MUL-TAL-LA, the Blackfoot, performed some mental calculations that would have been creditable to Deerfoot, the Shawanoe.

Possessing a remarkable memory of places, he easily recalled the location of the pass which he and his companions had used when on their journey eastward. Naturally he planned to utilize it again on his return with his three friends. He did not forget that during his visit to Black Elk, on the former occasion, he had described the route by which he crossed the formidable mountain range. The Shoshone chieftain praised his skill and wisdom in making use of the pass, which he himself had traversed more than once.

It followed, therefore, that Black Elk would expect his old acquaintance to guide the youths over the same course. He had therefore signaled to the Shoshones in the mountains to cut off the little party, and the most promising place for that was in the pass which was familiar to both. Consequently, the prudent thing for Mul-tal-la to do was to mislead Black Elk as to his time of entering the pass.

It has been said that the entrance could be reached by the close of the afternoon, but the first intention of the Blackfoot was to camp at this entrance until the following morning, arranging to make the passage by daylight. You must not form the idea that when a mountain pass is referred to, it is in the nature of a road which can be followed without trouble and that few difficulties are met. The great South Pass through the Rockies is twenty miles wide in many places, and a party of emigrants have often entered and tramped it for a long way before learning they were journeying over an old route that has been used by thousands of persons in crossing the plains.

A mountain pass as understood in the West may be described as a means of getting across or through a range. It often involves steep climbing and descent, winding past wild and dangerous precipices, with the hardest work conceivable. It requires several days and sometimes a week or more to traverse. It has happened that a party, after penetrating to a long distance, has discovered that they have been following a blind path, and they are obliged to turn back and hunt for a new one. The most experienced mountaineers sometimes go astray. On one of Fremont’s exploring expeditions his guide lost his way and the most disastrous results followed. Many of the hardiest scouts and all of the mules froze to death, and the explorer himself had a narrow escape from a similar fate.

It would have been impossible for the two Blackfeet to find their way through the range had they been forced to depend upon themselves, but the trail had been used for years by hunters and wild animals, and was so clearly marked that, traveling only by daylight, it was easy to avoid going wrong.

Mul-tal-la explained the problem that confronted him, and the boys saw it was both difficult and dangerous. His plan was to press on till they arrived at the entrance to the pass, and then, instead of waiting until morning, do the utmost traveling possible by night. The Shoshones would not expect this. Therefore, if all went well, our friends would gain a good start and, by keeping it up as long as they could, might throw their enemies so far to the rear that they would be eluded. The Blackfoot thought they could reach the comparatively level country beyond at the end of three days, provided they made good use of the nights, which, you will remember, were partly lit by the moon, and provided also the weather continued fair.

“The smoke of this fire will tell Black Elk where we are,” remarked George Shelton, when they were about to resume their journey.

“Yes; had Mul-tal-la seen the signal of Black Elk the fire would not have been started, but it is too late now.”

“It seems to me,” said Victor, “that since you have located Black Elk and his party, the only thing left is to keep a lookout for the Shoshones in front.”

“My brother speaks the words of wisdom.”

“Thanks—and now, Mul-tal-la, why not go by that pass you have been talking about and take a new one through the mountains?”

The Blackfoot explained that that was the question he had been turning over in his mind, but the plan could not be followed, because he had no knowledge of any other path. There might be none, or, at best, he would have to spend a long time in hunting for it, and when found, they were likely to be turned back by obstructions of which they could know nothing until they faced them. The conclusion was therefore clear: they must use the old pass with which he was familiar.

But the Blackfoot had a little trick in mind, which he explained to his friends. They would select a camping site among the foothills near where they would have to make the change of route to enter the mountains. They would start another fire, whose smoke would give their enemies the impression that they had halted for the night. The Shoshones, following the rule of their race, were not likely to molest the travelers until the night was well advanced, and by that time Mul-tal-la hoped to be beyond reach. Care and skill and not a little good fortune were necessary to success, but the faithful guide was hopeful.

It took only a fraction of the time I have used for a full understanding to be reached by the Blackfoot and the boys. At the request of George Shelton, their friend retained the spyglass, while he and his brother depended upon their unaided eyesight. Mul-tal-la held his position a hundred yards, more or less, in advance, with the laden Zigzag plodding after and the brothers bringing up the rear. All were fortunate in one respect: none of the animals—omitting the previous accident to the horse Simon and later to Whirlwind—had fallen lame. This was fortunate when it is remembered that all were unshod and they had been obliged to pass more than one rough place. This good fortune could hardly be expected to continue, now that the hardest part of the journey thus far confronted them.

The course wound among the elevations and depressions, past boulders and rocks, with grass, trees and undergrowth continually obtruding, and with the rugged outlines of the mountains towering above the cloud line on their left. At varying distances the great peaks climbed far into the sky, their crests white with snow, and in some cases the fleecy clouds wrapped them about so closely that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began.

Now and then a breath of icy air was wafted over the lads, and they involuntarily shivered. Then in the soft hush the weather for a time became oppressive. Up and down, to the right and left, in and out, the three pushed onward, making better progress than at any time for weeks before.

The guide gave the boys no attention, for none was necessary. They understood matters, and the part they had to play was simple. The Blackfoot could be seen now and then to check his horse and lift the instrument to his eye. While he gave his chief attention to the front, he did not neglect to scan every portion of his field of vision.

One fact puzzled the Blackfoot. Hours had passed since Black Elk sent his signal across the miles of country, but the reply, so far as Mul-tal-la could discover, was yet to be given. It could hardly be done without his seeing it. The fact that nothing showed suggested the possibility of there being no Shoshones in that section to answer the command of their chief. Such might be the fact, but it was unlikely that a veteran like Black Elk would call to any of his warriors unless he knew they would respond. Mul-tal-la acted as if such a contingency was out of the question.

The sunlight was still in the air when the Blackfoot reined in his horse and dropped from his back. They were in a rough, broken section, filled with rocks, undergrowth, stunted pines, oaks and other varieties of trees, while a small brook brawled and splashed and tumbled some distance away in its eager hunt for a channel to the Platte.

“It looks as if we are done for the day,” said George, noting the action of their friend. “If we are, we have made better time than we expected.”

The Blackfoot beckoned them to approach, and they rode up beside him.

“Here we wait till night,” he explained. “When we turn yonder we begin to travel over the trail that will bring us into the open country on the other side of the mountains—if Black Elk does not say no,” he added, with his meaning grin.

“You have seen nothing of the answer to his signal?” asked George.

“No; the sky in front and over the mountains is clear”——

“How about that?” broke in Victor, pointing to the westward, in which direction the pass extended.

The others turned and saw that which they had been hoping not to see. A spiral, oscillating line of smoke was creeping slowly upward in the clear air. Moreover, it was not more than half a mile distant. Although the reply of the Shoshones to their chief had been delayed, it had come at last. The warriors were on hand, and in the path which the travelers had intended to follow.

The three scanned the telltale column of vapor in silence. In the circumstances the glass could give no help. The interval was too brief and the object itself too ethereal and vague to call for any strengthening of vision. Finally George asked, involuntarily dropping his voice, as one does in the presence of danger:

“Will that change your plans, Mul-tal-la?”

He thought for a minute, with his eyes still on the smoke, before answering.

“Mul-tal-la cannot speak of a surety, but he does not think so.”

As he explained matters from his point of view, the former course that he had indicated remained the right one to follow. The discovery simply added another element of danger to that which was there from the first. By kindling the fire where they had halted, they would give the impression that they had gone into camp for the night. This subterfuge ought to lure the Shoshones to the place in order to make their attack during the darkness.

The situation could not have been more delicate. To carry out the plan of the Blackfoot it was necessary for him and his companions to set out over the pass as soon as it became dark. They would thus be going directly toward the hostiles, who, in case they did not wait until a late hour, would be coming at the same time toward the travelers. Using the one road, it would seem that an encounter was inevitable.

The hope of averting such a meeting rested on the fact that the pass was of varying width, and in many places two or three routes were open. Two men following opposite directions might miss each other by a half-mile interval, and without the possibility of mutual discovery. Again there were stretches where they would have to come face to face. A not important advantage of our friends was that they would be expecting—and would, therefore, be on the lookout for—the Shoshones, while it was not likely the latter would be watching for the Blackfoot and the boys, who were supposed to be at the entrance to the pass, where the smoke of their camp-fire spoke of their presence.

A vigorous blaze having been started, Mul-tal-la took the lead as before. It was understood that he was to hold his place considerably farther in advance than usual. Upon the first sign of their enemies he would warn them by signal, when they could conceal themselves, if possible, until the hostiles passed down the trail to the supposed camp. If this could be accomplished, the danger would be past and the problem solved. Everything depended upon the skill of the Blackfoot.

Night had begun closing in when the start was made in the order named, excepting that Mul-tal-la, as has been stated, led by a longer interval, and Victor Shelton was at the extreme rear. The guide was invisible to the boys most of the time.

The trail steadily ascended, and for an hour or more was easy traveling. It wound to the right or left, passing into deep hollows, climbing steep ridges, circling obstructions in the form of massive piles of rocks, but without interposing any difficult places where it was necessary to halt or grope one’s way.

The little company had penetrated more than a mile in this manner without hearing or seeing anything to cause alarm. Mul-tal-la was beyond sight, but the boys, George leading, were silent, listening and peering into the gloom, which, as yet, was unlighted by the moon. That would not rise for some time to come.

Suddenly a soft tremulous whistle came from the front. This was the signal agreed upon, and the brothers instantly halted. Zigzag was so well trained that he did the same. It had been deemed best to place him between Jack and Prince, so as to hem him in, as may be said.

Fortunately the check came at a favorable point. The rocks and undergrowth on the right offered a good place for hiding, and George Shelton, slipping from his saddle, grasped the bridle rein of his horse and forced him to one side. The animal stumbled, but a few steps took him far enough. Leaving him, George dashed back to Zigzag, and with harder work almost dragged him after Jack. Victor was on the ground almost as soon as his brother, so that the boys and three horses were speedily bunched together, beyond sight of anyone passing over the trail unless his attention was drawn to them.

Quick as they had been the precaution was not a minute too soon. Mul-tal-la must have failed to discover his peril until it was almost upon him.

The first warning was a singular one. A sneeze sounded, followed by a guttural exclamation, and the next moment the crouching lads saw the dim outlines of a warrior striding stealthily over the pass to the eastward. He was moving slowly, with head thrust forward, and carried a long bow in his hand. Before he passed out of sight a second loomed to view, then a third, a fourth and a fifth—all gliding like so many phantoms of the night, and doubtless making for the supposed camp of the travelers a mile or more away.

Stooping low and silently watching the shadows, the brothers were beginning to breathe freely when, to their consternation, Zigzag emitted a whinny which, in the stillness, could have been heard half a mile away.