"They must have been dead, poor fellows, when they were hung up there, Bart. I would that we dared attack the monsters."

"Can you see any sign of Joses, sir?" asked Bart.

"No, my boy; no sign of him, poor fellow! Heaven grant that he be not seen."

All this time the Indians were rapidly loading and firing at the two unfortunate men, and, to Bart's horror, he could hear bullet after bullet strike them, the others. .h.i.tting the rocky face of the mountain with a sharp pat, and in the interval of silence that followed those in hiding could hear some of the bullets afterwards fall.

Every time the savages thought they had hit their white prisoners they uttered a yell of triumph, and Dr Lascelles knew that this terrible scene was only the prologue to one of a far more hideous nature, when, with a fiendish cruelty peculiar to their nature, they would fall upon their victims with their knives, to flay off their scalps and beards, leaving the terribly mutilated bodies to the birds and beasts of the plains.

"I could hit several of them, I'm sure," panted Bart, eagerly. "Pray, sir, let's fire upon them, and kill some of the wretches. I never felt like this before, but now it seems as if I must do something to punish those horrible fiends."

"We could all fire and bring down some of them, Bart," whispered the Doctor; "but there are fully a hundred there, my boy, and we must be the losers in the end. They would never leave till they had killed us every one."

Bart hung his head, and stood there resting upon his rifle, wishing that his ears could be deaf to the hideous yelling and firing that kept going on, as the Indians went on with their puerile sport of wreaking their empty vengeance upon the bodies of the two men whom they had slain.

Twenty times over the Doctor raised his rifle, and as often let it fall, as he knew what the consequences of his firing would be, while, when encouraged by this act on the part of his elder, Bart did likewise, it was for the Beaver to press the barrel down with his brown hand, shaking his head and smiling gravely the while.

"The Beaver-with-Sharp-Teeth," said the interpreter, "says that the young chief must wait till the Indian dogs are not so many; then he shall kill all he will, and take all their scalps."

"Ugh!" shuddered Bart, "as if I wanted to take scalps! I could feel pleased though if they killed and took the scalps of all these wretches.

No, I don't want that," he muttered, "but it is very horrible, and it nearly drives me mad to see the cruel monsters shooting at our two poor men. How they can--"

"Good heavens!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the Doctor; "what's that?"

They were all gazing intently at the great post where the firing was going on, and beyond it at the group of Indians calmly loading and firing, with a soft film of smoke floating away above their heads, when all at once, just in their midst, there was a vivid flash of light, and the air seemed to be full of blocks of stone, which were driven up with a dense cloud of smoke. Then there was a deafening report, which echoed back from the side of the mountain; a trembling of the ground, as if there had been an earthquake; the great pieces of stone fell here and there; and then, as the smoke spread, a few Indians could be seen rushing hard towards where their companions were gathered with their horses, while about the spot where the earth had seemed to vomit forth flame, rocks and stones were piled-up in hideous confusion, mingled with quite a score of the bodies of Indians.

There was no hesitation on the part of the survivors. The Great Spirit had spoken to them in his displeasure, and those who had not been smitten seized their horses, those which had no riders now kept with them, and the whole band went off over the plain at full speed; while no sooner were they well away upon the plain, than the Beaver and his party laid their rifles aside, and dashed out, knife and hatchet in hand, killing two or three injured men before the Doctor could interfere, as he and Bart ran out, followed by Harry.

It was a hideous sight, and perhaps it was a merciful act the killing of the wretches by the Beaver and his men, for they were horribly injured by the explosion, while others had arms and legs blown off. Some were crushed by the falling stones, others had been killed outright at first; and as soon as he had seen but a portion of the horrors, the Doctor sent Bart back to bid Maude be in no wise alarmed, for the enemy were gone, but she must not leave the place where she was hiding for a while.

Bart found her looking white and trembling with dread, but a few words satisfied her, and the lad ran back, to pa.s.s the horrible ma.s.s of piled-up stones and human beings with a shudder, as he ran on and joined the Doctor and Joses, who was standing outside his hiding-place, perfectly unharmed, and leaning upon his rifle.

Bart was about to burst forth into a long string of congratulations, but somehow they all failed upon his lips. He tried to speak, but he choked and found it impossible. All he could do for a few moments was to catch the great rough hands of Joses in his, and stand shaking them with all his might.

Joses did not reply; he only looked a little less grim than usual as he returned Bart's grip with interest.

"Why, you thought the Injun had got me, did you, Master Bart? You thought the Injun had got me. Well, they hadn't this time, you see, but I 'spected they'd find me out every moment. I meant to fight it out though till all my powder was gone, and then I meant to back the horses at the Injun, and make them kick as long as I could, for of course you wouldn't have been able to come."

"I am glad you are safe, Joses," cried Bart, at last. "It is almost like a miracle that they didn't find you, and that the explosion took place. It must have been our keg of powder, Joses, that you hid under the stones."

"Think so, Master Bart?" said Joses, as if deeply astonished.

"Yes," cried Bart, "it must have been that."

"Yes," said the Doctor. "The wretches must have dropped a burning wad, or something of that kind."

"But it was very horrible," cried Bart.

"Yes, horrible," a.s.sented the Doctor.

"But it saved all us as was left, Master," said Joses, gruffly. "They'd have found us out else, and served us the same as they did poor old Sam and old Juan. What beasts Injun is."

"Yes, it saved our lives, Joses, and it was as it were a miracle. But there, don't let's talk about it. We must take steps to bury those poor creatures, and that before my child comes out. Do you think the enemy will come back?" he continued, turning to the interpreter.

"The Beaver-with-Sharp-Teeth says no: not for days," was the reply; and, willingly enough, the Indians helped their white friends to enlarge the hole ploughed out by the explosion of the powder keg, which was easily done by picking out a few pieces of rock, when there was ample room for the dead, who, after some hour or two's toil, were buried beneath the stones.

The remains of the two poor fellows, Juan and Sam, were buried more carefully, with a few simple rites, and then, saddened and weary, the Doctor turned to seek Maude.

Bart was about to follow him, when Joses took him by the sleeve.

"I wouldn't say anything to the master, but I must tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"About the explosion, Master Bart."

"Well, I saw it," said Bart.

"Yes, but you didn't see how it happened."

"I thought we had decided that."

"Well, you thought so, but you wasn't right, and I didn't care to brag about it; but I did it, Master Bart."

"You fired that powder, and blew all those poor wretches to eternity!"

cried Bart, in horror.

"Now don't you get a looking like that, Master Bart. Why, of course I did it. Where's the harm? They killed my two poor fellows, and they'd have killed all of us, and set us up to shoot at if they'd had the chance."

"Well, Joses, I suppose you are right," said Bart, "but it seems very horrible."

"Deal more horrible if they'd killed Miss Maude."

"Oh, hush! Joses," cried Bart excitedly, "Tell me, though, how did you manage it."

"Well, you see, Master Bart, it was like this. I stood looking on at their devilry till I felt as if I couldn't bear it no longer, and then all at once I recollected the powder, and I thought that if I could put a bullet through the keg it would blow it up, and them too."

"And did you, Joses?"

"Well, I did, Master Bart, but it took me a long while for it. I knew exactly where it was, but I couldn't see it for the crowd of fellows round, and I daren't shoot unless I was sure, or else I should have brought them on to me like a shot."

"Of course, of course, Joses," cried Bart, who was deeply interested.

"Well, Master Bart, I had to wait till I thought I should never get a chance, and then they opened right out, and I could see the exact spot where to send my bullet, when I trembled so that I daren't pull trigger, and when I could they all crowded up again."

"But they gave you another chance, Joses?" cried Bart excitedly.

"To be sure they did, my lad, at last, and that time it was only after a deal of dodging about that there was any chance, and, laying my rifle on the rock, I drew trigger, saw the stones, flash as the bullet struck, just, too, when they were all cheering, the beasts, at what they'd done to those two poor fellows."