Chapter 24: In the Outer Darkness

When the last sound of the bar falling heavily in its place behind the door died away, I realized fully the perilous nature of the enterprise we had undertaken, and for a moment wished myself back in the hut with our comrades. But I put my will in command of my nerves and resolved that I would go wherever Pike would lead. It was but a brief chill, and then I steadied myself and waited for Pike’s orders.

“Stan’ close in the shadow of the wall,” whispered the hunter. “I want fust to see ef I kin hear any uv the scoundrels near us.”

He resorted to the familiar device of putting his ear to the earth, moving about in the shadow of the cabin, and listening first at one place and then at another.

“Thar’s nary a sound,” he said, “an’ I don’t think any uv ‘em is nigh, I didn’t think it anyway, but it’s best to be shore.”

“Where do you think they are?” I asked in a whisper.

“Up on the hill thar in the woods,” replied Pike, “but come on now, an’ be ez light with your feet ez ef Injuns was huntin’ you, and you didn’t want ‘em to fin’ you.”

He led the way, bent over at a sharp angle, and trying to penetrate the darkness, which, however, was too heavy even for his trained eyes. I followed so close behind that I could have touched him with my hand. We were going towards the valley, directly away from the supposed camp of the outlaws on the crest of the.hill. I wondered somewhat at this, as it was our business to spy upon them. But it was an inconvenient time for asking questions and, besides, Pike was a man who understood what he was about. I looked back once towards our hut. The outlines of the building were lost in the darkness. But there was a faint light twinkling like a little star through one of the loopholes. This, too, soon disappeared. We reached the trees which skirted the base of the hill. Pike stopped.

“Be extry keerful here,” he said, “fur some uv our inemies might be loafin’ about.”

A smash among the boughs of the tree under which we stood was the answer. Twigs and other fragments fell upon us, and a great stone struck among the bushes some feet beyond us.

“It seems that we are not as safe from the bombardment here as we were in the cabin,” I said.

“You’re right,” said Pike, “but thet was a tarnation poor shot at the cabin. It must hev missed it full fifty feet. I think we’d better go down in the bottom, or we’ll git our heads smashed by one uv them rocks.”

We made our way very carefully among the trees and undergrowth, until we reached a point that we thought, from the way they had been striking before, was out of the range of the dangerous missiles. Then we halted again.

“My plan,” said Pike, “is to approach them fellers from the rear, an’ see what sort uv trick they’re up to. They won’t be expectin’ us, thinkin’ that we’re all in the cabin, an’ we ought to git nigh enough to see what sort of deviltry they’ve invented. An’ after we’ve seen that we’ll know better how to carcumvent ‘em. Be shore to keep your weepins dry, fur I’m thinkin’ we’ll hev some need fur ‘em.”

We went up the valley, or rather, the river bed, a considerable distance, passing by our mine on the way. Pike stopped to look for the tools, which we had abandoned in our rush to the cabin. After scrutinizing the place as well as he could in the darkness, he felt about with his hands, and then announced that all the tools were gone.

“It’s jest az I thought,” he said. “Halftrigger and his men hev took ‘em an’ put ‘em to use. Thet wuz one uv our mistakes. We ought to hev took them tools with us when we run to the cabin.”

When we were two or three hundred yards beyond the mine we crossed the ridge, and, coming around in a circle, were now behind the outlaws, if, as we supposed, they were in the wood on the crest of the hill overlooking our cabin. We began the ascent, stopping every few yards to listen. The rain had now ceased and the darkness had lifted a little bit. The side of the hill on which we now were was well wooded and the undergrowth was thick. It offered good concealment, and, therefore, was favorable to our movements.

We were half way up the hill when we saw a light shining ahead of us. It flickered in the wind and seemed to be just under the crest of the hill.

“That’s the gang,” said Pike, as we halted in a thicket. “That’s thar camp fire, an’ the job that’s cut out fur us, is to git near enough to see ‘em without them seein’ us. Now, Joe, jest imagine you’re an Injun creepin’ upon his wust enemy to git his scalp. We’ve got to crawl fur it, and when I hiss like a sarpint stop right in your tracks. Be keerful with your gun.”

He dropped upon his knees and began to crawl through the grass and bushes. I followed close behind, managing my gun with some difficulty, for it is not easy to turn your hands into paws and use them for carrying purposes at the same time. But Pike’s progress was as easy as if that were his natural method of locomotion. First he would part the bushes with one hand, next take a careful look ahead and then move forward a yard or two. A pause to listen for sounds from our enemies would ensue, and then our jerky advance would be resumed.

After a quarter of an hour’s crawling we heard voices. We were too far away to understand the words, but we knew we were very near the outlaw camp. Moreover, the light had grown much more distinct.

“They built their fire on this side of the hill so we couldn’t see it from the hut,” said Pike, “though it’ll give enough light fur ‘em to work by on top uv the hill. I hope none uv them skunks will be stealin’ ‘mong the bushes here an’ run ag’in us.”

A half dozen feet further on we came to a gulch two or three feet deep. It ran transversely along the hillside and seemed to lead directly towards the bandit camp. The bushes were not only very thick on either side of it, but almost met over it and formed an admirable way of approach for us. Pike stepped carefully into it and watched me as I followed without breaking a twig or loosening a gravel, a performance in which I felt some pride, as it justified Pike’s confidence in my abilities and accomplishments as a scout.

When we had gone a few yards up the gulch Pike halted. He was directly in front of me and his bulky frame cut off my line of sight. But he pressed to one side, and pointing through a small opening in the dense foliage that surrounded us, said in a low whisper:

“Now you kin see the secret uv them stuns flyin’ through the air at the cabin.”

About forty feet from us a fire of a half dozen brands was burning. Lounging near it in easy attitudes were three or four of the brigands, but twenty feet higher up and on the crest of the hill the scene was far more interesting. All the remainder of the party were gathered there, the gigantic figure of Halftrigger towering among them. A half dozen were talking at once, though not in loud tones, and Halftrigger was gesturing and giving orders.

Two stout saplings of equal size and about a foot apart grew at the crest of the hill. The outlaws had trimmed all the boughs off of them and had cut out the tops also. Then they had bent the tough but elastic trunks far back, until the upper ends almost touched the ground. Three or four feet from the ends and for a distance of about a half yard they had plaited withes or stout strings of bark backward and forward between the two saplings.

“Don’t you see how it is?” said Pike. “It’s smart enough, confound ‘em! I’ll bet Halftrigger wuz the one that thought uv it.”

I did see how it was, for the outlaws were giving even then a practical demonstration of the uses of this crude machine. It was like the catapults or ballistse, or some other machines of ancient times, which I had heard Henry tell about, for he liked to revel in the old histories. Seven or eight of the outlaws had just bent the sapling back, and two others had taken a large stone from a heap which lay near. The matting of withes on which they placed the stone held it in place, and it was obvious that when they loosed their hold on the saplings they would fly back and the stone would be hurled straight away down the hill, as if it were a ball fired from a cannon. It was ingenious and effective, much too effective for our comfort and safety, and the only trouble in operating it was in regard to the accuracy of the aim.

“It’s jest a big spring gun, or ruther a tree cannon,” whispered Pike, “but it’s mighty lucky fur us they can’t tell very well whar thar ball is goin’ when they fire it.”

I thought the name tree cannon was very appropriate.

Though the fire was some yards away, it shone on the faces of the men who were operating the tree cannon. Spanish Pete seemed to be the head of the party that was holding the tree down, while Halftrigger had stationed himself behind them, and was calculating as well as he could where the stone would strike. We were near enough to hear and understand every word they said.