The Valiant Runaways [21]
which were in corral about a mile from the
camp. The boys shot deer with Anastacio, and wrestled in the plaza.
Occasionally the taciturn Indian unbent when sitting by the great
bonfire in the open at night, and told wild tales of savage life before
the padres came. Roldan admired his splendid supple body and fearless
manhood, but the Indian was too sinister to inspire affection. Adan was
loudly bored. Roldan's ardent imagination sustained him.
At the end of the week the scouts having failed to discover any sign of
the enemy, Anastacio determined to go down to the river in the valley
for a fortnight's salmon fishing. He, too, was bored. The fangs of
civilisation are long and tenacious.
It was on a brilliant winter's morning that Anastacio, his captives, and
his five hundred men wound their way down through the cold forest on the
mountain into the soft warm air of the valley. There had been no rain
for three weeks, and the river was not more than half full; and it was
very quiet. They camped on the bank, well away from the scattered groups
of trees, that they might not lose a ray of sunshine; and Roldan and
Adan forgot that they were under constant surveillance. There were no
tents; they slept in the open air, the boys in the centre of a square of
Indians. During the day they caught many fine salmon, and salted what
they did not eat, to sell to the rancheros.
It was on the sixth night that Roldan, who was wakeful, suddenly raised
himself on his elbow and listened intently. Far away, above the murmur
of the river, the audible slumbers of the camp, he heard a low, precise,
monotonous sound. He knew what it meant. For a moment he hesitated. The
chances of escape seemed to grow less daily. It was true that he was in
no danger, that he would eventually be restored to his parents--but with
his adventures cut short. He was fond of his home, but it was always
there, and he was keen for variety: his life had been very uneventful.
On the other hand, if that advancing army conquered the Indians, might
not his and Adan's captivity be far more distasteful than it was at
present? He sprang up and called Anastacio. In a second that warrior was
on his feet and had leaped over his alert sentinels into the square.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"Listen."
Anastacio threw himself full length and laid his ear to the ground. A
moment later he was erect again. He caught Roldan by one shoulder and
Adan by the other. By this time every Indian in the camp was pressing
about his chief.
"They are not two miles away," said Anastacio. "And the dawn will be
here in an hour. There are ten miles between us and the mountains. I
don't wish to fight in the open without knowing their numbers."
Roldan danced up and down with sudden excitement. "I have a plan," he
cried. "You can trust me. I don't want to go back."
Anastacio bent his keen malevolent eyes close above the young
Spaniard's, then loosened his hold.
"Bueno," he said. "I trust you."
"The straw," said Roldan. "Bring it all here."
Anastacio gave the order, and an immense carreta of straw was trundled
up.
"Now," said Roldan, "gather it into bunches the size of a man's head and
tie each firmly. The tide is running toward the enemy, and it is too
dark to see clearly. Do you understand, senor?"
Anastacio made a loud exclamation, caught Roldan in his arms and kissed.
him, much to that haughty young gentleman's disgust, then tied the first
bunch himself. Roldan, Adan, and some forty of the quicker Indians
rapidly manipulated the straw, and in little more than ten minutes had
cast a hundred round compact bundles into the hurrying tide. As they
sailed away they certainly looked, under the heavy shadow of the banks
and the black-blue of the sky, like an army of men swimming with the
desperate haste of terror, their heads alone above water.
"Now!" cried Anastacio, "to the mountains."
They had brought only pack-horses. There was nothing to do but run, and
Anastacio, driving his entire following ahead of him, sped to cover.
camp. The boys shot deer with Anastacio, and wrestled in the plaza.
Occasionally the taciturn Indian unbent when sitting by the great
bonfire in the open at night, and told wild tales of savage life before
the padres came. Roldan admired his splendid supple body and fearless
manhood, but the Indian was too sinister to inspire affection. Adan was
loudly bored. Roldan's ardent imagination sustained him.
At the end of the week the scouts having failed to discover any sign of
the enemy, Anastacio determined to go down to the river in the valley
for a fortnight's salmon fishing. He, too, was bored. The fangs of
civilisation are long and tenacious.
It was on a brilliant winter's morning that Anastacio, his captives, and
his five hundred men wound their way down through the cold forest on the
mountain into the soft warm air of the valley. There had been no rain
for three weeks, and the river was not more than half full; and it was
very quiet. They camped on the bank, well away from the scattered groups
of trees, that they might not lose a ray of sunshine; and Roldan and
Adan forgot that they were under constant surveillance. There were no
tents; they slept in the open air, the boys in the centre of a square of
Indians. During the day they caught many fine salmon, and salted what
they did not eat, to sell to the rancheros.
It was on the sixth night that Roldan, who was wakeful, suddenly raised
himself on his elbow and listened intently. Far away, above the murmur
of the river, the audible slumbers of the camp, he heard a low, precise,
monotonous sound. He knew what it meant. For a moment he hesitated. The
chances of escape seemed to grow less daily. It was true that he was in
no danger, that he would eventually be restored to his parents--but with
his adventures cut short. He was fond of his home, but it was always
there, and he was keen for variety: his life had been very uneventful.
On the other hand, if that advancing army conquered the Indians, might
not his and Adan's captivity be far more distasteful than it was at
present? He sprang up and called Anastacio. In a second that warrior was
on his feet and had leaped over his alert sentinels into the square.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"Listen."
Anastacio threw himself full length and laid his ear to the ground. A
moment later he was erect again. He caught Roldan by one shoulder and
Adan by the other. By this time every Indian in the camp was pressing
about his chief.
"They are not two miles away," said Anastacio. "And the dawn will be
here in an hour. There are ten miles between us and the mountains. I
don't wish to fight in the open without knowing their numbers."
Roldan danced up and down with sudden excitement. "I have a plan," he
cried. "You can trust me. I don't want to go back."
Anastacio bent his keen malevolent eyes close above the young
Spaniard's, then loosened his hold.
"Bueno," he said. "I trust you."
"The straw," said Roldan. "Bring it all here."
Anastacio gave the order, and an immense carreta of straw was trundled
up.
"Now," said Roldan, "gather it into bunches the size of a man's head and
tie each firmly. The tide is running toward the enemy, and it is too
dark to see clearly. Do you understand, senor?"
Anastacio made a loud exclamation, caught Roldan in his arms and kissed.
him, much to that haughty young gentleman's disgust, then tied the first
bunch himself. Roldan, Adan, and some forty of the quicker Indians
rapidly manipulated the straw, and in little more than ten minutes had
cast a hundred round compact bundles into the hurrying tide. As they
sailed away they certainly looked, under the heavy shadow of the banks
and the black-blue of the sky, like an army of men swimming with the
desperate haste of terror, their heads alone above water.
"Now!" cried Anastacio, "to the mountains."
They had brought only pack-horses. There was nothing to do but run, and
Anastacio, driving his entire following ahead of him, sped to cover.