Part 14 (2/2)

The Captain saluted and spurred his horse around to the flank of his command.

”On right sections;--to twenty-five yards, extend intervals;--” he shouted. ”Trot;--march!” Then, as the battery resolved itself into the new formation, he continued, ”Right oblique,--march! Trot! Gallop!”

The guns went racing away, swung into battery, and in a moment their sh.e.l.ls were searching the ravines in Brackett's front. They had scarcely opened when a great hubbub and popping of carbines broke out behind the wagon train, and a large body of Indians made their appearance, as if springing out of the ground, and bore down upon the rear guard.

Immediately one of Jones' guns limbered up and came galloping back to reinforce the hard-pressed companies covering the train.

At this moment the General raised his gla.s.ses with a frown and looked toward the bluffs where McLaren was advancing, then swept his gla.s.ses around to Pope's battery and the Dakota Cavalry, which had charged ahead of the guns and become heavily engaged among the rocks in a ravine running back through the centre of the enemy's lower camps. The General turned to Lieutenant Dale.

”Warn Pope not to fire so far to the left,” he said. ”He's endangering McLaren's advance.”

Then he called to Al,

”Ride up there to those Coyotes and scouts and tell Miner not to push too far ahead of the flanks. He'll be surrounded.”

The two couriers galloped off together, leaving the General for the moment alone. As they pushed through the gap in the centre of the main battle line, Lieutenant Dale exclaimed,

”Don't these fellows fight splendidly considering most of them have never been under fire before?” Then he laughed. ”Look at Pattee over there! His coat's off and he's fanning himself with his hat. It's a hot day for a fat man to fight.”

The line of sweating, panting soldiers, closely followed by their comrades who were holding the horses, was plodding steadily ahead, firing at intervals upon the scattered warriors still circling in their front, as yet unrouted by the movements which had swept back their extreme flanks. Having pa.s.sed the line of battle and the skirmishers ahead of it, the Lieutenant changed his course toward the left, where Pope's men were working methodically around their guns, while Al galloped straight on. He pa.s.sed a small, detached b.u.t.te from whose crest the sh.e.l.ls of Pope's guns had just driven a crowd of squaws and children who were watching the battle from that elevation. He encountered no warriors, though some were so near that he drew his revolver before entering the rocky, timbered mouth of the ravine where the Coyotes were engaged.

Few soldiers were to be seen at first, but sounds were arising from among the rocks resembling those of a small volcano in eruption, and as Al pushed on into the broken ground he began to meet here and there troopers of the Dakota Cavalry, each holding four or more horses of the men on the firing line, which was still farther ahead. He soon found that he could not continue mounted, so, hooking up the sabre he had worn ever since leaving Fort Rice, he dropped Cottontail's reins over his head and hurried forward on foot, stumbling over roots and dodging rocks, in search of Captain Miner. Bullets and occasionally arrows whistled by him and the yells of the Indians seemed not fifty feet away.

In a moment he came upon Corporal Wright and two men of his squad, crouching behind a broad rock and firing whenever they saw a target.

Just as Al reached them the Corporal cried to his men,

”Now!”

They leaped from their concealment and ran forward with a shout to another rock, some thirty feet ahead, while four Indians, who had been hidden on its further side, jumped back and bolted for other cover higher up the ravine. The troopers fired and one warrior fell, but was s.n.a.t.c.hed up by his companions and dragged along. Al followed the soldiers and cried in the Corporal's ear,

”Charlie, where is Captain Miner?”

”Captain Miner?” said Wright. ”I don't know. He's somewhere around but we're all scattered out here.”

Al could see other soldiers behind trees and rocks off to the right across the ravine, and, dodging from one cover to another, he started in that direction. After going a few yards he nearly fell over a man lying flat on the ground, peering ahead around the corner of a stone with his c.o.c.ked carbine at his shoulder.

”Hi, Wallace!” exclaimed Al. ”What are you doing here? Why don't you go back to the General?”

Wallace shot a resentful glance at him.

”How can I go back?” he asked. ”We're cut off. There's redskins all along the rear.”

”But I just came through,” objected Al.

”Oh, don't bother me!” cried Wallace, impatiently, quite beside himself with the fascination of the struggle. ”Can't you let a fellow alone?

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