Out on the Pampas; Or, The Young SettlersHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
Out on the Pampas; Or, The Young Settlers
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Pampas (Argentina) -- Juvenile fiction
'No, papa,' Hubert said eagerly; 'don't you remember we left two
loopholes in each room, when we built it, on purpose, only putting in
pieces of wood and filling up the cracks with clay to keep out the
wind?'
'Of course we did, Hubert. I remember all about it now. Run down and
tell them to be ready to pull the wood out and to fire through when they
hear the next rocket go off. I am going to send another light rocket
over in the direction where I saw the horses; and directly I get the
line I will send off cracker-rocket after cracker-rocket as quickly as I
can at them. What with the fire from below among them, and the fright
they will get when they see the horses attacked, they are sure to make a
rush for it.'
In a minute Hubert came back with the word that the men below were
ready. In a moment a rocket soared far away to behind the house; and
just as its light broke over the plains, another one swept over in the
direction of a dark mass of animals, seen plainly enough in the
distance.
A cry of dismay burst from the Indians, rising in yet wilder alarm as
three shots were fired from the wall of the house into their crowded
mass. Again and again was the discharge repeated, and, with a yell of
dismay, a wild rush was made for the fence. Then the boys with their
carbines, and Mr. Hardy with the revolvers, opened upon them, every shot
telling in the dense mass who struggled to surmount the fatal railings.
Frenzied with the danger, dozens attempted to climb them, and, strong as
were the wires and posts, there was a cracking sound, and the whole side
fell. In another minute, of the struggling mass there remained only some
twenty motionless forms. Three or four more rockets were sent off in the
direction where the horses had been seen, and then another signal
rocket, whose light enabled them to see that the black mass was broken
up, and that the whole plain was covered with scattered figures of men
and animals, all flying at the top of their speed.
'Thank God, it is all over, and we are safe!' Mr. Hardy said solemnly.
'Never again will an Indian attack be made upon Mount Pleasant.'
'It is all over now, my dear,' he said to Mrs. Hardy as he went down the
stairs; 'they are off all over the country, and it will take them hours
to get their horses together again. Two of us have got scratched with
arrows, but no real harm is done. Charley's is only a flesh wound. Don't
be frightened,' he added quickly, as Mrs. Hardy turned pale and the
girls gave a cry at the appearance of Charley's face, which was
certainly alarming. 'A little warm water and a bandage will put it all
right.'
'Do you think it will leave a scar?' Charley asked rather dolorously.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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