Page:Allan Dunn--Dead Man's Gold.djvu/133

Rh "I think I did," said Stone, "I tried for the man on the white horse."

"I'm bloody sure I did," said Larkin, jubilantly. "I hused to be in the Territorials back 'ome before the war broke hout. I wiped the heyes of a bunch of the good uns in the Big Shoot at Bisley. That's height of the Injuns we got now, includin' the one 'Arvey touched up."

"They won't give us many more chances," said Harvey. "I'm tellin' ye, we're up against a hard game. They'll leave us alone fer a bit but they'll send back to the reservation right off now for reinforcements. You men never see an Indian camp when the news of the dead is brought in. The squaws howl for vengeance an' the Apaches are fighters first and last. This 'll stir up a real muss. They'll sneak off the reservation on the quiet, 'count of the troop at Fort Apache, an' they'll have us holed up good. Danm 'em, they got our burros, but we've got ca'tridges for a spell, an' water, an' the bacon an' stuff we lugged across.

"No use makin' a dash for it on foot," he muttered. They're lined up back of them cottonwoods where we can't see them. An' no use wastin' ca'tridges. Got to wait till dark, ennyway."

"What then?" asked Healy from back of the wall.

"Wot then?" parroted Larkin. "Wy, we're goin' to beat it w'ile the beatin' his good, afore they bring up the 'ole bloody reservation. Want to stay 'ere and get scalped or else starve to death, do ye? I don't."