as soon as lone wolf was out of sight, young munson stepped back in the shadow of the wood, and quickly placed himself behind the trunk of a large tree. he had learned the nature of the indian race too well for him to give this precious specimen any chance to circumvent him. had he remained standing in the moonlight opening, after the apache entered the wood, the latter could not have had a better opportunity to pick him off without danger to himself. had he meditated any such purpose, when he wheeled to fire the shot there would have been no target visible.
the strained ear of the lad could not detect the slightest rustling that might betray the where-abouts of the dreaded chief, and fred knew better than to expect any such advantage as that which just permitted to pass through his hands. but what would lone wolf do? this was the all-important question. would he sneak off through the wood and out of the valley, and would he be seen and heard no more that night? or would he return to revenge himself for the injury to his pride? was he alone in the grove, or were there a half dozen brother-demons sulking among the undergrowth, like so many rattlesnakes, except that they did not give any warning before striking their blow? had any of them visited mickey or thompson, and was a general attack about to be made upon the settlement? such questions as these surged through the mind of fred, as he stood leaning against the tree, rifle in hand, listening, looking, and thinking.
suddenly he gave utterance to a low whistle, which he was accustomed to use as a signal in communicating with mickey. it was almost instantly answered, in a way which indicated that the irishman was approaching. a minute later the two were together. the lad hastily related his stirring adventure with the great apache war-chief, and, as may be imagined, mickey was dumfounded.
“it's meself that has n't seen or heard the least sign of one of the spalpeens since the set of sun, and they've been about us all the time.”
“how was it they got here without being seen?”
“there be plenty ways of doing the same. they've found out that we were watching this pint, and so they slipped round and came the other way.”
“do you think they will attack us to-night?”
“i'm thinkin' they're only making observations, as me uncle obsarved, when he was cotched in the house of larry o'mulligan, and they'll be down on us some time, when everything is ready.”
“it seems to me it is a poor time to make observations—in the night.”
“the red-skin is like an owl,” replied mickey. “he can see much better at night than he can by day; but there's thompson; let us see whether some of the spalpeens haven't made a call upon him in the darkness. be aisy now, in stepping over the leaves, for an injin hears with his fingers and toes as well as his ears.”
the hibernian led the way, each advancing with all the caution at his command, and using such stealth and deliberation in their movements that some ten or fifteen minutes were consumed in passing over the intervening space. at last, however, the spot was reached where they had bidden good-bye to their friend, earlier in the evening.
“here's about the place,” said mickey, looking about him; “but i does n't observe the gintleman, by the token of which he must have strayed away. hilloa!”
he repeated the call in a low, cautious voice, but still loud enough to be heard a dozen yards or more from where he stood; but no response came, and, although neither of the two gave any expression to it, yet they were sensible of a growing fear that this absence or silence of their friend had a most serious meaning.
“yonder he is now,” suddenly exclaimed fred. “he's a great sentinel, too, for he's sound asleep.”
the stalwart figure of thompson was seen seated upon the ground, with his back against a tree, and his chin on his breast, like one sunk in a deep slumber. the sentinel had seated himself on the edge of the grove, where all the trees and undergrowth were behind, and the open space in front of him. at the time of doing so, no doubt his figure was enveloped in the shadow, but since then the moon had climbed so high in the sky that its rays fell upon his entire person, and the instant the two chanced to glance in that direction, they saw him with startling distinctness.
“begorrah! if that does n't bate the mischief!” exclaimed mickey, impatiently, as he looked at his unconscious friend. “i thought he was the gintleman that had traveled, and knew all about these copper-colored spalpeens. s'pose we' all done the same, lone wolf and his apaches would have had all our skulp-locks hanging at their goordles by this time. i say, thompson, ain't you ashamed of yourself to be wastin' your time in this fashion?”
as he spoke, he stooped down, and seizing the arm of the man, shook it quite hard several times, but without waking him.
“begorrah, but he acts as if he had n't a week of sleep since he had emigrated to the west. i say, thompson, me ould boy, can't ye arouse up and bid us good night?”
while mickey was speaking in this jocose manner, he had again seized the man, but this time by the shoulder. at the first shake the head of the man fell forward, as if he were a wooden image knocked out of poise.
the singularity of the move struck mickey, who abruptly ceased his jests, raised the drooping head, and stooped down and peered into it. one quick, searching glance told the terrible truth.
“be the howly powers, but he's dead!” gasped the horrified irishman, starting back, and then stooping still lower, and hurriedly examining him.
“what killed him?” asked the terrified fred, gazing upon the limp figure.
“lone wolf, the haythen blackguard. see here,” added mickey, in a stern voice, as he wheeled about and faced his young friend, “you told me you had your gun pinted at that spalpeen; now it's meself that wants to know why in blazes you did n't pull the trigger?”
“he hadn't hurt me, mickey, and i did n't know that he had been doing anything of this kind. would you have shot him, in my place?”
the irishman shook his head. it looked too cowardly to send a man, even though he were an indian, out of the world without an instant's warning.
“well, thompson is done for, that's dead sure, and we'll have to give him a dacent burial. whisht, there! did ye not hear somethin'?”
footsteps were heard very distinctly upon the leaves, and the two shrank back in the shadow of the wood and awaited their approach, for they were evidently coming that way. something in the manner of walking betrayed their identity, and mickey spoke. the prompt answer showed that they were the two men whose duty it was to relieve thompson and the irishman. they came forward at once, and when they learned the truth, were, as a matter of course, terribly shocked. they reported that the sentinels nearer the settlement had detected moving figures during the night skulking about the wood and valley, and the sound of horses' hoofs left no doubt that they were indians who had gone.
the death of thompson, of course, was a terrible shock to the new arrivals, but it was one of the incidents of border life, and was accepted as such. the two took their stations unflinchingly, and mickey and fred returned to the settlement, the body of the dead sentry being allowed to lie where it was, under guard, until morning.
on the morrow the body was given decent burial, and the building of the houses was pressed with all possible activity, and scouts or sentinels were stationed on all the prominent lookouts.
barnwell was confident that if no interruption came about within the next two or three days, he could put the defenses in such shape that they could resist the attack of any body of indians; but an assault on that day or the next would be a most serious affair, the issue of which was extremely doubtful; hence the necessity of pressing everything forward with the utmost dispatch. fred rendered what assistance he could, but that did not amount to much, and, as he possessed the best eyesight, he took upon himself the duty of sentinel, taking his position near the river, where he remained for something over an hour.
nothing of an alarming character was seen, and, thinking his standpoint was too depressed to give him the range of observation, he concluded to climb one of the trees. this was quickly done, and when he found himself in one of the topmost branches he was gratified with the result.
on his right hand, he could trace the winding course of the rio pecos for several miles, the banks here and there fringed with wood and stunted undergrowth. his attitude was such that he could see over the tops of the trees in his rear, and observe his friends busily at work as so many beavers, while off on the left, stretched on the prairies, with the faint bluish outlines of mountains in the distance. all at once the eye of the boy was arrested by the figure of a horseman in the west. he was coming with the speed of a whirlwind, and heading straight toward the settlement.
fred, wondering what it could mean, watched him with an intensity of interest that can scarcely be imagined. at first he supposed him to be a fugitive fleeing from the indians; but none of the latter could be seen on the right, left or in the rear and so he concluded that that explanation would not answer.
the speed soon brought the horseman within hail. as he neared the rio pecos valley, he rose in his stirrups, and swung his hat in an excited manner. at that moment fred recognized him as sut simpson, the scout, whose voice rang out as startling and clear as that of a stentor.
“the apaches are coming! the apaches are coming! lone wolf will be down on yer quicker'n lightnin'!”
