The soldiers yelled and
yelled, practising every variation ingenuity could invent in the vain
attempt to make their tame white-man utterances resemble the
blood-curdling, hair-raising, heart-jumping shrieks of their Indian
foes, now so strangely silent. Not a savage responded vocally or
otherwise.
But for the presence of the captive girl in one of the thirteen tents
the attack would have begun by riddling the thinly covered shelters
with bullets at low range.
The two burning trees had gone out and two others had been lighted,
and it soon appeared evident that if something was not done to bring
out the foe the supply of torches would soon be exhausted and nothing
accomplished. In the darkness the advantage might even turn to the
side of the redman.
Surgeon Coues, who reclined near me, asked: "Do you think any of those
fellows understand English?"
"Perhaps a few common phrases. They know Spanish fairly well from
living for some centuries near the Mexicans."
"Are they quite as old as that, lieutenant?"
"You know what I mean, doctor.
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