Part 34 (1/2)

”Britons,” shouted he with unalterable determination--”Never, never, ne-ever, shall be--Redskins!”

This unnatural termination was not an intentional variation. It was the result of a scene that suddenly burst upon his view.

Far away on the prairie two riders were seen racing at what he would have styled a slant away from him. They were going at a pace that suggested fleeing for life.

”Redskins--arter somethin',” murmured d.i.c.k, pulling up, and shading his eyes from the sun with his right hand, as he gazed earnestly at the two riders.

”No-n-no. They're whites,” he continued, ”one o' them a man; t'other a woman. I can make that out, anyhow.”

As he spoke, the racing riders topped a far-off knoll; halted, and turned round as if to gaze back towards the north--the direction from which they had come. Then, wheeling round as if in greater haste than ever, they continued their headlong gallop and disappeared on the other side of the knoll.

d.i.c.k naturally turned towards the north to see, if possible, what the two riders were flying from. He was not kept long in doubt, for just then a band of hors.e.m.e.n was seen topping the farthest ridge in that direction, and bearing down on the belt of woodland, along the edge of which they galloped towards him.

There was no mistaking who they were. The war-whoop, sounding faint and shrill in the distance, and the wild gesticulations of the riders, told the story at once to our seaman--two pale-faces, pursued by a band of bloodthirsty savages!

Unskilled though he was in backwoods warfare, d.i.c.k was not unfamiliar with war's alarms, nor was he wanting in common sense. To side with the weaker party was a natural tendency in our seaman. That the pursuers were red, and the pursued white, strengthened the tendency, and the fact that one of the latter was a woman settled the question. Instantly d.i.c.k shook the reins, drove his unarmed heels against the sides of Polly, and away they went after the fugitives like a black thunderbolt, if there be such artillery in nature!

A wild yell told him that he was seen.

”Howl away, ye land lubbers!” growled d.i.c.k. ”You'll have to fill your sails wi' a stiffer breeze than howlin' before ye overhaul this here craft.”

Just then he reached the crest of a prairie billow, whence he could see the fugitives still far ahead of him. Suddenly a suspicion entered the seaman's mind, which made his heart almost choke him. What if this should be Mary Jackson and her father? Their relative size countenanced the idea, for the woman seemed small and the man unusually large.

In desperate haste d.i.c.k now urged on his gallant steed to her best pace, and well did she justify the praises that had been often bestowed on her by Hunky Ben. In a very brief s.p.a.ce of time she was close behind the fugitives, and d.i.c.k was now convinced that his suspicions as to who they were was right. He rode after them with divided feelings--tremblingly anxious lest Mary should fall into the hands of their ruthless foes-- exultantly glad that he had come there in time to fight, or die if need be, in her defence.

Suddenly the male fugitive, who had only glanced over his shoulder from time to time, pulled up, wheeled round, and quickly raised his rifle.

”Hallo! get on, man; don't stop!” d.i.c.k yelled, in a voice worthy of Bull himself. Taking off his hat he waved it violently above his head.

As he spoke he saw the woman's arm flash upwards; a puff of smoke followed, and a bullet whistled close over his head.

Next moment the fugitives had turned and resumed their headlong flight.

A few more minutes sufficed to bring d.i.c.k and the black mare alongside, for the latter was still vigorous in wind and limb, while the poor jaded animals which Mary and her father rode were almost worn out by a prolonged flight.

”d.i.c.k Darvall,” exclaimed Jackson, as the former rode up, ”I never was gladder to see any man than I am to see you this hour, though but for my Mary I'd surely have sent you to kingdom come. Her ears are better than mine, you see. She recognised the voice an' knocked up my rifle just as I pulled the trigger. But I'm afeared it's too late, lad.”

The way in which the man said this, and the look of his pale haggard face, sent a thrill to the heart of d.i.c.k.

”What d'ye mean?” he said, looking anxiously at Mary, who with a set rigid expression on her pale face was looking straight before her, and urging her tired pony with switch and rein.

”I mean, lad, that we've but a poor chance to reach the ranch wi' such knocked-up brutes as these. Of course we can turn at bay an' kill as many o' the red-devils as possible before it's all over wi' us, but what good would that do to Mary? If we could only check the varmins, there might be some hope, but--”

”Jackson!” exclaimed the seaman, in a firm tone, ”I'll do my best to check them. G.o.d bless you, Mary--good-bye. Heave ahead, now, full swing!”

As he spoke, d.i.c.k pulled up, while the others continued their headlong flight straight for the ranch, which was by the only a few miles distant.

Wheeling round, d.i.c.k cantered back to the knoll over which they had just pa.s.sed and halted on the top of it. From this position he could see the band, of about fifty Indians, careering towards him and yelling with satisfaction, for they could also see him--a solitary horseman--clear cut against the bright sky.

d.i.c.k got ready his repeating rifle. We have already mentioned the fact that he had learned to load and fire this formidable weapon with great rapidity, though he had signally failed in his attempts to aim with it.

Being well aware of his weakness, he made up his mind in his present desperate extremity not to aim at all! He had always felt that the difficulty of getting the back and front sights of the rifle to correspond with the object aimed at was a slow, and, in his case, an impossible process. He therefore resolved to simply point his weapon and fire!

”Surely,” he muttered to himself even in that trying moment, ”surely I can't altogether miss a whole bunch o' fifty men an' horses!”