So I got
out there, and Pedro and Gomez had got the sheep and cattle all
well together, and there was no fear of them straying, for the
grass there is very good. So the men lay down for their siesta, and
I was standing by my horse looking over the campo. Some of the
beasts seemed uneasy, and I thought that there must be a lion
somewhere about. So I got on my horse, and just as I did so I heard
a noise; and looking behind, where I had never dreamed of them, I
saw a lot of Indians coming up at full gallop from the hollow. The
cattle went off at the same instant; and I gave a shout to the men,
and stuck my spurs into Carlos. It was a near touch of it, and they
gave me a hard chase for the first mile; but my horse was fresher
than theirs, and they gave it up."
"How many Indians were there?" Charley asked.
"I don't know, Signor Charles. It was only those in front that I
caught sight of, and I never looked round after I started. Some of
them had firearms, for eight or ten of them fired after me as I
made off, and the arrow, fell all round me."
"What do you think, girls, about the number?"
The girls were silent, and then Ethel said: "They were all in a
lump, Charley. One could not see them separately."
"The lump seemed to be about the size that our cattle do when they
are close together at the same distance.
Pages:
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178