The Boy Land Boomer Part 19

"But whar is Nellie?" asked Rasco, impatiently, looking around with a falling face.

"She ran away when the other Indians came to Yellow Elk's a.s.sistance,"

answered p.a.w.nee Brown, and in a few hurried words he told his story.

"Then she can't be far off."

"Let us hunt for her at once," cried d.i.c.k, and his enthusiasm made the men laugh, at which the boy blushed furiously.

"Never mind, d.i.c.k, yer don't think no more of her nor I do," said Rasco.

"Which way, p.a.w.nee?"

"This way, boys." The scout turned to the Indian who had been wounded.

"Dead as a door nail. Pity it wasn't Yellow Elk."

"So say I," answered Rasco. "But we'll git him yet, mark my words!"

With all possible speed they ran out of the cave and to the spot where they had left their horses. Here a disagreeable surprise awaited them.

Every animal was gone, including the one p.a.w.nee Brown had ridden.

"More of Yellow Elk's work!" muttered the boomer. "I'll tell you, men, that red is a corker, and as a dead Indian he couldn't be beat."

"I declar' this most stumps me!" growled Dan Gilbert. "Here's the trail plain enough, but it's all out of the question ter follow on shank's own mare."

"Let us hunt up Clemmer and the others," suggested Jack Rasco.

"We must be cautious--the cavalry may be somewhere in the vicinity,"

added p.a.w.nee Brown. "How the redskins escaped them is a mystery to me."

"They are evidently as sly as their forefathers," said d.i.c.k. "But, really, something ought to be done. If we--hullo, there's a horse down in yonder clearing!"

"Bonnie Bird!" shouted p.a.w.nee Brown, in great delight. It was indeed the beautiful mare. A second cry and the steed came bounding up to her master.

"Now I can follow even if the others can't," said the scout. "Rasco, it's a pity you haven't a mount. It is no more than right that you should follow up your niece. If you insist upon it I'll let you have Bonnie Bird. I wonder if Nellie or the redskin had her?"

"I won't take yer horse, p.a.w.nee--it's askin' too much," answered Rasco.

"Supposin' we both mount her? If Bonnie Bird got away from Yellow Elk it's more'n likely one of the other hosses got away, too."

"That's so. Well, get up, Jack, and let us lose no time."

Soon both men were mounted. A few words all around followed, and it was agreed that d.i.c.k and Gilbert should try to hunt up Clemmer and the others, and then away went p.a.w.nee Brown and Rasco upon Yellow Elk's trail.

Suddenly Jack Rasco uttered a cry.

"See, p.a.w.nee, here's whar another of the hosses got away. Hang me if I don't think it war my hoss, too!"

"Yes, and here is where the horse dropped into a walk," he answered. "I don't believe he can be far off."

Without delay Rasco slid to the ground.

"I'll follow him up afoot," he declared. "I'm fresh and can run it putty good. You go ahead with the regular trail."

The trail left by Yellow Elk ran down along the edge of the stream for a distance of perhaps a hundred yards, then it came out on a series of flat rocks and was lost to view.

p.a.w.nee Brown came to a halt. Had Yellow Elk crossed the stream, or doubled on the trail and gone back?

Dismounting, he got down upon his hands and knees and examined the last hoof-prints with extreme care.

The examination lasted for fully ten minutes. No white man could follow a trail better than this leader of the boomers, yet for the time being he was baffled.

Yellow Elk had led the horses into the water, but the trail did not extend across the stream.

"He's an artful dodger!" mused p.a.w.nee Brown, when of a sudden he became silent.

A faint scratching, as of tree bark, had come to his ears. The noise was but a short distance away.

"Some animal," he thought. "No human being would make such a sound as that."

Another ten seconds of painful silence followed. The scratching sound had just been resumed when Bonnie Bird wheeled about as if on a pivot.

"Ha!"

The exclamation came from between p.a.w.nee Brown's set teeth. There, from between the branches of a tree just in front of him, glared a pair of yellowish-green eyes.

The blazing optics belonged to a monstrous wildcat!

As quick as a flash p.a.w.nee Brown raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.

Crack! The wildcat was. .h.i.t in the side. The shot was a glancing one and did but little damage.

Whirr! down came the body straight for the boomer, landing half upon his shoulder and half upon Bonnie Bird's mane.

The little mare was thoroughly frightened, and giving a snort and a plunge she threw both rider and wildcat to the ground.

As p.a.w.nee Brown went down he tried to push the monstrous cat from him, but the beast had its claws fastened in the scout's clothing and could not be shook off.

Crack! Again p.a.w.nee Brown fired. The flash was almost directly in the wildcat's face, and shot in the left forepaw the beast uttered a fearful howl of pain and dropped back.

But only for an instant. The pain only increased its anger, and with gleaming teeth it crouched down and made another spring, right for the boomer's throat.

Crack! crack! twice again the pistol rang out. But the big cat was now wary and both shots failed to take effect.

The pistol being now empty, p.a.w.nee Brown hurled it at the enraged beast, striking it in the nose and eliciting another scream of rage.

Then, as the wildcat came on for a final attack, the scout pulled out his hunting knife.

As the wildcat came down the hand holding the hunting knife was raised, with the blade of the knife pointing upward.

A lightning-like swing and a thrust, and for one brief instant the wildcat was poised in the air, upon the very blade of the long knife.