as stealthily as a phantom did the canoe bearing the scout skim along the shore of the gila, hugging the banks as closely as possible, so as to take advantage of the ribbon of shadow which followed the winding of the stream. the moon was creeping higher up the sky, and this advantage would soon be denied the fugitive altogether, so every minute was improved to the utmost. now and then tom ceased paddling, and as the boat shot forward with undiminished speed, bent his head and listened. this was continued until he had passed fully a quarter of a mile, when he rested for a longer time than usual.
"i guess they'll have to give it up," he said to himself, with a peculiar chuckle. "they ketched me in a bad box, that's sartin, where i couldn't climb out on either side. but things are a little better here," he added, as he looked from side to side at the bluffs, which were so low that the tops could be easily reached from his boat. "i don't much want to tramp over-land, but if it is necessary i've got somethin' of a chance, which isn't what i had before."
he might well prefer the water to the land; for on the former, whether he went fast or slow, there was no trail left for the keenest bloodhound to follow; on the latter it was impossible to conceal his most cautious footsteps from the eyes of the redskins. the surface of this portion of arizona was of such a nature that everything was against the hunter. there was no wood nor tributary streams for miles. if he left the gila, and struck across the country, it would be over an open plain, where he could be seen for miles. he would be on foot, while his enemies would all be mounted on their fleet mustangs. how, then, could he elude them by leaving his boat? his only hope was in traveling at night, but night must always be followed by day.
"i wonder what ideas will creep into their skulls," he muttered, reflecting upon the view the apaches had gained of him a short time before from the bank. "a dead injun is a good deal better than a live one, as that 'ere critter proved to me. if i hadn't fired back agin, they might have thought i was one of their own warriors—mebbe they'll think so now. great scott!"
the scout was paddling along in his leisurely manner, when his eyes, by the merest accident, happened to rest upon the other shore, at a point a short distance below him. while thus looking, he saw distinctly a point of light appear and vanish three times! it performed no such gyration as those which he had first seen, but simply came forward and receded until it was gone altogether, leaving the same misty darkness as before. more by instinct than from any other cause, tom turned his eyes to the point opposite where he had seen this exhibition. he had scarcely done so when precisely the same thing was seen!
"jest what i expected," he said as he checked the downward progress of his boat. "the varmints have 'spicioned that one of the chaps in that 'ere canoe which passed before 'em is myself, and they're goin' for me like lightnin'. they've mounted their horses, and kept it up till they knowed they'd struck a p'int below me, and there they've signaled to each other that i'm still above 'em on the river, and still to be ketched."
the scout was certain that his theory was correct, and that, distasteful and dangerous as it might be, the time had come for him to leave the river. to continue further would be to precipitate a collision in which there was no possibility of the good fortune that had followed him in the first place. besides this the night was so far advanced and the moon so high up in the sky, that the shadow had narrowed to a band which was practically useless.
"no use makin' faces when you've got a dose of medicine to take," he added, as he ran the canoe close to the shore.
there he found that by standing upon his feet he could easily reach the edge of the bluff above and thus draw himself up when he chose. this he proceeded to do, but he was too skillful a hunter to leave behind him such tell-tale evidence as the canoe itself would have proven. were he to leave that as it was, it would be sure to catch the eye of the apaches within a quarter of an hour and tell them precisely what had been done. and so, as the hunter hung thus by his hands, with his long rifle secured at his back, he caught the toe of his moccasin in the craft in such a way that it dipped and took water. he held it thus until it could contain no more; but its composition was such that even then it would not sink. there were loose boulders in the bank, and the hunter proceeded to drop these carefully into the boat below. it required several for ballast, when it quietly went to the bottom, where it was certain to stay. this done he addressed himself to the task before him.
as he straightened up and looked off in the moonlight, a very discouraging, although familiar sight, met his eye. the moonlight was quite strong, and he was enabled to see objects indistinctly for a considerable distance. it was everywhere the same. a level, treeless prairie, where for miles there was not a drop of water to be obtained, and over which, as has been already shown, in case he attempted to make his way, he would be placed at the greatest disadvantage possible, especially as his own mustang was still a good hundred miles to the southwest, if he had succeeded in avoiding capture up to that time. but the life of a frontiersman, besides being perilous at all times, is hardly ever anything but disagreeable, despite the curious fascination which it holds for those who follow it. tom did not hesitate a moment longer than was necessary, now that a disagreeable expedient was forced upon him.
his first precaution was to make sure that none of the apaches were in sight. the point at which he had seen the answering signal was so far below that he was certain it would be beyond his vision, and, this much determined, gave him just the "leverage" needed to work upon. it needed but a few seconds to assure himself upon this point, and then he struck off to the southwest. this course, while it took him away from the gila, would eventually bring him back to it, the winding of the stream being such as to make this junction certain, if continued. the great thing now required was haste; for a great deal depended upon the ground that could be passed over during these favoring hours of darkness. he had taken scarcely a dozen steps when he struck into a long, loping trot, not particularly rapid in itself, but of such a character that it could be kept for hours at a stretch. it was the genuine indian dog trot, which is so effective in long distances. as the runner went along in this fashion, his thoughts were busy, and all his senses on the alert. he concluded that it was nearly midnight, and that he had, consequently, a number of hours at his command; so he aimed to get as far below the intercepting apaches as possible, with the intention of returning to the river, before daylight, where he was hopeful of discovering some canoe, or at least of hitting upon some feasible method of hiding his trail from his lynx-eyed pursuers.
this loping trot was kept up for fully two hours, at the end of which time tom was certain that he was approaching the river again. he still pressed forward for another hour, when he came to a halt. although he had continued this great exertion for so long a time, yet so good was his wind that when he paused there was no perceptible quickening of the respiration. years of training had made him capable of standing far more trying tests of his strength than this. the scout carefully turned his head from side to side, looking and listening. all was still, and his ear caught no ominous sound. then he moistened his finger and held it over his head. yes, there was the least possible breath of air stirring, as was told him by the fact that one side of the moistened finger was slightly chilled. everywhere, right, left, in front or rear, so far as the bright moonlight permitted his vision to extend, was the same dead level of treeless plain. kneeling down he applied his ear to the ground. could it be? there was a sound thus carried to his ears—the very sound which above all others he dreaded to hear. it was a faint, almost inaudible, tapping upon the earth. far away it was, but drawing nearer every minute.
the scout knew what it meant. it was the sound of horse's hoofs!
