The Silver Canyon | Page 8

in front of the
waggon to drive its two horses, Dr Lascelles gave the word. Joses went
to the front to act as pioneer, and pick a way unencumbered with stones,
so that the waggon might go on in safety, and the camp was left behind.
Everything depended now upon silence. A shrill neigh from a mare
would have betrayed them; even the louder rattle of the waggon wheels
might have had that result, and brought upon them the marauding party,
with a result that the Doctor shuddered to contemplate. There were
moments when, in the face of such a danger, he felt disposed to make
his way back to civilisation, dreading now to take his child out with
him into the wilderness. But there was something so tempting in the
freedom of the life; he felt so sanguine of turning his knowledge of
metallurgy to some account; and what was more, it seemed so cowardly
to turn back now, that he decided to go forward and risk all.
"We always have our rifles," he said softly to himself, "and if we can
use them well, we may force the Indians to respect us if they will not
treat us as friends."
And all this while the waggon jolted on over the rough ground or rolled
smoothly over the flat plain, crushing down the thick buffalo-grass, or
smashing some succulent, thorny cactus with a peculiar whishing sound
that seemed to penetrate far through the silence of the night. They were
journeying nearly due north, and so far they had got on quite a couple
of miles without a horse uttering its shrill neigh, and it was possible
that by now, silent as was the night, their cry might not reach the keen
ears of their enemies, but all the same, the party proceeded as
cautiously as possible, and beyond an order now and then given in a
low voice, there was not a word uttered.
It was hard work, too, for, proceeding as they were in comparative
darkness, every now and then a horse would place its hoof in the
burrow of some animal, and nearly fall headlong. Then, too, in spite of
all care and pioneering, awheel of the waggon would sink into some

hollow or be brought heavily against the side of a rock.
Sometimes they had to alter their direction to avoid heavily-rising
ground, and these obstacles became so many, that towards morning
they came to a halt, regularly puzzled, and not knowing whether they
were journeying away from or towards their enemies.
"I have completely lost count, Bart," said the Doctor.
"And if you had not," replied Bart, "we could not have gone on with the
waggon, for we are right amongst the rocks, quite a mountain-side."
"Let's wait for daylight then," said the Doctor peevishly. "I begin to
think we have done very wrong in bringing a waggon. Better have
trusted to horses."
He sighed, though, directly afterwards, and was ready to alter his words,
but he refrained, though he knew that it would have been impossible to
have brought Maude if they had trusted to horses alone.
A couple of dreary hours ensued, during which they could do nothing
but wait for daybreak, which, when it came at last, seemed cold and
blank and dreary, giving a strange aspect to that part of the country
where they were, though their vision was narrowed by the hills on all
sides save one, that by which they had entered as it were into what was
quite a horse-shoe.
Joses and Bart started as soon as it was sufficiently light, rifle in hand,
to try and make out their whereabouts, for they were now beyond the
region familiar to both in their long rides from ranche to ranche in
quest of cattle.
They paused, though, for a minute or two to gain a sort of idea as to the
best course to pursue, and then satisfied that there was no immediate
danger, unless the Indians should have happened to strike upon their
trail, they began to climb the steep rocky hill before them.
"Which way do you think the Indians were going, Joses?" said Bart, as

they toiled on, with the east beginning to blush of a vivid red.
"Way they could find people to rob and plunder and carry off," said
Joses gruffly, for he was weary and wanted his breakfast.
"Do you think they will strike our trail?"
"If they come across it, my lad--if they come across it."
"And if they do?"
"If they do, they'll follow it right to the end, and then that'll be the end
of us."
"If we don't beat them off," said Bart merrily.
"Beat them off! Hark at him!" said Joses. "Why, what a boy it is. He
talks of