CHAPTER XXIISATANK ARRIVES
Early March found us closing up our affairs at the camp, preparatory to starting back to the settlements. We had succeeded in taking a few more than our three thousand wolfskins; and in addition to these we would have nearly a wagonful of bales of the dressed buffalo robes and other skins we had traded for with To hausen's people, together with the beaver, otter, antelope, and other pelts we had taken in our camp.
We had hauled all our baled wolfskins over to Fort Larned and stored them there as fast as they accumulated, but retained in camp for the last load our otter and beaver skins and the peltries we had gotten from the Indians; for we thought it best not to bring these latter under the notice of Weisselbaum, for fear he should make trouble for us for encroaching on his Indian trade.
As a prospective buyer he had kept close watch of our wolfskins, as we stored them, and was anxious to buy our whole catch; but we had stood him off, saying that we thought we could do better with them in Leavenworth. We had heard thatKitchen's freighting train from New Mexico was on the road, going in empty, and would pass Fort Larned in a few days, and had decided that if we could not get Weisselbaum up to our figures, we would ship them in that way.
After an early dinner, Tom and Jack had started for the fort with the mule team, taking a partial load of the last of our wolfskins—a half dozen bales—and some camp plunder.
I do not think that my comrades were as much alarmed as I was at the thought of the hostiles dropping in on us. They seemed to be borrowing no trouble on that account and, for fear of being ridiculed by them for my cowardly fears, I had kept my thoughts on this subject to myself.
On this day we had all seemed unusually jolly; even Tom's grim features occasionally relaxed into a pleasant smile at some sally from our wild Irishman. Our spirits were high, for we had grown tired of buffalo hunting and wolf skinning, with all the attendant hardships and excitements, and were now eager to get back into "God's country" with our profitable cargo of skins, to reap the reward of our winter's hard work.
As I stood looking after Tom and Jack as they drove away, I thought: "To-morrow they'll be back, and the next morning we'll load up the last of our camp outfit and will soon be beyond the reach of Satank and his crowd."
While still standing on top of our dugoutwatching the receding wagon a growl from Found, at my feet, caused me to look down at him; and following the direction of his look, down the ravine toward the timber, I saw an Indian boy afoot stealthily approaching, every now and then casting furtive glances behind him as though fearful that he might be seen by some one in the timber. I at once recognized the boy as one of To hausen's sons and, quieting the dog, awaited his approach. Following a path skirting the edge of the water in the ravine, when he had reached the platform between our dugouts, he again looked cautiously about and beckoned me to come down where he stood.
When I neared him he said in his broken English:
"To hausen, my fadder, he say tell you, 'look out! Satank comin'!'"
And then asked, looking anxiously into my face:
"You savvy?"
"Yes, but where? When?" I hastened to ask excitedly.
"Kin savvy señor," replied the boy, "that all To hausen, he say, that all; 'look out, Satank comin'!' Prettypronto, I 'speck. Now I mus' vamose. Satank he see me here, he kill me."
And quickly turning he sneaked down the ravine till he reached the brush and disappeared.
To say that I was alarmed at the sudden shock to my recent feeling of confidence is to put it mildly; but I realized that there was no time towaste in idle regrets at the unfortunate turn of affairs. I felt almost helpless and could not decide what to do to prepare for the danger.
Rushing into the dugout I seized my carbine and, going again up onto the dirt roof, I fired several shots in the hope that possibly the sound might reach my companions, who were still in sight, slowly climbing the hill about two miles away. It was no use—the wind was blowing from them to me, and they moved steadily on, evidently not hearing me.
I was hesitating whether to jump on Prince, ride after them and hurry them back to prepare for a probable call from the hostiles when a surly growl and bark from Found drew my attention another way, and I was almost frightened out of my wits to see two mounted Indians coming, one behind the other in single file, along the trail leading from the ford below the beaver dam.
They were on the opposite side of the ravine—the stable side—so I moved down onto the platform between the dugouts, where I would have a better position, still hoping that they would turn out to be some of To hausen's people; but a thrill of something akin to horror ran through me on looking closely at the foremost Indian when he had reached the top of the bank a few feet from me, for I recognized the sinister countenance of Satank.
To let him know that I recognized him andunderstood his probable feelings toward me, I swung my carbine into a threatening position and called out, "Halt!" at the same time making the sign to him to stop where he was.
He halted at the command, as did the other Indian in the rear, and, while keeping a close watch on both to see that they drew no gun on me, I demanded in a defiant tone:
"Halloo, Satank, what do you want here?"
Satank made no reply, but motioned his companion to his side.
I recognized the man as a half-breed, called Mexican Joe, who had sometimes been used as an interpreter at Fort Wise. Joe was evidently to act as interpreter now.
In my defiant attitude and speech I was assuming much more self-confidence than I really felt; but I wished to impress them that I distrusted them, understood their intentions, and was prepared to stand them off or fight. However, neither of the savages made any threatening movement—the time was not ripe for declaring war—they had evidently come on a reconnoitring expedition.
As soon as the interpreter had moved up to him Satank spoke a few words to Mexican Joe, who asked in broken English:
"Where your pardners? Other mans? Where wagon?"
"Gone down to To hausen's camp," I said.
"He say, 'Maybe so you lie,'" said Joe, makingthe sign of the forked tongue; then continued, "Any mans in casa—house?" nodding toward the dugout.
"Yes," I replied.
Apparently wishing to see the inside of our house—or to get the drop on me in some way—after a few more words between them, Joe said:
"He say: 'White man come to Kiowa's camp Kiowa feed him. Satank he hungry. Want to go in casa, eat with white man—be good amigos.'"
I replied:
"Food all gone. Pardners gone with wagon to bring some buffalo meat. Tell him to come again when pardners get back. I'll give him plenty to eat."
Of course, Satank did not believe this, and I did not care. I wished to stand him off, for I was determined that he should get no closer inspection of our situation than he already had. I felt sure that he had a party of his warriors close about—probably in hiding in the timber—and that he had come on a spying tour.
Satank evidently recognized me as one of the actors in an episode that took place at Fort Wise when I was in the service, and asked a number of questions about it. To all these I replied by denying any knowledge of the event. The interpreter said, however:
"He say: 'You can't fool him. He know you.'"
I was in dread all the time that they might lifttheir eyes to the upland prairie in the direction of Fort Larned, where our white-covered wagon was still in plain view; but a little swell of the prairie hid it from them.
After exchanging a few more words in their own language, Joe turned to me and said:
"Adios, good-by, señor. We go—vamose."
Backing away a few steps, they turned off around the butt of our haystack, and made for the crossing of the ravine just above our dugouts. Here they examined the ground closely, evidently looking for fresh tracks of our wagon and mules to see which way they had gone.
As soon as they crossed the ravine I returned to my station on the dirt roof of our dugout where I could watch their movements. When they reached the higher ground and our Fort Larned trail the fresh tracks of the team gave them their clew. Pointing to the fresh signs, Satank's eyes followed the course of the trail until he caught sight of the wagon in the distance, just as it seemed to reach the crest of the high prairie about three miles away. With an excited exclamation he pointed out his discovery to his companion, and then mounting rode off at a lively gait.
I conjectured that Satank would either pursue the wagon or bring his men to attack my position—probably both. In either case it was of the utmost importance that I warn my comrades, which now seemed an impossibility; and whilefretting at my helplessness I looked down at Found, at my feet, and the inspiration came.
"Good!" I shouted, "I'll send the dog!"
Rushing down into the cabin I seized a piece of paper and hastily wrote on it:
Look out for Satank and his gang! They are after you! I am O. K., so far.Peck.
Look out for Satank and his gang! They are after you! I am O. K., so far.
Peck.
Quickly tying this slip to Found's collar and taking down an old cap of Tom's from which to give the dog the scent, I hurried back on top of the dugout. I spoke to the dog and then pointed to the covered wagon, still plainly visible, and for fear he did not see it I lifted him up in my arms, pointed again to the far-off wagon, repeating the names, "Tom—Jack!"
The intelligent creature looked up into my face, as I set him down, and then at the wagon, barked and wagged his tail vigorously as though he thought he understood me. I then pointed again to the wagon, held Tom's old cap to his nose, and said, "Go to Tom," motioning with my hand toward the wagon.
Go to Tom.
"Go to Tom."
Found looked carefully all around, as though to see if there were any Indians about, and then instead of following the wagon tracks, as I supposed he would, he started down into the bottom of the ravine, the head of which led toward the wagon;and after going a few rods, stopped and looked inquiringly back at me, as if to ask: "Am I right?"
"Yes, yes," I answered impatiently as I motioned him away, "go to Tom! go to Tom!"
The dog seemed now fully to comprehend my wishes, and lit out up the ravine on a lively run, now and then disappearing from my view for a moment in the sinuosities of the gulch.
I turned to go down into the cabin to get the field-glass, the better to watch the progress of the dog, and in doing so I instinctively cast my glance in the direction of the point of timber where Satank and Joe had entered a few moments before, and there saw a party of mounted Indians hurrying out of the woods and starting across the prairie after the team.
The Kiowas were about as near the wagon as Found, and it seemed that it would be a close race between the dog and Indians as to which would reach the team first. With the field-glass I watched the advance of Indians and dog with excited anxiety. The pursuers and my messenger had entered broken ground between the creek valley and the upland, and I could catch only occasional glimpses of them. To get a better view I climbed up on the derrick, where we usually hung our fresh meat, which gave me a few feet more of elevation. I tried to count the Indians as they started in pursuit of the wagon and made out that they numbered about forty.
I had watched first Found and then the Kiowas through the glass until the dog had proceeded so far that he had passed out of sight on the upland, still running; and the Indians could only be seen at intervals; but I could not tell which was nearer the wagon. The Indians were approaching it from the right and rear, while Found would be coming from nearly behind. Tom and Jack, I knew, would be sitting on the seat in the wagon, under cover of the sheet, unsuspicious of danger; the rattling of the wagon would drown any noise of the galloping Indians; and their first intimation of the presence of the Kiowas—unless Found reached them in time—would be a volley of bullets and arrows as the redskins surrounded them.
I focused my glass steadily on the white wagon cover, knowing that the halting or turning of the team would indicate that my messenger or the pursuers had reached them. If Found got there first the team would stop; Tom and Jack would discover the Indians and then quickly jump out, unhook the mules and tie them to the wheels of the wagon; and then I would hear the reports of their rifles first. If the Indians got there first and surprised my comrades I would probably hear the reports of the Kiowas' rifles before the wagon stopped, and the frightened mules would then start on a run.
Riveting my gaze on the wagon, I was presentlygratified to notice it halt, and a moment later the two familiar reports of Sharp's carbines assured me that they, Tom and Jack, had got my warning and had fired the first shots.
"Good!" I shouted when I heard their rifles. "Ten to one an Indian saddle or two was emptied by those shots!"
Then a straggling rattle of firearms, with now and then the report of a Sharp's, indicated that the fight was on. The bobbing up and down of the heads of galloping Indians passing between me and the wagon showed that the redskins were circling around the team; and as they passed to right and left of the wagon they seemed to be keeping a respectful distance.
The firing slackened. Just then some mounted men and animals came running in my direction, and as they came near enough to be distinguishable through the glass I made out that the two team mules had gotten away from Tom and Jack, after being unhitched from the wagon, and were now making for camp, chased by a number of Kiowas. The Indians soon caught the mules and led them back.
The firing had now nearly ceased. Of the wagon I could only see the white cover. The Indians seemed to have formed a circle around my comrades and were probably waiting for night to enable them to crawl up near enough to make their rifles effective. This they could do in the darkness,and by digging rifle-pits at close range around the wagon they would have Tom and Jack under a circle of rifle fire by daylight.