He was uneasy, however, about the open space above him, for it struck him that it would be so easy for any of their foes to roll the rocks down upon their heads.  When he came to examine the situation more critically, he was not a little relieved to find that he was protected by the sloping wall, already mentioned.  A heavy stone heaved over the opening above might really weigh a ton, and come crashing downward with terrific force, but no skill could, at the start, cause its course to be such as to injure the lad.  He therefore concluded that his friend Mickey was not unwise in placing him in such a refuge.

CHAPTER XVI.

FRIEND OR ENEMY?

It can scarcely be said that either of the fugitives had any definite hope of escape, for neither was able to see how the thing was possible.  Mickey knew that occasionally, in the affairs of the world, seemingly providential interferences had occurred, but he looked for nothing of the kind.  He considered that there would be a siege, lasting perhaps several days, then a desperate hand-to-hand struggle, and then.

The summary manner in which the Irishman disposed of the first Apache who showed himself brought matters to a standstill.  In this condition they probably would have remained but for the Irishman himself, who saw nothing to be gained by inaction.  Turning his head, he whispered to Fred: 

“Do ye kape quiet, me laddy, till my return.  I am going to take a look around.”

The boy offered no objection, for he knew it would not be heeded, and Mickey moved away.  It required the greatest care to pick his way down the fissure, as the stones and gravel were liable to turn under his feet and betray his approach, and it was much easier to go forward than backward.

The fissure which had afforded this temporary refuge was about fifty feet in length, and the vegetation was so thick that at almost any portion the view was no greater than three or four yards.  Mickey was in constant expectation of encountering some of the Apaches at every step he took, and, in accordance with his principle of hitting a head wherever he saw it, he held his rifle so as to fire on the very instant the coppery face presented itself to view.  But he saw none, and as he advanced he began to believe that the place was entirely free of the Apaches, who, if prudent, would quietly wait on the outside until their prey dropped into their hands.

It was not to be supposed that they would leave any opening on the outside by which the most forlorn chance could be obtained, and Mickey had no thought of any such thing.  If he had, it would have been dissipated by the evidence of his own ears.  He could hear distinctly their peculiar grunting voices, the tramp of their mustangs, and the evidence which a score of Indian warriors might be expected to give of their presence, when they had no reason for concealment.