Part 25 (1/2)

I ran with the rest. The smoke for a moment blinded me. I heard the shrill notes of the Indian whistle. I looked before me. The girl had disappeared.

We ran to the spot where she had stood. We heard a rustling in the underwood, a departing footstep. We knew it was she; but guided by an instinct of delicacy, and a knowledge that it would be contrary to the wish of her brother, no one followed her.

We found the fragments of the calabash strewed over the ground. We found the leaden mark upon them. The bullet itself was buried in the bark of the tree, and one of the hunters commenced digging it out with the point of his bowie.

When we turned to go back we saw that the Indian had walked away, and now stood chatting easily and familiarly with Seguin.

As we re-entered the camp-ground I observed Garey stoop and pick up a s.h.i.+ning object. It was the _gage d'amour_, which he carefully readjusted around his neck in its wonted position.

From his look and the manner in which he handled it, it was plain that he now regarded that souvenir with more reverence than ever.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.

A FEAT A LA TAIL.

I had fallen into a sort of reverie. My mind was occupied with the incidents I had just witnessed, when a voice, which I recognised as that of old Rube, roused me from my abstraction.

”Look'ee hyur, boyees! Tain't of'n as ole Rube wastes lead, but I'll beat that Injun's shot, or 'ee may cut my ears off.”

A loud laugh hailed this allusion of the trapper to his ears, which, as we have observed, were already gone; and so closely had they been trimmed that nothing remained for either knife or shears to accomplish.

”How will you do it, Rube?” cried one of the hunters; ”shoot the mark off a yer own head?”

”I'll let 'ee see if 'ee wait,” replied Rube, stalking up to a tree, and taking from its rest a long, heavy rifle, which he proceeded to wipe out with care.

The attention of all was now turned to the manoeuvres of the old trapper. Conjecture was busy as to his designs. What feat could he perform that would eclipse the one just witnessed? No one could guess.

”I'll beat it,” continued he, muttering, as he loaded his piece, ”or 'ee may chop the little finger off ole Rube's right paw.”

Another peal of laughter followed, as all perceived that this was the finger that was wanting.

”'Ee--es,” continued he, looking at the faces that were around him, ”'ee may scalp me if I don't.”

This last remark elicited fresh roars of laughter; for although the cat-skin was closely drawn upon his head, all present knew that old Rube was minus his scalp.

”But how are ye goin' to do it? Tell us that, old hoss!”

”'Ee see this, do 'ee?” asked the trapper, holding out a small fruit of the cactus pitahaya, which he had just plucked and cleaned of its spikelets.

”Ay, ay,” cried several voices, in reply.

”'Ee do, do 'ee? Wal; 'ee see 'tain't half as big as the Injun's squash. 'Ee see that, do 'ee?”

”Oh, sartinly! Any fool can see that.”

”Wal; s'pose I plug it at sixty, plump centre?”

”Wagh!” cried several, with shrugs of disappointment.

”Stick it on a pole, and any o' us can do that,” said the princ.i.p.al speaker. ”Here's Barney could knock it off wid his owld musket.

Couldn't you, Barney?”