<h4>OUTWITTING THE REDSKINS</h4>
<p>Kris Kringle moved away without another word. His abrupt
departure was the signal for the Pony Rider boy to start, which
he did instantly.</p>
<p>In a few minutes Tad was skulking along the top of the
mountain, when he ran into the guide again.</p>
<p>Just then the report of a rifle sounded down below them.</p>
<p>"Are they shooting at us?" whispered Tad.</p>
<p>"No; the boys have lighted the fire in the cave. Our friends
down below took a pot shot at the blaze. Hope they didn't hit
anybody."</p>
<p>"Chunky would be the only one to get in the way, and I imagine
the others would hold him back."</p>
<p>"Come this way; we'll go down by a different trail. The
redskins are watching the fire in the cave, but they may be
keeping an eye on the trail at the same time."</p>
<p>Silently the man and the boy took their way along the rough,
uneven path, slowly working down into the valley. They soon
reached this, for the range was low there.</p>
<p>Reaching the foothills, the two scouts once more fell into
single file, Tad Butler to the rear. He knew that the guide's
rifle ahead of him was ready for instant use, and at any second
now Tad expected to see the flash of a gun.</p>
<p>The lad was not afraid, but he was all a-quiver with
excitement. This stalking an enemy in the dark, not knowing at
what minute that enemy might make the attack, was not the same as
a stand-up fight in broad daylight. Tad wondered why the guide
had not permitted the rest of the party to escape while they had
the opportunity. He did not know that Kris Kringle fully expected
an ambush, nor that two would stand a better chance to get
through and out-wit the savages than would half a dozen of them.
The pair had approached nearly to the camp, for which the guide
was heading, when suddenly a hand was laid on the boy's arm in a
firm grip. Tad knew the guide had seen or heard something.</p>
<p>"What is it?"</p>
<p>"There!"</p>
<p>In the faint light of the camp-fire the lad, gazing where Kris
Kringle had pointed, was astonished to see a figure seated at
their table. From his motions it was evident that the intruder
was stowing away the stolen fool at a great rate.</p>
<p>"Is that one of them?"</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>"He'll have indigestion, the way he's eating. Hope he doesn't
swallow the dishes, too."</p>
<p>"I'm going to find the other one. You crawl as close to the
camp as you can with safety. If you hear a disturbance, dive for
the tents the instant that fellow starts. He'll move if he hears
any noise. Get a gun and hurry to me, but be quiet about it."</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>"Remember your instructions. I may be able to handle both of
them, but if I don't get the missing one at the first crack I
shan't be able to take care of them both. You'll have to help me.
Got the nerve?"</p>
<p>"I'm not afraid," whispered the boy steadily. "And I've got
some muscle as well."</p>
<p>"That's evident. I'm off now."</p>
<p>Tad was left alone. This time he could feel the guide's
movements, as the latter slipped away on the soft earth. But in a
moment all sound was lost.</p>
<p>"I think I'll crawl up nearer, so as to be handy if anything
occurs," decided the lad, creeping along on all fours. He could
not see the light in the camp now, but he reasoned that the man
at the table was sitting with his back to it, as near as Tad
could judge of direction in the dark. The Indian seemed not to
fear a surprise.</p>
<p>"That's what comes from overconfidence," grinned the lad.</p>
<p>"I wish I had something to defend myself with," he added after
a pause.</p>
<p>Tad had no sooner expressed his wish, than his fingers closed
over some object on the ground. He grasped it with about the same
hopefulness that a dying man will grasp at a straw.</p>
<p>What he had found was a heavy tent stake, one that Kris
Kringle had dropped from his bundle on the way to the cliff
dweller's home.</p>
<p>The lad breathed a prayer of thankfulness and crept on with
renewed courage.</p>
<p>He proceeded as far as he dared; then, lay still, listening
for the noise of the expected conflict between the guide and the
other red man.</p>
<p>It came. The sound was like that of a body falling
heavily.</p>
<p>Once more the Indian at the table turned his head, listening
inquiringly. He made a half motion to rise, glanced at the table,
then sat down again and began to eat.</p>
<p>"His appetite has overcome his judgment," grinned Tad. The lad
could hear the faint sound of conflict somewhere to the rear of
him. He was getting uneasy and began to fidget.</p>
<p>All at once the red man sprang up, starting on a run, trailing
Stacy's rifle behind him. He was headed directly for the place
where Tad lay flattened on the ground, though the lad felt sure
his enemy did not see him.</p>
<p>But when the Indian suddenly sprang up into the air to avoid
stepping on the object that lay there, Tad knew that further
secrecy was useless. The redskin had jumped right over him,
dropping Chunky's rifle as he leaped. The gun fell on the Pony
Rider boy and for a second hindered his movements.</p>
<p>But Tad was up like a flash, while the Indian whirled no less
quickly, knife unsheathed, ready for battle.</p>
<p>This was where Tad's tent stake came in handy. Without it he
would have been in a much more serious fix. It was bad enough as
it was.</p>
<p>Without an instant's hesitation the lad brought the stake down
on the wrist of the hand that held the knife. The knife fell to
the ground, while the Indian, with a half-suppressed howl, sprang
at the slender lad. Though the fellow's wrist was well-nigh
useless at that moment, he was as full of fight as ever.</p>
<p>Tad stepped nimbly aside and tried to trip his adversary, but
the Indian was too sharp to be caught that way.</p>
<p>"If he ever gets those arms around me I'm a goner," thought
Tad, taking mental measure of his antagonist.</p>
<p>Suddenly the Indian swooped down, making a grab for the rifle
that he had dropped.</p>
<p>As the redskin stooped, Tad hit him a wallop on the head with
the tent stake. It must have made the savage see a shower of
stars.</p>
<p>At least, it staggered him so he was glad to let the weapon
remain where it was. For a few seconds the air was full of flying
legs and arms, during which the boy landed three times on the red
man, being himself unhurt.</p>
<p>Then the Indian succeeded in rushing into a clinch, and Tad
found himself gripped in those arms of steel. Wriggle and twist
as he would he could not free himself from their embrace. His
adversary, on the other hand, found himself fully occupied in
holding on to his slippery young antagonist, giving him neither
time nor opportunity effectually to dispose of the slender
lad.</p>
<p>Tad was unusually muscular for his years, to which was added
no little skill as wrestler. The Indian soon discovered both
these qualities. And, at about that time, the lad was resorting
to every trick he knew to place the Indian in a position where he
could be thrown.</p>
<p>The moment came with disconcerting suddenness, and Mr. Redman
uttered a loud grunt as he landed on the ground, flat on his
back. With a spring he lifted himself up, and the next instant he
had thrown the slight figure of the Pony Rider Boy so heavily
that everything about Tad grew black. He felt himself going. Then
all at once he lost consciousness.</p>
<p>When finally he awakened, Tad found a figure still bending
over him.</p>
<p>Quick as a flash the boy's arms went up, encircling the neck
of the man kneeling by him. The next instant the fellow was on
his back, with Tad sitting on his chest.</p>
<p>"Here, here! What's the matter with you?" gasped a muffled
voice, which Tad instantly recognized.</p>
<p>"Kris Kringle!" he gasped.</p>
<p>"Yes; and you nearly knocked the breath out of me," grinned
the guide, struggling to his feet. "Well, you certainly are a
whirlwind."</p>
<p>"I—I thought you were the Indian," mattered Tad in a
sheepish tone.</p>
<p>"If it had been, there would have been no need for my
interference."</p>
<p>"Where is he?"</p>
<p>"Over there, tied up. Both of them are. We'll decide what to
do with them when we get the party together."</p>
<p>"Tell me what happened," begged Tad.</p>
<p>The other fellow was so busy watching the cave that he forgot
to keep his ears open. I was able to approach him without being
detected. When I got near enough I laid the butt of my rifle over
his head. No, I didn't hurt him much. Just made him curl up on
the ground long enough to enable me to tie his hands and
feet.</p>
<p>"About that time I caught the sound of something going on over
here. I made a run, suspecting that you were mixing it up with
the other redskin. Guess I was just in time, too, for he had you
down and was reaching for something—"</p>
<p>"His knife," nodded Tad. "It's somewhere around here now."</p>
<p>"Well, I gave him the same medicine that I had given the
other. Now we'd better go and call the others."</p>
<p>"Thank you. I'd have been in a bad fix, if you hadn't come as
you did."</p>
<p>"So might I, had you not stopped the second one. We're quits
then," said the guide, extending his hand, which Tad grasped
warmly.</p>
<p>"I'll call the others, if you wish."</p>
<p>"Yes."</p>
<p>Tad ran over to the base of the cliff, and shouted loudly for
his companions. In half an hour the party had gathered about the
camp fire, engaged in an animated discussion over the stirring
experiences of the evening.</p>
<p>It was decided that the Indians should be placed on their
ponies, to which they were to be tied, with hands free and
provisions enough to last them until they reached their
reservation in the northern part of the state.</p>
<p>The guide restored their rifles to them after first taking
their ammunition and transferring it to his own kit.</p>
<p>"I've wasted nearly that much on you," he said. "And, if ever
you ride across my trail again, I'll use your own lead on you in
a way that will stop you. You won't need bullets like these in
the Happy Hunting Grounds, where you'll be going. Now, git!"</p>
<p>And they did. The redskins rode as if a ghost were pursuing
them.</p>
<p>"That's the last, we shall see of those gentlemen," laughed
Kris Kringle. "To-morrow morning we shall be on our way in
peace."</p>
<p>But the trail of the Pony Rider Boys was not to be all peace.
Before them—ere they reached the end of the Silver
Trail—they were to find other thrilling experiences
awaiting them.</p>
<h3>CHAPTER XX</h3>
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