Dusty Star Part 20

On the evening of the third day, a Scout belonging to the Yellow Dogs took a strange tale back to the tribe. Out on the prairies to the west, he said, he had come upon a great pack of wolves. They were led by a white wolf of enormous size, and were travelling eastwards. As he was uncertain what such a large body of wolves might do, he had not waited to watch their further movements, and had given them a wide berth. The Yellow Dogs did not treat the news seriously. At this time of the year, the wolves, even in large numbers, were not dangerous. Now that hunting was good, they would not attack human beings. It was only in winter, when the moose yarded and game grew scarce, that men watched the gaunt grey bodies that hung about the thickets, and listened uneasily to the eerie cry far off over the frozen levels, as it rang from the throats of a famished pack which had found a promising trail. Besides, the Yellow Dogs had more important matters to consider. Now or never the attack upon Dusty Star's people must be made. The moon was favourable now. She did not rise until a sufficiently long time after sunset to enable them to approach the enemy's camp under cover of the dark, so as to be able to deliver the long-planned attack in the growing light of her beams.

Without waiting for any further delay, small scouting parties were ordered to go on ahead; and the advance began.

But there were other scouts abroad, of which neither the Yellow Dogs nor their intended victims were aware. Every thicket, and matted tangle of prairie gra.s.s, seemed to conceal one. There was hardly a hollow that did not harbour some crouching form; and the prairie b.u.t.tes had eyes. As the great Yellow Dog war party moved stealthily forwards, it was shadowed by another company more numerous and more stealthy still. This second company was roughly divided into three main bodies, with small intermediate bands which seemed to move independently, but which were in reality in touch with one or other of the larger groups.

The night was windless and very still, the few vagrant wafts of air which occasionally stirred the prairie gra.s.ses, flowing softly from the west. The older and more experienced of the Yellow Dog warriors could not understand the night. From time to time they seemed to catch a faint wolf smell from the west. And the stillness seemed full of some invisible motion as if the very prairies moved. Moreover it was very plain that the ponies were unusually restless. Now one, now another, would snort and whinney, or shy at some vague shadow which melted into the dark.

In the Comanache camp, things were much as they had been for many days past. A careful watch was still kept towards the north. But the general opinion was that the Yellow Dogs had delayed their threatened attack so long that they had at length given up the intention. Spotted Eagle was in his tepee consulting with one or two other chiefs, when suddenly the door flap was raised, and Dusty Star stood before them.

The suddenness of his arrival, and the change wrought in his appearance during his long absence, prevented Spotted Eagle from recognizing in the tall, imposing-looking youth who now stood before him, the wild boy with the wolfish ways who had disappeared mysteriously many moons ago.

There was a pause of typical Indian silence, while the piercing eyes in the tepee looked him through and through, before Spotted Eagle asked him his business.

"I am Dusty Star," the boy said quietly.

If the Thunder-bird itself had p.r.o.nounced the words under cover of its deafening wings, they could not have produced a more startling effect.

Spotted Eagle and his companions rose instantly to their feet. Although the old chief's face did not betray his feelings, his action, together with that of his followers showed how deeply he was moved.

"You have come?" he asked incredulously. "Lone Chief brought us your message that you would not come."

"Lone Chief spoke truly," Dusty Star answered, "but there was something within me which was stronger than my words. I have come to help my people against the Yellow Dogs."

The old chief bowed his head as an expression of grat.i.tude, but said nothing.

"The Yellow Dogs are even now approaching," Dusty Star continued. "Yet the camp is unguarded. I came in from the south. No one challenged me."

"The Yellow Dogs do not come from the south," Spotted Eagle answered.

"Their camp is far to the north. We watch the north. Also our scouts have been out to the east and west. Only a wolf could steal upon us from the south."

Dusty Star was not slow to catch the double meaning of the old chief's remark. His eyes flashed as he answered quickly.

"Your only help comes with the wolf."

"It is you who must help us," the Chief replied earnestly. "You will lead our braves, as if you were my own son. See, I will order them to get ready. If the Yellow Dogs are indeed approaching we must surprise them by an attack."

He was about to give the order, when Dusty Star interrupted him.

"You must not go out to attack," he said hurriedly. "See that the braves are fully prepared, but do not allow them to leave the camp. If I am to help you, you must do as I say. I have made my plans. Do not attack until you have heard the signal of the wolves."

Then, without another word, he lifted the door flap, and was gone.

The news that the Yellow Dogs were upon them, threw the camp into a state of terrible fear. Even the news of Dusty Star's miraculous reappearance was not sufficient to rea.s.sure them. Their nerves were over-strained with the watching of long days and nights. And now, when they had believed the danger to be past, its sudden revival filled them with an unreasoning dread. It was in vain that Spotted Eagle did his utmost to inspire them with confidence, by quoting Dusty Star's words.

What did his speeches mean, they asked. What signal was that which would come for them from the wolves? The camp was in confusion, some advising one thing, some another. It was only Spotted Eagle's express orders which prevented a large party going out to meet the enemy and offering battle.

The time went on, and nothing happened. There was no sign of the enemy.

Spotted Eagle, listening anxiously, caught no sound that might be the signal of which Dusty Star had spoken. He grew more and more uneasy as the time pa.s.sed.

On leaving the chief's tepee, Dusty Star had left the camp immediately, not even waiting to show himself to his parents. He dared not risk any delay, realizing that upon him and his wolves their fates, as well as that of the whole tribe, rested.

Over the dark surface of the prairie he pa.s.sed with a swift step, knowing where his waiting wolves were to be found. In a very short time he was among them. A third of the pack--that upon the west--was about him. He knew that Kiopo, and the wolves under his charge would be lying somewhere to the east. To the north, d.o.g.g.i.ng the heels of the advancing Yellow Dogs, the White Wolf and his company closed stealthily in.

Totally unprepared for the fate awaiting them, the Yellow Dogs came on.

When they were about half-a-mile from the camp, they stopped; for it was understood that the attack was not to be delivered until the moon had risen.

In the north-east, an increasing brightness showed that her appearance was very near. About them the prairies began to take on a pallid glimmer, in which objects wore mysterious shapes. As the light increased, the ponies became more and more restless. Their riders dreaded lest the sounds of their growing uneasiness should be carried to some sharply-listening ear in the camp which they were waiting to surprise. They began to be certain that animals of some sort, wolves, or bison, must be somewhere in the locality. The nervousness of the ponies communicated itself to their masters. A whisper ran that it would be better to move at once, without waiting for the moon. Only that their chiefs remained firm, they would have advanced to the attack.

At length, the edge of the moon's disc rose into sight above the eastern hills. Instantly there was a movement of expectation in the Indian's ranks. They only waited now for the signal from their leader to launch the long-delayed attack. But before that signal came, another was heard.

The moon had barely raised herself clear of the hills when a deep, long-drawn howl broke the intense stillness to the west. The waiting Indians recognized it as the mustering call of the hunting wolf when he summons the pack. The note carried for an infinite distance. Hardly had it died away, when it was answered from the east. Then, silence as before. And the moon began to cast long shadows--shadows that seemed to move!

Out from the thickets, up from the hollows, down the dark slopes of the bluffs, the shadows crept.

The wolves were closing in!

In the camp, Spotted Eagle stood uncertain what to do. He had distinctly heard the wolf-calls, but could not be sure whether they were signals from Dusty Star or not. The camp, hushed with suspense, was very still.

A subdued murmur, rising here and there at intervals, was all that could be heard. Now and then a woman's figure would step softly from one tepee to another, or a husky would slink across a moonlit s.p.a.ce. There was no other movement.

Suddenly, a dull sound like distant thunder came from the north. It grew louder moment by moment. As all listening ears knew well, it was the beat of galloping hoofs. A series of savage shouts now broke into it--the mingled war-cries of the Yellow Dogs, and their Allies.

There was no time now to wait for the promised signal from Dusty Star.

In an instant, Spotted Eagle's heart was black with rage and fear. There would be no sign from the wolves. The wolf-boy had betrayed them. His promise, like his name, was a puff-ball after all!

The Chief was just about to give the order to advance, when another sound caught his ear. It was a chorus of sharp barks mingled with howls that seemed to come from all sides at once. It swelled onward in a deafening clamour that filled the prairies to the horizon. It was a sound to which all old Indian hunters responded with a thrill--that last terrible rallying cry of wolves when their chase is ended, and the prey about to be pulled down; the pitiless summons, "Close in!"

Instantly, Spotted Eagle gave the command, and lifting their shrill war-cry, the Comanaches rushed out to meet their foes.

They were hardly clear of the camp, when they stopped, bewildered by the extraordinary sight before them.

In the clear light of the now fully risen moon, they saw a dense ma.s.s of Indians in violent commotion, with their ponies rearing and kicking in the wildest confusion. On the outskirts of the ma.s.s, and completely encircling it, was an enormous pack of wolves, which leaped and dashed against its edges like the waves of a living sea.

Here and there a small company of Indians would thrust itself from the main body, forcing their a.s.sailants to give way. But before they could gain sufficient headway to get through, and make their escape, it seemed as if a rising tide of wolves overwhelmed them and drove them back.

Again and again the Indians made a desperate effort to break through; and each time the waves of the billowing pack surged over them, broke, and surged again.

Amid all the bewildering confusion of the struggle, two objects showed themselves distinctly again and again. One was a huge white wolf whose body, gleaming in the moon, was continually hurling itself against the Indians in the thickest of the fight and goading the packs on. It was in ceaseless movement, first on one side, then on the other. Now it would be lost to view among the dark bodies of its mates; now it would flash into sight at some other point, like a beam of leaping light.

The other object was the figure of a tall Indian boy, who was also perpetually changing his position as he mingled with the wolves, and which the thunderstruck Comanaches realized could be no other than that of Dusty Star himself.

Like the white wolf, his efforts seemed directed to urging the wolves forward at any point where they were in danger of giving way. Now and again as he flung up his arms, he would utter a wild cry, half-human, half-wolf, which, piercing the general uproar, rang like a note of doom.

At length, the Yellow Dogs, driven to a frenzy of desperation, forced a pa.s.sage through the ring of wolves at a point where it had grown thin.

As they burst forth towards the open prairie, it was plain that they had abandoned all intention of attacking the camp, and that their one idea was that of escape.

And now Dusty Star's figure was seen to break away from the wolves and to come running towards his people. As he ran, he shouted loudly, waving his arms excitedly in the direction of their fleeing foes.

Without a moment's further delay, Spotted Eagle gave the signal, and the Comanaches leaped to their ponies.