To extricate Neal from his disagreeable position was a long, but not a difficult operation.
It appeared as if the earth Poyor had dug up from the middle of the fortification was all heaped above him in such a manner that he could do nothing in his own behalf, and it was only necessary to dig this away.
"What could have happened to upset things so thoroughly?" he asked, staggering to his feet, and being obliged to sit down very suddenly lest the wind should blow him down.
"As near as I can guess there has been a land slide," Cummings replied. "I believe it began at the ledge under which the Indians were hidden, and how far it extends no one can so much as guess until it is possible to get a view of the country."
"Are you not afraid of an attack?" Teddy asked.
"Not while this storm is raging. Stand up for a moment, and then you can see whether those fellows would make much headway trying to reach us."
The wind was blowing furiously, and the rain falling in great volume. Now and then the little party cowering close together for mutual protection, would be struck by a perfect shower of pebbles and wet sand with such force that, had they been in a standing position, all would have been overthrown, and it really required considerable exertion to remain in one spot.
The ammunition, or rather, the greater portion of it, had been left near the front wall of the fort, and the chances were that it was destroyed by the water or scattered beyond finding.
Teddy was the first to think of this misfortune, and he said in a tone of despair:
"There's little hope now that we can hold the enemy in check even for an hour, in case they should make an attack, for I don't believe we have twenty cartridges left."
"And but two guns, for I lost mine when I was blown down the side of the mountain," Neal added.
"Don't make the mistake of searching for trouble," Cummings interrupted. "It is sufficient to know that we are alive and uninjured. The Indians will not bother us for some time."
Not until considerably past midnight did the rain cease falling; but the wind storm still continued, and Poyor said, speaking for the first time since the party were united:
"It will not be possible to leave here until sunrise. Those who can sleep should try to do so, for we may have a hard day's work before us to-morrow."