Tales of the Trail: Short Stories of Western LifeInman, Henry
History
Tales of the Trail: Short Stories of Western Life
Inman, Henry
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.) -- Fiction; West (U.S.) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Western stories
When about five or six miles from Zarah, on glancing toward the river,
to the left and front, Booth saw something that looked strangely
like a drove of turkeys; he watched them intently for a few minutes,
when they rose up, and he discovered they were horsemen. He grasped
Hallowell's left arm, and directed his attention to them, saying,
"What's that?" Hallowell cast a hasty look to the point indicated,
and replying, "Indians, by George!" immediately turned the mules and
started them back toward Fort Zarah on a full gallop.
"Hold on," said Booth; "maybe it is a part of our escort."
"No, no," replied Hallowell; "I know it's Indians."
"Well," replied Booth, "I am going to see;" so, stepping out on the
footboard and holding onto the front bow, he looked back over the top
of the wagon. There was no doubt now that they were Indians. They had
fully emerged from the ravines in which they were hidden, and while he
was looking were slipping their buffalo robes from their shoulders,
taking arrows out of their quivers, drawing up their spears, and making
ready generally for a red-hot time. While Booth was intently watching
their hostile movements, Hallowell asked, "They are Indians, aren't
they?"
"Yes," replied Booth, "and they are coming like blazes!"
"Oh, dear!" said Hallowell, in a despairing tone; "I shall never see
poor Lizzie again." He had been married for only a few weeks, and his
young wife's name was Lizzie.
"Never mind Lizzie," said Booth; "let's get out of here!" Although he
was as badly frightened as Hallowell, he had no bride at Riley, and as
he tells it, "was selfishly thinking of himself and escape."
Promptly in response to Booth's remark came back from Hallowell in a
firm voice, clear and determined as ever issued from mortal throat:
"All right; you do the shooting and I'll do the driving," and suiting
the action to the word, he snatched the whip out of Booth's hand,
slipped from the seat to the front of the wagon and commenced lashing
the mules.
Booth then crawled back, pulled one of his revolvers--he had two,
Hallowell only one--then crept, or rather fell, over the "lazy-back"
of the seat, reached the hole made by the puckering of the sheet, and
counted the Indians. Thirty-four feather-bedecked, paint-bedaubed
savages, as vicious-looking an outfit as ever scalped a white man, were
coming down upon them like a hawk upon a chicken.
Booth had hardly reached his place at the back of the wagon before
Hallowell, between his yells to the mules, cried out, "How far off are
they now, Cap.?"--for he could see nothing in the rear as he sat.
Booth answered him as well as he could, and Hallowell renewed his
lashing and yelling.
Noiselessly the Indians gained, for as yet they had not uttered a whoop.
Again Hallowell asked, "How far off are they now, Cap.?" and again
Booth gave him an idea of the distance between them and their merciless
foe. From him Hallowell gathered fresh inspiration for fresh yells and
still more vigorous blows.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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