boys start. In 
 fact, had it not seemed probable that Pedro had 
 made for Canada, or some equally distant place, 
 it is doubtful if Bill would have given his per 
 mission at all. The entire region roundabout 
 knew of Pedro and his doings, and his only hope 
 of safety lay in getting as far away as possible. 
 One reason only argued that the man might re 
 main in the vicinity, and that was his deep and 
 abiding thirst for revenge; but Jordan figured 
 that Pedro would forego even that when it could 
 be had only at so great a risk. 
 
 "Don't fergit to bring back something" Bill 
 called to the boys as they rode out of the corral. 
 "Even a real good gold-mine'll do!" he added. 
 
 "Sure thing!" Whitey answered. "You told 
 us to bring back something when we went out 
 before, and we did. And I guess we can again 
 even if it's nothing more than a gold-mine! That 
 ought to help some!" 
 
 19
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "Is them kids aimin' to go prospecting Bill?" 
 asked Walker, grinning. " I didn't see no pros- 
 pectin' outfit." 
 
 "No," said Bill, a little ruefully, "I was goin' 
 to do thet. They was speakin' 'bout gold-mines 
 t'other day, wonderin' 'f the' was any over t' 
 th' mount'ns, and I got all het up 'bout it th' 
 old fever come back on me, and I shore would 
 'a' like t' went. But this here telegraft put th' 
 kibosh onto it. They're jest roamin' 'round 
 studyin' 'bout how much mischief they kin git 
 into. I dunno's I had oughta let 'em go," he 
 added, doubtfully, after a pause, "but I hated 
 t' say ' no,' at th' last minnit, they bein' so sot 
 onto it." 
 
 "Shucks!" laughed Walker. "'F I was you, 
 I 'd be a heap sight more worried 'bout goin' to 
 Noo Yawk 'n I would be 'bout them boys. The' 
 ain't no more danger in them goin' into th' 
 mount'ns 'n the' is ef yo' an' me went." 
 
 "Wai," said Bill, "I sort o' figgered it thet 
 way, too; but I don't like this idee o' Pedro bein' 
 loose. The' ain' no tellin' whar thet skunk's 
 li'ble t' show up."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 "WELL," said Whitey, as he threw back his 
 shoulders and took a deep breath of the fresh 
 air, "here we are at last! I never would have 
 believed these mountains were so far from the 
 ranch!" 
 
 It was well along toward evening of the 
 second day's ride; they had left the grassy 
 plains far behind and were now among the 
 rocky gorges and knobs that furrowed and 
 roughened the base of the mountain-range. 
 They had decided to camp in a thick patch of 
 trees under the shadow of a tall and slightly over 
 hanging cliff, near which ran a small but very 
 rapid rill that tumbled and splashed its shallow 
 way toward the plains, interrupted, here and 
 there, by a series of falls like steps of varying 
 heights. And although it lacked two hours or 
 more of sunset, in the long shadow of the cliff 
 it seemed almost like twilight and there was a 
 distinct chill in the air. The horses had been 
 
 21
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 hobbled and turned loose, and Injun soon had 
 a fire going; and in a few moments the appetiz 
 ing odors of frying bacon and boiling coffee per 
 meated the air. "Hunger is the best sauce," and 
 the boys, tired from their long ride, fell to like 
 a couple of longshoremen, and soon both plates 
 and cups, although replenished more than once, 
 were empty. Whitey washed the pans and skillet 
 in the stream while Injun got out the blankets; 
 for although it was not yet dark, both boys were 
 entirely willing to tumble in. Roll in would, 
 perhaps, express it better; for the boys had noth 
 ing more in the way of a bed than the thick, 
 soft moss, and rolled themselves in their blankets 
 upon it. 
 
 For a time they lay and watched the stars 
 come out, one by one, until the whole heavens 
 were ablaze, and then sleep closed their eyes. 
 What better bed could any one ask? They were 
 bedded upon old Mother Earth! To Whitey it 
 was new because he was an alien, but to the In 
 dian boy, although unknown to him, it was part 
 of his nature, part of the birthrights of his people. 
 The plains Indians are born upon the ground. 
 
 22
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 Old Sitting Bull, a great chief and medicine man 
 of the Sioux Indians, just before his death, owned 
 a log cabin and a befl yet he went outside and 
 spread his blanket upon the ground knowing that 
 death was near. And who can deny but that 
 much of the Indians' rugged nature is gained 
 from this contact with Mother Earth ? I am not 
 advocating this custom for white people because 
 they are not accustomed to it, and I would not 
 advise sleeping upon the ground unless common 
 sense is used because there is an after-effect for 
 those whose constitutions rebel. It is called 
 rheumatism. 
 
 Two days in the saddle, over such country as 
 the boys had traversed, will put a few kinks in 
 the muscles of even a hardened plainsman; but 
 the night's rest, in contact with Mother Earth, 
 and a cold bath in the little stream that tumbled 
 down past the glade, put the boys in fine fettle. 
 And if anything was necessary to make it finer, 
 the corn-bread, bacon, and coffee supplied it. 
 
 "Gee!" said Whitey, as he took the last piece 
 of bacon from the skillet and put it on his birch- 
 bark plate, "seems to me you're mighty stingy 
 
 23
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 with the rations! To-morrow morning I'm going 
 to do the cooking." 
 
 Injun grinned and made no objection in 
 fact, he would probably have been willing that 
 Whitey should cook all the time. The job of 
 camp-cook is not altogether an enviable one, and 
 Injun was not a very hearty eater. He, like most 
 other Indians, was a good deal of a philosopher, 
 and he seemed to be able to adjust his appetite 
 to the supply. If there was plenty, all right. 
 If there was nothing all right, too! And what 
 was more, he could go a much longer time than 
 any white boy with nothing to eat at all. No 
 doubt he had had considerable practice at this; 
 for in his long wanderings he was always depend 
 ent upon his own efforts for food ; and many and 
 many a time he had lain down at night with no 
 comfort for his stomach but a tightened belt. 
 
 The boy was, like all his race, stoical and re 
 served; he might be almost starving and no one 
 would have guessed it. He would come into a 
 white man's camp or lodge, ravenously hungry, 
 and if he were not urged to "sit in," or if they 
 were at all unfriendly, he would have watched 
 
 24
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 the others eat without betraying the slightest 
 desire to partake. 
 
 This characteristic was and is by no means 
 uncommon, however, in many parts of the West, 
 nor is it confined to Indians. Many a white man 
 would and will do the same thing; and, possibly, 
 that is the reason why, in Western camp or home, 
 city or wilds, something to eat is offered the ar 
 riving guest immediately. He has usually come 
 a long way, and probably is hungry but seldom 
 so hungry that he'll ask for food. 
 
 "There!" said Whitey, as he drained the last 
 drop of coffee from the tin cup, and threw it 
 playfully at Injun, who ducked adroitly, "I 
 guess I can live till noon! Where do we go from 
 here?" 
 
 Injun pointed up the mountain, and began 
 to gather together the few utensils that they 
 had used at breakfast. This done he carefully 
 stamped out the still glowing embers of the fire 
 until not a spark remained. 
 
 "Why do we go up the mountain?" asked 
 Whitey. " So that we can see how the land lies ? '* 
 
 Injun nodded. The boys had no knowledge of 
 25
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 the vast region that lay beyond the ridge, and it 
 was necessary to do a little exploring in order 
 to locate a suitable permanent camp or head 
 quarters. They knew there were numerous 
 streams and some lakes, but they had to be found 
 that was part of the fun. If you know exactly 
 what you are going to find over a ridge or at the 
 end of a gorge, much of the fascination of a trip 
 of this kind is gone. In traversing the unknown 
 wilds there is a surprise at every turn that gives 
 zest to the explorer and impels him to keep on to 
 see what lies beyond. There is, also, the joy and 
 exultation that high-spirited boys or men feel in 
 matching their powers against Nature's obstacles. 
 It would have been futile, on account of the 
 horses, to have proceeded straight up the moun 
 tain. Such a course would inevitably have land 
 ed them in serious difficulties, and would have 
 meant very hard work. So Injun skirted the base 
 of the mountain, gradually ascending like the 
 spiral of a screw, and picking the way carefully. 
 Occasionally they were forced to make wide de 
 tours to avoid a sheer cliff or a deep gorge, but 
 generally managing to keep in their intended di- 
 
 26
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 rection. By noon they had reached a point high 
 up the mountain from which the country to the 
 northwest lay spread out like a panorama before 
 them. 
 
 The valley, some ten miles wide, seemed like a 
 deep cut between the two ridges. Here and there 
 they caught the gleam of the blue waters of a 
 small lake, and down the sides of the hills swift 
 and narrow streams splashed and tumbled. Over 
 the greater part of the landscape the timber was 
 thin; but there were patches of wood, some of 
 them many miles in extent, and increasing in 
 density as they neared the valley. 
 
 For a long time Whitey stood fascinated by the 
 scene. The air was so clear that objects at great 
 distances were clearly outlined. 
 
 "Gee!" he exclaimed, "I'll bet there is plenty 
 of game around here ! It doesn't look as though 
 anybody had ever set foot in this region." 
 
 Injun grinned; and for an answer he pointed 
 to a spot in the valley on the extreme right of 
 where they stood, and possibly four or five miles 
 away. Whitey followed the direction of Injun's 
 finger, and was able to make out a thin ribbon 
 
 27
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 of blue smoke that rose straight up into the 
 air. 
 
 "What is that somebody's camp-fire?" 
 asked Whitey. 
 
 Injun shook his head, and continued to regard 
 the smoke intently; and as the two boys watched 
 the smoke could be seen to increase in volume. 
 In a few moments a small tongue of flame shot 
 up above the tree-tops and the smoke darkened 
 a little. 
 
 "It must be a forest fire!" said Whitey, ex 
 citedly. "The wind is blowing this way, too! 
 With everything as dry as it is it ought to be 
 some fire! How do those things start?" 
 
 Injun shrugged his shoulders. "Mebbe white 
 man go 'way leave camp-fire. Mebbe can't tell 
 jes' start." 
 
 "Spontaneous combustion, eh?" 
 
 Injun looked at Whitey dazedly and reproach 
 fully. Why pull anything like that on him? 
 "Dunno," he said. 
 
 It was Whitey's turn to grin he wasn't 
 exactly sure that he knew, himself. 
 
 "Why do you say 'white man' left his fire and 
 28
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 it spread ? Don't Indians ever go away and leave 
 afire?" 
 
 Injun shook his head decidedly. "Injun 
 don't." 
 
 "Like you did this morning, eh? There didn't 
 seem to be any danger of our fire spreading," 
 said Whitey, as though he felt that Injun was 
 inclined to be over-cautious. 
 
 Injun shrugged his shoulders and pointed at 
 the fire which was spreading rapidly. "Mebbe 
 white man think like dat too," he said. "Fores' 
 fire bad med'cine!" 
 
 "Bad medicine" is right as any one who 
 has ever been mixed up in a forest fire will testify. 
 In the dry season of the year, at which time a 
 forest fire almost invariably occurs, it spreads 
 with incredible rapidity. After it has gained a 
 certain headway, trees, and whole patches of 
 trees, upon which it would seem no particle of 
 spark had lit, burst into flame like a powder mag 
 azine set off by electricity. In some way the fire 
 leaps gaps and crosses water over long distances, 
 and it goes hard with any man or any thing that 
 is caught within the possible area of its extent. 
 
 29
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 Few people have any idea of how fast a forest 
 fire or a prairie fire spreads. It might be supposed 
 that an active man, knowing that the fire is 
 approaching, could easily get out of its reach; 
 but often such is not the case, and he is out 
 stripped and overwhelmed. The fire, itself, is as 
 appalling as it is irresistible. Beasts flee from it 
 in the utmost terror and panic, forgetting all 
 else than the idea of escape. The mountain lion 
 bounds along beside the rabbit, and the timber 
 wolf beside the fawn, and neither gives a thought 
 to the other! Men at long distances from the fire 
 have been saved by this very fact. The rush of 
 the denizens of the wood goes past them even 
 an animal's fear of man is disregarded and the 
 woodsman knows what this means and he seeks 
 safety. 
 
 And here, too, that mysterious thing, animal 
 instinct, plays a great part. In some way most 
 animals perhaps all have a sort of sixth 
 sense the sense that warns them of danger. 
 They do not need to see or hear or smell it 
 they simply know! No freak of Nature, however 
 sudden an earthquake, a volcanic eruption, a 
 
 30
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 tidal wave, a cloudburst, or a forest fire comes 
 upon them unwarned ! They seem to know it in 
 advance! This is no guesswork with them. Hours 
 before an earthquake or a volcanic eruption, ani 
 mals have been known to leave the spot to be 
 affected. Before an unusually long and severe 
 winter, the bees store up more honey and the 
 squirrel lays up a much larger quantity of feed 
 than usual. The beaver builds a warmer home, 
 and the migration of the birds toward the south 
 begins earlier. The wisdom of the groundhog as 
 a weather prophet is pretty well acknowledged. 
 
 " For beast and bird 
 
 Have seen and heard 
 That which man knoweth not." 
 
 Any time a man gets chesty and begins to think 
 that he knows it all, let him get out on to the 
 plains or the desert or into the mountains, and 
 see how he feels about it then ! 
 
 As the boys watched, the column of smoke that 
 rose straight up into the air not only became 
 denser and darker, but it began to lose its 
 columnar shape and to broaden and spread until 
 it became almost a curtain. The tongues of 
 
 31
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 flame became more and more vivid and frequent, 
 and the area of the fire greater and greater, and 
 the spread was toward them. 
 
 "Great Day!" said Whitey. "It can't pos 
 sibly get as far as this, can it?" he asked. 
 
 But getting no reply from Injun, he turned 
 and found that the latter was not standing be 
 side him, but had gone back to where the horses 
 had been left, under the brow of a cliff and en 
 tirely out of sight of the fire. Whitey hastened to 
 join him, and found Injun tethering them all 
 securely to a tree. Whitey was somewhat aston 
 ished, for he knew that Injun's pinto never 
 needed this, whatever his own horse, Monty, or 
 the pack-horse might require. 
 
 "What's the idea?" asked Whitey. 
 
 For reply Injun simply shrugged his shoulders 
 and took an extra hitch in the lariat; and Whitey 
 saw that all the animals were unquestionably 
 nervous and restless and apprehensive, the pinto, 
 if anything, more so than the others. 
 
 Then it dawned on Whitey. "Can you beat 
 that?" he asked, in wonder. "Here those horses 
 are, out of sound or sight or smell of the fire, 
 
 32
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 and yet they know about it! I guess youVe got 
 to hand it to a horse i" 
 
 "You see plenty animal soon," said Injun, 
 enigmatically. "You come!" 
 
 Injun led the way back to where they had 
 stood but a few moments before, and Whitey was 
 aghast at the headway that the fire had gained. 
 It had spread, not only laterally, so that it now 
 encompassed an area nearly a mile in width, but 
 it had approached them, before the wind, far 
 more than that distance. 
 
 Within a short time, too, Injun's prophecy 
 was fulfilled the rush of animals had begun. 
 Through the sparse timber below them many 
 animals could be seen in a mad race for safety, 
 and the air was filled with flying birds. First 
 came the rabbits, foxes, and some smaller ani 
 mals, in a wild scramble and scurry, with an 
 occasional deer that outstripped them all with 
 great bounds that often measured twenty feet. 
 Two mountain lions followed, making a few 
 bounds, and then stopping and turning their 
 heads to look back spitefully, and then leap on 
 again. In their wake lumbered a bear in a busi- 
 
 33
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 nesslike way, paying no attention to what went 
 on around him, but devoting all his energies to 
 putting as great a distance between himself and 
 the fire as he could. With a few exceptions the 
 animals were all making for the upland where the 
 timber became thinner as the top of the ridge 
 was approached. 
 
 "Gee!" said Whitey, all excitement. "The 
 fire is driving the game toward us ! Shall we take 
 a crack at something if it gets near enough ? " 
 
 Injun shook his head. "No hurt him when he 
 in trouble bad medicine!" he said. "We run, 
 too!" and turned to go back to where the horses 
 had been left. 
 
 "What for? " asked Whitey. " It doesn't seem 
 possible that the fire can reach us here!" he pro 
 tested. 
 
 But Injun knew better. They were by no means 
 above the timber-line of the mountain, for their 
 spiral climb had taken them little more than half 
 way to the summit. And while the cliff on which 
 they stood overlooked the valley and was high 
 above the tree-tops immediately below them, yet 
 if the fire should happen to get between them and 
 
 34
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 the summit they would be hemmed in so that 
 all hope of escape would be lost. 
 
 Whitey followed Injun to the horses, and the 
 boys found them in a state bordering on panic. 
 This alone was enough to convince Whitey that 
 the situation demanded action; and it was the 
 work of only a few moments to let loose the ani 
 mals and start on the way up toward the top. 
 
 Even now Whitey could smell the odor of the 
 burning, and the smoke-cloud, carried in their 
 direction by the wind, had begun to creep over 
 their heads. 
 
 Encumbered as they were by the horses it was 
 impossible, as before, to go straight up the moun 
 tain; and Injun laid their course round to the 
 southeast, and made the spiral a trifle straighter 
 than he had before in the leisurely ascent of the 
 northern side. Had they wished simply to escape 
 the fire they could have gone toward the south 
 east and down the mountain; but the boys had 
 no idea of doing this, as it would have meant the 
 abandonment of the expedition. Injun felt sure 
 that the fire would not cross the ridge, but would 
 be confined to the northwesterly and westerly 
 
 35
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 sides; and if they got above the timber-line, they 
 could then proceed along the top or even the 
 easterly side of the ridge, to the point where the 
 fire had begun, and do their hunting and explor 
 ing there. 
 
 For two hours or more they climbed, the 
 smoke overhead getting thicker and thicker and 
 the smell of the burning pine more and more pro 
 nounced; and finally, as they almost encircled 
 the mountain, they came to a point, high above 
 the timber-line, and several hundred feet almost 
 directly over the point at which they had first 
 seen the fire. It was impossible to see for any dis 
 tance on account of the thick pall of smoke, and 
 it was evident that the fire had swept to the south, 
 even beyond the point at which they had first 
 stood, and that the place, high and sheer as was 
 the cliff above the valley, would be untenable 
 now. 
 
 They had not moved any too soon! Even 
 where they now were, high above the timber-line, 
 the horses coughed and sneezed in the smoke, and 
 their own eyes watered with its sting. The heat, 
 too, was appreciable, and exhausted as they were, 
 
 36
 
 A FOREST FIRE 
 
 Injun did not wait long before starting the 
 march farther up the mountain Such a course 
 would, perhaps, entail some hardships fodder 
 and water for the horses cannot always be found 
 in the higher altitudes but it was most un 
 comfortable where they were, and there was al 
 ways escape by way of the easterly slope in case 
 things got desperate. 
 
 High up on the mountain, far above the timber- 
 line, and on its westerly side, the boys camped 
 that night. Far below them raged the fire, which 
 seemed to have spent itself far toward the south. 
 The burned area, some six or seven miles long 
 and from one to two miles in width, lay black in 
 the moonlight, with here and there the glow of 
 the still smouldering embers. Little smoke now 
 reached them, although the pungent smell of the 
 burnt pine was still in their nostrils and the sting 
 of the smoke still irritated their eyes. They were 
 fortunate in finding water, and, all in all, neither 
 the boys nor the horses suffered any very great 
 inconvenience.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 WITH the first streaks of dawn the boys were up 
 and about. In the daylight the fearful ravages of 
 the fire were more apparent. Hundreds of acres 
 of smouldering embers, blackened stumps, many 
 of them still sending up little curls of smoke, 
 lay below them. It was evident that the burned 
 area could not be crossed for many days. Small 
 streams that had hitherto been invisible on ac 
 count of the foliage were to be seen in the valley; 
 and far away to the north, just about where the 
 fire had started, the lake, of which they had been 
 able to catch but fleeting glimpses, glistened as 
 the sunlight played upon its blue bosom. 
 
 Fortunately the wind had been strong enough 
 to sweep the fire toward the south, and it had 
 gained little headway north of the point at which 
 it had its beginning. Had there been no wind, 
 or even shifting winds, there would have been 
 no telling where the fire would have ended in 
 that direction. Toward the south the smoke- 
 
 38
 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 veil still hung so thick that the limits of the fire 
 could not be discerned if the fire had indeed 
 been stopped. 
 
 Toward the north, then, was obviously their 
 best course. Not only were the woods about and 
 beyond the lake untouched by the fire, but, as 
 Injun pointed out, it would be to that region 
 that the hordes of game that had been driven 
 from their homes by the fire and had taken ref 
 uge in the hills would eventually make their 
 way. That ought to make the hunting good. 
 
 Down the mountain and along the ridge to the 
 north the boys made their way. As they de 
 scended nearer to the burned area, they found 
 that the air was still uncomfortable to eyes and 
 nose and lungs, but they kept moving, although 
 the rough ground made their progress slow on 
 account of the horses, but in something less than 
 three hours they came to a point on the ridge 
 about even with where the fire had started, and 
 began the descent to the valley below in which 
 they had seen the lake. 
 
 On several occasions, while on the ridge, they 
 had encountered animals that had taken refuge 
 
 39
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 there. The animals were still in a state of panic, 
 and even had they encountered a bear or a 
 panther there would have been little to fear. At 
 one point they sighted a fine buck. Whitey looked 
 at Injun, and Injun said, "Him no trouble now. 
 Him in trouble no shoot! Him spirit come 
 into Injun." So Whitey took a shot at him; but 
 Whitey was the victim of a mysterious disease 
 called "buck fever." Its symptoms are mani 
 fested in many ways; frequently, when aiming, 
 the muzzle of the gun keeps going around in a 
 circle. Then again, when suffering from it, a 
 man pulls the trigger on a dead-center shot 
 only to find that he has not cocked his gun or 
 has forgotten to put a cartridge into it! "Buck 
 fever" is the cause, also, of a high rate of mor 
 tality among guides. The guide doesn't kill 
 himself the man with the "fever" kills him! 
 When a hunter has a severe attack of "buck 
 fever" he is much more apt to plug the guide 
 than he is the deer. If you don't think so, just 
 ask anybody who has been a guide providing 
 he is still living! 
 
 "Gee!" said Whitey, disgustedly, as the buck 
 40
 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 went bounding away among the trees after the 
 crack of the Winchester, "what was the matter 
 with me? Did you see how the muzzle of my gun 
 went 'round and 'round when I was aiming at 
 him?" 
 
 Injun grinned; he had never had "buck 
 fever" himself. He couldn't afford to have an 
 attack of it that is, if he wanted to eat reg 
 ularly, he couldn't. 
 
 Before they left the ridge, however, and while 
 they traversed the woods to the north of the 
 burned district, the boys managed to secure a. 
 fair bag of rabbits, squirrels, and partridges, 
 thus insuring themselves against a dinner of' 
 corn-bread and bacon. Corn-bread and bacon 
 are all right, but after a man has eaten it for 
 several weeks he doesn't mind a change! 
 
 It was not yet noon when the boys came to the 
 shores of the lake and looked about for a suitable 
 place to camp. They went northward, along the 
 eastern shore, and soon found an ideal spot. In 
 a small cove, sheltered on three sides by high 
 ground and trees, the land sloped gently down 
 to the water, the pebbly beach making a natural. 
 
 41
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 and convenient landing. Here, too, was grass in 
 abundance for the horses ; and it was with a sigh 
 of relief that the boys unloaded their outfit from 
 the pack-horse and threw themselves upon the 
 ground to rest. No doubt the pack-horse felt 
 just as much relieved as the boys did! At any 
 rate, he shook himself and readjusted his skin 
 in different places, snorted and rolled on the soft 
 grass and kicked up his heels, which is my idea 
 of how a horse registers relief. 
 
 "Pipe the horse!" said Whitey, as he rolled 
 over on his back lazily. " I guess he isn't glad to 
 get here! To tell the truth, he's got something 
 on me; for he is through and I've got to do a lot 
 of work ! Why don't you take it easy, once in a 
 while, Injun? You don't give a feller a chance to 
 rest his bones, but start right in hustling around 
 as though we hadn't a minute to spare. What's 
 the rush?" 
 
 Injun, who was busily engaged in unpacking 
 the tent and clearing a space for it, turned and 
 grinned at Whitey. "Me fix 'um!" he said. 
 
 "Yes, I know," said Whitey, getting up from 
 the grass. "You'll fix 'um, but I'm not going 
 
 42
 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 to let you do it all. Here," continued Whitey, 
 " let me put up the tent and you take your pick 
 of the game, and skin 'em. I'm so hungry you 
 can make the choice." 
 
 Injun grinned and went at the game dexter 
 ously with his hunting-knife; and at about the 
 same moment each of the boys had finished his 
 allotted task. 
 
 " I don't know as it would be a bad scheme to 
 hook a nice bass for an appetizer," Whitey sug 
 gested, grinning at Injun. "Not that we need 
 any appetizer, but it will make it look more like 
 a course dinner. What do you say?" 
 
 Injun didn't know anything about course 
 dinners, but he was already engaged in getting 
 out the rods and tackle he understood what 
 "fishin"' meant. 
 
 "By the way, Injun," said Whitey, as they 
 went along the shore of the lake, " can you read ? " 
 
 "Me ketch 'urn fish," responded Injun. 
 
 "Sure," said Whitey, "I know that but 
 what I mean is, can you read anything you see 
 in print a newspaper, for instance? I don't 
 ever remember seeing you try." 
 
 43
 
 "Know letters," said Injun. "A, b, c, d, e, 
 f, " he said laboriously in a sing-song tone. 
 
 Whitey let him finish the alphabet, which he 
 did correctly. "Great!" said Whitey. "But can 
 you put the letters together spell ? How do 
 you spell cat, for instance?" 
 
 "C-a-t," spelled Injun, after deep thought. 
 
 "Well, what do you know about that!" com 
 plimented Whitey. "Here' what is this?" and 
 with his finger, he traced "DOG" in the sand. 
 
 Injun examined it critically and cautiously. 
 "Dog," he said, after some deliberation. 
 
 "Say!" said Whitey, "you've been under 
 cover with all that education! Where did you 
 learn all that?" 
 
 "Him Bill Jordan," said Injun. "When you 
 go sleep." 
 
 "Why didn't you tell me?" asked Whitey, in 
 an injured way. "I could have been lots of 
 help!" And then he added, after a moment's 
 thought, "Why can't we do a little studying 
 while we're out here? Say for about an hour 
 after we eat our supper, every night ? You could 
 learn quite a lot if we did that." 
 
 44
 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 This was perfectly agreeable to Injun, and 
 while the boys fished they made plans for a sort 
 of "night-school" in the wilds. The fact that 
 they found the fish of the lake hungry and ap 
 parently eager to be caught did not in any way 
 disturb their plan; and that evening, by the 
 light of the camp-fire and of pine knots that 
 blazed in a skillet, the real education of Injun 
 was begun. 
 
 The record of the three weeks that followed 
 contained nothing of a remarkable nature, with 
 one exception. The boys hunted and fished, 
 roaming the shores of the lake. Now and then 
 the boys changed their camp, and on one or two 
 occasions they made trips into the mountains 
 away from the lake, and explored the burned 
 district where they never ceased to find exam 
 ples of woodland tragedy. 
 
 Whitey so far recovered from "buck fever" 
 that he managed to secure two fine specimens 
 the game laws, if indeed there were any, meant 
 nothing in either of their young lives and they 
 were added to the collection of skins which they 
 had accumulated and which the pack-horse was 
 
 45
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 destined to carry. They lived well on the fish 
 and game that fell to their bag, and altogether 
 the expedition was voted a decided success. 
 
 But as far as excitement or danger went there 
 was little of it. Even the panther whose skin or 
 namented their pack had given them no trou 
 ble; for a bullet from the rifle of each of the boys 
 found a vital spot, and he collapsed before he had 
 time to spring and was dead before he could even 
 give them much of a scare. 
 
 But there was one occasion in which the boys 
 were undoubtedly in very great danger, and the 
 whole thing was so shrouded in mystery that 
 neither could do more than guess as to its solu 
 tion. 
 
 On one of the trips back into the mountains 
 the boys had scaled one of the peaks to a point 
 perhaps two thirds of the way to the summit. 
 And as they climbed it was necessary for them 
 to pass along a narrow ledge. The ledge wound 
 around a sheer cliff and at some points was not 
 more than a foot in width. Below there was a 
 drop of perhaps two hundred feet. The passage 
 along this ledge was necessarily slow and re-
 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 quired a good deal of care about all the at 
 tention that it was possible to give it and at 
 times they were compelled to face the wall of the 
 cliff and edge their way along with their backs 
 to the abyss below them, and holding on to any 
 projection that the face of the cliff offered. 
 
 The boys were close together, Injun in the 
 lead, and with their backs to the abyss, when 
 the crack of a rifle rang out from the valley be 
 low and a bullet chipped a piece of the rock near 
 to their heads! 
 
 To say that they were astonished is putting 
 it mildly! They had no idea that there was a 
 human being within fifty miles or more of them, 
 and that there should be one who desired to kill 
 them was even more amazing. The situation 
 the peril of crossing the ledge with every 
 help that could be given was bad enough; but to 
 be on that ledge two hundred feet above the 
 valley and have some one shooting at you was 
 a thousand times worse! 
 
 "What do you know about that!" gasped 
 Whitey. " Somebody is shooting at us ! " 
 
 "You come!" said Injun, digging his fingers 
 47
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 into the rock. "Take time!" he added, knowing 
 that any undue haste would be fatal. Whitey 
 set his teeth and tried to think of nothing else 
 than the passage. But before they had gone ten 
 feet farther another shot sounded, and again the 
 bullet hit the face of the cliff near them. 
 
 There remained some twenty-five or thirty 
 feet of the ledge to be crossed before they landed 
 on the side of the mountain, and fortunately this 
 portion of the ledge was slightly wider and some 
 haste was permissible. They managed to get 
 over this and plunged into the timber, no other 
 shot being fired. 
 
 Once off the ledge the boys looked at each 
 other, but neither could offer any explanation of 
 the mystery. They went to the edge of the 
 timber near the ledge and scanned the valley 
 closely for almost an hour, but could detect no 
 movement of the brush or among the trees. 
 
 "Do you think we better go down there and 
 investigate?" asked Whitey. "I don't like to 
 let anybody get away with a thing like that!" 
 
 Injun thought it over. To reach the valley 
 from where they were would entail a re-crossing
 
 A MYSTERIOUS ADVENTURE 
 
 of the ledge, and that risk seemed too great to 
 be undertaken at this time. So they decided to 
 return to the camp and keep a sharp lookout 
 during the night; and to determine on the fol 
 lowing day what course to adopt in catching 
 their would-be assassin. 
 
 Neither of the boys slept in the camp that 
 night, but took turns watching as they lay behind 
 some underbrush a short distance from the tent. 
 
 Nothing happened during the night, and no 
 intruder came; and morning gave no solution 
 to the mystery. Nor did the next day, nor the 
 next. 
 
 The position of being hunted, especially by an 
 assassin that shoots at your back and while you 
 are in a situation of extreme danger from other 
 sources, is not a pleasant one. And while the 
 boys were by no means frightened out of their 
 wits the fact that they waited two days lon 
 ger disposes of that charge their stay was no 
 longer comfortable. And on the third day fol 
 lowing the attempt at their lives, they packed 
 up and started over the back trail. 
 
 No incident of any kind marred the trip back, 
 49
 
 and on the evening of the second day's travel 
 they once more pitched their camp in the little 
 clump of trees which they had occupied on the 
 night of their arrival. 
 
 Supper over, they plunged into the "night- 
 school" business, in which Injun was making 
 great headway; and they turned in early, pre 
 paring for their next day's adventure.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 ANOTHER MYSTERY 
 
 Bur it seemed to Whitey that he had no more 
 than fallen asleep than a touch upon his arm 
 awakened him. In reality he had slept several 
 hours, as a glance at the sky told him; for the 
 constellations that had been overhead in the 
 early evening had swung far toward the horizon. 
 The tightening grip of Injun's hand on Whitey's 
 arm warned him not to speak, and Whitey rose 
 on his elbow, his other hand grasping the rifle, 
 and listened. 
 
 A little way down the slope, not more than 
 fifty yards below the thick patch of timber in 
 which the boys were encamped, Whitey could 
 hear the crunching of gravel and the rattle of 
 stones as they rolled down the declivity dis 
 lodged by horses' feet as they passed; and judg 
 ing by the sounds a considerable number must 
 have gone by. Judging by the sounds, also, it was 
 apparent to Whitey that the band, whatever it 
 was, was going into the mountains in the same
 
 general direction that the boys intended to take. 
 The absence of talk and of any other sound than 
 that which the horses made led Whitey to the 
 belief that it was a band of Indians. 
 
 "Who are they?" he whispered to his com 
 panion. 
 
 "Injun," answered the boy, as he started to 
 ward the edge of the timber crawling on hands 
 and knees, with Whitey following him in the 
 same manner. As he passed the horses Whitey 
 realized that all the caution in the world on his 
 part and Injun's would avail nothing to prevent 
 discovery of their presence if one of the horses 
 whinnied. He rose silently and stood by his own 
 horse, Monty, and discovered that Injun had 
 been awake for some time before he had roused 
 him, and had already provided for this very con 
 tingency. Around each of the horses' noses was 
 a thong which held the horse's mouth closed and 
 prevented the animal from saying "Good even 
 ing!" to a passing friend. 
 
 Satisfied that there was no danger of discovery 
 from this source, Whitey again dropped to the 
 ground and crawled to the edge of the timber 
 
 52
 
 ANOTHER MYSTERY 
 
 at Injun's side. Below them, in the shadows, 
 Whitey could make out what looked to be about 
 a dozen men he could not distinguish them to 
 be Indians at that distance and in that light 
 some riding and some leading their horses along 
 the trail. The two boys watched them in silence 
 until they were out of sight and hearing, and 
 then Whitey turned to his companion. 
 
 "What are they doing here?" he asked. 
 
 "Dunno," answered Injun. "No good!" 
 
 "You mean that they are here for no good 
 purpose?" 
 
 Injun grunted assent. "Him mebbe steal! 
 Dunno! Fin' out." 
 
 "You mean that you are going to follow them 
 and find out what their, game is ? " asked Whitey. 
 "How do you know they are 'no good'? Maybe 
 they are out on a hunt of some kind?" 
 
 Injun shook his head. "Injun no travel night 
 like him 'less do bad bus'ness. Injun no hunt 
 like dat him mebbe steal. Mebbe bust out. 
 No good!" 
 
 It was clearly evident that Injun was con 
 vinced that the band of Indians were bent on 
 
 S3
 
 some sort of mischief, and as Whitey knew that 
 the boy seldom erred in his judgment in matters 
 of woodcraft, or in those things that pertained 
 to his own race, he was not inclined to dispute 
 it; and he was entirely willing that Injun should 
 direct their course of action. 
 
 "Were they Indians of your tribe, Injun?" 
 Whitey inquired. 
 
 Injun shook his head decidedly; the boys on 
 this occasion had skirted the shores of Moose 
 Lake and had come into the mountains from 
 a somewhat northerly direction. Had the band 
 been Injun's tribe he knew that they would not 
 have taken the long way 'round as the boys had 
 done to get to this point in the mountains. 
 Furthermore, had there been any such concerted 
 action contemplated by Injun's own people he 
 would have known of it in some way. 
 
 For some moments after the band of Indians 
 had passed, Injun stood looking and listening. 
 His glance not only followed the band, but he 
 also scanned the horizon as if looking for some 
 thing. And in a few moments his search seemed 
 to be rewarded. High up on one of the peaks 
 
 54
 
 ANOTHER MYSTERY 
 
 to the west a gleam of light showed, and the 
 grunt of satisfaction that Injun gave showed 
 that he had been looking for some such thing as 
 this. Whitey, too, saw it, and turned question- 
 ingly to his companion. 
 
 "What's that?" he asked, in an excited whis 
 per. 
 
 "Dunno," said Injun. "Mebbe him signal 
 come same place!" added Injun with serious 
 ness, and as though the matter was of great im 
 portance. 
 
 "You mean that various bands of Indians are 
 meeting for some purpose? Something that they 
 intend to combine on?" 
 
 Injun was not sure. "Dunno," he said. Then 
 he added, as he started to turn back toward the 
 camp, "No good!"
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 IT was evident from Injun's manner that he in 
 tended to follow the band that had just passed, 
 and that he did not intend to use any of the 
 horses in the pursuit. The spot where they had 
 camped was an ideal one, in that not only were 
 there food and water in abundance for the ani 
 mals, and which they could get for themselves, 
 but it was somewhat off the trail, and the thick 
 growth of timber furnished admirable conceal 
 ment. Injun hobbled the pack-horse as well as 
 Monty and the pinto. In fact, it is probable that 
 the pinto did not need even these; for he had 
 learned by long training at the hands of Injun 
 that the best thing he could do was to stay 
 "where he was put." Monty, on account of 
 several months of close association with the 
 pinto, was beginning to find out this, too. 
 
 The spring near by and the excellent grazing 
 ground made it safe for them to leave their 
 
 56
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 horses even for an indefinite period, provided, 
 of course, they were not molested by humans. 
 And, to the best of the boys' knowledge, they 
 were not leaving on an extended trip. 
 
 "What shall we take with us?" asked Whitey, 
 as he watched the preparations that Injun was 
 making. 
 
 "Him stay here," suggested the latter, al 
 though his tone was not that of a command or 
 injunction. Injun knew that Whitey did not 
 have his own skill in trailing or in avoiding de 
 tection, and he felt that the white boy would, 
 necessarily, be subjected to many dangers which 
 were of no moment to himself. 
 
 "Yes," said Whitey, derisively, "I've got 
 a photograph of myself sitting here with these 
 horses and letting you have all the fun ! If you 
 think I'm going to do that, you've got another 
 guess coming to you! Unless," he added, a little 
 ruefully, "unless you think I'm going to be in 
 the way, and may spill the beans ? " 
 
 For an answer Injun cut off two big hunks of 
 bacon and, wrapping them up with two loaves 
 of bread, he handed one to Whitey. This done, 
 
 57
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 he took up his rifle, revolver, and belt, which he 
 made sure was full of cartridges, as well as the 
 magazines of his weapons, and he was ready to 
 go. Similarly equipped, Whitey fell in behind 
 Injun as the latter made his way swiftly and 
 silently to the edge of the timber. 
 
 Although there was no moon the night was 
 not one of inky blackness, and it was an easy 
 matter for Injun to follow the trail made by the 
 passing band. It was necessary to exercise con 
 siderable caution, however, for the same light 
 that helped him find and follow the trail also 
 rendered detection easier, especially as there 
 were many open spaces to be crossed that offered 
 little or no chance of concealment. And in the 
 trailing or shadowing of a body of men so alert 
 and vigilant as Indians, Injun had his work cut 
 out for him, especially as, on many occasions, he 
 must look out for Whitey as well as for himself. 
 Not that Whitey was a negligible quantity by 
 any means, as afterward turned out; but in the 
 matter of keeping his presence secret from the 
 Indians the difficulties were greatly increased; 
 for even were Whitey possessed of the same 
 
 58
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF TOE INDIANS 
 
 abilities as Injun, it is easier to detect two " shad 
 ows" than one. 
 
 As far as possible Injun took a course about 
 fifty yards from, but parallel to, the trail that 
 the band had taken to avoid any back-tracking 
 that might occur; and to do this it was necessary, 
 at times, to keep nearly abreast of the band and 
 within hearing distance; although, as the chase 
 proceeded, it became evident that the Indians 
 were headed for that portion of the mountains 
 where the fire had been displayed. As near as 
 the boys were able to judge this point was some 
 ten or twelve miles distant. This enabled Injun 
 to take advantage of short-cuts which were im 
 passable to horses, and the boys had, at first, no 
 difficulty in "keeping up with the procession." 
 
 As the Indians and their " shadows " went far 
 ther and farther into the mountains, however, 
 following a parallel course the boys encountered 
 greater difficulties. Naturally the trail was "the 
 path of least resistance"; that is the reason it was 
 the trail, for a trail, after all, means simply the 
 easiest natural way of traveling through any 
 region. A trail is not a road, it is a selection of 
 
 59
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 passable places. It is not made; it is discovered 
 or found; and, therefore, it is seldom straight, 
 but winding and devious. Sometimes there is 
 no "easiest way," and then there is no trail; and 
 each traveler picks his way as best he can, if he 
 goes at all. But this happens only in regions that 
 are almost entirely unvisited; if there is a reason 
 for people to go to a locality some kind of a trail 
 is found, even if it be difficult and roundabout. 
 The region in which the boys now found them 
 selves was of this character. There was little 
 reason for any one to visit it; prospectors had 
 given it the go-by, as Bill Jordan had said, and 
 "the' wa'n't much thar 'ceptin' rocks, scenery, 
 an' oncivilization." Whatever trail there was 
 the band of Indians were following, and for that 
 reason the boys were obliged to find a new way 
 of their own. By this time the moon had risen, 
 but if any one imagines that this was an easy 
 job over an entirely unknown region, diffi 
 cult of passage even in the daytime, but ren-- 
 dered doubly so in the tricky moonlight which 
 casts strange shadows and invests things with a 
 certain unreality let him try it some time! In 
 
 60
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 addition to these physical difficulties there was 
 also the necessity of making their passage noise 
 lessly; not only must yawning chasms and slip 
 pery declivities be avoided, but stones and earth 
 must not be dislodged to rattle down the moun 
 tain-side and betray their presence to the band 
 of Indians. Words of warning could be uttered 
 only in whispers, for in those solitudes there is a 
 silence so intense as to be almost unbelievable 
 to one who has not experienced it. "It is so still 
 you can hear it!" The slightest sound is audible 
 at incredible distances, especially to an ear that 
 is accustomed to this stillness as is an Indian's; 
 and in the canyons and among the rocks are 
 natural whispering-galleries, where sound is car 
 ried in an extraordinary manner. In many of 
 the canyons the report of a shot-gun sounds like 
 artillery, and it would be difficult to convince the 
 uninitiated that many guns were not being fired 
 in rapid succession. All these things did not con 
 duce to avoiding discovery. 
 
 There is another thing, too, that worked 
 against the boys. Whitey, and Injun, too, to a 
 certain extent, were plainsmen that is, their 
 
 61
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 experience in the wilds was largely confined to 
 the plains and the craft of the plains is a very 
 different thing from the craft of the mountains. 
 Many a man who is at home on the plains is at 
 a great disadvantage in the mountains; and this 
 is true of the mountaineer when he finds himself 
 on the plains. The reason for this is somewhat 
 obvious: the plainsman, "born in the saddle," is 
 out of his element in the mountains because very 
 often he is off his horse, and many a sure-footed 
 mountaineer is not a really good horseman; al 
 though, all through the West, almost everybody 
 whose life is spent in "The Great Outdoors," is 
 able to ride, if only after a fashion. But to get 
 back to the boys. 
 
 In the first half-hour of the pursuit, on two 
 occasions Whitey had missed his footing and had 
 fallen; one of these falls was of little consequence 
 further than to send a few stones clattering 
 down the mountain when Whitey scrambled to 
 retain his footing. This was offset, or rather dis 
 guised, by Injun's quick thinking. The boy imi 
 tated the quick bark of a fox and if the Indians 
 heard the rattle of the stones, which was likely, 
 
 62
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 they attributed it to the fact that a fox had 
 startled some sort of animal, and was either pur 
 suing it or fleeing from it himself. 
 
 The other fall was of a more serious character, 
 and but for Whitey' s great strength and agility 
 might have resulted disastrously. In passing 
 along a narrow and crumbling ledge, whether he 
 was deceived by the tricky shadows, or whether 
 the ledge simply crumbled beneath him, the 
 boy slipped and slid over the edge. It was a 
 sheer drop of something like fifty feet. In 
 stinctively, Whitey made a grab for a small 
 but tough shrub that grew out from the side of 
 the cliff, some two feet below the brink, and 
 caught this with his left hand. Even in the ex 
 citement of going over the edge he had not let go 
 of his rifle, and held that in his right hand. In 
 jun, of course, turned back quickly, as he had 
 heard the sound of the slipping and the fall of 
 the crumbling ledge; but Whitey was just out of 
 reach, and the shrub, tough as it was, did not 
 look as though it would hold the boy's weight for 
 any great length of time. Whitey, however, was 
 strong enough to pull himself up by his left arm 
 
 63
 
 alone, in the same manner that a gymnast calls 
 "chinning himself," until, by holding up the 
 rifle in his right hand, Injun was able to grasp it 
 and pull his companion up over the edge of the 
 ledge. (Boys, try "chinning yourselves" with 
 one hand on a horizontal bar, some time, and 
 see how easy it is!) 
 
 There could be no doubt that the Indians had 
 heard this commotion, for from the ledge Injun 
 could see the band stop, and three or four of the 
 men start back to investigate. Injun threw him 
 self flat on the ledge alongside of Whitey, who 
 had not yet risen; and as the Indians came nearer 
 to the base of the cliff, he again imitated the bark 
 of the fox. This appeared to satisfy the investi 
 gators, for they knew that a fox is inquisitive, 
 and will sometimes trail a band of men or other 
 animals for a long distance, and they turned and 
 rejoined the band. 
 
 Whitey, of course, realized that if more of these 
 alarming mishaps occurred, it might take more 
 than all the fox-barking Injun could do to satisfy 
 the Indians that they were not being followed by 
 human beings, so he redoubled his caution, and
 
 WHITEY MADE A GRAB FOR A SMALL BUT TOUGH SHRUB
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 endeavored to put his foot down, at every step, 
 in the exact spot that Injun's foot had just left. 
 
 "Ain't I clever!" whispered the disgusted 
 Whitey. "Just like a cow on skates! If I pull 
 any more of that clumsy stuff I'll go back to the 
 horses where I belong, and let you go ahead 
 alone! I don't make any more noise than a 
 boiler-works ! " 
 
 Injun had probably never seen a cow on 
 skates or heard a boiler-works, but he knew what 
 Whitey meant, and he grinned. He also knew 
 it was inadvisable to do much talking unless it 
 were necessary, and he whispered, reprovingly, 
 "Heap talk!" After that Whitey shut Up like a 
 clam. 
 
 When the Indians and their trailers had pro 
 ceeded for a distance of perhaps five or six miles, 
 and the ascent of the mountain became contin 
 ually steeper, it was more and more difficult 
 to parallel the trail. At times the boys were 
 forced to descend to the same level as the In 
 dians, and to follow in the same path that they 
 had taken, and thus the danger of detection was 
 greatly increased. But there was no other alter- 
 
 65
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 native, and it was either this or abandon the 
 pursuit. The character of the trail, too, had 
 made it necessary for all of the band to dis 
 mount and lead the horses; and at a place in the 
 trail Injun stopped suddenly and peered at the 
 ground. There, in the soft earth, showing plainly 
 in the light of the moon, were several footprints, 
 deeply embedded and distinctly outlined. 
 
 Whitey gazed at them, but they meant noth 
 ing to him, and he looked at Injun inquiringly. 
 
 "White man!" said Injun, laconically. 
 
 "How do you know?" asked Whitey. "Lots 
 of Indians wear boots or shoes, don't they? I've 
 seen lots of them." 
 
 "Injun toe in white man toe out," said the 
 boy. "Injun heel off ground." 
 
 Whitey examined two of the prints that had 
 evidently been made by the same man, and 
 there was no doubt that the person who took the 
 step toed out, and that he had dug his heels deep 
 into the ground. 
 
 "What's the idea?" asked Whitey. "Have 
 they taken somebody prisoner and are carrying 
 him off into the mountains?" 
 
 66
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 Injun shook his head, and pointed to an in 
 dentation that accompanied the footprints on 
 the right-hand side of them. This indentation 
 occurred at every two footprints. Whitey ex 
 amined this indentation carefully, and thought 
 for a moment. 
 
 "I've got it!" he exclaimed, in a tone that 
 made Injun involuntarily clap his hand over the 
 white boy's mouth. "Gee!" whispered Whitey, 
 "I'll spill the beans yet! But here is my dope on 
 this thing that little mark is caused by the 
 butt of a gun which the white man carried in 
 his right hand and used as a cane to steady 
 himself. If he were a prisoner, he wouldn't be 
 allowed to carry a gun! That's it, ain't it?" 
 
 Injun nodded; and Whitey felt that he was 
 beginning to use his powers of observation. The 
 man high up in almost any occupation or craft 
 is little more than the keen observer who has the 
 intelligence to apply what he observes. It is 
 something that anybody can cultivate it can 
 be practiced at any hour of the day or night, if 
 you are awake. Glance into a shop-window as 
 you walk past, and then see how many things
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 you can remember that were in that window. 
 Pretty soon you'll be surprised to find that one 
 glance suffices to see about everything there was 
 in it. Remember that it pays to observe little 
 things; for they are often the forerunners and 
 infallible signs of big things. To an Indian or 
 to the woodsman a broken twig, recently roiled 
 water, the way smoke rises or hangs in the air, 
 the flight of birds, the growth of the foliage and 
 moss on the trees, the action of animals in 
 fact, the slightest departure from what is usual 
 or normal has a meaning, and often he deter 
 mines his course of action from some slight thing 
 which the ordinary man would not notice at all, 
 but which has a very great bearing on the matter 
 in hand. And don't lose sight of the main point 
 in any reasoning. Don't be led astray from the 
 issue. Somewhere I have read the story of the 
 farmer who burst into the village general store, 
 all excitement. "What d'ye s'pose?" he said, 
 to the usual crowd of "sitters" around the 
 stove, "Si Perkins seen a big owl settin' on the 
 ridge-pole o' his barn, an' he went in an' got his 
 shot-gun an' sneaked up on the owl an' let go at 
 
 68
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 him, ker-bang! An' the waddin' from th' gun 
 set fire to th' hay in th' barn an' it done burned 
 down. An' th' house ketched fire from it, an' 
 they had all they c'd do t' save it!" 
 
 The sitters about the stove discussed this 
 news for a long time how much Si would lose, 
 whether he was insured, whether any one was 
 hurt, did he intend to rebuild, etc., etc. Finally, 
 a hard-headed little man who had said nothing, 
 but had listened attentively, said, "Well, what 
 I'd like to know is did Si hit the owl?" 
 
 And another thing while we are talking 
 about observation be sure that your observa 
 tions are correct before you begin to draw your 
 conclusions from them. And don't take things 
 for granted! And right here, another old story 
 is worth repeating. Several supposedly learned 
 men were debating why it is that a pail of water 
 doesn't weigh any more after a live fish is put 
 into it. They advanced all kinds of reasons, but 
 none seemed conclusive. Finally, they went to 
 Benjamin Franklin and put the question to him. 
 "Let's see whether it doesn't weigh more," 
 said Franklin ; and he proceeded to weigh a pail
 
 of water; and then put a live fish weighing two 
 pounds into it and weighed it again. It weighed 
 just two pounds more. That settled the argu 
 ment. If Franklin had lived in our day, we 
 would have said that he "was from Missouri!" 
 He had to be shown. Because a lot of people say 
 a thing is so doesn't make it so, and a great many 
 popular suppositions have no basis of fact what 
 ever, and are really only superstitions. 
 
 The boys followed the trail cautiously for a 
 time, about a hundred yards behind the band, 
 but finally arrived at a point where it would 
 have been almost impossible for them to have 
 continued without detection. A vast open space, 
 more than a mile in extent and flooded by the 
 moonlight, lay before them, and to cross this 
 in the wake of the Indians would have been 
 folly. And once they arrived on the other side 
 of this space, it might be difficult to pick up the 
 trail. So Injun determined to strike into the 
 mountains in the direction in which they had 
 seen the fire, feeling that there was no doubt that 
 that was the objective point of the band, and 
 that they could, perhaps, get ahead of them on 
 
 70
 
 ON THE TRAIL OF THE INDIANS 
 
 account of the fact that far greater speed could 
 be made by the two boys than the band could 
 attain, hampered as they were by their horses. 
 And, in addition to this fact, they would not have 
 to proceed with the same degree of caution that 
 would be necessary if they followed their present 
 or even a parallel course. 
 
 So, after a consultation, Injun and Whitey 
 broke away from the trail, and started across the 
 mountains or, rather, on a diagonal course, 
 which, according to Injun's calculations, would 
 land them in the neighborhood of the fire which 
 still glowed at intervals.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 CAUGHT 
 
 Now that the boys were out of sight and hearing 
 of the band, not only was the way made easier, 
 but conversation was permissible; not that the 
 latter meant much in Injun's young life, for he 
 could get along very well without much talk ; but 
 Whitey was burning to discuss the matter in 
 hand. 
 
 "What do you make out of it all?" he asked, 
 when they were well away from the trail. 
 
 "Dunno," answered Injun, shaking his head 
 doubtfully. "No good!" he added on that 
 point he appeared to have no doubt. The dis 
 covery of the presence of a white man with the 
 band had strengthened the impression that the 
 boy had previously formed. He knew that any 
 band of Indians traveling at that time of night 
 and accompanied by a white man probably meant 
 mischief. The white man wasn't helping the In 
 dians they were probably helping him. In nine 
 cases out of ten, when a white man allies himself 
 
 72
 
 CAUGHT 
 
 with Indians, it is for his own benefit, not for 
 theirs; and the Indians are frequently the suf 
 ferers for his misdeeds. In other words, the white 
 man, afraid of burning his own fingers, used the 
 Indian as a cat's-paw to rake the chestnuts out 
 of the fire. If anybody got burned, it would be 
 the cat; and the chestnuts invariably belonged 
 to the white man ! 
 
 "Don't you think it might be just a hunting 
 party?" asked Whitey. 
 
 Injun shook his head decidedly. "Injun no 
 hunt dat way." 
 
 "Well," continued Whitey, "they can't be 
 cattle-rustlers, for they are going up into the 
 mountains where there are no cattle. Maybe 
 they are guiding the white man out of the moun 
 tains?" 
 
 Again Injun shook his head. "White man 
 guide Injuns," he said. 
 
 "How do you know the white man is guiding 
 them?" asked Whitey. "You couldn't see from 
 that distance could you?" Whitey was pre 
 pared to believe almost anything about Injun's 
 eyesight, but this seemed a little too much. In 
 
 73
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 fact, Whitey's eyes were good enough for any 
 body, and he had all he could do to see the band 
 at all. 
 
 " Injun step in white man tracks," said Injun. 
 This was one of those matters of observation of 
 little things that had escaped Whitey's examina 
 tion of the tracks. With one or two exceptions 
 probably where the white man had deviated 
 a little from the trail or had stopped to issue 
 some directions his tracks had been almost 
 obliterated by those of the Indians that followed 
 him. 
 
 "Gee!" exclaimed Whitey, in frank admira 
 tion, as he thought it over. "Injun, you're a 
 wiz!" 
 
 For a long time they proceeded in silence, the 
 difficulties of the course requiring much exertion. 
 Once or twice they heard the squall of a panther 
 far up the mountain, as he went his stealthy 
 rounds in search of an early breakfast. And on 
 those occasions there was the noise of a smaller 
 animal as he fled in a panic before the marauder. 
 At that particular point, however, the mountain 
 was almost bare of timber, and^the boys knew 
 
 74
 
 CAUGHT 
 
 that they had little to fear from the mountain 
 lion in the open. If he attacks a man it is usually 
 when he is desperate from hunger, and then his 
 method of attack is to spring upon his victim un 
 awares from the limb of a tree. He will seldom 
 make a charge like a grizzly. If the panther 
 doesn't land you in his first or second spring, he 
 quits. The grizzly relies upon his tremendous 
 strength and bulk to make an almost irresistible 
 rush that sweeps everything out of his path and 
 overwhelms the object of his attack, and he 
 never quits ! The panther must depend upon his 
 quickness and cunning, both of which are by 
 no means ordinary and make him a formidable 
 enemy. A spring of twenty feet from a crouch 
 ing position upon the limb of a tree is not at all 
 an ^extraordinary effort for him. A panther is 
 nothing more nor less than a big cat and it is 
 a matter of common knowledge how quick a cat 
 is. If there is anything quicker than the mem 
 bers of the cat family, I don't know what it is 
 except lightning, and it wouldn't surprise me 
 much to learn that a cat can dodge that! 
 The boys ploughed steadily ahead as fast as 
 75
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 the darkness and the rough going would permit, 
 and, under Injun's infallible sense of direction, 
 bearing toward the place where they had seen the 
 fire. Frequently it seemed to Whitey that they 
 were going in the wrong direction, but he had 
 learned to trust all such matters to Injun im 
 plicitly, and he always found that his confidence 
 was not misplaced. 
 
 Perhaps more than an hour had elapsed since 
 they had left the trail, and soon the first streaks 
 of the dawn would begin to paint the east, and 
 Injun increased his speed, knowing that it would 
 be far better to conduct their investigations un 
 der the cover of darkness. Already he had begun 
 the ascent of the last steep slope that lay between 
 the boys and the place where Injun judged the 
 light had gleamed, but they were approaching it 
 from a different angle than the one by which the 
 Indians were coming. The course now lay through 
 a thick belt of timber, which made progress more 
 difficult not only because the foliage shut out the 
 light, but because of the roots, fallen limbs, and 
 underbrush that barred the way. Whitey was 
 having a particularly hard time of it, and found it
 
 CAUGHT 
 
 all he could do to keep up with the swiftly mov 
 ing Injun who seemed to avoid intuitively many 
 of the things that Whitey blundered into. The 
 briars scratched his face and hands and clung 
 around his legs; low branches whipped him, and 
 the protruding roots and fallen limbs tripped him; 
 and now and then he stepped into a hole or ran 
 plump into a tree with a bump that jarred him to 
 his heels. (Try going through thick and path 
 less woods some dark night.) 
 
 "Gee!" panted Whitey, as he picked him 
 self up after one of these mishaps. "You must 
 have eyes like a cat! There's got to be something 
 mighty interesting at the end to pay for all this. 
 I'll bet these birds are just going to have a pow 
 wow or snake-dance or something that is none 
 of our business." 
 
 "Heap talk!" grunted Injun. If Whitey was 
 looking for any sympathy from Injun, that was 
 all he got. 
 
 Injun had felt the ground become more level, 
 and he knew that they had reached the brow of 
 the hill, and were, therefore, near their goal. It 
 was evident to Whitey that Injun was proceed- 
 
 77
 
 ing with much more caution, picking his way 
 or, rather, Whitey's way slowly and with the 
 purpose of making as little noise as possible. 
 In a moment, Whitey clutched Injun's arm: "I 
 smell smoke," he whispered. Injun nodded 
 he had smelled it long before. 
 
 Gradually the boys worked their way along the 
 comparatively level ridge to a point where there 
 seemed to be a break; and beyond this break the 
 faint illumination caused by a fire was sighted. 
 Injun threw himself on the ground and crawled 
 on his hands and knees toward the edge, and 
 Whitey followed his example. Sheltered from 
 view by the thick underbrush, the boys raised 
 themselves and looked ahead across the slight 
 depression. A fire illumined the whole scene, and 
 by the light the boys could make out a hole or 
 tunnel, some four or five feet in height, that ran 
 into the hill. From this hole several Indians 
 came at intervals, carrying sacks of earth which 
 they dumped into a pile, and then returned for 
 more. 
 
 For a moment or two the boys watched this 
 in silence; and then Whitey whispered, "It's a 
 
 78
 
 CAUGHT 
 
 gold-mine, all right! I've read that is the way 
 the Indians get out the pay-dirt." 
 
 Injun made no reply, but turned his head in 
 a startled way, and Whitey also glanced quickly 
 behind him. 
 
 The boys looked into the face of a gigantic 
 Indian, who stood regarding them with stolid 
 unfriendliness, his arms crossed upon his broad 
 chest!
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE GOLD-MINE 
 
 WHEN John Babcock, an old and grizzled pros 
 pector, had stopped at the Bar O ranch, early 
 in the preceding spring, he had been entertained 
 by Mr. Granville, who made every passer-by a 
 welcome guest, as you will recall in the case of 
 the renegade Pedro. Mr. Granville had shown 
 Babcock the piece of rich ore the one that Bill 
 Jordan had shown to Injun and Whitey and 
 had told him that it had been found years before 
 in the mountains over beyond Moose Lake. This 
 particular piece of ore had aroused the greed of 
 more than one man to whom it had been shown, 
 on account of its richness. But although many 
 prospectors had made excursions into these moun 
 tains, no one had succeeded in locating pay-dirt 
 of any value; and it had come to be a saying on 
 the ranch that the gold contained in this particu 
 lar piece was the only bit of that precious metal 
 that the Almighty had ever put into that region. 
 Babcock hefted and fondled the chunk lovingly, 
 
 80
 
 THE GOLD-MINE 
 
 and its fascination over him was almost pa 
 thetic, its lure irresistible. 
 
 "'Tain't so!" said the old man. "There's 
 nu thin' truer than the sayin' thet 'wherever gold 
 is thar's more.' An' besides, a man wouldn't 
 need more'n a ton er two like this to be rich! 
 Whar'd this chunk come from what part o' 
 them mount'ns, I mean?" 
 
 "That's jest it nobody knows," answered 
 Mr. Granville. "This here chunk was found onto 
 a man thet had bin up in the mount'ns an' 'peared 
 to be tryin' to get out. He was some hindered by 
 three or four arrows that were stickin' in divers 
 an' sundry parts of him. He'd bin dead for some 
 days when one o' the boys found him on the trail. 
 'Peared like he'd mebbe located a pay-streak an' 
 was comin' out t' get the means an' wherewithal 
 to work it, when th' Injuns got him. Looked like 
 th' Injuns didn't have no welcome on the mat for 
 prospectors leastways, thet's how we figgered 
 it. The' was a lot o' men went in there, on ac 
 count o' thet chunk, but none on 'em had any 
 luck, an' I reckon pretty much all of 'em had 
 trouble with the Injuns. But thet was ten years 
 
 Si
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 ago, an' nowadays them Injuns is all drove out, 
 I reckon. We give 'em consider'ble discourage 
 ment 'bout five or six years back, when they 
 added cattle-rustlin' to their list of industries." 
 
 "Humph ! " grunted Babcock ; " I never hed no 
 trouble with Injuns; them an' me seem t' jibe 
 first-rate mebbe on 'count o' me speakin' 
 most ever' kind o' Injun lingo the' is. 'F I was t' 
 git a grub-stake " 
 
 "Come in th' house, an' we'll play a coupla 
 games o' pedro an' talk it over," said Granville, 
 and they disappeared into the ranch house. 
 
 At any rate, a day or two afterward Babcock 
 left the ranch with a saddle-horse and a pack- 
 horse loaded down with provisions, but nothing 
 had been heard of him since. In the late spring 
 Mr. Granville had died, the ranch had come into 
 Mr. Sherwood's possession, and the incident had 
 been almost forgotten. 
 
 It would, perhaps, be idle to follow the trail of 
 Babcock, even if it were possible to do so accu 
 rately; suffice it, that he rode one day into a 
 little Dakota Indian village on the north side of 
 the mountains, and was so weak from the fever 
 
 82
 
 THE GOLD-MINE 
 
 that he had to be lifted from his horse. The In 
 dians cared for him and nursed him for many 
 days; but in spite of all their medicine man and 
 the squaws and John Big Moose could do, Bab- 
 cock died. But before he passed out he called in 
 John Big Moose, and, in return for their kindness 
 to him and on account of his general liking for 
 their race, he communicated to him the informa 
 tion that he had located the rich mine, and gave 
 him explicit directions as to how to find it; and 
 the Indians of the village that were available, 
 under the leadership of John Big Moose, lost 
 little time in starting for the mine. 
 
 John Big Moose was a remarkable character; 
 he was more than six feet tall and finely pro 
 portioned. He had been educated in a white 
 man's school on account of his great intelligence 
 and capabilities, but the lure of the wilds was in 
 his blood, and at certain times he returned to 
 his own people and lived their life and the life 
 of his fathers that called to him irresistibly. 
 
 John Big Moose knew very well what a gold 
 mine was, and he knew the power it would bring 
 to him and to his tribe, provided they could keep 
 
 83
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 it. He understood how uncertain it is for an In 
 dian to keep anything that a white man wants, 
 but he believed that he could arrange that. At 
 least the mine could be worked in secret and a 
 great quantity of gold could be extracted before 
 they would be compelled to give it up and they 
 would never give it up without all the struggle 
 that John, himself, was capable of making, and 
 John was no ordinary Indian. 
 
 It will be remembered by those who have read 
 the first volume of this series that on the night 
 that Crowley, the foreman of the crooked Cross 
 and Circle outfit, had saved Whitey's life at 
 Ross's ranch, he had been released from the cap 
 tured bunch by Bill Jordan, not only on account 
 of what he had done for Whitey, but for old 
 times' sake as well. Jordan had told him to se 
 lect his revolver and rifle from the pile of cap 
 tured weapons, and to "see how far he could ride 
 away from those parts by sun-up." This Crow- 
 ley proceeded to do; but instead of laying his 
 course toward the railroad station, he had struck 
 off toward the mountains, perhaps feeling that 
 people, in general, and the sheriff, in partial-
 
 THE GOLD-MINE 
 
 lar, would not feel so leniently disposed toward 
 him. 
 
 Whatever his reason was, he took this route; 
 and in the course of time he stumbled upon the 
 abandoned pans, cradle, and sluice-boxes that 
 Babcock had used until the fever had compelled 
 him to abandon them and seek such relief as he 
 could among his friends, the Dakotas. 
 
 It isn't every man that has a perfectly good, 
 ready-to-work gold-mine thrust upon him, and 
 Crowley proceeded to make the most of his op 
 portunity, which wasn't much. He had worked 
 only long enough to know that the mine was a 
 very rich one when something happened. Crow- 
 ley was no weakling, and he wasn't a man to 
 abandon a good thing easily; but ten or twelve 
 Dakotas, most of them armed with rifles, caused 
 Mr. Crowley to change his plans about work 
 ing the mine any further just then, anyhow 
 and he managed to get away from there with 
 his life, almost all of his skin except where 
 several of the Dakotas' bullets had chipped 
 pieces out of it and about a hundred and fifty 
 dollars' worth of loose gold which he had washed 
 
 85
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 out in less than two days. And the Dakotas took 
 possession for a time! 
 
 It must not be expected not by any one ac 
 quainted with Mr. Crowley, at least that that 
 gentleman would sit by calmly and see a real 
 good gold-mine taken away from him by "a 
 
 handful o' red niggers," as he expressed 
 
 it. Not by a good deal, it mustn't. Mr. Crowley 
 was a more or less resourceful person himself, 
 and he knew a thing or two about Indians. He 
 knew that they will generally "fall for a white 
 man's game," and also that in these latter days 
 of the race it was an easy matter to set one tribe 
 against another, especially if he could inject a 
 quantity of "fire-water" into their systems and 
 could dangle gold in front of their eyes. 
 
 He nosed around until he found another semi- 
 nomadic tribe of the Crows, over on the western 
 side of the mountains, and by means of the va 
 rious "inducements" he held out it didn't take 
 long to enlist a motley outfit of scalawags in the 
 expedition that he had in mind. And so Crow- 
 ley, at the head of some fifteen recruits, set out 
 to jump the claim to which the Dakotas believed 
 
 86
 
 THE GOLD-MINE 
 
 they had fallen heir on the death of old John Bab- 
 cock ! All things considered, it bade fair to be the 
 basis for some lively times in that vicinity. Mr. 
 Sherwood and Bill Jordan would have felt com 
 fortable, indeed, had they known that Injun and 
 Whitey were destined to be in the thick of a mix- 
 up of that kind ! And in it they were up to 
 their eyes !
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 THE moment that Whitey' s startled eyes saw the 
 Indian, he whipped out his gun and covered the 
 big man. The latter did not move, and a faint 
 smile broke over his face. "What do you pro 
 pose to do with that thing?" he asked, in perfect 
 English. 
 
 "If you make a move," said Whitey, as 
 fiercely as he could, after he had recovered from 
 his astonishment at the Indian's speech, "I'll 
 put a hole through you!" 
 
 "Oh, no, I don't believe you'll do anything of 
 the kind," said the Indian calmly. "You don't 
 look as bloodthirsty as all that! Besides, what 
 do you want to kill me for ? " 
 
 And when Whitey thought it over he didn't 
 really know. It takes considerable nerve to 
 shoot a man down, even if you know he is a deadly 
 enemy more nerve, anyway, than most fifteen- 
 year-old boys have and Whitey lowered the 
 gun. 
 
 88
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 Injun had made no move at all during this 
 time, and appeared to be awed by this majestic 
 person of his own race who could talk like a white 
 man. In fact, the whole affair was very discon 
 certing to the two boys. The Indian didn't 
 seem surprised or at all alarmed at their presence, 
 but seemed inclined to treat them as a pair of 
 runaway schoolboys that he intended to return to 
 their parents. He was not at all threatening, but 
 looked at them much as a correction officer looks 
 at a truant or juvenile culprit. 
 
 "What are you two doing out here in this 
 wilderness, anyway?" he asked, a little sternly. 
 "Is there anybody with you I don't suppose 
 you have come away out here alone?" 
 
 "We're here alone," said Whitey, a trifle 
 haughtily. "Injun and I go anywhere!" Then 
 he added, after a moment, "We can take care 
 of ourselves, all right!" 
 
 "You are of my people," said the big man to 
 Injun in the language of the Dakotas. "What 
 is your tribe? Where do you live?" 
 i (In the Sioux tongue, Injun replied: "I am of 
 the Mini-ko-wo-ju."
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 (The Mini-ko-wo-ju are a tribe of the Sioux 
 or Dakotas who derived their tribal name from 
 the fact that they always lived on the banks of 
 a river where they planted Indian corn. "Mini- 
 ko-wo-ju" means "plant by river.") 
 
 "And who are you ? " he asked of Whitey. 
 
 "My name is Sherwood! I am the son of 
 Mr. Sherwood who owns the Bar O ranch, 
 about twenty miles north of the Junction," an 
 swered Whitey. 
 
 t "Well," said the Indian, "you're both a long 
 way from home! What did you come over here 
 for?" 
 
 "We came here just for a trip into the moun 
 tains to explore the place," replied Whitey, 
 who was beginning to regain his composure. 
 "Earlier in the summer we came over to Moose 
 Lake, and we wanted to come into the mountains 
 just to see what there is here." 
 
 "Hummm," mused the Indian, sizing up the 
 boys; "that doesn't sound very probable, but 
 maybe it's true. Have you any idea of what 
 you were looking at when I came along and 
 caught you ? Do you know what those men are 
 
 90
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 doing down there by the fire what they are 
 carrying out of that hole?" 
 
 "It looks to me as though they were working 
 a gold-mine," said Whitey. "I've read that the 
 Indians work a mine that way carry the pay- 
 dirt out in sacks." 
 
 "Hummm," said the big Indian, again. "You 
 didn't come here with the idea of selecting a 
 gold-mine for yourselves, did you? Hadn't 
 heard anything about there being one here, had 
 you?" 
 
 "We knew there was gold in these mountains 
 somewhere," said Whitey, frankly, "for there 
 is a big chunk of ore over at the ranch that came 
 from somewhere around here; and Bill Jordan 
 told us that if a gold-mine walked up and said 
 'How do you do' to us, to bring it back with us. 
 That's about all the gold-mine idea we had." 
 
 John Big Moose shook his head sadly. "I'm. 
 afraid that's enough!" he said, a little wearily. 
 "It would seem as though a poor and deserving 
 Indian might be permitted to shovel a little dirt 
 out of a hill that is a hundred miles from any 
 where, without having visitors! Still" he 
 
 91
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 said, more to himself than to the boys, as he 
 thought over his own position in the matter of 
 the ownership of the mine "I don't know 
 that I have a right to expect anything different 
 under the circumstances. Come down with 
 me by the fire, and we'll talk the matter over." 
 
 And John Big Moose led the way down the 
 declivity, being apparently satisfied that the 
 boys would follow him and not try to get away. 
 Whitey looked at Injun, and Injun looked at 
 Whitey; then, with one accord, they followed 
 meekly in the wake of John Big Moose. 
 
 When John and the boys arrived within the 
 circle of the fire's light, there was considerable 
 interest apparent among the Indians who were 
 working at the mine, and it must be confessed 
 that this interest did not seem to be an altogether 
 friendly one. The red men gathered about the lit 
 tle group, and John explained to them what had 
 happened. Injun, of course, could understand 
 everything that was said, and did not seem 
 entirely pleased with it; and even to Whitey, 
 who could not understand a word, it was evident 
 that the Indians resented the intrusion and were 
 
 92
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 not inclined to regard the matter lightly. John 
 Big Moose, however, was plainly acting in the 
 role of moderator, and seemed to be discouraging 
 anything like hasty or summary action. He ex 
 plained to his men that the intruders were noth 
 ing but boys, and as far as any immediate dan 
 ger to their interests was concerned they had 
 nothing to fear. The only danger lay in the fact 
 that, once the boys were free, they might, or un 
 doubtedly would, tell of the mine, and thus bring 
 a host of white men to the spot to the obvious 
 disadvantage of the Indians. He explained that 
 it would be well to question the boys further 
 before taking any definite measures. He was 
 perfectly satisfied, from Whitey's manner and 
 evident frankness, that the boys would tell the 
 truth, and might give him some information 
 upon which he could form his plans. 
 
 "How did you two boys happen to come here 
 to this very spot, I mean ? " he asked of Whitey. 
 " It doesn't seem probable to me that you could 
 have just stumbled upon it." 
 
 Whitey thought for a moment, and then de 
 cided that the best way in this rather ticklish 
 
 93
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 situation was to tell'the whole truth. Not that 
 he really considered lying at all; but there were 
 certain things that he might conceal or keep 
 back that had no bearing upon the truth. 
 
 "Injun and I were in camp in a little clump of 
 woods, way down at the base of the mountains 
 and over in that direction, I think it was," said 
 Whitey, indicating the direction from which 
 they had come. "A little after midnight we were 
 waked up by a band of Indians and horses pass 
 ing the camp, about fifty yards below us " 
 
 John Big Moose became interested at once. 
 "A band of Indians how many, and in what 
 direction were they going?" he asked. 
 
 "There were about fifteen, we figured," said 
 Whitey, "and they were skirting the base of the 
 mountain. They had a lot of horses with them 
 which they rode and led. We watched them pass 
 from the clump of trees, and then we came out 
 into the open. Way up here we saw the fire, and 
 we thought it was a signal of some kind and " 
 
 John Big Moose gave a hurried order, and the 
 men quickly covered the fire. "Yes, yes!" said 
 John to Whitey. "Goon!" 
 
 94
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 "Injun said that they were out for some kind 
 of mischief, and we made up our minds to follow 
 them and see what they were up to. We paral 
 leled their trail for quite a way, but sometimes 
 we had to come back to it; and at one place, 
 where the ground was soft, Injun saw by the foot 
 prints that there was a white man with them 
 he was leading them." 
 
 The effect of this speech upon John Big Moose 
 was very marked. He turned to the men and 
 evidently communicated to them what Whitey 
 had told him, and the men proceeded to get busy. 
 There could be no doubt that the dispossessed 
 Crowley was returning with reinforcements. In 
 a moment the entire band was gathered about 
 John Big Moose, their guns or other weapons in 
 their hands; and acting under his orders, they 
 posted themselves at various points around the 
 mine so as to command every possible approach 
 to it. Two of them, detailed by John Big Moose, 
 hurriedly left the place and started away through 
 the woods, evidently to do duty as scouts or 
 pickets; and in other ways the place was pre 
 pared with a view to resisting an attack. 
 
 95
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 This done, John Big Moose questioned Whitey 
 and Injun in regard to the time they had seen the 
 band, their course, and what they knew of the 
 equipment that the band carried. Injun was of 
 the opinion that he and Whitey had far out 
 stripped the band, and that they were not due 
 in the vicinity until after daylight, encumbered 
 as they were by the horses and deprived of an 
 opportunity to take a short-cut as he and Whitey 
 had done. Evidently John Big Moose was of the 
 same opinion, but he resolved to take no chances ; 
 and leaving the boys for a moment, he circled 
 the mine giving whispered instructions to his 
 "army," and estimating the probabilities of at 
 tack from various angles. 
 
 "Well, here we are!" said Whitey to Injun, 
 after John Big Moose had started on his tour of 
 the "fort," for such the place had resolved itself 
 into. "What'll we do? I don't believe these 
 people will want to make us stay here. I guess 
 we can beat it, right now if we want to." 
 
 Injun shrugged his shoulders, indicating that 
 it was a matter of indifference to him what they 
 did. Whitey looked about him for a moment,
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 and then started to walk leisurely toward the 
 inner edge of the camp. He had taken but a step 
 or two when he was confronted by an Indian 
 with a gun, who seemed to rise up from nowhere; 
 and if Whitey had any idea that the boys would 
 be allowed to "beat it," that idea was quickly 
 dispelled by the Indian's manner. The Indian 
 jabbered at him savagely and made violently 
 threatening motions whose meaning could not be 
 mistaken. 
 
 "Oh, very well!" said Whitey, moving back 
 to his place beside Injun. "He told me to go 
 way back and sit down, and I thought I'd oblige 
 the gentleman he seemed a little mad!" 
 
 In a few moments John Big Moose returned 
 to the boys. "I have been a little puzzled as to 
 what I ought to do with you two boys," he said. 
 "Before long things will be pretty hot around 
 here; but I don't see how I can afford to let you 
 go for two reasons. First, because if you hap 
 pened to run into this gang that has come here to 
 jump this claim you would be in more danger 
 than if I put you in that 'tunnel until the fight 
 is over. And secondly, if you managed to get 
 
 97
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 away from the robbers that are coming here, 
 you'd tell all you know, and that would be bad 
 for me again. That's what you'd do, isn't it 
 tell your folks all about it?" 
 
 "Yes," said Whitey, "I guess we would. But 
 I can tell you, right now, that my folks aren't the 
 kind that would come here and take anything 
 that doesn't belong to them!" Whitey added, a 
 little hotly. 
 
 John Big Moose smiled. "Your defense of 
 your folks does you credit, son, and no doubt you 
 speak what you believe to be true is true, 
 from your point of view. But my long and some 
 what bitter experience tells me that the white 
 man's ideas of what belongs to him don't always 
 square up with an Indian's ideas. However, I'm 
 going to take a chance," continued the Indian. 
 "I'm going to leave it to you as to what you want 
 to do go or stay. As far as your personal 
 safety is concerned, I believe one is about as 
 dangerous as the other; for, from what you say, 
 that gang must be pretty near here by this time, 
 and they will keep a sharp lookout, and there is 
 no telling how they may regard you. They may
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 kill you. You'll find friendly treatment here 
 from us, anyway. Of course, if you decide to 
 stay, we won't expect you to do any fighting. If 
 we lose aren't able to hold the place" John 
 Big Moose paused and smiled grimly "in that 
 case, of course, I can't guarantee anything. So 
 it's up to you." And John looked from one to 
 the other for a decision. 
 
 Whitey weighed the two courses in his mind 
 for a time and then he turned to Injun: "What 
 do you say, Injun?" he asked. 
 
 Injun again shrugged his shoulders and made 
 no other reply, plainly leaving the decision to his 
 companion. 
 
 "Well," said Whitey, slowly, "if I've got to 
 decide it, I vote to stay. We came out here look 
 ing for adventure, and I guess we can get plenty 
 of that no matter which we do go or stay. If 
 you own this mine and somebody is coming to try 
 to rob you of it, I don't know why we shouldn't 
 stay and help defend it as a matter of duty. 
 I know if we were in your position, and you came 
 along, we'd be mighty glad to have you stay and 
 help us defend what belonged to us." 
 
 99
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 John Big Moose reached out his enormous paw 
 and shook Whitey's hand with solemn dignity. 
 "I thank you, son, for those sentiments," he said 
 approvingly. "I think it is a very fortunate 
 thing for us that you and your friend came along. 
 But, as I said before, neither of you is to do any 
 fighting. I am going to put you both in that 
 tunnel, where you'll be fairly safe. When it's 
 all over, you can come out. You'll find me still 
 here alive, I hope," he added, grimly. - 
 
 "We don't want to go and hide in any tunnel ! " 
 said Whitey, with some indignation. "I don't 
 know that we are very great fighters, but we can 
 both shoot pretty straight, and we might man 
 age to do something!" 
 
 "I feel that I must reject your generous offer, 
 although I appreciate it," said John, smiling at 
 the boys. "But this is a matter in which you 
 have no real interest except to see that right 
 is maintained, and I can't allow you to take any 
 such risk." 
 
 Even as John spoke, a shot rang out, far down 
 toward the valley; and in rapid succession, two 
 more were heard. 
 
 100
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 "The tunnel is right over there," said John 
 Big Moose, meaningly, pointing a big forefinger 
 at the opening in the side of the hill. Injun and 
 Whitey took up their guns, which John had not 
 deemed necessary to take away from them, and 
 made their way over to the tunnel and seated 
 themselves resignedly a short distance from its 
 mouth. 
 
 Up in the sky the stars had begun to grow dim 
 and then to go out altogether. The moon had 
 long since disappeared, and over the eastern hor 
 izon the blackness had become gray, and was 
 now changing to purple, with here and there 
 faint tints of pink, and the day was at hand. 
 
 Whitey and Injun sat upon opposite sides of 
 the tunnel, their backs against the walls, each 
 busy with his own thoughts, but with every 
 sense keenly alert. Far off in the woods Whitey 
 could hear the faint twitter of the awakening 
 birds and the occasional sharp bark of a fox. Not 
 a sound came from the armed camp about him, 
 but he knew that the red men lay in wait, silent 
 and deadly as a water-moccasin that gives no 
 warning when he strikes. 
 
 101
 
 It would be idle to say that Whitey or Injun, 
 either, for that matter sat there unconcerned 
 and indifferent. Whitey was very much alive to 
 the seriousness of the situation, but his nerves 
 were under control and there was nothing panicky 
 about him. It would be untrue to say that he had 
 no fears was not afraid. The bravest men in 
 the world know what fear is, but they don't al 
 low it to influence their actions. It is impossible 
 to think that any boy of fifteen, knowing that 
 he will soon be under fire, for the first time in his 
 life, experiences no fear! He does. He must! 
 And bravery consists in putting fear behind you 
 in disregarding it. If there were no fear, how 
 could there be any bravery? 
 
 There is an old story of a young lieutenant 
 who rode into battle at the side of his commander, 
 the hero of many campaigns and a man renowned 
 for his bravery. The lieutenant was blithe and 
 gay, and the old general was plainly apprehensive. 
 The lieutenant turned to his commander and 
 said, "Why, General! You actually seem to be 
 afraid!" 
 
 "I am," said the general. "And if you were 
 1 02
 
 JOHN BIG MOOSE 
 
 half as much afraid as I am, you would run 
 away." 
 
 Whitey had learned enough philosophy to know 
 that when you are in a bad situation, the only 
 thing to do is to make the best of it. The thing to 
 do is, don't get into the bad situation unless you 
 are prepared to go through with it. And with 
 his mind made up to take what came, Whitey 
 awaited what the day had in store for him. If 
 Injun had been asked about it, he would have 
 said, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he'd 
 "take a little of the same!" Whatever was com 
 ing to Whitey was good enough for Injun!
 
 CHAPTER X 
 A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 
 WHEN Big Jim Crowley had been driven from 
 the mine by John Big Moose and his braves, he 
 had considered himself a much aggrieved man. 
 To all appearances the mine was an abandoned 
 one, and Crowley considered that he was its 
 rightful owner by right of possession, anyway; 
 which under all codes is considered to be "nine 
 points of the law." Babcock had not been at the 
 mine for weeks, and therefore there were no signs 
 of recent work visible to Crowley, nor any of the 
 usual marks that indicated claim and boundary. 
 Upon the coming of John Big Moose and his 
 Indians there had been no parley or discussion; 
 and, therefore, neither party understood the po 
 sition of the other. Usually that is the basis of 
 all quarrels of any kind a misunderstanding. 
 Crowley had simply warned off the Indians, re 
 garding them as claim-jumpers, and had opened 
 fire on them; and they, looking upon him in the 
 same light, had replied, with the result as told 
 
 104
 
 A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 
 before Crowley had no chance against ten or 
 twelve armed men under the leadership of such 
 a man as John Big Moose. And Crowley was 
 compelled to take it on the run, minus a little 
 skin and blood from slight wounds. 
 
 John and his braves considered the mine to be 
 rightfully theirs, by virtue of Babcock's grant to 
 them; and so, with each party deeming itself 
 to be in the right, the struggle was likely to be 
 bitter and tenacious. 
 
 With the first real light of the day the two In 
 dians who had been out on scout or picket duty 
 returned to the mine, and reported that a party 
 of Crows led by a white man were in the valley 
 to the southeast, and that one of them had fired 
 a shot at the intruders, who had fired two shots 
 in reply, but that none of the shots took effect. 
 Again, the same situation had come about 
 an exchange of shots before any exchange of 
 views had taken place, and now such a thing as 
 a conference or peaceful adjustment was out of 
 the question. And with the enemy known to be 
 at hand, John Big Moose ordered his men to 
 redouble their vigilance. 
 
 105
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 As the morning wore on and no attack came, 
 Whitey began to feel that the attack would not 
 be made until it could be done under the cover 
 of night, and there yet remained time for other 
 things one of which was breakfast. For the 
 first time since starting in pursuit of the band, 
 Whitey realized that he was hungry; and he and 
 Injun got out the chunks of bacon and bread 
 with which they had supplied themselves before 
 starting out and fell to with a relish. Raw bacon 
 and dry bread are not usually considered to be 
 a very great delicacy; but on this occasion and 
 under the circumstances, Whitey made no com 
 plaint. He had consumed perhaps half of what 
 he had allotted to himself as a meal, when, 
 without any warning, a number of shots were 
 fired from the slope that led down on the east 
 ern side of the mountain, and several of the 
 bullets pinged through the leaves of the near 
 by trees or embedded themselves in the trunks. 
 Breakfast was over! 
 
 There was no reply of shots from the holders 
 of the "fort," for John Big Moose had studied 
 the situation carefully. The tunnel was sunk 
 
 106
 
 A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 
 into the side of the hill, perhaps two thirds of the 
 way up the mountain, and before the tunnel was 
 a small level plateau to which the pay-dirt was 
 brought out. This plateau, not more than fifty or 
 sixty feet in extent, sloped sharply on the left 
 to the valley below on the southeasterly side; 
 while on the westerly and northwesterly sides 
 there was a very gradual descent. To the north 
 and northeast the mountain rose high behind it,, 
 and it was from this point that John Big Moose 
 expected the attack, believing that the shots were 
 fired from the side toward the valley to attract 
 the attention of his men to that locality, so that 
 the rest of the band might have the advantage of 
 an attack from the higher ground and upon their 
 unprepared rear. There was a growth of timber 
 on all of these slopes; but thinner, of course, 
 nearer the top of the mountain than upon the 
 slopes that led to the valley from the plateau of 
 the mine. 
 
 Events proved that John had figured correctly, 
 and in a short time the fire of the attack came 
 from above; but even this fire was not answered,, 
 for there was little chance of doing any effective. 
 
 107
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 shooting on account of the thickness of the tim 
 ber; and it became evident to both parties that 
 nothing of any consequence could be accom 
 plished except at close quarters. In case the at 
 tacking party rushed the defenders and tried to 
 storm the place, the engagement would probably 
 be a long-drawn-out affair. Expecting this kind 
 of an attack, John Big Moose had posted most 
 of his men on the uphill side of the mine, leaving 
 only two or three to guard the slope to the valley. 
 In case of an attack from that quarter, the men 
 could be rushed over the fifty feet of plateau in 
 ample time to meet it, and as the number of each 
 party was about the same, the advantage would 
 be, of course, with the defenders unless they were 
 taken by surprise, a thing which John did not 
 propose should happen. 
 
 After a time the fire from above ceased, as it 
 must have been evident to the attackers that it 
 was accomplishing nothing, and for more than 
 an hour nothing happened one of those long 
 waits that are far more trying to the nerves than 
 actual fighting. Now and then, as John made 
 the rounds of his men, he would stop at the 
 
 108
 
 A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 
 mouth of the tunnel and say a few words to the 
 boys. 
 
 "How does it feel to be under fire?" he asked. 
 
 "Gee!" said Whitey, "I can't see that we're 
 under fire, cooped up in this tunnel ! I feel like a 
 rabbit in a burrow waiting for a dog to dig him 
 out." 
 
 "The dog doesn't always dig him out," re 
 turned John, grimly, as he started to walk away. 
 
 "Is this mine so very valuable that all this 
 fuss should be made over it people come a long 
 way to fight for it and kill each other?" asked 
 Whitey. 
 
 "Yes," answered John, "it is probably very 
 valuable, but that isn't the real point. The mine 
 belongs to us, and these people have come here 
 to take it away from us by force. If it wasn't 
 worth a last year's bird's nest, I would fight for 
 it under those conditions!" 
 
 "How did you come to get it did you dis 
 cover it?" asked the boy. 
 
 "We got it from a man named Babcock who 
 was the discoverer. He came to our village, sick 
 and about to die, and we nursed and cared for 
 
 109
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 him. In return, just before he died, he called me 
 in and gave it to the people who had been kind to 
 him. I think that makes our title good." 
 
 "I don't understand what claim these other 
 people have on it," said Whitey. "What has 
 the white man who is with them got to do with 
 it? How did they come to know about the 
 mine?" 
 
 "When we came here to take possession of our 
 mine," said John, patiently, "we were fired on 
 by a white man who had evidently been working 
 it in Babcock's absence. He didn't wait to ask 
 who we were, but opened fire at once and hurt 
 one or two of our men. We returned the fire, of 
 course, and drove him out as we had a right to 
 do. Now, it is evident that he has gone off and 
 incited a tribe of the Crows, by promises of 
 wealth, to back him up in his attempt to retake 
 the mine. That is all clear, isn't it? And you 
 don't suppose we're going to submit to any such 
 robbery, do you ? " 
 
 " I don't know," said Whitey, in a puzzled way. 
 "Maybe he thinks that you people are robbers, 
 too, because you took it away from him by force. 
 
 no
 
 He doesn't know that this Babcock gave the 
 mine to you, does he?" 
 
 "No; he opened fire on us before we had a 
 chance to tell him who we were or establish our 
 claim," said John, "and violence must be met 
 with violence. Now, it is too late for any talk. 
 He preferred to argue with a rifle, and I guess 
 we'll let him have his own way," added John, his 
 face setting hard as he made his way across the 
 plateau toward his men. 
 
 Whitey thought soberly for a long time. When 
 he had started for the West, he had been of the 
 opinion that killing Indians came pretty near 
 being the "king of outdoor sports." In many of 
 the books he had read, the life of an Indian didn't 
 have any value at all. In fact, killing an Indian 
 was commendable. An Indian's only part of the 
 show was to get himself killed if it wasn't for 
 killing him, the book could get along first-rate 
 without him. " Crack ! went the rifle, and another 
 of the red devils bit the dust ! " That was a favor 
 ite line. He had never stopped to figure how the 
 Indian felt about it! But after he had been in the 
 West for a time, his ideas began to change. Read- 
 ill
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 ing about it was a very different thing from doing 
 it, or even seeing it done. Injun was an Indian 
 and his pal not a great deal different from 
 many of the boys in school back East maybe 
 a lot better than some. Nor could Whitey im 
 agine that it would be any very great pastime to 
 kill an Indian like John Big Moose, or even some 
 of his men. They looked quite a good deal like 
 human beings. So did some of the Indians that 
 had come to the ranch one or two had given 
 him beaded moccasins, and another had built 
 him a canoe. Come to think of it, it was the old 
 Indian squaw who had saved his life with her 
 herbs and stuff that she cooked in the kettle on 
 the tripod, that time he got bitten by the rattler! 
 Take it all in all, he didn't think it would be 
 an especially attractive sight to see the ground 
 covered with writhing, wounded men even 
 Indians in bloody agony and death. 
 
 Whitey got up from where he sat in the tunnel 
 and walked straight across the plateau to John 
 Big Moose Injun followed him. He was his 
 pal, and he was going "to have a little of the 
 same," whatever it was ! 
 
 112
 
 A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 
 "Mr. Big Moose," said Whitey, in a deter 
 mined way, " I don't believe it's too late to have 
 some kind of a settlement of all this ! " 
 
 Mr. Big Moose started in astonishment, and 
 yanked the two boys behind a tree. 
 
 "What are you doing out here contrary to 
 orders?" asked the big man. "How would you 
 propose to settle it?" 
 
 p> "I don't know just how," said the boy, ear 
 nestly, "but I 'm willing to go and see that other 
 gang and find out if it can't be done. I don't 
 think they'll shoot me I'm a boy, and they'll 
 know that I am not coming to attack them. If 
 there is a white man there, I can talk to him, any 
 way! Please let me try!" 
 
 "Your intentions are very good, son," said 
 John, "but I can't see what there is to settle. This 
 mine belongs to us, and we won't give in an inch! 
 That doesn't leave much to settle, does it?" 
 And John looked down at Whitey, admiring, but 
 very firm. 
 
 "Maybe you won't have to give in when 
 they understand how the thing stands," pleaded 
 the boy. "At any rate, I'll explain the case to 
 
 "3
 
 the white man. If he's half white,%e'll see that 
 you have justice on your side and do what's 
 right. It's worth trying, anyhow!" 
 
 John Big Moose shook his head. "No, son, 
 that is far too dangerous a mission for you to 
 undertake. Besides, I'm afraid you are think 
 ing about what your father would do in a simi 
 lar case," he continued. "This white man will 
 probably act very differently he has acted dif 
 ferently, already." 
 
 "I know that," said Whitey, "but he didn't 
 understand then, and he doesn't understand now ! 
 Please let me go!" 
 
 It took quite a little urging, but almost against 
 his better judgment finally, he reluctantly con 
 sented; and Whitey made ready to go, laying 
 aside his rifle and revolver, showing that he was 
 unarmed. 
 
 "What are you going to tell him ? " asked John. 
 ''What are you going to ask him to do?" 
 
 "I don't know," answered Whitey. "I'll wait 
 till I get there and then I'll figure that out." 
 And he started away toward the rise of the 
 mountain above them. Injun followed after him. 
 
 114
 
 A DANGEROUS MISSION 
 
 "Here!" said John, sharply, in the Dakota 
 language, "I don't think you better go along, 
 boy. They may not have the same considera 
 tion for you that they will for the white boy. 
 You come back ! " 
 
 Injun turned to John Big Moose with all the 
 dignity that can be invested in five-foot-three, 
 and said something that sounded to Whitey like 
 a pack of fire-crackers going off. And John Big 
 Moose slowly nodded his head, and made no 
 further objection to Injun's going. 
 
 "What did you say to him?" Whitey asked, 
 as they departed. 
 
 "Me tell 'urn we come together we go to 
 gether," growled Injun. 
 
 "Good old Injun!" said Whitey, slapping his 
 pal on the back; and the two boys made their 
 way among the trees, each with one hand held 
 high in the air.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 IN the camp of the enemy it cannot truthfully 
 be said that entire harmony prevailed, which 
 fact accounted, in part, for the delayed attack 
 upon the defenders of the mine. It will be re 
 membered that Crowley was not the most gentle 
 of mortals, even when sober; and in instilling a 
 little "Dutch courage" into his band of follow 
 ers he had also instilled a little or perhaps more 
 than a little into himself. Neither he nor his 
 men were really very drunk, but they had had 
 enough to make them bad-tempered; and the 
 Indians, smarting under a blow from Crowley's 
 heavy fist, or from one of his No. ii's, were 
 nursing something that bordered on mutiny. 
 Crowley had been accustomed of late to dealing 
 with Greasers and half-breeds and the Indians 
 of the South a very different proposition from 
 the Indians of the North. Sometimes an ac 
 credited officer of the law or of the military can 
 get away with a good deal of high-handed stuff, 
 
 116
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 or an ordinary white bully if he is in a white 
 man's community. But it is bad judgment to 
 kick an Indian around when you're a hundred 
 miles in the wilderness and there are ten or fifteen 
 of his own kind with him especially if they are 
 doing you more or less of a favor and the jug 
 has been passing around a little freely. It doesn't 
 do to show any weakness, of course; but, by 
 the same token, it doesn't do to hand out bru 
 tality. And about this time Mr. Crowley found 
 himself in somewhat of a fix. 
 
 It had occurred to several of his "army" that 
 maybe this white man wasn't altogether neces 
 sary to the success of this expedition anyhow, 
 and perhaps they could get along very well with 
 out him. He would probably want about all the 
 gold there was in the mine for his share they 
 were not altogether without previous bitter ex 
 perience as to what "a white man's share" is 
 even after they had done the work of digging it 
 out. Besides, one man less would make each one's 
 share just that much larger. He had not en 
 deared himself to them exactly, and was not the 
 kind that they were wildly enthusiastic to fight, 
 
 117
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 bleed, and die for not after the whiskey began 
 to get a little low, he wasn't. He didn't look 
 near so much like a fairy godfather as he did at 
 first. In fact, his unpopularity had reached that 
 stage where Mr. Crowley could see it himself. 
 He was, however, somewhat handicapped when 
 it came to makingfreparation for what he rec 
 ognized as mistakes. Not knowing how to talk 
 Crowjndian very well, he couldn't offer a very 
 elaborate apology and smooth things over, and 
 he didn't dare to ask them "to have another 
 drink and forget it." The most casual observer 
 could have seen that he was "in bad." 
 
 As will be remembered from those things that 
 Crowley did at the Cross and Circle ranch, and 
 from the episode with Bill Jordan in Silver-Dollar 
 Joe's place in San Antone, he was neither a 
 coward nor a bully. But there is no telling what 
 a man will do when he has a " cargo of red-eye on 
 board." And Crowley sober, and Crowley half 
 drunk, were two different individuals. The real 
 ization of his position, however, had sobered 
 him considerably; and he had come to the con 
 clusion that the only thing for him to do was to 
 
 118
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 bluff it through and trust to his rather master 
 ful personality to prevent any actual rebellion; 
 thus far there had been only black looks and the 
 sullen performance of such things as were im 
 mediately necessary. 
 
 Whitey and Injun had made their way for per 
 haps some two hundred yards up the hill and 
 nothing had happened and nothing unusual could 
 be seen by them. In fact, there was a stillness 
 that was almost oppressive; no twitter of birds or 
 any sight of the usual small animals. Injun knew 
 that this was because of the fact that there were 
 men in the forest and the birds and animals 
 were keeping under cover. The boys knew, too, 
 that there were keen eyes upon them, and that 
 at any moment an Indian might shoot at them. 
 
 As they proceeded up the rather rough and 
 steep slope, each of the boys kept his hand held 
 aloft in token of salutation, and as a sign, more 
 over, that he intended no harm. When they were 
 well away from the mine, perhaps a quarter of 
 a mile, Injun suddenly stopped, and called in 
 a loud voice, "How Kola-how-how!" 
 
 Whitey stopped also, and he knew that Injun 
 119
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 must have seen something. For a moment there 
 was no answer, and then three Indians, each 
 carrying a rifle, rose up from the thick under 
 brush and came toward them. While the atti 
 tude of the Indians was not exactly menacing, it 
 was by no means friendly, and left no doubt that 
 the boys were prisoners, although they were not 
 bound or forcibly restrained. Injun did the talk 
 ing and Whitey realized that had he been alone 
 he might have had some difficulty in making the 
 Indians, who were practically sure to intercept 
 him before he got to the white man, understand 
 what the object of his mission was. 
 
 One of the Indians questioned the boys in the 
 Crow tongue, which, of course, Injun did not 
 understand. So the language that is universally 
 understood between all Indian tribes, and which 
 is also understood by many of the white pioneers, 
 was resorted to hand-talk, or the language of 
 signs. For example, the Sioux or Dakotas, Crows, 
 Cheyenne, Blackfeet, or whatever the tribe may 
 be, all speak a different tongue just like the dif 
 ferent nations of the white race English, Rus 
 sian, French, Italian, Spanish, or Swedish. But, 
 
 1 20
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 as I have stated, the plains Indians understand 
 the universal language hand-talk. 
 
 As Injun explained to their captors that they 
 brought a message from the Dakotas to the 
 "White Chief," Whitey gazed with wide-eyed 
 admiration at his quiet young friend, who carried 
 on the free and understandable conversation with 
 graceful signs. This was the first time that 
 Whitey had ever seen hand-talk, and in spite of 
 the seriousness of the situation and the menac 
 ing attitude of the Crows he could not but marvel 
 at the beauty and majesty of the conversation 
 hand-talk being made with full arm gestures and 
 with swinging motions or postures of the body. 
 It is beautiful in its freedom and grace. 
 
 The three Crows consulted for a time in 
 their own tongue, and Injun was unable to un 
 derstand a word of what was said. Finally one 
 of them gestured to Injun: 
 
 "Do the Dakotas wish to surrender?" 
 With dignity, Injun resumed his hand-talk: 
 "The message is for the White Chief. Take 
 us to him." 
 
 It was plain, to the boys, that the Indians were 
 
 121
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 not any too willing to do this; but after a short 
 consultation they signed to Injun and Whitey 
 to precede them farther up the mountain, and 
 the three Indians fell in behind. At intervals, as 
 they proceeded, they were joined by other In 
 dians who seemed to Whitey to come out of the 
 air, so complete had been their concealment. 
 And Whitey now realized that had they left the 
 mine when they had first made the attempt which 
 was frustrated by one of the guards, it would 
 have been next to impossible to have eluded the 
 band that almost completely surrounded the 
 place. They proceeded in silence, as far as any 
 talk between the boys and their captors was con 
 cerned, but the Indians were exchanging sig 
 nificant looks. In a few moments, however, they 
 arrived at a small and nearly level nook in which 
 the Indians had left their horses and such equip 
 ment as they had brought. And there, too, was 
 the "White Chief" but he was tied to a tree! 
 Whitey had not recovered from his astonish 
 ment at the condition of the man who he sup 
 posed was the leader and commander of the gang, 
 when he received a further shock of an equally 
 
 122
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 violent nature. As he approached the man the 
 latter let out a laugh that sounded strange, con 
 sidering the serious plight he was in. 
 
 "Jumpin' Jehosophat!" he roared, "ef it 
 ain't them two r'arin' catamounts from the 
 Bar O! Does yo' two calc'late to mix in with 
 ev'ry rough-house party thet's giv' in this here 
 region? How's my friend Bill Jordan comin' on 
 not t' mention Pedro an' Ol' Man Ross, right 
 name Yancey?" 
 
 "Mr. Crowley!" said Whitey in astonishment. 
 "What's the matter? Were you the white man 
 who started to work the mine when the Dakotas 
 came and took it away from you?" 
 
 "I am that same," said Crowley. "An* I was 
 preparin' t' lead these here red skunks t' ever- 
 lastin' riches, repose, an' rum, when they turns 
 on me an' has me wrapped up here like a bat 
 handle." 
 
 "Well, what was the matter?" asked Whitey. 
 
 "Wai," said Crowley, "'pears like I didn't 
 hev parlor-manners 'miff t' suit 'em. I give one 
 'r two of 'em a slap on th' wrist an' a kick in th* 
 pants, an' they took it to heart. Seems they was 
 
 123
 
 brung up pets an' wasn't used t' bein' spoke harsh 
 to; 'tany rate, they gits peeved an' here I be. 
 Was yo' all jes' droppin' in t' make a mornin' 
 call er what? Yo'll hev t' 'scuse my not shak- 
 in' hands with yuh, but I'm some discommoded 
 an' hindered!" 
 
 "We came over from the mine to see if there 
 isn't some way that can be found to stop the 
 fighting," said Whitey, earnestly. "John Big 
 Moose says that they won't give in an inch, be 
 cause they own the mine a man named Bab- 
 cock discovered it and gave it to them when he 
 died. But I said that maybe you and your In 
 dians didn't know that, and that you were will 
 ing to be reasonable. Of course, I didn't know 
 that you were the white man, Mr. Crowley." 
 
 The Indians had gathered around and it was 
 evident that some of them understood what was 
 being said; but they waited for the talk to pro 
 ceed between Whitey and Crowley. 
 
 "Well," smiled Crowley, "I don't know as I've 
 got nuthin' to say 'bout whut's to be did er not 
 did jes' now, I ain't. I don't seem to occupy 
 no very high position in a-thor'ty, not in this 
 
 124
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 camp, I don't! But mebbe 'f I was t' be on tied 
 an' 'lowed t' discuss th' matter, we might come t' 
 some understandin'. Kin thet pal o' your'n speak 
 th' lingo o' these here onregenerate heathens? 
 'F he kin, tell 'im t' put th' matter up to 'em." 
 
 Thus appealed to, Injun resorted to his hand- 
 talk and thus explained the situation. He met 
 with no enthusiasm in regard to a conference 
 with the Dakotas at the mine; and, as far as let 
 ting Crowley loose, there was "nothing doing." 
 
 It was scarcely necessary to interpret what 
 the Indians had said in reply to his proposition, 
 for their sinister faces and the stolid opposition 
 in their gestures and manner could be easily un 
 derstood. Both Whitey and Crowley watched 
 their faces anxiously, and could gain no encour 
 agement therefrom. But Whitey was not the 
 kind that gives up easily; he had been in difficult 
 places before and had won out, and he might do 
 so again. 
 
 "Why don't you act reasonable?" he said, fac 
 ing the braves. "What do you want to kill each 
 other for? If you go over there and 'talk to 
 John Big Moose, I know he'll do what's fair." 
 
 125
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 Injun explained Whitey's words. The name of 
 John Big Moose seemed to create an impression 
 among the Indians, and there was some nodding 
 and whispering that meant the name had a mean 
 ing to them. 
 
 "Look here, kid," said Crowley, while this was 
 going on, "I reckon I'm in about as Dutch as 
 a skunk at a camp-meetin', an' I don't want t' 
 see yo' come t' harm on my account. Now, 'f I 
 was yo' " 
 
 One of the braves came menacingly to Injun, 
 and demanded, in the hand-talk, "How many of 
 the Dakotas are guarding the mine?" 
 
 Injun ignored thebraveand, turning to Whitey, 
 he repeated the Indian's question. 
 
 Without any hesitation Whitey said, "Tell 
 him something less than fifty!" Injun gestured 
 Whitey's words at least, he gestured what he 
 thought were Whitey's words! And the answer 
 seemed to create a considerable change of senti 
 ment among the braves. They themselves num 
 bered about fifteen, and if there were fifty men 
 guarding the mine, it would be folly to try to 
 rush them in their intrenched position, or even 
 
 126
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 to win the mine from them in any other way. 
 This put a new face on the matter in two ways, 
 and both Whitey and Crowley soon became alive 
 to it : it might end hostilities, as far as an actual 
 conflict between the two bands of Indians were 
 concerned, but it did not better the situation for 
 Crowley or even for themselves. If the Crows, 
 feeling themselves hopelessly outnumbered, con 
 cluded that further efforts were useless and that 
 they must withdraw, naturally their resentment 
 against Crowley would be increased, and this 
 might extend to the boys also. 
 
 "I tol' 'em the' wa'rn't more'n ten er twelve," 
 said Crowley, with a grin in which there was no 
 mirth. " I reck'n they won't feel none too cordial 
 towards me fer gittin' into a mess like thet. 
 But it can't be helped, son. Yo' done whut yo* 
 figgered was best." 
 
 "As far as we're concerned," said Whitey, 
 with a puzzled face, "I guess I made a mistake. 
 I guess the truth is better than a lie, any time, 
 no matter what the advantages seem to be for 
 telling one. Can you make out what they are 
 talking about, Injun?" 
 
 127
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 The braves had withdrawn some distance 
 from the tree to which Crowley was tied, and 
 seemed to be discussing the matter with consider 
 able bitterness, and the argument was more or 
 less heated. Although Injun could not under 
 stand the Crow tongue, he was an Indian. He 
 knew Indian nature, and he knew that the Crows 
 meant mischief. So he expressed himself. 
 
 "It don't look any too good for us in' any 
 event," said Whitey. "What do you think we 
 better do?" he asked. 
 
 "Me cut white man loose," whispered Injun, 
 as he edged toward the tree and then slipped be 
 hind it. Reaching into his shirt, the boy took 
 out his hunting-knife, and a few slashes served 
 to release Crowley from his bonds. That he was 
 not observed was not strange, as the braves were 
 engaged in a heated debate and there were two 
 or three trees that partially intervened between 
 them and the group at the tree. Crowley cau 
 tiously shook his limbs loose from the rope 
 fortunately he had been bound but a short time 
 and his legs and arms were not yet numb. 
 
 "Good eye!" he whispered to Injun. "Now 
 128
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 70' two beat it as fast as yo' kin down to the 
 right. The' ain't a chance in th' world o' you 
 squarin' things. I got a gun in my shirt thet they 
 overlooked when they was a-hog-tiein' of me, 
 an' I'll slip after yo'. 'F they gits wise yo' keep 
 on goin' lickety-split hell-bent fer 'lection, an' I'll 
 lam off in th' other direction an' try to stan' 'em 
 off till yo' all gits cl'ar. They want me more 7 n 
 they want yo' all, an' yo' kin giv' 'em quite 
 a race in them woods. Beat it, now. Don't waste 
 no time botherin' 'bout me!" 
 
 Injun and Whitey slipped away as noiselessly 
 as possible, and had gone more than two or three 
 hundred yards down the slope and out of sight 
 among the trees where they could run at top 
 speed without regard to noise, before they heard 
 a rumpus back of them on the hill, and several 
 shots fired. Injun led the way, and Whitey 
 endeavored to step exactly in his footprints, as 
 far as possible. Injun's quick eye and his experi 
 ence in going through the woods, avoiding treach 
 erous places and obstructions, stood them in good 
 stead; and in a few moments the boys felt that 
 they had left pursuit far behind, if, indeed, there 
 
 129
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 had ever been any in their direction. The band 
 had evidently confined its efforts to the recap 
 ture of Crowley, for the shots that still kept up 
 sounded farther and farther away. But Injun did 
 not for an instant slacken the pace that he was 
 setting, nor did he forget to bear around toward 
 the left a course that would carry them in the 
 general direction of the mine, though some dis 
 tance below it on the slope to the valley. 
 
 It was a question whether to make for the mine 
 and trust their fortunes with John Big Moose 
 and his men, or, now that they were free of the 
 whole mix-up, to continue on their way back to 
 the camp where they had left their horses, some 
 ten or twelve miles away. One thing, more than 
 anything else, argued that they return to the 
 mine, and that was the fact that they were en 
 tirely unarmed except for the hunting-knife that 
 Injun had secreted in his shirt; and the long hike 
 through the wilds without gun or revolver did not 
 look attractive. While there probably would be 
 no occasion to protect their lives with gun or 
 rifle, yet there might be; and when you need a 
 gun in the wilderness, you need it mighty bad! 
 
 130
 
 CROWLEY 
 
 On the contrary, if they did go back to the mine, 
 they would again be involved in anything in the 
 way of a scrimmage that occurred. 
 
 It seemed likely, from what Injun had been 
 able to make out while watching the pow-wow 
 of the Crows, that the braves were skeptical as to 
 the number of the defenders of the mine. It was 
 likely that they would at least make an effort to 
 find out the strength of the Dakotas, and if they 
 learned the truth, they would undoubtedly at 
 tack. As far as being of any assistance to Crowley 
 was concerned, they were helpless. The only pos 
 sible way of doing anything for him would be to 
 reach the ranch and send out a rescue expedi 
 tion; and the time that this would consume would 
 make the expedition useless. Long before the 
 time the expedition could even get under way 
 from the Bar O ranch, Crowley either would be 
 in the hands of the Indians or would have made 
 his escape by his own efforts. 
 
 Very often, in matters of this kind, the deci 
 sion is not left to those most interested, but is 
 decided for them by events of a most unexpected 
 character. That was what happened in this case.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 TREED BY A GRIZZLY 
 
 "I CAN'T see making that trip back to the camp 
 without any guns," said Whitey, as the boys 
 made their way over a particularly rough piece 
 of the mountain-side, "and what's more, I don't 
 want to lose them, either. If we let them stay at 
 the mine now, we'll never have a chance to get 
 them. And yet, now that we're out of it, it seems 
 foolish to get into it all again. What do you think 
 about it, Injun?" 
 
 Before Injun had time to reply, something 
 happened. He stopped suddenly and caught 
 Whitey's arm. 
 
 "B'ar!" whispered Injun, excitedly. "Come!" 
 The boys were crossing an open patch of ground 
 that was almost entirely bare of trees. All about 
 them were huge boulders, varying from the size 
 of a cobblestone to others that were twenty feet 
 in diameter. Many of them were rounded and 
 their surfaces slippery, as though they had been 
 churned together for centuries in some great con- 
 
 132
 
 TREED BY A GRIZZLY 
 
 vulsion of Nature until the sharp irregularities 
 had been worn away, and their surfaces almost 
 polished. The task of traversing this spot was not 
 an easy one under any conditions, and anything 
 like haste or speed was almost out of the ques 
 tion. The way required careful picking. 
 
 Injun had been the first to see the bear, and he 
 had, of course, cast about him for a place of ref 
 uge, but at first glance none offered, and he and 
 Whitey tried to crouch down behind one of the 
 boulders, hoping that they might escape the 
 bear's notice. This hope was vain, however, for 
 before they could scurry to the concealment of 
 the nearest boulder, the bear sighted them, and 
 came lumbering for them. The privacy of his 
 den had been invaded by two Indians, and some 
 body was going to suffer for it ! He had missed 
 the Indians in some way, but here were two boys 
 who would do just as well! 
 
 There was very little time to make much of a 
 choice of a place of refuge, but the bear was 
 coming toward them at a rapid pace, and he was 
 not more than a hundred yards away when he 
 had first seen them. But the quick-witted Injun 
 
 133
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 seized upon the only opportunity in sight. Some 
 twenty or thirty feet away was a large and nearly 
 round boulder whose top was somewhat more 
 than ten feet from the ground. The boulder had 
 been deposited near to a sheer bank from which 
 grew a tough and dwarfed tree that had been 
 broken and split by lightning almost in half. Its 
 one remaining limb extended out over the 
 boulder. 
 
 Calling Whitey to follow him, Injun ran 
 quickly up the bank, sheer as it was, and leaping 
 up caught this limb and worked his way along it 
 hanging by his hands, until he could drop on to 
 the boulder. Whitey lost no time in following 
 Injun's lead, and practiced as he was in gymna 
 sium feats, it was an easy matter. He was none 
 too quick, however, for even as he made his way 
 along the limb, the bear rushed underneath him 
 and rearing on his hind legs, made frantic at 
 tempts to grab the dangling boy. But Whitey 
 was some little distance out of the bear's reach, 
 and in a moment he dropped safely upon the 
 top of the boulder beside Injun. 
 
 Safe? That remained to be seen! The bear 
 134
 
 TREED BY A GRIZZLY 
 
 turned and rushed at the boulder, standing on 
 his hind legs and making frantic efforts to draw 
 himself up. But the hard and smooth surface 
 of the boulder and the fact that it bulged slightly 
 at the top gave the bear, gigantic as he was, 
 little chance for a hold. The fact that his first 
 few attempts to mount the rock were futile did 
 not seem to discourage the bear in the least, and 
 he kept right on trying. There was his prey, 
 only a few feet beyond the reach of his claws, and 
 the fact that he could not quite reach them, threw 
 him into a rage. His red eyes gleamed wickedly 
 and his great mouth, with its long, sharp teeth, 
 yawned and snapped viciously. He literally 
 danced around the boulder, in his rage and eager 
 ferocity; and if the situation had not been so 
 serious, his actions would have been comical. 
 
 "Can he make it?" asked Whitey, his face 
 pale and his breath coming fast. 
 
 "Dunno," said Injun stolidly. 
 
 And, indeed, there was a very grave doubt 
 about it. While his attempts had been futile, so 
 far, there was a big chance that, circling the rock 
 as he was, the brute might find a lodgment for 
 
 135
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 those powerful claws that would suffice for 
 drawing himself up. 
 
 Injun took the knife from his shirt and knelt 
 on the rock as near to the edge as he dared; and 
 as the bear went around the boulder, Injun faced 
 him, ready to slash at the paws if they found a 
 hold. 
 
 This was, indeed, a dangerous business; for a 
 bear is an expert boxer, and is remarkably quick; 
 and such is his strength that one of his little 
 dabs, if it hit Injun's wrist, would probably 
 knock him from the rock. But Injun knew this, 
 and he was taking very few chances ; he held the 
 knife as one holds a sword, and if the bear's slap 
 hit anything, it would only be the knife. 
 
 "Look out for him!" said Whitey, as the bear 
 made a remarkably quick slap at the knife. " If 
 he ever hits that knife, he may knock you off if 
 you have too tight a hold on it ! Gee ! If we only 
 had a rifle! Even the six-shooter would help 
 some at this short range!" 
 ' But Injun was handling the matter very well, 
 and on two occasions had been able to slash the 
 bear's paws slightly. Had the bear been able to 
 
 136
 
 INJUN FACED HIM, READY TO SLASH AT THE PAWS IF THEY 
 FOUND A HOLD
 
 TREED BY A GRIZZLY 
 
 obtain a hold, it is probable that the knife would 
 have made very little difference as far as making 
 him let go was concerned. A knife is a pitiful 
 thing to fight a bear with, and the slashes that 
 Injun had. inflicted on the bear's paws, although 
 they drew blood, served little purpose except 
 to further enrage the animal. He roared and 
 snapped and danced with increased vigor and 
 fury after receiving them. 
 
 For at least ten minutes the bear did not abate 
 his attempts to get at the boys; but each addi 
 tional minute served to increase the boys' con 
 fidence, though it did not particularly discourage 
 the bear. But even if it were an assured fact that 
 the bear could not get at them then, it was by no> 
 means a very pleasant situation. The boys knew 
 that a bear has a lot of patience, and the chances 
 were that he would wait quite a while before he 
 abandoned something that was so nearly withia 
 his reach. 
 
 "I've heard that bears," said Whitey, after a. 
 time, "when they had a man treed just sat down 
 and waited maybe for days until the man 
 got exhausted and fell out of the tree. This brute 
 
 137
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 looks as though he would never give up!" he 
 added, as the bear made a particularly strenuous 
 attempt to climb up. "I wonder if looking him 
 in the eye will do any good ? " he continued. "I've 
 heard that wild animals can't stand the human 
 eye the books say they 'quail before it.' It 
 works with a lion, so they say. He backs down 
 1 if you get him right. I'm going to see if this 
 bird will do a little quailing!" And Whitey got 
 down on his knees and tried to look the bear in 
 the eye. He didn't have the slightest difficulty 
 in getting the bear's eyes; in fact, the bear 
 seemed to welcome an exchange of glares, and 
 his wicked little eyes gleamed as he stared at 
 Whitey and renewed his efforts to mount on the 
 rock. 
 
 Whitey drew back, involuntarily; looking 
 into the face of an enraged bear at close range 
 isn't pleasant! 
 
 "I guess if there was any quailing about it, 
 I did it!" he said, disgustedly. "I'd like to see 
 the folks that make 'em quail in the books take 
 a crack at this baby! Don't talk to me about 
 the power of the human eye ! It might work on 
 
 138
 
 TREED BY A GRIZZLY 
 
 a rabbit or on white mice or something, but not 
 on bears!" 
 
 After a moment the bear lowered himself to 
 all fours, and sat on his haunches, seldom taking 
 his eyes off the boys, and apparently trying to 
 figure out some other way to get at them. 
 
 "Gwan home, you big lummox!" yelled 
 Whitey, making threatening gestures at the bear. 
 "Gwan home ! Somebody '11 sneak in and get your 
 cubs ! Gwan ! You moth-eaten lookin' automo 
 bile rug! Beat it, while the beating's good!" 
 
 Far from sending the bear about his business, 
 this tirade served only to make the bear renew 
 his efforts to scale the rock, and Injun managed 
 to inflict another cut on his paw. It took some 
 time for him to get over this insult, and the bear 
 kept up his dancing and clawing for some min 
 utes, but finally got tired of it and went and sat 
 down again. Then he walked around the rock 
 several times, sniffing and trying to think up a 
 new method of attack. 
 
 "Maybe he wants to be petted," said Whitey 
 humorously. 
 
 "Woof!" responded the bear, and he again 
 139
 
 made an attempt to climb on to the rock. But in 
 a moment he tired of it, and resumed his seat a 
 short distance from the rock. 
 
 "I can't seem to suit him, no matter what I 
 do!" said Whitey. "Gee! but he's got a mean 
 disposition ! And he looks as though he were go 
 ing to sit right there for a week ! I wonder if it 
 would do any good to shout for help? Some of 
 John Big Moose's men might come and get us 
 out of this." 
 
 Injun shook his head: "Crow mebbe come, 
 too," he said; and from his manner, Whitey saw 
 that his companion regarded that possibility as 
 worse than facing the bear alone. 
 
 Injun still knelt on the rock, never taking his 
 eyes from the bear, but Whitey had risen to his 
 feet. Suddenly he clutched Injun's shoulder. 
 
 "Look!" he said excitedly. "Look what's 
 coming!" 
 
 Injun glanced quickly and followed the direc 
 tion of Whitey's pointing finger. Over the rocks, 
 not a hundred yards away, was another bear 
 headed directly for them!
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 A FRIEND INDEED 
 
 "FoR the love o' Mike!" gasped Whitey, as the 
 two boys watched the newcomer shuffle his un 
 certainly certain way directly toward them. 
 "Seems as though we were in bad enough as it 
 was, without reinforcements coming up to help 
 this brute!" 
 
 Injun made no reply, but continued to watch 
 the new arrival closely. Injun knew something 
 about bears and other wild animals; and one of 
 the things he knew was that two bears will never 
 voluntarily consent to an equal and peaceable 
 division of any food or prey that may come their 
 way. Even in captivity this is true. Watch the 
 bears in a zoo, and you will jfind that at feeding- 
 time the biggest bear will try to take unto him 
 self all the food that is put into the den, and will 
 proceed to eat all he can of it, while the smaller 
 bears sit around and watch and whine in weak 
 and pathetic protest. The others can have what 
 
 141
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 he leaves! The best and happiest of "happy 
 families," that is the pride of every circus or 
 animal show, will quarrel over food; and when 
 the happy family is fed, a man has to stand there 
 with a club to keep them "happy." 
 
 Injun was not entirely sure that the new bear 
 was to be considered as "reinforcements." And 
 after a moment or two Whitey began to have 
 his doubts about it, too. 
 
 When the new arrival was sufficiently close 
 to allow their jailer to get his scent, their "old 
 friend" diverted his attention from the boys; 
 and getting down on all fours, he faced about in 
 the direction of the oncoming bear, and began to 
 sniff and snort and growl and wave his head from 
 side to side, and advance to meet him. He didn't 
 intend to divide the boys with anybody! 
 
 "Looks to me like they're going to fight!" said 
 Whitey, excitedly. "Gee!" he continued, "if 
 they do, it ought to be some scrap ! " And then 
 he added, as he thought it over, "We seem to 
 be like the birds in a turkey-shoot. No mat 
 ter which bear wins, we're going to get it in the 
 neck, anyhow! We belong to the winner!" 
 
 142
 
 A FRIEND INDEED 
 
 "Ugh!" grunted Injun. "Mebbe ain't goin' 
 be no winner!" 
 
 "Do you mean that if they fight, there won't 
 be enough left of the winner to make us any 
 trouble?" asked Whitey, a faint hope fluttering 
 within him. 
 
 "Dunno," said Injun. "Mebbe fin' out." 
 
 By this time there could be no doubt that the 
 first bear intended to chase the other one away if 
 he could, for his manner indicated anything but 
 a cordial welcome. He hadn't invited any other 
 bear to breakfast [and he didn't propose to ex 
 tend any such hospitality. Besides, as he figured 
 it, there wouldn't be enough boy to go 'round if 
 there were going to be company, and he never 
 cared for banquets, anyhow. He advanced stead 
 ily and belligerently toward the other bear, 
 roaring and waving his head and scratching up 
 the stones and generally misbehaving himself. 
 
 What the other bear thought about it will 
 probably never be known. Indeed, it was doubt 
 ful whether he had seen the boys at all, and con 
 sequently the breakfast part of it cut no figure 
 with him. But he undoubtedly did understand 
 
 H3
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 that he was in the presence of a gentleman who 
 was looking for trouble, and he was the kind of 
 a bear that when trouble came his way, he gave 
 it a hug. Up to date he had done very little back 
 ing-out, and trouble was his dish ! He may have 
 had his troubles that day, too; and as I have 
 said before, when a bear is peeved, he takes out 
 his wrath on the first thing that comes along, re 
 gardless of what that thing is. 
 
 At any rate, he was able-bodied and knew his 
 rights, and he didn't propose to be "buffaloed" 
 or scared by a lot of bellowing and scratching-up 
 of stones. He could bellow and scratch stones a 
 little himself, as he proceeded to demonstrate. 
 He didn't know a thing about " turning the other 
 cheek." And he said so, too as plain as one 
 bear can say it to another. 
 
 "Gee!" whispered Whitey, excitedly, "we're 
 going to see something! This is going to be a 
 regular fight!" 
 
 The two bears lost little time in getting to 
 gether. They had no managers to squabble 
 about the weight and the referee and the rules 
 and the loser's end and the price of seats and the 
 
 144
 
 A FRIEND INDEED 
 
 number of rounds. The weights were pretty 
 nearly equal, it was "winner-take-all," and 
 neither of them gave a hoot about the "gate." 
 They had no need of a referee, for they fought 
 under "slaughter-house" rules, with no holds 
 barred. And another thing, this was no "frame- 
 up." Neither had any intention of letting the 
 other "stay," so as to stage another meeting! 
 This fight was going to be on the level and to a 
 finish. The gallery didn't influence them a bit. 
 Many a man will fight if somebody is looking 
 at him. It's a good man who will fight no mat 
 ter whether any one is looking at him or not. A 
 bear is that kind. There is no four-flush about 
 him. 
 
 Every bear is an expert boxer it is born in 
 him and he practices all the time. To lead and 
 block and duck and side-step are parts of his 
 daily life, and are perfectly natural movements 
 for him to use. And as they came together, the 
 two bears rose on their haunches and walloped 
 each other with blows that would have broken 
 the neck of the strongest lion in the world. They 
 sparred and bit and clawed, each endeavoring to 
 
 145
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 bring the other into his embrace so that with the 
 powerful claws of his hind feet he might disem 
 bowel his enemy. But with equal cleverness and 
 strength, neither could get any decided advan 
 tage. But they were doing plenty of damage to 
 each other; the blood ran freely from their 
 wounds, and the air and ground were full of fur. 
 
 The two boys watched the fight with breath 
 less interest. It is perhaps doubtful whether, 
 had the chance to slip away unnoticed been pre 
 sented, they would have availed themselves of 
 it! They had forgotten their dangerous predica 
 ment in their excitement! They were going to 
 see it through! 
 
 They were doing considerable "rooting," too, 
 for the newcomer, of course. As the fight pro 
 gressed, they had come to regard him as their 
 savior if savior they were to have. He had, at 
 least, broken up the little tete-a-tete that the 
 first bear had been having with them, and if 
 they should eventually escape, it would probably 
 be due to his interference. 
 
 "Gee!" gasped Whitey, as the intruder landed 
 a tremendous and resounding cuif high up on the 
 
 146
 
 A FRIEND INDEED 
 
 other's head, and which took most of an ear and 
 considerable hide, "that was a peach! I'll bet 
 there was a headache in that one! Give it to 
 him ! I told him to beat it while the beating was 
 good, and he wouldn't do it! I'll bet he wishes 
 he had taken my advice ! Sock him a couple more 
 like that one and you get the decision!" 
 
 After a moment, when the bears had fought 
 themselves some distance away from the rock, 
 Whitey looked about him. 
 
 "Have we got a chance to get away, Injun? 
 They don't seem to be paying much attention 
 to us." 
 
 Injun shook his head, decidedly. He knew 
 that if they made any break for liberty there was 
 a chance that both bears would forget their 
 quarrel and take after them "A b'ar bein' a 
 queer animile an' y' can't always figger him," 
 as Bill Jordan had remarked in one of his talks 
 to the boys. And the wisdom of this was appar 
 ent a few moments later when Whitey, in his 
 excitement, slipped, and would have gone off the 
 rock had not Injun caught him, and dragged him 
 back to safety. It was a narrow escape, for there 
 
 147
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 could be no possible doubt that the bear that had 
 chased them on to the rock, and who probably 
 regarded them as his own property, made a 
 slight but unmistakable movement as though to 
 leave the fight and give his attention to the boy. 
 His slight carelessness, however, cost him 
 something; for the other bear, taking advantage 
 of his momentary forgetfulness, succeeded in get 
 ting a hold upon him that permitted him to rip 
 his opponent down the front with his hind claws. 
 A more than usual ferocious roar from the victim 
 gave evidence of how the blow had told, as well as 
 the welter of blood that followed it. But far from 
 lessening the attack of the bear, the wound 
 seemed to increase it. He tore into his opponent 
 with indescribable ferocity, and for a moment 
 seemed to be getting even, with a vengeance. 
 But this was only momentary, and was, no doubt, 
 a last, desperate effort to stem the tide that he 
 felt was setting in against him. He was making 
 a tremendous snarling and bellowing; but in the 
 loudest roar there seemed to be a note of agonized 
 fear that belied its ferocious challenge. It seemed 
 the howl of anguish and protest and hate, impo- 
 
 148
 
 tent and terror-stricken, that most animals give 
 when they know that they are beaten and that 
 death and destruction are inevitable. 
 
 That rip down the front had plainly been the 
 deciding blow; and in a moment, in the very 
 midst of what seemed to be a savage charge, the 
 bear turned tail, with a howl of defeat, and tried 
 to stagger away. He never had a chance. Not 
 only was the other bear upon him in an instant, 
 but he was too weak to run another step; and he 
 sank in his tracks, dead! 
 
 The victor assured himself of this fact, and 
 when he got through assuring himself, there was 
 not the slightest chance that the other bear would 
 ever come to life to dispute him again ! There are 
 no rules among bears about hitting when one is 
 down ! Then he cast one look at the boys he 
 was not fifty feet away took an unsteady step 
 toward them, but turned and limped painfully 
 away! When the boys saw the front of him as he 
 turned toward them, they knew very well why 
 he was willing to call it a day and go home! A 
 hundred yards from the rock, he, too, sank down 
 on the ground, but the boys did not go to him 
 
 149
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 to see if he were dead ! They had not the slight 
 est curiosity in that direction ! Well they remem 
 bered what Bill Jordan had told them. 
 
 "When yo' hev killed a b'ar," said Bill, "you 
 want t' climb a tree an' set thar fer 'bout a hour. 
 'F he don't move, in thet time, yo' climb down 
 an' run th' other way as fast as yo'r legs'll take 
 yo'! Thet's th' way t' kill a b'ar!" 
 
 When they slid down off of the rock neither 
 one of the boys found that his legs were any too 
 steady 'they had been through considerable 
 excitement. Compelled to watch a bloody battle 
 between Titans of the mountains, in which you 
 are the prize, is not exactly steadying to the 
 nerves ! But such steadiness of leg as they had, 
 they put to the best advantage, in the way that 
 Bill Jordan had suggested.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 WHEN Crowley, gun in hand, stood beside the 
 tree in practically the same position in which he 
 had been tied, and watched the boys as they ran 
 swiftly and silently down the slope, he had the 
 satisfaction of feeling that the boys were pretty 
 well out of the scrape, and that the Crows had 
 overlooked the fact that he still wore his belt of 
 cartridges. He had been overcome in a rough- 
 and-tumble fight three or four of the Crows 
 had pounced upon him unawares and he had 
 given them about all they wanted to do to get 
 him "hog-tied" without doing more than take 
 his six-gun from its holster, which, indeed, they 
 had done in the first instant of their attack on 
 him. They may not have actually overlooked the 
 belt, for a cartridge-belt isn't of any great value 
 without a gun. What they had overlooked, how 
 ever, was the gun that he had concealed in his 
 shirt. The attack had been so quick, and his 
 hands had been engaged in such a manner, that
 
 he had no opportunity to reach the gun during 
 the struggle. At any rate, he was in a position, 
 now, to give an account of himself; and while 
 he had little idea that he would be able to get 
 away unhurt, he knew that he at least had a 
 chance. 
 
 He slipped behind the tree to which he had 
 been tied and keeping it in line with the braves, 
 who were still arguing heatedly and seemed to be 
 taking a vote on some question, he darted to an 
 other, and another, until he was some thirty or 
 forty yards away from where he had started. 
 
 Suddenly there was a yell, as one of the braves 
 saw that he was missing from the tree; the con 
 ference broke up hurriedly, and the Indians 
 sprang to their feet and looked eagerly about to 
 locate the direction that he had taken. They, of 
 course, believed him unarmed, and exposed them 
 selves openly. A shot from his revolver dropped 
 one of them in his tracks, and in the confusion 
 that followed, most of the braves taking refuge 
 behind trees, Crowley materially increased the 
 distance between them. The braves seemed in 
 doubt also as to whether the shot had been fired 
 
 152
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 by one of the escaped trio, or by one of the 
 Dakotas who had followed the boys. 
 
 But the keen-eyed Indians soon located Crow- 
 ley, as he darted from tree to tree, and with a 
 yell and a fusillade of shots they started after 
 him. But another shot, which took effect upon 
 the foremost of the pursuers, caused the others 
 to proceed with increased caution, and Crowley 
 made good use of the hesitation. He ran down 
 the slope, but in a direction diagonal to that 
 taken by the boys and to the right, and every 
 moment he widened the distance between him 
 self and his pursuers. It was evident that they 
 had considerable respect for that six-gun of his, 
 after a third shot had winged another of the 
 braves. 
 
 But even with the advantage that he now had, 
 and with all the respect that the Indians had for 
 his revolver, Crowley knew, and the Crows knew, 
 that he had little chance of eventually making 
 his escape, provided the red men persisted in the 
 chase. There is not one white man in a hundred 
 that is a match for the ordinary Indian in the 
 woods; and there is not a white man in the world 
 
 153
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 that is a match for some Indians when it comes 
 to stalking each other in the wilderness. 
 
 But there was one thing that both parties over 
 looked the Dakotas at the mine. They were 
 within easy hearing distance of the shots that 
 the Crows had sent after Crowley, and neither 
 John Big Moose nor anybody else was going to 
 keep them from seeing what was up. 
 
 The natural supposition was that the Crows 
 had been attacked by somebody, and eight of the 
 Dakotas went to investigate. And John Big 
 Moose, leaving four men on guard, followed after 
 them. They made their way swiftly through the 
 woods, and soon came upon one of the wounded 
 men who had fallen a victim to Crowley's gun. 
 From him no information in regard to what had 
 happened could be extracted, but John Big Moose 
 was not slow to take advantage of the situation. 
 The chase after Crowley had left the camp of the 
 Crows entirely unprotected, and John and his 
 Indians proceeded to take possession of all their 
 horses, provisions, and equipment and transport 
 them forthwith to the mine. To say that this 
 was what is known as a coup is putting it mildly 
 
 154
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 - and it put 
 
 John Big Moose in a position to dictate about 
 any terms that he desired. 
 
 "Let them chase their heads off after the white 
 man ! When they come back and find everything 
 gone, maybe they will listen to reason," argued 
 John. 
 
 There was not a doubt in the world that the 
 boys had stirred up quite a mess in the moun 
 tains ! 
 
 In his efforts to escape, Crowley was greatly 
 handicapped by the fact that he was almost en 
 tirely ignorant of the lay of the land, while it was 
 probable that the Indians knew every foot of it. 
 At the outset his only object was to get away 
 from where he was anywhere would do. But 
 as he went on and on, he realized that at almost 
 any moment he might run into a something that 
 was impassable a precipice down which he 
 could not climb, or a gulch that had no outlet 
 and thus he would be compelled to retrace his 
 steps, and be forced, in all probability, to walk 
 right into his pursuers. And, therefore, he kept 
 his eyes open for any sort of suitable hiding- 
 
 155
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 place wherein he could hide himself until he could 
 double back on his trail or until his pursuers 
 gave up the chase. 
 
 All the while he was gradually descending the 
 mountain, and there were many open spaces to 
 be traversed, and these were beset with dangers; 
 for while he crossed one of the open places he of 
 fered a fair mark to the rifles that were behind 
 him. On two occasions, when he thought that 
 perhaps he might have either distanced his pur 
 suers or thrown them off his track, a shot passing 
 dangerously close to him told him that such was 
 not the case. 
 
 He was at a further disadvantage in that he 
 was armed only with his six-shooter with a far 
 more limited range than that of a rifle; and he 
 knew that if once he left the mountains and 
 started across the open, rolling foothills, the In 
 dians could pick him off at their leisure, and he 
 would be unable to reply to their fire with any 
 effect. As Crowley figured it, "he was a hundred 
 miles from anywhere, an' all uphill goin'." The 
 chance of meeting any party of men who would or 
 could rescue him was very small ; and it would be
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 many hours before darkness would come to his 
 aid. When Crowley told Whitey that he was " in 
 Dutch," he had said something! 
 
 However, he was vastly better off as he was 
 now than when tied to a tree, and he had some 
 thing to be thankful for. Give a man like Crowley 
 a six-shooter and plenty of cartridges, and he 
 will face almost any situation with some degree 
 of confidence. 
 
 As the little man said, when he pulled his gun 
 on the big bully who was about to thrash him, 
 "Hoi 5 on, man! Don't come near me! God Al 
 mighty made some men big an' some men little 
 but Cap'n Colt, he made all men th' same 
 size!" 
 
 As Crowley expressed it, afterwards, "Ef I'd 
 'a' had a hoss, an' bin anywhere a hoss c'd keep 
 his footin', I wouldn't 'a' keered a dern ef th' 
 hull Piute Nation was after me! But take it 
 from me, them things " indicating his high- 
 heeled boots " ain't no fit thing t* go gal- 
 lopin' 'round no mount'n with!" 
 
 At one place, he saw a small, natural cave that 
 seemed to offer a refuge, and he ran toward it, 
 
 157
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 estimating its advantages and disadvantages. 
 Once in there, he might put up a fight against 
 big odds; but he would be like a rat in a trap, and 
 there is such a thing as smoking a man out of a 
 hole like that. It might be very shallow and 
 afford little protection, and, besides, the opening 
 was so obvious that the pursuing Indians would 
 never pass it without investigating it; and he 
 concluded to pass up the cave on the chance of 
 finding something better. 
 
 As it turned out, it was a wise choice. Within 
 a few moments after Crowley had disregarded the 
 cave and had gone on his way, two of his pur 
 suers came to the spot, and immediately pro 
 ceeded to investigate the cave. They entered 
 it cautiously, but in about a minute there was 
 a wild and panic-stricken yell from within the 
 cave, and the two Indians came dashing out at 
 a pace that challenged all sprint records, and 
 bounded away over the rocks in different di 
 rections. 
 
 The cause of the panic appeared in the opening, 
 and one good look at him was enough to justify 
 any haste in going away from there that the two
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 Indians had displayed. It was a huge grizzly 
 bear, weighing, perhaps, a thousand pounds, and 
 he was not in any very amiable mood, either. 
 In fact, he was "mad clear through." That he 
 resented this intrusion on his privacy could not 
 be doubted; and that he intended to make some 
 body suffer for it was equally evident. The fact 
 that the Indians had taken two directions made 
 him hesitate for a moment, but after a prelimi 
 nary snort he shambled and shuffled away over the 
 rocks at a speed that was most deceiving. He was 
 moving a good deal faster than he looked to be. 
 
 It is probable that a grizzly can go over rough 
 mountainous country faster than any other ani 
 mal. He is sure-footed, and his huge weight, 
 tough hide, and thick coat make almost any ob 
 stacle seem trivial. Underbrush and briars and 
 even small saplings mean nothing to him, but 
 are brushed aside or trampled down as though 
 they were paper. 
 
 And a grizzly is, too, perhaps the most revenge 
 ful of all beasts, and nurses a seemingly perpetual 
 grouch. When he is aroused and angry, he takes 
 it out on the first thing that comes in his way. 
 
 159
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 If he can't get the object of his wrath, something 
 else will do just as well he isn't particular 
 what it is. If he couldn't get those Indians that 
 came into his home without an invitation, he 
 would get somebody or something. And he 
 lurched along over the rocks with the full intent 
 of "bustin' somethin' wide open." 
 
 The incident of the grizzly had given Crowley 
 a few moments' leeway, though he didn't know 
 it. He had, of course, heard the yells of the In 
 dians, but he had thought them to be the cries 
 of his pursuers who were now confident that 
 they were closing in on him, and he redoubled his 
 efforts. 
 
 As he ran he suddenly found himself upon the 
 bank of a small creek, not more than ten or twelve 
 feet across, and the bank on the opposite side 
 was slightly overhanging and covered with vines 
 and brush. There was no time to look for a ford, 
 and Crowley tried the jump unhesitatingly. 
 
 It would have been an easy jump for almost 
 any one, under ordinary circumstances; but some 
 fifteen or twenty years spent in the saddle do 
 not develop or limber up a man's jumping 
 
 160
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 muscles, especially; nor are high-heeled boots the 
 kind of footwear usually adopted by our best 
 jumpers. Besides, the take-off was bad a little 
 lower than the opposite bank, and the edge was 
 crumbly and uneven. 
 
 At any rate, although Crowley made a gallant 
 effort, he struck the edge of the bank and came 
 down with a tremendous splash in the deep, swift 
 current; and before he could grab a protruding 
 root, or could steady himself in any way, he 
 was whirled around and over and under and 
 about, until he brought up against the same 
 bank, several yards downstream. Instinctively 
 he grabbed hold of anything that offered, and 
 with an effort he got a foothold and steadied 
 himself until he got his bearings. 
 
 "Sufferin* catamount!" he grunted (or words 
 to that effect), as soon as he got his breath, "I 
 wonder what in Sam Hill is gonna happen t' me 
 next!" 
 
 As he looked about him, however, he came to 
 the conclusion that what had seemed a bad mis 
 hap might prove to be a blessing. He stood in 
 the water nearly to his arm-pits; over his head 
 
 161
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 arched the bank of the stream, and its grass and 
 vines formed a sort of curtain before him, which 
 not only concealed him, but through which he 
 could watch the approaches to the stream. It was 
 not the most comfortable place in the world, for 
 the water of those mountain streams is not what 
 would be called warm; but bad as the situation 
 was, it looked a heap sight better to Crowley than 
 to be "gallopin' over th' rocks a few jumps ahead 
 o' them Piutes!" (Any Indian that Crowley did 
 not like was always a "Piute" to him.) 
 
 He at once took such measures as he could to 
 keep his six-shooter and ammunition dry, for 
 cartridges will only stand a limited amount of 
 soaking before becoming useless, so he unfasten 
 ing his cartridge-belt and winding it around his 
 neck, held his revolver out of the water. By 
 pressing against the bank, which curved slightly 
 out at that point, he found that it was not a 
 difficult matter to maintain his position; and, on 
 the whole, Crowley came to the conclusion that 
 things "might 'a' bin a hull lot worse!" 
 
 Within a few moments, however, Crowley 
 had reason to change his mind. 
 
 162
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 "An' thar I stud, feelin' like a frog on a lily- 
 pad, er one o' them mushrats," said Crowley, 
 describing it to the boys afterwards, "a-peekin' 
 out o' thet grass an' stuff thet hung down in front 
 o' me, scrougin' up ag'in th' bank t' keep from 
 gittin' swep' away. An' mebbe yo' think thet 
 water wasn't cold! An' me all het up with run- 
 nin' like I did! I reck'n I was jest about as com- 
 f table as a man settin' into th' 'lectric chair! 
 
 "'By Judas!' I says t' myself, 'this here ain't 
 never goin' t' do ! ' I says. Thet there water was 
 gittin' colder an' colder, an' 't wa'n't no cinch 
 keepin' a foothold, neither. An' jest about th' 
 time I was makin' up my mind t' take a chanct 
 an' come out, I hears a shufflin' an' a sniffin', an' 
 peekin' out, I sees a big grizzly I guess mebbe 
 he was the ol' gran'daddy of 'em all slouchin' 
 along on th' opp'site bank, not mor'n twenty feet 
 away. 
 
 "Right thar, I thought mebbe I better stay 
 whar I was, water er no water seein' as I'd a 
 heap sight ruther be froze t' death and drowned 
 than e't up by one o' them varmints. He was 
 swingin' from side to side, an' wavin' thet nose 
 
 163
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 o' his'n 'round in the air, an* then he stops, an' 
 I reck'ns it's all off, an' draws down my head 
 like a snappin'-turkle till only my eyes is 'bove 
 water. I knew 'f he got my scent, it was good 
 night. 'Come on in,' I says to myself; 'the 
 water's fine!' An' fer a spell, it looked as tho' 
 he were goin' t' accep' th' invitation. He come 
 down t' th' edge o' the creek, not more'n a dozen 
 feet from me; but all he done was take a few laps 
 o' water, an' then he loped off about his business. 
 Then I realizes thet I'd been holdin' my breath 
 fer upwards o' two or three minutes, an' I takes 
 a long one. 
 
 " 'Buck Crowley,' I says t' myself, climb out'n 
 this here water-hole an' go about yo'r business ! 
 A man thet's born t' be hung ain't goin' t' git 
 b'ar-bit er Injun-massycreed er croaked no other 
 way not after whut yo' bin through recent, he 
 ain't!' An' th' signs sure did p'int thet way. It 
 looked like I was bein' saved fer some purpose, 
 an' 't 'peared t' me thet hangin' was 'bout as 
 likely 's anything. 
 
 "In one way I was almighty glad t' see thet 
 there b'ar, fer I knowed thet ef anything in th' 
 
 164
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 world'd make them Piutes git up and git from 
 thet vicin'ty it was a grizzly. I ain't never saw 
 no Injuns as hankered after no close communion 
 with them animals not less'n the' was 'bout 
 a million in the outfit an' all on hosses. An In- 
 jun'll giv' Mr. B'ar his hull half o' th' road, any 
 time an' mebbe a little more, 'f th' b'ar seems 
 t' want it which he mos' gener'ly do. An' I 
 ain't savin' thet I blames Injuns fer feelin' thet 
 way. A b'ar is bad medicine. 
 
 "I reck'n thet a full growed he-grizzly kin lick 
 anything on four legs, less'n 't is an elephant; an' 
 ef the' was t' be a fight between them two 
 animals, dog-gone ef I wouldn't take a ticket on 
 t' ba'r! An' whut I do know is, thet ef anybody's 
 got a pet tager er a li'n thet they think a lot of, 
 they had better not let 'em come fussin' 'round a 
 grizzly, fer th' grizzly won't leave enough of 'em 
 to pay fer callin' in a taxi-dermist. No, sir! Thet 
 li'n er tager won't never ornament no museum 
 o' nacher'l hist'ry! 
 
 "They do say thet one o' them Canada rams'll 
 giv' a b'ar an awful argument. Them rams'll 
 weight 'long 'bout two hunderd; an' when they 
 
 I6S
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 meets up with a b'ar, they don't duck. They 
 backs off 'bout a hunderd feet er so, an' come 
 a-runnin', head down an' hell-bent fer 'lection. 
 Th' b'ar raises up on his hind legs and holds out 
 his arms to give 'em a hug, but th' ram comes too 
 fast; an' he lands thet hard head an' horns c' 
 his'n with two hunderd pounds o' weight behind 
 it, goin' at a muzzle-veloc'ty of about six mile 
 a minnit, kerplog ag'in th' b'ar's belly! An' th' 
 b'ar goes down like a ten-pin, 'ith all th' wind 
 knocked out'n him. An' when he grabs t' giv' 
 th' ram a hug, he don't grab nuthin' ! 
 
 "Then they repeats th' performance some 
 seven er ' even times, 'ithout no pertic'ler varia 
 tions, till, mos' gener'ly, th' b'ar figgers his solar- 
 plexus is gettin' a little too much het up, an' thet 
 he ain't gettin' much of a reputation by lickin' 
 little thing like a sheep, anyhow, an' he takes a 
 run-out powder. Thet's the way them Canada 
 lumber-jacks tell it. But I dunno. 
 
 "Mebbe them rams kin pull thet stuff on some 
 b'ars them brown an' black ones but I 
 have m' doubts 'bout a ram bein' able t' put 
 thet over onto a grizzly. A grizzly makes a swipe 
 
 166
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 at anything thet is comin' to him, an' ef he ever 
 did land on Mr. Ram, with thet forearm o' his'n 
 
 'bout a foot thick, I guess it is an' them six- 
 inch claws! Oh, boy! 'F a Canada ram mixes 
 it up with a grizzly, I guess it'd be like th' bull 
 dog thet tackled th' tager yo' got t' hand it 
 to him fer courage, but yo' don't think a whole 
 lot of his judgment ! 
 
 "Well," continued Crowley, "t' git back t' 
 whar I was. As soon as I was satisfied th' b'ar had 
 went fur 'miff so's I wouldn't be li'ble t' run into 
 him, I climbs out o' th' water, an' puts my feet 
 in motion in th' op'site d'rection from whut th' 
 b'ar took, as near as I c'd figger, an' I kep' tryin* 
 t' bear down towards th' base o' th' mount'n, 
 hopin' t' strike some kind of a trail. But, Lawd! 
 A man does git mixed up 'f he ain't 'customed t' 
 bein' into th' mount'ns much, with all th' turn- 
 in' an' twistin' an' climbin', an' I wa'n't in no 
 position t' set down an' do much figgerin' out a 
 route. 'Most any way t' git away from whar I 
 was was good 'nuff fer me ! I was jest on my way 
 
 thet was all! I hadn't seen hide ner hair o' 
 th' Piutes fer some twenty minnits er more, but 
 
 167
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 I wasn't settin' no great store by thet, knowin* 
 how them sneakin' devils is li'ble t' crop up out 
 o' nowheres, an' I c'd feel myself gettin' shot in 
 th' back 'bout ev'ry minnit. 
 
 "But nuthin' like thet happens. I come lopin* 
 'round a corner, not knowin' thet th' earth come 
 to a end right 'bout thar; an' tryin' t' check my 
 mad c'reer, I steps onto a round stone, my ankle 
 turns, an' I goes pitchin' sideways an' t' other- 
 end-up fer Sunday, an' slides down a steep place 
 
 pretty near a cliff she was 'bout a mile or 
 two long, scratchin' an' scrabblin' an' tryin' t' 
 ketch a-holt o' anythin' thet'd hoi' me back, an* 
 lands at th' bottom ker-slam ag'in a rock er 
 somethin' an' right thar somebuddy turned off 
 th' sunshine! 
 
 " I ain't no idea how long I lays thar, but when 
 I cum to, I tries t' stan' up, an' I can't make it 
 
 ankle's plumb on th' blink, an' I has a thirst 
 like a camel. I manages t' crawl downhill a piece, 
 an' fin'ly I come t' a little trickle o' water. Con- 
 siderin' my experience jest a spell before, when th' 
 b'ar hed me treed in th' water, y' wouldn't think 
 I'd need none. But I wanna say thet I drank 
 
 168
 
 CROWLEY'S GET-AWAY 
 
 an' drank till, when I looked up, I didn't expect 
 t' see no more stream I thought I'd lapped her 
 all up! I took off my boot an' bathed th' ankle, 
 which was some big not carin' by this time 
 whether I got winged by a Injun er not. But 
 seems like thar wa'n't none around, an' I crawls 
 away, not bein' able t' git my boot on, to a snug 
 place between two rocks up on a sort o' ledge; 
 an' thar I stays till th' next day, restin' up my 
 foot. An' haw, haw ! How I nursed thet six- 
 gun an' them ca'tridges ! Seemed like I was safe 
 'nuff, long's I hed them with me! 
 
 " Long towards evenin' th' nex' day, th' ankle 
 bein' some better, I crawls out an' perceeds on 
 my way, bein' some hongry. Ef I'd 'a' saw a 
 squirrel eatin' a nut, I'd 'a' give him a fight fer 
 it! An' th' rest I guess you boys knows. Fer I 
 hedn't gone more'n forty rods when I runs into 
 this here John Big Moose person, an' him an* 
 me goes to th' mat."
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 As the boys scurried over the rough ground and 
 through the woods, it seemed to Whitey that 
 they had been upon the rock for hours; but in 
 reality the entire incident had occupied some 
 thing like half an hour. They felt that they were 
 by no means "out of the woods" yet; for while 
 they were well away from the main body of the 
 Crows, who were on the mountain above the 
 mine, yet there were undoubtedly some of the 
 attacking party posted on the slope below. In 
 order to reach the mine and recover their weap 
 ons, it would be necessary to pass them; and un 
 der the circumstances, this was no easy matter. 
 And yet, after their experience with the bear, 
 the prospect of the all-day trip back to the camp 
 without weapons did not appear attractive; and 
 of the two evils the risk of capture by the Crows 
 seemed the less. Left to himself, it is doubtful 
 if Whitey could have found his way back to the 
 mine without the greatest difficulty perhaps 
 
 170
 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 not at all; for he had not as yet developed that 
 sense of direction so necessary to the expert in 
 woodcraft or mountaineering. But such a thing 
 was second-nature to Injun. Once over a region 
 was enough for him. He never forgot the way. 
 He noticed and stored up in his memory a thou 
 sand little things that served as guide-posts in 
 the future. After they had plunged ahead for 
 some time in an apparently aimless attempt to- 
 get away from the scene of the bear-fight, Whitey 
 could not have told where they were or in what 
 direction the mine lay to save his life. 
 
 "Have you any idea where we are, Injun ?" 
 he asked, in a low tone. 
 
 Injun nodded "the pathless woods" were 
 not pathless to him. 
 
 "Well, where are we headed?" asked Whitey. 
 "I think we better take the chances of going 
 back to the mine, rather than the chances of go 
 ing back to the horses and then over that long 
 trail to the ranch without a gun, don't you?" 
 
 "Me get 'um you wait?" queried Injun. 
 
 "No," said Whitey, "I don't think that's a 
 good plan. While I think one of us stands a 
 
 171
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 better chance to get there than two, yet I think 
 we better stick together. Besides, if one of us 
 is to go, it might better be me, for neither the 
 Dakotas nor the Crows will be so apt to harm 
 me as they will you. We'll tackle it together!" 
 Injun made no objection to this, and he turned 
 at almost right angles to the course they were 
 taking, much to the surprise of Whitey. But he 
 had learned from many former experiences that 
 it was best to trust implicitly to his companion, 
 and he unhesitatingly followed his lead. Whitey 
 knew, from the time that had passed during 
 their flight from the Crows after liberating Crow- 
 ley and their hold-up by the bear, that they could 
 not be a very great distance from the mine, but 
 he was utterly at sea as to its direction. Injun 
 seemed to have no doubts about the matter, 
 and proceeded confidently, but cautiously. Evi 
 dently there was no fight in progress between the 
 Dakotas and the Crows., for the boys were near 
 enough to have heard the shots had there been 
 a conflict. Whether this would be of advantage 
 or not remained to be seen certainly, each of 
 the bands would be on the lookout for any one 
 
 172
 
 approaching. Their way lay over rough, stony 
 ground, and amid a rather sparse sprinkling of 
 trees that afforded little chance of concealment; 
 and more than once Injun felt inclined to turn 
 back and approach the mine from the other di 
 rection. But he knew that the mine was but a 
 short distance away in a straight line, and he 
 disliked to make a long detour with the chance 
 of running into the main body of the Crows that 
 had spread out in their hunt for Crowley. 
 
 " It doesn't look like we had a very good chance 
 of getting by," whispered Whitey, as he glanced 
 about him. " If they are on the lookout for any 
 body, they ought to see us ! But if we once get 
 out of this open place and among the thick brush, 
 perhaps we may be able to get away with it. I 
 sure don't like to think of what will happen to us 
 if those Indians catch us." 
 
 Injun was going "close to the ground," duck 
 ing behind everything that offered the slightest 
 cover, and Whitey was doing his best to follow 
 Injun's example. On the left was a small gully 
 not more than six or eight feet wide, and really 
 little more than a crack between two rocks, and 
 
 173
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 into this Injun turned and Whitey after him. 
 They had gone but a few steps, when, as they 
 neared the mouth of the gully, an Indian 
 stepped out and covered them with his gun. In 
 stinctively, Whitey turned to go back, but found 
 himself confronted by another Indian who had 
 stepped into the gully behind them as they had 
 entered. 
 
 "Talk about a rat-trap!" said Whitey. "It 
 isn't in it with this! Hey! There!" he called to 
 the Indians. "Don't shoot we're friends ! We 
 got into this by trying to get a square deal for 
 everybody! We don't belong to John Big Moose's 
 party any more than we belong to you!" he 
 added, realizing that the Indians were Crows. 
 
 How much of this the Indians understood 
 there is no way of telling; but at any rate it 
 seemed to have very little influence on their ac 
 tions. The Indian behind the boys urged them 
 forward with the muzzle of his rifle, and as they 
 came out of the gully they were seized by three 
 Indians who were waiting. 
 
 "You talk to 'em, Injun," said Whitey. "Tell 
 'em we're neutral!" 
 
 174
 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 Injun gestured away in hand-talk, trying to 
 explain that they were doing their best to be 
 non-combatants ; but what he said did not seem 
 to have the slightest effect. The boys were 
 grabbed and hustled off down the slope of the 
 mountain in no leisurely or gentle manner, be 
 ing urged along by vigorous prods from the muz 
 zle of the rifle of the nearest of the captors. 
 
 "Hey! Go easy there!" said Whitey to one of 
 them, after a particularly hard jab. "What do 
 you think you're " 
 
 The remonstrance remained unfinished, as a 
 prod on the ribs from the Indian on the other 
 side of him knocked all the wind out of the boy. 
 Whitey saw that it was the best plan to follow 
 Injun's lead and take whatever was coming to 
 him in silence. But he made up his mind that 
 if he ever got the chance, he would repay those 
 prods with interest. 
 
 After some fifteen or twenty minutes of this, 
 during which they had made remarkable prog 
 ress, they came to the main body of the Indians 
 that were gathered on a small, level space below 
 an overhanging rock. There was a council or 
 
 175
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 pow-wow in progress, and though their coming 
 created no outward excitement, it was evident 
 that the Crows felt a keen satisfaction in the 
 capture of the boys. Several of the braves came 
 to them as soon as they arrived, and quickly 
 bound their feet as well as their hands and pushed 
 the boys over unceremoniously on to the ground. 
 This done, they returned to the pow-wow, which 
 now became excited in the extreme. 
 
 "Can you make out what they're saying?" 
 asked Whitey of Injun in a low tone. 
 
 Injun did not at once reply. "Crow chase 
 him C'owley Dakota come steal horse. Got 
 'em at mine," reported Injun, at length. 
 
 "That means that these birds are licked, don't 
 it?" asked Whitey. 
 
 Injun signed to Whitey to keep still. While 
 he could not understand what was being said, 
 he could read the signs, for all Indians uncon 
 sciously use some signs when talking, and he 
 suspected enough to realize that their own situ 
 ation was desperate. The Crows evidently be 
 lieved that Injun and Whitey belonged to the 
 Dakotas' expedition, and they proposed to make 
 
 176
 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 use of them in getting back their horses and, ' 
 possibly, a share in the mine. 
 
 "Gee!" whispered Whitey. "First two bears 
 squabble over us, and now the Crows and Da- 
 kotas ! I hope the thing comes out the same way! 
 I hope they kill each other off, just like the bears 
 did ! I could enjoy seeing that big guy that poked 
 me in the ribs with his rifle get his!" 
 
 The more he thought about it, however, the 
 less likely this possibility seemed. He had read 
 stories about bandits who held people for ransom, 
 and if their friends delayed the payment, had a 
 nice little habit of slicing off an ear or a few toes 
 and sending them to the friends as a reminder 
 that the ransom was overdue. This did not seem 
 very cheerful. But he remembered that other 
 bandits had been foiled, too; and he resolved to 
 await developments as calmly as possible. 
 
 These were not long in coming; for in a few 
 moments the pow-wow broke up after two or 
 three of the braves had made speeches and some 
 kind of an agreement had been reached. 
 
 "What do you suppose they have decided to 
 do?" asked Whitey, anxiously. 
 
 177
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "Dunno," said Injun, gravely. He knew that 
 he and Whitey were to be pawns in the game, 
 but just what part they were to play he did not 
 know. He was not long in ignorance, however. 
 Several of the Indians came over to the boys, 
 and lifting Injun to his feet, they took off the 
 thongs that bound his hands and feet, because 
 Injun could not talk to them without the use 
 of his hands, and led him over to the council. 
 He was placed before three of the men who seemed 
 to be directing the affairs and they gave him 
 instructions. 
 
 He was told that he must go to John Big Moose, 
 tell him that the white boy was held a prisoner 
 by the Crows, and that he would be returned to 
 the Dakotas only upon condition that the horses 
 of the Crows were given back and they also be 
 allowed a share in the mine. In case John Big 
 Moose refused these terms, the white boy would 
 be killed. And, in any event, whether the Da 
 kotas accepted or rejected these terms, he, In 
 jun, must return to the camp of the Crows. In case 
 he did not return, Whitey would pay the penalty 
 with his life! 
 
 178
 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 In vain Injun explained that neither he nor 
 Whitey was any part or parcel of, or had any in 
 terest in, John Big Moose and his Dakotas, or 
 that the Dakotas had any interest in them. The 
 Crows would not argue the question, and he was 
 told to go, and that upon what he did would de 
 pend Whitey's fate as well as his own! And he 
 was given until sunset to perform his mission 
 and to return! 
 
 A pretty severe test for a boy not yet sixteen ! 
 He was not even allowed to communicate with 
 Whitey; and when the boy saw Injun disappear 
 in the direction of the mine, he could only sur 
 mise what his errand was; but he felt that he, 
 himself, was to be the bone of contention. 
 
 He was given little time for reflection, how 
 ever, for no sooner was Injun out of sight than 
 two of the braves approached him, took the 
 bonds from his feet, and lifting him up started 
 down the mountain, one on either side of him. 
 
 Whitey saw plainly that it would be of no use 
 to offer any protest and so he hurried along be 
 side them as well as he could (walking downhill 
 over very rough ground, with your hands tied 
 
 179
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 behind you, is not a wishful job, as Bill Jordan 
 would put it), but he resolved to keep a stiff 
 upper lip, and not to show any fear, however 
 much he might feel. 
 
 To say that he felt no fear would be far from 
 the truth. Anybody, man or boy, placed in a 
 similar position would feel fear. He reasoned, 
 however, that he was in no immediate danger, as 
 it was evidently the intention of the Crows to 
 make use of him as a hostage, and for that rea 
 son his captors would take good care that noth 
 ing happened to him until he had served his 
 purpose. He also knew that the West of to-day 
 is not the same as the West of the fifties and 
 sixties. The killing of a white man by Indians 
 is a much more serious matter for the In 
 dians ! than it was fifty years ago. (Probably, 
 it amounted to about the same thing to the 
 white man!) And such acts were almost inva 
 riably visited by the severest punishment upon 
 the tribe that did the killing. In the talks that 
 he had heard at the ranch, he had gathered that 
 the Indians of that country were well aware of 
 this, having had many a severe lesson; and he 
 
 1 80
 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 had come to regard any danger from them, in 
 ordinary times, as almost negligible. But were 
 these ordinary times ? Decidedly, they were not. 
 Two bands of Indians of different tribes were at 
 what amounted to war; and he had interfered in 
 it distinctly to the disadvantage of the band that 
 held him captive. By liberating Crowley he had 
 been the indirect cause of the loss of the horses 
 belonging to the Crows, and he knew that an 
 Indian is not inclined to be very forgiving of so 
 deep an injury as that; and once an Indian's 
 enmity is aroused, he often sets consequences at 
 naught. 
 
 For perhaps half an hour Whitey was hustled 
 and hurried this way and that, uphill and down 
 hill, over rocks and among trees and brush, often 
 stumbling and falling, only to be yanked to his 
 feet by his two guards, until they came to some 
 thick brush that covered the base of a cliff that 
 was perhaps twenty feet high. The brush and 
 scrub grew up a ledge about ten feet in width, 
 from which there was another drop of perhaps 
 thirty feet or more; the rock, the ledge, and the 
 drop from the ledge forming something like two 
 
 181
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 steps of a gigantic stairway. Whitey was hustled 
 some twenty feet along the ledge, and one of his 
 captors, pulling aside the brush, disclosed a small 
 cave really little more than a crack or hole in 
 the rock perhaps four feet in height and three 
 in width and into this Whitey was thrust; 
 and the two guards, after jabbering something 
 in their own language, covered the hole with 
 brush, and sat down on the ledge to wait. 
 
 If there had been nothing before the hole 
 there would have been very little light five or 
 six feet from the entrance; but when covered by 
 the brush the darkness was impenetrable; and 
 the low roof or ceiling, which made standing 
 erect impossible, added to the discomfort of the 
 situation. After standing in a stooped position 
 for a moment or two, Whitey sat down upon the 
 damp floor to do a little thinking. 
 
 For some time he tried to find a sharp edge of 
 rock against which he might rub the thongs that 
 bound his wrists until he had severed them; but, 
 although he had read about this method of re 
 leasing one's self, he found that in practice it was 
 not so easy as in reading. And, after a time, in 
 
 182
 
 IN ENEMY HANDS 
 
 which he succeeded in bruising his hands con 
 siderably, he gave it up. He also tried to bring 
 his hands in front of him by bringing them down 
 under his legs and over his feet; but in this, too, 
 he was unsuccessful, for the thongs were well up 
 on his wrists; and although he was extremely 
 agile and supple, and a good gymnast, he found 
 it impossible. 
 
 In his efforts to do this and to find a sharp 
 edge of rock to cut the thongs, he had done con 
 siderable writhing, and without knowing it he 
 had worked himself some distance back into the 
 cave. He had also muttered a few words of im 
 patience at his inability to free himself. 
 
 As he thrust out one of his legs in one of his 
 gyrations, his foot pressed against something 
 soft or, at least, something which he knew 
 was not rock. And immediately, a hand clutched 
 his arm and a voice whispered in his ear: "Yo* 
 white man me white man, too! Sssh! Yo' 
 turn 'roun' dees way I tak' t'ong off yo* 
 han's!" 
 
 And Whitey recognized the voice of Pedro!
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 BILL JORDAN RETURNS 
 
 WHEN Bill Jordan returned to the ranch from his 
 trip to New York, which had been extended a 
 little longer than he had expected, he received 
 a surprise which made him regret more than ever 
 that his enforced sojourn in the big city had pre 
 vented him from going "prospectin"' with the 
 two boys. Injun and Whitey were not back 
 yet. 
 
 No sooner had Bill arrived at the ranch one 
 morning, along toward noon, than Walker and 
 Bassett rode into the corral. They called him 
 aside from the other men as though they had 
 some news of importance. 
 
 "Whut's on yo'r mind?" asked Bill, as soon 
 as they were alone. 
 
 "Wai," said Walker, "mebbe it's somethin' 
 an* mebbe it ain't we figgered mebbe yo' 
 oughta know 'bout it an' decide. Me an' Bas 
 sett meets up with an Injun one o' th' same 
 breed as our kid an' fur's we c'd jedge from 
 
 184
 
 BILL JORDAN RETURNS 
 
 what he told, the's hell broke loose among th' 
 Injuns over to the mount'ns. Seems like the's 
 two tribes mixed up into the fracas one ag'in* 
 t' other, in a kind of a free-fer-all. We figgered 
 't mebbe all this was comin' off somewheres near 
 th' vicinities them two boys was infestin', an' 
 knowin' their capacity fer gettin' inta trouble, 
 it might be well t' " 
 
 "You said somethin'!" said Bill, plainly wor 
 ried. "Yo' ain't heard nuthin' from 'em sence 
 they started, I take it?" he asked. 
 
 "Th' mails ain't been whut yo' c'd call reg'ler 
 between here an' them mount'ns," said Bassett, 
 dryly. 
 
 "The' ain't nuthin' t' do but t' hustle over 
 thar soon's we kin," said Bill. "I bin hevin' a 
 hunch thet mebbe somethin' was detainin' them 
 boys I thought 'bout it on th' train an' sence 
 I bin here. We better start soon's we kin. 
 Doggone 'f they ain't dandies fer huntin' trou 
 ble! 'F anythin' was t' happen t' thet Whitey 
 me bein' responsible fer 'im, in a way o' speakin' 
 I dunno's I'd ever hev th' nerve t' face th' 
 Boss ag'in let alone Mrs. Sherwood she 
 
 185
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 sets a heap o' store by thet kid. An' thet there 
 Injun is consider'ble boy, too 'cordin' t' my 
 way o' thinkin'." 
 
 "Who'd better go?" asked Walker, looking 
 over at the men at the corral. 
 
 "Wai," said Bill, thoughtfully, winking at 
 Bassett, "I reck'n me an' Bassett an' Buck Hig- 
 gins an' Shorty Palmer'll be 'nuff. Walker, yo' 
 take charge o' things here while I'm gone." 
 
 "Yeah?" said Walker, bristling with indig 
 nation. "Me take charge here, hey? Well, ef 
 ther's yo'r idea, I quit, right now! I'm fired! 
 I hands myself th' blue envelope! An' I ain't 
 subjec' t' yo'r orders! I'm goin' along with th' 
 party, er I'm goin' alone! Yo' an' th' ranch kin 
 go plumb to!" 
 
 "O' co'se," said Bill, grinning, "'f yo' feels 
 thataway 'bout it, I reck'n mebbe Shorty Palmer 
 is 'lected to my job 'stead o' yo'." 
 
 Walker laughed. "Bill," he said, "I've knowed 
 yo' fer some consid'ble spell, an' I can't tell yet 
 when yo're kiddin'! I guess I didn't receive no 
 blue envelope! But lemme tell yo' somethin'," 
 he continued, lowering his voice and indicating 
 
 1 86
 
 BILL JORDAN RETURNS 
 
 the men at the corral, "ef them boys over there 
 gets th' idea of whut's up, yo' ner nobuddy else 
 kin keep 'em from goin' along. The' won't be 
 nobuddy stay here but Sing Wong, an' I got my 
 doubts 'bout him him likin' them kids a 
 whole lot fer a Chink." 
 
 "Them are words o' wisdom," said Bassett. 
 "Them cow-waddies will shore want t' go 'long. 
 An' seein 5 as the's two hull tribes o' Injuns into 
 this here mess, I misdoubts if mebbe they ought 
 n't t' go." 
 
 Bill thought for a time: "No," he said, finally, 
 "I reck'n thet us three an' Buck Higgins kin 
 turn th' trick. Was Injun's people aimin' t' take 
 a hand into th' game 'count o' him bein' mebbe 
 in it?" 
 
 "I reck'n not," said Walker; "th' cuss thet 
 tole us 'bout it were takin' a bunch o' beaded 
 moccasins over to th' Junction, an' didn't 'pear 
 t' be het up 'bout it." 
 
 "Mebbe it's jest as well they don't mix in," 
 said Bill. "It'd mebbe complicate matters an' 
 wouldn't do no great good. Fix up a pack- 
 horse an' we'll start in ten minutes. We better
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 go different ways, t* th'ow the boys off, an' 
 meet at the fork." 
 
 And he hurried away to give orders to Shorty 
 Palmer in regard to the conduct of the ranch in 
 his absence. 
 
 Within an hour the four men met at the fork of 
 the creek, some miles from the ranch; and, turn 
 ing their horses' heads to the northwest, began 
 the long, uphill ride that would carry them into 
 the mountains. 
 
 The farther they rode the more serious the 
 situation of Whitey and Injun seemed to Jordan. 
 The chance of an Indian fight had not entered 
 into his calculations; such a thing had not hap 
 pened, except in a small way, within his recol 
 lection. While there was little for the boys to 
 fear from the Indians in ordinary times, Jordan 
 knew that when two tribes became embroiled, 
 the "innocent bystander" did not occupy a very 
 safe position. 
 
 The wars between the different tribes of In 
 dians were, perhaps, even more bitter and re 
 lentless than those which they waged against 
 the whites; and Jordan felt that if the boys were 
 
 1 88
 
 BILL JORDAN RETURNS 
 
 caught in an affair of this kind, the fact that they 
 had nothing to do with it might mean little in 
 determining their fate. 
 
 "Doggone them fool Injuns!" said Bill, dis 
 gustedly no one had spoken for several miles, 
 which fact indicated that the others thought the 
 situation serious "why couldn't they hev put 
 off their fambly quarrels till th' kids got home! 
 Th' fact thet th' kids hed nuthin' t' do with th' 
 argument won't help 'em none, mebbe, 'f they git 
 into th' midst of it!" 
 
 "How d' yo' know th' kids ain't got nuthin' t' 
 do with it?" asked Walker, after a moment. 
 "Fur's I'm concerened, I'm prepared t' b'leeve 
 thet mebbe th' kids is at th' bottom o' th' hull 
 shootin'-match ! " 
 
 "Knowin' them boys as I do," said Bassett, 
 " I wouldn't put it past 'em ! They didn't start 
 nuthin' over t' th' Cross an' Circle, did they? 
 Not much ! An* 'tain't out o' reason thet they 
 started somethin' over here." 
 
 "Wai," chimed in Buck Higgins, grinning, 
 " it's a cinch ef the's any doin's bein' did, them 
 boys ain't spectators, even ef they didn't start 
 
 189
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 th' rookus. 'F yo' all don't think them two has 
 got some kind of a hand into it yo' kin win a bet 
 from me!" 
 
 "Thet's th' way I want to bet," said Jordan, 
 dryly. "Thet's jest whut I'm afeared of! 
 Them two boys couldn't no more set by an' see 
 a rookus come off 'thout takin' a hand than " 
 he paused for a moment '"than I could," he 
 concluded. "I reck'n I oughta went with 'em, 
 in th' first place er let one o' yo' boys go. But 
 I guess I was a leetle over-persuaded." 
 
 "Shucks!" said Walker. "When it's done, it's 
 done, as th' Good Book says." 
 
 "Twa'n't the Good Book, Walker, as said 
 thet," said Jordan, reprovingly. "I'm s'prised 
 t' hear yo' misquotin' her continual!" 
 
 "Well, who was it said it, then, perfess 
 seein' as yo' know it all?" asked Walker, sar 
 castically, and plainly unconvinced. 
 
 "It was one o' them play-actin' men said it," 
 explained Bill. "I heared 'im say it when I was 
 back t' Omaha onc't with some cattle. I seen 
 thet Mac Beth feller with th' long hair an' fish- 
 scale pants at a show, an' I heared 'im say ef it 
 
 190
 
 BILL JORDAN RETURNS 
 
 was done it was best t' do it in a hurry. He was 
 goin' t' kill some feller, but I didn't wait t' see 
 'im do it. Only hed two hours an' I wanted t' 
 see ev'ry show in town." 
 
 "I got five thet says yo're wrong, Bill," said 
 Bassett. 
 
 "Yeah, an' I got ten thet speaks th' same lan 
 guage," said Walker. 
 
 "I'll take half o' Walker's bet," put in Buck 
 Higgins. "I had a old aunt thet c'd give 
 yo' chapter an' verse 'f she was here! She 
 knowed th' hull Book backwards! Only she's 
 cashed in." 
 
 "Wai," said Bill, weakening a little, "I reck'n 
 thet's th' way yo' all knows it. But mebbe yo're 
 right. 'T any rate, I ain't goin' t' make no bet 
 'tain't no fit thing t' gamble on. We ain't got 
 no way o' provin' it, anyhow." 
 
 With this argument settled, and the adage 
 consigned to the "Good Book" by a majority 
 vote, the four men rode and rode into the west. 
 
 And when Night had let down her curtain, 
 they had covered more than sixty miles.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 
 AFTER the trouble and expense to which the 
 state and county had been subjected on account 
 of Pedro, it would seem that, once having him 
 securely behind the bars, tried and convicted 
 and awaiting sentence for murder, the officials 
 would have seen to it that the man did not es 
 cape. But such was not the case. True, extraor 
 dinary precautions were taken, but against a 
 man of Pedro's resourcefulness, they were of no 
 avail. It is probable, too, that even those put in 
 charge of him did not realize the depths to which 
 the man was capable of sinking, and that there 
 was nothing human about him, any more than 
 there is about a mad dog. There was not the 
 slightest particle of gratitude in his nature, and 
 those who sought to befriend him or better his 
 condition were no different from any one else, in 
 Pedro's eyes. He would literally "bite the hand 
 that fed him!" 
 
 In our prison system even the convicted mur- 
 192
 
 PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 
 derer has some rights and is allowed certain priv 
 ileges, especially in the way of the preparing of 
 his soul to meet his Maker. The consolation of 
 religion is denied to no man who stands in the 
 shadow of the gallows. And Pedro took advan 
 tage of this fact to make his escape. 
 
 During the forty-eight hours that followed his 
 conviction and before sentence had been pro 
 nounced, Pedro gave every evidence of deep sor 
 row for his many crimes, and asked that a priest 
 might come to him to receive his confession and 
 to guide him in his prayerful repentance to God. 
 No warden is going to deny a man this. But the 
 thing' to have done would have been to throw 
 such safeguards about the interview as would 
 have prevented such a meeting being the cloak 
 for an ulterior purpose. In addition to this, 
 Pedro had supposedly suffered a collapse, and 
 was unable to leave his bed in the cell. 
 
 The good priest came, and he was left alone 
 with Pedro in his cell. 
 
 "I wasn't goin' to butt in on no such occasion 
 as thet!" explained the warden, with wrathful 
 bitterness, afterward. "I set thar, right at the 
 
 193
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 end o' th' corridor, not more'n forty feet away, 
 an' waited fer th' priest t' come out. I reckon, 
 mebbe, he might 'a' bin in thar half an hour, an' 
 I c'd hear Pedro mumblin' an' whinin', an' 
 thought I c'd hear th' priest prayin'! Bimeby, 
 not hearin' nuthin', I went t' th' door o' th' cell, 
 an' thar was th' priest ready t' come out an' 
 Pedro layin' on the bed some covered up. I lets 
 th' priest out, an' he seemed t' be some affected 
 an' was sort o' sniffin' an' holdin' his han'k'chief 
 up to his eyes an' nose, an' his head sunk onto his 
 breast. 
 
 "'Pretty tough case, ain't he?' I says t' th' 
 Father. 
 
 "But he never made no answer only jes' 
 shook his head like he was kind o' givin' it up, 
 an' seen he couldn't make much headway 
 clearin' sech a skunk in th' sight o' th' Almighty 
 Pedro havin' pressed th' limit. 
 
 " f l guess,' I says, kind o' sympathizin' like, 
 *I wouldn't waste no time on him,' I says. 'Th' 
 good Lord is right fergivin' an' all thet,' I says, 
 'but I reck'n yo're shore up against it tryin' t' 
 pray this bird square with him! Th' price o' 
 
 194
 
 PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 
 coal is goin' up next winter,' I says, 'fer th' Devil 
 '11 need all the' is when this here hombrey gits 
 whar he b'longs 'less'n th' other inmates puts 
 up a holler 'bout admittin' Pedro int' th' place 
 an' givin' it a bad name!' 
 
 "Y' see, I feels thet this here good man was 
 takin' it t' heart thet he couldn't do nuthin' 
 th' job bein' out o' his class. An' I was jes' tryin' 
 t' show him thet the' couldn't be nuthiri* did by 
 nobuddy fer a man like Pedro. Thet he was over- 
 playin' his hand, as it were, an' I tried to com 
 fort him a little fer fallin' down on th' job an* 
 bitin' off more'n he c'd chew, an' mebbe gittin* 
 himself in wrong by takin' up fer sech a critter 
 in a dead-open-an'-shut case o' thumbs-down 
 like his'n. 
 
 "An' I lets him out'n th' jail, feelin' sorry fer 
 him; an' he goes off with his head down an' his 
 han'k'chief over his face. Then, when it come 
 time t' check up, mebbe a coupla hours later, we 
 seen how it was ! Th' priest lays on th' bed in 
 th' cell, all covered up, an' a big cut on his head, 
 whar Pedro hed thumped him. An' thet's 'bout 
 all th' is to it 'cept th' priest is goin' t' git 
 
 195
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 well, an' Pedro ain't bin ketched. Lost my job? 
 Sure! what 'd y' expect? I'm pretty lucky 't I 
 ain't in thar whar Pedro was ! " 
 
 The fact that Pedro had made his escape from 
 the jail in clerical garments rendered his escape 
 from the town all the more easy. No one is 
 likely to interfere with a priest, or to question his 
 goings and comings, even though they may seem 
 peculiar. As a matter of fact, Pedro induced a 
 rancher to give him a lift behind him on his 
 horse the man suspecting nothing. And when 
 they arrived at a suitable place, Pedro cracked 
 the rancher over the head with the man's own 
 revolver, which Pedro had slipped from the 
 holster; and taking his horse, left the man to 
 live or die in the road, and made for the moun 
 tains. 
 
 With two hours' start, and in such a country, 
 it was a difficult matter to locate or even follow 
 as slippery a man as Pedro. An organized search 
 failed to uncover any trace of the man; and after 
 a week or ten days of scouring the country, the 
 baffled posse returned with not even "progress" 
 to report. And when a posse can't even report 
 
 196
 
 PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 
 that which is the same thing as saying, "We 
 haven't done anything, but don't like to say 
 so," you maybe sure that the case looked hope 
 less. 
 
 Equipped with horse, six-gun, and such other 
 things as the kindly rancher Samaritan possessed, 
 even including his clothes, Pedro struck off to 
 ward the north for the mountains. He rode, day 
 and night, never sparing his horse; and at the end 
 of two days the latter dropped in his tracks. 
 But as the outlaw had reached the foothills 
 where the horse would be of little advantage to 
 him, he abandoned the animal with not so much 
 as a look back at the patient, willing thing that 
 had brought him to comparative safety, and 
 struck into the mountains with a good chance of 
 getting over the Canada line. 
 
 He first visited the old cabin on the Island in 
 Moose Lake where he had hidden when he es 
 caped from the boys of the Bar O at the Cross 
 and Circle ranch, and where he had been when 
 Injun and Whitey had visited the island. It was 
 in Moose Lake that Injun and Whitey had cap 
 tured him; and Pedro felt that any extended 
 
 197
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 search would inevitably lead his pursuers to that 
 place. He made his stay at the lake as brief as 
 possible, on that account; and after a short rest 
 and sleep, he struck off to the northwest into 
 the mountains. After a time he managed to cross 
 the ridge and descend into the valley beyond. 
 In such a place it is not extremely difficult to 
 live, even if a man has to depend entirely upon 
 his own resources. We read, every now and then, 
 of sturdy men who go into the wilds without even 
 clothes to cover their bodies, and manage to come 
 out hale and hearty after some thirty days or 
 more. (I suppose the first thirty are the hardest ! 
 It's a good trick if they can do it !) Pedro was 
 not only clothed, but he had a six-gun and the 
 ranchman's cartridge-belt and matches. So, com 
 paratively speaking, Pedro was well equipped. 
 
 At any rate, he managed to get along for a 
 time long enough, in fact, to leave his curse 
 upon that fair region. It seemed inevitable that 
 disaster and evil should follow in the wake of the 
 man, and that any person or anything that came 
 within the influence of his presence should feel 
 its malignance. 
 
 198
 
 PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 
 One day Pedro left his camp without stopping 
 to stamp out the fire! 
 
 That was the same day that Injun and Whitey 
 stood upon the high cliff and looked out over the 
 valley. 
 
 When Injun said that maybe a "white man" 
 had forgotten to stamp out his camp-fire, he 
 knew what he was talking about only Pedro 
 was not what is ordinarily known as "a white 
 
 man." 
 
 It was most unfortunate, too, on that occa 
 sion, that Pedro chose to go toward the north. 
 Had he chosen to go southward, even a short 
 distance into the region swept by the fire, he 
 would inevitably have perished ; and the demand 
 for coal in the infernal regions might not have 
 been so great as the warden supposed, because 
 Pedro would have had a taste of what was com 
 ing to him even before he got there! 
 
 But no such luck! He went the other way 
 against the wind, instead of with it and he 
 sat and watched from a safe elevation the dam 
 age that his careless yes, criminal act had 
 caused. If he thought anything about it at all, 
 
 199
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 he probably had a feeling of satisfaction! He 
 was glad to do evil for Evil's sake even when 
 good would have been better for him ! 
 
 But if Pedro escaped "the frying-pan," he 
 also got into "the fire." The day that he took 
 a couple of shots at Injun and Whitey as they 
 crossed the ledge, his shots stirred up some 
 thing. From the valley, among the trees below 
 the ledge, he could not possibly have recognized 
 the boys on account of the distance; nor, for the 
 same reason, could he hope to shoot with any 
 degree of accuracy. Even if he had deemed the 
 boys to be his pursuers, it would have been 
 better for him to have put as great a distance as 
 possible between them and himself, for he must 
 have known that he stood a very slight chance 
 of hitting them, and that the shots would draw 
 attention to him. But, no! He had to try to kill 
 somebody! 
 
 Unfortunately for him however, there 
 was quite a detachment of Dakota Indians 
 abroad, under the leadership of John Big Moose, 
 in connection with a little mining business; and 
 the Indians proceeded to investigate the shots, 
 
 200
 
 PEDRO'S ESCAPE 
 
 When Pedro saw them, he also made the mistake 
 of shooting at them as he fled though they 
 had given him no reason to flee, and would not 
 have molested him in any way. But, as in the 
 case of Crowley, when a man begins shooting at 
 you, the best plan is to shoot back, and do the 
 investigating afterwards ! And that is just what 
 the Dakotas did. 
 
 And while Pedro managed to get away from 
 the Indians, he not only used up the last of his 
 few remaining cartridges, but got himself in bad 
 with the only people in that entire region who- 
 would or could have helped him ! Now, the hand 
 of every man, red or white, was against him; and 
 an empty six-gun isn't the best thing in the 
 world with which to face the situation that 
 surely lay before him ! 
 
 He ducked and dodged and hid himself for 
 a few days, afraid to go this way and afraid 
 to go that, and really not knowing exactly 
 where he was, anyhow; until, in order to escape 
 from two Indians that he encountered over on 
 the eastern slope of the mountain, he took ref 
 uge in a small cave or crack between the rocks,, 
 
 201
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 the mouth of which was partially covered by 
 brush. 
 
 The next thing Pedro knew, Whitey, with his 
 hands tied behind him, was thrust into the cave 
 with him ! And you may be sure that Pedro, in 
 the darkness of the cave, did not know that it 
 was Whitey!
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 INJUN'S NOBLE LOYALTY 
 
 THE great responsibility that had been placed 
 upon Injun's shoulders by being made the go- 
 between for the two factions weighed heavily 
 upon the boy. He felt that upon what he did 
 depended Whitey's fate, and he set out upon 
 his mission with a determination to bring about 
 some kind of a settlement. 
 
 It is not unlikely that he did not think about 
 himself at all, although there could be no doubt 
 that he was in a position of the greatest danger. 
 He could not hope to reach the mine and John 
 Big Moose unobserved by the Dakotas who 
 acted as scouts and pickets, or those who kept 
 guard about the mine itself. 
 
 Up the hill he went, his right hand upheld in 
 salutation, and with no visible weapons upon his 
 person. He had not, however, given up the knife 
 that he had carried in his breast. 
 
 When he got within hailing distance of the 
 little plateau upon which the mine was situated, 
 
 203
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 he hallooed, and then waited for an answer. Get 
 ting no response, he advanced a few yards, and 
 then called again. Not until he had repeated 
 this action again was there any evidence that 
 he had been heard. As he was about to advance 
 and call again, two of the Dakotas came from 
 opposite sides of the woods, and assuring them 
 selves that he was alone, they accompanied him 
 in silence to the mine. 
 
 John Big Moose received Injun with an atti 
 tude that showed neither cordiality nor unfriend 
 liness. But there was in John Big Moose's na 
 ture a certain something a big, fine sense of 
 justice which would not allow him to do a boy 
 a wrong. Injun was a Dakota one of his own 
 race. Therefore, John Big Moose ordered the 
 two Indians who had brought Injun to the mine 
 to join the others while he spoke with the boy 
 alone. He did not want to risk the chance of 
 his braves' anger directed against the boy one 
 of their own people if he brought a message 
 which offended them. So John Big Moose spoke 
 to Injun in the language of the white race. 
 
 Injun delivered the message as best he could. 
 204
 
 INJUN'S NOBLE LOYALTY 
 
 The Crows had captured Whitey and himself and 
 were holding them as hostage he evidently re 
 garded himself as out upon a parole which could 
 not be broken, and in reality just as much a pris 
 oner as Whitey. As the price of Whitey' s release 
 Injun did not consider that he, himself, cut 
 any figure in the offer the Crows demanded 
 the return of their horses and outfit, as well as 
 a share in the mine. If this offer were rejected 
 both he and Whitey would be killed, and the 
 Crows would attack the Dakotas at the mine 
 and fight it out to the bitter end. 
 
 John Big Moose had listened gravely to In 
 jun's message, and when the boy had finished, 
 he sat in silence for a few moments before speak 
 ing. "Why should I give up anything to save 
 this white boy?" he asked, finally. 
 
 Injun did not reply, but waited for the chief to 
 go on. 
 
 "Why should the Crows think I care any 
 thing about him? Do they think that because 
 you two boys came to them to talk peace that 
 you belong to us?" 
 
 "Me tell 'em not with you they say me 
 205
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 lie!" replied Injun; and he went on to relate the 
 happenings after they had left the mine how 
 they released Crowley and took sides against the 
 Crows. 
 
 "But why should this be put up to me?" 
 asked John. "What have I to do with it? The 
 Crows attacked us and we beat them off. Later, 
 we took their horses, and now they try to frighten 
 me into giving them back and a share in the 
 mine, too by threatening to kill you two boys ! 
 Don't they know that the white men will surely 
 come and punish them for a murder like that? 
 Don't they know that the punishment may in- , 
 elude all the Indians in this country?" 
 
 "Get heap mad," explained Injun. "They 
 say white man make you say yes. They say 
 white man come, take 'way gol'-mine." 
 
 "The Crows said that for my benefit," said 
 John, angrily. "They believed that you would 
 tell me of it to save yourself and your frienc^! 
 Well, it won't work!" he continued, hotly. "I 
 will make no terms with them whatever ! If they 
 kill the white boy, they will have to take the 
 blame! As for yourself," he added, looking at 
 
 206
 
 Injun keenly, "you can save yourself now. I 
 will give you your guns and you can make good 
 your escape while they are waiting my answer." 
 
 Injun made no move to accept this offer; in 
 fact, he seemed to deem it scarcely worthy of an 
 answer at all, but at once entered into an earnest 
 appeal that John Big Moose do something to save 
 Whitey. 
 
 "Why should I?" asked John. "You boys 
 interfered when you had no right to do so. You 
 went to the Crows to talk, and when you were 
 admitted to their camp, you took advantage of 
 your position to free the man who is their enemy, 
 and whom they had made a prisoner. If you 
 were men you would be killed. It is only be 
 cause you are boys that you are entitled to any 
 sympathy at all." 
 
 "White man we let go savewhite boy's life, cat 
 tle rustlers want kill him at Cross Circle ranch," 
 explained Injun, stout in his defense of Whitey. 
 
 "That all may be," said John, "but it has 
 nothing to do with this case. And, anyway, why 
 do you say 'we' why didn't you let the white 
 boy do it? What did you mix in for?" 
 
 207
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 Injun looked at John Big Moose almost con 
 temptuously. 
 
 "White boy an' me friend," he said, simply, as 
 though that settled everything as indeed it 
 did, as far as Injun was concerned. 
 
 "Well, even if that is the reason," argued 
 John, who had a hard time in concealing his ad 
 miration for the boy before him, "I don't see 
 why I should be asked and the Dakotas 
 should be asked to pay for what you two boys 
 did. Don't you see that it is unreasonable?" 
 
 "Dunno," replied Injun, stolidly; a mus' save 
 him." 
 
 "What you say does you credit," said John, 
 gravely, " but you must remember that I have our 
 own people to deal with to account to. What 
 am I going to say to them if I surrender what I 
 have already won and which belongs to them?" 
 
 "You chief," said Injun; "Dakota know chief 
 big medicine man." 
 
 "That's just it!" answered John. "I'm chief 
 because they think that I am wise! I'm afraid 
 they wouldn't think me wise if I did such a thing 
 as you ask me to do!" 
 
 208
 
 INJUN'S NOBLE LOYALTY 
 
 Injun evidently felt that it was useless to pur 
 sue the matter further, and he started to turn 
 away. 
 
 "Wait a moment!" said John. "Where are 
 you going?" 
 
 Injun looked at John in surprise. "I go back 
 Crows, tell 'em ! " And in the boy's face was that 
 which meant the decision that any other course 
 was unthinkable. 
 
 "Didn't the Crows say that they would kill 
 you, too?" asked John. 
 
 "Yes," answered Injun, simply, and in a tone 
 which showed that he didn't see what that had 
 to do with his going back. 
 
 "Why don't you take your gun and go the 
 other way?" urged John, as he took the boy by 
 the arm and looked into his eyes. "You can't do 
 your friend any good by going back! And you'll 
 only be making a useless sacrifice!" 
 
 "I go back," said Injun, quietly.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 To say that Whitey was startled when he recog 
 nized Pedro's voice in the darkness of the cave 
 would not express it at all. But Whitey was not 
 the kind of a boy that loses his head and becomes 
 panicky in time of danger. He knew, of course, 
 from Pedro's offer to untie his hands that the 
 outlaw had not recognized him, and that as long 
 as he could remain unknown to the man he 
 would be safe enough, and might even get some 
 assistance from him as the offer to untie his 
 hands indicated. 
 
 In accordance with Pedro's suggestion, Whitey 
 turned over on his side with his back to Pedro, 
 and in a moment or two he felt the tough thongs 
 slip from his hands and they were free. He 
 knew, also and the knowledge was a consider 
 able comfort that Pedro had no knife, or he 
 would not have gone to the trouble of untying 
 the knot, but would have cut it. 
 
 He felt that, man to man, he would have an 
 210
 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 excellent chance with Pedro if it came to a fight; 
 for the man was but a trifle taller than Whitey, 
 and the boy believed that he had the advantage 
 of considerable science in both wrestling and box 
 ing. Added to this was that great advantage 
 which clean living brings to one who has prac 
 ticed it, over an opponent who has spent his life 
 in dissipation. 
 
 These and a thousand other thoughts went 
 through Whitey's mind with incredible rapidity; 
 and for a moment he lay still trying to formulate 
 a course of action. He was inclined for a moment 
 to turn upon Pedro and try to throttle him right 
 there; but he dismissed this, not knowing to a 
 certainty that Pedro was entirely resourceless in 
 the w r ay of weapons. If the man should happen 
 to have a revolver about him, things would be a 
 trifle awkward. He therefore edged a little away 
 from Pedro, and determined to let events take 
 their course and to shape his action accordingly; 
 not forgetting, however, to keep the sharpest of 
 watches upon the renegade beside him, both 
 with eyes and ears. 
 
 It is perhaps unnecessary to say that Pedro 
 
 211
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 was looking out for nobody else in the world but 
 Pedro; and on that account he was very chary 
 about carrying on much of a conversation, as 
 Indians have sharp ears, and even a whisper 
 might betray his presence, which was as yet un- 
 suspected by the two Indians who kept guard 
 at the mouth of the hole. This exactly suited 
 Whitey; for while he did not believe Pedro 
 would recognize his voice if he disguised it and 
 spoke in a whisper, yet there was a chance; and 
 he preferred to take Pedro unawares, when it 
 came down to a fight, rather than to have Pedro 
 have that advantage. 
 
 When it seemed to Whitey that he had been in 
 the cave for hours, but in reality not more than 
 fifteen or twenty minutes, he crawled a little 
 toward the mouth, keeping his face and profile 
 well concealed from Pedro's gaze, and endeav 
 ored to observe the guards. He felt that there 
 was little chance of being recognized by Pedro, 
 for even at the mouth of the hole the light was 
 very dim, and he would be in silhouette. 
 
 Whitey found that the guards were still there, 
 seated on the ledge at some distance from the 
 
 212
 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 opening, and in such a position that any surprise 
 attack from him would be futile. Their rifles lay 
 across their knees, and there was no opportunity, 
 to secure one of the guns or any other weapon. 
 In the hole, however, Whitey had sat, more or 
 less painfully, upon a round stone, perhaps three 
 inches in diameter, and this he clutched in his 
 hand, feeling that it might be available in case of 
 a fight with Pedro, or even with one of the guards 
 should he be left alone on duty. There seemed 
 little likelihood of this, however, for the two In 
 dians had settled down as though they expected 
 a long wait. The low roof of the cave made 
 throwing the stone difficult, as Whitey found by 
 getting on his feet; but he figured that he might 
 be able to pull aside the bushes that covered the 
 hole, and stepping out quickly, could, perhaps, 
 bowl over one of the Indians before he would 
 have a chance to shoot. This was a desperate 
 chance, but in a situation like this, it is well to 
 calculate all the chances. 
 
 As Whitey watched, his face close to the bush 
 at the mouth of the hole, he heard the sound of 
 firing at a distance. The guards also heard it, 
 
 213
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 and rose to their feet and listened. Again the 
 firing was repeated and continued not in 
 volleys, but here and there and at irregular in 
 tervals. It seemed to Whitey that there could 
 be but one cause for this the two bands of In 
 dians had come together and were fighting it out. 
 This also seemed to be the opinion of the guards; 
 for after a short consultation, one of them hur 
 ried away in the direction of the firing, and the 
 other Indian stood looking after his departing 
 comrade and listening to the firing. Now was 
 Whitey's chance! If he were looking for an op 
 portunity to get away from his captors he would 
 never have a more favorable one! 
 
 In his eagerness to take advantage of the situ 
 ation the remaining Indian was not paying 
 the slightest attention to the cave Whitey 
 almost made the mistake of throwing the rock 
 before the departing Indian was out of sight or 
 sound of what went on at the ledge. But the boy 
 caught himself in time, and restrained his im 
 pulse to "bean" the Indian at once. Here was 
 where a little baseball practice would come in 
 handy! 
 
 214
 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 When it seemed to Whitey that the departing 
 Indian must be far enough away, Whitey braced 
 himself for the ordeal. He crouched in the 
 mouth of the hole and drew the bushes aside 
 cautiously and noiselessly. Stepping out clear 
 of the low roof, he drew back his hand with the 
 heavy rock in it. The Indian stood near the edge 
 of the ledge, almost with his back toward Whitey 
 and all unconscious of his peril. Something must 
 have warned him of his danger, however, for he 
 started to turn toward the cave; but he was just 
 too late! Whitey let the rock fly with all the 
 strength that his pitching-arm contained, and it 
 struck the Indian on the jaw just in front of his 
 ear. Without a sound the Indian crumpled and 
 fell over the side of the ledge and rolled and 
 tumbled and slid to the rocks, fifty feet below ! 
 
 So excited was Whitey over the success of his 
 maneuver that, for a second or two, he forgot all 
 about Pedro; but he was brought to a realization 
 that his fight was but half won when he heard a 
 voice from the mouth of the hole cry, "Da's 
 ver' good shot!" and turning quickly he stood 
 face to face with the outlaw ! 
 
 215
 
 When Whitey had thrown the rock he had 
 stood with his back toward Pedro, and the latter 
 had not recognized him; but now they stood con 
 fronting each other, and there could be no doubt 
 about identities. 
 
 The startled look that first came upon Pedro's 
 face gave way to one of fiendish joy and satis 
 faction. This was too much luck! Here he 
 stood, not only delivered from the pursuing In 
 dians, but with the object of his hatred right 
 in his grasp! And leering like a hyena Pedro 
 started to advance craftily and with devilish 
 deliberation upon the boy. But Pedro was des 
 tined to get the surprise of his life! 
 
 "Ah ha!" snarled Pedro, his face cracking 
 open in a wicked grin and his little eyes narrowed 
 to slits, "here ees ma yo'ng fr'en' zat geeve 
 Pedro nize ride to ze ranch! Ma yo'ng fr'en' zat 
 tak' my peekshur'! Yo' hav' planty fun wiz 
 Pedro yaas? Now Pedro go'n' hav' planty 
 fun wiz yo'! Ain' no wan go'n' tak' yo' peek- 
 shur' whan Pedro gets th'o wiz yo' ! " 
 
 Whatever of advantage there was in position, 
 Pedro had. At his back was the wall of solid 
 
 216
 
 THE LUST OF BATTLE WAS IN HIS VEINS
 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 rock, and behind Whitey was the almost sheer 
 drop of the fifty-foot cliff. If Pedro rushed him 
 the momentum would be apt to topple Whitey 
 over the edge in the same manner that the In 
 dian had fallen, but Whitey made up his mind 
 that if he went over, Pedro would go, too! The 
 advantage of weight, too, was with Pedro, al 
 though he outweighed the boy not more than fif 
 teen pounds. In the matter of quickness Whitey 
 far outclassed his opponent he was satisfied 
 of that; but whether he also excelled in science 
 remained to be seen. Whitey knew that some of 
 the ex-lumber-jacks from the Canada woods, of 
 whom Pedro was one, were skilled in wrestling 
 and rough-and-tumble fighting, but very few of 
 them knew much of real boxing. Their idea of 
 boxing was simply to sail in and wallop away 
 until one or the other fell. If this turned out to 
 be Pedro's method, Whitey felt that he had, at 
 least, an even break. He would avoid clinching, 
 and pepper his man with the "hit-and-get- 
 away." 
 
 With these things in his mind Whitey ad 
 vanced to meet the man ! The lust of battle was 
 
 217
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 in his veins, and there was no fear in his face or 
 in his heart. Rather, he welcomed the trial! 
 
 "Oh, you're going to have 'planty fun wiz 
 me,' huh?" taunted Whitey. "Well, come on! 
 I'll give you all the fun you want ! And when I've 
 knocked your block off, I'm going to take you 
 back to jail again! What do you know about 
 that? Maybe I can get another thousand dollars 
 for that! Did you know that they paid Injun 
 and me a thousand dollars each for bringing you 
 in before? That's a pretty high price for dog- 
 meat, too, isn't it!" 
 
 The moment that a man loses his temper in 
 a boxing bout or in almost any other kind of 
 competition, for that matter he is at a dis 
 advantage. The phrase, "blind fury," means 
 exactly what it says. A man who is furious not 
 only loses control of himself so that he cannot do 
 his best, but he also is blind to opportunities 
 which he would otherwise see and embrace. It 
 was with this in mind that Whitey taunted 
 Pedro as he did. 
 
 And it worked. The man was not only aston 
 ished and enraged at the assurance of this boy 
 
 218
 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 who defied him and actually advanced to meet 
 him with all the confidence in the world in his 
 face and manner, but he was infuriated to think 
 that his two most hated enemies had profited by 
 his misfortune. He would seize this upstart and 
 wring his neck for him ! And he rushed at Whitey 
 swinging his arms like flails. 
 
 But, unfortunately for Pedro, he did not hit 
 anything more solid than the air; and with his 
 guard open, Whitey poked a straight left into 
 Pedro's face, and followed it with another and 
 another, before the man could get his bearings. 
 Pedro's nose took on a rosy hue, and he sniffed 
 and wiped away a trickle of blood with his sleeve. 
 
 "That's one they didn't show you!" taunted 
 Whitey. "I've got a few more here that you 
 read about that is, if you can read, which I 
 don't suppose you can ! / know you can't when 
 I get through decorating that other eye for you ! " 
 
 Pedro let out a bellow of rage and a volley of 
 oaths, shut his eyes, and made a rush at Whitey 
 like a mad bull. This time Whitey's back was 
 against the wall of rock he had maneuvered 
 Pedro around with his back to the edge of the 
 
 219
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 ledge and when Whitey side-stepped and 
 ducked, Pedro crashed into the wall and landed 
 a solid thump upon it that nearly broke his arm 
 and badly lacerated his knuckles. He bumped 
 back from the rock, in a half-dazed way, but was 
 still swinging wildly. When he opened his eyes, 
 he saw Whitey standing ten feet away from him, 
 his arms at his sides, and laughing heartily. 
 
 "What's the matter, old Timer?" asked 
 the laughing Whitey. "Here I am, over here! 
 That was sure a haymaker you landed on that 
 rock!" 
 
 Pedro had gathered himself together and 
 seemed to have determined that these blind 
 rushes weren't going to get him anything, and 
 he started to edge toward Whitey in a manner 
 that is known as "crowding." But Whitey 
 knew just how to handle a "crowder" at any 
 rate, such a crowder as Pedro. 
 
 "Look out!" shouted Whitey, pointing. 
 "Back of you!" 
 
 And the foolish Pedro, taken by surprise, 
 turned his head to look back of him for just 
 one quarter of a second! And Whitey, putting 
 
 220
 
 WHITEY FIGHTS PEDRO 
 
 about all he had into a right swing, knocked 
 him flat! 
 
 Had the punch landed on the right spot, it 
 would probably have ended the fight; but it was 
 a trifle high; and while Pedro went down hard 
 enough, he was by no means out. Aside from 
 Whitey's natural disinclination to hit even so 
 despicable a thing as Pedro when he was down, 
 Whitey did not feel that the time had yet come 
 when it would be safe to grapple with the man; 
 and Pedro staggered to his feet. Of course, 
 Whitey was all over him, jabbing and hooking 
 wherever he saw an opening, but had no chance 
 to land another haymaker. Pedro was "dog 
 ging it," after the manner of the most arrant 
 quitter, and kept his arms folded in front of his 
 face; and the crouch that he assumed prevented 
 Whitey from landing effectively on his stomach. 
 One or two snappy upper-cuts sufficed to 
 straighten him up, however; and then, baffled 
 and beaten at every turn, his face a mass of cuts 
 and bruises, with a nose like a ripe tomato, both 
 of his eyes discolored and rapidly closing, his 
 wind gone, and his strength going fast, he stood 
 
 221
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 glaring at Whitey, the picture of desperation and 
 defeat, his back against the wall of the rock. 
 
 "You're having 'planty fun,' ain't you, Pe 
 dro?" taunted Whitey, jabbing the sore nose two 
 or three times, and maneuvering for an opening. 
 "You'd like to quit, wouldn't you? But you 
 can't! That's a tough fix for a coward and a bully 
 to want to quit and can't! After I hit you a 
 couple more, I'm going to take you back to jail! 
 But I guess you'll have to have your picture 
 taken first! I wish you could see yourself! You're 
 a fine-looking " 
 
 Pedro shut his eyes and put everything that 
 he had left into a last desperate rush; but Whitey 
 side-stepped, and Pedro went floundering by. 
 There was nothing to stop him this time; and he 
 blundered over the brink of the ledge! With 
 a cry of rage and terror, he fell fifty feet to the 
 rocks below. 
 
 Whitey went to the edge of the ledge and 
 looked over. There was no reason for him to take 
 Pedro back to jail now!
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 THE REWARD OF BRAVERY 
 
 THE receding form of Injun, a pathetic figure, 
 had scarcely been lost among the trees below the 
 plateau of the mine, when John Big Moose and 
 the Dakotas proceeded to get busy. John's 
 heart had gone out to the boy in his loyalty to 
 his friend, and if anybody supposed that Mr. 
 Big Moose was going to sit idly by and let the 
 Crows have a chance to perpetrate any such 
 outrage as they had threatened, he was much 
 mistaken. And before Injun was a hundred 
 yards away from the mine, the gliding figures 
 of the Dakotas trailed him through the thick 
 forest. 
 
 It was not in the mind of John Big Moose that 
 the boy should ever reach the camp of the Crows 
 and run the risk, even for a moment, of being 
 a sacrifice on the altar of his loyal friendship. 
 While he had his doubts as to whether they 
 would carry out the threat, as far as the white 
 boy was concerned, he feared that Injun, con- 
 
 223
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 tributing to their defeat as he had, and returning 
 from an unsuccessful mission, would fall a vic 
 tim to their wrath. But what he did want was to 
 know the exact location of the Crow camp, and 
 he knew that this could be obtained in the man 
 ner which he was employing. Perhaps, too, he 
 wanted to test the boy's fine sincerity. And 
 when it became evident that they must be near- 
 ing the Crow camp, two of the braves stole up 
 and seized the boy, and hustled him back to the 
 rear of their company. 
 
 Injun protested to John Big Moose, vigor 
 ously. 
 
 The latter smiled. "You are much too good a 
 boy to take any such chances with!" explained 
 John. "And, besides, this isn't your fight." But 
 he handed Injun the two guns belonging to him 
 and Whitey. 
 
 "Me fight for my friend!" said Injun, still 
 protesting. 
 
 "You stay back here until the attack is made," 
 said John, " and then you can come up in time to 
 help save your friend." 
 
 But Injun would hear to nothing like this, and 
 224
 
 THE REWARD OF BRAVERY 
 
 he stole from tree to tree as the silent approach 
 advanced. 
 
 Once the camp of the Crows was located, the 
 Dakotas spread out in fan-shape, covering the 
 uphill side; and in this formation they advanced 
 stealthily, crawling upon the ground, and making 
 no noise whatever, and exposing themselves as 
 little as possible. In this way they contrived to 
 get within easy range of the Crows before they 
 were detected. 
 
 It is probable that this could not have hap 
 pened had not the Crows been in a partially de 
 moralized condition. They were by no means 
 unanimous in regard to the course of action which 
 they were taking, many of them wishing to aban 
 don the ill-starred expedition, begun under the 
 leadership of Crowley, and resulting in nothing, 
 so far, but reverses and disappointments. 
 
 No resistance worthy of the name was made 
 against the Dakotas, and after a few scattering 
 shots had been fired at the attacking party, the 
 Crows took to their heels and ran, with the Da 
 kotas in pursuit. 
 
 Nor did the pursuit carry very far; little could 
 225
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 be gained by a wholesale slaughter of the band, 
 and much might be lost by leaving the mine. 
 The casualties had been few; three of the Crows 
 were known to have been wounded, and one of 
 the Dakotas had been winged; but the wounded 
 Crows had been able to get away without much 
 help from their own men. John Big Moose was 
 satisfied that he need look for no further opposi 
 tion from the Crows, and he was willing to let 
 the matter rest where it was. 
 
 The only person who was distinctly dissatis 
 fied was Injun. Whitey was nowhere to be 
 found ! Many of the Dakotas, John Big Moose 
 among them, and Injun, himself, had had a clear 
 view of the camp at the time of the attack, and 
 were positive that Whitey had not been there at 
 the time; and they were equally sure that he had 
 not been carried away by the retreating Indians. 
 Each of the fleeing Crows appeared to have 
 enough to do to take care of himself and the three 
 wounded men without bothering about Whitey. 
 Whitey had certainly been left at the camp 
 when Injun had started on his mission to John 
 Big Moose, but he was not there now ! And there 
 
 226
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 seemed to be but two alternatives either he 
 had escaped or he had been taken away by some 
 of the band for safe-keeping. The former suppo 
 sition was improbable, for when the Dakotas 
 attacked, the Crows had been at the camp in a 
 body, and this would not have been the case if 
 Whitey had made an escape. They would cer 
 tainly have been out in search of the ace which 
 they intended to play. 
 
 The latter supposition seemed more probable; 
 and under the orders of John Big Moose some 
 six or seven of the Dakotas started off in differ 
 ent directions to scour the woods, the remaining 
 men returning to the mine. 
 
 Injun tore around like a bird-dog, looking for 
 some clue or track; and after a few moments he 
 found the trail that had been left by Whitey and 
 his two guards when they had started on their 
 way to the cave, and together with John Big 
 Moose started to follow it. Of course they could 
 not be sure that this was Whitey's trail, for the 
 footprints were not plain at that point, but it was 
 certain that somebody had left the camp. 
 
 Owing to the nature of the ground the trail 
 227
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 was very difficult to follow; but the keen eyes of 
 Injun, supplemented by those of John, who was 
 no amateur in such matters, led them aright; and 
 they had not gone more than two hundred yards 
 before, in a soft spot in the ground, was revealed 
 the fact that Whitey had made the trail. His 
 somewhat smaller, white man's foot was plainly 
 visible, with Indian feet on either side of it. 
 
 Once a tracker knows that he is on the right 
 trail, much of the difficulty is avoided, and it is 
 far easier to follow it speedily. Now Injun and 
 John went ahead rapidly almost as fast, in 
 fact, as Whitey and the two guards had gone 
 when they had made it. 
 
 At a certain place in the trail, as it led sharply 
 around a high, sheer cliff, John Big Moose hap 
 pened to be in the lead, with Injun some two or 
 three paces behind him. As John rounded the 
 cliff Injun heard a rough voice say: 
 
 "Put up yer hands, yo' big, red Piute! An' 
 drop thet gun!" 
 
 Stopping still in his tracks, Injun saw John 
 obey the order in a manner that showed he had no 
 chance to do otherwise. Injun ducked off to the 
 
 228
 
 THE REWARD OF BRAVERY 
 
 side of the trail and hid behind a tree, gradually 
 and noiselessly working his way to a point where 
 he could get a view of what was going on. Soon 
 he heard the calm tones of John's voice: "Well, 
 now that I have done as you suggested, what else 
 do you want me to do ? And if it is all the same to 
 you, I prefer not to be called a Piute I am a 
 Dakota." 
 
 Although Injun could not see it, he could feel 
 the surprise that staggered the white man at 
 hearing an Indian express himself in perfect 
 English. For a second or two there was com 
 plete silence; then he heard the voice, which he 
 recognized as that of Crowley, say, in astonished 
 tones, " Sufferin' dictionaries ! Why, yo' hostile, 
 ab'riginal Piute! Whar did yo' learn t' talk 
 United States? Am I plumb locoed er Hoi' 
 on thar!" 
 
 And before Injun could get upon the scene in 
 time to introduce the two men properly, it was 
 evident that they had come to a clinch. John 
 Big Moose, standing before Crowley, with his 
 hands raised above his head, had taken advan 
 tage of Crowley's astonishment and had leaped 
 
 229
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 at him, knocking up his gun hand, so that as 
 Crowley pulled the trigger of his six-shooter, it 
 was discharged high in the air. And when Injun 
 got to the scene the two big men were engaged 
 in a rough-and-tumble that resembled somewhat 
 the battle of the grizzlies. 
 
 Had Crowley been in perfect condition there 
 would have been little to choose between them; 
 but weakened as he was by the sprained ankle 
 and by his long fast, he was no match for John 
 Big Moose, and he was getting a mauling that 
 must eventually make him succumb. John, too, 
 had succeeded in getting out his hunting-knife, 
 and though Crowley had seized his wrist and was 
 holding off the blow that impended, it was plain 
 to Injun that Crowley's strength was ebbing, 
 and that the knife must inevitably end the strug 
 gle. And it was a most fortunate thing for Jim 
 Crowley that the boy was at hand. 
 
 For a second or two Injun watched the strug 
 gle, fascinated. Within him there was a mo 
 mentary flash of that hatred of the white race 
 and love of his own that prompted him to come 
 to the aid of his own blood and the annihilation 
 
 230
 
 THE REWARD OF BRAVERY 
 
 of the white. But instantly he put this away, and 
 springing to the men, he also seized the wrist of 
 John Big Moose and pulled it away when the 
 keen knife was at the throat of Crowley. 
 
 "Him good man!" he shouted to John; and 
 then, in the speech of the Dakotas, he hastily 
 told that this was the man whom he and Whitey 
 had released from the Crows, and who had saved 
 Whitey's life at the Cross and Circle. 
 
 John Big Moose relaxed his hold, and Crow- 
 ley got to his feet with difficulty. 
 
 "Kid," said he, looking at Injun, "thet's th' 
 second time to-day yo' done me a good turn! 
 Tears t' me I'm some in yo'r debt! I reckon 'f 
 'twasn't fer yo', this here walkin' grammar'd 'a' 
 croaked me proper." 
 
 "'This here walkin' grammar' will do it yet if 
 you don't use a little more care in your speech!" 
 said John Big Moose, in a tone that indicated he 
 would do what he said. 
 
 "I reck'n yo' would, at that," said Crowley, 
 grimly. "But not ef yo'r high-falutin' talk 
 hadn't jest about paralyzed my think-box an' 
 made my gun hand slow. Seein' as yo're some 
 
 231
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 partic'ler 'bout how yo're t' be addressed, 
 whut's yo'r handle so's I won't be rilin' yo'r 
 majesty none?" 
 
 "Never mind my name!" said John, with 
 some heat, and an ugly look on his face; "I'll 
 take good care that you don't ' rile ' me by tying 
 your hands and putting a gag in that uncivil 
 mouth of yours," and he started to put his 
 threat in execution. 
 
 "Him good man!" said Injun, by way of pro 
 test. "Him friend." 
 
 "He doesn't act much like a friend to me!" 
 said John; but he stopped in his preparations for 
 binding and gagging Crowley, and looked at the 
 man appraisingly. 
 
 Crowley grinned. "Chief," he said, "er Rain- 
 in-the-Face, er Settin' Bull, er Standin' Cow, er 
 whatever th' handle yo' claims to be yo'r'n is, 
 I'm gittin' sick o' bein' rescued by this here kid. 
 Yo' kin go as fur as yo' like with thet bindin' an' 
 gaggin' thing, er anythin' else yo' sees fit t' do! 
 Yo' got th' aige on me, an' I ain't puttin' up no 
 holler an' I ain't askin' fer no favors not off'n 
 no grammertistical Piute, I ain't thankin' th' 
 
 232
 
 THE REWARD OF BRAVERY 
 
 kid jes' th' same him havin' good intentions." 
 
 "Him no Piute," said Injun. "Him Dakota 
 him name John Big Moose. Him friend, too! " 
 
 "I'm 'bliged t' meet yuh, Mr. Moose," said 
 Crowley, "only I ain't none too stuck on th' 
 circumstances o' th' interduction. 'F yo're a 
 friend o' this here kid an' thet pal o' his'n, mebbe 
 yo're better 'n yo' look to me. An' ef so be, 
 mebbe I spoke some hasty an' out'n my turn, 
 an' I withdraws them remarks not lookin' fer 
 no favors, er nuthin' like thet, but on account o' 
 yo'r bein' a friend o' the kids. Which I'm proud 
 t' say I am, myself. My name's Crowley." 
 
 "I'm glad to meet you, too, Mr. Crowley," 
 said John, with a faint smile. "But I rather 
 think we've met before. Aren't you the gentle 
 man that took a few pot-shots at us when we 
 came to the mine without waiting to see what 
 we wanted -whether we were friendly or not?" 
 
 "I reck'n a gent has got a right t' defend his 
 own prop " Crowley began, but Injun inter 
 rupted by saying that they had started out to 
 find Whitey and were delaying the main business 
 in hand. As soon as Crowley understood the 
 
 233
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 situation he immediately put aside everything 
 personal and offered to join in the search. 
 
 "Any little matters thet me an' yo' has to set 
 tle, Mr. Moose, I reck'n kin wait a spell till we 
 find this here kid," said Crowley. "Not as I'm 
 much afraid harm'll come t' him, havin' saw 
 him perform before. But mebbe 'f yo' values 
 them braves thet yo' is chief of, yo' better see 
 to it thet this here ragin' catamount don't git 
 hooked up with 'em! He's liable t' treat 'em 
 rough ! 'Tain't safe fer him t' be at large! " 
 
 John Big Moose was a good judge of men, and 
 he could not doubt the evident sincerity of the 
 man; and as John was now indisputably in con 
 trol of the situation, he could afford to be gener 
 ous. And so Crowley was added to their division 
 of the searching party; and they lost no time in 
 pursuing the trail which led straight to the ledge 
 upon which Whitey had won his freedom but a 
 short time before.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 ON the second day following their departure 
 from the ranch, Bill Jordan and his party came 
 upon the little clump of woods where Injun and 
 Whitey had camped on their arrival, and from 
 which they had started to trail the passing band 
 of Crows toward the mine. A whinny from 
 Whitey 's horse, Monty, attracted their attention, 
 although the men would undoubtedly have gone 
 into the clump had the horse not whinnied. 
 
 "Here's their hosses!" shouted Walker, in a 
 relieved way, he being in the lead. "But where 
 in Sam Hill are the kids ? " 
 
 Jordan and the rest dismounted and examined 
 the place, and could readily see that the camp 
 had been recently occupied. But where were the 
 boys? 
 
 "They cain't be fur off," said Higgins. "It 
 don't seem reasonable 't they'd go 'way an' leave 
 all this here truck an' them hosses fer long." 
 
 "I dunno," said Jordan, meditatively. "By 
 235
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 th' looks o' things they ain't bin here sence yes- 
 tiddy, er mebbe longer 'n thet. I dunno's I jes' 
 like th' looks of it." 
 
 "Yo' said it, Bill!" agreed Walker. "The' 's 
 somethin' keepin' 'em. Them boys wouldn't go 
 'way an' stay like they've done 'less the' 's some- 
 thin' doin'!" 
 
 "Yo' all is a lot o' ol' wimmen!" scoffed Hig- 
 gins. "What kin be doin'?" 
 
 "I thought yo' said, Buck, thet yo' was ac 
 quainted with them two?" said Jordan, pity 
 ingly. "Ef you was, yo' wouldn't never ask no 
 fool question like thet! 'What kin be doin'!' 
 With them two? Jes' adzackly nine thousand 
 different things ! It are up t' us t' find out which 
 pertic'ler one o' th' nine thousand it is!" 
 
 "Wai," said Bassett, "'tain't gittin' us nuthin' 
 standin' here an' guessin' er waitin' fer 'em t' 
 come back. I don't know but mebbe one of us 
 better stay here, tho'; ef they should come an' we 
 missed 'em on th' way, we'd put in a lot o' time 
 fer nuthin'." 
 
 "All right," said Walker, "then you stay." 
 
 "Who? Me?" said Bassett, indignantly. 
 236
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 "Where do you git thet stuff? I'm a-goin'! We 
 kin leave a note here, givin' our address an' say- 
 in' we'll call ag'in er somethin*. I'm too young 
 t' be left here alone, anyhow! 'F somebuddy's 
 gotta stay, let Bill do it er Buck er you." 
 
 It was perfectly evident that nobody wanted 
 to be assigned to "fixed-post" duty, and so Bill 
 wrote a note which he affixed to one of the sad 
 dles, 'telling that the relief expedition had ar 
 rived, and that the boys were to wait until it 
 returned to the camp. This done, they set out up 
 the mountain on their horses, being unwilling 
 to leave them with the others at the camp, al 
 though they might have made more speed on 
 foot. 
 
 Halfway up, the men saw the effects of the 
 forest fire, and Jordan's face looked longer than 
 ever. They realized that the situation might in 
 deed be serious, although the fact that the boys 
 had been in camp but a day before proved con 
 clusively that they had escaped the fire which 
 had burned weeks before. Many things might 
 happen in the wake of a forest fire that would 
 be unpleasant. But it offered one advantage; it 
 
 237
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 was scarcely likely that the boys would have 
 gone into the burned district, and thus the 
 scope of their search was shortened. They must 
 be on the eastern slope and toward the north. 
 And in that direction they rode, gradually de 
 scending the ridge until they took nearly the 
 same trail that the boys and the Crows had fol 
 lowed, but spread out in such a manner that 
 they covered almost all possible avenues of travel. 
 
 At various points they came upon the evi 
 dences of recent travel, although there could be 
 no doubt that there had been horses in the party 
 that had made it. As the boys' horses were at 
 the camp, it was unlikely that the boys would 
 have been of this party unless they had been 
 taken into it against their will. At intervals they 
 fired their guns in the air and hallooed; but got 
 no answering call. 
 
 The farther they went, the more puzzling the 
 situation became; and to complicate matters fur 
 ther, on two occasions they had seen one or more 
 Indians. But all attempts to get near them 
 failed. They were members of the unlucky 
 Crows and they were anxious to get home as soon 
 
 238
 
 TOE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 as possible. Walker and Bassett gave chase to 
 the fleeing red men, but came back without being 
 able to get into touch. The fact that there was 
 a rumpus on among the two tribes did not serve 
 to relieve Jordan's apprehensions. 
 
 It would be idle to follow in detail the course of 
 the rescue party. Suffice it that, after some hours 
 of riding, they came around under the base of a 
 sheer, fifty-foot cliff, and there before them upon 
 the rocks lay the body of Pedro ! 
 
 "Well, what do you know about this!" ex 
 claimed Walker, who got to him first, and, in 
 spite of the bruised features of the man, recog 
 nized him. "Thet skunk is gone to his reward! 
 'F them boys never done nuthin' else, they 
 oughta git a medal fer this ! " 
 
 The men gathered around the body and made 
 certain the identification. 
 
 Walker could not restrain his delight at find 
 ing the man: "Of all th' low-down houn's an' 
 
 no-account " 
 
 "Ssssh!" said Bill, reprovingly. "Tain't fer 
 yo' t' set up t' jedge no man after he's done 
 cashed in! Whut's interestin' me is, how come 
 
 239
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 all this here? 'Pears like thet bird done fell 
 ofT'n th' clift." 
 
 "He never got thet face fallin' off'n no clift," 
 said Bassett. "He was done beat-up 'fore he did 
 th' fallin'. I never seen no guy look like thet 
 'thout he got a hand-made lickin'. Now," con 
 tinued Bassett, oracularly, "who done it? 
 Them Injuns ain't none gifted at boxin' th' 
 manly art o' mussin' up a guy like thet ain't 
 learnt in their schools 'less'n 'tis at Carlisle. 
 Th' person that scrambled this gent's features 
 like you see were nobuddy but Whitey!" 
 
 " Whut makes yo' think a kid like Whitey c'd 
 put it all over a growed man like this here Pe 
 dro? " asked Buck Higgins. 
 
 "My reasons consist o' several o' them same 
 kind o' bumps thet he plastered onto me th' las' 
 time me an' him put on th' gloves," said Bassett. 
 " I don't reck'n this here Pedro would be more'n 
 a mouthful fer me, an' I'll say thet kid made 
 me step some! He's scienced, an' quicker'n a cat, 
 an' he packs a consider'ble wallop in each hand. 
 Looks like him an' Pedro come together up 
 onto thet ledge, an' th' kid knocked him off." 
 
 240
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 "He's took th' count, all right," said Walker, 
 with intense satisfaction in his tone. "I reck'n 
 th' referee 'f th' was one could count mebbe 
 sever'l million over him 'thout his gittin' up! 
 Th' other guy gits th' decision whoever he 
 was. He wins th' cards, chips, money, an' th' 
 watch! An' I reck'n yo' said somethin' when yo* 
 'lowed as how Whitey done it." 
 
 "Whoever did it, it's did," said Jordan. 
 "Let's go up t' th' ledge an" see whut we kin 
 find." 
 
 As they were about to start, an Indian, dazed 
 and bewildered, staggered unsteadily to his feet 
 and looked blankly at them. Only a glance was 
 necessary to convince any one that his counte 
 nance was also somewhat disarranged. 
 
 The men grabbed him before he had a chance 
 to take a step. 
 
 "Sufferin' Corbett!" said Bassett. "This here 
 must 'a' bin a battle-royal! Ain't thet kid a 
 cuckoo? I'd 'a' giv' a year's pay t' seen " 
 But further observations upon Whitey's prowess 
 were cut short by the questioning that Jordan 
 was giving the soreheaded Indian. 
 
 241
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "How come?" asked Jordan, shaking the 
 Indian violently to get his scattered wits to 
 gether. "Who knocked yo' down th' clift?" 
 
 "Him boy," said the Indian, feeling of his 
 head. 
 
 "What did I tell yo' all!" yelled Bassett. 
 "Didn't I tell yo' 'twa'n't nobuddy but Whitey? 
 Ain't he a lulu?" 
 
 "Whar's th' boy now?" asked Jordan, shaking 
 the Indian again. 
 
 "Dunno," said the Indian, stupidly, and evi 
 dently not caring a great deal about anything 
 except the pain in his head. 
 
 "Wai, yo' better know!" said Jordan. "Jes' 
 come along with us, an' we'll try t' refresh yo'r 
 mem'ry a little 'bout how come all this." 
 
 With the Indian in custody Jordan and the 
 other men made their way to the ledge where the 
 struggle between Whitey and Pedro had taken 
 place, but beyond the discovery of the cave in 
 which they had been hidden, little or nothing 
 could be learned from the visit. The Indian was 
 sharply questioned again, and the information 
 was extracted from him about Whitey's capture 
 
 242
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 and the mission upon which Injun had been sent; 
 but as to the result of the mission the Indian 
 could, of course, shed no light. He was rapidly 
 recovering his wits, but the blow that Whitey 
 had given him with the stone had been a severe 
 one, and he had been unconscious for more than 
 an hour. It was miraculous that he had not been 
 killed by the fall, although it was perhaps due to 
 his limp condition that he had not been more 
 seriously injured. The fall had not been a sheer 
 one, for the cliff was not quite perpendicular; 
 and he had crumpled and collapsed and then 
 rolled and bounded and slid a good portion of 
 the way; and had brought up in a clear space. 
 On the other hand, Pedro, who was not seriously 
 injured when he went over the edge, had 
 plunged out farther than the Indian from the 
 force of his rush at Whitey, and he had made 
 almost a straight fall. In addition to this, he 
 had, on landing, crashed against a boulder, with 
 fatal results. 
 
 When it was obvious that nothing of advan 
 tage could be obtained from the Indian by fur 
 ther questioning, he was made to understand
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 that his fate would depend entirely upon whether 
 Whitey was found and found quickly; and he 
 was ordered to conduct the party to the place 
 from which he had started with the boy. And in 
 that direction under the Indian's guidance the 
 party set out. 
 
 They had proceeded but a short distance 
 when Walker sighted the other searching party 
 Injun, John Big Moose, and Crowley 
 although the distance and the thickness of the 
 trees made it impossible to identify any of 
 them. 
 
 "Look ahead, Bill!" exclaimed Walker. "Here 
 come somebuddy looks like a white man and 
 a couple o' Injuns, but the' may be more of 'em. 
 Better cover up till we find out." 
 
 Each one of the party ducked behind the 
 nearest rock or tree, Jordan dragging the Indian 
 with him; but it was only a few seconds after that 
 Jordan set up a yell and dashed out toward the 
 oncoming party. 
 
 "It's Injun! " shouted Jordan. "I'd 'a' known 
 him a mile 'f I'd got a good look at 'im 'fore I 
 ducked!" 
 
 244
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 "Yes, an' 'f I got my eyesight, there's thet big 
 hombrey Bill let go over t' th' Cross an' Circle!" 
 said Walker to Bassett and Higgins, as they fol 
 lowed. "We might 'a' known he'd be mixed up 
 inta this when we come acrost Pedro! Them bad 
 eggs has a way o' flockin' together, as th' Good 
 Book says 'cordin' to Jordan." 
 
 " Will yo' look at th' size o' thet red-bird thet's 
 trailin' 'long with 'em?" said Buck Higgins, in 
 dicating John Big Moose. "He's 'bout four sizes 
 an' a half bigger 'n Bill ! An' Bill ain't no dwarft ! " 
 
 "Yes, an' I got his number, too ! " said Walker. 
 "'F I ain't mistook, thet there's John Big 
 Moose. He's full o' eddication an' uplift an* 
 welfare an' such. He's a Dakota thet they tried 
 t' civ'lize sent 'im East t' college an' all thet. 
 I hear he's a bear when it comes t' literachoor an' 
 football an' them other college sports. Comes 
 home on vacations an' sets in th' game with his 
 tribe, him not bein' entirely house-broke yet. 
 I heard it said 't he kin follow suit in 'most any 
 kind o' languages foreign er domestic an' 
 them they quit usin'. 'Cordin' t' reports he are 
 a pippin!" 
 
 245
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "He looks it ! " said Bassett, as they neared the 
 group which Bill had already joined. 
 
 If Bill and the ranchmen were glad to see In 
 jun, it is safe to say that Injun was equally glad 
 to see them; and the greetings exchanged be 
 tween these usually undemonstrative people were 
 more than cordial. The one fly in the ointment 
 was, of course, the absence of Whitey. Piece by 
 piece' from Injun, Crowley, and John Big 
 Moose Bill gathered the story and put the 
 various parts together. How Whitey tried to 
 settle the fight between the Dakotas and the 
 Crows, his unsuccessful mission, the finding and 
 liberating of Crowley, the fight of the bears, their 
 capture by the Crows, and the mysterious dis 
 appearance of the boy while Injun was sent on 
 the mission to John Big Moose. The captured 
 Indian whom Whitey had bowled over the cliff 
 had filled the gap up to the time that the rock 
 had hit him, but from that time on there was 
 nothing known, and the present whereabouts 
 of the boy and what had taken place after he 
 had left the ledge were matters of guesswork 
 only. 
 
 246
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 Night was beginning to settle down, and it 
 was obviously unwise to spend much time in 
 surmising. 
 
 "Th' thing to do," said Bill, "is to look fer 
 'im. Don't seem like he kin be very far off, 
 seein' as Mr. Moose, here, says 'tain't more 'n a 
 hour sence him an' his band done run th' Crows 
 out'n th' woods. Th' fact thet he don't answer 
 t' no shootin' an' hallooin' makes me think 
 mebbe somethin's happened to 'im." 
 
 " It isn't strange that he doesn't respond to 
 shots that are fired," said John Big Moose, "for 
 there was a good deal of that sort of thing going 
 on all day, and he may think provided he 
 heard them that the fight is still on. And he 
 may be out of earshot of the shouts." 
 
 "Can y' beat it!" whispered Walker toBas- 
 sett, nudging him violently. "Didn't I tell yo* 
 thet this bird was ther with the Webster?" 
 
 "Yo' done said it!" agreed Bassett. 
 
 "There are some eight or ten of my men search 
 ing for him now," continued John, "and I would 
 make the suggestion that we spread out in par 
 ties of two. As soon as the boy is found return 
 
 247
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 to the mine with him, as that is the most avail 
 able meeting-place." 
 
 "I pass!" said Bassett, helplessly, in a low 
 tone to Walker and Buck Higgins. "He's got 
 me faded!" 
 
 "Speakin' o* cuss-words," put in Walker, 
 "thet guy could cuss a man out proper 'thout 
 him knowin' whut was comin' off." 
 
 The searchers were soon divided into parties 
 of two, one of each pair being familiar with the 
 location of the mine, and it fell to the lot of 
 Crowley to accompany Bill Jordan. As they 
 strode through the brush and trees, taking a 
 northerly and uphill direction, and examining 
 every foot of the ground, Bill asked, "What 'bout 
 this here mine thet this Moose person is men- 
 tionin' frequent? I didn't quite git specifica 
 tions of 'er." 
 
 "'Cordin' t' my lights," said Crowley, "I'm 
 th' sole an' lawful owner an' properieter of 'er. 
 When I run acrost 'er, she were abandoned 
 hadn't bin no work did on 'er in a consider'ble 
 spell. I gits busy an' I washes out some coupla 
 hunderd bucks' wo'th o' color in two days. 
 
 248
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 Then 'long comes this here grammertistical 
 Piute, sheddin' parts o' speech all over th' place, 
 an' 'bout fifteen more o' his kind aidin' an' 
 abettin' him, an' starts t' jump th' claim. I jes' 
 nacher'ly plugs a couple of 'em, but they was 
 too strong fer me, an' I beat it, leavin' some o' 
 my hide an' a few drops o' my blood onto th' 
 prop'ty." 
 
 "Humph!" mused Jordan. "Tain't like a 
 Injun t' jump claims." 
 
 "They shore jumped this 'un, all right," said 
 Crowley, grimly. "An' I bein' somehetup goes 
 an' gets a bunch o' them Crows, they calls 
 'emselves, but I reck'n they's all Piutes, an' I 
 manages t' secure 'bout ten gallon o' booze 
 reel oP third rail, fightin' whiskey an' I en 
 lists 7 em under my banner, an' we sets out t' 
 re-take th' place me bein' some liberal with 
 promises an' whiskey. 'T seems like I done got 
 in Dutch when I hands one of 'em a kick in the 
 pants, an' th' fust thing I knowed they had me 
 roped t' a tree; an' I reck'n 'f them boys hadn't 
 come along, 'bout as they did, I'd 'a' bin th* 
 most principal thing at a barbecue." 
 
 249
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "Yo' bin havin' dealin's with them Southern 
 Injuns," said Bill. "These here ones is more 
 high-strung like. 'Tain't safe t' kick none of 
 'em. But yo' say yo' washed out a coupla 
 liunderd in two days at this here mine?" 
 
 "I shore did," said Crowley. "Mebbe more." 
 
 "Humph!" said Jordan, after a pause. "That 
 there mine is a matter thet mebbe oughta be 
 investigated. Seems like mebbe yo' got some 
 claim." 
 
 i,' ""I shore am goin' t' do a little investigating" 
 Bald Crowley. "Mebbe more 'n thet. An' seein' 
 as how our fust pardnership turned out fair to 
 middlin' fur's th' money's concerned, any 
 how I was thinkin' mebbe I'd declar' yo' in on 
 this here deal, me bein' some in yo'r debt 'count 
 of thet time at ol' man Ross's ranch." 
 
 "I ain't lookin' fer no comeback 'count o' 
 whut I done thet time," said Bill, "but I dunno 
 but I c'd mebbe earn a little sal'ry straightenin' 
 out th' mess. 'F yo' say so, I'm in on the deal fer 
 whut's fair. I bin wantin' a good gold-mine fer 
 some time. I c'n use it! But 'tain't goin' t' be 
 no cinch gittin* shet o' this here Moose person. 
 
 250
 
 THE RESCUE PARTY 
 
 He's got all th' appearances o' bein* some wise 
 fish. Time 'nuff t' talk when we find th' kid." 
 And Jordan pulled himself together as though he 
 were violating his duty by discussing even the 
 ownership of a gold-mine when Whitey was still 
 unfound. 
 
 The finding of Whitey proved no easy job. As 
 the hours wore on and no trace of him could be 
 found, the searchers began to worry. All through 
 the night they beat the bush of the mountain for 
 many miles around, but there was no answering 
 call to their halloos. And toward morning the 
 varous parties came trooping in, singly and in 
 pairs, to the little plateau where the mine was 
 situated. And the look upon their long faces 
 made it unnecessary to ask any questions. 
 
 As they took stock of their various activities, it 
 became certain that there was no foot of the terri 
 tory within the distance that Whitey could have 
 gone that had not been examined. Every possible 
 place where a rabbit could have hidden had been 
 investigated, and at every point where disaster 
 or accident could have overtaken him an exam 
 ination had been made. 
 
 251
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 " I can't understand it," said John Big Moose, 
 after a long pause, in which no one had spoken, 
 "I will never leave the spot until this thing is 
 solved. The earth can't have opened and swal 
 lowed him up. Even if he is dead there must be 
 some trace of him, and it is up to us to find it. 
 When it becomes light we had better start out 
 with a more systematic plan." 
 
 Needless to say, this expression of determina 
 tion and declaration of loyalty to Whitey did not 
 fail to impress the ranchers favorably. "The 
 grammertistical Piute" wasn't such a bad fel 
 low, after all, and he could have burst into epic 
 blank-verse without exciting any derision from 
 Bassett or Walker or Buck Higgins. 
 
 As the men sat about the fire, with heads 
 dropped upon their breasts, a loud yell from 
 Injun startled them almost into fits. Out of the 
 tunnel of the mine, yawning and stretching and 
 rubbing his eyes, crawled Whitey, and stood, for 
 a moment, gazing blankly at them in the flicker 
 ing firelight.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 "SUFFERIN' Rip Van Winkles!" shouted the as 
 tonished and delighted Bill Jordan as he recog 
 nized the boy. "Here we bin 'bout a dozen er 
 more able-bodied, full-growed men a-skally- 
 hootin' 'round this here mount'n all night, an* 
 him layin' in a hole in th' ground like a rabbit in 
 a burrow, an' safer 'n a church, gettin' a little 
 much-needed rest! Come here, yo' r'arin' cata 
 mount, an' let's hev a look at ye!" And the men 
 all gathered about the boy, slapping him on the 
 back and pulling him this way and that in de 
 light. 
 
 It was a second or two before Whitey could 
 grasp the situation ; but when he had rubbed the 
 sleep from his eyes and the cobwebs had cleared 
 from his brain, he gave vent to a whoop of joy at 
 the sight of his old friends, and tried to answer 
 the multitude of questions that Bill and Bassett 
 and Walker and Crowley and the rest all asked 
 at once. 
 
 253
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "Tell us whut yo' done t' Pedro?" seemed to 
 be the most frequent and insistent of the ques 
 tions, a number of the men asking it at the same 
 time. 
 
 "Looks like yo' done op'rated on him with a 
 axe!" put in Bassett. 
 
 Whitey told how he and Pedro had come to 
 gether in the little cave, and how the man, not 
 recognizing him, had unloosed the thongs that 
 held his hands. And how, with the rock that he 
 had sat on painfully, he had bowled the Indian 
 over the cliff. 
 
 "Here's th' Piute now," said Crowley, drag 
 ging the sore-headed Crow into the circle about 
 Whitey. 
 
 "That's the one!" said Whitey, identifying 
 him. "And while I'm glad I didn't kill him, yet 
 he had something coming to him on account of 
 the jabs he gave me in the ribs with his rifle. I 
 can feel 'em now ! He had his head turned, listen 
 ing to the firing, and he just started to look 
 around when I stepped out of the hole and let 
 him have it. I was so excited over getting him 
 that I forgot all about Pedro for a second; and 
 
 254
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 when I turned around, Pedro was just coming 
 out of the cave himself. 'Good shot!' he said. 
 He didn't recognize me, as I had my back turned. 
 But the next minute he knew who I was, and he 
 started for me." Whitey paused, and the men 
 waited for him to go on, but the boy evidently 
 didn't intend to give any very lengthy descrip 
 tion of the fight. 
 
 Bassett was particularly impatient. "Go on, 
 kid!" he said. "Tell us about it!" 
 
 "Well," said Whitey, modestly, "I guess he 
 didn't know a great deal about boxing, for he 
 rushed at me, wide-open, with his eyes shut, and 
 telling me what he was going to do to me, but I 
 stood him off with some straight left jabs. After 
 a minute he saw that he couldn't get me that 
 way, and he began to crowd me; and so I talked 
 to him to get him mad so that he would keep up 
 his rushing. Once I fooled him and got him to 
 look behind him; and when he did, I knocked him 
 down ; but he was pretty tough, and I didn't get 
 a chance to finish him. But when he got up he 
 was mussed up pretty badly and his face was a 
 sight!" 
 
 255
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "You said it!" agreed Bassett. "He looked 
 like he come through a harvestin' machine!" 
 
 "You saw him, then?" asked Whitey, inter 
 estedly. "Is he dead? I took one look over the 
 edge of the cliff and he didn't look as though he 
 would amount to much afterward, but I didn't 
 stop to make sure." 
 
 > ff "He ain't never goin' t' bother nobuddy," said 
 Bill, with finality. "Not in this world, he ain't! 
 He's consider'ble dead! In fac', he's one o' th' 
 deadest men thet ever lived! An' yo' are de- 
 servin' of a medal fer killin' him." 
 
 "I didn't kill him!" protested Whitey. "He 
 killed himself!" 
 
 "Shore!" put in Bassett. "He run up ag'in a 
 better man 'n him!" 
 
 "He ran up against nothing that's what 
 killed him!" said Whitey. "Whenever he 
 rushed at me he shut his eyes; and when he made 
 his last rush I was near the edge of the cliff, and 
 I simply side-stepped and he went over the edge 
 because he couldn't stop himself! / didn't knock 
 him over!" 
 
 "Oh, no!" laughed Walker. "You didn't hav' 
 256
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 nuthin' t' do with it! Nuthin' a-tall. I s'pose yo* 
 oughta stud thar an' kep' him from goin' over ! 
 'F yo' didn't kill him, the' ain't nobuddy did! 
 They can't take thet notch off'n yo'r gun, kid! 
 Yo' git credit fer it, an' nobuddy else!" 
 
 "I don't like to think that I killed a man," be 
 gan Whitey. "I " 
 
 "Who said anythin' 'bout killin' a man?" 
 asked Jordan. "He wa'n't no man! He wa'n't 
 no human! He hed bin cheatin' th' rope sence he 
 war two year old! He war under sentence o' 
 death, anyhow, an' th' only decent thing I ever 
 heard o' him doin' was committin' su'cide onto 
 himself an' savin' th' caounty th' trouble an' 
 expense. He war already dead 'cordin' t' law, 
 when yo' met up with 'im." This logic, from a 
 man like Jordan, served to make Whitey more 
 comfortable. "Th' only thing, I s'pose, is, we 
 gotta go back ^thar an' bury 'im which same 
 I'm mighty glad t' do!" Jordan continued. 
 
 " / ain't ! " said Walker. " Fur's I'm concerned, 
 th' buzzards kin 'tend t' him. An' I wouldn't be 
 s'prised 'f they let 'im alone them birds bein* 
 some cagey 'bout gittin' pizened!" 
 
 257
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "Wai, I dunno," said Jordan; "I'd feel a heap 
 safer 'bout him 'f I seen him buried 'bout fifty 
 feet deep an' a coupla ton o' rock piled onto him ; 
 an' I'd like t' 'tend to it personal, so's I know it 
 was did right!" 
 
 "On them grounds," said Walker, "I con 
 sents! Only I reck'n I'd sink 'im a good deal 
 deeper 'n whut yo' said. An' I reck'n the' won't 
 be no flowers ! " 
 
 "Well, considering the character of the gentle 
 man, I will be glad to furnish pick and shovel," 
 said John Big Moose. " It is not fair to the buz 
 zards to let him stay where he is ! " 
 
 "Well, whut come off, then, Whitey?" asked 
 Jordan. " Yo' ain't told whar yo' went an' whut 
 yo' done while we was fine-combin' 'bout twenty 
 square mile o' wilderness a-lookin' fer yo'. " 
 
 "Well," said Whitey, "I didn't want to go 
 back the way the two Indians brought me, for I 
 could hear the firing, every now and then, and 
 I didn't know how things were turning out. So 
 I beat it around on the north side of the moun 
 tain, and came straight to the mine here. I knew 
 that Mr. Big Moose was my friend, and I sneaked 
 
 258
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 into the tunnel there was nobody about that 
 I could see and I suppose I went to sleep 
 while I was watching. I hadn't been to sleep 
 since day before yesterday, and I was dog-tired 
 Injun and I had been through quite a lot, in 
 that time and the next thing I knew I crawled 
 out here and found you." 
 
 "Wai, I'm dog-gonned!" said Jordan, rising 
 and stretching. "Th' nex' time I go out onto a 
 rescuin' expedition fer yo' two kids, I hope some- 
 buddy'll give me a good call-down 'fore I start, 
 an' try t' beat some sense inta my head with a 
 club! I might 'a' knowed how things'd be," he 
 said to the other men, " an' should 'a' jes' set pat 
 an' waited fer them two t' turn up. Them two 
 don't need no rescuin' whutsumever, bein' en 
 tirely cap'ble o' rescuin' themselves ! " 
 
 "'S long's yo're into th' rescuin' business," 
 said Crowley, "mebbe I c'd use a little of it. 
 Whut about rescuin' my mine from th' grasp o' 
 this here seven foot o' eddicated Piute that has 
 jumped it? Now 't I reconsider," said Crowley, 
 hastily, as John Big Moose Jboked at him a little 
 belligerently, "I withdraws th' word 'Piute,' but 
 
 259
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 I won't take back th' ' eddicated ' ner th' 'seven- 
 foot' part of it! An' when I says 'rescuin',' I 
 don't mean by no vi'lence an' carnage I mean, 
 s'posin' Mr. Moose an' me spreads our cards 
 onto th' table an' come to a show-down, peace 
 able?" 
 
 " I am willing to submit my title to the mine 
 or rather, the tribe's title, as I don't own the 
 mine individually to any fair-minded body of 
 men for adjustment," said John. "And while 
 I, personally, believe you gentlemen to be fair- 
 minded, I am not willing to say, in advance, that 
 I am going to abide by your decision and sur 
 render the mine if you decide against me. I think 
 Mr. Jordan here will admit that the Indian has 
 not always been accorded justice at the hands of 
 white men." 
 
 "Wai, what do y' know 'bout this here orator 
 ical galoot!" whispered Bassett, gasping. 
 
 "Didn't I tell yo' thet th' perfess, here, hed 
 'em all tied to a post?" chuckled Walker. 
 
 "I'll say he's some gifted at shootin' off his 
 mouth!" agreed Buck Higgins, as soon as he 
 could get his breath after John's speech. 
 
 260
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 "Wai," said Jordan, slowly, in answer to John 
 Big Moose, " I dunno's I c'n say thet th' Injuns 
 got none th' best of it not reg'lar, anyhow, 
 they didn't. But mebbe, as Crowley says, it 
 might be a good plan t' show both hands 'fore 
 anybuddy reaches fer th' pot. How come yo' all 
 t' git title to her, Mr. Moose? To a man up a 
 tree it looks like yo' all done jumped her when 
 Crowley was workin' her." 
 
 "No," said John. "Crowley was the one who 
 started the shooting, not waiting to find out our 
 errand, which was perfectly peaceable." 
 
 "Wai," said Crowley, in defense of his action, 
 "'f a man who's workin' a gold-mine sees a 
 passel o' Injuns sneakin' 'round through the 
 trees, mebbe it's jest as well t' open up pro- 
 ceedin's t' onct. I admit thet mebbe I war some 
 hasty, not bein' acquainted with th' perfesser 
 here." 
 
 "Possibly, then," said John, "your admission 
 acquits us of the charge of claim-jumping. Now, 
 in regard to the title some weeks ago a man 
 by the name of Babcock staggered into our vil 
 lage, hopelessly ill of a fever. We took care of 
 
 261
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 him and nursed him; but despite all we could do 
 and it was a good deal the man died. Be 
 fore his death he called me in and gave me a 
 detailed description of a mine a gold-mine 
 that he had discovered and upon which he had 
 done at least the amount of work that the law 
 requires to establish a claim, although he had 
 never filed one officially. There is no doubt 
 about this being the mine. In return for our 
 kindness, and knowing that he was about to die, 
 he deeded the mine over to the tribe, and here is 
 the writing that he gave," and John drew out a 
 much crumpled paper, which, in a few words, 
 and with a brief description of the property, con 
 veyed the mine to the tribe. The paper was 
 signed in a very shaky hand, "Luther Babcock." 
 
 Jordan did not look at the paper, but sat 
 thinking very hard. Crowley, on the contrary, 
 examined the paper carefully and scratched his 
 head, but seemed to be at a loss to think of any 
 thing to say to offset the will. 
 
 "Looks like I'm mebbe euchred," he said, 
 finally. " 'Pears like th' perfesser holds th' right, 
 left, an' joker!" 
 
 262
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 John Big Moose pursued his advantage: 
 "While I don't say that all the laws relating to 
 such matters the laws regarding bequests by 
 will, or the laws regarding the filing of notice 
 of claim have been strictly followed, yet I do 
 say that this document gives us a better title 
 than the one under which Mr. Crowley claims. 
 What do you think about it, Mr. Jordan?" 
 
 All eyes were turned toward Bill, but he sat 
 for a moment in silence. 
 
 "What did you say the man's name was?" he 
 asked, at length, of John Big Moose. 
 
 "Luther Babcock," answered John, handing 
 the paper to Bill. 
 
 "Was he a squat, oldish man," asked Jordan, 
 "mebbe into th' sixties 'thout no teeth t* 
 speak of 'cept a coupla snags, an' some gifted 
 as regards profanity?" 
 
 "Yes," said John, smiling; "the description 
 fits him exactly, especially the profanity part of 
 it. I don't know that I ever heard any one that 
 could 'cuss out' the fever the way he did. You 
 seem to have known him." 
 
 "Yes," said Bill, "I knew him all right. Him 
 263
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 an' ol' man Granville, Whitey's uncle thet 
 kicked off las' spring, was great chums. This here 
 Babcock used t' come t' th' ranch 'bout once in 
 so often, an' him an' th' ol' man'd set into a 
 game o' pedro er seven-up till all hours. Thet's 
 how I knowed 'bout Babcock's cussin' ol' 
 man Granville bein' consider'ble of a card- 
 player. Babcock was to th' ranch jes' before he 
 come into th' mount'ns this time." 
 
 Bill stopped, and John waited for him to con 
 tinue. "Yes," he said, finally, ''you undoubt 
 edly know him, but what has that to do with his 
 title?" 
 
 Bill did not speak immediately. At last he 
 said, "Mr. Moose, yo' paid me th' compliments 
 o' sayin' yo' regarded me es a fair-minded man. 
 I am goin' to say th' same thing in regards t' 
 you." 
 
 "Thank you," said John, gravely. 
 
 "An' yo' thinkin' me fair-minded, an' me 
 thinkin' yo' th' same, an' this here bein' a gold 
 mine we're talkin' 'bout not somethin' triflin', 
 like four-bits-wo'th o' smokin'-t'bacco I'd 
 like t' hev yo' come over t' th' ranch an' look at 
 
 264
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 somethin* I c'n show yo'. I'll go 'long with yo* 
 so 't yo' c'n be shore I ain't cookin' no frame-up 
 onto yo'." 
 
 John smiled. "As far as that is concerned," 
 said he, "I have no fears that you will * frame 
 me'; so if you will tell me what it is you want me 
 to see, maybe that will make a trip to the ranch 
 unnecessary. I suppose it is something relating 
 to Babcock, and possibly affecting the title to 
 the mine ? " 
 
 "Both them suppositions is correct," said 
 Bill: "an' while I'd a heap sight ruther yo'd go 
 an' see thet it's all reg'lar an' es far es thet 
 goes y' c'n come any time an' verify whut I'm 
 sayin' yet 'f yo' want t' take my word, here 
 she is: OF man Granville hed a way o' grub- 
 stakin' a lot o' people. Seems like the' was a 
 passel of 'em thet must 'a' lived off'n him by 
 thet process of extractin' somethin' fer nuthin'. 
 All any one o' them hombreys hed t 'do was t' 
 come t' th' ranch an' smooth th' ol' man's fur 
 th' right way tell him whut a fine ranch he 
 hed an' set into a game o' pedro er seven-up with 
 'im an' th' ol' man'd loosen up an' stake 'em. 
 
 265
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 t' most anythin' they asked fer 'outfit 'em 
 complete, like as not. Mebbe some of 'em was 
 on th' level, but the' wa'n't a doubt 'n th' world 
 thet most of 'em jes' went prospectin' down t' th* 
 Junction prospectin' t' see whut they c'd git 
 fer th' outfit! 
 
 "But thet didn't make no difference t* th' oP 
 man he went right along doin' it cuss a 
 little, mebbe, when he found out he'd bin 
 trimmed, an' r'ar 'round fer a spell an' swear he'd 
 never do it ag'in an' when th' nex' one come 
 'long, dern 'f he wouldn't come acrost jes' th' 
 same. He liked comp'ny so, 'specially anybuddy 
 thet 'd play seven-up, thet he'd lend 'em money 
 t' play with ag'in' himself! 
 
 "But this here Babcock wa'n't thet kind. He 
 war Scotch, er somethin', an' he'd ruther go out 
 prospectin' whar he knew he couldn't find nuthin' 
 than not go prospectin' a-tall ! Prospectin' shore 
 are a disease, an' ol' man Babcock hed a bad 
 case of it. He come t' th' ranch las' spring, an' 
 him an' ol' man Granville hed a extry long ses 
 sion o' seven-up, an' then ol' man Granville give 
 him" 
 
 266
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 "You mean, of course, that before leaving for 
 these mountains, Babcock signed some paper 
 giving Mr. Granville a share of whatever he 
 found?" said John, a little wearily. 
 
 "The same!" said Bill. "Fifty-fifty Bab- 
 cock insisted on doin' it, 'count o' hevin' been 
 grub-staked onct er twict before an' him not 
 bein' a grafter. Ol' man Granville showed me th' 
 writin', an' most laughed his head off 'bout it; 
 allowin' as how he let Babcock draw it up jes' t' 
 humor him. An' he outfitted th' ol* cuss some 
 complete was the' any o' Babcock's tools layin' 
 'round when he quit? Did yo' find 'em, Crow- 
 ley, when yo' took possession ? " 
 
 "Shore," said Crowley. "I done my work 
 with 'em leastways th' tools thet was here 
 I dunno nuthin' 'bout Babcock." 
 
 "They are probably here now," said John Big 
 Moose. "Nothing has been carried away. Do 
 you want to see them, Mr. Jordan ? " 
 
 "Only fer this reason," said Bill. "'F this 
 here mine was located an' worked by this per- 
 tic'ler Babcock on the grub-stake thet was giv' 
 him by ol' man Granville, yo'll find th' pick 
 
 267
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 an* shovel an' sech is all marked with th' Bar O 
 brand." 
 
 It required but a few moments for John Big 
 Moose to have the tools brought, and there, 
 plainly marked upon them all, was the brand of 
 the Bar O! 
 
 "I'm not a lawyer," said John Big Moose, 
 "but as the case stands, it would seem to me to 
 make half the mine belong to the heirs of Mr. 
 Granville and the other half to the tribe as heirs 
 of Babcock." 
 
 "I don't see how it c'n be figgered no differ 
 ent," said Bill; "but them lawyers sometimes 
 figgers out things pecul'er. Tho' I can't see thet 
 the' no call t' let a lawyer git his hooks in onto 
 it anyway, 'less'n Crowley here, who 'pears t' hev 
 drawed a blank, wants t' go t' lawin' which I 
 take it he don't." And Bill turned to Crowley. 
 
 "No," said Crowley, grinning sheepishly; "I 
 reck'n 'f law'll let me alone, I won't bother none 
 with it!" 
 
 "Mebbe thet's a good way t' look at it," said 
 Bill, smiling. "In thet case th' ain't nuthin' but 
 the two heirs t' go in cahoots an' split." Bill 
 
 268
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 called to the two boys who were talking a little 
 apart. "Wha' d' y' say, Whitey? I reck'n yo' 
 an' Mr. John Big Moose '11 haf t' work th' mine 
 as pardners, pervidin' them arrangements is 
 agreeable t' yo'r pa." 
 
 Although Whitey had caught snatches of the 
 talk, now and then, he had not, until that mo 
 ment, realized that the Granville share of the 
 property reverted to his father, and, in that way, 
 indirectly to him. He was staggered by the 
 thought, but quickly recovered, and without any 
 hesitation said, "Where does Injun come in on 
 that arrangement? If it hadn't been for him 
 I wouldn't ever have heard of the mine, prob 
 ably! He was the one that spotted the Crows, 
 and it was he that suggested our following them. 
 I guess he's entitled to as much as I am!" 
 
 Bill and John Big Moose and the ranchmen 
 looked at the two boys and then at each other, 
 and a smile of genuine approval broke over all 
 their faces. 
 
 "Dog-gone 'f thet ain't pretty square!" said 
 Walker. " I ain't saw many people handin' gold 
 mines 'round thataway, not this season I ain't!" 
 
 269
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 "These here now Si'mese twins ain't 
 got nuthin' on them two kids!" said Bassett, 
 admiringly. " I reck'n they's got some sech idee 
 'bout bein' pals like them three Frenchmen hed 
 into one o' whoozis's books I wouldn't make 
 no stab 't speakin' their names ' all f er one, an' 
 one fer all ! ' I seen 'em in a movin'-pitcher onct, 
 an', b'leeve me, they was some gang!" 
 
 "I would like to say to you men," said John 
 Big Moose, "that I have never seen or read any 
 thing more wonderfully loyal than the way this 
 Indian boy stuck to his friend when things 
 looked pretty bad for both of them. He had all 
 the chance in the world to run away get off 
 with a whole skin! In fact, I advised him to do 
 it almost compelled him to do it but he 
 scorned the thought, and started back to what 
 he must have believed to be almost certain death 
 rather than desert his white friend! And I'm 
 mighty glad to see it appreciated!" 
 
 "Good ol' Injun!" said Bill Jordan, putting 
 his arm about the boy, affectionately. "It 
 don't s'prise me none, though; an' I reck'n it 
 don't s'prise none o' th' boys o' th' ranch!" 
 
 270
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 "You said it, Bill!" agreed Walker. "Us fel 
 lers seen th' pair of 'em perform before!'* 
 
 "Wai," continued Bill, "I reck'n the' won't 
 be no complaint on 'count o' Mr. Sherwood 
 not doin* whut's square by Injun, him bein' 
 some partial to th' kid hisself. So 'f things is 
 satisfact'ry t' Mr. Moose, here, I dunno's the's 
 anythin' more t' be did leastways, not by us, 
 though I s'pose him an' Mr. Sherwood '11 hev 
 t' git t'gether an' hev things drawed legal, th' 
 handlin' of a gold-mine bein' some different 
 from sellin' a coupla steers." 
 
 "The more I think of it," said John Big 
 Moose, "the better the arrangement appears, 
 because the tribe would have not only the moral 
 support of you white men, but undoubtedly Mr. 
 Sherwood, when he is assured of the great value 
 of the mine as I am, will advance the money to 
 develop it properly." 
 
 "Seems to me we are forgetting one thing," 
 said Whitey. "Where does Mr. Crowley come 
 in on all this? Perhaps he hasn't got as good a 
 claim as Mr. Moose and Injun and I, but I can't 
 see him getting frozen out entirely! I should 
 
 271
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 think he'd fit in somewhere, for he has had a 
 good deal to do with our outfit, in one way or 
 another, and I guess it was a pretty good thing 
 for me that he was at the Cross and Circle that 
 time that Ross had me!" 
 
 Crowley lifted a protesting hand: "Kid," he 
 said, "I reck'n ef th' account was balanced be 
 tween yo' an' me, it wouldn't take one o' them 
 expert account'nts t' find thet I owed yo' quite 
 some, a'ready! I guess yo' consider'ble more 'n 
 got even fer whut I done fer yo' which wa'n't 
 nuthin' t' speak about, anyhow. An' while I 
 shore appreciates yo'r good intentions an' tenders 
 yo' my thanks fer them same, I reck'n thet I ain't 
 rightly in onto this here deal, me not havin' 
 anteed. An' besides, I reck'n yo'r pa is th? real 
 owner o' th' half thet don't b'long t' th' perfess 
 and his friends, an' he may hev some idees 'bout 
 disposin' o' chunks of it. I ain't doubtin' mebbe 
 he'll consult yo' some as regards to it, but out 
 side o' declarin' Injun in which same does yo' 
 credit I reck'n I wouldn't do nuthin' more till 
 yo' hear from him." 
 
 "Crowley," said Walker, "them is shore words 
 272
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 o' wisdom, but I want t' say thet ef it's some 
 sight t' see somebuddy handin' out gold-mines 
 it's sure some t' see guys refusin' 'em!" 
 
 "Wai," said Jordan, grinning, "ef this here 
 mine turns out like th' perfesser: seems t' think, 
 I wouldn't be s'prised 'f the' was 'nuff to go 
 'round among th' boys so 't each one could git 
 hisself a new Stetson, mebbe, an' a few bags o* 
 smokin'!" 
 
 It was broad daylight by this time, and while, 
 in the excitement of the foregoing hours, the men 
 had forgotten to be hungry, now that things 
 seemed to be pretty well adjusted, they suddenly 
 remembered that they had such things as stom 
 achs. When this matter had been attended to, 
 Bill rose and took up a pick and a shovel. 
 
 "What's doin', Bill?" asked Bassett. "Yo' 
 goin' out an' get yerself a gold-mine, too, this 
 mo'nin'?" 
 
 "No," said Bill, "I wasn't aimin' t' do thet, 
 but I reck'n Pedro hes done laid out thar in th' 
 open pollutin' th' atmosphere 'bout long 'nuff. 
 'T ain't fair, as th' perfesser says, t' let th' buz 
 zards run a chanct o' gittin' pizened." 
 
 273
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 " I'll go 'long with yo'," said Crowley, rising; 
 "yo' may need a little help." 
 
 " 'Tain't likely 't none of us guys is goin' t' set 
 here an' let George do it es th' feller says," 
 put in Bassett; and so, the entire outfit of white 
 men, accompanied by Injun, set out over the 
 mountain to attend to the burial of Pedro. 
 
 They found the body where they had left it, 
 and dragged it to one side where the soil 
 seemed to offer a more yielding surface, and 
 Crowley sent the pick into the ground with a 
 powerful stroke. He had repeated this not more 
 than three or four times, when Bill Jordan pushed 
 him away and got down and examined the earth 
 that had been turned up. 
 
 " Crowley," he said, calmly, looking up at the 
 man, and holding a small portion of the earth 
 in his hand, "I reck'n yo' don't need to be de 
 clared in on nuthin', 'cause yo' 've found a gold 
 mine fer yerself!" 
 
 As may well be imagined, this caused some 
 excitement among those present. A close ex 
 amination of the soil turned up by Crowley's 
 pick revealed the fact that there were very 
 
 274
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 strong evidences that he had struck a surface 
 vein. How much this would amount to remained 
 to be seen. Under all the circumstances, it 
 seemed best to Bill Jordan, and to the others 
 when he proposed it, that some of the men should 
 remain at the "gold-fields," as the men now 
 called them, and that the rest should go back to 
 the ranch where Mr. Sherwood might be, any 
 day, and take his advice upon the proper course 
 for them to pursue. The services of an expert 
 mining engineer would settle the question as to 
 how the mines should be worked, and whether 
 they were of sufficient richness to warrant the 
 erection of a big plant. It was, therefore, deter 
 mined that Crowley, Bassett, and Buck Higgins 
 should remain to stake out and protect the 
 claim, with the assistance of the Dakotas that 
 had come with John Big Moose. The latter, it 
 was deemed necessary, should go to the ranch 
 for a conference with Mr. Sherwood in regard 
 to the claim that they owned jointly, and to 
 make such arrangements for its development as 
 the expert examination warranted. 
 By the time that Pedro had been buried away 
 275
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 from the vicinity of the vein found by Crowley 
 "The' ain't no cert'nty thet he wouldn't spile 
 it" and the other arrangements were com 
 pleted, it was well on into the afternoon. But 
 there was a ten- or twelve-mile journey back to 
 the camp where Whitey and Injun had left their 
 horses, and the little outfit, consisting of Whitey, 
 Injun, Bill Jordan, John Big Moose, and Walker, 
 set out, the two boys mounted on horses loaned 
 them by the Dakotas, promising that they would 
 be back within a week's time. 
 
 The trip back was uneventful, although 
 Whitey prevailed upon Bill to go around on the 
 westerly side of the mine to get the skins of the 
 two bears that had fought it out before the rock 
 with the boys as spectators. The bear that had 
 treed them was there, all right, but a thorough 
 search revealed the fact that the second bear had 
 probably managed to crawl away, for he was 
 nowhere to be found. 
 
 The fate of this contributor to the drama was 
 left unsolved, for these two bears chased the 
 Indian, nearly drowned Crowley, and caused 
 the boys to dance like monkeys on a hot brick 
 
 276
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 perched high upon a rock. Which of the two 
 bears played the more important role is left to 
 the reader. 
 
 Whitey watched the process of skinning the 
 bear with great interest. When it was com 
 pleted, Bill said, winking at John Big Moose, 
 "Now, Whitey, seein' 't we've got him skim, 
 I s'pose yo' 'd jes' as leaf carry th' skin back 
 t'th' ranch?" 
 
 "Sure!" said Whitey, starting to pick it up. 
 Right there Whitey got a surprise; a big bear 
 skin, such as the one he took hold of, will weigh 
 in the neighborhood of one hundred and fifty 
 pounds or more! And Whitey, at last, came to 
 the conclusion, game as he was, that if the bear 
 skin had to be carried back by him it could stay 
 where it was. Jordan, however, managed to 
 pack it onto one of the horses, Injun gladly 
 agreeing to walk as the going was very rough. 
 
 They reached the little camp in the clump of 
 woods at the base of the mountain along late in 
 the afternoon, and camped there for the night. 
 On the afternoon of the second day afterward, 
 they rode into the ranch yard to find that Mr. 
 
 277
 
 INJUN AND WHITEY STRIKE OUT 
 
 Sherwood had already arrived and was badly 
 worried about them. Of course, it took some 
 time to tell all of the story; but to come back 
 from the East and find himself a part owner in 
 a gold-mine was a novel experience, according 
 to Mr. Sherwood. And then followed a series of 
 conferences between Mr. Sherwood and John Big 
 Moose and Bill Jordan; but before the week was 
 out, everything seemed to be settled and the 
 return expedition awaited only the arrival of 
 the mining engineer before setting out. Then 
 it was that a bombshell was thrown into the 
 camp. 
 
 " Son," said Mr. Sherwood to Whitey, when 
 the latter came to him one day with Injun in 
 regard to certain preparations for the trip back 
 to the mines, " do you know what month this is ? " 
 
 "Sure!" said Whitey. "October." 
 
 "Right!" said his father. "And doesn't that 
 mean anything to you? Do you consider that 
 your education has been finished?" 
 
 "Do you mean to say that I've got to go back 
 to school?" moaned Whitey in a most forlorn 
 way. "Just when things are happening and 
 
 278
 
 WHITEY'S SURPRISE 
 
 we've got a brand-new gold-mine to 'tend to 
 and everything like that!" 
 
 "I'm afraid I do mean just that/' answered 
 Mr. Sherwood. 
 
 "Why can't I wait and enter at Christmas 
 after the holidays? I'm already a month late, 
 now. I can study out here. You ought to see the 
 lot that Injun and I have been doing in that line. 
 I've been teaching him, and he's learning fast. 
 It would be easy for me to study at the same time 
 that I'm teaching him." 
 
 " If it would be of any advantage in case 
 you decide to let Whitey stay- " said John Big 
 Moose, "possibly I might be able to guide him 
 in the branches that he wishes to take up. I have 
 had some experience in that way before." 
 
 "It ain't none o' my affair, Boss," said Bill, 
 "but 'f yo' look thet Whitey over careful, I think 
 yo' '11 be 'bilged t' say thet this here little trip hes 
 did him a power o' good. He's growed like a 
 weed, an' he's stronger 'n a yearlin' bull. 'Co'se, I 
 ain't sayin' thet he'd oughta stay, but I'm jes' 
 thinkin' thet he's doin' right well whar he's at." 
 
 THE END
 
 "The Books You Like to Read 
 at the Price You Like to Pay" 
 
 There Are Two Sides 
 to Everything 
 
 including the wrapper which covers 
 every Grosset & Dunlap book. When 
 you feel in the mood for a good ro 
 mance, refer to the carefully selected list 
 of modern fiction comprising most of 
 the successes by prominent writers of 
 the day which is printed on the back of 
 every Grosset & Dunlap book wrapper. 
 
 You will find more than five hundred 
 titles to choose from books for every 
 mood and every taste and every pocket- 
 book. 
 
 Don't forget the other side, lut in case 
 the wrapper is lost, write to the publishers 
 for a complete catalog. 
 
 There is a Crosset & Dunlap Book 
 for every mood and for every taste
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 Ili SEP27li 
 
 . 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 
 SEP^' 
 
 i)S76 
 
 
 uu, AUGi: 
 
 [1988 
 
 -^ 
 
 AC MAY 5 ] 
 
 99| . 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 Form L9-42w-8,'49(B5573)444 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 I llllllTO' ' !!J!!Sg5 3 1 97 
 
 PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE 
 THIS BOOK CARD =a 
 
 University Research Library 
 
 to 
 
 I m 
 
 ro