Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1892-12-16

dian of the plains is free from suspicion.
In his waking hours each rock or tree OF
hillock may conceal an enemy. When
he sleeps it is to waken at the croak of
a frog or the chirp of a cricket. sus-
picious that the sounds were made by
enemies closing in upon him.
The Indian is hypocrite and a dis.
sembler. II he suspects that an enemy
is hidden In strong position he will
pass it carelessly by to return by stealth
and wait and watch.
Three or four days had passed since
the Indian band disappeared down the
valley, and it had seemingly gone away
satisfied that the train had escaped
But the warriors were not satisfied
They were mystified, but not satisfied
They had returned to play hypocrite and
dissembler. They had gone into camp
as part Of the plan. They had waited
for night-as another rart of it.
White men would have advanced in 8
body toward the mouth Of the canyon
or at least sent skirmishers forward t.
investigate. The Indian is a human
cat. He ereeps upon his prey-he wins
by cunning and stealth.
"Tell Joe to come down herer' whis
pered the captain to the man at his side
after watching the seeming figure few
minutes longer.
The man quietly disappeared, and Joe
was at the captains elbow.
"Do You see anything on the ground
in line with my finger and perhaps two
hundred feet away?' asked the captain.
Il do" replied Joe after q minute.
IAN Indian is creeping along to turn
the end of the barricade and como into
the canyonl"
"Sure?"
"I'll stake my life on iti"
Word was passed for every man to
fall back to the wagon, and after brief
consultation between the captain and
Joe one took position to the right and
the other to the left Of the entrance, but
fifty feet back. If the Indian scout
penetrated thus far he must pass be-
tween them, and his retreat would be
cut off.
Now came silence 80 profound that
it was positively painful. The grimness
Of midnight in city is broken by foot
steps-the barking of dogs-the whistle
of a locomotive. On the open plains the
chirp Of crickets never ceases while
darkness lasts, and that very sound has
kept lost men and women from going
crazy under the great mental strain.
The sound connected them with civil.
cation and safety.
But in the grim and gloomy canyon
there was no sound. The horses, which
had been led to the extreme end, peered
about them and shivered with fear. The
men lying down about the wagon felt q
weight upon them. If there were crick.
cts in the grass they were silent.
If man wants to find greater punish.
ment for criminals than the dark cells
Of state prisons. let him turn to the can.
yon. No prisoner chained to a rock in
the gloom and silence and darkness
would keep his miAd a week. The very
silence would torture him until he would
cry out to heaven for mercy, and the
sound of his own voice would terrify
him to insanity.
The captain and Joe had not been de.
ceived. It was an Indian creeping to.
ward the mouth Of the canyon.
Creepl Creep! Creep!
So tiger creep5 mp to within striking
distance Of q man. So cat creeps to
within striking distance Of bird. The
sharpest ear could detect no sound. The
Shadows Of evening could not have crept
more noiselessly.
Now the human cat has reached the
end of the barricade. Now he turns
into the mouth of the canyon. Now he
advances up the center. It is so dark
in tn. 4 that he cannot see his hand
WIZ, ;. d at arms length. Instinct
guides him. A rock lies in his path. He
knows this before he sees it. He creepe
up and carefully passes his hand over
1t. If the white men came in there with
their wagons they might have moved
the stone.
No, they did not. He creeps to an
other and another. They have not been
disturbed. He shifts at the air. II there
was the least fire he would discover It..
He lies with his ear to the ground. The
stamp Of horse half mile away would
have been detected.
Creep! Creepi Creepi
Now he is within sixty feet Of the
wagons, now It Is fifty, now forty. The
slightest cough--a sleeper's change Of
position, q woman's signing M she
dreamed--would reach his ear. He
heard nothing. Not a stone has been
disturbed-not wheel print can he
find ~ he passes. For ten long min.
utes tho red man listens with earl
strained to catch the slightest sound.
Silence-nothing but silence.
Now he Is satisfied. He rises TO his
feet and walks back to the barricade,
turns to the left and holds straight for
the camp on tho opposite side without a
pause. He is satisfied at last. He finds
every warrior awake and alert FOR an
alarm. In a few words he makes his
report to the chief, and in ten minutes
more the band is fitting down the valley
SO quietly that their departure is not
suspected.
Morning comes and the men in the
canyon are filed with establishment and
satisfaction. They could not know
what the scout would report. and not an
eye had closed in sleep during the night.
Now for breakfast and then we will
be off," said the captain after satisfying
himself that the enemy had departed.
An hour later every wagon was ready
to move and the train passed down the
valley q couple Of miles, crossed over
into the smaller valley in which Taylor
had encamped the day he was driven
ont, and / leave them for n time. A.
they push ahead to find route through
the foothills to the plains.
CHATTER XIV.
Three days after discovering the cave
Of gold the outlaw baud was ready 30
break camp and head for civilization.
The contents If the cave had been
weighed and estimated and the sum In
dollars and cents was beyond their wild
est expectations. The precious metal
In tbc t.nttnv,. ~ Ga, xraynxa