CHAPTER XIV

THE LANDSLIDE

ROGER tripped over some obstacle, so that both he and Dick fell flat on their faces, though neither had the misfortune to be injured other than to receive minor bruises.

"Why, what happened then?" gasped Roger, as he sat up and commenced to rub one of his elbows.

Mayhew had evidently also leaped hurriedly back, for he was crouching near the two boys, staring fixedly at some point just beyond, and looking not only puzzled but deeply concerned.

"There was some sort of slip in the rock at the edge of that hole," explained Dick, breathing hard after his sudden exertion. "I was afraid the whole platform might be about to fall into the abyss, and that was why I dragged you back. It was better to be on the safe side, you know."

"What will cross our path next, I wonder?" grumbled Roger. "We seem to be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. First it is Indians who are about to wipe us out; then we come near being boiled in a pyramid of steaming water, and, as if that were not enough, here we have a narrow escape from being dropped into a bottomless pit."

"It's nip and tuck which sort of end will get us sooner or later," remarked Mayhew soberly; almost as though he had made up his mind that there was no use of resisting his manifest destiny.

"Let's get away from this horrible place as soon as we can, Dick," urged Roger. "As to spending the night here, you will have to excuse me! We had better shoulder our packs and--oh! where are they, Dick? I am sure I laid mine down at the time we stopped to take a look around."

Dick looked deeply worried.

"Yes, the three of us did the same thing. As you say, they have disappeared, and I fear we have lost our blankets and provisions and extra ammunition."

His words created a panic in the breast of his comrade, for Roger scrambled to his feet from his knees, clutching the sleeve of Dick's deerskin hunting tunic, and crying out:

"Oh! can it be possible that they were carried down with that avalanche when the slip occurred? And do you think we can recover them again?"

"I hope so," replied the other lad, soberly, "for it will be a serious thing for us if we lose all we had in those packs. But we must be careful how we approach the edge, if it crumbles so easily. We would not care to be carried after our blankets, riding an avalanche!"

Cautiously picking their way, they finally managed to creep to where they could look down into the yawning abyss. It filled them with awe and despair. So far as they could see the walls were almost perpendicular, and extended far beyond their limited range of vision.

"We could never get down there alive," Roger confessed, as he looked shudderingly into the chasm that had swallowed up their valued possessions. "And I am afraid we have seen the last of those blankets."

"Of course," said the other, consolingly, "once we return to the camp we can obtain warm furs from the Indians, that will take their place for sleeping purposes."

"But what are we to do now," reasoned Roger, "far away from the Mandan village, and so situated that we dare not build a camp fire at night, no matter how bitter cold it turns?"

"That is a hard question for me to answer," Dick admitted, candidly. "If it comes to the worst, of course we can turn back, and give over our hunt for Jasper Williams. If he should change his mind and return to the camp all would be well. On the other hand, if he stayed out the main part of the winter, or the Indians were holding him a prisoner, we would stand to lose all we had won."

"And our dear parents must see their homes taken away from them by that rascally Lascelles," groaned Roger, grinding his teeth in his distress. "Dick, sooner than allow that, I would try to stay out here all winter, taking my chances with the wolves, the Indians, and these terrible things that surround us on every side."

"Remember our old motto, Roger, that carried us through so many troubles in the past--never despair, no matter how black the skies look. We will come out on top yet,--we _must_!"

"Do you think that awful hole can have any bottom, Dick?"

For answer the other dropped a large bit of rock, being careful to cast it far out from the wall underneath them.

It seemed a long time before they believed they caught the faintest kind of sound away down in the black depths.

"Why, it must be nearly half a mile deep!" cried the astonished Roger. "We can never hope to see our things again, for a fact."

"I'm afraid that's the truth," admitted Dick. "It is a great misfortune, but we must face it bravely. 'There are more ways than one to skin a cat,' you know Jasper used to say; and, while things look dark for us just now, we can find a way out, never fear."

They backed away carefully, not wishing to start another slide that might carry them down to keep company with the lost outfit. At least they had their guns, and a fair stock of ammunition to fall back on. Besides this they were warmly dressed, and able to resist to some extent the attack of the wintry winds.

Dick brought this to the attention of his companions as they trudged onward. He was always finding some reason for plucking up hope; conditions, according to Dick's healthy mind, were never so had but that they might be worse.

Some time later they drew up, Mayhew suggesting that they could hardly find a better place to spend the night than where they were. A small stream ran past, and it was cold water, too, as they soon discovered.

"Trout in it!" Mayhew announced, as though he had something on his mind, "and if you say the word, I think I can get a few of them. The season is late; but, since winter is still holding off, they may bite at a bait."

"It would be a good idea," returned Dick, "since we have lost all our supplies we will have to get food by all sorts of means. Our guns should bring us in game, if only we dare fire them. Yes, try the fishing, Mayhew, and good luck to you."

The guide had some hooks with him, for he always went prepared to provide himself with a tasty meal from a convenient stream, being very fond of fish. He also found some fragments of meat with which to bait his hooks. While the others were making ready to start a small flame in a depression, where it could not betray them to lurking enemies, Mayhew began his angling.

Fortunately for the little party the trout were both hungry and guileless. They had never had any acquaintance with such a thing as a fish-hook. Perhaps, once in a long time, some passing Indian brave may have used his primitive fish spear in order to secure a meal, but this had failed to educate them in the wiles of the human race.

And so it came about that presently Mayhew proudly exhibited a beautiful trout that, being freshly caught, seemed to glow with all the colors of the rainbow.

"Two more like it would make us all a fine meal," said Dick, as he surveyed the prize.

"I can get them, never fear, unless my cunning has deserted me," the guide told him, confidently.

It proved that his boast was good, since a second fish was soon taken, although they had to wait until almost dark before a third came to hook.

Meanwhile Roger had prepared the two already captured, and they were all soon being held over the red coals lying in the hole that served as a fireplace. Such experienced woodsmen as the adventurers were knew how to cook meat and fish without any necessity for a frying-pan. Nor would they miss salt with which to season it. A sharp appetite takes the place of these things in the woods.

Perhaps all of them could have eaten more had they been given a chance; for, although the trout had been of unusual size, they seemed to disappear most miraculously, once the hungry campers started in to make their supper.

This duty done, they faced another dilemma. How were they to keep warm as they slept? Accustomed to snuggling down inside their blankets when the wind whistled, it was not the nicest outlook to face a night in the open, with no protection from the chilly air.

The worst of it was that they could not build a roaring fire to warm them. Had that been possible, no one could have found any reason for complaint; but it would be next door to madness, in the estimation of the borderman, to have attempted it, with those hostiles not far away, and ready to creep upon them as they slept.

Dick noted the rising wind with uneasiness. It was gradually swinging around so as to come out of the northwest, too, and that was the point where the wintry storms came from. When a gale blew from that quarter, with a sting in its breath, wise people kept to their cabins, and declined to venture forth until the worst had passed.

What would become of them should they be caught in this open camp, without any fire, and destitute of robes or blankets? Dick expected to hear Roger make some remark bearing on this matter, at any moment now; for he knew the other must be beginning to shiver as he sat in uncomfortable silence, evidently brooding over the many troubles by which they were confronted, and trying to see a way out.

Mayhew was prowling about close by. It was not pitch dark, though one must possess good eyes in order to see with any degree of accuracy.

"He's looking to see if we can better our condition," thought Dick, when he had watched the guide examining a pile of rocks in the immediate vicinity that may have been heaped up for some purpose by Indians, years and years before.

Apparently Mayhew was not finding much encouragement in his search, for Dick could hear him muttering rather disconsolately to himself, though he did not seem disposed to give up entirely, being possessed of a stubborn nature.

Soon Roger was rubbing his hands one over the other, which indicated that he felt the cold. Dick's mental figuring had produced results, and he believed a proposition he meant to offer would strike the others favorably. He was only waiting for Roger to open the subject.

Presently Roger got up on his feet and commenced to thresh both arms back and forth. It has always been known as a good means for starting circulation when the blood is chilled from inaction; though Roger could not obtain the best results on account of having to refrain from making any more noise than was absolutely necessary.

Dick thought the time had arrived to make his suggestion. The wind was blowing strongly by them, with every prospect of a still further increase in velocity. If it kept up throughout the night the dawn would turn out to be bitterly cold; and, unless they were able to find shelter, they might perish.

"This is an exposed camp, don't you think, Roger?" he began.

"Yes, and unless we can have a fire I hate to think what will happen to us before another day comes around," the other replied.

"Then we must make a change," Dick told him.

"That is easy to say, but where can we go that would be better?"

"I know a place," came the confident reply, "so get ready to go with me, both of you."