Part 6 (1/2)
”I believe the captain will find some way out if he can only locate us,”
I said.
”Odds are odds,” replied Jim, doggedly. ”I don't want him to run any desperate chance on my account.”
”What are we to do?” I inquired anxiously. ”Don't you suppose that we could get through their lines to-night, it is so dark and stormy?”
Jim shook his head.
”I thought of that. We would stand a chance to make our escape on foot, but not with the horses.”
”Leave them,” I cried desperately.
”You idiot,” exclaimed Jim, ”what would we do in this country without horses? We would never reach the Colorado River.”
”I don't care if we don't,” I said irritably.
”Well, I do,” Jim replied. ”There isn't going to be anything that will stop me from taking that trip. It will take a bigger bunch of Apaches than are down there to do it.”
”Well,” I said, returning to the original question. ”How long will our supply of water last?”
”I have been figuring on that and I think it will keep us a going for a week, with what we can get from the water pocket. Of course if we have rain we can make out much longer.”
”And the food?”
”Well, with Coyote to fall back on,” laughed Jim, ”we can hold out until Christmas. But without joking, we ought to be able to get along for a month. It was mighty lucky that we got those antelope.”
”I suppose we will have to stand guard to-night,” I said.
”Yes,” replied Jim, ”we don't dare to take a chance, even though Indians do not often make night attacks.”
”I daresay that there is no danger of them crawling up the rocks. They are too steep, but we will have to watch the trail between the rocks,” I remarked.
”How shall we divide the time?” Jim asked.
”It does not make much difference,” I replied.
”Very well, then, you can take it up to midnight, and I will look after the balance.”
So it was decided. It had now grown dark and we thought it best to look around together. As we came out of our rock shelter we saw our ponies standing with their backs to the storm and heads bent down, looking much dejected.
”They look like four-legged ghosts,” I said.
”If it hadn't been for them we would have been ghosts by this time,”
remarked Jim pleasantly.
”What's the use of talking that way?” I said. ”Perhaps we will be ghosts before we are through with this business.”
”Don't you believe it,” said Jim cheerily. ”I don't know how we are going to get out of this sc.r.a.pe, but perhaps we will have some unusual luck.”
”Here's wis.h.i.+ng it,” I replied.
It looked kind of cheery as we looked back and saw the warm glow from our fire in the rock room that was our temporary camp.