"Now, you see," said the guide, as he held up the piece of fresh venison so as to show the streaks of green, where the terrible poison had permeated it, "after they done this, the reds used to jest let the meat lie till it was old and soft, and chuck full of pizen. Then all they had to do was to push the point of an arrow into the same, and dry it in the sun. But I"m told they never do such things any more, which I take it is a good job. Thar be some things that seem too tough even for savages to use in war; and pizen is one of "em, I reckons."
"For goodness sake bury it, Toby!" begged Smithy, turning pale as he contemplated the object the guide was holding up. "And I surely hope we will not have the misfortune to run across any of the same breed while we"re stalking those strange big-horn sheep."
"Not much danger, because rattlers they"s apt at this time of year to kim down to damp places, when they kin find such," the guide explained; but at Thad"s request he did put the piece of venison underground.
"If later on some hungry wolf digs it up, why, I"m sorry for that same beast," Giraffe remarked, as they returned once more to the camp.
"Must be near time for us to skip out," said Step Hen, giving the scoutmaster a look of entreaty, as though imploring Thad to be merciful, and cut their waiting short.
"Five minutes yet before the half hour is gone," declared Allan.
An exclamation from the Indian drew their attention just then. The Fox was pointing, and on following the direction of his extended brown finger the boys saw what had caught his always vigilant eyes.
Away up on the top of the cliff that towered so many hundred feet above its base several figures were moving. They were plainly men, and white men at that. No need for any one to dart into the tent, and get the field gla.s.s, in order to know who these parties were, though Thad did secure it, as he wished a closer view.
"It"s sure that Krackerjack crowd!" cried Giraffe. "Better get a move on, Aleck, and drop out of sight before they glimpse you."
But the other shook his head.
"It"s too late for that now," he declared. "Kracker has got a spy gla.s.s leveled at this camp right now; and he"s sure glimpsed me before this."
And when Thad a minute later looked through the field gla.s.ses at the three who were on the cliff he saw that Aleck had spoken truly; for even then the biggest of the trio was watching them through a pair of gla.s.ses.
Now and then he would turn, to say something to one of his companions.
These fellows, known as Waffles and d.i.c.key Bird respectively, were not in the same cla.s.s with the giant Kracker, with regard to size; though as to reputation, possibly they were able to run him a close race; since they were all looked upon as a pretty bad lot by the settlers and miners with whom they came in contact.
"Wonder what he thinks?" remarked Davy Jones, who seemed almost tempted to try and use his kodak on the party, only his good sense told him they would look like specks at such a great distance, and there would be no satisfaction in the picture.
"How d"ye expect they ever found that Aleck was no longer on the ledge?" asked Step Hen.
"Perhaps they may have been in camp somewhere, that gave them a view of the ledge, and looking in vain for Aleck, they hurried up to see whether he had fallen, or was climbing up someway or other," Allan suggested.
"And the chances are, they"ll want to drop in here, now that they know he"s taken up with us?" said Giraffe.
Step Hen looked anxious.
"Say, Thad, is that agoin" to interfere with our startin" out on our little excursion?" he demanded.
The scoutmaster knew what was in his mind. He smiled as he replied:
"Oh! I don"t see why it should, Step Hen. Fact is, the time"s up now; and as I"ve said all I want to about taking care of yourselves, why you might as well make a start. There"ll be enough of us left behind to take care of Colonel Kracker and his friends, if so be they do chance to call on us."
"Bring us back some nice juicy mutton, Step Hen!" called Giraffe.
"And Davy, be sure you snap "em off in the air; we ain"t from Missouri, but we like to be shown," added b.u.mpus.
"I say, Smithy, the country expects every man to do his duty, suh; and if you get your chance, I give you my word, suh, that little gun can be depended on every single time!" shouted the Southerner, Bob White.
And so, followed by the good wishes of their chums, the little party of big-horn hunters started forth, none knowing what strange events might be waiting for them among the wild uplifts of the Rockies.
CHAPTER X.
THE COMING OF KRACKER.
"They"re sure comin", Thad!"
The scoutmaster looked up when Giraffe said this.
"Oh! you must mean that big cannon Kracker, and his two friends?" he remarked, in such a cool tone that Giraffe fairly gasped for breath.
"That"s them!" he declared, with an utter disregard for grammar that would have caused him to lose some of his good points in school had the lapse occurred there. "And my stars! they look ugly enough to eat us all up, without caring for bones!"
"But I calculate they won"t, all the same," replied the other, smiling with supreme confidence. "Did Allan send you in to tell me?" he continued, for he had delegated the second in command to keep watch and ward when he was busy in his tent doing something.
Giraffe nodded his head violently; indeed, any one who did not know how tenacious a hold it had on that long neck, might have been alarmed lest he dislocate his vertebra through such contortions.
"Yep; and he said you was to come out and see for yourself," Giraffe went on.
"All right, I will then."
Thad quietly picked up his little twelve-bore Marlin before quitting the tent; and there was an air of business about his manner of doing so quite different from the fussy way Giraffe had of doing things, but which was apt to appear much more convincing in the eyes of any one who could read character fairly well.
When the scoutmaster reached the open air he found quite a buzz of excitement around the confines of the little camp. It seemed as though the scouts must certainly be antic.i.p.ating something in the line of trouble; because every one who had a gun was nervously fingering the weapon, and watching the coming of the three figures stalking toward the camp from across the little valley.
There was Giraffe, first of all, gripping his big rifle eagerly, a grim look on his thin face; b.u.mpus had his ten-gauge Marlin clenched tightly in his hands, and perhaps some of the usual color was missing from his fat face; but he had a reputation to sustain now, and knew he must toe the mark like a little man; Allan had his rifle in evidence; and Aleck having lost his at the time he was captured, was keeping a hand close to one of his pockets in which reposed a small revolver which one of the other scouts had loaned him.
Bob White did not have a gun either, since he had let Smithy go off with his; but he did not mean to be caught defenseless, should trouble arise; and back of him he was holding that handy camp hatchet.
The Fox,--well, if he was anywhere around the camp, Thad failed to discover him; and even at that exciting moment the scoutmaster remembered thinking that perhaps the Crow boy had hidden, not wishing any of the Kracker crowd to see him.
Thad glanced around him. He had considered the situation before this, like the wise general who notes down in his mind the promising points connected with his chosen field of battle.
Speaking a few words to Allan, who knew what the plan of campaign was to be, Thad sent the other over to a clump of rocks, from the crest of which, not more than fifty feet away, he could have a splendid and un.o.bstructed view of the camp, as well as its surroundings. Indeed, hardly a snake could have crawled across that open s.p.a.ce without being exposed to the sharp eyes of the Maine boy.
Then Thad awaited the coming of the three men.
Just as Giraffe had declared, he could easily see that they were all looking more or less angry. The big man in the middle interested him much more than either of the others, of course; because he knew very well that when Colonel Kracker took snuff, it was up to Waffles and d.i.c.key Bird to sneeze; for they were only shadows of the leader, who always controlled their actions.
Thad had never seen just such a man before; but for all that he believed that what he had said before was the truth. Red-faced, and looking like a big hurricane let loose on the land, still back of all this outward display of fierceness Thad felt sure there lay a really cowardly heart.
Yes, no brave man would act as Kracker had done, and when it came right down to the point of facing death, he was pretty sure to quail.
Thad turned, and spoke a few rea.s.suring words to Aleck.
"Remember, we don"t mean to let him lay a finger on you, boy. I"ve drawn a line out between that rock, and the scrub oak over yonder; and if he crosses that we"re going to make him wish he hadn"t. There"ll be some work for me to do picking bird shot out of his fat legs, and binding up his other wounds; for we"ve sure got to stop him coming in to this camp, no matter what happens!"