"Why do you say so?" asked Tom.
"For the plain and simple reason that they will cross our tracks in all probability, and that will mean an easy trail."
"But how will they know which way to go after us? They may go down to the river."
"Well, they wouldn"t be such idiots as to go in the opposite direction that the footprints of the yaks plainly show."
The boys had not thought of that.
"And then there is another thing, that just occurred to me. If they follow our tracks from the camping spot they will know we have made the detour in order to avoid them, and that will make them only the more anxious to make our closer acquaintance."
Harry had hardly stopped speaking before the voices of their enemies were discernible.
CHAPTER XI
THE RUSE TO ESCAPE THEIR PURSUERS
The wagon was now driven behind the densest chapparal of trees, unyoked, and tethered behind the wagon, and two of the boys took up a concealed position with a pair of extra guns, at each side.
Harry, who had, by common consent, a.s.sumed the command, now made the following observations as to their course: "Remember the Professor"s instructions, to keep cool and not to fire until you are perfectly sure the shot will count. And by all means don"t use the reserve guns, except as a last extremity. The moment you fire, retire out of sight, and reload, and we should try and fire in separate volleys. Two shots at a time, unless they attempt a rush, will, probably, be more effective, than if all fire at the same time."
In a short time the band appeared, and it was well that they had no idea of the distance the boys had traveled, as they came along rapidly, following the plainly made tracks of the wagon.
"Now, ready boys; Tom and I will give them the first shot, and you may fire the moment I give the command. Ready, Tom; fire."
Both shots took effect, and the astonishment of the savages, was exhilarating to the boys. George and Ralph could hardly restrain themselves. The warriors were in the open, and had little brush to serve as a shield. For a moment they were entirely at a loss to know which way to go.
"Give them a shot," whispered Harry, and as the two guns spoke, two more fell, both wounded. Without waiting for another shot the rest of them broke for the rear, and the boys appeared in the opening.
This was not necessary, as the depletion of the fighting force was a sufficient argument for them to retreat.
"Hitch up the team as quickly as possible," and George and Ralph did not wait to witness the flight. Harry and Tom remained on guard.
"Move the wagon to the north, and stop at every good place of concealment, and we will remain as a rear guard. We have no a.s.surance that they will not follow up the attack."
After the wagon had gone on some distance, the two boys slowly effected a retreat in the trail of the wagon. Only eight savages had been left after the two fires.
During one of the temporary stops Harry observed: "When they retreated we saw eight of them, and there are now only six following. What do you suppose that means?"
"Those people are regular devils, and it is my opinion that there is another force of them near, and the others have gone to bring reinforcements."
"Run to the wagon quickly and tell them to force the yaks forwardly as fast as possible. Wait just a moment." And Harry looked to the north and continued: "Do you see the two large trees in the distance, a little to the left? Tell them to drive for that with the utmost speed, and await our coming."
Tom was off, and imparted the information, and Harry kept on retreating, while the scouting party approached very cautiously, the apparent object being to keep within sight of the trail.
When Tom returned Harry said: "I suppose we had better give them another shot, to hold them off as far as possible. At the next place of concealment, let us wait for them, until they are near enough."
The savages were now very wary, and did not attempt to come within gunshot distance of the place of concealment for some time, but when they had approached sufficiently near both fired, only one being wounded.
Without waiting to determine the results of the last volley, the boys made a rush for the next available place of concealment, and as the wagon was now in sight they selected another object far beyond the present position of the wagon, and Tom was off to inform the boys at the wagon.
Thus, by a succession of marches, the wagon was placed fully a mile beyond the pursuers, and when the last stretch was made Harry made the following suggestion:
"As we have now kept up our course for fully three miles in this direction, tell the boys to turn abruptly to the east, and, if possible, take the wagon over a trail which they cannot follow. Select some object beyond so we will know where the line of retreat is, and I will keep them at bay. In this way we may be able to throw them off the track."
The team had made the last stop at the crossing of one of the little streams, and he had the ingenuity, after Tom imparted the last information to him, to drive the team to the west, for a distance, and then turn it abruptly to the east, and by making his way over the most rugged surfaces he could find, so effaced the tracks that it was hoped they could not find the traces.
When Tom returned, Harry had another ruse: "They are not following the wagon trail now, as they are after us. Now let us direct our course to the west, so that we will not go on the trail which the wagon had made, and occasionally show ourselves, so they will follow, and when we have taken them sufficiently far from the course of the wagon we must depend on our own tricks to evade them."
This plan was put into immediate execution, and by the time the two had gone a quarter of a mile beyond the turn which the wagon had made, they turned eastwardly, in the direction of the wagon, keeping well out of sight, and it was a relief to see them finally pa.s.s along the trail far beyond the turning point which they had made, and this was evidence that they had been outwitted.
Harry and Tom now sprinted for the direction of the wagon, and a course was laid for the northeast, as they did not want to go too far from the mouth of the river where the boat lay.
They calculated the distance to travel at about eight miles before reaching the river. The only fear now was, would their pursuers keep up the hunt until the sea came in sight? If they did it meant another fight, or a retreat, with the only hope of securing the boat gone.
"We have a ticklish task before us. We must cross the river before we get to the location of the boat, and if they are anywhere in the neighborhood, our tracks will surely be seen," and Harry was at a loss what suggestion to make in such an emergency.
"It seems to me," ventured George, "that one should take the rear, as a guard, the one front keeping within supporting distance of the wagon at all times. In this way we will not run into the party, and we shall then know whether they are still trailing us."
This seemed the proper thing to do, and it was followed at once, Harry taking the rear guard and Ralph acting as advance scout.
Fully three miles was covered, before the sun admonished them that a camp must be made for the night. The selection of a suitable place was a matter of great concern, as may be imagined.
They went on and on, ever in the search for a suitable place, and it was beginning to grow dusk before their minds could agree as to a safe place. Probably they pa.s.sed a dozen spots more suitable than the one finally selected, but it was that much nearer the river, and that was some satisfaction.
The utmost care was taken to put the wagon and the yaks in a protected position, and all that night two were on duty. Angel, during the entire time, was quiet, and did not scent the approach of an enemy.
Early in the morning a hurried meal was prepared, and while the preliminary steps were taken for a departure Harry and Tom made a scouting tour to the southwest for nearly a half mile, and returned satisfied that they had temporarily, at least, thrown them off the track.
It was a surprise to find the river within a half mile of their last camping place. If they had known this they would have pushed on and attempted the crossing during the night. But there was no help for it now.
"How far do you think we are from the mouth of the river, Harry?"
"This part is unfamiliar to me, but it is no doubt south of the point where we crossed it on our way home."
"Do you think we ought to cross here or go down still farther?"
Ralph and Tom both urged an immediate crossing, for the reason that as the savages were not in sight, they might as well take advantage of the situation, whereas if they continued down the river, they might again come across the tribe, and which would by this time be materially reinforced.
This seemed the part of wisdom, and the work of getting out the raft timbers was vigorously proceeded with, and within an hour the yaks were driven into the water, and the wagon floated.
The wagon had hardly left the sh.o.r.e before Ralph cried out: "See the devils coming. They reached the clearing, but out of gunshot, and the boys smiled at their discomfiture, and when the opposite bank was reached the boys halted the wagon, removed the logs, and sat down to witness the chagrin of the natives.
"I wonder what they think of themselves by this time," said Ralph as he heartily laughed.