BILLY BYRNE and Eddie Shorter rode steadily in the direction of the hills. Upon either side and at intervals of a mile or more stretched the others of their party, occasionally visible; but for the most part not. Once in the hills the two could no longer see their friends or be seen by them.
Both Byrne and Eddie felt that chance had placed them upon the right trail for a well-marked and long-used path wound upward through a canyon along which they rode. It was an excellent location for an ambush, and both men breathed more freely when they had passed out of it into more open country upon a narrow tableland between the first foothills and the main range of mountains.
Here again was the trail well marked, and when Eddie, looking ahead, saw that it appeared to lead in the direction of a vivid green spot close to the base of the gray brown hills he gave an exclamation of assurance.
“We\'re on the right trail all right, old man,” he said. “They\'s water there,” and he pointed ahead at the green splotch upon the gray. “That\'s where they\'d be havin\' their village. I ain\'t never been up here so I ain\'t familiar with the country. You see we don\'t run no cattle this side the river—the Pimans won\'t let us. They don\'t care to have no white men pokin\' round in their country; but I\'ll bet a hat we find a camp there.”
Onward they rode toward the little spot of green. Sometimes it was in sight and again as they approached higher ground, or wound through gullies and ravines it was lost to their sight; but always they kept it as their goal. The trail they were upon led to it—of that there could be no longer the slightest doubt. And as they rode with their destination in view black, beady eyes looked down upon them from the very green oasis toward which they urged their ponies—tiring now from the climb.
A lithe, brown body lay stretched comfortably upon a bed of grasses at the edge of a little rise of ground beneath which the riders must pass before they came to the cluster of huts which squatted in a tiny natural park at the foot of the main peak. Far above the watcher a spring of clear, pure water bubbled out of the mountain-side, and running downward formed little pools among the rocks which held it. And with this water the Pimans irrigated their small fields before it sank from sight again into the earth just below their village. Beside the brown body lay a long rifle. The man\'s eyes watched, unblinking, the two specks far below him whom he knew and had known for an hour were gringos.
Another brown body wormed itself forward to his side and peered over the edge of the declivity down upon the white men. He spoke a few words in a whisper to him who watched with the rifle, and then crawled back again and disappeared. And all the while, onward and upward came Billy Byrne and Eddie Shorter, each knowing in his heart that if not already, then at any moment a watcher would discover them and a little later a bullet would fly that would find one of them, and they took the chance for the sake of the American girl who lay hidden somewhere in these hills, for in no other way could they locate her hiding place more quickly. Any one of the other eight Americans who rode in pairs into the hills at other points to the left and right of Billy Byrne and his companion would have and was even then cheerfully taking the same chances that Eddie and Billy took, only the latter were now assured that to one of them would fall the sacrifice, for as they had come closer Eddie had seen a thin wreath of smoke rising from among the trees of the oasis. Now, indeed, were they sure that they had chanced upon the trail to the Piman village.
“We gotta keep our eyes peeled,” said Eddie, as they wound into a ravine which from its location evidently led directly up to the village. “We ain\'t far from \'em now, an\' if they get us they\'ll get us about here.”
As though to punctuate his speech with the final period a rifle cracked above them. Eddie jumped spasmodically and clutched his breast.
“I\'m hit,” he said, quite unemotionally.
Billy Byrne\'s revolver had answered the shot from above them, the bullet striking where Billy had seen a puff of smoke following the rifle shot. Then Billy turned toward Eddie.
“Hit bad?” he asked.
“Yep, I guess so,” said Eddie. “What\'ll we do? Hide up here, or ride back after the others?”
Another shot rang out above them, although Billy had been watching for a target at which to shoot again—a target which he had been positive he would get when the man rose to fire again. And Billy did see the fellow at last—a few paces from where he had first fired; but not until the other had dropped Eddie\'s horse beneath him. Byrne fired again, and this time he had the satisfaction of seeing a brown body rise, struggle a moment, and then roll over once upon the grass before it came to rest.
“I reckon we\'ll stay here,” said Billy, looking ruefully at Eddie\'s horse.
Eddie rose and as he did so he staggered and grew very white. Billy dismounted and ran forward, putting an arm about him. Another shot came from above and Billy Byrne\'s pony grunted and collapsed.
“Hell!” exclaimed Byrne. “We gotta get out of this,” and lifting his wounded comrade in his arms he ran for the shelter of the bluff from the summit of which the snipers had fired upon them. Close in, hugging the face of the perpendicular wall of tumbled rock and earth, they were out of range of the Indians; but Billy did not stop when he had reached temporary safety. Farther up toward the direction in which lay the village, and halfway up the side of the bluff Billy saw what he took to be excellent shelter. Here the face of the bluff was less steep and upon it lay a number of large bowlders, while others protruded from the ground about them.
Toward these Billy made his way. The wounded man across his shoulder was suffering indescribable agonies; but he bit his lip and stifled the cries that each step his comrade took seemed to wrench from him, lest he attract the enemy to their position.
Above them all was silence, yet Billy knew that alert, red foemen were creeping to the edge of the bluff in search of their prey. If he could but reach the shelter of the bowlders before the Pimans discovered them!
The minutes that were consumed in covering the hundred yards seemed as many hours to Billy Byrne; but at last he dragged the fainting cowboy between two large bowlders close under the edge of the bluff and found himself in a little, natural fortress, well adapted to defense.
From above they were protected from the fire of the Indians upon the bluff by the height of the bowlder at the foot of which they lay, while another just in front hid them from possible marksmen across the canyon. Smaller rocks scattered about gave promise of shelter from flank fire, and as soon as he had deposited Eddie in the comparative safety of their retreat Byrne commenced forming a low breastwork upon the side facing the village—the direction from which they might naturally expect attack. This done he turned his attention to the opening upon the opposite side and soon had a similar defense constructed there, then he turned his attention to Eddie, though keeping a watchful eye upon both approaches to their stronghold.
The Kansan lay upon his side, moaning. Blood stained his lips and nostrils, and when Billy Byrne opened his shirt and found a gaping wound in his right breast he knew how serious was his companion\'s injury. As he felt Billy working over him the boy opened his eyes.
“Do you think I\'m done for?” he asked in a tortured whisper.
“Nothin\' doin\',” lied Billy cheerfully. “Just a scratch. You\'ll be all right in a day or two.”
Eddie shook his head wearily. “I wish I could believe you,” he said. “I ben figgerin\' on goin\' back to see maw. I ain\'t thought o\' nothin\' else since you told me \'bout how she missed me. I ken see her right now just like I was there. I\'ll bet she\'s scrubbin\' the kitchen floor. Maw was always a-scrubbin\' somethin\'. Gee! but it\'s tough to cash in like this just when I was figgerin\' on goin\' home.”
Billy couldn\'t think of anything to say. He turned to look up and down the canyon in search of the enemy.
“Home!” whispered Eddie. “Home!”
“Aw, shucks!” said Billy kindly. “You\'ll get home all right, kid. The boys must a-heard the shootin\' an\' they\'ll be along in no time now. Then we\'ll clean up this bunch o\' coons an\' have you back to El Orobo an\' nursed into shape in no time.”
Eddie tried to smile as he looked up into the other\'s face. He reached a hand out and laid it on Billy\'s arm.
“You\'re all right, old man,” he whispered. “I know you\'re lyin\' an\' so do you; but it makes me feel better anyway to have you say them things.”
Billy felt as one who has been caught stealing from a blind man. The only adequate reply of which he could think was, “Aw, shucks!”
“Say,” said Eddie after a moment\'s silence, “if you get out o\' here an\' ever go back to the States promise me you\'ll look up maw and paw an\' tell \'em I was comin\' home—to stay. Tell \'em I died decent, too, will you—died like paw was always a-tellin\' me my granddad died, fightin\' Injuns \'round Fort Dodge somewheres.”
“Sure,” said Billy; “I\'ll tell \'em. Gee! Look who\'s comin\' here,” and as he spoke he flattened himself to the ground just as a bullet pinged against the rock above his head and the report of a rifle sounded from up the canyon. “That guy most got me. I\'ll have to be \'tendin\' to business better\'n this.”
He drew himself slowly up upon his elbows, his carbine ready in his hand, and peered through a small aperture between two of the rocks which composed his breastwork. Then he stuck the muzzle of the weapon through, took aim and pulled the trigger.
“Didje get him?” asked Eddie.
“Yep,” said Billy, and fired again. “Got that one too. Say, they\'re tough-lookin\' guys; but I guess they won\'t come so fast next time. Those two were right in the open, workin\' up to us on their bellies. They must a-thought we was sleepin\'.”
For an hour Billy neither saw nor heard any sign of the enemy, though several times he raised his hat above the breastwork upon the muzzle of his carbine to draw their fire.
It was midafternoon when the sound of distant rifle fire came faintly to the ears of the two men from somewhere far below them.
“The boys must be comin\',” whispered Eddie Shorter hopefully.
For half an hour the firing continued and then silence again fell upon the mountains. Eddie began to wander mentally. He talked much of Kansas and his old home, and many times he begged for water.
“Buck up, kid,” said Billy; “the boys\'ll be along in a minute now an\' then we\'ll get you all the water you want.&rd............