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Updated: May 31, 2025
Instinctively Manuelito glanced over his shoulder and saw a sight that told him horse-thieving would not save his tawny hide; that told him their retreat was cut off, and their only hope now was in standing together. Back among the pines through which they had come; well upon the ridge, and not ten miles away, blazed an Indian signal fire.
Then Chief Manuelito, who was highly elated with his victory over the Mexican, challenged me to a game in a very overbearing and provoking manner.
We went, three abreast, each one of them taking one of my brazitos queridos "beloved little arms;" as we went, they alternately indulged in admiring exclamations "Ah, Severo, what a maestro! how fine a gentleman! how amiable! Say Manuelito, was there ever such a one."
Old 'Gregg' will tow along behind the wagon. He is too tired to carry any one else this day and you Manuelito, hark ye, keep right behind 'Gregg. Don't fall back ten yards. I want you right here with us, and if anything goes wrong with your team, or you cannot keep up, shout and we'll wait for you. Now, then, Pike, forward!"
Chief Manuelito advanced, and extending his hand in greeting, said that he had often wished to meet me, the wizard who had beaten the champion marksman of the Navajo tribe.
A number of them, however, still kept up their monotonous dance, varied every now and then by a yell of triumph; but the uproar and racket was not to be compared with what had been going on during the torture to which Manuelito had been subjected before they had mercifully, though most horribly, put an end to his sufferings.
Is he all ready, Manuelito? Let me glance at my little ones in the ambulance before I start." Who can say with what love and yearning the father bent over those little faces as he peered in upon them? The flickering light of the camp-fire threw an occasional glimmer over them just enough to enable him to see at times the contour yet hardly to reveal the features of "his babies."
"May I say a word to the captain?" "Certainly, Pike; say on." "I was watching Manuelito, sir, while the captain was talking with Sieber. Them greasers are a bad lot, sir one and all. There isn't one of 'em I'd trust as far as I could sling a bull by the tail.
Manuelito was thoroughly aware of this trait of his "stable-mate," else he had not dared to bring the captain's horse so close to the fire. Now his fierce, half Indian face seemed full of perplexity and dread. The Apache signal fire still glowed among the black pines away to the westward.
As luck would have it, Manuelito had stopped where the road began a pretty sharp descent and Pike felt sure that if they could only start the thing they could run the wagon almost opposite their hiding place. Then it would be far easier to get the stores up the rocks.
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