CHAPTER XIII.MATTERS BECOMING COMPLICATED.
At the place where the inclines from the upper and lower levels of the old mine met, was massed along the timbered walls a strange assortment of plunder gathered by Price and his gang during many months. Here it was that Buffalo Bill and the Laramie man, still unconscious, were taken. And there it was that Price’s men found Bloody Ike. The latter was badly injured. He gloated in the capture of the scout and his pard, and promised, with extravagant delight, to be the death of them.
Ike believed his own injuries due to Buffalo Bill, but he could not understand how it had all come about. The bomb he had prepared to destroy the camp of the scout had exploded just after leaving his hand, and he had narrowly escaped death. He had not distinguished the scout’s rifle shot from the explosion which followed, but he felt that in some way Buffalo Bill had once more defeated him.
Bloody Ike declared that the pair should never leave the shaft alive, whether Price so ordered or not. Two men besides Ike were left to guard the prisoners. The others went back to partake of the celebration on the following day, and we have seen that they carried out their plans.
Price was not told that Little Cayuse had escaped. Two men remained at the hut, ostensibly to guard the prisoner, but in reality to blind the leader to the loss ofthe prisoner and firearms, while some of them attempted to recover the rifles and revolvers.
Price had immediately set about carrying out his plan to stock the abandoned mine with provision for a long siege. He was shrewd enough to see he was between two fires, and that when the pinch came he would receive no assistance from the Washington side of the ring. Neither could he take refuge among the Indians, for several of the tribes had learned to hate him, and he was safe only with some bands of renegades whom he had employed. A few tough characters, white and red, were still loyal to him, and with these well armed and gathered about him in the mountain stronghold he could defy the government and its officers.
The second night following the carousal at the hut Price had sent a dozen pack mules to the hills laden with supplies of various kinds. Six mounted men went with them, and were to return the following night for another load.
Price was carrying on his preparations with secrecy, in spite of the fact that he believed he had downed Buffalo Bill and his band. He wished to keep the fact that he was furnishing a rendezvous from as many of the people of the town as possible and its location from all except his own men.
But it so happened that Red Dick and half a dozen cowpunchers were coming to town that night for a round of sport. They met the small caravan and wondered what it could mean. They asked the men who were with the pack mules, but received such evasive replies that they determined to learn for themselves where this consignment was going.
Quietly following the trail by the occasional wheezy call of one of the mules, Red Dick and his men were notfar behind when the caravan entered the trail that led to the old mine. There they dismounted, and tethered their horses, and followed on foot to the end of the trail.
Red Dick and his men were near enough to hear the challenge of the guard at the lower entrance to the mine, and watched the lanterns disappear down the incline.
Dick had recognized some of the men with the mules, and knew that they were in some way mixed up with Price, and it had been currently reported for a long time that Price was stealing the best of the Indian supplies. Red Dick figured it out that here was another batch of goods that belonged to the government. His narrow but active mind was in a whirl over the discovery. Here were goods that belonged to him as much as to Price. Price was stealing from both government and the Indians. He was hiding his plunder here, and “finding is keeping.”
Red Dick laid the case before his followers. They agreed with him in every particular, and would stand by him to a man.
Then Dick built a plot of his own to obtain possession of the loot. With his men he would hide in the hills and watch, and if all six of Price’s men came out again, after they had gone he would enter and take possession, without any difficulty, and what he and his men could carry away in one day would be worth many hundred dollars. If they did not all come out—well, he would go in, anyway, and once inside, if he had to fight to hold it, he would, for Price wouldn’t dare call on State or Federal officials for aid.
Red Dick and his men decided to remain very near the trail and mount guard all night. They were quite carried away with the prospect.
Very early the following morning Fighting DanGrey and several gamblers and sporting men, led by an old plainsman, were coming to town. They had heard rumors of an impending Indian uprising, and had seen several bands crossing to the Yellowstone from Flathead Pass. They wanted to know what Bozeman folk had heard.
A short distance outside the town the plainsman noted that a trail of horsemen which he had been following ran into one coming out of Bozeman, and both turned south. He called Fighting Dan’s attention to it, and the latter jumped to the conclusion that one party was made up of Indians, and they were on the trail of some mining party for purposes of robbery.
“S’pose we saunter down thet way an’ see ’f we can’t surprise Mr. Redskin in his funny bus’ness,” suggested Dan.
The entire party veered sharply and cantered toward the hills. As they neared the first ravine where the trail became faint they were surprised to see six men on horseback, leading twice as many mules, coming out. Fighting Dan halted and awaited the approach of Price’s party.
“Seen any Injuns?” asked Dan.
The spokesman of Price’s men feared the presence of this party so near the storehouse, and he hit upon a plan to get rid of them. He answered:
“No; we hain’t seen any sence yistidy. The pesky hoss thieves run off with our mules, an’ we chased ’em so hard they skedaddled into the hills an’ left the mules.”
“Which way’d they go?” asked Dan, feeling this excuse to punish a band of red men was too good to be lost.
“They kep’ south, round the mounting.”
“Guess we better skate down that way a bit; eh, boys?”
“We’re yer highbucks,” came the answer, and away Fighting Dan’s party dashed.
When well beyond the view of the mule men, Fighting Dan pulled up and said:
“Rest yer plugs while Lex and me scouts er bit. Them fellers hain’t seen any Injuns, and their mules hadn’t been stampeded. Some o’ them chaps belong to Price’s gang, and I’ll bet my hoss they had been down here ter hide some guv’ment supplies till they get a chance to ship ’em. Ye see the officers are gittin’ pretty clost hauls on Price, and he’s takin’ care of his stuff. What d’ ye say, boys? Haven’t we a right to a share in ther loot?”
“It’s a safe bet we have, and we are the boys that can take the goods if your human bloodhound can lead us to ’em,” came the reply.
“That’s ther talk! Now, Lex an’ me’ll go on a still hunt fer ther trail, an’ you fellers stay here ready for a charge to the rescue if you hear fireworks. If Price has got any valerbles here he ain’t ther fool ter leave ’em uncovered, an’ it may mean er scrap.”
Fighting Dan and his plainsman set out on foot, and first climbed well into the mountains, where they could command a view of the plain to the northward, to see if the men with the mules kept on. They had held straight toward town, so Dan and his trailer chose the best footing possible back around the mountain to the trail they had left.
At last they saw where the mules had just passed out, and took the back trail into the mountains. A little farther on they discovered that another party on horseback had struck the trail ahead of them and were following in the way the mules had come out.
“Well, I’ll be riddled with forty-fours!” exclaimedDan. “This gets me all right. Who be these other chaps thet hev jumped ther claim ahead of us?”
“They are white men,” answered Lex, “for their horses are shod.”
“That’s so. Now, let’s go cautious, an’ not run inter any shootin’ bees ’thout havin’ our own powder dry. This is gittin’ as interestin’ as er game o’ odd an’ even, with beans for stake money.”
Half an hour later Fighting Dan and Lex passed around a jutting ledge and beheld six horsemen pulled up in front of the black mouth of the old mine. They seemed to be holding parley with invisible parties in the darkness beyond.
“That’s Red Dick, or I’m ther living image of a liar!” gasped Dan.
He watched for a moment, and then said:
“See here, Lex; you let me hev yore guns ter go with mine, an’ I’ll keep ’em in there if they try to get out, while you go back arter ther boys. If there’s any honey to be passed round, Red Dick ain’t goin ’ter sweeten his lips. What!”
Lex stole away, and Fighting Dan looked to his guns, while from an angle in the rocks above and behind the gambler two more heads appeared.
They belonged to old Nomad and Skibo.