CHAPTER III.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9538, 25 November 1893, Page 5

CHAPTER 111.

Silas Jordan's startling announcement caused more than one cheek to pale with untold apprehensions as they glanced toward the women, who had during the siege clung together in intense terror, all but Lois Gilbert and Martha Severy. They had helped their defenders, had stood by them with a bravery that had the' effect to strengthen and encourage the men. "It's ther sad truth," Baid the old com* mftnder, breaking the silence and point* ing to the Bcanty remainder of the powder. • It was terribly true. They would be unable to withstand such another attack as the Cheyennes had been waging against them that night. "What can we do?" appealed one of the settlers. "I didn't count on no sich long siege as ther imps kep' up," 6aid old Silas rather huskily. "I thought our powder'd hold out till we uns oould clean 'em cl'ar out." "Here, boys," he continued, speaking cheerfiilly,."ni divide up wot powder thar is equally among we uns, an when ther Injuns come swoopin back yer'll hey ter do ther best yer kin under ther existin sarcumstances." Lois.Gilbert's keen ears had caught enough of the dialogue between the settlers to comprehend the situation. As old Silas dealt out an equal quantity of the powder to each man, a daring plan entered her bead. "Mr. Jordan," she said, approaching the commander and placing a hand on his arm, "I want permission to leave the blockhouse." "Ter leave ther blockhouse," lie repeated, gazing down into her resolute dark eyes. "Yes, sir; I want to return to our chanty." "Ther Cheyennes hey found it out an hey destroyed it 'fore this. Besides thar's too much danger ter 'low yer to go now." "I realize the danger and I am resolved to go," she returned. "It's nothing in the shanty I want." "Wot do yer want ter go for, Lois?" "Powder." "Powderl" broke simultaneously from the lips of every settler. "Yes, I know the situation here. No need to disguise it from me. Father has a whole can of powder which he got for blasting rock. Before leaving the shanty I hid it with our goods up in the rocks, where I know the Cheyennes won't find it. I will go and fetch the powder." "If we uns hed it- thar's leetle doubt but we uns could keep ther Injuns off fer er long while," said old Silas. "But yer not goin, Lois." "Yes, I am," resolutely. "If ther Cheyennes don't git my scalp, Lee Hutchinß would take it sure if I 'lowed yer ter resk yer life thet erway," answered old Silas, trying to jest. "I don't intend that any one shall be scalped," replied Lois. "You need the powder, and I am going after it." "Yer kain't go er foot, Lois, an no one will darst go over ter ther bluffs ter ketch yer pony. Ther Injuns air betwist we uns an ther critters.!' "You have a boat, Mr. Jordan," she said quickly. "Yes." "I know how to manage a boat aa well as a pony. I can go down the river and back again in a very short time." "It'd be mighty good to hey thet power o' Mose's, but I kain't spare a man to eend after it, an I kain't see yer take ther venture, Lois." "The chances are if any one would attempt to fetch it he'd either be captured or killed by the Cheyennes," remarked one of the settlers. "Yes," approved old Silas, "Better stick together an take our chances here at the fort." "You need not oppose me, for my mind is made up. I shall go," and the girl's face flushed with the spirit of her brave resolve. "I know that we cannot afford to spare a single man from here. But I know where the powder is, and I can be Bpared. Think of the innocent lives that depend on the success of my venture, then help, don't hinder, me." It required considerable time for Lois to overcome the opposition to her starting on her perilous mission. Mrs. Gilbert clung to her, reluctant to see her depart. At last she struggled from her mother's embrace, and wrapping a dark Bhawl about her shoulders followed old Silas out of the blockhouse. The clouds in the east were thickening and obscured the light of the as Cending moon. Outside the cabin they listened. No Bounds came from the group of trees down the hill, back of which the Cheyennes had retired. They were holding a new council or taking a respite from the obstinate contest. Satisfied there were no Indians prowling around, old Silas and Lois crept down the opposite side of the hill toward the river. Jordan found the skiff where he kept it concealed among the rocks. He was not long in launching it, and when Lois had seated herself in the boat he handed her her father's revolver, saying: "God bless yer, Lois, and send yee cafe back!" "He will; never fear," she answered In full faith. Lois Gilbert was no stranger to the Water. All her life her parents had lived along some stream and she had learned to handle the oars with much skill. Silas Jordan lay on the bank for some time watching the girl as she urged the little skiff up the Arkansas. When she was out of sight he crawled back to the cabin, where his presence might be needed at any moment. As the skiff bore her farther away from the blockhouse a feeling of loneliness and dread crept over her. It was strangely quiet out on the river. Only the pccasional cry of some night bird along the shore, or the dismal yelps of coyotes far off on the prairies, broke the awful stillness whichhad succeeded the confusion of the attack on Jordan's "WU. .__

Every stroke of the light oars carried her farther and farther away from her friends. Finally she realized more forcibly the full danger of he* position. Every lone tree and - clump of that loomed up dimly on the banks on either side of' her in her imagination must reveal a lurking redskin, She kept on, however, and Btrove diligently to drown all thought of peril to herself in thinking of the great danger of the settlers fit Jordan's should the siege be renewed with a« much force as the Cheyennes had displayed in the fearly part of that night. "Why should 1 fear?" Lois asked herself. "He is risking his life for others. Why should not I?" The thought encouraged her, and she urged the skiff forward with all possible Speed. It was mofe thrtfl three miles by the river to, the Gilbert shanty, but Lois made the trip without encountering any i adventure worth' recording. When she stepped from the skiff, which she left at the foot of the bluffs, all her old courage seemed to return. She did not, however, lay all precaution aside. She reconnoitered the path before her very carfully as she went toward the cave where the goods had been concealed. She had prepared to ses her sod home in ruins. Imagine her surprise its rough dark outlines arose before her, standingiundisturbed'in its rocky niche. The Indians had not yet been there, or else they had considered the rude habitation of too vast insignificance to destroy. Reaching the little cavern up.among the bluffs she displaced the rocks at the entrance with great cautiousness. -Taking out the can of powder she hastily transferred it to the skiff. With a 1 grateful heart Lois was pushing the little boat away from tho shore. Suddenly the clouds overhead parted for a moment, letting the moon pour A shower of silvery rays across the bosom of the Arkansas. The next moment a savage whoop from the opposite bank rang wildly out on the night air. With a sudden terror Lois realized that she had been detected by a lurking redskin. Almost immediately an arrow whizzed through the air dangerously close to the girl's head. Filled with alarm though she was, she did not lose command of herself. ■ Grasping the oars firmly in her well trained hands, she pushed dauntlessly forward down the river. . If she had but one enemy to contend with she felt pretty confident of her own ability to protect herself. Her father's revolver, carefully loaded, Jay by her side and she knew how to discharge it. She dared not, however, hope for so easy an escape. It was not at all likely ■ that the Indian who had spied her was alone. Glancing over her shoulder as she plied the oars she caught sight of three stalwart Cheyennes running rapidly along a sand bar which extended for some distance into tue stream. Another glance sufficed to Bhow her that they were trying to unloosen a large canoe which was partly imbedded in the heavy sand. The canoe was one which her father had made and had been carried by the last rise of the river to the bar on the opposite side. Having no immediate use for the canoe he had not taken the time to reclaim it from where the waves had stranded it. Little the Gilbert family, who had enjoyed many trips down the river in its rude cavity, dreamed that it would ever serve their enemies as a craft in which one of its members would be pursued. Lois, observed with a feeling of thank fulness that the Indians were flounder ing about in the sand, as if in a hopeless condition of getting the canoe launched. "They're in the quicksand at the edge of the barl" she cried to herself, shooting another glance toward her foes. "All the better for mcl I'll have a good start before they get out of that sand." With a courageous heart Lois sent the skiff, with its doubly precious cargo, bounding like a frightened bird over the water. Two arrrows sped after her, but she was already too far from the vexed warriors, struggling on the verge of the quicksand, to prove an easy target. , A curtain of dense clouds again swept . across the moon's face,, rendering- "ob-.; jects along the river dim and-uncertain,-and greatly increasing the vexation , of the Indians. Not for one moment did Lois Gilbert slacken the speed at which she waa urging her skiff forward. The quicksand on the bar opposite her home and where Mose Gilbert hact once had an unpleasant experience might Dernena ncr in delaying the Cheyenne, for a short time, but she knew they would be able to extricate themselves and secure the canoe. All too soon they would be hurrying after her. , In the meantime, though, she put forth every effort to make as great headway as possible before the pursuit actually began. She was not wrong in her belief that the savages would be able to free themselves from the quicksand. She had not proceeded far around a email bend in the river when the unmistakable dip, dip of a wwioe's paddles j fell on her ears. "They're really after me now- in earnest," she told hei-Belf. "Well, I'm a good way ahead, and I'll try to keep that way." Taking a deep breath, she bent to her task with renewed energy. The little boat seemed fairly to fly along over the water, but fast as it went she could still hear the dip, dip of her enemy's paddles as they came steadily onward after her. The moon was dimly visible now behind a mass of filmy clouds and objects Were becoming faintly discernible. Lois glanced back to ascertain if . possible how near her pursuers were. She could just make out the dull outline of the long canoe and its dusky occupants as they swept around the bend. She could not, however, estimate the distance between herself and them, though fear made it seem less than it actually was. The sharp eyes of the Cheyennes saw the skiff with its solitary occupant far ahead of them, and uttering a chorus of savage whoops, which echoed wildly from bank to bank, they shoved the canoe forward at an impetuous rate. Lois realized that it must be a race for life with her there on the Arkansas, where she had spent several careless afternoons in the very craft now pursuing her. Even in that time of peril she could not help thinking of one particular afternoon in June when Lee Hutchins, mounted on his pony, had ridden along . the bank as she idly floated, . not far away, in the old canoe. They had conversed little, but it had left an indelible impression on her mind. But the yells of the pursuing Indians drove her happy memory away. Shutting her lips 'firmly, she strove to force_ the skiff along with all the vigor which ■ she was able to command. I ' Work as she did to,' keep, ahead, she I J began to see'that her foes were surely, I if slowte, jgajnmg on her. j

rtesenay the arrows lJegan darting.' after her, confirming her greatest r fe«|ig^ that with every dip of the^jMsflsss ( * j enemy was drawing^neareify.i , . „ -,; " "I'll not give up till I hfye &"ss&»' observed to herself. "If the, moon* would only stay hidtt f _ . v But it showed no disposition to do soy- v^ and two or three times she was '^ to dodge the arrows ot her , exUting'; , ■foes. ' . ■ . . , - , •,.. - She dared not. reltaqnisb ; the^osr>a „,, second to risk a shot from the, rev01ver,.,,,;,, I at her side. It might do no good, mcL •,, ,, would doubtless give the Inaifliiß a ; dan«. .. , gerous advance. . ■. \ It was very toilsome, as well as tern- , ( { . fying. Great drops of sweat ■ stood .ojfcw r. her forehead, and the musclesiof : JwP'u-t arms ached from the .unnatural Btrain,n /; 1 placed upon them. . . :.>..,«■ She was beginning to feel strangely.;. 1 > weak and nerveless. And she was two/ ■- miles from Jordan's! she could never' -~

, reach it now. Despair seemed suddenly :; 1 to have swallowed all her courage. [ \ But she did not relax her hold-upon t t the oars, and the race continued a little; longer. "Whizl" an arrow came .MbbHk;^ through the air. It pierced a folded?'., her dress, but left her untouched. ? -,J The canoe was almost upon the skiff, and as the Cheyennes beheld the success """ of their last arrow they set up a trl« umphant shout. A moment more and Lois believed her doom Would be sealed. "Pangl Pangl" came two reports la rapid succession from among the bushes on' the right bank of the river. Instantly two sharp cries of mortal agony arose from the canoe, and two of the braves with a heavy plash fell headlong into the water and were swept from view. • •-■•'.;• v The remaining (3heyenne.> began p«d- ■ •-' dling frantically for the other bank, when another- broadside from the cottonwood bushes caused, the. cftnoft^^a^yi^ size and left him- ftrnggllngin the swifT" , current in the middle of the stream. Another quick' report put an end to the Indian's struggles, and. he found a grave with' his companions. Lois had watched this fragic play from the skiff, where she sat as one suddenly changed to stone. Who could her deliverer be? Doubtless Silas Jordan or one of the settlers from the blockhouse, she thought. She was soon, however, allowed to see her mistake as a manly form arose from concealment among the bushes and stood revealed in the subdued moonlight on the bank of the Arkansas. . "Leel Leel" Bhe cried, unable to control herself. "Lois, my darling!" and he etretohed out his strong arms toward her,. , - She pushed the skiff toward him, obeying a force which she could not re> ■ sisti ■ ' •• c." „. In another moment the , young raw&jj||^ man Held her half fainting .form 1 ' breast and pressed his , lips to her brow. _.._, One moment of this bliss,'. then, i-fia&&. released herself and told her k>verwhft'ty<*' had brought her out on BUch a perilbni, .,.,; mission. , ' "You are a dear; brave girl, Loty'^ ',£.. said tenderly as he started the skiff titoi •».-. ward Jordan's. ■ , ; ' .' "Tell me, Lee, how yott.happßßed^tQ.rj be here?" she nsked, her; f^ce 'glowing^; from the gentle fervor, of his praise*";.. j f / ii "I warned the'Plnm Creek- s^ttle^x^ and helped them fortify thepsilVe'S^d l*\ large dugout. Then I Btartefl pyey to V Jordan's," he returned.^ ... ' : "Oh, Leel. What mad&.yon venture alone again ont on the pralriea?' she tried, •■; "Wasn't some one at Jordan's dearer than all the world to. me?" he whispered ._ softly. "How could I stay away ftom^, you, Lois, when I 'knew.- Bucht'jearfu|^ danger threatened? I had done my dut^ at Plum Creek,- and must: return to'de- ' fend the one I-love.". . .•.-:•<;. "It was your love that saved mejifßK'-^;! ''Thank" God' that 1 was here to'fc::'.: ferid youl" he murmured. "It was sunset when I started back from Plum Creek, I had only gone about four miles • when I almost rode into a little camp of ■ Cheyennes down in a ravine. They ha& '• ••■ been slaughtering, cattle and were>preparing for a big supper. Before 1 «ould retreat I was seen, and three of the party" '", gave chase. My pony was fagged-out, „.■ and I knew I could , never ;escape op it So I abandoned the pony and ran down , . a deep gully, and by hiding- often managed to elude my pursuers. 1 ■ It took me' a good while to, reach the Arkansas. t ,but. v. ', ,yhen I did I started as fast, as {.could . , ( ; Silas Jordan's, where I Hoped' fo'flnd y6u safe. Suddenly I heard the redskins > - yell out up the river. At first I thought . they had discovered my trail and were after me. I concealed myself and waited. Presently the moon came out clear enough for me to see the race between you and those villains. When I saw that the pursued one was you I feared there had been a massacre of the settlers and you had fled to the skiff for refuge. I made up my mind to save you or dig,.,, with you." ' ••' '. "God is good," said Lois, laying, a, , hand on Lee's shoulder. They reached the cabin, safe, but scarcely had they received, the cbngratu'*' « ' lations of their friends oh their remarkable escape when the Cheyennes, with loud whoops, rushed forward to renew the siege. * No doubt they hoped to find the set- ,* tiers drowsy and off their guard during ' . the hours between midnight and dawn and counted on an easy viotoiry.'Jpat «-..,, the brave action of Lois Gilbert; 'in- : spired those pioneers with fresh.energy^ - and courage, and the powder whioh slw ""' had risked so much to bring enabled, _^ them to fight back the enemy with 8^" *, hemence which was plainly a surprise^!* to them. ■ . ! ■ /.."Vr-iY . Despite the obstinate resistance whJpßt ;~ theGheyennes encountered to theset-'- ' tiers, they kept up the siege at intervals for several hours. Finally.they.with- . drew to the cottonwoo^s, where a short conference was hjßld;' then' 'they' rode rapidly away over the prairies. " ■ About noon, the .next. Jay JklQSf.;6tti-=ii* bert and a party of armed setfleWaK """ rived. They reported 'that-tKe v GfieyJ-' ! ennes had crossed -the ■river i -afi'4.^ratr^f ] hurrying northward, leaving!.- gieafe4»-wa struction behind them. _ It was some time after the ' events, recorded in this story that the' ''Gheyißta^r''^ ' 'were forced by starvation to, |itoenclsj.\. c t to the troops of a. ,fort -in.'wejrferaJiNe* ; 'i' braska, and peace was at.iast restored.^ Mose' Gilbert "found his cattle, .all. right when the -Indians were gone^jjpi , a ' they poorly compensated for 1 ! the.' great l-A loss of his child, whose -.heart had beefi^' won by the young ranchman.' ' ;.<• — Lee Hutching and his brave wjfejjaye a comfortable home in one of the 'am£l ' ing towns of. ,Tfeatern jfatiiSSSMsFZ' young Hutohinses, of whom ■.thtefHii^-* ,v several, never tire of listening toTalfr" father relate their mother's exploit on the Arkansas during the Indian but---' ' break., ,< ' , . . ■ t • ■ . tPB-Wft:,;;.,;.,..; 4 ' I ,' ;