 | CHAPTER XXVI.
SURROUNDED BY PERILS. The border rover |  |
26. CHAPTER XXVI.
SURROUNDED BY PERILS.
I ran to my horse, which I caught without difficulty,
and scarcely a minute elapsed before I had him
bridled and saddled. I then hurried him to the water;
and while he drank, we drank also, that we might not
suffer from thirst, as on the day previous. Then lifting
Adele upon the saddle, and securing the remains
of our game, I sprung upon his back, and dashed away
toward the west, bidding Adele keep an eye on the
point whence we had reason to apprehend the appearance
of an enemy, while I watched the ground before
me and guided the swift-footed beast over the now
uneven surface. Occasionally I glanced back, to
observe the progress of the panic among the immense
herd; which, as it came sweeping down the long line
—the cause in one sense being invisible—reminded
field of standing grain, its velocity being marked by
its rapidly communicating commotion. As we sped
on, the deer and antelope took flight, the wolves fled
away howling, and the huge, straggling buffaloes
snuffed the tainted air, threw up their tails, and bellowed,
and began to plunge in toward the main body,
to join in the terrific race.
“Had this happened a couple of hours sooner, we
should have been lost,” said I to Adele, as I tightened
my arm around her slender waist, and drew her closer
to my heart.
“Oh! I shudder to think of it!” she replied, with
nervous trembling. “But we are by no means safe
even now,” she continued. “See! yonder they come
—a band of horrible savages. Oh! pray Heaven they
do not see us!”
I looked to the north, and, far away in the dim distance,
beheld one horseman after another come into
view, each plunging furiously forward in the exciting
chase, and all evidently hard at work in the slaughter
of the unfortunate buffaloes in their immediate
vicinity. How many savages there were, I had no
means of knowing; but my eyes rested upon more
than a hundred, ere I dashed through a cluster of
trees and undergrowth, upon a swell of the prairie,
and descended into a long, low swale, or scoup of
ground, which completely shut them from my view.
By this time the great herd was in motion, far below
the point where we had passed through it; and as I
caught at intervals the sound of the rushing body,
like distant thunder, or the solemn, monotonous roar
of a mighty cataract.
“Do you think the savages have seen us?” inquired
Adele, in a tone of anxiety.
“It is possible they may have done so,” I replied;
“for very little within the range of their vision
escapes their observation; but I do not think we have
reason to be alarmed; for they are too eagerly engaged
in their present pursuit to give chase to a
mounted party, whom they could not reasonably
expect to overtake.”
“Still I hope they did not see us,” she said, uneasily;
“for there might be some who would follow on
our trail for the mere love of adventure, or for the
purpose of ultimately returning in triumph with the
scalp of a foe as a proof of prowess.”
“But at that distance they might not be able to
distinguish us from their own race.”
“Even that might make no difference, as most of
the tribes are at war with each other, and they would
know with certainty that we do not belong to their
particular nation.”
“Have you an impression, dear Adele,” I inquired,
“that renders you so apprehensive of danger?”
“I at least have sad misgivings, dear Roland, that
our troubles are not over.”
We now rode in silence for some minutes, when we
again rose upon a higher swell of the prairie, which
were apparently all busy among the fright-maddened
buffaloes—though the chase had now led them from
the point at the north, where we first discovered them,
nearly to the line of our trail.
“They have not seen us,” said I, with a feeling of
relief; “or, if so, they have evidently no intention of
pursuing us.”
“Ha! look again!” cried Adele, the next moment.
I did so, and thought I could preceive a small party
riding out from the rest, and darting away toward us,
though an intervening rise of ground soon hid them
from our sight. Whether their object was to pursue
us or not, I could not tell, and did not think it prudent
to wait to ascertain. The distance between us, to the
best of my judgment, could not be less than four or
five miles—a start that would save us in a dead race,
provided our horse could hold out and we meet with
no accident.
“Come, noble brute,” said I, tightening the bridle
rein, “you saved us once in a fearful race, and you
must do it again.”
As I spoke, I struck him on the flank, he bounded
forward, and the next moment we were descending
the slope, and rushing through the swale with lightning
speed. On, on we sped, rising on the waves of
the prairie, and sinking in the hollows, like a vessel
steering across the billows of the mighty deep. On,
on we sped, startling the game, which fled from us in
all directions, and scaring the feathered tribe, which
their discordant cries of anger and fear. On, on we
sped, looking fearfully back when opportunity presented,
but gladly looking in vain for a glimpse of
those we fancied might be our pursuers. On, on we
sped, till our gallant steed, already covered with foam,
began to pant, and slacken his pace, and tread unsteadily;
when, warned by these unmistakable signs, that,
without rest, he would soon be a victim in our cause,
I checked his speed, and finally brought him to a halt
on the summit of a rocky, bush-covered ridge; which,
being still higher than any one of the swells we had
passed, commanded a view of the country to the eastward
for ten or fifteen, and perhaps even twenty,
miles.
We now dismounted, to relieve the noble animal of
his heavy burden; and while Adele clambered up a
high, steep rock, to keep a sharp look-out for our
foes, I led the panting, drooping, and trembling beast
about by the bridle, that his overheated blood might
not cool too suddenly. The character of the country
had changed materially during our last ride, and
even within the last hour. The wave-like swells
rolled off to the eastward, in a succession of gentle
undulations; but from our present elevation, we
could look far enough away to perceive that we had
gradually been rising, and that we now stood at least
a thousand feet above the point where we had broken
our fast; while, to the westward, the eye rested upon
a still more undulating and even hilly country, with
long, narrow, rugged line at their base, which we
hailed with delight, as the summit of one of the lower
ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The breeze, which
still blew from the west, had a cool, invigorating
effect; and we knew it had passed the region of eternal
ice and snow, and been tempered with the freezing
airs of those lofty and desolate heights.
“We are nearing the mountains rapidly,” said I;
“but the sun is far on the decline, and we shall hardly
reach them to-day.”
“Will our poor beast be able to take us any
further to-day?” inquired Adele, anxiously.
“Yes, I think we may soon resume our journey—
but we shall be compelled to ride slowly—for our
horse has been taxed beyond his strength.”
We rested here for an hour, keeping a sharp lookout
for any sign indicating danger; but not seeing
anything during that time to create fresh alarm, we
resumed our journey at a moderate pace. Some five
miles further on, we came to a suitable place for a
night's encampment; and as the sun was by this time
within an hour of the horizon, and our horse much
fatigued, we resolved to remain here till another day.
Moreover, the spot we had pitched upon had some
advantages, both in the way of convenience and
security, which we might be unable to find further
on. A small stream of clear water flowed through a
fertile valley; and not far distant was a steep, conical
hill, surmounted by trees, among whose tangled
pass the night in safety. To effect this, I
immediately set to work; and by means of the saddle
and bridle, including all the straps not required
to hopple and tether our beast, I had by sunset
constructed a comfortable sitting and even sleeping
place, among the interlocking branches of the trees,
where we should at least be safe from the attack of
wild beasts, and run less risk, we fancied, of being
discovered by any chance prowlers of the human
species. As we had eaten so heartily in the middle
of the day, we decided not to cook our meat before
morning; and then to broil or roast the remainder of
it, in order to preserve it without taint, till our appetites
should demand the whole, which would probably
occur before another sunset.
As the sun went down, even though shaded by
clouds, it threw the mountains into bold relief; and
we could distinctly trace the uneven edges of the
snowy peaks against the darker background, showing
we had reached such a proximity that every
mile would bring us nearer in perception as well as
reality. I assisted Adele to mount to what I facetiously
termed her hammock; and having sprung up
after her, we sat and conversed in low tones, and
listened to the plaintive notes of a neighbouring
whippoorwill, the booming of the nighthawk, the
shrill screeches of the owl, and the various chirpings
of different insects, while we watched the gradual
blending of the day with night, till the deepest
scene. We now thought it safer to remain
perfectly quiet and silent—or, if we spoke at all, to
converse in low whispers. One cannot long remain
silent and inactive, under cover of night, after a day
of unusual fatigue, without experiencing feelings of
somnolency; and notwithstanding the night-breeze
felt quite chilly, as it pressed through the openings
of the trees, it rustled the leaves to a drowsy tune;
and before either of us was aware that sleep was
fairly stealing upon us, we were lost to a consciousness
of external things.
We were both suddenly awakened by fierce growls
and howls, sounding so near as to cause the greatest
alarm; and had I not at the instant put forth my
hand and caught hold of Adele, who was trembling
like an aspen, I think she would have fallen to the
ground. The night was now intensely dark—the
floating clouds having joined, so as to spread a thick
veil between us and the heavens—and, from our leafy
covering, we could literally see nothing.
“God and the holy saints preserve us!” cried Adele,
grasping my hand nervously. “Oh! dear Roland,
what is it? what has happened? what new and terrible
danger threatens us?”
Her voice was almost drowned by a furious snarling,
growling, and howling, immediately below us.
Fortunately, I retained my presence of mind; and
though at first a little confused and bewildered, by
being so suddenly awakened from a calm and peaceful
and the cause of the unwonted disturbance.
“There is a flock of ravenous wolves below us,”
said I, “which have been attracted hither by the scent
of our game.”
“And cannot we scare them away?” she eagerly
demanded.
“I will try,” I replied; and instantly I shook the
branches of the trees, and shouted, and imitated the
yells of the savages; but though we could tell, from
the rustling sounds below, that they drew back in
fear, yet I soon became satisfied, from seeing their
shining eye-balls formed around us in a broad circle,
and hearing their fierce and angry responses, that we
had not to do with any of the small, cowardly crews
that roamed the prairies in daylight and followed the
peacefully disposed buffaloes, but with a larger, fiercer,
more courageous and dangerous species.
“These are mountain wolves,” said I, uneasily,
“and cannot be frightened away.”
“Oh! Roland, what shall we do? we have no weapons.”
`We must either permit them to remain till dawn,
when they will peacefully depart to their lairs, or take
the sad alternative of throwing down the remains of
our game, whose bloody scent has attracted them here,
and renders them bold and furious.”
“If you think that will appease them, let us throw
it down to them at once,” she replied, in a tremulous
voice.
“And starve ourselves,” I rejoined.
“Perhaps not; we must trust the rest to Providence;
but oh! let us get clear of them, if possible—
for they make me faint with terror. Oh! Roland, do
you hear them? I fear they will attack us!”
“Undoubtedly they would, if within their reach,”
said I; “but I think we are safe here.”
“I do not know—oh! I do not know—I do not feel
safe even here, with such a band of horrible monsters
immediately under us, almost within our reach.”
“And yet the alternative seems like purchasing a
short reprieve.”
“But that reprieve may be our salvation,” said
Adele. “Oh! Roland, let us give them the meat!”
“It will be only a mouthful apiece,” returned I;
“and I fear the taste of blood will render them more
furious.”
“Let them have it—let them have it!” she pleaded;
“perhaps they will then leave us—and I am so terrified.”
“Ha! our poor horse!” cried I.
“What of him, Roland?”
“Do you not hear him snorting in terror, and evidently
struggling with his bonds? Oh, that I had left
him free! perhaps some of them are about to attack
him!”
“Quick! quick! Roland—throw down the game!”
cried Adele.
Impulsively I seized upon the remains of the poor
calf, our only food, and hurled it through the branches.
upon by the fierce, carnivorous beasts, which savagely
fought among themselves for a bare morsel, tearing it
in pieces, and devouring it, in less time than it takes
me to record the fact. The effect of whetting their
appetites by a mere taste, seemed to render the half
famished beasts more ferocious, just as I had feared;
and looking down through the leaves and branches,
we encountered a dozen or twenty glaring eyes, all
fixed upon us; while our ears were saluted with such
outbursts of hungry rage and desire as sent the blood
with a fearful rush to our very hearts.
“Oh! dear Roland, they will attack us even here!”
cried Adele. “Heaven preserve us! we had better
climb higher.”
“It may be best,” said I, much alarmed, though I
strove to appear calm. “I do not think they can reach
us here, dear Adele; but perhaps, by removing to a
greater distance, they will be less liable to make the
attempt. Yet we must do so with great caution,
dearest—for one misstep might be fatal. Remain
quiet, Adele, till I can ascertain if our design be
practicable.”
As I spoke, I fixed my feet firmly upon a strong
limb, and, with my arms and hands grasping the
trunk of the tree, I was already in the act of stretching
my body upward, when my progress was arrested by
a most strange, and at the time unaccountable, occurence.
The hungry and maddened wolves—which, up to
fighting, howling, and dancing around below us—
stretching up their heads, and glaring at us with their
fiery eyes, and every now and then making short
springs from the earth, as if preparing for a bolder
attempt—these ferocious beasts of prey, I say, suddenly
stopped their hideous noises, and for a moment
remained perfectly quiet. It was but for a moment,
however; and then a wild, unearthly, half-shriek,
half-yell, seemed to burst from every throat; and ere
the breeze had borne this cry of terror a hundred
yards, they were rushing away in a body, as if flying
from some known and terrible foe, leaving us in
trembling apprehension of a more fearful danger than
any we had escaped.
| CHAPTER XXVI.
SURROUNDED BY PERILS. The border rover | |