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Woodfall, knowing the benefit of a complete rest, stilllingered, and Phil and his friends had much time forexploration. They combined this duty with that of thescouting, and penetrated deep into the hills, watchingfor any Comanches who might stray in there, or for themountain tribes. Once they came upon severalabandoned lodges, made partly of skins and partly of brush, but they were falling in ruins, and Bill Breakstonereckoned they were at least two years old.
"Wichitas, Wacos, Kechies, and Quapaws live aroundin the hills and mountains," he said, "and this, I takeit, was a little camp of Kechies, from the looks of thelodges. Two or three groups of them may be lingeringyet in this region, but we haven't much to fear fromthem."
Woodfall, intending at first to make the stay onlyfour or five days, decided now to protract it to ten ortwelve. The journey to Santa Fé was one of tremendouslength and hardship. Moreover, a buffalo hunter, straying in, told them that the Comanches were very activeall over the Texas plains. Hence the Santa Fé trainwould need all its strength, and Woodfall was anxiousthat every one of the wounded should be in fightingcondition when they left the timber. Therefore thedelay.
Phil was glad of the added stay in the hills. He wasdeveloping great skill as a hunter and a trailer, and heand his comrades wandered farther and farther every dayinto the broken forest region toward the north. Oftenesthe and Bill Breakstone were together. Despite the differencein years, they had become brothers of the wilderness.In their scoutings they found available pathways forhorses over the hills and among the great trees, and, starting, one morning, they rode far to the north, coveringthirty or forty miles. Phil was interested in some highmountains which showed a dim blue ahead, and Breakstonewas carefully examining the rock formations. Butas night came on they found that the hills were droppingdown, and the mountains seemed to be about as blue andas far ahead as ever.
"I should judge from these signs," said Breakstone,"that there is a valley or narrow plain ahead, between usand the mountains. But we'll
look into that to-morrow.It isn't good to be riding around in the dark over hillsand through thickets."
They found a little grassy open space, where theytethered their horses, leaving them to graze as long asthey wished, and, lighting no fire, they ate jerked buffalomeat. Then they crept into snug coverts under thebushes, wrapped their blankets about them, and fellasleep. Phil opened his eyes at daylight to findBreakstone already awake. The horses were grazingcontentedly. The trees and bushes were already tipped with fireby the gorgeous Texas sun.
"Sir Philip of the Bushes," said Bill Breakstone,"you just lie here and chew up a buffalo or two, while Igo ahead and take a look. As I said last night, thesehills certainly drop down into a plain, and I want to seethat plain."
"All right," said Phil, "I'll stay where I am. It'sso snug in this blanket on a cool morning that I don'tcare to move anyhow, and I can eat my breakfast lyingdown."
He drew out a freshly jerked strip of buffalo meat, and another very tender portion of a black-tailed deer thathe himself had shot, and fell to it. Bill Breakstone, hisrifle held conveniently at his side, slid away among thebushes. Phil ate contentedly. The sun rose higher.The morning was absolutely still. The horses seemed tohave had enough grass, and lay down placidly on theirsides. It occurred to Phil that he, too, had eaten enough, and he put the remainder of the food back in his hunter'sknapsack. Then he began to get drowsy again. It wasso very still. He thought once of rising and walkingabout, but he remembered Breakstone's advice to lie still, and, against his will, he kept it. Then his drowsinessincreased, and, before he was aware of it he was asleepagain.
When Phil awoke the second time, he threw off hisblanket and sprang to his feet in surprise. The sun washigh up in the blue arch. It must be at least ten o'clockin the morning, and Bill Breakstone had not come back.The horses were on their feet and were grazing again.They were proof that nothing had disturbed the glade.But Bill Breakstone was not there. Nor had he comeback and gone away again. If he had done so, he wouldhave awakened the boy. He had been absent three orfour hours, and Phil was alarmed.
The boy stood up, holding his hand on the hammer ofhis rifle. This beautiful day, with its blue skies aboveand its green forest below, oppressed him. It was sostill, so silent, and Bill Breakstone had vanished soutterly, just as if he had been turned into thin air by thewave of a magician's wand! The boy was alone in thewilderness for the first time. Moreover, he felt thepresence of danger, and the queer little shiver which oftencomes at such moments ran through his blood. But theshiver passed, and his courage rose. He had no thoughtof going back to the camp to report that Bill Breakstonewas missing. No, he would find him himself. That washis duty to his comrade.