He could not be too careful in the vicinity of such characters, and,
stretching out flat upon his face, he peeped over the top, taking the
precaution first to remove his cap, and then to permit no more of his head
than was indispensable to appear above the surface. The six redskins were
lounging in as many different lazy attitudes. One seemed sound asleep,
with his face turned to the ground, and looking like a warrior that had
fallen from some balloon, and, striking on his stomach, lay just as he was
flattened out. Another was half-sitting and half-reclining, smoking a pipe
with a very long stem. His face was directly toward Fred, who noticed that
his eyes were cast downward, as though he were gazing into the bowl of his
pipe, while Fred could plainly see the ugly lips, as they parted at
intervals and emitted their pulls in a fashion as indolent as that of some
wealthy Turk. A third was seated a little further off, examining his
rifle, which he had probably injured in some way, and which occupied his
attention to the exclusion of everything else.

The bushes surrounding the opening had been torn away, although it was
difficult to conceive what the Indians expected to accomplish by such an
act, as it only served to make them plainer targets to the Irishman,
whenever he chose to crack away from below.

The remaining trio of Apaches were occupied in some way with the cavern.
They were stretched out upon the ground, with their heads close to the
orifice, down which they seemed to be peering, and doing something, the
nature of which the lad could not even guess.

"That don't look as though they had caught Mickey," he muttered, with a
feeling of inexpressible relief; "for, if they had, they wouldn't be
loafing around there."