The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 232: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

226 THE BOY SOLDIER; OR, GARIBALDI'S YOUNG CAPTAIN. slipped, he fell into deep water, and Joel struck him a heayyyblow,onthe head ith, an oar. An oath+froém~ Toma’asso,-as water, and a laugh of triumph from Joel, was all that passed between them at that fearful moment, CHAPTER LXXXVIII. ATTACK OF THE INDIANS UPON THE ENCAMP- MENT OF THE BOY SOLDIERS, AS is always the custom among those who are travelling through the vast prairies, Frank Ford followed the count’s advice, and established a strong guard which should protect the camps at night, On one occasion when they had travelled a, . Jong distance during the day, Fraak: camped rather, earlier than usual. The waggons were formed into squares, the-hor zi and mules were allowed sufficient len i rope‘to graze by, and the oxen were all hobbl oly that hey could not stray too far away. f Fires were lighted, the sdatinelee “were ba on fortable. Nearly every one who shad nothing i in pa to do were already stretched in their blank rugs before the fires or under the jwaggons. their various posts, and-all was, shug ane com- Her this visit 2? asked - Pra Frank, however, with Caspar, the Cou ; Hush Tracy, Pedro the guide, and: eyeral of the Boy Soldiers, were chatting and smoking and. stening — to various accounts which’ one and another had to" | relate of Mexico, and the war then raging, . i While thus pleasantly emeazedin with pipes, cigars, | and the like, Frank said, Heys) “ Pedro, you didn’t seem! inigood. spirits t to- “day.” ae ‘No, captain, I did not.’? . ae ‘And why not ?—what was the cause?” < “Why, gentlemen, if you must know Fie. Cause, I will simply say that I feared-some attagk from the Indians,” : ‘Indians |!” said Frank. SS | “ T couldn’t see any,” said the count. “No, gentlemen, I dare say not, nor could T see them, but I have no doubt in the world but that _ they were not far off.” ‘*Indeed, what makes you think so?” “ Well, you see, gentlemen, I-have travelled these '_ prairies many a year, and was never mistaken once yet, This morning, hee we, struck, camps, and continued our march, grass to conyinge , me_that,some Indign, oro her ne paid, = ~~ “gape wAY ues an it be sete Why, we fad. our guards, out as usnal,”’ aa dh bentlémen oF kitow all about that: ‘but’ an Indian Ua cteep through the grass as quietly as a! mouse, and within three feet of any one who is not ~ welliacduainted with(their manners and customs,” SOW bythe! might "have cut all our Fg Ht said Patty: indignantly,! 919" iT yy fxs “No, not that ‘exactly! Wioewerté€! was that came,) he must haye’ beensome big jbrdve;as they call, them.»; He,eametehsee what we had of value! among us, and I haven’t the least doubt but that theorillanous Blackfeet know by this, time as well as qwe-do ourselves; how-many!meén, ‘and rifles and . horses and mules we have among:us as; we do our- nga! heard ee wolves howling and barking, al nigh 4 aid tog \ er’ e- 4trngpled- in the-- -eome to distur saw esata signs in, the, Ys;& visit, the night, petore, unknown to. come,” -'9! ki at, wed Gaspar, ‘and paw them too, for: one came very close to our provision waggon, and began smelling abont, en nos se toyfive my “gun, he darted off into TROL ine STass Ot Ser «Are you sure that everything that moved about during the night was a wolf?” asked Pedro, I fancy you are very much mistaken. These Indians can and do imitate all sorts of animals when they like ; but this spy, whoever he was, came on horse- back, ? “Then some of our party must have seen him?” ‘‘No, they didn’t,” said Pedro. ‘The Indian must have ridden close up to us before the moon rose. He then lassoed his horse, threw it upon its side, and tied its legs with cord, thus hiding it in the long grass. After this performance, I dare say he covered his head and -body with the skin of some wild animal, and then crept close up to us. That is the way they do it. I know ’em well, the red-skinned villains,” “T wish I had naw it,” said Buttons. “Id ~ have sent.a bullet through his hide.” D8, but these Indians have ‘You think so, perhay y e sharper eyes than -you/give them credit for. would have sent a bu : et, th Pa pect will result from eriously, do you sup- «Well, ot what ¢ ‘0 you. “The devil yp? ‘said Caspar, “then we had better prepare for them.” hii ‘“ Don’t fear, major, . Ihave done that already ; every gun, pis ‘revolver, and rifle in all our com- pany is alread he ee and ready, but they won’t ‘to-night, I think,” Tm glad: "ok that, said Fatty. ‘‘I want a good “sleep to-night, and ‘shouldn’ % like to be disturbed by! ‘the beggarly Indians.” ~ -- Haye you not noticed. a slight cloud of dust to the -westward, which» has followed our march for the last three or four days, Capt. Frank?” Pedro asked. “T haye.” “So haye I,” said Caspar. “T didn’t think you knew the meaning of it, so | therefore didn’t like to disturb you until there was ‘Some real occasion for it,” “What was it, then?” _ ff Ttwas a par ty of Blackfeet who have been fol- lowing us ; but were waiting for a favorable oppor- tunity to attack us.’’ * You don’t. mean it.?, LY ; ; «T do. They were the. ones, “who ‘set. ‘the fen } oufire, They thought of burning, -up all the grass, around us, so as to starve our horses, a ud, leaye us; helpless,” > eidT “The duhbing devils |?” patch + “T, myself, have had rekp little ak for the ‘ast, three ot four nights, a ‘last “night “T. 80 arranged, the guards that should any spy Visit our Camps, he would be sure to tell ‘his companions “that we ere. careless, and not on the look- out for" them,” » T ars: “T never dreamed ‘of Such trickéry,” said! beh y “but if they de come) we'll give them ‘a rave ‘wi riseia datit edd coq ‘Yes, and no mistake,” aaiatesvitatt err bed ort “What I fear is,’ said, Peditoy: ‘that: they) will suddenly {dart! upon’ us when Wwe are: travelling: through some wood, and try to cut off theayaggons) xi “But we have no. forest, to,: PAH aro yet;” said Hrank,. a'lsol. boxiog ell “Yes we, have, captain,” paid. Red Qa a Et e- MOLT 5 Ts n10b OM pin g we, a ses: one, about titen. mules rom this gs b the look-ou HAHaTap TBSi SUEI.OD, pees on > 2S oN é- Comicbooksrcom Le es %